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RAMADAN 23, 1432 AH

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India moves for talks with anti-graft activist

United youngsters canter to victory

Jahra road project to help developmotorway system

My journey through Palestine

Amir calls on citizens to help shore up economy Sheikh Sabah congratulates people on holy Ramadan Ramadan Kareem

Morals in the Life and Da’wah of the Prophets (I)

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he Prophet (PBUH) was commanded to maintain the same methodology that had been adopted by all the previous prophets and messengers, may Allah exalt their mention, as Allah The Almighty says (what means): {Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so from their guidance take an example.} [Quran 6:90] Allah the Almighty granted the prophets perfection of morals and character so that people would not turn away from them with the excuse that they were repulsive or ill-natured. All prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, only spoke what was revealed to them by Allah the Almighty. Their message was not something that they fabricated or that was due to the surrounding social conditions of their age.

Their message was a revelation from Allah the Almighty, as each and every prophet testified: {I only follow what is revealed to me.}[Quran 6:50] The prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, did not have Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah called yesterday on all nationals to cooperate to tackle defects in the national economy stressing that all citizens must cooperate for welfare of the present and coming generations.

“We should observe and fathom, as wisdom dictates, the changes and developments taking place in our world. We should sense the hazards of the international economic crisis and its negative effects on our national economy, and we should work as a single hand to tackle the flaws in the economic conditions,” said HH the Amir in his address to the people of Kuwait on the occasion of the last ten days of Ramadan.

HH the Amir stated that he had tasked, several days ago, a group of skilled experts, headed

by HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, to look into the best practical means to tackle the economic conditions, shore it up for sake of realizing comprehensive development and meet aspirations of the citizens who look forward to a secure and prosperous future for the next generations.

“Undoubtedly this national approach is a responsibility that should be shouldered by all, for you are all responsible for his subjects, and this warrants understanding, positive coopera-

Max 47º Min 29º Low Tide 12:2 High Tide 04:45 & 19:59

tion and serious work for realizing the aspired objectives,” HH the Amir said.

Fighting corruption “In this respect, I have called on the government to rapidly enact the special law for establishing the national authority for combating corruption and refer it to the National Assembly, meet all the requirements for ensuring success of this authority so it may be able to undertake its responsibilities, ensure that all relevant government acts are done properly according to the frameworks of transparency, integrity, justice for boosting the national action on the right path, for corruption is detrimental to the approaches of reforms and development,” HH the Amir said.

HH the Amir called for employing the potential of the youth and encourage them to take part in the national development. “This can be achieved through reforming and developing our educational institutions and curriculums,” he said.

Empowering Youth Sheikh Sabah urged the youth to concentrate on education and refrain from fruitless activities.

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah addresses the people of Kuwait on the occasion of the last ten days of Ramadan yesterday. — KUNA

‘Gaddafi era over’ as rebels storm Tripoli Whereabouts of Libyan dictator ‘a mystery’

KUWAIT: A group of Libyans raise the rebels’ flags at the Libyan embassy yesterday as Ambassador Mohammad Al-Mubarak (inset) said he was operating under the NTC. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Kuwait recognizes Libya rebels council expats burn Gaddafi flag, envoy backs NTC KUWAIT: Kuwait yesterday recognized the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) as the “legitimate” representative of the Libyan people. An official source at the foreign ministry “renewed the support of the state of Kuwait to the NTC as the sole and legitimate representative of the Libyan people,” a statement cited by the official KUNA news agency said.

Kuwait has maintained good relations with the Libyan rebels and granted NTC $180 million in urgent aid during a visit by NTC chief Mustafa Abdel

Jalil in April but stopped short of fully recognizing them.

The foreign ministry official expressed hope that Libya will enjoy peace and security.

The move came as Libyan rebels seized control of most of Tripoli. A group of Libyans in Kuwait yesterday removed and burned the flag of Muammar Gaddafi regime at the embassy and then raised the rebels flag, as ambassador Mohammad AlMubarak said he was operating under the NTC. A group of about 30 people

came to the embassy in Dueya on the outskirts of Kuwait City where they also tore down pictures of the Libyan leader that were inside the embassy.

Ambassador Mohammad AlMubarak said he has joined the National Transitional Council (NTC), and recognized it as the sole and legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Mubarak told KUNA news agency that as of Monday “the embassy will operate as a representative of the Libyan people under the NTC.” — AFP

Online identity theft rising in Kuwait 4 residents fall prey to internet scammers

By Velina Nacheva KUWAIT: Dr A.S., an official from Kuwait’s Ministry of Health is the latest victim of a vicious cyber crime phenomenon that led to the complete loss of his address book and compromised his personal information. Identity theft scammers hacked his personal email last week and impersonated him to email everyone on his contact list soliciting financial help.

The call for help arrived in an email correspondence headed ‘Emergency’ that originated from A.S’ actual email account. The fraudulent email described a fictitious ordeal supposedly suffered by the doctor whilst overseas, making an urgent request for money after, it said, the doctor was robbed in Spain with his embassy failing to assist him. Promising reimbursement, the fraudulent email added that A.S. could not be

reached by phone.

Thankfully, over 40 friends from his address book and from around the globe called A.S. upon receiving the email and before taking steps to wire the money. “This is how I found out that my email was hacked,” he told the Kuwait Times.

Even more disturbing, he says, is that in a follow-up email, the online scammers sent a copy of A.S.’s passport which they had Continued on Page 13

TRIPOLI: Libyan rebels yesterday declared the “Gaddafi era” over after taking control of most of Tripoli, as jubilant fighters streamed into the capital to join battles near the strongman’s compound. World leaders hailed the rebels’ dramatic rout on Sunday of loyalist forces in Tripoli, urging Muammar Gaddafi to admit defeat, as Libyans around the world celebrated the veteran leader’s imminent downfall.

“The Gaddafi era is over,” rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil told a news conference in Benghazi, eastern Libya.

But Abdel Jalil also warned that he could quit as head of the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) if he loses control of the revolution, amid possible revenge acts by insurgents.

Abdel Jalil said he hoped Gaddafi, who faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, would be “captured alive so that he will be given a fair trial.” He congratulated the Libyan people “for this historic victory” and thanked NATO for its military support, while cautioning that “the real moment of victory is when Gaddafi is captured.”

He acknowledged the whole of Tripoli was not under rebel control and that Gaddafi’s whereabouts remained a mystery. But White House and the Pentagon officials said they believe he is still in the country. It said NATO was working with the rebels to mount coordinated air strikes on Muammar Gaddafi’s heavily fortified Bab alAziziya compound in the capital.

Continued on Page 13

ANKARA: Close up of a portrait of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi set on fire by demonstrators during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in Ankara yesterday. — AFP

Pressure mounts for emergency NA session MPs’ bribes issue rages

By B Izzak KUWAIT: Strong reactions continued yesterday over the allegations that two MPs have received millions of dinars of bribes to buy their votes as more MPs called for an emergency parliamentary session to discuss the issue and pass a number of anti-corruption legislation.

Governor of the Central Bank Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah yesterday reiterated the government’s position a day earlier that he has no information about the allegations, adding that no local bank has reported the cases.

Al-Qabas newspaper reported on Saturday that the accounts of two MPs have recently seen major

deposits in cash and transfers. One account received KD 17 million while the other got KD 8 million, the report said without exposing the names of the two lawmakers.

Sheikh Salem said that like any central bank in the world, the Kuwaiti Central Bank does not control the movements of accounts at local banks but stressed that it has been strictly imposing anti-money laundering laws for more than a decade.

The governor was echoing the cabinet’s decision a day earlier when it said that the public prosecution has not informed the central bank of any illegal movement at any bank account.

But several MPs yesterday insisted the report must be thoroughly

investigated because the report places all the 50 members of parliament under suspicion.

MP Hassan Jowhar supported calls for an emergency session of the National Assembly to discuss the issue and to debate approving a number of anti-corruption laws that have been stalled for a long time.

Jowhar said that the session must work towards passing the wealth disclosure draft law which requires ministers, MPs and leading bureaucrats to disclose their wealth before assuming their posts and after leaving them in a bid to fight against corruption.

He said the bribe report must be firmly handled in order to Continued on Page 13

local

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

Amir visits National Guard club KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, accompanied by HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, visited on Sunday Kuwait National Guard officers’ club.

They were warmly received by Chairman of the National Guard Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah, Deputy Chairman Sheikh Mishaal Al-Jaber AlSabah and Deputy Undersecretary Brig Staff Zayed Abdullah Nasser as well as several senior officers of the National Guard.

HH the Amir was also accompanied by Deputy Minister of the Amir Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Chief of Staff of HH the Amir’s Office Ahmed Fahad Al-Fahad, and acting Undersecretary of the Amiri Diwan and Master of the Amiri Ceremonies Sheikh Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah.

HH the Amir ’s entourage also included Undersecretary of HH the Crown Prince’s Diwan Sheikh Mubarak Al-Faisal Al-Sabah, Sheikh Majed Al-Jaber Al-Homoud Al-Sabah, Sheikh Abdullah Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and Sheikh Sabah Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

HH the Amir gave out a speech on the visit, which he began by congratulating HH the Crown Prince, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the Kuwaiti people on the last ten nights of Ramadan.

He noted to the current tense situation in the region, adding this required vigilance and readiness for any urgent happenings that may arise.

He hailed the efforts of the Kuwaiti National Guard in protecting the country - regarding them the support and backbone of other security sectors of the Army and police - from “those who intend to inflict evil upon the nation.” On this, HH the Amir commended the huge roles of Chief of the National Guard, Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah and its Deputy Chief, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, for their continuous devotion to developing the efficiency of National Guard personnel. On the approaching occasion of Eid Al-Fitr - a celebration which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan - he congratulated people once more. For his part, Sheikh Salem Al-Ali AlSabah gave out his own speech on the visit.

He said HH the Amir’s visit on the last 10 holy nights of Ramadan was inspirational and was a beacon of support for all who remain faithful to the nation. Under the leadership of HH the Amir, he asked God to bless the people of Kuwait and keep the nation under constant progress and development. He also praised National Guard personnel for their efforts in serving the nation.

In his address, Deputy Undersecretary of the National Guard Brig. Staff Zayed Abdullah Nasser expressed joy for the visit of HH the Amir at one of the blissful last ten nights of Ramadan, saying:

“ The visit strengthens the devotion of the National Guard corps to serve our dear homeland under the wise leadership of HH the Amir - the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

“The visit shows clearly the keenness of Your Highness to keep in touch with your sons - the guards of the homeland who hold Your Highness in high esteem, exchange love with you, renew allegiance to you, and believe strongly in their role in protecting the homeland. “The visit will definitely give momentum to the country’s boom and prosperity as manifested in the generous handout given by Your Highness to the citizens and military personnel in several occasions earlier this year.

“Your Highness, I have the honor to affirm that the National Guard is making strides day after day on the road of modernization in the light of the your instructions and the instructions of its Chief Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah.

“We have made a good progress in the implementation of the National Guard’s strategy (20102015) for constant modernization and restructuring through introducing the state-of-art equipment and launching the Supreme Council of the National Guard,” he added.

After the speeches a number of heroic poems were read and drew admiration from the audience. At the end of the visit, HH the Amir signed his name in the register of honor. — KUNA

M H Al-Shaya hosts annual Ramadan ghabqa

M.H. Al-Shaya Company hosted the annual Ramadan media ghabqa at the P.F. Chang’s Restaurant on the Gulf Road last week, which was attended by representatives from the local press and media outlets.

—Photos by Joseph Shagra

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People at sportive best before Iftar Popular exercises are cardio, walking and jogging

By Nawara Fattahova

National Guard hosts Iftar reception for personnel

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Security Affairs Department at the National Guard held an Iftar reception for its personnel in the presence of Brig Khalid Abdul Aziz, Head of Security Affairs. The event was hosted at one of the sites which protected by the National Guard. Brig Khalid Abdul Aziz gave a speech during the Iftar ceremony, hailing efforts made by personnel to protect the organization and maintain order at all times under the leadership of His Highness the Amir and HH the Crown Prince. On the instructions of Brig Abdul Aziz, a team from the Public Relations Division headed by Lt Bilal Salman Bilal and Lt Mohammad Amer Al-Hathaili paid a visit to various National Guard units to bolster their spirits and boost the morale.

During a visit paid to the Firefighting Unit, they met with Major Fahah Ali AlTora who stressed that the fire fighting unit has been operating well. Al-Tora was felicitated by Sheikh Salem Al-Ali AlSabah, Director of the National Guard, Deputy Director Sheikh Mishaal AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Undersecretary of National Guard Lt General Nasser Abdullah Al-Dai and his Deputy Brig Zayid Abdullah Nasser.

The team then paid a visit to the Ministry of Information’s unit. The team made several meetings with the brigade commander Captain Saleh Ali Ashkanani and other officers who conveyed their greetings to their superiors on this occasion. The team finally visited the Foreign Ministry’s unit. Lt Khalid Thuwaini Mutlaq and Lt Ibraheem Abdul Rahman and other officers and personnel greeted them.

Oriental Mixed Grill Recipe

Ingredients

• Minted yoghurt 1 cl

• veal kebab 2x 80 gr • Chicken kebab 1x 80 gr • Kofta 60 gr • Lamb chops • Parsley 10 gr • tomato 2 quarters • Marinade; • Tomato 100 gr • Onion 40 gr • Oregano 5 gr • Thym 5 gr • Olive oil 3 cl

Directions 1. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and leave to rest for one day.

2. Marinate the meat and grill, garnish with chopped parsley, grilled tomato quarters and a drizzle of yoghurt, presented on rectangular white and orange plates.

3. Fish rice served on round white plate and sprinkle with chopped herbs.

4. Served on the side, haris

KUWAIT: People devote more energy towards practicing sports during Ramadan, ostensibly because they enjoy more free time due to shorter working hours. The walking paths are crowded before Iftar. The most popular one is located near the seaside in Salmiya.

Captain Yaser Dhawi, Manager of the Holiday Inn health club explained the reason behind this practice. “One or two hours before Iftar is the best time to practice a sport. During the day, the body does not have enough adrenaline produced by the liver. Shortly before Iftar, the body only has reserves of glucose from the previous day. So, it burns the fat,” Captain Yaser Dhawi told the Kuwait Times. “The most popular exercises are cardio, walking, and jogging for about one hour or so. Also, it is good to perform some lower back training. The period of practice depends on the age and ability of the person. More people come to the gym before Iftar, and two hours after Iftar,” he added.

Housewives prefer to exercise at home, “I do aerobics exercise at home, it is beneficial for the whole body because I don’t have time to do other sporting activities. My favorite sport is jogging.

In Ahmadi, there is a nice walking path. Many people walk there before Iftar. My son works out

using dumbbells at home, and also plays football once a week,” said Manal a 42-year- old mother.

“I see more people walking along the seaside

KUWAIT: In this file photo two residents are seen walking at the seaside in Kuwait. — Photo by Joseph Shagra

in Ramadan. Even at the gym, the instructor told me that it is peak time before Iftar, asking me to come later. So now I go to the gym after Iftar when it is not very crowded. I don’t practice other sports. In fact, I don’t feel that there’s much difference during Ramadan,” said Noha, a 30-year-old employee.

Hot weather has forced many sports enthusiasts indoors, “When I get back home after work, I begin with aerobics for about 15 minutes. Now, I can only walk sometimes in the evening when it’s not so hot. My two brothers prefer to go to the gym at 11 am in the morning,” stressed Homoud, a 25-year-old employee.

Conflicting schedules have forced many to stop practicing their favorite sport, “I used to walk along the seaside, now that temperatures are very high, I don’t go there anymore. So, I’m gaining weight. I will undergo a health regimen after Ramadan, especially that the gym has changed its working hours, so I don’t practice any sport now,” said Sally, a 31-year-old employee.

“During Ramadan, I watch TV and I don’t like to go out and miss my programs. I do pushups, sit-ups, and yoga at home. Also, I don’t like to go out after eating, so I do these exercises while watching my soap operas,” pointed out Samar, a 29- year-old-employee.

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LOCAL

Local Spotlight

in my view

Time for Islamic reformation

Visit visa fees: The importance of fairness

By Fouad Al-Obaid

Muna Al-Fuzai

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter: @Fouadalobaid

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muna@kuwaittimes.net

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here has been some talk in town recently about raising the cost of visit visas to KD 100. Yes, a full hundred Kuwaiti dinars for anyone wishing to obtain a visit visa.

Although these rumors have not been substantiated or confirmed by any of Kuwait’s state bodies to date, the whole idea has enraged many expatriates. I think most of the expatriates who were angry at the reports are those on a small income who feel that their hope of even a yearly meeting with their family members has disappeared due to the requirement for amounts of money which they simply don’t have; for anyone on a KD 250 monthly salary, after all, that KD 100, over one-third of their income, would far too much to spare. For this reason, then, these rumors have been causing shock for many.

Some may claim that the increase in visit visa fees would make it hard for anyone to come to Kuwait to beg, for instance, but I don’t think it would be difficult to find out how many visas are requested for these individuals, who are usually ladies in black. I do believe, however, that the sponsor should bear the legal consequences of such incidences, and in these cases he or she should bear the cost of the fine for letting something like that happen and should not be allowed to obtain a new visa when the old one expires.

Another issue here is the continuing ban in issuing visas to some nationals of certain countries, such as Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis, and Afghans due to the political situations in these countries and the conflicts or uprisings taking place there.

With most Arab countries facing turbulence these days, I wonder if we should simply extend the ban to being worldwide - and I wonder if a ban is the only solution we can think of. Although, of course, any country is wholly entitled to impose any regulations to ensure its safety and stability, not all the citizens of the aforementioned countries are troublemakers, especially if there were over 70 years old, so some exceptions for humanitarian reasons would help, as would the examination of each application on a case-by-case basis.

While the rumors of visa fee increases have not yet been confirmed and perhaps never will be, I believe that any change in these fees should be examined carefully beforehand to ensure expatriate residents’ welfare and protect their right to get together with their families, as well as believing that the fees must be reasonable and manageable for all, rather than harming all.

kuwait digest

Are we ready to meet needs?

By Khalifa Al-Khurafi

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is Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s decision to chair the first meeting of an elite panel of experts to study the local and global economic situation, is a significant step taken towards saving Kuwait from an economic crisis. The significance of this step lies in its efficacy to salvage the national economy from deterioration. It was the job of the Cabinet and Parliament, but they are busy dealing with other issues.

Since the discovery of oil and the beginning of oil exports more than fifty years ago, successive Kuwaiti governments have failed to make the country productive. On the contrary, citizens were encouraged to depend on it, contributing to lack of productivity.

Employees are randomly appointed in the public sector that led to bureaucratic sloth. While Kuwait suffers from a lack of productivity, wastage of resources is high. The prime example of this is the soaring level of electricity and water consumption that is mostly used in

people’s homes. Kuwait pays KD 2 billion a year to generate 12,000 megawatts of electricity every day. It is expected to double and cost at least another KD 1 million when the new residential areas listed are built.

Education in Kuwait is underdeveloped, and the state’s only public university fails to accommodate high school graduates. There are a hundred thousand commercial licenses issued in Kuwait. At least 90 percent of tradesmen are not Kuwaitis. One and a half million expatriates live in Kuwait, nearly half a million of whom are domestic workers. The state’s budget is barely capable of paying salaries to public sector employees, and large amount of funds are wasted on unnecessary projects. Japan, the United States and Europe are facing economic downturns that can reduce demand for oil, resulting in an oil price slump. Such conditions would greatly hamper Kuwait’s budget which is entirely reliant on oil revenues. The price of oil exported

everyday through the Shuaibah Port decides the fate of our economy.

Scientists have been able to produce hydrogen fuel at extremely cheap prices. If it is commercially produced, our living conditions will deteriorate.

HH the Amir urged the economic consultative committee to come up with a set of reforms that restores balance to the state’s budget. HH further asked to make sacrifices, while taking into account the situation of people earning limited income.

Hopefully, the recommendations put forward by the economic committee will not be ignored like dozens of others. Expert Jassem Al-Saadoun noted that the state’s budget has increased in eleven years from KD 4 billion to KD 20 billion - KD13 billion of which are paid in salaries to public sector employees. Statistics indicate that 100,000 citizens will enter the labor market and file housing applications within the next five years. Are we ready to meet their needs? —Al-Qabas

op-ed

millions dinar storm

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uwait is under threat. Our democracy faces a huge risk. The institutions that legislate for our present and future as well as those who execute them will soon face the music.

Corruption in both the legislative and executive authorities is the root cause of all decadence.

Whenever bribery spreads to the most vital institutions, it takes the form of cancer that grows as long as there are political sharks who care less about the integrity of these institutions.

Therefore, a firm stance must be taken to reinforce transparency, which cannot be achieved unless payers and recipients of bribes are held accountable. The multi-million dinar bribery allegations exposed by Al-Qabas is too serious a crime to be ignored. It’s a case that becomes a national crisis that cannot be calmed unless serious measures are taken to eliminate corruption.

MPs evaded all responsibility when they were previously involved in collecting ‘political money,’ or when they engaged in heated verbal and physical assaults with each other. But the onus of the recently exposed bribery scandal should not be solely placed on lawmakers. The government is equally complicit in this crime, by allowing MPs’ easier access to collect bribes in return for a political position. It was probably unaware of the risks behind this action or disregarded the risks involved. Corrupt politicians should be arrested and should be tried in court. The ‘multi-million dinar storm’ will not subside until enforcement sweeps away political corruption in the country. —Al-Qabas

ver the past few days, and in the spirit of Ramadan, I have been reading extensively about religion and histor y. My premise emanates from my desire to answer one fundamental question; Why is the Arab-Islamic world in such a pitiful state in the 21st century? Why have we failed to achieve any meaningful gains in several centuries? Is our ‘Golden Past’ really that golden?

I came across an interesting essay in ‘The New Atlantic’ titled ‘Why the Arab World Turned Away from Science’ by Hillel Ofek. The essay covered the basic issues and tried to address the issues facing Islam today, and the relative decline in innovation ever since the presumed Islamic Golden Age. Without going in much detail, for to truly elaborate on this matter, an entire treatise would be needed to address the various schools of thoughts, individual scholars and their contribution along with their lacking in trying to explain our modern Islamic societal decline.

Societies, companies, and individuals need to innovate constantly in order to stay relevant. For instance, what was fashionable last year may be seen as outdated this year. Yet, religion seems to be stuck in a time wormhole whereby, relevance to modern life is not adapted to human desires and societal realities; religion asks people to stay fixed in a supposed medieval 7th century Arabia! To those that counter that religion is static, one needs only to look into our Arab-Islamic heritage to realize that such is far from being the case. To a certain extent, with Tele-Islamists Ijtihad - better known as personal evangelist - is still widely present, though one needs to be lucid to see that the only matters that are open for debate is whether it is permissible to pluck eyebrows or wear nail polish!

No real effort has been pushed by the Islamic Jurisprudence and the clerical elite to encourage people and society alike to think critically, let alone seek knowledge that may lead to innovation. If in every Friday sermon, the Imam states that, “All innovation is evil, and each evil {finds its place} in hell...” Further, to the Imams, there is no knowledge more important or pertinent to the Muslims’ life than religious knowledge. Hence, the emphasis should be to foster the most important knowledge that deserves to be taught, in their religious cast view; all other knowledge that does not contradict it can be tolerated! Those that contradict it should be banned because it opens the door to ‘evil’!

When you come to think about it; it is ironic that one of Kuwait University’s gates is titled after a Persian scholar Abu Hamed Muhammad ibn Mohammad Al-Ghazali which is credited with closing the door for further innovation and theoretical study for all matters relevant to faith have been closed during his era. If we consider that in our society everything is linked in one way, shape or form to faith, then effectively he could be considered one of the most influential personalities in our Arab-Islamic history that has helped close the door for knowledge and the spread thereof.

Today, we need to lift the veil of ignorance in all its shape. We need to develop modern societies free from intellectual constraints, able and willing to compete in our globalized world. I ask whether in my generation, I will can see a region that is able to prosper and flourish, one that is confident in its ability to articulate its ideas and ideals. People are born free, and should be allowed to choose the lives they want to live. As for religion, I believe that it is great time for a new era of reformation that should look into religious matters from a new light, one of modernity. It is widely claimed that religion is for all ages and times; perhaps today is the day to start looking into religion through a modern lens.

kuwait digest

Tense relations between ‘new Egypt’ and Israel

By Suliman Al-Atiqi

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he most recent events provide a glimpse into the tumultuous times ahead for Egypt and Israel. In response to the multiple terrorist attacks that took place along the Sinai border that killed eight Israelis, the country launched a counter-offensive that resulted in the death of five Egyptian soldiers.

The incident sparked an uproar in Egypt, and politicians wasted no time in publically condemning Israel for the attacks and demanding an apology.

Egypt also responded by calling back its ambassador to Israel. This incident forebodes the new paradigm and pattern that can be expected in the immediate future. Under the Mubarak regime, Egypt’s foreign policy reflected the interests of the Mubarak regime. These would help sustain it—in congruence with American and Israeli interests in the region. Therefore, Egyptians’ sentiments were not reflected in the country’s foreign policy. However, as Egypt moves closer to democracy, politicians will do what they do best in democracies—appeal to popular sentiments. Amr Moussa, the Arab League Secretary-General and a presidential candidate for Egypt posted a message via Twitter summing up the future of the two nations, “Israel should realize that the days in which our sons are killed with-

out an appropriate and strong reason are forever gone.” It is no surprise to comment, given the fact that thousands of Egyptians have rallied in front of the Israeli embassy for the second day in protest against the attacks.

Turkey who has traditionally shred great ties with Israel, including military relations, given the good example of where Egypt is heading to. With the recent constitutional changes that shifts more power from the military to the government, Turkey’s foreign policy reflects popular sentiments more than any other time in its history. The drama that ensued after the Israeli raid on Gaza-bound flotilla that killed eight Turks last May, elucidates how politicians’ response to popular sentiments can alter a state’s foreign policy.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted that Israel will have to apologize and pay compensation to the victims of that raid in order to resume normal diplomatic relations.

Whereas Israel’s behavior in the past took Mubarak’s reactions into account, today Israel must conduct its regional behavior keeping in mind the reaction of the Arab street as the future president of Egypt will have no choice but respond to the demands of his constituency. The recent Egyptian response to the killings of

the five Egyptian soldiers gives a good measurement on how far Israel can go without serious diplomatic repercussions.

One thing is for sure, another operation ‘Cast Lead’ (the 2008 incursion on Gaza) will surely result in Egyptians’ demand of rescinding the Camp David Peace Accords. Rescinding Camp David would be met with severe international sanctions, including the cutting off of American foreign aid to Egypt (Egypt is America’s second largest foreign aid recipient, as part of the Camp David agreement). However, if it is too politically costly for a democratically elected Egyptian president not to rescind Camp David, then he would have no option but to comply.

Although President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been publically cheerleading the Arab Spring and its promise of democracy, what they privately know is this will further Isolate Israel in the region as recent events elucidate. Just as American politicians capitalize on popular American sentiments by frequent slights and assaults on the Muslim world (in and outside America), they should expect nothing different from Arab politicians when it comes to Israel. After all, this is democracy.

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Jahra road project to help develop motorway system ‘Largest elevated road projects in the world’

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Infrastructural development is one of the main projects undertaken by the Kuwait government to modernize the country. The Jahra Road Development Project is one of the largest elevated road projects in the world, “It’s an 11 kilometer long elevated road, consisting of two divergent roads. Owing to ongoing work in this area, traffic jams have taken place; but it’s a huge project so some sacrifices need to be done,” Abdullah Al-Mansour, Head of Public Relations told the Kuwait Times.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah yesterday received Kuwaiti inventors Sadiq Qassem, Abdullah Murad and Abdullah Abu Al-Qassem. During the meeting at Seif Palace, HH the Amir acknowledged the inventors’ accomplishment in winning an international invention awards, assuring them that every effort would be taken to remove any obstacles that they might face in the future. —KUNA

Basra govt supports diplomacy to solve port controversy KUWAIT: The local government in Iraq’s southern province of Al-Basra announced yesterday that it supports dialogue and diplomacy as the best way to resolve the controversy over Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer port, adding that it is leaving the issue to the Iraqi government to handle. “[Al-Basra’s government] is keen on maintaining good relations with neighboring countries, especially Kuwait, and we believe that the Kuwaiti port issue is a matter that concerns the federal government of Iraq,” said Sabah Al-Bazouni, the chairman of the province’s new council.

The senior Iraqi official added that his country’s government is currently examining the report compiled by a technical committee that recently visited Kuwait to discuss any potential hazards that the port which Kuwait builds east of Boubyan Island could pose to Iraqi territorial waters.

Not everyone has been so conciliatory, however, with an Iraqi MP from the Iraqi National List, which is led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, strongly criticized the location of the Kuwaiti port, saying in a statement that Kuwait “ignored all the space on its coastline to choose a location opposite the Iraqi

coast.”

In an inter view with Iraq’s AlBaghdadiya T V, the MP, Iyad Jamaluddine, compared the “rich” and “soft” people of Kuwait and the “poor” and “hardheaded” people of Iraq, urging Kuwaitis to “be aware of the fact that their big brothers are hungry.” The MP added that Iraqi citizens “who live without electricity and only eat dates throughout the day” will not accept the construction of the Kuwaiti port in its current location.

In Kuwait, meanwhile, Minister of Public Works and State Minister of Municipality Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar reiterated previous statements that the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port will have no negative impact on maritime activity in neighboring nations’ territorial waters, “but will instead create a way to boost economic integration between Kuwait and its neighbors.”

Dr. Safar further rejected Iraqi concerns about the Kuwaiti port hindering activity at Iraq’s ports on the Arabian Gulf, stressing that the port will “connect Kuwait with Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and then connect the three countries with Turkey, West Asia and Europe.” —AlQabas, Annahar & Al-Watan

2 dead, 29 hurt in crashes

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Two expatriates died and another 19 were injured in a horrendous collision near Qurain yesterday involving a bus and a saloon car.

The Indian driver of the bus and a Bangladeshi passenger were killed outright in the collision, whilst seven of those injured, including the Egyptian car driver, were rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of a nearby hospital. Another six were also taken to hospital for treatment to less life-threatening injuries, whilst six more received treatment at the scene for minor injuries. The two dead men’s bodies were removed for autopsy and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.

In a separate pile-up, this time on Kabad Road heading towards the Ahmad Al-Jaber military base, eight Asian expatriates sustained various injuries, including fractures. All were taken to Farwaniya Hospital.

Meanwhile, a 28-year-old Afghani motorcyclist was rushed to Adan Hospital after suffering multiple injuries in a crash opposite the court complex in South Sabahiya.

Finally, an 18-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a broken right leg in a car crash on the road between Qusoor and Qurain. He was also taken to Adan Hospital.

Amghara blaze Firefighting crews from the Jahra, Sulaibikhat and Ardiya fire brigades worked closely together to tackle a massive blaze that broke out in the Amghara scrapyard area yesterday, spreading to offices and storage sheds, as well as joinery and stonemasons’ workshops. The firemen’s tireless efforts to extinguish the blaze, which covered an area of 1,300 square meters, succeeded in quickly bringing it under control, with the whole fire being put out within three hours. No injuries were reported.

KUWAIT: Firemen extinguishing the blaze in Amghara.

Some drivers may face inconveniences when work is in progress, “For instance, the ramp between Al-Ghazali bridge and the Jahra road will remain closed till the end of construction. We are cooperating with the Ministr y of Interior ( Traffic Depar tment), and we always have to place detours along closed roads. I t should be replaced by a similar road. So we ensure smooth traffic,” highlighted Al-Mansour. “ Work is making headway, and currently we are working on the pilings. We have also conducted studies on the lands on which the bridges will be constructed. Also, the piling tests that we conducted recently were successful,” he added.

The Jahra Road Development Project is part of a strategic plan put forward by the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) to develop Kuwait’s motorway system. The project aims to transform the

Abdullah Al-Mansour Jahra Road into a single highway.

The five-year old project was begun on 13-09-2010 at a cost of KD 264.76 million. The project is located toward the western region of Kuwait, extending from the Jahra Gate ( Jahra Gate Roundabout - Sheraton) to the

United Nations Roundabout.

Earlier this month, the supervisory authority in charge of the Jahra Road Development Project announced the opening of a new detour on Saturday August 13 to alter the path of all traffic.

It occupies the intersection of the Fourth Ring Road and the United Nations Roundabout.

“The Fourth Ring Road detour will include a new U-turn, requested by the traffic authority and located just before the roundabout. I t will allow motorists greater access to the roundabout towards Salmiya,” noted Al-Mansour.

In addition to transforming the Jahra Road into a highway, the project also includes multitude of utilities and drainage structures along the length of the project route which will require relocation, protection, and refurbishment.

Renovation works include relocation of water lines, sewage

system, preservation work and removal of dead gas lines, Low Voltage (LV ) and High Voltage (HV) cables, telephone services, irrigation, and rainwater drainage system.

There are five main objectives to the project, including to segregate bypass traffic and local traffic flow, increase the Jahra Road capacity thereby minimizing traffic congestions and reducing accidents, meet future traffic demands, improve road facilities and ser vices, and improve road safety standards.

The Jahra Road Development Project comprises five phases Phase one: from Jahra Road to Airport Road, Phase two: from United Nations Roundabout to H os p i t a l R oa d (A l S a b a h Medical District), Phase three: f rom H os p i t a l R oa d to A l Ghazali Road, Phase four: From Ghazali Road to Airport Road, and Phase five: Al Ghazali Road Interchange.

Textbooks ready for next school year KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education has signed a contract with a supplier to provide better English language textbooks to school pupils for the 2011-12 school year, said a senior MoE official on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with the ministry’s committee in charge of preparing for the upcoming school year, MoE Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Curricula Mariyam Al-Wutaid announced that all textbooks for elementary stage pupils have been printed and prepared for distribution.

She added that all preparations are on schedule to ensure that the arrangements will be in place before the start of the school year.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communication is reportedly coordinating with the MoE to provide state schools with a fiber optic network that would provide the enhanced telecommunications and internet capabilities required for the e-learning system at all Kuwait’s educational facilities.

According to a ministry insider, the MOC has already contacted the Central Tenders Commission to approve a KD 1.5 million project to provide 350 public schools around Kuwait with fiber optic cables.

—Al-Jarida & Al-Watan

KBA to ‘fight corruption’ KUWAIT: The Kuwait Banks Association (KBA) insisted yesterday that local banks all follow an advanced system of regulator y legislation which ensures the integrity of banking transactions, stressing that their work complies wholly with international standards.

In a statement released in response to recent allegations of multimillion dinar deposits being placed in two

MPs’ bank accounts, which has opened the door to fevered speculations on political bribery being involved. “The KBA has seen reports claiming that local banks were baffled as to how to hand l e t he si t u a t io n co n ce rn in g fi nanc i al d e p o s it s pla ce d in M Ps’ accounts,” the statement reads before listing a number of points to clarify t he cont rove rs y f ro m t h e ba n k s’ standpoint.

KUWAIT: At Seif Palace yesterday, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah hosted the second consultative committee meeting tasked with reviewing domestic and international economic developments. —KUNA

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Jahra road project to help develop motorway system ‘Largest elevated road projects in the world’

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Infrastructural development is one of the main projects undertaken by the Kuwait government to modernize the country. The Jahra Road Development Project is one of the largest elevated road projects in the world, “It’s an 11 kilometer long elevated road, consisting of two divergent roads. Owing to ongoing work in this area, traffic jams have taken place; but it’s a huge project so some sacrifices need to be done,” Abdullah Al-Mansour, Head of Public Relations told the Kuwait Times.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah yesterday received Kuwaiti inventors Sadiq Qassem, Abdullah Murad and Abdullah Abu Al-Qassem. During the meeting at Seif Palace, HH the Amir acknowledged the inventors’ accomplishment in winning an international invention awards, assuring them that every effort would be taken to remove any obstacles that they might face in the future. —KUNA

Basra govt supports diplomacy to solve port controversy KUWAIT: The local government in Iraq’s southern province of Al-Basra announced yesterday that it supports dialogue and diplomacy as the best way to resolve the controversy over Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer port, adding that it is leaving the issue to the Iraqi government to handle. “[Al-Basra’s government] is keen on maintaining good relations with neighboring countries, especially Kuwait, and we believe that the Kuwaiti port issue is a matter that concerns the federal government of Iraq,” said Sabah Al-Bazouni, the chairman of the province’s new council.

The senior Iraqi official added that his country’s government is currently examining the report compiled by a technical committee that recently visited Kuwait to discuss any potential hazards that the port which Kuwait builds east of Boubyan Island could pose to Iraqi territorial waters.

Not everyone has been so conciliatory, however, with an Iraqi MP from the Iraqi National List, which is led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, strongly criticized the location of the Kuwaiti port, saying in a statement that Kuwait “ignored all the space on its coastline to choose a location opposite the Iraqi

coast.”

In an inter view with Iraq’s AlBaghdadiya T V, the MP, Iyad Jamaluddine, compared the “rich” and “soft” people of Kuwait and the “poor” and “hardheaded” people of Iraq, urging Kuwaitis to “be aware of the fact that their big brothers are hungry.” The MP added that Iraqi citizens “who live without electricity and only eat dates throughout the day” will not accept the construction of the Kuwaiti port in its current location.

In Kuwait, meanwhile, Minister of Public Works and State Minister of Municipality Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar reiterated previous statements that the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port will have no negative impact on maritime activity in neighboring nations’ territorial waters, “but will instead create a way to boost economic integration between Kuwait and its neighbors.”

Dr. Safar further rejected Iraqi concerns about the Kuwaiti port hindering activity at Iraq’s ports on the Arabian Gulf, stressing that the port will “connect Kuwait with Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and then connect the three countries with Turkey, West Asia and Europe.” —AlQabas, Annahar & Al-Watan

2 dead, 29 hurt in crashes

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Two expatriates died and another 19 were injured in a horrendous collision near Qurain yesterday involving a bus and a saloon car.

The Indian driver of the bus and a Bangladeshi passenger were killed outright in the collision, whilst seven of those injured, including the Egyptian car driver, were rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of a nearby hospital. Another six were also taken to hospital for treatment to less life-threatening injuries, whilst six more received treatment at the scene for minor injuries. The two dead men’s bodies were removed for autopsy and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.

In a separate pile-up, this time on Kabad Road heading towards the Ahmad Al-Jaber military base, eight Asian expatriates sustained various injuries, including fractures. All were taken to Farwaniya Hospital.

Meanwhile, a 28-year-old Afghani motorcyclist was rushed to Adan Hospital after suffering multiple injuries in a crash opposite the court complex in South Sabahiya.

Finally, an 18-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a broken right leg in a car crash on the road between Qusoor and Qurain. He was also taken to Adan Hospital.

Amghara blaze Firefighting crews from the Jahra, Sulaibikhat and Ardiya fire brigades worked closely together to tackle a massive blaze that broke out in the Amghara scrapyard area yesterday, spreading to offices and storage sheds, as well as joinery and stonemasons’ workshops. The firemen’s tireless efforts to extinguish the blaze, which covered an area of 1,300 square meters, succeeded in quickly bringing it under control, with the whole fire being put out within three hours. No injuries were reported.

KUWAIT: Firemen extinguishing the blaze in Amghara.

Some drivers may face inconveniences when work is in progress, “For instance, the ramp between Al-Ghazali bridge and the Jahra road will remain closed till the end of construction. We are cooperating with the Ministr y of Interior ( Traffic Depar tment), and we always have to place detours along closed roads. I t should be replaced by a similar road. So we ensure smooth traffic,” highlighted Al-Mansour. “ Work is making headway, and currently we are working on the pilings. We have also conducted studies on the lands on which the bridges will be constructed. Also, the piling tests that we conducted recently were successful,” he added.

The Jahra Road Development Project is part of a strategic plan put forward by the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) to develop Kuwait’s motorway system. The project aims to transform the

Abdullah Al-Mansour Jahra Road into a single highway.

The five-year old project was begun on 13-09-2010 at a cost of KD 264.76 million. The project is located toward the western region of Kuwait, extending from the Jahra Gate ( Jahra Gate Roundabout - Sheraton) to the

United Nations Roundabout.

Earlier this month, the supervisory authority in charge of the Jahra Road Development Project announced the opening of a new detour on Saturday August 13 to alter the path of all traffic.

It occupies the intersection of the Fourth Ring Road and the United Nations Roundabout.

“The Fourth Ring Road detour will include a new U-turn, requested by the traffic authority and located just before the roundabout. I t will allow motorists greater access to the roundabout towards Salmiya,” noted Al-Mansour.

In addition to transforming the Jahra Road into a highway, the project also includes multitude of utilities and drainage structures along the length of the project route which will require relocation, protection, and refurbishment.

Renovation works include relocation of water lines, sewage

system, preservation work and removal of dead gas lines, Low Voltage (LV ) and High Voltage (HV) cables, telephone services, irrigation, and rainwater drainage system.

There are five main objectives to the project, including to segregate bypass traffic and local traffic flow, increase the Jahra Road capacity thereby minimizing traffic congestions and reducing accidents, meet future traffic demands, improve road facilities and ser vices, and improve road safety standards.

The Jahra Road Development Project comprises five phases Phase one: from Jahra Road to Airport Road, Phase two: from United Nations Roundabout to H os p i t a l R oa d (Al S a b a h Medical District), Phase three: f rom H os p i t a l R oa d to A l Ghazali Road, Phase four: From Ghazali Road to Airport Road, and Phase five: Al Ghazali Road Interchange.

Textbooks ready for next school year KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education has signed a contract with a supplier to provide better English language textbooks to school pupils for the 2011-12 school year, said a senior MoE official on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with the ministry’s committee in charge of preparing for the upcoming school year, MoE Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Curricula Mariyam Al-Wutaid announced that all textbooks for elementary stage pupils have been printed and prepared for distribution.

She added that all preparations are on schedule to ensure that the arrangements will be in place before the start of the school year.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communication is reportedly coordinating with the MoE to provide state schools with a fiber optic network that would provide the enhanced telecommunications and internet capabilities required for the e-learning system at all Kuwait’s educational facilities.

According to a ministry insider, the MOC has already contacted the Central Tenders Commission to approve a KD 1.5 million project to provide 350 public schools around Kuwait with fiber optic cables.

—Al-Jarida & Al-Watan

KBA to ‘fight corruption’ KUWAIT: The Kuwait Banks Association (KBA) insisted yesterday that local banks all follow an advanced system of regulator y legislation which ensures the integrity of banking transactions, stressing that their work complies wholly with international standards.

In a statement released in response to recent allegations of multimillion dinar deposits being placed in two

MPs’ bank accounts, which has opened the door to fevered speculations on political bribery being involved. “The KBA has seen reports claiming that local banks were baffled as to how to hand l e t he si t u a t io n co n ce rn in g fi nanc i al d e p o s it s pla ce d in M Ps’ accounts,” the statement reads before listing a number of points to clarify t he cont rove rs y f ro m t h e ba n k s’ standpoint.

KUWAIT: At Seif Palace yesterday, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah hosted the second consultative committee meeting tasked with reviewing domestic and international economic developments. —KUNA

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

Canada opposition leader Layton dies

N Korea seizes South assets at joint resort Page 12

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World revels in imminent Gaddafi demise

ANKARA: Demonstrators set fire to a poster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, copies of his Green Book and Libyan flags during a protest against Gaddafi outside the Libyan embassy in Ankara yesterday.—AFP

Libyan leader’s son captured PARIS: World leaders yesterday h ai l ed t h e re b e l t akeover o f Tripoli, urging Muammar Gaddafi to admit defeat, as Libyans around the world celebrated the veteran leader’s imminent demise.

The dramatic push to wrest full control of the Libyan capital from Gaddafi loyalists was seen as the end-game in the six-month uprising against Gaddafi’s 42-year-old rule.

While the leaders who supported t he u p r i s i n g s t ressed t hat Libya’s fate should be decided by Libyans, pressure was mounting for one of the planet’s longeststanding dictators to be dragged in front of the world court. “ Tonight, the momentum against the Gaddafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is sl i p pi n g f rom t h e grasp o f a t y rant,” US President Barack Obama said in a statement issued fro m h i s h oli d ay i n M ar t ha’s Vineyard. The Western-backed rebels, whose grip around Tripoli t i g h te n e d ove r t h e p ast t wo weeks before a final offensive on Su n day, s a i d t h e y were st il l encountering a few pockets of resistance. The Libyan leader ’s son, Seif al-Islam, was captured but Gaddafi himself, who seized p ower i n a b lood less co u p in 1969, has vowed to fight to the death. “He needs to relinquish power once and for all,” Obama said, the first voice in a barrage of calls for Gaddafi to cut his losses.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country spearheaded support for the uprising and was the first to recognize their interim a dmi n is t r a t i on, co ndemned Gaddafi’s “irresponsible and desperate calls for the combat to continue.”

Sarkozy urged “forces still loyal to the regime to turn away from the criminal and cynical blindness of their leader, to cease fire.” His o f f i ce s a i d h e h a d invited t he rebel government’s number two to me e t h i m i n Paris o n Wednesday. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who signed a 2008 friendship treaty that made the former colonial power Libya’s to p tr a d i n g p a r t ner, urg ed Gaddafi to “put an end to every pointless resistance and to save, in this way, his people from fur-

ther suffering.”

European countries such as France and Italy had until early this year spearheaded the return of Kadhafi’s oil-rich Libya-long considered a rogue state by the West over terror links-into the international fold. British Prime Minister David Cameron also said that “Gaddafi must stop fighting, without conditions, and clearly show that he has given up any claim to control Libya.” Cameron warned against complacency, saying the situation in Tripoli was “very fluid” and promising to work closely with the rebel National Transitional Council in the postGaddafi era.

NATO, whose aerial bombing played a key role in weakening Gaddafi’s military infrastructure, urged Gaddafi to step aside and give his co un tr y a ch an ce to rebuild. It is “time to create a new Libya-a state based on freedom, not fear; democracy, not dictatorship; the will of the many, not the whims of a few,” Atlantic alliance head A nders Fogh R asmussen said. European Union foreign polic y chief Cat h er in e Ash ton’s sp o kesman sa id th e on us was now on the rebels “to honor the aspirations expressed by the revolution for the establishment of a democratic, just and prosperous Libya.”

Current EU president Poland welcomed the end of Gaddafi’s regime and vowed bloc support for the process of transition which Libya now faces. Rumour h ad intensified in recent days that Gaddafi was preparing to flee like his fo rmer neigh bour Z in e el Abidine Ben Ali, who flew out of Tunisia under street pressure in January.

But I talian Foreign M inister Franco Frattini said it was too late for Gaddafi to be cutting deals and insisted h e face th e International Criminal Cour t in The Hague. “ The offers of exile were made in increasingly explicit ways numerous times.

The deadl in e by n ow h as passed, the only path left is that of justice-the justice of the ICC,” he said. While parts of Tripoli still escaped rebel control, notably aro und K adha fi ’s compoun d, thousands of Libyans at home and

abroad could not contain their joy. In the city of Benghazi, the western rebel stronghold, tens of thousands poured into the streets overnight. While some solemnly but j oyously sh outed “Allah u Akbar” (God is greatest), others opted for insulting the flamboyant 69-year-old army colonel, who at times sported a sort of Afrostyle hairdo, shouting “no more curly hair.” In Washington, more than 100 people gathered in front of the White House, chanting: “US A, US A- G addafi h as gon e today ” or “G addafi lef t Tripoli, L iby a is free”. I n a n umber of Libyan embassies opposition suppor ter s lowered th e G addafi regime’s green flag and hoisted the rebellion’s colors. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an old Gaddafi ally, was a lone voice of foreign support for the crumbling regime, accusin g th e West of “destroy in g Tr ipoli with th eir bombs.” China was more measured than Western powers in its reaction to Gaddafi’s demise and promised to cooperate with whatever government would take over.

Russia’s response was equally cautious, urging any future political dialogue in Libya to take place with out foreign in ter feren ce.

Longtime ally Serbia stressed the situation was still developing and voiced hope its close relationship with Libya would continue. South Africa denied rumors that it might be a place of exile for a defeated Gaddafi or help him to flee and called for the rapid establishment of “a truly representative and people - cen tred dispen sation” in L iby a. Th e Peace an d S ec ur it y Coun c il of th e Afr ic an Un ion , wh ic h h ad in itially back ed its founder and benefactor Gaddafi, was to hold an emergency meeting yestrday on events in Libya. “ Th e main obj ec tive is to engage with all parties in Libya, en gage in dialogue an d seek peaceful solutions to the situation ,” spok esman N oureddin e Mezni told AFP. The oil market was quick to react to developments, with crude prices tumbling in Asian trade on prospects of output in one of Africa’s top oil producer getting fully back on stream and easing pressure on supply to Europe.—AFP

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

Iran moves uranium centrifuges to bunker TEHRAN: Iran has begun moving machines that enrich uranium to an underground bunker near the holy city of Qom, a senior official said, a move likely to fan Western fears of an Iranian advance towards nuclear weapons capability. His announcement was a further sign of the Islamic state’s determination to press ahead with enrichment in defiance of international demands that it desist from such activity, which Tehran says will be for peaceful applications only.

“Transferring Natanz centrifuges to Fordow (near Qom) is under way with full observance of standards,” Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani told state broadcaster IRIB. “Fordow’s facilities are

being prepared and some centrifuges have been transferred.” Iran announced in June that it would shift its production of higher-grade uranium from its main enrichment complex in the central city of Natanz to the subterranean site at Fordow. Ira n, the world’s No 5 oil exporter, denies Western accusations it is seeking to develop nuclear bombs, saying it s enrichment program is meant solely to provide an alternative source of electricity or isotopes for medicine and agriculture.

Iran only disclosed the existence of Fordow to the U.N. nuclear watchdog in September 2009 after learning that Western intelligence agencies had detected the mountain site.

Moving enrichment activity to the underground bunker could offer greater protection against any attacks

by Israel or the United States, which have both said they do not rule out pre-emptive strikes to stop Iran getting nuclear weapons. In Vienna, a senior Western diplomat criticized Iran’s move. “The announcement calls attention to Iran’s continuing refusal to abide by its international obligations, including the U.N. Security Council’s prohibition against Iran installing or operating any centrifuges,” the diplomat said. “Iran’s provocative behaviour reinforces the need to fully implement international sanctions against Iran.”

The Islamic Republic also said in

June that it aimed to triple its capacity to enrich uranium to a higher grade — 20 percent fissile purity-which it says will be used to replenish the fuel stock for a medical research reactor. Western officials and analysts say that by producing 20 percent enriched material Iran has taken a significant step closer to the 90 percent threshold suitable for atom bombs.

The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declined yesterday to comment on Abbasi’s statement. In an interview with Reuters on Friday, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said that moving centrifuges to Qom and increasing enrichment capacity was a “further

deviation” from several Security Council resolutions, which demand that Iran suspend all enrichment-related activities to foster serious negotiations on a peaceful solution to the dispute. Amano said the IAEA was in talks with Iran on how its inspectors would effectively monitor activities at Fordow.

“What we are doing is that we are monitoring and we are negotiating the new safeguard approach to verify the activities,” he said. Last week Russia began a fresh diplomatic campaign to re-engage Iran in nuclear talks with world powers that stalled in January over Iran’s insistence on its right to enrich uranium despite U.N. resolutions calling on it to stop. — Reuters

Gaza militants renew rocket fire despite truce 15 projectiles launched: Israeli military

KARBALA: A vehicle swerves past a 30 metres (98 feet) high electrical pylon with a five-metre-wide (16-foot) base, along a newly constructed road which detours around the huge pylon, erected in the 1980’s during the rule of ousted president Saddam Hussein, in the Sayed Jowda area of the southern city of Karbala yesterday.—AP

Iraqis face new kind of power problem KARBALA: Iraqis are used to severe electricity shortages, but residents of the central holy city of Karbala have a new kind of power problem: an electricity tower in the middle of a street.

Authorities opened a new street in the Sayed Jowda area of Karbala in mid-July but left the electricity tower, which dates to the 1980s, in place, forcing motorists to drive around it.

“There is no doubt that the tower is dangerous to drivers-that’s why we hung banners to warn the people that there is a tower in the middle of the street,” said Major Najem Abdullah, a spokesman for Karbala traffic police. Sattar Abdul Hussein, a spokesman for Karbala province’s electricity department, said the tower, which is 30 metres (98 feet) high and has a five-metre-wide (16-foot) base, receives power from a station east of the city, and transfers it to another that is south of the city.

Provincial governor Amal al-Din al-Har said the tower could not be removed until October, as shifting it would require cutting off electricity to the city for four

days. Karbala residents do not receive much power from the grid anyway-just one hour of power followed by five without, for a total of four hours a day. Iraq’s entire electricity network-from generation plants to hub stations and transmission lines-took a beating during the 1980-88 war with Iran, the 1991 Gulf War, more than a decade of UN sanctions that followed, and finally the US invasion in 2003 and the insurgent attacks that came after.

Earlier this year, Iraqis demonstrated across the countr y over a lack of improvement in daily life, while last summer many took to the streets to protest against poor provision of mains power as the mercury topped 50 degrees Celsius and many homes were unable to power fridges and air conditioners.

Current electricity production and imports total about 7,000 megawatts, with demand around twice as much, leaving residents to turn to private generators to supplement the few hours of daily government grid power they receive.—AFP

MOGADISHU: A Somali woman from southern Somalia cooks food as the family wait outside their makeshift shelter near a destroyed building in Mogadishu yesterday. The United Nations says more than 3.2 million Somalis need food aid.

The US says 29,000 Somali children under age 5 have died. —AP

Turkey bombs north Iraq for sixth day ARBIL: Turkish aircraft bombed north Iraq yesterday, the sixth day of a bombing campaign against bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the region, a rebel spokesman said.

“Turkish aircraft targeted the Kortek, Qandil and Jabal Mattine regions from midday until 3:00 pm (1200 GMT ),” Ahmed Denis told AFP, referring to areas that are respectively in the provinces of Sulaimaniyah, Arbil, and Dohuk, which make up the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Denis said that as of yesterday afternoon, there were no reports of casualties.

He also said it appears that Turkish forces may be making preparations to enter Iraq, and that the PKK is also preparing

for possible ground fighting. The bombing comes a day after seven people, including women and children, were killed in a Turkish strike on a vehicle in Kortek, according to Hassan Abdullah, the mayor of the Qalat Dizah area.

The Turkish military launched a first wave of bomb attacks on Wednesday against PKK targets in Iraq after a deadly attack by the rebel group against a military unit in Cukurca town in southeast Turkey that killed nine security personnel. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms in the Kurdishmajority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.—AFP

JERUSALEM: Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel yesterday, despite an unofficial truce meant to defuse days of escalating violence. Around midday, a group that had held out from joining the cease-fire announced it would comply. The Israeli militar y said 15 projectiles were launched at Israel overnight, most of which fell in open fields.

No injuries were reported. Israel retaliated with an airstrike late Sunday that targeted a rocketlaunching device.

A Hamas official said Sunday that militant groups in Gaza agreed to the truce to end three days of clashes between Israel and Gaza militants. Hamas security personnel would enforce the Egypt-brokered agreement, he said. The latest round of violence began with a deadly attack on Israelis near the Egypt-Israel border on Thursday. That touched off a deadly round of Israeli airstrikes and heavy rocket fire from Gaza.

About 15 Palestinians, most of them gunmen, were killed in the air attacks. Eight Israelis died in the border attack and another was killed by rocket fire.

The Popular Resistance Committees had resisted joining the cease-fire because an Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed several of its senior members, whom Israel accused of directing the border ambush, another Hamas official said yesterday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak for the other group.

Yesterday afternoon, the PRC

GAZA CITY: Masked Palestinian militants from the Popular Resistance Committees hold up their guns during a news conference in Gaza City yesterday.—AP told a news conference it would join the truce. The Israeli government says it was not involved in cease -fire talks. But Israeli President Shimon Peres, touring a city hit hard by rocket fire over the weekend said, “If they will cease fire, there will be a ceasefire.” Taher Nunu, a spokesman for the Gaza Hamas government, said all militant Palestinian factions agreed to abide by the truce.

In the meantime, militant leaders in Gaza were not answering

Gunmen target south Yemen security official ADEN: Unidentified gunmen tried to assassinate a Yemeni security official, a security source said yesterday, as Islamist militants emboldened by upheaval in the impoverished country continued to contest control over parts of the south. The official said unknown armed men opened fire on a car carrying General Ali al-Bukhayti, head of security in the district of Dalea, on Sunday, wounding him and killing his son before fleeing.

Islamist militants who the government says belong to al Qaeda have taken over at least three southern Yemeni towns in recent months, including a provincial capital, while protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule drag on. Dalea is located in the province of Lahej, next to Abyan, where Islamist militants seized a tribal checkpoint in the al-Arqub area after a suicide bomber targeted it on Sunday, killing nine tribesmen. That checkpoint was one of eight outposts on the road to Mudiyah that tribesmen abandoned after Sunday’s deadly attack, in a move the source said was part of a reorganisation of tribal lines, not a withdrawal from the fight against militants.

Some tribesmen have sided with the Yemeni army to try to flush militants out of the south, setting up checkpoints along roads and last month launching an offensive that has so far failed to recapture much lost ground. Opponents of Saleh, who is recovering in neighbouring Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, accuse him of exaggerating the threat of Islamic militants and even encouraging them in order to illustrate the dangers of Yemen without him and scare Riyadh and Washington into backing him.

The international community is anxious that upheaval in the volatile Arabian Peninsula state will give al Qaeda’s Yemenbased wing more room to launch attacks on the region and beyond. — Reuters

their telephones, fearing the Israelis would be able to locate and assassinate them. A senior Israeli military officer said Israel’s newest rocket defense system did not provide full protection when faced with a barrage of Palestinian rockets. Col Zvika Haimovitch said the Iron Dome system he oversees was not perfect when faced with a salvo of five rockets fired Saturday from the Gaza Strip. The system intercepted four of the rockets but missed the last one, which killed

an Israeli man, he said.

The sudden flare-up in violence also caused new friction in relations between Israel and Egypt, after Egypt accused Israel of killing five of its security personnel along the border while pursuing militants responsible for the frontier ambush on Thursday.

Under pressure from popular anti-Israel sentiment, the Egyptian government at one point threatened to recall its ambassador to Israel. Israel apologized and Egypt recanted.— AP

Egypt cabinet to meet as Israel tensions linger CAIRO: Egypt’s cabinet was due yesterday to discuss growing lawlessness along the border with Israel as pressure grew for a tough response to the killing of five Egyptian security personnel that has inflamed tension between the two neighbors. The Egyptians were killed as Israeli troops repelled gunmen who killed eight people near Israel’s Red Sea resort of Eilat on Thursday. Israel said the gunmen had entered the country by crossing from Gaza and through the Egyptian Sinai.

Egypt blamed the deaths of its security personnel on Israel, said it breached their 1979 peace treaty and announced it would recall its ambassador in protest. Israel expressed its regret for the deaths, but pressure was growing in Egypt for sterner sanctions. A group of politicians including former Arab League head Amr Moussa and other candidates for Egypt’s presidency called yesterday for the immediate return of the Egyptian ambassador, more troops in Sinai and trials in Egypt for Israelis responsible for the killings.

“Egypt after the January revolution is not like Egypt before. The corrupt, oppressive and compliant regime is gone for good,” they said in a statement published in newspapers. They described the government of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in February, as “a strategic asset to Israel”. “It has been replaced by a strong popular will that does not know weakness or complicity and understands well how to achieve retribution for the blood of the martyrs”.

Another presidential candidate called for restraint. “Any military escalation with Israel at the current moment is stupidity given the current situation in the country,” Mohamed Selim el-Awa, an Islamist, said in al Masry al-Youm newspaper. Hundreds protested angrily outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo at the weekend.

One man who scaled the tall building to tear down the Israeli flag and replace it with Egypt’s was feted as a hero by politicians and the press.

Newspapers dedicated pages of their coverage to Ahmad Al-Shehat yesterday, detailing his background and describing in detail how he scaled the embassy and pulled down the flag, drawing an ecstatic reaction from the crowd. A protest of any size near the Israeli embassy

would have been quickly smothered by state security forces in the Mubarak era. The spat with Israel has highlighted the dilemma faced by the generals ruling Egypt, caught between pressure to preserve the 1979 peace treaty with Israel and popular hostility to the Jewish state. The army is trying to keep a lid on social tension as Egypt prepares for elections later in the year as part of a promised transition to democratic civilian rule after Mubarak’s removal. The top army officers now in charge in Cairo have broken with Mubarak’s softly-softly approach and Egypt’s condemnation of Israel included a demand for a change in relations between the two US allies.

Egypt’s Information Minister Osama Heikal told state TV: “The assurance that Egypt is committed to the peace treaty with Israel ... should be reciprocated by an equivalent commitment and an adjustment of Israeli statements and behaviour regarding various issues between both countries.”

But there were signs over the weekend that Egypt and Israel were both trying to ease the gravest crisis in their relations since Mubarak’s overthrow.

On Sunday evening Egypt’s state media reported that Israeli President Shimon Peres had expressed his regrets over the Egyptian deaths in a phone call with the Egyptian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Yasser Reda. Peres held a Ramadan dinner earlier on Sunday for senior Arab officials at his home in Jerusalem where he told Egyptian diplomat Mustafa al-Kuni, that he has great respect for the Egyptian people, according to Israeli Ynet news website.

Egyptian state news agency MENA said Peres had apologised to the Egyptian ambassador but that was not confirmed by Israel, which is still investigating how the Egyptians died at the border. It was not clear whether Egypt had followed through on its decision to withdraw its ambassador from Israel. The Israeli military killed the leadership of the faction it said was responsible for the attack near Eilat in an air strike in Gaza on Thursday, and launched more than a dozen more raids on Friday. Medical officials say at least 15 Palestinians were killed, including five civilians, three of them children.—Reuters

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Hurricane Irene bears down on Dominican Republic, Haiti Irene expected to strengthen further

CARACAS: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez,second from right, poses for pictures with people from Dominican Republic who shaved their heads in solidarity with Chavez’s struggle against cancer at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday.—AP

Chavez’s supporters shave heads in solidarity CARACAS: Supporters of President Hugo Chavez shaved their heads in solidarity with their leader’s struggle against cancer on Sunday as hundreds prayed and sang at a televised event. Barbers shaved off the hair of several men and at least one woman while the crowd swayed to a religious song.

Chavez, bald from chemotherapy, smiled and waved to the crowd. “We’re Christians.

Christ unites us,” Chavez said in a speech, noting that others had decided to join him and “change their look.”

Chavez said he may undergo a third round of chemotherapy but expressed optimism that the worst of his illness has passed. “I no longer feel sick but rather that I’m convalescing from the illness I had,” Chavez said. Those attending included a group of six from the Dominican Republic who shaved their heads in a show of support outside the Venezuelan Embassy in their country on Friday. Chavez greeted the Dominicans with hugs and stood arm-inarm with them.

He also grew emotional as he recalled meeting a young cancer victim who gave him a Venezuelan flag some time ago. He

said the girl’s name was Genesis, and she had an advanced brain tumor. He said she had approached him at an event and given him the flag.

“She told me, ‘Chavez, I’m going. I know I’m going ... In this flag, Chavez, I’ll stay with you,” Chavez said, his voice cracking and his eyes tearing up for a moment. Chavez embraced the flag and vowed to survive.

“It’s time to live,” he said. Chavez returned from his latest round of chemotherapy in Cuba on Aug 14. He underwent surgery in Cuba in June that removed a cancerous tumor from his pelvic region. He has not specified where the tumor was located. He has said the chemotherapy has been going well and aims to ensure no malignant cells reappear.

Chavez bowed his head during a prayer and later clapped along with the music.

Young men with close-cropped hair stood in the crowd as shouts of “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!” rose at the end of a song.

Leidy Jimenez, one of the Dominicans, told state television that their decision to shave their heads was “a gesture of love and of strength for the president.”—AP

SANTO DOMINGO: Hurricane Irene struck Puerto Rico early yesterday and barreled toward the Dominican Republic and quakeravaged Haiti, bringing high winds and rain to that disaster-prone rim of the Caribbean, forecasters said. Irene reached hurricane strength as it passed over Puerto Rico, and at 1300 GMT packed winds of 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said. There were no immediate reports of damage in the densely populated US possession whose capital San Juan came within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of the eye of the category one hurricane. Irene was located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) eastnortheast of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, on a track to later hit the northern coast of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The United States was also bracing for a hit in Florida later in the week, where Irene could make landfall as a category two hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, forecasters said.

Irene was expected to strengthen further as it moves west-northwest at around 23 kilometers (14 miles) an hour, according to the NHC. A hurricane warning was in effect for the north coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, an impoverished country that was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in January 2010 that killed an estimated 225,000 people, and then afflicted by a cholera epidemic. All of Haiti was under a tropical storm warning. Haiti dodged a weather disaster earlier this month when it was brushed by Tropical Storm Emily, but Irene revived fears for the 300,000 people still living in makeshift camps. In the Haitian capital, the US embassy announced that the naval hospital ship USNS Comfort, which arrived in Port-auPrince on Thursday, would be forced to cease operations and seek safe haven due to the forecast. Haiti was the ship’s final port of call

at the end of a five-month humanitarian aid mission in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The storm was forecast to track northwest toward the Bahamas and Florida coast, with hurricane conditions expected for the southeastern and central Bahamas by late Tuesday.

Irene was expected to dump up to 51 centimeters (20 inches) or rain in some parts of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, with 13 to 25 centimeters (five to 10 inches) in most areas.

“These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in areas of steep terrain,” the US center said. A storm surge

HAVANA: A fisherman casts his line into the sea at Havana’s bay in Cuba yesterday. Hurricane Irene left behind a mess of downed trees and flooded streets in Puerto Rico as the storm headed out over warm ocean water on a path that could take it to Cuba by tomorrow and to the US mainland by the end of the week.—AP

One dead in Ontario tornado

Pentagon, scarred by 9/11, adapts to new fight WASHINGTON: The Sept 11 attacks transformed the Pentagon, ravaging the iconic building itself and setting the stage for two long and costly wars that reordered the way the American military fights.

Compared with a decade ago, the military is bigger, more closely connected to the CIA, more practiced at taking on terrorists and more respected by the American public. But its members also are growing weary from war, committing suicide at an alarming rate and training less for conventional warfare.

The par tly gutted Pentagon was restored with remarkable speed after the hijacked American Airlines Boeing 757 slammed through its west side, setting the building ablaze and killing 184 people. But recovering from the strain of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan will take far longer - possibly decades.

The Pentagon’s leaders will have to adjust to a new era of austerity after a decade in which the defense budget doubled, to nearly $700 billion this year. The Army and Marine Corps in particular both still heavily engaged in Afghanistan - will struggle to retrain, rearm and reinvigorate their badly stretched forces even as budgets begin to shrink.

And the troops themselves face an uncertain future; many are scarred by the mental strains of battle, and some face transition to civilian life at a time of economic turmoil and high unemployment.

The cost of veterans’ care will march higher. As Robert Gates put it shortly before he stepped down as defense secretary this summer, peace will bring its own problems. The problem was not peace on Sept. 11, 2001. At the time, the military was focused almost entirely on external threats. Air defenses kept watch for planes and missiles that might strike from afar; there was little attention to the possibility that terrorists might hijack domestic airliners and use them as missiles. That changed with the creation of US Northern Command in 2002, which now shares responsibility for defending US territory with the Homeland Security Department. Terrorism was not a new challenge in 2001, but the scale of the Sept. 11 attacks prompted a shift in the US mindset from defense to offense. The US invaded Afghanistan on Oct. 7 in an unconventional military campaign that was coordinated with the CIA. That heralded one of the most profound effects of Sept. 11: a shift in the military’s emphasis from fighting conventional army-on-army battles to executing more secretive, intelligence-driven hunts for shadowy terrorists. That shift was important, but it came gradually as the military services clung to their Cold War ways.

Still in debate is how the Taliban, which had shielded Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida figures prior to the US invasion and was driven from Kabul within weeks, managed to make a comeback in the years after the US shifted its main focus to Iraq in 2003. That setback in Afghanistan, coupled with the longerthan-expected fight in Iraq, showed the limits of post-Sept. 11 US military power.

It also pointed up one of the other key lessons of the past decade of war: It takes more than military muscle to win the peace. It takes the State Department, with its small army of diplomats and development specialists, and other government agencies working in partnership with the Pentagon. The military grew larger over the past decade, but the growth was uneven. The Army expanded from about 480,000 in 2001 to 572,000 this year, and the Marine Corps grew from 172,000 to 200,000, although both are to begin scaling back shortly. The Air Force and Navy, by contrast, got smaller. The Air Force lost about 20,000 slots since 2001 and the Navy lost about 50,000.

I n percentage terms, the biggest growth in the military has been in the secretive, elite units known as special operations forces. They surged to the forefront of the US military’s counter-terror campaign almost immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, helping rout the Taliban in late 2001 and culminating in May 2011 with the Navy SEAL team’s raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in his compound in Pakistan. And even though al-Qaida’s global reach has been diminished, the increased role of special operations forces is likely to continue.

“It’s the most interesting and important change that ’s likely to endure,” Michael O’Hanlon, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution, said in an interview. “I haven’t heard too many people suggest that we can scale back to where we used to be.” The Marines, who had never before fielded forces of this kind, now have 2,600 under US Special Operations Command. The others units in the command include the SEALs, the Army’s Green Berets and Rangers and the Air Force special operators. In all, those special operations forces grew from 45,600 in 2001 to 61,000 today, according to Special Operations Command.

A decade of war also has produced its military stars. Army Gen. David Petraeus served in command three times in Iraq and once in Afghanistan before accepting President Barack Obama’s offer to succeed Leon Panetta as the next CIA director.

Former I raq commander Army Gen. Raymond Odierno is about to become the Army’s top general, and the current Army chief, Gen. Martin Dempsey, who served twice in command in Iraq, is due to replace Navy Adm. Mike Mullen as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The military as a whole is viewed more favorably by the American public. A Gallup poll in June found that the military is the most respected national institution, with 78 percent expressing great confidence in it. That is 11 points higher than its historical Gallup average dating to the early 1970s. The new technological star is the drone aircraf t, like the Predators that surveil the battlefield and fire missiles at selected targets. Their popularity has spawned an effort to field unmanned aircraft to perform other missions, such as a long-range bomber and even heavy-lift helicopters.—AP

accompanied by “large and dangerous waves” was also forecast to raise water levels by up to 1.2 meters (four feet) above normal tide levels along the Dominican coast, and up to 90 centimeters (three feet) along the northwest coast of Puerto Rico and other areas affected by the storm. Further south, Tropical Depression Harvey was driving across southern Mexico with high winds and rain in tow after striking the coast of Belize on Saturday and lashing Guatemala. It has been downgraded from a tropical storm, and practically dissipated over mountainous terrain. But the storm still posed a threat of flash floods and mudslides in some areas.—AFP

ONTARIO: New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton speaks to the media during a campaign event in Brantford, Ontario, in this March 29, 2011 file photo. —AFP

Canada opposition leader Layton dies TORONTO: Jack Layton, the leader of Canada’s opposition party, died yesterday after a second cancer battle. He was 61.

The New Democrat party issued a statement yesterday morning, just weeks after a gaunt Layton held a news conference to announce he was fighting a second bout of cancer.

The party said Layton died peacefully at 4:45 am today at his Toronto home, surrounded by family and loved ones.

Layton was at the height of his political career after the unionbacked party took Canadians by surprise during the May federal election by winning official opposition status for the first time in its 50 year history. The party gained 103 seats, up from a previous 37, most of which were won in Quebec.

He began the campaign just five weeks just after recovering from hip surgery which he said was unrelated to the cancer. He carried a cane throughout. His health became an issue at start of the campaign, but Layton looked increasingly healthy and energized as the campaign progressed.

Layton announced in February that he had been battling prostate cancer. He said in July that his battle with prostate cancer was going well but recent tests showed he had a new form of cancer. He not did elaborate on what type of cancer was discovered. The New Democrats’ gains were attributed to Layton’s folksy, upbeat message. Born in Montreal, Layton was the son of a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister and the grandson of a prominent provincial politician in Quebec. He had said though his father was a conservative, he truly cared about those less well off.

Layton was a career politician, a former longtime city councilor known to work tirelessly on behalf of the poor and homeless. He ran for mayor in Toronto and lost in 1991 after being criticized for living in subsidized housing and for opposing Toronto’s ultimately failed bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Layton was married to Hong Kong-born Olivia Chow, also a former Toronto city councilor, and now the New Democrat Parliament member for a downtown Toronto district. He has two children, Sarah and Mike, from a previous marriage. Mike is now a Toronto city councilor.

He is well known to Canadian journalists, many of whom were students of his at Ryerson University where he served as a part-time professor teaching city politics to students of its journalism school. Funeral details have not yet been announced.— AP

GODERICH: A powerful tornado swept through a southwestern Ontario town on Sunday killing one person and causing severe devastation in the picturesque community on the shores of Lake Huron. It was the most powerful tornado to hit Ontario in years, officials said. Downtown businesses, century old buildings and several churches lost their roofs and upper floors as the twister ripped through Goderich. Images show downed power lines, trees and debris strewn across streets, while witnesses described cars being picked up and thrown like toys.

Police identified the victim as Norman Laberge, 61, of Lucknow, Ontario, who was working in a salt mine in the town when the storm hit. At least 37 people have been treated for minor injuries and no one has been reported missing, said Ontario Provincial Police Inspector Bill Klym. Randy Mawson of Environment Canada said the town was battered by winds of up to 300 kilometers per hour, considered an F2- or F3-level tornado. The province hasn’t seen a storm that powerful since 1996, he said. “ This is the worst damage I’ve ever seen,” said Mawson, who has been investigating storms for 36 years. Goderich officials have placed the town under a state of emergency and cut off natural gas to the damaged areas. Mayor Delbert Shewfelt

asked residents to stay out of the downtown core. Cassandra Phillips-Grande, 16, was in a coffee shop in the town square when the wind started to pick up.

“We saw tables and chairs outside of the cafe flying and then saw an SUV roll like a tumbleweed right in front,” she said, adding that everyone in the shop moved to the back of the building. “About two seconds later we heard this really big crash and the roof collapsed in the spot where we had all been,” she said. “When we went outside we saw that some apartments had collapsed right in front of the cafe.”

Phillips-Grande said she tried to help some of the people who were injured. “We saw some people with gashes and one person had a brick fall on their head but no one was hurt too badly,” she said.

Donna Lovell, a waitress the Candlelight Restaurant and Tavern who has lived in Goderich all her life, said the storm struck quickly. “We didn’t see anything and then all you hear is sirens. From what I understand it sort of literally tore the town in half,” she said. Lovell said most of the destruction is in the area of Victoria Street.

“The roof of the church, I heard, is on the highway. There used to be a restaurant called the Burger Bar, there’s no longer a Burger Bar,” she said.— AP

ONTARIO: Flattened vehicles litter the ground in tornado-ravaged Goderich, Ontario yesterday. People in a Goderich, Ont., dubbed “Canada’s Prettiest Town,” will be picking up the pieces today after the most powerful tornado in years devastated their community. —AP

Guatemala to renew adoptions halted by ban MEXICO CITY: Guatemala has issued a decree that could speed up dozens of adoptions by US couples that have been stuck in limbo since the Central American country suspended adoptions in 2007 amid allegations of fraud and even baby theft. The decree says that parents whose adoptions were halted midway by the ban can complete the process if they prove a “prolonged” relationship with the child and that they were not responsible for any fraud, among other requirements. The possibility of a domestic adoption must also be ruled out. But it might not go far enough to solve all pending cases, says Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who will visit Guatemala this week to, among other things, push to expand

the program to more US adoptive parents.

One goal of the trip “is to establish that there are approximately 400 families still in transition, and to work out a process so that each of those cases can be resolved, and that includes the 44 that are subject to this immediate accord,” Sen. Landrieu told The Associated Press on Sunday.

She said that the decree may include more than 44 cases, although those are certain to be resolved, and perhaps even in the next few weeks. The decree, which was issued Friday, states that it will remain in effect for one year.

The senator added that 900 unresolved cases in 2007 have already been reduced to about 395.

The US State Department is also sending its

Special Advisor for Children’s Issues to Guatemala this week, where she will consult with the government on the decree. “We are pleased to see progress toward the resolution of these pending cases,” said State Department spokesperson Beth Gosselin. Guatemala’s quick adoptions once made it a top source of children for the US , leading or ranking second only to China with about 4,000 adoptions a year.

But the adoptions were suspended in late 2007 as a result of widespread fraud, including falsified paperwork, fake birth certificates and charges of baby theft. Though the country still allowed many adoptions already in process, hundreds remain unresolved. —AP

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Tripoli residents jubilant despite loyalists reign of fear

NEW YORK: In this July 6, 2011 photo, Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn leaves his rented house in New York. The lawyer for the woman who accused Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault said Saturday that he believes prosecutors plan to dismiss some or all of the charges. —AP

Strauss-Kahn could hold office in France-party rival PARIS: Former IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn could return to public life and hold office again in France if sexual assault charges against him are dropped, the frontrunner for the French presidential elections said. Francois Hollande, who became the leading Socialist candidate for the 2012 elections after Strauss-Kahn’s arrest in May, said it was up to the former finance minister to decide if he would try to compete in party primaries if the case were abandoned.

Speculation intensified over the weekend that the case against Strauss-Kahn was about to be dropped. A lawyer for the New York hotel maid who accused him of attempted rape said at the weekend that she had been summoned to a meeting with prosecutors yesterday, in what he said was a sign that the case could be abandoned. “Whatever has been said, a man with the abilities of Dominique Strauss-Kahn can be useful to his country in the months and years to come,” Hollande told France Inter radio.

Asked whether Strauss-Kahn could be a challenger for the presidential election in April, Hollande replied: “That depends on him.” Socialist politicians had until July 13 to present their candidacy and the authority in charge of the vote has selected six of them to compete in the party primary in October. Strauss-Kahn’s political supporters, many of whom stood by him in the days after his arrest, have since dropped the idea of his candidacy and supported other party hopefuls.

Hollande said he had already launched his candidacy before Strauss-Kahn’s arrest and the former IMF chief’s possible return to the race would not affect his position.

He also ruled out any political pact with Strauss-Kahn.

“There was no pact, no arrangement. I undertook to run (for the presidency) because I had a message, an approach, a commitment to the country,” Hollande said.

The New York Post reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources, that prosecutors would ask a judge today to dismiss all charges in the criminal case against Strauss-Kahn. The maid, Nafissatou Diallo, 32, filed a civil claim against Strauss-Kahn last week in New York, and The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that her lawyers had been exploring a deal to scuttle the criminal case in exchange for a monetary settlement in the civil lawsuit. Her lawyers strongly denied the report. — Reuters

UN driver arrested in DR Congo for trafficking mineral KINSHASA: A Congolese driver with the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) was arrested overnight while trying to sneak more than a ton of cassiterite over the Rwandan border, officials said yesterday. “The security services at the DRC-Rwandan border, at the level of the main roadblock in the town of Goma, stopped a jeep,” said a statement from the provincial minister of mines in Nord-Kivu, Kubuya Ndoole.

The vehicle was driven by UN employee “Julien Mukala (who was) illegally transporting 1,200 kilogrammes of cassiterite and wanted to cross the border,” Ndoole added. North Kivu’s governor Julien Paluku told AFP that he went to the scene of the arrest and that an inquiry had been opened to get to the bottom of the affair and find out who was responsible.

No MONUSCO staff could immediately be reached for contact. A UN force, currently consisting of some 22,000 troops and civilians, has been present to promote a peace process and stability in the vast, mineral-rich country since two successive wars ravaged the DR Congo between 1996 and 2003. Cassiterite, like coltan, is found in the Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu and Maniema provinces of the east, where rebel forces, local militias and the army are frequently accused of exploiting the mines.

Both minerals are widely used in making electronic equipment.

On August 3, an army spokesman announced the arrest, also in Goma, of Colonel Balumisa Chuma, the commander of the Walikale sector, while he was illegally transporting ten tonnes of cassiterite from neighboring south Kivu. A dozen soldiers were detained with Chuma. — AFP

TRIPOLI: Tripoli residents awoke with jubilation and fear yesterday, asking for weapons to join rebels in their cat-andmouse war with loyalists who have besieged the city with snipers and driveby shootings. The capital’s battle-scarred streets were all but empty as the sun rose on the long-dreamt of new Libya early yesterday, the day after rebels made a lightning advance on the capital to get rid of defiant leader Muammar Gaddafi.

But rebel checkpoints were sparse, indicating they had not yet taken complete control of the city, as they awaited the arrival of thousands more freedom fighters from already liberated parts of the country. The drab city’s concrete walls have been daubed with antiGaddafi and pro-revolutionary graffiti, demanding freedom for Libya and an end to the leader most people here consider insane. There was confusion over whether it was best to travel quickly on the main thoroughfares, exposed to snipers in tall buildings, or slowly through the warren of tiny streets, without knowing what awaits around the next corner.

Civilians are exhausted after staying up most of the night, enjoying the food, drink and cigarettes that they must resist during the Ramadan days, despite the burning heat. People in the southwestern Gorji neighborhood, near where Gaddafi ‘s son Mohamed lives and was

detained by rebels on Sunday, said they had welcomed the freedom fighters when they arrived.

“The rebels from the mountains and from Zawiyah are now in Martyrs’ Square (formerly Green Square) and the surrounding streets,” said Gorji resident Saad Zaidi, who has just returned from celebrations in the centre of town.

“But there are African snipers from Chad in the Old City, and sometimes you can hear mortars falling. But we don’t know where they’re being fired from.”

Gorji residents like Abdel Rahman Bin Jama, whose neighborhood sheltered and treated a team of AFP journalists that came under sniper attack, want nothing else than to join the fight. “I don’t have a weapon but we protect the neighborhood because it’s ours. We don’t have enough weapons, but we all want weapons to get rid of the dictator.

Everyone here is a fighter,” said Bin Jama.

“Even the women give us emotional support and they are so happy about what is going on now. You won’t find anyone here who supports Gaddafi .”

Residents, both armed and unarmed, are tense and jumpy about today’s uncertain situation yet happy about what they see as Gaddafi ‘s inevitable exit. They just need to get through the bloody transition.

“Gorji was the first neighbourhood that made anti-Gaddafi demonstrations, we’ve had 100 people arrested since the

start of the revolution, but we haven’t had any news from them yet,” said Gorji resident Abubakr Wnees. “State television said they would attack this area if we don’t give up. Gaddafi told a local sheikh (Muslim preacher) to tell people to fight in his name, but he refused and

so they arrested him.” Residents say that they know which neighbors support Gaddafi , but they are not seeking retribution. “We know exactly who is with us and who is with Gaddafi , they are very few. We’ve just told them to stay at home.”— AFP

MOGADISHU: Two malnourished in fants from southern Somalia lay in a makeshift shelter in a camp for internally displaced people in Mogadishu Somalia yesterday. The United Nations says more than 3.2 million Somalis need food aid. The US says 29,000 Somali children under age 5 have died. —AP

Italy austerity plan begins passage through parliament To be examined first by Senate, then lower house ROME: Italy’s austerity plan aimed at warding off a worsening in the euro zone debt crisis goes to parliament yesterday amid a tug-of-war between critics who want to weaken it and those who say it does not go far enough. The 45.5 billion euro austerity package is designed to achieve budget balance by 2013 in line with demands by the European Central Bank when it agreed to buy Italian government bonds to rein in a steep rise in its borrowing costs.

The government insists that the overall size of the deficit cuts will not change, but ever since the measures were presented in mid-August to a chorus of criticism, debate in Italy has swirled over what amendments should be made in parliament. Economists were disappointed at the absence of cuts to Italy’s costly pension system before 2016 and pensions are expected to be one focus of debate in parliament. Angelino Alfano, secretary of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PDL) party, on Sunday proposed raising the retirement age in exchange for reducing some of the 9 billion euros of cuts in funding to local government.

However, pension cuts are fiercely opposed by Berlusconi’s main coalition ally, the pro-devolution

Northern League, a position it bluntly reiterated yesterday.

Roberto Calderoli, Minister for Simplification and a prominent League leader, told daily La Stampa that Alfano’s attempts were “useless” and “pensions can’t be touched”. Mayors from around the country begin a week of protests yesterday against funding cuts they say will hit crucial services. They also oppose plans to merge administration of towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. Today, plans for a potentially more damaging protest for the government will be finalized by the country’s largest trade union federation, the left-wing CGIL, when it meets to decide the date of a general strike.

The CGIL trade union body is angered by cuts to local and central government, plans to liberalize labor contracts and the lack of measures to tackle tax evasionwhich amounts to around 120 billion euros per year.

In an unusually hard-hitting speech on Sunday, President Giorgio Napolitano called the level of taxdodging “intolerable from an economic, legal and moral point of view”, and criticized the government for spending months minimizing the extent of the economic cri-

Merkel to start Balkans visit ZAGREB: German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to reassure Balkan nations that the financial crisis will not hurt the region’s EU membership prospects, ahead of a trip to Croatia yesterday focused on the issue. In an interview on Croatian state television on the eve of her visit, Merkel vowed that the current financial crisis in the 27-nation bloc would not block European Union enlargement at the cost of the Balkans countries.

“No. We have given the possibility to all the western Balkans countries to become members of the European Union. It depends on the countries fulfilling the criteria,” she said when asked if the current crisis would slow down enlargement.

“If Greece, Portugal or Ireland are having trouble, we will not deprive other countries of their (European) perspective,” she stressed.

Merkel is due to arrive in Zagreb around 4:00 pm (1400 GMT). She will meet her Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor and later in the evening President Ivo Josipovic.

Local analysts see the visit as a boost for prime minister Kosor ahead of general elections planned for December 4. Kosor’s conservative HDZ party has been lagging in the polls, tainted by several major corruption affairs.

Germany is Croatia’s secondlargest trade partner, after Italy, and the third largest investor in the country. The country’s stunning Adriatic coast is also a perennial favourite of German tourists with over 1.5 million visiting Croatia in 2010. Merkel will leave for Belgrade in the evening where she will meet Serbian leaders today.

Merkel’s trip to Croatia and Serbia in the middle of the financial crisis engulfing Europe, is seen by many as a strong sign of Germany’s diplomatic commitment to the region. It is the first time since 2003 that a leader of

the German government has visited Zagreb and Belgrade. In her inter view Merkel also urged Croatia, which is due to join the EU in summer 2013 to help other Balkans countries on their European path.

“I will ask that Croatia makes an effort for countries that are not very far yet (on the EU path) like Bosnia-Hercegovina and to ensure that the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo does not escalate,” she said. Kosovo is due to be the main topic of discussion with Serbian officials in Belgrade. Merkel’s visit takes place a few days ahead of the resumption of EU-mediated talks between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels on September 2 and almost a month after violent scenes in Kosovo’s Serb-majority north.

Although it declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Belgrade considers Kosovo a southern province. “One of my tasks will be

to convince Serbia that it must resume dialogue with Kosovo,” said Merkel in her weekly podcast broadcast on the Chancellory website on Saturday. In an interview with Serbian newsagency Tanjug the German ambassador to Belgrade, Wolfram Maas, said that Berlin would not insist Serbia recognizes Kosovo as a condition for joining the European Union.

“What we expect is that Serbia finds a solution for the Kosovo problem, we are convinced dialogue is the best way” he said, stressing that Brussels wants future EU members to have good relations with neighboring countries.

He recalled the example of West and East Germany stressing that while West Germany never officially recognized the communist German state “we did find solutions for our problems and normalized our relations, despite our differences”. —AFP

sis. Other proposals for changes to the austerity plan include replacing a “solidarity tax” on high earners with a wealth levy or an increase in value-added tax, though both are said to be opposed by Berlusconi. The government approved its second austerity budget in as many months in response to a letter from the ECB which called for an acceleration of its previous plans to balance the budget in exchange for buying Italian government bonds.

The Senate labour committee will examine the austerity decree yesterday , and today it moves to the key budget committee, where it will remain for two weeks before passing to the Senate floor for open debate.

Amendments are expected to be tabled by the end of next week.

It must then move to the Chamber of Deputies, where Berlusconi has a far narrower parliamentary majority, for a similar procedure beginning at the committee stage. The decree must be passed by midOctober, or 60 days after its presentation by the cabinet.

However, Italy will be under pressure from financial markets and its international partners to approve the package considerably earlier. — Reuters

Gunmen kill two in Nigerian town KANO: Two people were killed and three injured following an attack by unknown gunmen in a Nigerian town where 400 were killed in post-election violence in April, police said yesterday. “We received report of an attack by 10 gunmen on the home of the chief of Bajju community in which two were shot and killed, including a five-year-old boy, and three seriously injured,” Kaduna State police spokesman Aminu Lawal told AFP. He said the incident happened on Sunday night in Christian-dominated Bajju village outside the town of Zonkwa in southern Kaduna State where post-election violence in April left at least 400 dead. The police spokesman added that the attackers, dressed in black, fired sporadically in the compound, adding that some 30 bullet shells were recovered after the attack. “We have arrested one suspect who is assisting us with our investigation and a team of policemen deployed to the village is still on the look-out for the attackers,” Lawal said, refusing to say whether the attack was linked to the April unrest.

The victory of President Goodluck Jonathan in the April vote sparked deadly ethnic and sectarian riots in Zonkwa in which some 400 people, mainly Muslim residents, were killed with thousands displaced, according to rights groups. —AFP

Greenpeace activists sentenced for stunt

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts at the beginning of the weekly board meeting of the German Christian Democratic party in Berlin, Germany yesterday. —AP

COPENHAGEN: A Danish court yesterday handed twoweek suspended sentences to 11 Greenpeace activists who gatecrashed a climate summit banquet in Copenhagen two years ago. The activists unfurled a banner at a December 2009 banquet of world leaders after gaining access to the building in a limousine equipped with a false police light that joined a convoy of vehicles en route to the venue.

The Copenhagen City Court found the protesters guilty of trespassing, falsifying a license plate and impersonating a police officer. The Greenpeace Nordic office in the Danish capital, which planned the stunt, was fined 75,000 kroner ($14,500). The activists included demonstrators from Spain, Switzerland, Norway and Netherlands.

In Belgium, 10 Greenpeace protesters were given one-month suspended sentences in March for a similar stunt at a 2009 European Union climate summit. The activists got into the Brussels meeting by arriving in a shiny Mercedes, using fake accreditation and wore suits to blend in with European leaders. In front of dozens of cameras and journalists a demonstrator read from a text urging more EU action on climate change before being whisked away. — AP

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Biden offers US support for democratic Mongolia ULAN BATOR: US Vice President Joe Biden lauded land-locked Mongolia’s efforts at democratisation yesterday, offering support to a country that is strategically located between China and Russia and sits on vast quantities of untapped mineral wealth. Biden, arriving from China for a day-long trip before going on to Tokyo, praised Mongolia for its uptake of democracy following decades of domination by the Soviet Union.

“We’ve grown much closer since the Mongolian people began to embrace ... democracy 22 years ago,” he said after meeting Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold in capital Ulan Bator. “ The United States remains strongly committed to helping the Mongolian people build a better future,” he said, adding that visits by him and his boss, President Barack Obama, this year showed how impressed Washington was with Mongolia’s progress. Mongolia, perhaps best known for the warrioremperor Genghis Khan, was ruled as a one-party satellite of the Soviet Union for much of the last century.

After seven decades of communist rule, Mongolia held its first free multiparty elections in 1990. But its transition to democracy has had rocky patches. In 2008, a disputed election led to rioting on the streets of Ulan Bator, in which at least five people died. In 2005, George W. Bush became the first US president to visit the country and thanked Mongolia for supporting the Iraq war and hailed its progress to democracy. Mongolia sent some 120 soldiers to support US troops in Baghdad in 2003, and it has also sent peacekeepers to other parts of the world.

“Americans admire and appreciate Mongolia’s contribution to international peace and security,” Biden said.

Jargalsaikhan Dambadarjaa, a Mongolian economist and political commentator, said his country felt more political kinship with the United States than either of its neighbors, China or Russia. “The relationship with the United States is very important for this country because we are in the middle of these two giants,” he said.

A small group of demonstrators, however, took to the streets earlier to protest what they said were US plans

India tentatively moves for talks with anti-graft activist More rallies planned

ULAN BATOR: US Vice President Joe Biden, right, looks at Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold as they inspect the honor guard upon arrival at Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulan Bator, Mongolia yesterday. —AP to store nuclear waste in the country, something the Mongolian government has denied.

Ulan Bator has been keen to cultivate new relationships with what it calls “third neighbours” like the United States, though China dominates Mongolia’s economy, buying 90 percent of the country’s exports in the first half of 2011. Batbold thanked Biden for US support, saying he hoped for closer economic ties between the world’s largest economy and sparsely inhabited Mongolia. “We have discussed the possibilities to develop and enrich trade and economic relations with the United States and attract more United States investments to Mongolia,” he said.

Mongolia sits on vast quantities of untapped mineral wealth, and foreign investment in gigantic mining properties is expected to transform its tiny economy in the next decade. Already a key investment target for resource giants, Mongolia could become one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

But after years on the fringes of the Soviet bloc, the land-locked country is developing its economy almost from scratch, and foreign investors need to know if its democratic government can maximise growth while handling the pressures exerted by its two giant neighbors, Russia and China. — Reuters

News

NEW DELHI: A hunger strike by an Indian anti-graft activist entered its seventh day yesterday with opposition parties calling for nationwide rallies this week, prompting the government of Premier Manmohan Singh to take tentative steps to open talks. The 74year-old Anna Hazare, who has shed five kgs (11 lbs), spent the seventh day of his fast lying down on a makeshift stage on an open ground in the capital as electric fans cooled him in the humid monsoon heat.

Temperatures reached into the mid-30s Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).

Hazare’s supporters and the government said at the weekend they are open to talks, with Singh saying there was a “lot of scope for give and take.” But a prominent Hazare supporter said that the government had so far shown caution. “The government sent an innocuous three page, unsigned note yesterday which summarized their position-as if we need to know that,” Kiran Bedi, a former police officer and one of India’s best known anti-graft campaigners who works with Hazare, told Reuters.

Moves to open talks come as the main Hindu nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is organising a nationwide protest against the government on Thursday, while a group of left parties is planning a national protest today. Singh continued to strike a more conciliatory tone yesterday than when Hazare’s fast first began after he was jailed by the government last week in a ham-handed move to thwart the hunger strike. “The standing committee has the power to propose any amendment or amendments,” Singh said in Kolkata city, referring to a parliamentary body looking at an anti-corruption bill before parliament that lies at the heart of the standoff.

In another sign of possible compromise, Jairam Ramesh, a minister and Congress Par ty stalwar t, publicly lent suppor t to Hazare’s demand that his team only negotiate with mediators from the prime minister’s office or with Rahul Gandhi, the son of the Congress party chief, as opposed to a third party. “That is a way out,” Jairam Ramesh told reporters. He also said the government was mulling introducing a separate bill to tackle graft in the lower orders of bureaucracy, which had been another demand from Hazare.

With key state elections next year that pave the way for a 2014 general election, the government is keen to end a crisis that has

BBC reporter alleged torture by authorities in Tajikistan

in brief

Gunmen kill 4 in Pakistani city; 18 dead in two days KARACHI: A senior government official says gunmen have killed four people in Pakistan’s largest city, taking the death toll in Karachi to 18 in two days. Sharfuddin Memon says the four were gunned down yesterday in a busy neighborhood in Karachi where several key police facilities are located. Memon is security adviser to the government in Sindh province, where Karachi is the capital. Senior provincial medical officer Hamid Parihar said the bodies of 18 people who were shot or tortured to death were brought to government hospitals in Karachi in the past two days. At least 85 people have been killed in Karachi in the past week. The city has a long history of violence, with much of the fighting blamed on gangs allegedly linked to political parties.

41 killed in road accident in India LUCKNOW: At least 41 people were killed when a passenger-laden wagon pulled by a tractor plunged into a deep water-filled ditch yesterday in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. “Most of the victims drowned,” local magistrate Madhukar Dwivedi told AFP by telephone from the accident site in Ballia district, some 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the state capital Lucknow. The victims included 30 women and 11 men, Dwivedi said, adding that preliminary investigations suggested overloading had caused the wagon to overturn.

More than 50 people had crammed into the open-top wagon to attend a religious festival at a nearby village, Dwivedi said.

Roadside bomb kills two Afghan civilians KANDAHAR: The Afghan government says a roadside bomb has killed two civilians in the country’s south.

Helmand provincial government spokesman Daoud Ahmadi says the civilians were driving on a road in Gereshk district early Monday when the blast hit their car.

Ahmadi says four others in the vehicle were wounded.

DUSHANBE: The lawyer for a BBC reporter on trial in Tajikistan for allegedly belonging to a banned radical Islamic group said yesterday that her client was tortured shortly after his detention in June. Fayzinisso Vokhidova said that security services officers beat up veteran BBC Central Asia service journalist Uronboi Usmonov and stubbed out cigarettes on his wrists.

“I have not talked about this before at the request of my client. He was frightened and forbade me from speaking out. He was afraid that things would become worse,” Vokhidova told The Associated Press. State Committee National Security spokesman Nozirdzhon Buriyev said no official comment will be made about the claims. Usmonov’s trial began last week in the northern city of Khujand.

The BBC says the charges against Usmonov are unfounded and that any meetings he had with members of the militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir were for journalistic purposes. Usmonov has worked for the broadcaster for the past 10 years. The reporter’s family reported that he went missing on June 13, but then returned home a day later accompanied by security service officials. Family members said he appeared to have been beaten up.

“When security service officials searched Usmonov’s house, he told people close to him that if he were to endure another night of the same treatment, he would not be able to take it any longer,” Vokhidova said.

Vokhidova said authorities have taken no action to investigate how Usmonov sustained the visible injuries around his face and hands. Tajikistan, which lies on Afghanistan’s northern border, is taking increasingly strict measures to stamp out all signs of radical Islam.

But government critics say heavy-handed efforts to arrest members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir and other similar radical organizations has only served to drive the groups further underground. Some 150 Hizb-ut-Tahrir members were jailed in Tajikistan last year and several dozen members have faced the same fate so far this year. — AP

Australian soldier killed in IED blast SYDNEY: An Australian soldier patrolling with Afghan army troops was killed yesterday by an improvised explosive device, officials said, the country ’s 29th death in the decade-long conflict. The soldier, whose identity is yet to be released, was killed when a makeshift device went off during a mentoring night patrol with the Afghan National Army, defence chief David Hurley told reporters. Hurley said the experienced soldier was seriously wounded in the blast, which happened around 2.30am local time, and he could not be saved despite being rushed to a nearby base hospital.

“Unfortunately the soldier died from his wounds shortly after arrival,” Hurley said. Another soldier from the International Security

Assistance Force (ISAF) — not an Australian-was wounded in the incident. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Australia’s mentoring of Afghan soldiers, with the goal of handing over full security responsibility by the end of 2014, was dangerous but vital work to ensure stability once foreign troops withdrew.

“Without an effective and capable national army security post-transition cannot be guaranteed,” Gillard said. “ This fighting season in Afghanistan has been a very hard one for our nation, we’ve grieved for too many young lives lost,” she added. “I can’t promise the Australian people that there won’t be another day like this, but I can promise that we are making progress (and) that Australia’s national interests are being served

by being in Afghanistan.” Gillard said Canberra had a “clear goal, a defined mission and a timeline” for withdrawal, with the transition to Afghan control already taking place in some areas. Defence Minister Stephen Smith said it would be a “terrible blow” for the officer’s family and serve as a “terrible reminder for 28 other families” who have lost loved ones in the Afghan conflict.

Eight of the 29 soldiers to have died since Australia first entered the fighting in 2001 were killed this year, but Canberra has vowed to maintain current force levels until 2014 despite a US drawdown of some 33,000 troops by the end of next year. Australia, a key coalition partner, has around 1,500 prsonnel in Afghanistan, mostly in Uruzgan province. — AFP

paralysed policy making and parliament and added to Singh’s unpopularity amid high inflation and corruption scams. At least 50,000 people protested on Sunday to support Hazare and yesterday, a holiday in the capital, thousands came again carrying flags, banners and shouting slogans like “long live the revolution.” Hazare’s campaign has struck a chord with India’s rising middle class, many

a fumbling government to take the initiative, a Congress party lawmaker has also sent Hazare’s bill to a parliamentary committee for consideration, meeting a demand of the protesters. “The government and Team Anna are in back channel negotiations. So that’s a start,” said Anirudh Goenka, a 36-year-old social worker, at the protest. “Maybe we will not achieve everything the Jan Lokpal set out

NEW DELHI: Supporters of India’s anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare hold up a physically challenged supporter’s tri-cycle as they listen to a speaker at the fast venue in New Delhi, India yesterday. —AP sick of endemic bribes and angry at a series of corruption scandals that have touched top politicians and businessmen in Asia’s third largest economy. Hazare’s team members have said this is not a fast to death he is also drinking water. The activist has carried out scores of hunger strikes against governments in the last few decades. “Our demand that they pass the bill by the end of the month remains unchanged. It’s what the people want,” Bedi said. Criticism of Hazare’s hunger strike has also surfaced from activists who say it is setting a bad precedent by holding democratic institutions hostage. “While his means may be Gandhian, Anna Hazare’s demands are certainly not,” Booker prize-winning novelist and social activist Arundhati Roy wrote in The Hindu newspaper.

“The (Hazare) bill is a draconian anti corruption law in which a panel of carefully chosen people will administer a giant bureaucracy.” In another sign of the tentative efforts by

to do, but even a compromise is a way forward.” Hazare was briefly jailed last Tuesday, a move the government sought to reverse quietly. But he refused to leave prison until the government allowed him to continue his vigil, in public, for 15 days. He was released on Friday to huge cheering crowds and widespread media coverage. For many, the proHazare movement has highlighted the vibrant democracy of an urban generation that wants good governance rather than government through regional strongmen or caste ties-a transformation that may be played out in 2012 state polls.

Several scandals, including a telecoms bribery scam that may have cost the government up to $39 billion, led to Hazare demanding anti-corruption measures. But the government bill creating an anti-graft ombudsman was criticised as too weak as it exempted the prime minister and the judiciary from probes.— Reuters

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Hong Kong hostages’ kin still wait for Philippine apology MANILA: A year after eight Hong Kong hostages were killed during a botched rescue attempt in Manila, the Philippine justice secretary promised victims’ relatives yesterday she will relay their demands to the country’s president for compensation and an apology. The relatives and a survivor flew to the Philippines for the anniversar y of the Aug. 23 hijacking of a tourist bus and made tearful pleas to the government.

The group included the mother of slain tour guide Masa Tse, who told reporters “the Philippine government has not done anything.” The tourists were hijacked by a dismissed policeman fighting for reinstatement. Hours

of unsuccessful negotiations for his surrender turned bloody when he opened fire, prompting police to chaotically storm the bus. He was killed by a police sniper.

Lee Ying Chuen, 37, the only survivor to travel back to Manila, said she still feels angry. “We never received any note, any word of apology from the government of the Philippines,” she said.

A Hong Kong inquest earlier this year concluded that Philippine officials contributed to or caused the deaths of the eight tourists. Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo has said that police fire did not kill any of the hostages. No one has been charged

criminally for lapses in the police operation and only one official has been fired.

Although the government has not directly apologized to the victims, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said it has repeatedly expressed its regret. “How often does one have to apologize?” he told reporters last week. Lacierda said the Philippine investigation resulted in the filing of administrative charges against four police officials and the creation of a special action force to ensure the safety of tourists.

The relatives’ request for a meeting with President Benigno Aquino III was rejected. Justice Secretary Leila de

Lima instead met them yesterday behind closed doors. De Lima told reporters afterward that she promised to relay to Aquino the relatives’ demands, including reconsidering filing criminal charges against police and other officials involved. “We recognize that there are lapses in handling the incident, that’s why the government is addressing these gaps,” she said.

“We ask for understanding on the part of the survivors, the families and the people of Hong Kong,” she added.

She said she was in no position to apologize for the government, but that she will relay that demand to Aquino. Hong Kong legislator James

To, who accompanied the relatives to Manila, said the meeting was useful.

But he said there was still no closure because a number of senior officials have not been punished, a suitable compensation has not been provided and an apology has not been made.

Lawyer Jonathan H C Man said the victims’ families have not discussed the specific amount of compensation they are seeking, but that it should be based on Hong Kong standards. Addressing the demand for compensation, Lacierda said that “concerned private citizens” had established a solidarity fund, but that only one victim’s family had accepted the money. —AP

N Korea seizes South assets at joint resort South Koreans ordered to leave within 72 hours

NAYPYIDAW: Members of the Parliament stand in attention during proceedings at the Union Parliament in Naypyidaw yesterday. Myanmar’s president said his government was ready to work with the international community, in the latest sign the authoritarian nation is seeking to end its diplomatic isolation. —AFP

Myanmar leader ‘ready to work with world community’ NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s president said yesterday his government was ready to work with the international community, in the latest sign the authoritarian nation is seeking to end its diplomatic isolation. “ We have been tr ying to stand tall among international and regional organizations as a dutiful member of the world family,” President Thein Sein said in a speech at the opening of a new session of parliament.

“We are ready to cooperate with the international community,” he said, adding that the new government was working for “citizen rights”.

A civilian administration is now nominally in charge of Myanmar following a controversial November election, but its ranks are dominated by former generals.

Thein Sein’s government has set its sights on being allowed to hold the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014 — a year before the country ’s next scheduled polls.

The regime appears to have softened its stance against its opponents in recent weeks, although more concrete reforms

from the new regime-such as the release of political prisoners-remain elusive. On Friday Thein Sein met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the first in the highest level dialogue between the Nobel laureate and the authorities since her release from house arrest in November, days after the election.

The new government has also called for peace talks with ethnic rebels and is allowing UN rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana to visit this week for the first time in more than a year.

Quintana was expected to meet senior government figures including the labour and defence ministers yesterday.

The envoy has been a vocal critic of Myanmar’s rulers, enraging the generals after his last trip by suggesting that human rights violations in the country may amount to crimes against humanity and could warrant a UN inquiry.

Western nations that impose sanctions on Myanmar have called for a number of reforms including the release of around 2,000 political prisoners and an end to rights abuses, particularly against ethnic minorities. —AFP

SEOUL: North Korea seized a resort jointly run with the South yesterday, state media reported, in a move likely to ramp up tensions even as Pyongyang seeks to ease relations with the wider world. The isolated communist state ordered all South Koreans to leave the Mount Kumgang resort and said it was taking control of all assests there. The move comes as Pyongyang has begun making overtures to the United States after years of sabre-rattling punctuated by missile tests and the detonation of two atomic bombs which saw North Korea thrust deeper into international purdah.

It also coincides with a visit to Russia by reclusive dictator Kim Jong-Il, who is seeking food aid from Moscow to alleviate growing shortages. Mount Kumgang had been closed since a North Korean soldier shot a South Korean tourist there in 2008, and Pyongyang said time had run out to resolve the dispute.

All assets owned by South Korean companies in the resort are banned from being taken out as of August 21, a North Korean state agency said through the official Korean Central News Agency. It ordered all South Koreans to leave the resort within 72 hours, blaming Seoul for the stalled project.

“We consider that the South has completely given up all rights on properties owned by South Korean companies and will now start legal disposal of them,” the agency said. The seizure of the resort, once a symbol of cooperation between Pyongyang and Seoul, comes with the isolated country looking to reach out to the global community for aid as it struggles with famine and deadly floods. Senior US and North Korean officials held talks in New York in July and Kim is currently on a rare visit to Russia for a summit with President Dmitry Medvedev.

Dongguk University professor Kim YongHyun said North Korea was trying to improve relations with the United States and Russia, bypassing or isolating South Korea. “Today’s move is part of the North’s usual brinkmanship as South Korea has been reluctant to drop its tough policy and resume economic assistance,” he said. Kim’s trip to Russia is aimed at garnering much-needed aid from Moscow and is intended to press Washington to resume its long-stalled food supplies, Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies said.

Malaysia’s Anwar defiant as sodomy trial resumes KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim rejected sodomy charges against him as a government fabrication to ruin him politically as he addressed the court for the first time yesterday in his trial.

Anwar made the claim while reading out an opening statement from the dock as the defence began presenting its case in the often-delayed trial, five months after the prosecution rested its case.

“The allegation is a blatant and vicious lie and will be proven so. This is a vile and desperate attempt at character assassination,” Anwar told a Kuala Lumpur courtroom packed with journalists and foreign diplomats. “This entire process is nothing but a conspiracy by Prime Minister Najib Razak to send me into political oblivion by attempting once again to put me behind bars,” he added later. Anwar, 64, is charged with sodomising young male aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan in June 2008 and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

The former deputy prime minister and one-time Malaysian leaderin-waiting has blasted the trial as a political frame-up aimed at thwarting a political opposition that has found new strength under him. His lawyers said yesterday that they had formally requested that the court subpoena Najib in the trial, but told AFP that even if a summons is issued, the prime minister could apply to have it set aside. Dressed in a dark suit, Anwar spent an hour reading out his statement, which

said the prosecution’s case was riven with inconsistencies and labelled the proceedings a political “show trial”. “I categorically deny the charges against me. I want to state in no uncertain terms that I never had sexual relations with the complainant,” he said. “They can do all they want to sully my reputation and threaten me with... jail. They won’t be able to cow me. The truth will prevail.” The hearing adjourned at midday and the trial was to resume today with the defence expected to begin calling witnesses. Anwar’s legal battles have dominated Malaysian politics for years. Malaysia was once one of Asia’s most politically stable coun-

tries under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had groomed Anwar to take the helm of the economically vibrant, multi-cultural nation.

But a bitter split over how to respond to the 1997 Asian currency crisis led to Anwar’s arrest the following year-and later conviction-on separate sodomy and corruption charges widely seen as politically motivated. He was freed in 2004 after that sodomy conviction was overturned and sparked a resurgence by the political opposition, which achieved historic gains against the ruling Barisan Nasional in 2008 general elections. — AFP

Pyongyang, by taking over the resort, is also trying to cement leverage in negotiations with South Korea’s new administration, which will take power in early 2013, he said. Mount Kumgang, developed by the South’s Hyundai

ensure the safety of 14 South Korean officials and company employees staying in the resort for maintenance and administrative works.

Past talks aimed at resuming visits to the resort, an almost lone symbol of cross-border

KOSUNG: In this photo taken Thursday, Nov 20, 2003, South Korean tourists pass by a North Korean soldier standing guard in front of a gate in Kosung near the Diamond Mountain in North Korea. North Korea is ordering yesterday all South Korean workers at a troubled joint mountain resort to leave within 72 hours. —AP Asan and opened in 1998, was a vital source of hard currency for Pyongyang, once earning the North tens of millions of dollars a year. But the South suspended tours by its citizens after a North Korean soldier shot dead a South Korean tourist who had strayed into a restricted zone in July 2008.

It has urged the North to allow an on-site investigation into the shooting and give firm safety guarantees. The South’s unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, vowed to take “all possible measures including legal and diplomatic actions” to reverse the North’s decision. “We cannot accept the North’s arbitrary decision and the North is responsible for all consequences that may happen in the future,” spokesman Chun HaeSung said. He said Seoul would do its best to

co-operation, have produced little since Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing one of its warships with the loss of 46 lives in March 2010. The North angrily denied the charge but went on to shell a border island, killing four South Koreans and prompting Seoul to cut most trade and aid.

The North wants to reopen the Kumgang resort to foreign guests and tourists who will be invited to mark the 100th anniversary in 2012 of the birth of the country’s founding president Kim Il-Sung, said Cheong SeongChang of Seoul’s private Sejong Institute. “It’s a huge milestone event in the North... and they’d want to take advantage of the resort as much as possible to earn more foreign currency, rather than leaving it shut down for so long,” Cheong said. —AFP

Areas near Japan nuke plant to remain off-limits TOKYO: Some residents evacuated from around Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant may not to be able to return to their homes for “a long time” due to projections that high radiation levels will linger, a top government official said yesterday. The government is considering providing additional support for the evacuees, including long-term housing rather than prefabricated temporary homes that the government currently is building, Cabinet members said over the weekend.

The comments come after a report from the education and science ministry projected that radiation accumulated over one year at

22 monitoring sites within roughly 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant would climb above 100 millisieverts, five times higher than the international safety standard of 20 millisieverts per year.

The plant was damaged by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami that knocked out its vital cooling systems, causing meltdowns in three reactor cores that spewed radiation into the air. Some 80,000 people within a 12-mile (20 kilometer) radius of the plant have been evacuated, while several thousand more from outside the zone also relocating. “We cannot deny a possi-

bility that some of the residents may not be able to return their homes for a long time in some areas despite our decontamination efforts,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a regular news conference. “We are very sorry.”

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he may travel north to the affected area this weekend to meet with local officials and residents to discuss further steps the government may take. The government’s plan to bring the troubled plant to a cold, stable shutdown by January had boosted hopes among evacuees that they might be able to return to their homes soon after that. — AP

Vietnamese police detain 50 in anti-China protest

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim along with his wife Wan Azizah arrive at the court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Anwar rejected sodomy charges against him as a “blatant and vicious lie” as his defence finally began presenting its case in the lengthy trial. —AFP

HANOI: Vietnamese authorities detained 50 people during an antiChina rally that was labeled a “ridiculous farce” by state-run media yesterday after the government allowed similar protests for more than two months. The Communist Party newspaper Hanoi Moi said in a front-page article that 50 protesters were taken to police stations Sunday for causing a public disturbance or attacking authorities. It said 11 remained in custody while 39 others were released with a warning.

Demonstrations are rare in Communist Vietnam and are typically quashed quickly by police. However, authorities have allowed anti-China protests to take place for the past 11

weekends, although smaller numbers of people were detained at two of the demonstrations. Vietnam and China have been at odds since May over territory in the South China Sea claimed by both countries. Some observers say tensions have eased since Hanoi sent a special envoy to Beijing in late June and a tentative agreement between China and other Southeast Asian nations was reached at a regional security meeting last month, but antiChina sentiment remains strong among some Vietnamese.

Three weeks ago, an online video clip of a plainclothes security officer stomping on a protester’s face outraged the public. Authorities responded by saying that peaceful protests

would be permitted, but reversed that decision last week, saying “hostile forces” were leading the demonstrations and provoking public disorder.

About 50 protesters defied the ban on Sunday, waving anti-China banners and shouting slogans. Within minutes, they were rounded up by security forces, shoved into buses and driven away.

The newspaper called the demonstration a “ridiculous farce” organized by “stubborn leaders who abused the fine policy of the state to instigate people to cause public disturbances.”

Twenty-five prominent intellectuals and former government officials have signed a petition denouncing the protest ban as unconstitutional. — AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

NEWS

Arab leaders mute on Gaddafi’s fall

LONDON: Libyans celebrated, Western leaders exulted, but Arab governments greeted Muammar Gaddafi’s fall in nearsilence yesterday, even though most had viewed him as an embarrassing, if not dangerous, maverick during his 42 years in power.

Despite their disdain for the Libyan leader, many Arab rulers are queasy at the spectacle of his violent overthrow at the hands of ragtag rebels backed by Western air power.

After the overthrow of longstanding autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt this year, the demise of a third can hardly cheer other strongmen fighting popular revolts, as in Yemen and Syria.

Nor can they have relished a pointed reminder from Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu that Gaddafi’s fate “shows that leaders who do not listen to their people cannot stay in power”. The only official response came from the Arab League, which backed a no-fly zone to protect civilians when the Libyan revolt turned bloody. That was a big step for Arabs still scarred by the US-led invasion of Iraq, but the League soon voiced alarm when the scale of NATO bombing of Gaddafi’s forces became clear. “The Arab League offers its full solidarity with the ongoing efforts under the leadership of the Transitional National Council (TNC) to protect the capabilities of the Libyan people,” said Nabil Elaraby, secretary-general of the 22-member body.

“This is a historic moment that marks a milestone in the history of the Libyan people. We hope the council’s efforts are successful in leading the new phase and protecting the independence, sovereignty and integrity of Libyan lands.”

Only six Arab countries are among more than 30 nations around the world to have recognized the rebel TNC. Egypt’s new rulers did so only yesterday, Tunisia’s on Saturday.

Nearby Algeria, which opposed sanctions and voted against the Arab League’s call for a no-fly zone, may have the most to lose from Gaddafi’s removal, fearing that chaos in Libya might allow weapons to flow to its own Islamist militants, and perhaps reignite unrest at home that first flared in December.

The far-off Gulf state of Qatar, which armed and funded the rebels, may be the best-placed to profit, with its national oil company poised to compete with US and European rivals. “Qatar is particularly well-positioned to play a significant role in Libya’s reconstruction, providing much-needed funding and political support,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar.

“Qatar, more than any other Arab country, was willing to put its money where its mouth was. Not only did it say it supported the rebels; it actually did. The rebels will remember this.” — Reuters

UN body meets as Assad rejects calls to quit DAMASCUS: The UN rights body held an emergency meeting yesterday to press Syrian President Bashar alAssad to end a deadly crackdown on dissent, a day after he scoffed at Western calls to quit.

More than 2,200 people have died in the Syrian regime’s crackdown, UN rights chief Navi Pillay told the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva that was expected to condemn the bloodshed. “The gravity of ongoing violations and the brutal attacks against the peaceful protesters in that country demand your continued attention,” she said.

Assad on Sunday night rejected calls by US President Barack Obama and other world leaders to step down even as the regime of another autocratic Arab ruler, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was crumbling. The UN Human Rights Council met to consider a draft resolution deploring the “indiscriminate attacks” on Syrian demonstrators and seeking an end to the violence, a copy said.

The text seen by AFP also underscores the need to send independent investigators to probe the government’s crackdown on protesters.

“As of today, over 2,200 people have been killed since mass protests began in mid-March, with more than 350 people reportedly killed across Syria since the beginning of Ramadan,” on August 1, said Pillay. The UN had previ-

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

ously estimated a death toll of 2,000.

There was more bloodshed yesterday as five people were killed, including three shot dead by security forces who opened fire on protesters at a rally in Homs as a UN fact-finding team visited the central Syrian city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which reported the killings said several people were also wounded in Homs.

The crowds took to the streets when they heard the UN mission was in town, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP by telephone, apparently to make their voices heard.

“Three people were killed and several wounded when some shabiha (pro-regime militiamen) and members of the security forces opened fire,” he said. Before dawn yesterday, two other people were killed in Hama, also central Syria.

The mission, which arrived Saturday for a five-day visit, began its work the next day in Damascus to assess humanitarian needs, officials said, and while the team was in the suburb of Douma protesters rallied against Assad.

Despite global pressure mounting against his regime, Assad told state television late Sunday he would not quit power as demanded by world leaders. “While withholding comment, we tell them that their words are worthless,” Assad said in an interview. — AFP

Online identity theft rising in Kuwait Continued from Page 1 obtained from his email, requesting that the money be wired via Western Union.

After hacking his email, the cyber criminals’ method included opening a new online account almost identical to the original email address for follow-up correspondence.

“They changed only one letter in my email making it hard to notice,” A.S. said. He explained that in his email account, which he described as being like a business card, he stored valuable information and documents, adding that fortunately, none of his contacts sent any money to the scammers.

One friend of A.S. was sufficiently taken in by the fraudsters’ claims to begin exchanging emails with the fraudsters requesting further information. He received A.S.’s passport copy and was assured by the hackers that it provided sufficient information to cash any money transfer via Western Union.

A.S. is not the only victim of these innovative identity cloners. There have been at least four separate incidents of email phishing reported by Kuwait residents whose Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail accounts were accessed and whose personal information was compromised and misused by fraudsters who, like those who attempted to cheat Dr. A.S’ contacts, hacked their emails and sent fraudulent begging emails impersonating the victim to everyone on their contact list while impersonating the victims.

One Kuwaiti student living abroad, Rasha, who lost years of research and contacts with friends and classmates across the world, asserted that those online criminals need to be punished. “I had spent days and nights researching materials for my thesis. Overnight I lost it all,” she said appealing to the authorities to criminalize online identity theft.

In another case, the email account of another Kuwaiti,

Nawal, was hacked and all of her friends, family and business associates received emails begging for financial help to assist her after she was left penniless and stranded in Europe. “People on my contact list informed me about the scam,” she said, adding, “This whole thing is terrible.”

Another victim, Dr Sami, revealed that his email was hacked in a similar fashion last summer, with all of his contacts receiving a similar email saying that he was in trouble and in need of urgent financial help. He fell prey to the phishing methods used to steal one’s identity online by being redirected to click a bogus site.

After extensive correspondence with the Yahoo team, three of the victims had their emails retrieved. However, their address books were gone. A.S. lost over 2,000 contacts and two years of correspondence, and Dr Sami lost years of valuable research. For Rasha, her years in the university have “more or less vanished with just a click.” She said, “I had stored [in my email] precious moments, pictures, research papers and personal documents that will be hard to collect ever again.”

There is no shortage of creativity when it comes to cyber crime as we’ve seen from the notorious Nigerian scam, as well as fake royals claiming to have millions of dollars waiting for the lucky recipient, and another con offering a generous cut of Saddam Hussein’s captured riches to anyone willing to help fund their expert. The more recent ‘rescue-a-friend’ phishing scam is making the rounds in Kuwait and beyond.

Following his ordeal, A.S. offered a few nuggets of wisdom: Do not leave any valuable information in your email account; do not give your password and personal details to any mediator in online communication, try to be careful when visiting websites and avoid giving out any personal data to unsolicited emails. A.S. observed that when receiving suspicious emails from colleagues, friends or acquaintances our brain needs to be in a state of meta-awareness.

Pressure mounts for emergency NA session Continued from Page 1 safeguard the reputation of MPs and parliament as the last refuge for the Kuwaiti people, adding that delaying approving anti-corruption laws is harmful to the nation.

MP Maasouma Al-Mubarak said the allegations harm the reputation of all MPs and the whole nation and accordingly the central bank must firmly face the issue, adding that the whole case should be referred to the public prosecution for investigation. Mubarak said that the emergency session is necessary to allow

MPs to clarify their positions and defend themselves since the number of MPs under suspicion has been increasing.

Two more MPs meanwhile yesterday sent questions to the finance minister over the issue demanding to know if the ministr y has launched a probe into the issue.

Deputy speaker MP Abdullah AlRoumi asked the minister if the two MPs have in fact made huge deposits into their bank accounts and if the banks have examined the sources of the money and followed the required procedures in such cas-

es.

He also asked if the ministry has taken any measure to examine if the report was true and what measures have been taken by the ministry and the central bank of Kuwait.

MP Rola Dashti also asked the finance minister about the measures taken by the ministry and the central bank regarding the report.

The National Assembly is currently in recess until late October and holding an emergency session requires the signature of 33 MPs and the acceptance and attendance of the government.

Morals in the Life and Da’wah of the Prophets Continued from Page 1 the right to change, replace, add, or cancel anything that had been revealed to them. Concerning Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Allah the Almighty Says (what means): (Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.} [Quran 53:3,4] {Say, [O Muhammad]: “It is not for me to change it on my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me.

Indeed, I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.”} [Quran 10:15] In their mission, the prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, did not ask for a reward from their people, as they only sought the reward of Allah the Almighty.

Prophet Hoode said to his people (what means): {O my people, I do not ask you for it any reward. My reward is only from The One who created me. Then will you not reason?} [Quran 11:51] Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), confirmed the same meaning by saying (what means): {Say, [O Mohammad]: “I do not ask you for the Quran any payment, and I am not of the pretentious.”} [Quran 38:86] The aim of all the prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, was for people to have sincerity in religion and to turn them towards worshipping the Lord of all creation instead of worshipping His creatures. The prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, also aimed at saving disobedient people from the adversity of life to the comfort of both the worldly life and the Hereafter and from the oppression of distorted and false religions to the justice of Islam. In the Quran, Allah the Almighty clarifies the true religion that He commands all people to follow, by Saying (what means): {And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give Zakaah. And that is the correct religion.} [Quran 98:5] Every prophet was sent speaking the language of his people in order to communicate clearly with them. The prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, followed their Fitrah (innate disposition) and talked to people in a way that suited their mentality without pretense, declamation or exaggeration. Allah the Almighty Says (what means):{And I am not of the pretentious} [Quran 38:86] Allah the Almighty made the method of Da’wah (propagation) clear to His prophets, as He gave an order to His Prophet (PBUH), by Saying (what means): {Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most Knowing of who is [rightly] guided.}[Quran 16:125] The methodology of the prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, and their Da’wah are clear. The best way to make Da’wah is the clear and simple way of the noble Quran, with which one does not need any philo-

sophical or scholastic methodology.

All the prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, gave precedence to the eternal life of the Hereafter over the worldly life that would ultimately come to an end. Their predominant characteristic was to renounce the pleasures of this worldly life and seek the reward of the Hereafter, as they were certain that: {what is with Allah is better and more lasting} [Quran 28:60] and: {that which is with Allah is best for the righteous.} [Quran 3:198] Allah the Almighty Says to His Prophet (PBUH), (what means): {And do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [some] categories of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring.} [Quran 20:131] The prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, were the most perfect, most honest and had the noblest lineage of all mankind. Allah the Almighty chose them by His Knowledge over everyone and everything else to bear the greatest trust, which is conveying His message. Therefore, they must be a model for all people.

Regarding the merits of the prophets, Allah the Almighty Says (what means): {And remember Our servants, Ibraaheem, Ishaaq and Ya’qoob - those of strength and [religious] vision.

Indeed, We chose them for an exclusive quality: remembrance of the home [of the Hereafter]. And indeed they are, to Us, among the chosen and outstanding. And remember Ismaa’eel, Al-Yas’ and DhulKifl, and all are among the outstanding.} [Quran 38:4548] {[Allaah] Said: “O Moosa, I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My words [to you]. So take what I have given you and be among the grateful.”}[Quran 7:144] Throughout their Da’wah, the prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, not only confirmed the idea of servitude to Allah by telling their people (what means): {worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him} [Quran 7:59] but they also treated the faults that were widespread during their time and urged their people to be virtuous. For instance, Prophet Shu’ayb tried to reform the faults of his people, the people of Madyan, and advised them not to give less in measure and weight and decrease the rights of others. Also, Prophet Loote said to his people: {“Do you approach males among the worlds. And leave what your Lord has created for you as mates? But you are a people transgressing.”} [Quran 26:165-166] He also criticized them for obstructing roads and committing every evil in their meetings. The biography of the Prophet (PBUH), also proves that he continuously tried to treat the faults of his people, as will be clarified later. www.islamweb.net

A combo of file pictures shows Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. — AFP

‘Gaddafi era over’ as rebels storm Tripoli Continued from Page 1 Meanwhile, forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi helped his son Mohammed flee house arrest yesterday, Al-Jazeera television reported, as rebels sought to secure full control of the capital Tripoli. Mohammed Gaddafi was among three of Gaddafi’s sons to be captured by the rebels. The loyalist fighters stormed the house where Mohammed was held and set him free after clashes with guards there, the pan-Arab news channel said.

In another military setback for Gaddafi, his forces quit the frontlines of the eastern oil town of Brega yesterday and were fleeing west towards the strongman’s hometown of Sirte, a rebel military spokesman said.

Abdel Jalil, a former justice minister who chairs the NTC, called upon “our revolutionaries to respect the law and to let justice take its course,” rather than launch revenge attacks. “My fear is some outlawed actions which are outside of the framework of orders they get from their leaders, specially acts of revenge ... I object strongly to any execution outside the framework of the law,” he said.

On the political front, Abdel Jalil told Al-Arabiya news channel that his ad hoc government was preparing to move to Tripoli but that the pockets of

resistance were delaying this.

Rebel military spokesman Mohammed Zawiwa told AFP the rebels seized control yesterday of the state broadcaster in Tripoli. “All the television stations controlled by the state have stopped transmitting (in Tripoli).

Our fighters have gone in and taken control of the facilities,” Zawiwa said.

Elsewhere in Tripoli, rebel fighters packed in trucks, cars and pickups streamed during the day from liberated areas of western Libya towards the symbolic Green Square in the heart of the city, brandishing arms and honking horns, a reporter witnessed.

Many of the rebels were waving flags of the revolution as they appeared to be heading to the square and then onwards to join rebels trying to snuff out the last pockets of resistance, especially outside Gaddafi’s Bab Al-Azizya compound in Tripoli.

Rebel chiefAbdel Jalil said it was difficult to tell whether Gaddafi has fled the country or remained within, pointing out that he could still be at his compound.

“The area around Al-Azizya is still a hot spot. There are forces that continue to fight the rebels. He (Gaddafi) could still be in Al-Azizya, or in neighboring areas,” he said.

In Washington, the Pentagon said it believed Gaddafi was still in Libya.

Gaddafi broadcast three defiant audio messages on Sunday, vowing he would not surrender and urging the people of Tripoli to “purge the capital, even as rebel forces swept through the capital and took over waterfront Green Square. But he has not been seen in public for weeks. Hundreds of jubilant Libyans meanwhile converged on their embassies and consulates in Europe and elsewhere to raise the rebel flag and tear down the symbols of Gaddafi’s 42-year rule. After the rebel’s lightning advance on Tripoli, Obama urged Gadhafi to recognize his time is over in Libya.

US Assistant Secretary of State Department Jeffrey Feltman said it was “only a matter of time” before the besieged ruler is history. Still, Feltman acknowledged in an interview from Cairo yesterday morning that US officials do not know where Gadhafi is.

And White House spokesman Josh Earnest, echoing the Pentagon, told reporters “there’s no evidence to think he has left.”

Earnest said Obama was updated early yesterday by John Brennan, his deputy national security adviser, on the rebel seizure of much of Tripoli.

Obama is also hosting a secure conference call with his national security team from his rented farm complex on the island off Cape Cod. — Agencies

Amir calls on citizens to help shore up...

Continued from Page 1 In this respect, he called on parents to play their role as guides for their children “so that they would remain on the path that keeps them united with the homeland, adherent to their doctrine, for Kuwait now is in bad need for its natives.”

HH the Amir called for cooperation among authorities of the state. “Such an aspired cooperation should be based on dialogue, exchange of views and consultation in a democratic spirit, free from fiery rhetoric, for consensus on the best opinion that serves the homeland at present and in the future,” he elaborated.

He expressed confidence that the Kuwaitis would back up the authorities for “facing all obstacles hindering the development of the country.” As to liberties, he said, “The freedom of speech is guaranteed for all, however this does not mean that it can be used to infringe on our national unity and the basic principles that we have known and adopted by our ancestors.

“Therefore, I call on the managers of the printed, visual and audio press to manifest keenness on safeguarding the homeland and practice their role with awareness and responsibility without any misleading, exaggeration or harm to the homeland.”

Horn of Africa crisis On the famine crisis in the African Horn, His Highness expressed deep distress at the famine and draught in Somalia, where thousands of children, women and men, had to flee their hometowns; a tragedy that led to the death of many people.” He noted the aid allocated

by Kuwait for the famine victims and greeted all those who have helped the people there cope with the catastrophe.

His Highness has cautioned that Kuwait is not separate from the arena of external conflicts, fed with racism, interests and personal tendencies. “We have been following on the regrettable and worrying conditions in the sisterly countries and we have been deeply distressed at the destruction and losses of souls and potentials. “We wish these countries calm, stability and safety, and wish their peoples success for realizing aspirations and hopes.”

Media Vigil His Highness urged the local media to refrain from touching on issues that may affect the relations with other states and “leave such matters to be handled by the relevant authorities, through the diplomatic channels.” He urged the citizens to be united for the devotion of Kuwait, sacrifices for the homeland, protection of its security and sanctity, following the example of the ancestors.

His Highness, on the holy occasion, recalled the late Amir, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and the late Father Amir Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem AlSabah, praying to His Almighty to bless their souls with HA forgiveness.

Sheikh Sabah congratulated the nationals on the remaining days of the holy month, wishing to witness prosperity in Kuwait, the Arab and Muslim nations. He urged the people to remain adherent to the values of religion and abstain from excessive spending. — KUNA

14

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

opinion

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Issues

Gaddafi collapse will embolden Arab rebels

By Samia Nakhoul

T

he implosion of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s 41-year-old rule will put a new spring in the step of the Arab revolutions and demonstrate once again that these entrenched autocratic governments are not invincible.

From the Atlantic coast to Gulf shores, live images on Arab satellite channels of rebels pouring into Tripoli, trampling on pictures of Gaddafi and chanting “From alley to alley, door to door”, taunting the leader with his own threats to hunt down his enemies, will rattle Arab leaders facing similar revolts.

Arab capitals have been enthralled as street protests forced Tunisia’s Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country he had ruled for 23 years and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30 years in power and now Gaddafi’s government to decompose.

Arabs who this month have seen Mubarak and his sons appear behind bars and who now see the rule of the longest-serving Arab ruler collapsing must wonder what else is possible. From Syria to Yemen, Arab autocrats who sought to use force and repression to contain pent-up popular aspirations and fend off uprisings must have pause for thought after events in Libya.

“It is an important development because it shows there are different ways in which Arab regimes will collapse. It just shows once you get a momentum developing and the right combination-a popular will for change and regional and international support-no regime can withstand that,” said Beirut-based Middle East analyst Rami Khouri. “Syria has this combination of a popular uprising with regional and international backing. These authoritarian regimes, even if they are strong, collapse in the end. We have three transitions now, Tunis, Egypt and Libya and more are to follow.”

Khouri said a revolt in Bahrain by a Shiite majority seeking more rights from the Sunni Al Khalifa ruling family had failed because it lacked regional and international backing. It is true, experts say, that Gaddafi’s downfall depended crucially on Western military intervention, which evidently is not going to be repeated in Syria or elsewhere-debt-laden Western powers, still deeply involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, have no appetite for new fronts in the Muslim world.

The five-month NATO bombing campaign in Libya prevented Gaddafi’s forces from recapturing the rebel city of Benghazi and quelling the revolt that erupted on Feb. 17, which would have been a discouraging reversal for restive Arabs elsewhere.

PERSISTENCE PAYS “It shows that if the protesters, opposition, freedom fighters or rebels in Yemen or in Syria persist they may be able to topple the regime,” said Middle East analyst Geoff D Porter. “People’s views of the Arab spring were formed

by Tunisia and Egypt where protests lasted up to a month.

They thought Libya will be impossible because it didn’t fit the Tunisia and Egypt model,” he said. “Libya’s protests will encourage and embolden protesters in Syria and Yemen although they miss a big component which is the support of NATO.” Scenes of popular rejoicing in Tripoli after Gaddafi’s forces apparently melted away suggest many in the capital had loathed their leader, but had not previously dared defy him for fear of retribution.

“This is another day, a new page in Libya’s history. We are witnessing a new dawn and a new history of freedom,” said Mohammed Derah, a Libyan activist in Tripoli.

Anti-Gaddafi demonstrations in Tripoli early on in the revolt were forcibly suppressed. “Libya showed that Gaddafi didn’t have the support he claimed he had. One may be able to make the comparison to Syria and Yemen where joining a revolution is a big risk. (People) may not support the regime but they wouldn’t risk their lives until rebels show up,” Porter said in reference to the paucity of demonstrations in Syrian cities such as Damascus and Aleppo. Experts said economic and oil sanctions imposed on Gaddafi had played a big role in bringing his forces to their knees and similar actions against Syria could have a similar impact. Assad, who faces growing international calls to step down over his crackdown on more than five months of protests which UN officials say have cost around 2,000 civilian lives, warned the West on Sunday that Syria would not tolerate any outside interference, saying unrest had become more militant. — Reuters

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.

Who can unite Libya after Gaddafi?

End of a regime

By Michael Georgy

N

ow that Muammar Gaddafi’s fourdecade rule appears to be over, the disparate groups of rebels who drove him from power could face a graver danger: each other.

Without the cause of fighting Gaddafi to unite them, the fighters from all walks of life must come up with an effective leadership to run a country suffering from factionalism, tribal rivalries and ethnic divisions. Signs of trouble emerged long before the rebels made their dramatic sweep from the Western Mountain region to Tripoli, cheered by Libyans who will soon want a smooth-running government, jobs, better schools and the oil wealth that rarely trickled down to them during Gaddafi’s reign.

Rebels who complained about Gaddafi’s alleged human rights abuses as they prepared for battle at the frontlines also spent a great deal of time criticizing their comrades, mainly because they were from a different village, or ethnic group or seemed to have more resources.

Libyan rebel Husam Najjair, an Irish citizen, seemed disillusioned with the rebel movement he joined, leaving everything behind in Dublin.

“There could be some very big problems. Everyone is going to want to run the show. That’s when it will get messy,” he told Reuters. “Everyone must be disarmed.” Is there one unifying figure who can lead Libya and prevent the rebels from turning on each other? Right now the resounding answer seems to be no. “ There isn’t one rebel leader who is respected by everyone. That’s the problem,” said Kamran Bokhari, Middle East Director at STRATFOR global intelligence firm.

Gaddafi ran the North African oil producing-country like a personal cult, without state institutions that would make any transition easier for the rebels, who have plenty of spirit but lack a proper chain of command.

The most prominent rebel leader is Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the

National Transitional Council (NTC), a diverse group of Gaddafi opponents based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

It consists of former government ministers and longstanding opposition members who represent wide-ranging views including Arab nationalism, Islamists, secularists, socialists and businessmen.

A former justice minister, soft-spoken Abdel Jalil was described as a “fair-minded technocrat” in a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks. A mild-mannered consensus builder in his late 50s, he was praised by Human Rights Watch for his work on Libya’s criminal code reform.

Abdel Jalil resigned as justice minister in Februar y when violence was used against protesters.

But like other former members of Gaddafi’s inner circle, he will always be viewed with suspicion by some rebels who want completely new faces with no past links to the regime running the country.

The prime minister of the rebels’ shadow government, Mahmoud Jibril, a former top development official under Gaddafi, has extensive foreign contacts and has been the rebels’ roving envoy.

But his travels have frustrated some colleagues and foreign backers so his experience and contact building will have been wasted if he is not part of any new administration.

Another high-profile rebel who may play a future leadership role is Ali Tarhouni. The US-based academic and opposition figure in exile returned to Libya to take charge of economic, financial and oil matters for the rebels.

IRAQ LESSONS Tensions between life-long opponents of Gaddafi and his supporters who recently defected to the rebel side may undermine efforts to choose an effective leadership. If hardliners prevail, Libya could make the same mistake that analysts say was made in Iraq after the 2003 US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

His Baath Party supporters and army

officers were purged en masse, creating a power vacuum that led to instability for years as everyone from his secular backers to Al-Qaeda waged a violent campaign against Iraq’s new US-backed rulers.

“You cannot make a rule that anyone who worked for Gaddafi cannot work with us. It’s not practical at all,” said Ashour Shamis, a United Kingdom-based Libyan opposition activist. Such an approach would sabotage any bid to bring back capable people to undertake perhaps the most critical task of all-revitalizing the oil industry.

Those who want to put aside animosities for the sake of rebuilding the country’s energy sector may want to turn to its former top official Shokri Ghanem for help. Western-educated Ghanem, who defected, has decades of experience in the oil sector and is a former prime minister credited with liberalizing the Libyan economy and accelerating the opening of the country to global petroleum investment.

Bringing people like Ghanem back will depend to a great extent on whether rebels will be willing to put aside their differences and take a practical view of Libya’s future.

FACTIONALISM Judging by realities on the ground, it won’t be easy. Take the Western Mountains region, where rebels recently made the most dramatic gains as they moved in on Tripoli.

The fighters showed far more discipline as they swept through towns and villages in the plains and eventually reached Tripoli. Beneath the surface, the rebels were torn apart by divisions and factionalism and fears that Gaddafi’s agents had infiltrated them. Berber and Arab villages look at each other with disdain.

Rebels refer to themselves as the fighters from village x or village y, not the rebels of Libya. When journalists want to reach frontlines, they are told to get written permission from whichever rebel is in charge of a specific area.

Najjair constantly went on about how his Tripoli Brigade was the best-suited to seize the capital because its members were all from Tripoli. Those same rivalries are likely to linger when it comes time to choosing leaders, from ministers to provincial governors to mayors, and drawing up budgets.

After all, many of the rebels are educated - from doctors to teachers to accountants to engineers - so they are likely to insist on a say on how the country is run.

A hint of what could be in store is the still unexplained July 28 killing of the rebels’ military commander, Abdel Fattah Younes, a former top Gaddafi security official, after he was taken into custody by his own side for questioning.

The killing has raised fears that the NTC is too weak and fractured to halt a slide into bloodshed as rival factions, including Islamists, bid for power. An increasing number of fighters in the Western Mountains, for instance, are growing long, thick beards, the trademark of Islamists who are likely to reject close ties with the West in a new Libya, while others cry out for foreign investment. They may also argue that the rebels from the Western Mountains and the city of Misrata should be given the most powerful positions in any new government since they did most of the fighting while the ones in Benghazi dealt with administration.

The bitterness was palpable on the frontlines along the desert plains in the West, even though different rebel groups got along enough to stage the advance together.

The rebels from Benghazi were portrayed as outsiders who were often late in delivering weapons and other supplies to their counterparts. Rebels in the leadership structure will have to figure out ways to defuse tensions among their ranks while trying to turn Libya into a country with a competitive economy.

“Running the country will be much tougher for the rebels. Finding people who everyone accepts will be the challenge,” said Bokhari. — Reuters

Gaddafi son now ‘paying the price’

H

ours before he was arrested by Libyan rebels as they surged into Tripoli, Muammar Gaddafi’s son Seif AlIslam insisted that his family had “paid the price, like all Libyans.” He did not expand on the statement, broadcast on state television on Sunday, but the message was clear: all Libyans have suffered since a popular uprising broke out mid-February against his father’s 41-year autocratic rule.

Now however, the dapper 39-year-old could pay a different price altogether a lengthy jail term-should the International Criminal Court prove the charges of crimes against humanity it has levelled against him.

On June 27, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Seif and his autocratic father, as well as against spy master Abdullah Al-Senussi, for crimes against humanity allegedly committed since Gaddafi ordered his forces to put down the revolt violently.

All three are charged over their roles in suppressing the revolt, in which civilians were murdered and persecuted by Libyan forces, particularly in Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said when the charges were announced.

The prosecutor confirmed yesterday claims by the rebels that Seif, the second of Gaddafi’s eight children, had been arrested. “We hope he can soon be in the Hague” to face judgment, he said, adding that he planned to contact

the “Libyan transitional government” later in the day.

Often presented as his father’s successor, Seif had appeared on public television several times since the protests erupted on February 15. He held no official posi-

Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi

tion but had carved out influence as a loyal emissary of the regime and as an architect of reform.

He shot to prominence in 2000 when the Gaddafi Foundation that he heads negotiated the release of Western hostages held by Muslim rebels in the Philippines.

In 2007, he served as a mediator over the 2007 release of Bulgarian nurses who were jailed as scapegoats for a hospital AIDS outbreak.

He also negotiated compensation agreements for the families of those who were killed in the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and of UTA Flight 772 in 1989. He long served as the face of the regime in the West as he appeared in suits and ties and spoke fluent English. “We have a long breath,” he said in the speech on state television broadcast on Sunday. “We are in our land and in our country. We will resist for six months, one year, two years ... and we will win,” he said. “We will not submit, we will not abandon the fight,” he said. “This is not the decision of Seif Al-Islam or Gaddafi but the decision of the Libyan people.

Hours after the speech was broadcast, Seif was “being kept in a secure place under close guard,” according to the chairman of the rebel National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil. He would be kept there “until he is handed over to the judiciary,” Abdel Jalil told Al-Jazeera television, without giving a date or place for the capture of Gaddafi’s son. — AFP

15

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

analysis Diplomacy

Focus

China, US call time-out on brawls

By Chris Buckley and Jeff Mason

D

uring US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to China, Beijing and Washington confined their brawling to the basketball court, and for now economic and political needs should keep tensions in the diplomatic arena from spiraling into fully-fledged feuds.

With some two thirds of their nation’s $3.2 trillion of foreign exchange reserves in dollar assets, and their own tricky power handover to navigate, China’s leaders used Biden’s visit that ended yesterday to signal that, despite US economic woes, they are not yet writing obituaries for American power.

Both Biden and his Chinese hosts showed they want to avoid unnerving blow-ups with global markets already spooked. Both governments also face a potentially volatile political season in 2012, when President Barack Obama runs for re-election and the Chinese Communist Party installs new leaders. “In China nowadays there’s a variety of viewpoints. Some people see the United States as in decline,” said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University who specializes in Sino-American relations. But “the Chinese leadership’s view is that although the US economy faces difficulties, it will improve ... I think this visit was deliberately arranged to send a clear signal that China does not see the United States in decline and believes it can overcome the current hardships.”

The atmosphere of goodwill during Biden’s visit was marred by a fight that broke out during a “friendship” basketball game in Beijing between Washington’s Georgetown Hoyas and the Chinese side, the Bayi Military Rockets. A senior Obama administration official accompanying Biden said there was clearly a shared understanding that with the upcoming leadership transitions “figuring out how to manage the relationship” was more complicated-and a priority. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is virtually certain to succeed Hu Jintao as Chinese President in early 2013, hosted Biden during this visit. Obama administration officials have said they want to build trust with Xi (pronounced “Shee”) ahead of the leadership transition and came away assured.

“Clearly both of them will walk away from ... these few days with a much, much better understanding for the other guy, what’s driving the other side, what is constraining the other side,” said another US official who accompanied Biden to Beijing and the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu.

Disputes from human rights to Taiwan to the

South China Sea offer plenty of kindling for abrupt feuds, but several analysts and officials said that the two sides are unlikely to seek a scrap now. For China, the most tricky issue is Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing calls an illegitimate breakaway. Last year, China vehemently condemned the Obama administration for approving a package of arms sales to Taiwan.

The administration is considering another arms sale, but sources have told Reuters that any deal is unlikely to include new Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets, which Beijing has made the focus of its objections. Biden gave an extra push to the notion that the two countries are an informal “G2”, a pair whose power sets them a rung

ULAN BATOR: US Vice President Joe Biden (left) and his granddaughter Naomi Biden walk out from Air Force Two upon arrival at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulan Bator yesterday. Biden left China after a five-day visit aimed at boosting confidence in his country’s beleaguered economy and arrived in its coal-rich neighbor, Mongolia. — AFP

above the other major powers in the G20 bloc and that cooperation would help the global economy.

“I hope this doesn’t sound chauvinistic to other countries, but our mutual success will benefit the whole world,” Biden told senior officials in Beijing. “It is the key, in my view, to global economic stability.” Tensions in the South China Sea, with the risk of military jostling, could also spark quarreling between China and the United States.

But Andrew Small, a researcher at the German Marshall Fund think-tank in Brussels who studies Chinese foreign policy, said both sides hope to keep those disputes on the back-burner.

“At one level you’re getting more of this kind of G2 relationship, and a deal to restrain tensions,” said Small. “But simultaneously, there’s still a lot of kicking and pushing under the table, especially in Asia-Pacific.”

Still, Washington may believe the G2 talk encourages Beijing to be more accommodating in international dealings, an analyst said, but in China a widely shared sense of the nation’s rising power also encourages views that Beijing should stand tougher.

A recent study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences showed that 45.9 percent of respondents said their government should “stick more firmly to principles” when dealing with the United States, while 41.3 percent said it should be “a bit more flexible.”

“It’s clear that even before this latest problem with the debt ceiling and the cascading debt problems in Europe, the Chinese were saying that the West has been damaged by the financial crisis and China is narrowing the gap,” said Bonnie Glaser, an expert on US-China ties at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank in Washington DC. “There are louder and louder voices that are saying ... the US is increasingly weak and therefore China can stand up for its core interests,” she said in an interview before Biden’s visit. — Reuters

US military’s linguists face uncertain road in Iraq

By W G Dunlop

T

he looming withdrawal of most if not all US forces from Iraq leaves their Iraqi interpreters facing unemployment, afraid for their lives and with a difficult decision: whether to stay or go. Interpreters interviewed at military and police facilities near Mosul in north Iraq all said they fear for their safety. But accepting special visas to the US still means leaving their country and in some cases their families for an uncertain future-an incredibly tough choice to make. Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman for US forces in Iraq, said that about 9,000 Iraqis were employed by the US military in various capacities as of July.

These Iraqi employees stand to lose their jobs with the US military if all US troops leave

by December 31, as is currently required.

And a significant number may still face unemployment even if the US and Iraq reach an accord on a post-2011 US training mission, as it would likely be much smaller than the current roughly 47,000-soldier contingent.

“I’m worried about my security (and) I’m worried about my family, because I don’t know what’s gonna happen after the Americans leave,” said Ismail, an interpreter for US soldiers partnered with the 3rd Federal Police Division, who requested that only his

first name be used.

The 25-year-old Assyrian Catholic, who had his dark hair cut short and has tattoos on both arms, already knows well the dangers of working for the US in Iraq. He did laundry at a US base in Baghdad in 2006, until he and his co-workers were told by men in the areawhere he said there were many supporters of the Mahdi Army, radical anti-US cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr’s now-disbanded militiathat they had to quit.

He did, and moved along with six other family members to the far more secure autonomous Kurdistan area in north Iraq.

But Ismail’s co-workers were not so lucky.

“A week later, they killed the five guys who used to work with me, they killed all of them. I told them to quit, but they didn’t listen to me,” he said. Ismail, who is married and has a daughter, later began working as an interpreter to support his family, and for the experience it offers, he said. He has translated for the US military for three years now. Ismail was threatened again outside a US base near Mosul in 2010 by a group of men whom he said gave him the message, in effect, that “if we see you next time in this area, we’re gonna kill you.” He completed his interview for a visa to the US about three months ago and is now waiting to receive it. “Hopefully we’re gonna get visas before the Americans leave,” he said.

Iraqis who have worked for the United States for over a year can apply for a “special immigrant visa,” while those who have for less than a year can apply for refugee status while still in Iraq, which can lead to resettlement in the US. Both options allow recipients to bring family with them.

But for some, leaving Iraq is not an option.

John, a 30-year-old with stylish sunglasses and gelled hair who asked to be identified only by his nickname from American soldiers, was interpreting for US troops at Al-Ghuzlani Warrior Training Centre south of Mosul.

He said he was worried about his safety after American troops leave Iraq and originally became an interpreter with dreams of going to the US, but he still turned down a visa to the United States.

“My father made me change my mind,” said John, who is married and has two sons, with a third baby on the way. “I do have a brother, but he can’t handle it by himself, and my father, he suffers from disease.” “I’m stuck,” John said, adding that he would like to take his parents with him to the US, but they do not speak English, and do not want to leave their home country.

Staying in Iraq holds its own concerns.

John began working for US forces in 2003, the year Saddam Hussein was toppled by a USled invasion. But in 2004, he was threatened

by insurgents who posted his name and picture at a mosque near his home, demanding he quit working for the US. He then moved from his home city, which he asked not be mentioned by name because his parents still live there, to Kurdistan, and stopped translating for about nine months. But it was hard to find a job in Kurdistan, so he went back to work for the US again. “I don’t know how I made it until today, but I’m still alive. We’ve been in a lot of situations, but I never got hit,” he said.

Other interpreters such as Wallace-who also asked to be identified only by a nickname-want to leave Iraq as soon as they possibly can.

Even in the relatively secluded Al-Ghuzlani training area, he wore a bandana-like face mask, sunglasses and a hat, to hide his identity. “Right now, I’m very nervous because they (US soldiers) are leaving soon,” he said.

Wallace is a member of Iraq’s small Yazidi minority from Sinjar, a town to the west of Mosul, and has worked as a translator for the US, mainly in north Iraq, since 2008. He decided to work with the US because he needed money to support his family, including his sister, who was ill, he said.

Wallace is not married, but said he is “worried a lot about my family” being targeted because of his work with the US. — AFP

German rail to run on sun

By Erik Kirschbaum

I

t won’t be easy to run a national railway on renewable energy like wind, hydro and solar power but that is what Germany’s Deutsche Bahn aims to do for one simple reason: it’s what consumers want. Deutsche Bahn says it wants to raise the percentage of wind, hydro and solar energy to power its trains from 20 percent now to 28 percent in 2014 and become carbon-free by 2050.

“Consumers in Germany have made it clear they want us all to get away from nuclear energy and to more renewable energy,” Hans-Juergen Witschke, chief executive of Deutsche Bahn Energie, said of the railway’s attention-grabbing revised targets that exceed the government’s already ambitious national aims.

“It’s what customers want and we’re making it happen,” Witschke said in an interview with Reuters. “The demand for green electricity keeps rising each year and that’ll continue.”

Prevailing attitudes in Germany were already decidedly green before the Japanese Fukushima nuclear accident in March prompted a head-first dive into renewables.

The Berlin government abruptly reversed course on nuclear power, shutting eight nuclear plants and vowing to close the other nine by 2022. That caught Deutsche Bahnand German industry-off guard. The stateowned railways had relied heavily on nuclear energy. But now the public and industry are increasingly attuned to sustainability and what companies are doing, Witschke said.

“Environmental protection has become an important issue in the market place and especially in the transport sector,” he said. “It’s a mega trend. Even though more renewables will cost a bit more, that can be contained with an intelligent energy mix and reasonable time frame. We’re confident that cutting CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions will give us a competitive advantage.”

There are still concerns about the reliability of renewables as their share rises towards 100 percent and before more storage capacity is available. What happens when there is no wind or sunshine?

Some transport industry analysts are skeptical. “It sounds like a bit of ‘green-washing’,”

said Stefan Kick, an analyst at Silvia Quandt Research, a Frankfurt brokerage.

“Obviously costs for renewable energy are going to be higher. Yet if customers are truly willing to pay, it could make sense.” The railway’s new push for a larger share of renewable energy to operate trains that transport 1.9 billion passengers and 415 million tons of freight each year has won applause from environmental groups. They have cheered Deutsche Bahn’s partnerships with wind and hydroelectric power suppliers and its exploratory moves into harvesting solar power from the roofs of its 5,700 stations.

Association (DUH), said the railways could have done more with wind and solar on its property holdings.

Instead, he said Deutsche Bahn had relied complacently on its image as a low-emission mode of transport. It could do this because even high speed trains have CO2 emissions per passenger per km of 46 grams, compared with an average 140 for cars and 180 for planes. “Since Fukushima, Deutsche Bahn has been moving in the right direction,” Ahmels said. “There’s clearly a new thinking on the board. They’re doing sensible things. Before they resisted. The argument was that renew-

Photovoltaic panels in the spectacular glass roof of Berlin’s main station produce 160,000 kw/h of electricity a year — meeting about 2 percent of the Hauptbahnhof station’s needs.

Previously, environmentalists had accused the company of neglecting to develop renewables on its vast properties and because of its heavy reliance on nuclear.

Peter Ahmels, a renewable energy specialist at the German Environmental Aid

ables were not their core business.”

The railway’s high speed trains zip across the country at up to 300 kph (186 mph). By 2014 a third of the electricity for long-distance trains will come from renewable sources. Deutsche Bahn also operates myriad local rail operations in towns and cities. Some operations, such as local railways in Hamburg and Saarland, already run on 100 percent renewable energy and proudly boast about that in advertising.

To run its trains the railways use a staggering amount of electricity every year: 12 terawatt hours. That is as much as Berlin with its 3.2 million residents consumes. The railways alone use 2 percent of Germany’s total electricity. A single high-speed ICE train traveling from Frankfurt to Berlin uses up 4,800 kw/h, enough for a four-person family for a full year.

Germany is already a world leader in renewable energy. About 17 percent comes from renewables, up from 6 percent in 2000.

The German government aims to raise that share to 35 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. Witschke said Deutsche Bahn will have 35 or 40 percent by 2020 and 100 percent by mid-century.

“We’ve got a vision of being carbon free by 2050. That’s not just a declaration of intent.

It’s a concrete business target.” Some passengers and business partners, such as carmaker Audi, already voluntarily pay small surcharges for CO2-free transport packages that guarantee green power is used.

“The demand for our CO2-free products has been above expectations,” Witschke said.

“The customers really want this. If they keep turning to the CO2-free products at this pace, we’ll be over the 40 percent mark in 2020.”

To help meet that target, Deutsche Bahn has been operating two wind parks in Brandenburg and in July signed a 1.3 billion euro deal with utility RWE to get 900 million kw/h a year from 14 hydroelectric plantsenough for 250,000 households. Because there are still questions about the reliability of renewable energy until the storage capacities can be increased, Witschke said he carefully tracks the wind parks to learn more.

“It’s a learning process,” he said. “We face the same issue as everyone: what do you do when there’s no wind? The experience we’ve is that too much wind (when turbines are turned off ) is more of a problem than not enough.” The hydroelectric deal with RWE runs for 15 years and will supply the railways with about eight percent of its needs. “It does have quite a symbolic impact when the country’s largest electricity user takes such a big step into regenerative energy,” Witschke said.

“We’re also one of the biggest electricity users anywhere in Europe. It’s not going unnoticed.”— Reuters

Nuke talks, energy to top Medvedev, Kim summit

By Anna Smolchenko

Kim Jong-Il

N

Dmitry Medvedev

orth Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia this week for rare talks expected to focus on energy cooperation, Pyongyang’s nuclear program and hunger in the isolated Communist state. The Kremlin said the summit will be the highlight of the reclusive Kim’s week-long tour of Russia’s Far East and Siberia, his second visit to the giant neighbor since 2002.

In an apparent nod to Kim’s concerns about personal safety, the Kremlin imposed a virtual blanket ban on information about the plans and itinerary of the 69-year-old leader, now travelling across the Trans-Siberian railway aboard his special armored train.

Medvedev and Kim are widely expected to meet in the eastern Siberian city of Ulan Ude near Lake Baikal in the Buddhist region of Buryatia, 5,550 kilometers (3,450 miles) east of Moscow, possibly today or tomorrow. The summit is bound to go down in history as a major milestone in ties and provides a chance for Moscow to burnish its credentials as a negotiator capable of dealing with so-called pariah regimes.

The talks however will hardly bring any foreign policy breakthroughs or firm economic deals, analysts said. “The main result of the visit is the very fact of the visit,” Konstantin Asmolov, a Korea specialist at the Moscow-based Institute of the Far East, told AFP. “Everything that Russia and North Korea can discuss now either will fail to break the impasse or concerns various long-term projects,” he said. Kim is expected to seek Moscow’s help in trying to start up stalled talks on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament amid signs the isolated state is seeking to reach out to the world as it battles food shortages. Pyongyang stormed out of the six-party negotiations-grouping the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia-in April 2009 and conducted its second nuclear test a month later, but has expressed a desire to return to the forum.

Asmolov said the two leaders were unlikely to reach any breakthrough in the nuclear talks where much depends on the position of Washington and Seoul, long irritated by Pyongyang’s erratic behavior. The Kremlin, which says that any opportunity must be seized to engage North Korea in dialogue, is also expected to discuss energy and infrastructure projects involving both Koreas.

They include a long-stalled plan for a transKorean railroad, the construction of an electricity transmission line between the two countries and, most importantly, a pipeline carrying Russian gas to South Korea via the North.

Following talks with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-Hwan earlier this month, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian gas giant Gazprom was in “concrete” talks with the energy companies of both Koreas. “If experts at the corporate level come to an agreement, then political support will be secured in all the three capitals,” Lavrov said at the time.

Analysts are skeptical however that a gas pipeline through the divided Korean peninsula is a feasible plan as long as tensions there run high.

“It is a very complicated issue,” said Yury Vanin, a Korea specialist at the Moscow-based Institute of Oriental Studies. “The situation on the Korean peninsula is very complicated,” he told AFP. In a sign that power supplies will figure on the agenda, Kim on Sunday made a stop in the Amur region where he visited the 2,000 megawattstrong Bureiskaya hydro power station, the largest in the Far East. Yelena Vishnyakova, a spokeswoman for state-run RusHydro which operates the plant, said her company was not currently holding any talks with North Korea.

Kim is also expected to seek more economic and food aid from the Cold War-era ally amid fears of a hunger crisis. Moscow said on the eve of Kim’s arrival that it was sending up to 50,000 tons of wheat to North Korea. The Stalinist state’s ties to Russia date back to the Soviet times, although they cooled after the break-up of the Soviet Union. This is Kim’s third visit to Russia in a decade. He last travelled to Russia in 2002 when he met then president Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok. In May, Kim visited China, a third visit in just over a year to his country’s sole major ally and economic lifeline. — AFP

A

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Years

Sehwag, Sharma ruled out of England one-dayers MUMBAI: Opening batsman Virender Sehwag and paceman Ishant Sharma have been ruled out of the forthcoming limited-overs series against England due to injury. Uncapped batsman Ajinkya Rahane, 23, and promising 21-year-old pace bowler Varun Aaron will replace the pair, Indian cricket board (BCCI) secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement yesterday.

Sehwag, who missed the first two tests following shoulder surgery, will continue rehabilitation to build up his fitness and also needs two weeks to recover from an ear infection.

“Sehwag suffered from labyrinthitis of the left ear on July 24. Although his condition has improved he continues to experience headaches,” the statement said. Sharma, who has led the Indian pace attack in the absence of Zaheer Khan, suffered an ankle ligament injury in the third test in Birmingham earlier this month and needs treatment.

India have grappled with injuries throughout the trip. Zaheer, who had to leave the field on the first day of the opening test at Lord’s, was ruled out of the tour due to hamstring and ankle problems. Sehwag’s regular opening partner, Gautam Gambhir, missed the second test with a bruised arm which forced a batting order reshuffle. —Reuters

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

sp orts

Neill to join Al Jazira DUBAI: Australia captain Lucas Neill has signed with United Arab Emirates champion Al Jazira with the hope of keeping himself fresh for Socceroos 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The 33-year-old defender, who is making move from Turkish club Galatasaray where his contract had expired, was set to be unveiled in Abu Dhabi later Monday. Neill says on his website that he was joining the UAE club because of its standing in Asia and to help him prepare for World Cup qualifying which starts against Thailand in September. “I’m really excited for the challenge and looking forward to setting up my new home in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “Al Jazira won the league comfortably last season, and now I get to help them defend the title and hopefully make an impression in the Asian Champions League. There are some great players in the league,

including a number of quality strikers from Brazil and Argentina, so I’m looking forward to the challenges that come my way.” Neill, who also played for Premier League clubs Blackburn, West Ham and Everton from 2001 to 2010, said the move to Al Jazira is part of three-year plan that will carry him through the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

“I needed to pick an offer that was good for my family, good for my body while also competitive so that I can give my best for the Socceroos in the coming years as captain,” he said. “I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure we qualify for Brazil 2014.” Neill’s signing follows the announcement Sunday that the club had hired Belgian coach Franky Vercauteren on a one-year contract. The former Belgium coach made the move from Racing Genk where he led the club to the title last season.—AP

Wenger handed two-match ban BERNE: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was handed a two-match European ban for failing to abide by the conditions of a previous suspension and will miss Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier at Udinese, UEFA said yesterday.

UEFA’s disciplinary board also fined the English Premier League club 10,000 euros ($14,418) “for improper conduct by its officials” during last week’s play-off round first leg, which Arsenal won 1-0.

The Frenchman was banned from that game for his behavior in last season’s round of 16 tie at Barcelona. However, television pictures showed him sitting in the stands and talking on a mobile phone during the first half, apparently passing instructions to the team bench.

“Wenger was serving a one-match suspension in the Udinese home match,” UEFA said.

“The UEFA disciplinary regulations stipulate that a manager may not communicate with his team during a fixture for which he is suspended and may follow the game from the stands only.”Wenger’s suspension is a further blow for Arsenal, who have taken part in the Champions League for the past 13 seasons and could see that run ended on Wednesday. —Reuters

Brewers sweep Mets

ST. PETERSBURG: Tampa Bay Rays’ Desmond Jennings (left) slides safely into second base as Seattle Mariners shortstop Kyle Seager cannot handle a throw during the sixth inning of a baseball game. —AP

Rays roll over Mariners ST. PETERSBURG: Johnny Damon lost a grand slam to a video review in the seventh inning, then hit a game-ending home run in the ninth that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays over the Seattle Mariners 87 Sunday. Damon connected for a leadoff shot in the ninth on the first pitch from Dan Cortes (0-2), sending his 11th homer of the season into the right-field seats.

The Rays trailed 5-4 in the seventh when Damon launched a drive to right-center field. First ruled a home run, the umpires changed the call to a three-run double after a video review. After blowing an early four-run lead, Seattle tied it at 7 during the eighth when Wily Mo Pena hit a long two-run homer to center off James Shields.

Yankees 3, Twins 0 At Minneapolis, Alex Rodriguez went hitless from five at bats in his return to the lineup, but Curtis Granderson hit an inside-the-park home run as New York took three of four from Minnesota.

Mark Teixeira also homered and Ivan Nova (134) pitched seven shutout innings for the Yankees, who had Rodriguez for the first time since July 7.

Nova allowed five hits and struck out five to rebound from a poor start in Kansas City and Mariano Rivera picked up his 33rd save in 38 tries.

Joe Mauer had three hits for the Twins, who lost starter Nick Blackburn in the second inning because of a strained right forearm. Phil Dumatrait (1-2) got the loss in two innings of relief.

Tigers 8, Indians 7 At Detroit, center fielder Austin Jackson threw out Kosuke Fukudome at the plate to complete a game-ending double play as first-place Detroit completed a three-game sweep of Cleveland.

Delmon Young and Victor Martinez homered in the Tigers’ seven-run third inning. Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 37th save in as many tries, but it wasn’t easy. He walked Fukudome to start the inning and then hit Jason Donald on an 0-2 pitch. Jack Hannahan bunted the runners over, before pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta lined to center field and Jackson threw a perfect strike to get Fukudome by a step.

Red Sox 6, Royals 1 At Kansas City, Missouri, Jon Lester curbed Kansas City on three hits for six-plus innings and Jason Varitek tripled for the first time in more than four years. Carl Crawford and Darnell McDonald hit solo home runs for Boston. Lester (13-7) has allowed two runs and six hits in 13 innings in his past two starts to beat Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

Varitek’s two-out triple rolled to the right-center fence, allowing Jed Lowrie to score in the fifth to break a scoreless deadlock. Lowrie led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a Crawford ground out. Varitek’s triple was his first since June 24, 2007, at San Diego off Jake Peavy.

McDonald, who had three hits, hit his fifth home run of the season in the sixth on an 0-2 pitch from Royals rookie left-hander Danny Duffy (3-7).

White Sox 10, Rangers 0 At Chicago, Gavin Floyd pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning, and Brent Lillibridge and Alex Rios hit two-run homers, as Chicago took two of three from the AL-West leading Texas.

Chicago finished its first winning homestand (5-4) since June 3-12. Floyd (11-10) coasted with a big lead. He allowed just three hits, struck out six and walked one. The Rangers have dropped three of four after winning the first six games on their 10-game road trip.

Blue Jays 1, Athletics 0 At Oakland, California, Luis Perez pitched brilliantly in his first big league start, combining with Casey Janssen on a one-hitter, and Jose Bautista connected for his majors-best 36th home run for Toronto. Bautista broke up a scoreless game with a deep drive into the left-field bleachers on the 10th pitch he saw from Guillermo Moscoso (6-7) leading off the seventh. Perez (3-2) didn’t allow an Athletics runner until Cliff Pennington drew a fivepitch walk to start the sixth. Jemile Weeks later singled up the middle to load the bases, but Perez induced an inning-ending double play by Coco Crisp with his final pitch. Janssen struck out five in three innings, earning his second save in three chances this season and ninth of his career.

Angels 7, Orioles 1 At Anaheim, California, Jerome Williams pitched seven stellar innings to get his first major league victory in almost six years, Peter Bourjos homered for the third straight game and Howie Kendrick also went deep, leading Los Angeles.

Williams (1-0) posted his first victory in the majors since Sept. 25, 2005 with the Chicago Cubs, after losing his previous eight decisions. The 29year-old Hawaiian-born right-hander allowed a run and six hits over seven innings, struck out six and walked none. Brian Matusz (1-6) threw 84 pitches over four innings, giving up six runs and eight hits.

Torii Hunter’s hitting streak ended at 18 games (0 for 5) after Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones robbed him of a home run in the fourth. —AP

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

Detroit 8, Cleveland 7; Milwaukee 6, NY Mets 2; Atlanta 1, Arizona 0; Washington 5, Philadelphia 4 (10 innings); Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 4; Tampa Bay 8, Seattle 7; San Francisco 6, Houston 4 (11 innings); Chicago White Sox 10, Texas 0; Boston 6, Kansas City 1; NY Yankees 3, Minnesota 0; Colorado 5, LA Dodgers 3; LA Angels 7, Baltimore 1; San Diego 4, Florida 3; Toronto 1, Oakland 0; St. Louis 6, Chicago Cubs 2.

American League National League Eastern Division Eastern Division Philadelphia 81 44 .648 W L PCT GB Atlanta 76 52 .594 6.5 NY Yankees 77 48 .616 Washington 61 64 .488 20 Boston 77 49 .611 .5 NY Mets 60 66 .476 21.5 Tampa Bay 69 56 .552 8 Florida 57 70 .449 25 Toronto 65 62 .512 13 Baltimore 47 77 .379 29.5 Central Division Milwaukee 76 52 .594 Central Division St. Louis 67 60 .528 8.5 Detroit 68 58 .540 Cincinnati 62 65 .488 13.5 Cleveland 62 61 .504 4.5 Pittsburgh 59 66 .472 15.5 Chicago White Sox 63 63 .500 5 Chicago Cubs 56 71 .441 19.5 Minnesota 55 71 .437 13 Houston 42 85 .331 33.5 Kansas City 52 76 .406 17 Western Division Western Division Arizona 69 58 .543 Texas 73 55 .570 San Francisco 68 60 .531 1.5 LA Angels 69 59 .539 4 Colorado 60 68 .469 9.5 San Diego 59 70 .457 11 Oakland 57 70 .449 15.5 LA Dodgers 57 69 .452 11.5 Seattle 53 72 .424 18.5

NEW YORK: Prince Fielder drove in the go-ahead run on a botched potential double-play grounder in the eighth and Yovani Gallardo shut down the Mets for seven innings, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-2 victory Sunday for their first series sweep in New York.

Casey McGehee homered off R.A. Dickey in the fourth and Ryan Braun had three hits, an RBI and scored twice after stealing bases for the Brewers.

Milwaukee won three straight in Queens to send the Mets six games under .500 for the first time since May 4 with a thorough display of superior baseball this weekend. Shaun Marcum stifled New York on Friday in a 6-1 win.

Fielder and the Brewers rallied Saturday after blowing a late sixrun lead for an 11-9 victory, and Gallardo (14-8) gave up six hits in the finale to match a career high for wins.

Cardinals 6, Cubs 2 At Chicago, Albert Pujols hit his 31st home run and Yadier Molina homered twice as St. Louis beat Chicago. Pujols had four hits and took the National League lead in homers. Matt Holliday added three hits and John Jay homered, doubled and scored twice for St. Louis.Jake Westbrook (10-7) held the Cubs to seven hits and two runs in seven innings, beating Chicago for the first time in three starts this season as the Cardinals salvaged the last game of a threegame series. Aramis Ramirez had two hits and drove in both of Chicago’s runs.

Braves 1, D’backs 0 At Atlanta, Tim Hudson combined with two relievers on a fivehit shutout, and Alex Gonzalez homered as Atlanta completed a three-game sweep of slumping Arizona.

The Diamondbacks have lost five straight to match their longest skid of the season. Hudson (13-7) allowed only three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in seven scoreless innings. Jonny Venters pitched the eighth before Craig Kimbrel escaped trouble in the ninth to earn his 39th save.

Right-hander Josh Collmenter (7-8) gave up only four hits and one run in seven innings but saw his streak of road starts without a

win extended to nine.

Reds 5, Pirates 4 At Pittsburgh, Cincinnati scored twice in the ninth inning to hand All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan his second loss in three days and take two of three from Pittsburgh.

Ramon Hernandez hit an RBI-single to tie the game with one out in the top of the ninth and Dave Sappelt scored on Brandon Phillips’ fielder’s choice. Joey Votto added a three-run homer for the Reds. Jose Arredondo (3-3) pitched two perfect innings in relief and Francisco Cordero survived an eventful ninth

innings since the All-Star break.

Brandon Belt hit a three-run homer in the second inning and had a career high four hits for the Giants.

Rockies 5, Dodgers 3 At Denver, Kevin Millwood pitched seven strong innings for his first big league win in nearly a year and Seth Smith hit a go-ahead tworun homer in the seventh, leading Colorado to snap a string of 17 straight Sunday losses.

The Rock ies hadn’t won on Sunday since beating the Chicago Cubs 9-5 on April 17. Chad Billingsley (10-10) went 7 2-3

ninth Friday night.

Ryan Zimmerman, who hit a game-ending grand slam Friday night, star ted the 10th with a leadoff double against Lidge (01). Michael Morse was walked intentionally and Jayson Werth, after striking out three times, singled to load the bases.

Padres 4, Marlins 3 At San Diego, Nick Hundley tripled leading off the bottom of t h e n i n t h a n d s co re d o n Wi l l Venable’s bases-loaded single to gi ve S a n D i e g o a fo u r - g a m e sweep of Florida.

NEW YORK: Milwaukee Brewers’ relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez throws out New York Mets Angel Pagan in the eighth inning of a baseball game. —AP to earn his 26th save.

Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen each hit two-run homers for Pittsburgh, which had been 52-0 when leading after eight innings.

Giants 6, Astros 4, 11 innings At Houston, Pablo Sandoval hit a tie-breaking two-run homer with two out in the 11th inning to propel San Francisco past Houston.

The score had been tied 4-4 since the fourth inning and the Giants missed several chances to take the lead until Sandoval’s 15th homer off Mark Melancon (6-4).

Jeremy Affeldt (2-2) pitched two innings for the victor y. He has allowed one earned in 17 1-3

innings for the Dodgers, allowing five runs on three hits. He struck out seven and walked five. Rafael Betancourt got three outs for his second save in five chances.

Nationals 5, Phillies 4 At Washington, Ian Desmond hit a tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning, then Jonny Gomes was nicked by a pitch from Brad Lidge with the bases loaded in the 10th as Washington broke Philadelphia’s streak of eight straight winning road series.

It was the second improbable victor y in three games for the Nationals. They beat the Phillies, who have the best record in the majors, with a six-run rally in the

The Padres swept the sevengame season series. Overall, San Dieg o has won eig ht straig ht against the Marlins.

On the day the Padres honored all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman by retiring his No. 51, Heath Bell (3-4) blew the save by allowing M ike Cameron’s solo h o m e r w i t h t wo o u t s i n t h e ninth.

Hundley started the winning rally in the bottom of the inning with a triple off the bottom of t h e ce n te r f i e l d w a l l a g a i n s t Edward Mujica (8-5). It was the fourth triple in the last six games for Hundley, the Padres’ catcher.

Cory Luebke struck out eight in six innings for the Padres. —AP

Mexicali defeat Hamamatsu City SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Bruno Ruiz hit a two-out RBI single as Mexicali, Mexico beat Hamamatsu City, Japan 3-2 in seven innings Sunday at the Little League World Series.

Mexico’s fans chanted “Yes we can!

Yes we can,” in Spanish after Jorge Jacobo trotted home with the winning run. He scored after Ruiz’s grounder bounced through the hole into left field. A jubilant Ruiz, 13, couldn’t stop smiling after he reached first, mobbed by teammates along the first-base line after the hit kept Mexico unbeaten in the tournament.

Ruiz said he’s had a game-ending hit a homer - once before in his young career, “but it definitely doesn’t feel like it does getting it here at the series.” Two of the tournament’s top international teams matched each other for six-plus innings, with Japan starter Yoshiki Suzuki striking out seven and Mexico counterpart Alonso Garcia fanning six.

Venezuela 8, Canada 0 Yonny Hernandez hit two homers and three pitchers combined for a shutout to help Maracay, Venezuela, stay unbeaten with an 8-0 win over Langley, British Columbia.

Hernandez, 13, has become one of tournament’s most feared hitters with five hits and six RBIs over his first two games. After a slow start at the plate for Venezuela, Hernandez hit a tworun blast in the fifth before adding his

second two-run shot in the sixth off Canada. Venezuela manager Gustavo Narvaez said his squad was anxious the first few innings.

preter about adjusting to Canada starter Yi-Fan Pan. “I knew he was opening with curveball and then a fastball. I had a confidence ... that I was

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico’s Bruco Ruiz hits a two-out RBI single scoring Jorge Jacobo from third in the seventh inning of a baseball game against Hamamatsu City, Japan during international pool play at the Little League World Series. —AP “My mind was telling myself that I needed to make the adjustments and look at the details of the pitcher,” Hernandez said through an inter-

going to see one of those pitches.”

Ian Burns had two hits for Canada, while first baseman Riley Ens made a defensive gem with an over-the-

shoulder catch in shallow right to prevent a potential extra-base hit in the first.

Billings 3, Lafayette 1 Patrick Zimmer tossed five shutout innings and Ben Askelson hit a two out, two-run single in a over Lafayette, Louisiana, that kept the Northwest region champs undefeated. Zimmer struck out four before closer Sean Jones came on to pitch the sixth and immediately got into trouble. Louisiana’s Nick Fruge reached on a three-base error, then scored on a wild pitch. Later Cain Castille, who finished 3 for 3, doubled with two outs to put the tying run at the plate, but Jones got a fielder’s choice to end the game. Louisiana lost for the first time in tournament play Huntington Beach 10, LaGrange 0 Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto combined to two-hit Kentucky over four innings before the game was called due to Little League’s 10-run rule.

Pratto and Ryo Takeda each hit two runs to lead the way. Jacob Bates and Zach Nicholas had Kentucky’s hits, but afterward Kentucky manager Brad Bates was impressed by California’s mini-mashers. California moves next to face Billings, Montana on Wednesday in a matchup of the last two undefeated US teams. —AP

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Simpson captures his first PGA title

NORTH PLAINS: Suzann Pettersen, of Norway, hits out of a sand trap on the 17th at the final round of the LPGA Safeway Classic golf tournament.—AP

Pettersen bags Safeway Classic NORTH PLAINS: Suzann Pettersen overcame a nine-stroke deficit with a 7-under 64 and beat Na Yeon Choi with a par on the first hole of a playoff to win the LPGA Safeway Classic on Sunday In the playoff, Choi’s second shot on the par-4 18th went into the water to the right of the green, and she missed a putt for bogey before Pettersen sank her winning putt at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

Pettersen, coming off a victory Aug. 7 in the European tour’s Ladies Irish Open at Killeen Castle, won her second LPGA Tour title of the year and eighth overall. The Norwegian star jumped to No. 2 in the world rankings behind Yani Tseng.

“I didn’t really expect this when I woke up this morning nine strokes back,” Pettersen said. “I guess when you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll.”

Choi, from South Korea, finished with a 73 to match Pettersen at 6 under on the Ghost Creek Course.

Choi birdied the par-4 17th to take a onestroke lead, but dropped a shot after leaving a chip well short on the final hole to force the playoff.

Christina Kim shot a 78 to finish a dismal 11 over, but it was just enough to keep her in the 10th spot in the points standings for the US Solheim Cup team that will take on their European counterparts in late in September at Killeen Castle.

Pettersen, also the Sybase Match Play win-

ner in May in New Jersey, locked up a spot on the European Solheim Cup team with her victory in Ireland.

She eagled the par-5 10th hole Sunday to help propel her into the lead. “It was like 2 inches short,” Pettersen joked of her eagle shot - which was nearly a double eagle. “It was as close as you can get, I guess.”

But Pettersen’s recent success has been bittersweet. Recently she lost a dear family friend in a skydiving accident. And she was still reeling from the July 22 attacks in her homeland that left 77 dead. Anders Behring Breivik has admitted detonating a bomb that killed eight people in central Oslo and fatally shooting 69 others at an island youth camp.

“It makes you realize life’s not all about golf,” she said. “It makes you put things in perspective.”

In 2009, Pettersen came close to winning at Pumpkin Ridge, but settled for second after M.J. Hur birdied the second hole of a playoff.

Hee Young Park, still looking for her first tour win, shot a 67 to finish third at 5 under.

Paula Creamer had a 68 to finish another stroke back. The fan favorite had one of the largest galleries of the day, including a pinkclad admirer who carried a sign reading “Go Paula, Cream the Field.”

Choi tied for second last year, two strokes behind Ai Miyazato. Miyazato had a final round 68 to finish this weekend at 1 under, while Michelle Wie shot a 75 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 9 over. —AP

GREENSBORO: American Webb Simpson won the Wyndham Championship by three strokes on Sunday to capture his first PGA title after two near-misses earlier this season.

The 26-year-old from North Carolina kept his cool to shoot a final-round three-under-par 67 and finish on 18-under at the Sedgefield Country Club.

George McNeil climbed up the leaderboard with a 64 to claim second place and his fellow American Tommy Gainey was a further shot back at 14 under while Fiji’s former world number one Vijay Singh was among a group of five players who tied for fourth at 13 under.

Simpson became the 12th firsttime winner on the PGA Tour this season but perhaps one of the least surprising after his previous closeshaves. In March, Simpson finished runner-up by one stroke to Gary Woodland at the Transition Championship in Florida after he made a bogey at the final hole. In May, he was beaten by Bubba Watson in a playoff at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

“I never thought that winning on the PGA Tour would be this hard, all the pressure and everything that goes on to win a golf tournament,” Simpson said. “But I’m extremely pleased and I really love the way I finished today.”

Simpson led by two shots heading into the final round after brilliant finish to his third round on Saturday, where he made four birdies and an eagle in his last six holes.

He did not drop a single shot in a bogey-free round on Sunday and made two late birdies to surge clear and claim the title and go into the FedEx Cup playoffs, starting in New

GREENSBORO: Webb Simpson holds the trophy after winning the Wyndham Championship golf tournament. —AP Jersey next week, ranked third overall.

“I’ve never won so I don’t know what it’s like playing the week after a win,” he said. “I heard it’s tough but hopefully I can put this behind me and focus on the golf course next week.”

McNeill started the day six shots off the pace and tied for 11th and he admitted he was surprised to finish outright second despite shooting the best score of the final round.

“I thought it (the winning score)

was going to be a lot lower,” McNeill said. “(But) I can only control myself. I can’t control what everybody else does. I’m very happy with the way I hit it, the way I played, the way I putted.”

The tournament marked the last chance for players to climb into the top 125 rankings and qualify for the playoffs and two former major winners snuck in after strong performances. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, who called off a family holiday to try and qualify, finished at six under par to move from 130th to 124

while South Africa’s Ernie Els moved up eight places to 118th after finishing at eight-under.

“You don’t know in these playoffs,” Els said. “I’ve got to play good golf though. I played really good the first two days. I’d like to get that back.”

But American Justin Leonard was among those who missed out, despite finishing at 10-under. He narrowly missed a 13-foot putt on the 18th that would have got him into the field but ended up ranked 126th.—Reuters

Couples wins Senior Players Championship playoff HARRISON: Fred Couples knocked in a 3-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole Sunday to defeat John Cook and win the Seniors Players Championship for his first major victory on the Champions Tour.

Couples did not have his best day of putting and missed a birdie on 18 that would have given him the win after trailing by two strokes most of the day. He won the playoff when a second shot on the 17th hole landed a few feet shy of the hole, setting up a short tap-in for the win.

Cook held a share of the lead for nine holes but bogeyed on No. 16 and missed birdie putts on the final two holes, forcing the second straight playoff and fourth overall in this event.

Peter Senior finished third with an even round of 71 and was at 10 under for the tournament. Tom Lehman (68) took fourth, one stroke ahead of last year’s winner Mark O’Meara (69).

First-round leader Jeff Sluman (70) slipped into a five-way tie for sixth.

Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, took the tournament lead after Friday’s second round and shot a 71 in regulation Sunday Cook shot a 1-under 71 and missed a chance for his first major victory in 83 major appearances on the PGA and Senior Tour. He also his fifth Champions Tour playoff.

Cook initially took the lead on the third hole with an uphill birdie putt and regained it for the

rest of the round on the seventh by nearly firing an eagle with a shot that hit the green, circled back towards the hole, setting up an easy tap-in.

That gave Cook a one-stroke lead and was one of the last shots before play was delayed due to heavy rain and thunderstorms in the vicinity of Westchester Country Club’s West Course.

Play resumed about two hours later and Cook took a two-stroke lead through the front nine, aided by Couples’ bogey on No. 8. Cook briefly lost sole possession of lead on consecutive bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes and was tied with Senior for one hole but regained it with a short birdie putt on No. 13. —AP

KUWAIT: Joint picture of officials with the winners

Nishan sporting event enjoys strong competition 4. Torky F. Al-Rashidi 5. Jasim Al-Azmi 6. Faisal Al-Anezi

By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: Shooting sport enthusiasts enjoyed an evening of friendly but strong competition during the Nishan sporting tournament that was held for two days at the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex in Sulaibiya.

The event was organized by Kuwait Shooting Sport Club, and witnessed a large number of fans who wanted to participate.

KSSC members participated in the tournament, giving them an opportunity to compete in an official event, adding to their training for upcoming events.

Both groups of shooters went through rounds of 15 different targets, as the case in the sporting event, and shooters competed fiercely, as some of the fans showed promising talents, prompting club officials to ask the shooters to join the club, as they may get the opportunity to join the national team in local and foreign tournament.

As for the KSSC group, preliminary competitions were conducted in various rounds, as six shooters with best scores were chosen, but as several shooters had similar scores, the head referee had to make a draw to decide who participates in the final round.

The event was attended by President of Asian and Kuwait Shooting Sport Federation, Vice President of ISSF Sheikh

Club members category 1. Abdallah Al-Rashidi 2. Fahad Al-Mutairi 3. Mohammad Al-Daihani 4. Mansour Al-Rashidi 5. Ahmad Al-Daihani 6. Mohammad Al-Daihani

Abdallah Al-Rashidi

Khalid Al-Mudhaf

Meanwhile the Asian Shooting Sport Confederation released the rankings of Asia clay target and bullets shooters, placing Kuwait’s Abdallah Al-Rashidi first

in skeet with 637 points followed by Uzbekistan’s Viladilaf Mikhamidiv with a 460 points and Qatar’s Hamad Masoud third with 423 points.

Kuwait’s Khalid Al-Mudhaf topped the trap rankings with 717 points replacing his compatriot Nasser AlMiqlid who placed second with 630 points followed by India’s Singh Manshir who placed third with 390 points.

In double trap, Kuwait’s Fahaid AlDiahni was sixth with 664 points, as India’s Sudhi Ronjan placed first with 2506 points, and China’s Jinji Mo second with 891 points.

Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud AlSabah, General Manager of Sponsoring Company Sheikh Sabah Faisal Al-Duaij Al-Sabah, President of the Arab Shooting Federation and Vice President of KSSF, and member of the ISSF Administrative Council Eng Duaij AlOtaibi, Secretary General of the Arab and Kuwait Shooters Sport Federations Obeid Al-Osaimi and KSSC board members.

Prizes were distributed to the winning shooters, followed by a raffle draw for valuable prizes to the fans.

Results are as follows: Fans category 1. Mubarak A. Al-Rashidi 2. Nayef W. Al-Rashidi 3. Waleed Al-Azmi

KUWAIT: Sheikh Faisal Al-Duaij receives a plaque from Sheikh Salman in the presence of Duaij Al-Otaibi, Obeid AlOsaimi and Mohammad Al-Ghurba.

KUWAIT: Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud (right) and Sheikh Faisal Al-Duaij (center) hand a fan his prize.

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Daegu set for mouthwatering hurdles showdown SYDNEY: The 110 metres hurdles has rarely been one of the glamour events of athletics but that could all change when the three fastest high hurdlers of all time come together at the World Championships in South Korea.

Cuban Dayron Robles and China’s Liu Xiang are back from injury and ready to take on powerful American David Oliver with expectations high that they could produce the most spectacular showdown on the Daegu track.

Largely in the absence of the two most recent Olympic champions, Oliver has dominated the last two seasons and went unbeaten in 18 finals from the end of August 2009 to May this year.

The 29-year-old’s grip on the event has slipped over the last few months, however, as a resurgent Robles (twice)

and Liu beat him in Diamond League meetings.

China’s Liu is the only one of the trio to have won the world title-in Osaka in 2007 — but the 28-year-old has rarely been fit since as he continues to deal with the foot problem that led to his dramatic exit from the Beijing Olympics.

A former world record holder and 2004 Olympic champion with a career best time of 12.88, Liu has competed sparingly this year but managed to end Oliver’s formidable winning streak in his home town of Shanghai.

Oliver soon avenged the defeat in Oregon by running the only sub-13 second time of the year (12.94) but Liu’s time of 13.00 in second place confirmed that he was firmly back in business.

“Liu Xiang is in good form, his health,

technique and stamina are in a good state as well,” China’s head coach Feng Shuyong told reporters in Beijing on Thursday.

“His injury has recovered gradually.

He got good results this year because the injury is gradually getting better so he has been able to train more systematically. “But the biggest challenge for him might be running three races in two days for the first time since 2008.” That was the year that Robles took both Liu’s world record, when he ran 12.87 in Ostrava, and his Olympic title in Beijing but the 24-year-old Cuban’s career has also been disrupted by injuries since.

This season, he has made a low profile return to the track but beat Oliver in Paris and London and is now targeting the one major title that has eluded him.

“I am very pleased with the results that Dayron had in Europe, twice beating the American David Oliver, which is an important psychological point for him,” his coach Santiago Antunez told Reuters by telephone from Madrid.

Part of the attraction of the potential showdown in this most technical of track events is the contrast in styles between the three. Oliver, a former American football player, is all power and muscle, relatively slow to get off the mark but not afraid to knock down a few hurdles as he bulldozes his way to the finish line.

The bespectacled Robles is the arch technician, smoothly gliding over the hurdles, while the whippet-like Liu’s greatest quality was always his fierce competitiveness which enables him to make up ground over the last 15 metres.

Liu has taken a step out of his run up to the first hurdle this year in an attempt to compete with the other main contenders but it remains a work in progress, according to Feng.

“His new technique of seven steps to the first hurdle has still not reached the level he had with eight,” the coach said.

“There is still room for improvement between the first and the second step.”

With so little room for error in the high hurdles, there is always a chance that none of the three will claim the title with in-form American Jason Richardson looking most likely to provide what would be quite an upset.

To do that, though, the dreadlocked 25-year-old is likely to have to run considerably faster than his personal best of 13.08 seconds. —Reuters

Medal hopes slim but hosts S Korea excited

UNCASVILLE: Atlanta Dream’s Erika De Souza (left) and Connecticut Sun’s Kalana Greene (right) fight for a rebound during the first half of a WNBA basketball game.—AP

Sparks overcome Shock TULSA: Candace Parker scored 23 points as the Los Angeles Sparks ran off 16 straight to overcome a second-half deficit and hand the Tulsa Shock their WNBA-record 18th consecutive loss with a 73-67 victory on Sunday.

DeLisha Milton-Jones added 15 points and Kristi Toliver had 14 for the Sparks.

WNBA career scoring leader Tina Thompson scored all of her eight points in the second half.

For the first 22 minutes of the game, Tulsa took advantage of the jet-lagged Sparks, who played in Minnesota on Saturday and flew to Tulsa on Sunday, building a 39-24 lead with 7:01 to play in the third stanza.

But the Sparks outscored the home team 38-20 over the final 17 minutes to post just their fourth road victory of the season.

Sheryl Swoopes scored 17 points and Jennifer Lacy chipped in 13 for the Shock (1-23), but neither player was much of a factor in the second half. Ivory Latta had 11.

Sun 96, Dream 87 At Uncasville, Connecticut, Renee Montgomery had 21 points and seven

assists as Connecticut snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Atlanta.

Tina Charles and Asjha Jones had 18 points and nine rebounds apiece for the Sun (17-10), while Tan White scored 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Kara Lawson added 11 for the Sun. Angel McCoughtry led Atlanta (13-13) with 22 points. Erika DeSouza added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Lindsey Harding had 14 points for the Dream and Arminite Price scored 12.

Fever 83, Mystics 51 At Indianapolis, Katie Douglas had 15 points and five rebounds as Indiana beat Washington for the fourth time this season.

Jessica Davenport scored 14 points and had five rebounds and Tamika Catchings scored 13 points with eight rebounds for the Fever, who lead the Eastern Conference by two games.

Crystal Langhorne scored 11 points and had seven rebounds and Jasmine Thomas scored 11 points for the Mystics, who extend their losing streak to five games.

The Fever allowed a season low point total of 51, limiting the Mystics to 35.2 percent shooting and forcing 19 turnovers.—AP

SINGAPORE: The South Korean city of Daegu has vowed to make its mark on the global stage with a stunning athletics World Championships starting on Saturday, though the hosts’ medal ambitions are far less grand.

While South Korea has been in the top 10 of the medal standings at the last two summer Olympics, winning 13 gold in Beijing, they have never won a medal of any colour at a World Championships.

Even their impoverished neighbours North Korea have a better record, thanks to Jong Songok’s gold in the women’s marathon at the 1999 event in Seville.

Much of South Korea’s recent sporting success has come from specializing in a small number of events. Of their 22 gold medals from Beijing and Athens, archery and the Korean martial art of taekwondo have accounted for half.

For the Aug. 27-Sept. 4 event in Daegu, the hosts have set themselves the modest target of finishing in the top 10 in 10 events including the marathon, long jump and racewalking.

“We can’t say for sure if we’ll earn our first ever medal, but we have some hope in the 20km fast walk and marathon events,” said a Korea Association of Athletics Federations spokesman.

“Our goals for the tournament are quite modest; we’ve announced the ‘10-10 project’ where we aim to have 10 players enter the final rounds of 10 different events.”

South Korea’s outside hopes for a medal at the championships suffered a setback when Asian Games gold medalist Ji Young-jun was cut from the marathon team after he failed to return to form following a series of injuries.

The hosts’ marathon team had also come under scrutiny amid doping allegations in June, but police eventually cleared the country’s coach and runners after an investigation.

The KAAF spokesman said that while South Korea was aware of how far it lagged strong athletics countries, it was determined to catch up.

“Korea isn’t a powerhouse in track and field mainly because of our physical disadvantages compared to many foreign athletes,” said the spokesman. “But we’re striving to become more competitive by continuing to support various

youth development and leadership training programs around the country.”

Oh Dong-jin, KAAF president, told the South Korean team that taking part in the championships was the most important thing.

“Even if you fail, don’t hang your head, and walk with pride,” Oh said at a ceremony for the team launch. “I hope you all try your utmost best until the end.”

SOUTH KOREA: In this photo provided by Puma, Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt (center) poses for a photograph with women in traditional Korean dress at the Dalgubal Grand Bell in Daegu, South Korea. -AP South Korea has a good track record of hosting major sporting events, impressing under the international spotlight with the 1988 Seoul Olympics and co-hosting a colourful and successful soccer World Cup with Japan in 2002.

After heartbreaking back-to-back losses in the bidding process for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, South Korea’s Pyeongchang was awarded the hosting rights at the third time of asking

ticular for the home crowd, many will also be keen to see the popular and pleasing Japanese.

Japan, the birthplace of the sport and by far judo’s most successful nation, had been going through something of a crisis in recent years until the Tokyo worlds.

While their female fighters continue to be streets ahead of the rest, with the exception of China, the men had been gradually losing their number one status.

At the Olympics in Beijing they won “only” two gold medals and none at all at the 2009 worlds in Rotterdam.

But Japan have been through these crises before and they bounced back in Tokyo with four gold medals, to add to six from the women (from eight categories).

Men’s national team coach Shinichi Shinohara, himself a double world champion, is cranking up the pressure on his fighters. “I want my lads to come back with three gold medals (from seven divisions as the Open is not being fought) and that they keep in their heads that they won’t be going anywhere else if they don’t win in Paris.”

Only the Japanese can be so demanding as for everyone else just a single gold medal is cause for celebration. Apart from Riner and Kamikawa there will be some other intriguing battles to watch out for.

Greece’s hugely entertaining reigning champion Ilias Iliadis will be up against his main rival at -90kg, Takashi Ono of Japan.

Brazil’s Leandro Guilhiero and Kim JaeBum will do battle at -81kg while another Korean Wang Ki-Chun will be favourite at 73kg.

In the women’s events the most entertaining battle to be expected is at 57kg where world champion Kaori Matsumoto of Japan will face Portugal’s explosive Telma Monteiro and home fans will have their eyes on Gevrise Emane (-63kg) and Lucie Decosse (-70kg) as their main gold medal hopes. —AFP

local media, adding that the championships would greatly increase the global awareness of South Korea’s fourth-largest city.

“A successful staging of this will lead to a successful hosting of the Pyeongchang Olympics”.

South Korea has launched a task force to oversee stadium security and the safety of officials, spectators and the some 2,500 athletes from than 200 countries who will be competing. —Reuters

Bolt confident of another three gold medals in Daegu

Revenge and history on the cards for home-boy Riner PARIS: French talisman Teddy Riner will have revenge on his mind when he bids to make history at the World Judo Championships here, starting today.

The 22-year-old from Guadeloupe is one of four men to have been crowned world champion four times in the maximum weight categories and victory at the Palais Omnisport de Bercy would see him stand alone with five.

Japanese Yasuhiro Yamashita and Naoya Ogawa and countryman David Douillet are the only other men to achieve four world crowns and Riner admits beating them is a huge motivation, especially on home turf. “I don’t want to let down my fans and family. I really want to bring home that fifth (gold) medal,” he said.

“Deep down I also want to leave my mark on my sport. Winning a fifth medal and surpassing the greats would be wonderful.

“I think about it all the time, like the Olympics, I think about that all the time.” In a largely successful career, two events stand out for Riner for their disappointing outcomes.

One was the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 when he fell in the semi-finals to Uzbekistan’s Abdullo Tangriev by a penalty for passivity in golden score.

The other was last year in Tokyo during the World Championships. Having won the heavyweight division (over-100kg) Riner lined up in the Open final against home favourtie Daiki Kamikawa.

Already then he was on the brink of history but a controversial judges’ decision following 10 minutes of close combat went against him, leaving Riner fuming.

He vented his anger at the judges at the time and he was still seething five months later during the prestigious Paris Grand Slam earlier this year where he celebrated wildly after soundly beating Kamikawa in the final.

While Riner will be the star draw, in par-

and will host the 2018 Games.

Daegu Mayor Kim Bum-il has already promised to deliver the “best ever World Championships in the history of the IAAF” while South Korean President Lee Myung-back is confident Daegu will showcase the country’s ability to host large-scale events.

“I firmly believe that the Daegu athletics championships will be successful,” President Lee told

US sprinter Allyson Felix celebrates in this file photo

Felix challenges not limited to track DAEGU: US sprinter Allyson Felix should be mentally and physically ready to face some of the fastest women on the planet when she goes for 200 and 400 metres gold at the World Championships but it is how she handles the moments away from track that could determine her success.

The three-times world 200 champion is bidding to become the first woman to win a world championship 200-400 double and coach Bob Kersee told Reuters that the key was balancing her training with the myriad of obligations that come with being a top athlete.

“How to handle each and every day, that is the key,” Kersee, who has coached Olympic champions and world record holders during his long career, said in a telephone interview.

Training, rest, media meetings and sponsorship appearances must be carefully managed at the Aug. 27-Sept. 24 championships in Daegu, South Korea, he added.

Felix’s heartbreaking loss to Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown in the 2008 Beijing Olympics 200 final showed what can happen when the balance is not right.

“There is no doubt in my mind .... nothing against Campbell, she (Felix) would have given Campbell a better run for her money if we had eliminated some of off-the-field, off-thetrack activities and monitored her time and rest,” Kersee said. “That taxed her more than

anything else.”

While Felix has beaten her Jamaican rival three times in the World Championships 200, Beijing marked Campbell-Brown’s second successive Olympic triumph over the American at the distance.

The Beijing loss was particularly hard to take and Felix is determined to change things in 2012. “I have broken those (Beijing) races apart, I think I have pretty much figured out going into London what I need to do to be successful,” said Felix, the most high-profile U.S. athlete in Daegu. “It is all about learning to say no to different things.

“I wasn’t at my best in Beijing and it was due to things that I could have changed.”

Kersee promised to make it a smoother ride for Felix this time.

“The traveling back and forth .. the sponsor appearances ... being in a zone she has never been before. All those things are going to weigh on her mind,” he said.

Even the extra five minutes Felix would want to spend talking to reporters, something the Californian thoroughly enjoys, could be curtailed, added Kersee.

Whatever happened in a preliminary race or a final, Felix would not have much time to reflect or enjoy it due to the tight schedule.

“You focus at what is ahead of you,” Kersee said. “She knows that and has bought into that, and I think she can handle it.”—Reuters

DAEGU: Usain Bolt will put his famous “Who faster?” taunt to the test again at the world championships. So far, it has worked every time it has mattered most.

Ever since his stunning world records and gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and his repeat at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, the Jamaican sprinter has turned into one of the true global superstars in sports.

So when the championships open Saturday, most of the attention will focus on Bolt. Not that he minds. As usual, he is already making light of the pressure and expectations.

“I am always confident. I am unbeaten this year and aim to defend all my titles in Daegu,” Bolt told The Associated Press in an e-mail exchange.

On top of his individual gold medals, he also helped Jamaica win titles in the sprint relays at Beijing and Berlin. Anything less than a haul of nine gold medals from Beijing and two world championships would be a disappointment for him ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.

Yet he is in some need of another overpowering show at the 53,000-capacity Daegu Stadium, because his statistics over the past two years have not completely matched his braggadocio.

When it comes to “who faster?” in the 100 in 2011, Bolt is not on top of the list. He is not even the top Jamaican. His compatriot Asafa Powell holds the leading time of 9.78 seconds, with Bolt posting the sixth-fastest time of 9.86 - way off his world record of 9.58. He is not worried, though, having been in similar positions before. Two years ago, Tyson Gay was fastest ahead of the world championships but when it came to the biggest matchup of the competition, Bolt blew everyone away with a world record.

“I think it will be the same as Berlin. Some people ran well in the early season but it is the championships that count,” Bolt said.

“We always train to peak at the major championships. My coach sets out the program with this as the goal.”

Gay had been hampered by a sore groin in Berlin, and injury caught up with him even before the championships this year. The American pulled out of the 100 meters at the U.S. nationals in June because of a hip injury.

Bolt was troubled by a bad back last year, and even if his times have been less than exceptional since, he says it no longer bothers him. “The back injury was last year. I haven’t had any problems with it this year,” he said. Just don’t count on world records this year.

It leaves Powell as his main challenger to Bolt, but the former world-record holder has been notoriously pressure prone when it comes to big events. Bolt concedes, however, there is no underestimating Powell this year.

“Asafa has always been a good athlete. He has been running fast for many years and deserves a lot of respect for his achievements,” he said. Bolt’s domination in the 200 one year after coming off his injury is far less contested, with a world-leading time this year of 19.86, also still far off his world record of 19.19. In the 200, his closest challenger is also Jamaican, 21-year-old Nickel Ashmeade. It also highlights another subtheme of the championships - the Jamaican sprint domination over the Americans.

Since Beijing, the relays have underlined that.—AP

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

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Malinga sets hat-trick record as Sri Lanka win COLOMBO: Fast bowler Lasith Malinga took a record third hat-trick as Sri Lanka secured a consolation four-wicket victory over Australia in the fifth and final one-day international yesterday.

Malinga removed Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Xavier Doherty to become the first bowler to take three hat-tricks in one-dayers as Sri Lanka dismissed Australia for 211 before achieving the target with three overs to spare.

Paceman James Pattinson and left-arm spinner Doherty bagged two wickets each for Australia, who clinched the series 3-2. “We performed well today and the bowlers put in a fantastic effort,” said Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan.

“The middle order then did the job for us. Chamara Silva batted really well and his partnership with (Mahela) Jayawardene set up the win.”

Australia, who had an unbeatable 3-1 lead before the match, were comfortably placed at 210-5 before losing their last five wickets for just one run, with Malinga doing the maximum damage to finish with 3-35 off eight overs.

Man-of-the -match Malinga, known for bowling accurate yorkers with a slinging action, had previously taken hat-tricks in two World Cups-against South Africa in 2007 and Kenya in 2011.

Sri Lanka’s batsmen stuttered to 33-3 at the start of their innings with Pattinson taking two wickets in his opening spell, but Jayawardene (71) and Silva (63) put on 111 for the fourth wicket to prop up the innings.

Silva, who hit one six and eight fours in his 71-ball knock, was dismissed just before rain stopped play but Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews (26) ensured win when the

game resumed with a 51-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Malinga was earlier superbly supported by unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis (3-49) and seamer Shaminda Eranga (2-45).

“It was disappointing how today went, but there is still a long way to go,” said Australia skipper Michael Clarke, who was named man of the series.

“We want to win every game we play and we have got some work to do in preparation for the Tests. The Test guys have been here for a week and working hard.”

Opener Shane Watson topscored for Australia with an 84-ball 56, which contained one six and six

fours. Clarke (47), David Hussey (46) and Ricky Ponting (31) were the other main scorers.

Australia lost opener Shaun Marsh in the second over after being put in to bat, but Watson steadied the innings with two useful stands.

Watson added 67 for the second wicket with Ponting and 56 for the next with Clarke before falling in the 28th over, caught at deep mid-wicket off Mendis.

Clarke looked set to complete his third half-centur y of the series before being caught behind off Eranga. Sri Lanka and Australia will now play a three-Test series, starting in Galle on August 31. —AFP

Scoreboard COLOMBO: Complete scoreboard of the fifth and final one-day international between Sri Lanka and Australia yesterday: Australia: S. Watson c Tharanga b A. Mendis 56 S. Marsh b Eranga 2 R. Ponting c sub (Randiv) b Mathews 31 M. Clarke c Sangakkara b Eranga 47 M. Hussey c Sangakkara b Prasanna 6 D. Hussey b A. Mendis 46 B. Haddin c J’wardene b A. Mendis 8 M. Johnson b Malinga 1 J. Hastings lbw b Malinga 0 X. Doherty b Malinga 0 J. Pattinson not out 0 Extras (b2, lb2, nb2, w8) 14 Total (for all out; 46.1 overs) 211 Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Marsh), 2-71 (Ponting), 3-127 (Watson), 4-146 (M. Hussey), 5-167 (Clarke), 6-210 (D. Hussey), 7-211 (Johnson), 8-211 (Hastings), 9-211 (Doherty), 10-211 (Haddin).

Bowling: Malinga 8-2-35-3 (nb2, w2), Eranga 8-2-45-2 (w5), Prasanna 10-137-1, Mathews 3-0-6-1, J. Mendis 8-035-0, A. Mendis 9.1-0-49-3 (w1).

Sri Lanka: U. Tharanga b Haddin b Johnson 0 T. Dilshan b Pattinson 17 K. Sangakkara c Haddin b Pattinson 7 J’wardene c D. Hussey b Doherty 71 C. Silva c Hastings b Doherty 63 A. Mathews c Doherty b Watson 26 J. Mendis not out 7 S. Eranga not out 0 Extras (lb7, w15) 22 Total (for six wickets; 47 overs) 213 Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Tharanga), 2-12 (Sangakkara), 3-33 (Dilshan), 4-144 (Silva), 5-195 (Jayawardene), 6-209 (Mathews).

Bowling: Johnson 10-0-45-1 (w4), Pattinson 10-1-41-2 (w1), Doherty 10-054-2, Hastings 10-0-28-0 (w8), Watson 6-0-33-1 (w2), D. Hussey 1-0-5-0.

Result: Sri Lanka win by four wickets Series result: Australia clinch fivematch series 3-2

COLOMBO: Australia’s team members pose with the trophy winning the series by 3-2 after the fifth one-day international cricket match against Sri Lanka. —AP

Sharapova lifts Cincinnati title MASON: Russia’s Maria Sharapova beat Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic 4-6 7-6 6-3 to win the Cincinnati Open on Sunday and install herself as one of the favourites for the US Open.

There were 16 breaks of serve in a topsy-turvy final but Sharapova emerged strongest in the end to claim her second title of the season and the 24th of her career in the lead up to the final grand slam event of the season, starting in New York on Aug. 29.

“It was a really tough one out there. It was so physical and in the end, it could have gone either way,” said Sharapova.

“We kept breaking each other in the beginning. It felt like one of us played a few good points and than the other one and the levels were up and down throughout the match.

“So, I’m just fortunate that at the end of the day I’m the winner.” Sharapova started the match brightly, serving well and looking swift on her feet as she took a 4-1 lead but then Jankovic fought back and her Russian opponent crumbled in alarming fashion.

Jankovic won the next five games to take the set as Sharapova’s serve fell to pieces with five doublefaults contributing to her problems.

The second set was riddled with unforced errors from both players, 27 from Sharapova and 21 from Jankovic but the Russian won the tie-break 7-3 to force the match into a third set.

The first six games of the third set were all broken before Sharapova held serve to go 4-3 up and she showed her old killer instinct to finish off the encounter.

Sharapova’s other win this season came in Rome.

The former world number one did make the final at Wimbledon but lost to Czech Petra Kvitova.

Sharapova was projected to rise to fourth in the world rankings on the back of her latest win.

But what matters most to her now is a shot at her first grand slam title since the Australian Open in

2008 and she said she had gained confidence for that test.

“It’s great to have a win under your belt going into a major, absolutely,” she said. “I played some good matches here and it’s great to have this win. I came here wanting to play matches and wanting to raise my level, and I think I did that.” —Reuters

CINCINNATI: Maria Sharapova, from Russia, holds the championship trophy after defeating Jelena Jankovic, from Serbia, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, in the women’s final at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament. —AP

LONDON: England’s captain Andrew Strauss and his team celebrate winning the series after winning in their fourth Test match against India, at The Oval cricket ground. —AP

England seal whitewash, Tendulkar denied again LONDON: England sealed a 4-0 series rout of India with an innings and eight-run victory at The Oval here yesterday as Sachin Tendulkar fell just short of an historic 100th international hundred.

India, who needed 291 runs to make the hosts bat again, frustrated England during a fourth-wicket partnership of 144 between Tendulkar, who made 91, and Amit Mishra.

But when Mishra was out for a Test-best 84, it was the start of a collapse that saw India lose seven wickets for 21 runs on the way to 283 all out as the outplayed tourists suffered a second straight innings defeat.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann, at last presented with a pitch taking turn this series, did the bulk of the damage with six for 106 to the delight of the majority of a sell-out 23,500 crowd.

It was the first time England had swept a four-match series since a 4-0 home whitewash of the West Indies in 2004. “We had to work pretty hard for that,” England captain Andrew Strauss told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special. “When you enforce the follow-on, you’re always asking a lot of the bowlers especially on a flat wicket. They stuck at it. To bowl India out for 300 and 283 on that wicket is quite a performance.”

Meanwhile a delighted Swann was elated at taking five or more wickets in a Test innings for the 11th time and the first since his five for 62 against Pakistan at Lord’s last year.

“It’s been such a long time coming,” Swann said. I never thought I’d get another one.” India, despite three hundreds from Rahul Dravid, rarely posted a competitive total in the four Tests and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: “The problem was we didn’t score over 300 once in the series.

“We tried our best but we didn’t get much time together before the series because the players were coming from the West Indies.”

India resumed on Monday’s fifth and final day on 129 for three, still 162 runs shy of England’s first innings 591 for six declared featur-

ing man-of-the-match Ian Bell’s Testbest 235 and Kevin Pietersen’s 175.

Tendulkar was 25 not out and Mishra eight not out.

England, who’d replaced India at the top of the ICC’s Test Championship table with an innings and 242 run victory at Edgbaston last time out, endured a wicketless morning session.

But Tendulkar, whose previous best score this series was 56 in the second Test at Trent Bridge, should have been out for 70 when Alastair Cook at short leg dropped a bat-pad catch off Swann. There was further frustration for Swann and England when Tendulkar was dropped by wicketkeeper Matt Prior on 85.

But Swann made the breakthrough an increasingly anxious England wanted when Mishra, playing for turn that never came, was bowled, having easily surpassed his previous Test-best of 50 against Bangladesh in Chittagong last year.

It was another fine effort with the bat by Mishra, who made 43 in a first innings 300 featuring India man-ofthe-series Dravid’s 146 not out, after taking no wickets for a hugely

expensive 170 runs with his legspinners.

Tendulkar though seemed set to complete his ton of tons. But nine runs short the 38-year-old was lbw to seamer Tim Bresnan.Australian umpire Rod Tucker took his time before raising his finger, with replays indicating the ball would have just clipped the top of leg stump.

Tendulkar, walked off to a standing ovation after his best score of the series, topping his 57 in the second Test at Trent Bridge.

He batted for nearly four hours, facing 172 balls with 11 fours.

Wickets then tumbled in quick succession, with Suresh Raina lbw to Swann to complete a 42-ball pair before Dhoni drove loosely at Stuart Broad, armed with the new ball and was well caught by Swann in the slips for three.

Broad, England’s man-of-theseries with 25 wickets and 182 runs, then had RP Singh caught behind for a duck. Swann removed Gautam Gambhir, caught in the gully, and then finished the match by bowling last man Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. —AFP

Scoreboard LONDON: Final scoreboard on the fifth day of the fourth Test between England and India at The Oval yesterday: England 1st Innings 591-6 dec (I Bell 235, K Pietersen 175; S Sreesanth 3-123) India 1st Innings 300 (R Dravid 146 no, T Bresnan 3-54, G Swann 3-102) India 2nd Innings (overnight: 129-3) V. Sehwag b Swann 33 R. Dravid c Cook b Swann 13 V. Laxman b Anderson 24 S. Tendulkar b Bresnan 91 A. Mishra b Swann 84 S. Raina lbw b Swann 0 MS Dhoni c Swann b Broad 3 G. Gambhir c Morgan b Swann 3 RP Singh c Prior b Broad 0 I. Sharma not out 7 S. Sreesanth b Swann 6 Extras (b12, lb7) 19 Total (all out, 91 overs, 390 mins) 283 Fall of wickets: 1-49 (Dravid), 2-64 (Sehwag), 3-118 (Laxman), 4-262 (Mishra), 5-262 (Tendulkar), 6-266

(Raina), 7-269 (Dhoni), 8-269 (Singh), 9-275 (Gambhir), 10-283 (Sreesanth) Bowling: Anderson 17-4-54-1; Broad 20-2-44-2; Swann 38-6-1066; Bresnan 11-2-30-1; Bopara 3-013-0; Pietersen 2-0-17-0; England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wkt), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson Result: England won by an innings and eight runs Man-of-the-match: Ian Bell (ENG) Series: England win four-match series 4-0

Murray wins as Djokovic quits MASON: Britain’s Andy Murray won the Cincinnati Open on Sunday when his opponent in the final, Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic, retired injured.

Murray was already in control and leading 6-4 3-0 when Djokovic, who had received treatment to his right shoulder at the end of the first set, called it quits, raising doubts over his fitness ahead of the U.S. Open.

It was just the second defeat this year for the in-form Djokovic, whose victories this season included the Australian Open and Wimbledon championships, but could not have come at a worse time with the last grand slam of 2011 due to start in New York on Aug. 29.

“It’s unfortunate that I had to finish this way. I apologise to the tournament and I apologise to the people who came here today to watch the match,” said Djokovic.

“I really tried but it didn’t make sense for me to continue,” he said, adding that he expected to recover in time for the US Open.

Djokovic, chasing an unprecedented sixth Masters Series title this season, had struggled from the outset with Murray breaking his first service game.

The Serb showed some discomfort with his shoulder but was still able to break back to 3-3 and bring the crowd to life, in anticipation of a real contest.

But Murray, looking confident and efficient, broke again straight away, finishing off a magnificent rally with a superb cross-court forehand winner.

Murray served out the set and Djokovic called for a medical time-out during the interval, receiving an extensive massage to his right shoulder and upper-arm.

He returned to the court but was in clear discomfort and after dropping his first two service games to trail 30, he conceded defeat and came to the net to shake hands with Murray. It was the world number four’s second title in Cincinnati after he also beat Djokovic in the 2008 final and his seventh overall Masters crown and a major boost to his preparations for Flushing Meadows,

OHIO: Andy Murray, of Britain, holds the trophy following the men’s final against Novak Djokovic, from Serbia, at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament. —AP particularly after an early exit in the Montreal Masters.

“It was really a good week after I struggled last week.

I didn’t drop a set and beat some very good players from pretty much the first round onwards,” he said.

“Obviously with Novak today, it was unfortunate the way it ended, but I thought the first set, after the first couple of games, was a good standard. “I thought there were a lot of long rallies and good points. It’s been good preparation for New York.” —Reuters

Sharapova lifts Cincinnati title

Simpson captures his first PGA title

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

England seal whitewash, Tendulkar denied again Page 19 LONDON: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney scores a goal against Tottenham Hotspurs during their English Premier League soccer match at Old Trafford.—AP

United youngsters canter to victory Man United 3

Tottenham 0

MANCHESTER: Danny Welbeck, Anderson and Wayne Rooney were all on target as Manchester United continued their perfect start to the season with a 30 victory over Tottenham at Old Trafford here yesterday.

Sir Alex Ferguson once again underlined his confidence in youth with a selection that saw France international Patrice Evra as the only player older than his mid-20s.

With Javier Hernandez missing the start of the season with concussion, Welbeck has been given the opportunity of first-team football after a year on loan at Sunderland.

And he took his chance by opening the scoring for United just after the hour and within 10 minutes he had set up a

second goal for Anderson in some style.

Rooney then got on the end of a Ryan Giggs cross to head in late on to make it six points from United’s opening two matches.

Tottenham’s start was delayed by the riots in London causing their opening match against Everton to be suspended though they did thrash Hearts in last Thursday’s Europa League match - and they never looked like coming up with a response once they were behind.

Having claimed that Luka Modric, a transfer target for Chelsea, was not in the right frame of mind to feature at Old Trafford, Harry Redknapp did indeed leave the Croatian out of his squad.

But Ferguson provided a surprise by including Hernandez, who had been expected to miss another couple of weeks with concussion, on the bench.

United dominated from the start, with Rooney having a header held by Brad Friedel after neat work by Nani.

And Friedel was called into action once again when he turned a low effort from Tom Cleverley around the post.

United’s new goalkeeper David De Gea

has been the focus of plenty of attention since his £18.3 million move from Atletico Madrid in the summer.

The Spaniard did little to cool the nerves when he attempted to dribble past Rafael van der Vaart in his area and was fortunate to be caught by the Dutchman’s out-stretched leg.

Niko Kranjcar had a shot deflected wide and Michael Dawson headed on to the bar from the subsequent corner as Tottenham began to settle.

Gareth Bale also cut in from the left and had a low shot held by De Gea as Tottenham continued to have the better chances. Van der Vaart also skipped past Anderson and Phil Jones before seeing his hopeful 30-yard effort caught by De Gea. Just before the half hour, Rooney created a fine opportunity with a lofted cross that was headed just wide by Ashley Young.

Van der Vaart was again denied by De Gea just before half time and just after the restart, Young had a low drive held by Friedel after a neat pass from Rooney.

United threatened once again when

Anderson broke from midfield and Friedel could only block the Brazilian’s effort before Rooney shot the follow-up straight at the goalkeeper.

Impressive United youngster Phil Jones created another opportunity when he charged forward from the back and clipped a cross that was flicked on by Welbeck only for Young’s first-time shot to fly just high and wide.

But just after the hour, United took the lead when Smalling fed Cleverley and the youngster’s cross was glanced in by a fine header from Welbeck.

Rooney had a free kick tipped away from just outside the area as United looked to add to their advantage.

Welbeck then had an ambitious overhead kick saved by Friedel as he showed plenty of confidence after his goal.

And 10 minutes after making the breakthrough, Welbeck was picked out

by Anderson and returned the pass with a back-heel for the Brazilian to double the lead.

Rooney added further gloss when he headed into the top corner from a neat cross from substitute Giggs.—AFP

EPL results/standings Manchester United 3 (Welbeck 60, Anderson 76, Rooney 87) Tottenham 0 Played Sunday Bolton 2 (Klasnic 39, Davies 63)

English Premier League table after yesterday’s match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

Man City

2 2 0 0

7

2 6

Stoke

2 0 2 0

1

1 2

Man Utd

2 2 0 0

5

1 6

Wigan

2 0 2 0

1

1 2

Wolves

2 2 0 0

4

1 6

Sunderland 2 0 1 1

1

2 1

Aston Villa

2 1 1 0

3

1 4

Arsenal

2 0 1 1

0

2 1

Liverpool

2 1 1 0

3

1 4

Fulham

2 0 1 1

0

2 1

Chelsea

2 1 1 0

2

1 4

Swansea

2 0 1 1

0

4 1

Newcastle

2 1 1 0

1

0 4

Everton

1 0 0 1

0

1 0

Bolton

2 1 0 1

6

3 3

West Brom 2 0 0 2

2

4 0

QPR

2 1 0 1

1

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Blackburn

2 0 0 2

2

5 0

Norwich

2 0 2 0

2

2 2

Tottenham 1 0 0 1

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3 0

Father of Chelsea player Mikel freed in Nigeria

Spanish players extend strike Start of Italian season threatened MADRID: Spanish league footballers will extend their strike over pay to the second day of the new season next weekend, the players’ professional association said yesterday.

“The strike will continue for the second day of the season,” Luis Gil, spokesman for the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE), said after the latest negotiations at the AFE’s headquarters.

“The main problem remains the salaries that have not been paid to players,” Gil added. “I understand that people want to see football, but we must first think of the footballers who are having a tough time.”

Spain’s top football clubs had been meeting with players to prevent the strike spreading to a second match day in the lucrative Primera Liga, with hundreds of players complaining they have not been paid.

“The two sides remain very far from agreement but we are continuing to work” for a solution, Gil told reporters. The vice-president of the Professional Football League (LFP), Francisco Catalan, added: “I think that something positive can come from today’s meeting,” without giving details.

Catalan said there would be a further meeting between the league and the players’ association today. Players in the first and second divisions-including stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo-went on strike on the first match day Saturday and delayed the season start for the first time in 27 years.

The AFE is demanding a wage guarantee and that players be allowed to break their contracts if they are not paid for three consecutive months, a proposal rejected by the league.

“We are still very far from agreement on the guarantees,” Gil said. LFP president Jose Luis Astiazaran said: “We have always said we are at the limit of our financial capacities,” but insisted: “We are going to try to find compromises.”

According to the AFE, 200 players in the top two divisions have not been fully paid by cash-strapped clubs, some in bankruptcy protection, and are owed a total of about 50 million euros ($72 million). It is not clear if the league will try to squeeze missed matches into an already packed schedule or just scrap them.

Meanwhile, the Italian players’ union (AIC) has threatened to call a strike for the first weekend of the Serie A season if

players and clubs do not reach a compromise over a new collective labor agreement.

“If we do not sign the new labour agreement, the first round of fixtures will be delayed,” said AIC president Damiano Tommasi following a fruitless meeting with club representatives in Milan on Tuesday.

The opening day of the Spanish season had to be called off at the weekend after players there went on strike in a dispute over unpaid salaries, but while strikes were mooted in Italy several times last season, they were never carried out.

“After a year of this, we cannot call this a threat,” added former Roma and Italy midfielder Tommasi. “The fact is we cannot start the new season without a new labor agreement. “You will have to ask the League (Lega) what the chances are of us agreeing a deal. “We want to start the season because it will mean that a collective labour agreement has been signed.”

Last year the AIC called a strike for the weekend of December 11 and 12, only to postpone it on December 9 after a verbal agreement was reached with the clubs.—AFP

Manchester City 3 (Silva 26, Barry 37, Dzeko 47); Norwich 1 (De Laet 37) Stoke 1 (Jones 90); Wolves 2 (Doyle 42, Jarvis 45) Fulham 0

SPAIN: Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas reacts after winning the Joan Gamper trophy against Napoli at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona yesterday.—AP

KANO: The kidnapped father of Chelsea footballer John Obi Mikel was freed yesterday in a police raid in Nigeria, and he spoke of being beaten by men in military garb during the abduction.

The raid occurred in the city of Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s north and hundreds of kilometres away from where the abduction took place. Police said no ransom was paid.

“Obi was rescued and six suspects were arrested, five men and a woman,” Kano state police commissioner Ibrahim Idris told journalists, speaking of Michael Obi. “Obi is here with us as you can see.” Idris said a suspect led police to the house where Obi was being held.

Police did not comment on whether legitimate soldiers were involved in the kidnapping, and none of the arrested suspects were members of the military. While describing the raid, Idris said that “his abductors were captured.”

Obi, appearing worn and with bruises under his nose, described the August 12 kidnapping in the central city of Jos, where he runs a transport company, and said he had been beaten. A van in military colour overtook him and blocked his way as he was driving home from work, he said at the police headquarters. Two men in military uniform jumped out and asked him to follow them, according to Obi. “They forcefully pushed me into the van and when I asked them where we were going to, they said I should wait and see,” he said. “They wound up the window so nobody could hear me even if I had screamed. They beat me to pulp and only stopped when I became very weak.”

He said they sought a ransom of 10 million naira ($64,000, 45,000 euros) and eventually drove him to Kano, hundreds of kilometres away from Jos.—AFP

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CANBERRA: Anti-carbon tax protesters known as The Convoy of No Confidence listen to speeches in front of Parliament House yesterday. — AFP

Australia passes CO2 offset laws Carbon tree plantation firms to be winners

CANBERRA: Australia’s parliament endorsed the world’s first national scheme that regulates the creation and trade of carbon credits from farming and forestry yesterday, to complement government plans to put a price on carbon emissions from mid-2012.

The laws, the first major bills passed by the government with Greens support in the Senate since the Greens took the balance of power on July 1, are a precursor to the carbon price legislation to be put before parliament later this year.

Known as the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI), the new laws allow farmers and investors to generate tradeable carbon offsets from farmland and forestry projects. Land use

including agriculture accounts for 23 percent of Australian emissions.

“Green carbon is one of the four pillars of the climate package, alongside putting a price on pollution and investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Greens deputy leader Christine Milne said. “The passing of this bill augurs well for passing of the whole package.”

The laws passed with minor Senate amendments backed by the government, with the House of Representatives now due to rubber-stamp the changes.

The step came as hundreds of truckers circled Australia’s parliament on Monday in a campaign aimed at forcing the government to withdraw the proposed carbon tax law, and call new

elections. Projects backed by the CFI include tree plantations that soak up carbon dioxide as they grow, cutting methane emissions from burping camels and livestock, reducing fertiliser use and better fire management of northern grasslands.

The government said the offsets can be traded domestically and overseas. However, the scheme is expected to start off slowly until parliament passes laws to put a price on carbon emissions from July 2012. Prime Minister Julia Gillard plans a carbon tax starting at A$23 a tonne on about 500 of Australia’s biggest polluters from July 2012, ahead of emissions trading from mid-2015, and has staked her government’s future on securing

parliamentary support for her plan.

Agriculture is not included in the carbon price scheme, but the government wants farmers to be able to benefit from the market for carbon credits.

Under the carbon price plan, Australian industries which buy carbon offsets will need to ensure at least 50 percent of the offsets are domestic credits. “This is fantastic. It gives us the ability to export (credits), it gives a boost to the voluntary market and it gives confidence that we can get an administrative structure that we desperately need,” said Andrew Grant, CEO of CO2 Group, , the country’s main developer of tree plantations for carbon offsets. The government estimates the carbon farming initiative

will help cut Australia’s carbon emissions by 460 million tonnes by 2050.

“There is increased interest in the CFI from across market and the first wave of investment activity will start to unfold now the Act has been passed,” said Martijn Wilder, global team leader for environmental markets at law firm Baker & McKenzie in Sydney. “But the really significant activity under the CFI will come with the approval of carbon pricing laws,” he added. Australia accounts for about 1.5 percent of global emissions, but is the highest per-capita polluter in the developed world because coal is used to generate most of the country’s electricity. The government has committed to cut total emissions by five per-

Manufacturing ‘crisis’ as BlueScope axes jobs SYDNEY: Australia’s BlueScope Steel said yesterday it will close a blast furnace, abandon its export business and axe 1,000 jobs, as unions warned the manufacturing sector was facing its worst crisis in decades. The company, Australia’s largest steelmaker by output, made the announcement as it reported a dire Aus$1.05 billion (US$1.09 billion) net loss for the year to June 30, compared to a Aus$126 million profit previously. Export sales, which have been hurt by fierce competition from China and elsewhere, delivered a Aus$487 million earnings loss in the period.

“We are experiencing significant economic challenges and structural change in the global steel industry,” chairman Graham Kraehe said, with the company’s share price diving 5.7 percent to close at Aus$5.70. He pointed to a surging Australian dollar, low steel prices and high materials costs as squeezing margins. This, combined with low demand due to the global financial crisis, meant reform was needed, he added. “I’ve been in manufacturing all my life and I’ve seen a lot, but nothing like what we’ve got at the moment,” added Kraehe.

The company will shut its number six blast furnace at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, with 800 jobs lost, and close its Western Port hot strip mill, east of Melbourne, at the cost of 200 positions.

Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Paul Howes warned that the country’s manufacturing industry was facing

one of its worst periods ever due to the soaring, commodities-linked Australian dollar. “Today’s tragic job losses send the clear signal that Australian manufacturing is facing the worst crisis it has seen since the Great Depression,” he said. The Aussie dollar breached parity with the greenback in October and yesterday continued to trade near all-time highs at

around US$1.04. The BlueScope announcement comes on the heels of another Australian steel giant, OneSteel, last week laying off 400 staff, citing weak demand, with unions expecting more redundancies in the weeks ahead. The latest cuts illustrate that while Australia’s mining sector is booming, driven by demand for its raw materials from Asia,

SYDNEY: Paul O’Malley, BlueScope Steel’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, speaks to the media following the release yesterday of the company’s fullyear results. — AFP

other parts of the economy, such as manufacturing, tourism and education, are hurting. The nation’s unemployment rate unexpectedly rose in July to 5.1 percent and coming on top of slumping consumer confidence and retail sales, analysts forecast it will rise further. Howes pinpointed China’s “undervalued” currency as a major problem, with the yuan’s weakness blamed for suppressing the cost of Chinese exports and causing rival foreign products, such as BlueScope’s, to lose market share. “Estimates suggest China is undervaluing the yuan by up to 40 percent, which just drives export industries and jobs to China at the expense of Australian industry,” he said.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has repeated warnings on the yuan in recent days, urging “large developing economies to put in place policies to boost home-grown demand and move towards more market-based exchange rates”. He said it was an “awful day” for BlueScope workers, but added the global economy was changing, and so was Australia’s with demand for resources and strong fundamentals meaning a soaring local currency. “What that means is cheaper goods for Australian consumers, but the higher dollar puts a lot of pressure on our tradeexposed industries, and BlueScope is an example of that,” he said. “What it means for companies like BlueScope, they do have to look for a sustainable business model, and we are seeing the harsh consequences of that.” — AFP

cent of year 2000 levels by 2020. The conservative opposition strongly oppose putting a price on carbon emissions and has promised to scrap the scheme if it wins the next election, due in the second half of 2013. But a report by the left-leaning Australia Institute yesterday said the opposition plan would create a prolonged period of uncertainty, even if the conservatives win the next election, as the polls suggest. It said the conservative Liberal and National Parties would have to wait until mid-2016 before they could win enough seats in the Senate to repeal the carbon-trade laws, and its direct action plan for tackling emissions could be delayed until 2018. — Reuters

Abu Dhabi SWF revamps external equities dept ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, has restructured its external equities department, separating indexed funds from active funds as part of a more focused strategy. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, son of the President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa, has been appointed to head the newly-created indexed funds department. The other, external equities department will be headed by Obeid AlSuwaidi, who was previously director of external funds for the Far East.

Earlier, ADIA had four departments, all external funds equities on a geographical basis -Europe, North America, Far East and emerging markets. These four departments allocated funds to external managers, some of which were actively managed, and some indexed. Now, the four departments are being merged into one for the active funds while a new indexed funds department is also being set up. The restructuring was done internally in July.

“The creation of our new indexed-funds and active departments will streamline how we manage our relationships in the equities space with external fund managers,” an ADIA spokesman told Reuters. “But it also forms part of our broader efforts to continually enhance the way we share and pool our knowledge and resources across the organisation,” he said.

ADIA, whose assets range from Citigroup bonds, to a stake in Britain’s Gatwick airport, allocates over 60 percent of its portfolio to externally-managed indexed funds. In 2007, ADIA had restructured its internal equities department. At least 46 percent of the fund’s portfolio in 2009 was allocated to equities, with a minimum of 35 percent in developed markets and at least 10 percent in emerging markets, ADIA said in its annual review released last year.

Since the start of this year, several Abu Dhabi governmentbacked entities have revamped their boards and top management as the emirate grappled with a slowdown in the real estate and financial sector. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, the world’s third largest oil exporter. — Reuters

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business

All eyes on Bernanke as recession looms Fed Reserve chief will be mindful not to disappoint WASHINGTON: With the global economy sputtering and financial markets on the rocks, the world needs reassurance the US central bank stands ready to save the day. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will make a speech on Friday at a lodge in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole, where policymakers and academics meet once a year to talk shop. Last year, Bernanke used the podium to suggest the Fed could help growth by buying long-term bonds, a prelude to a program enacted soon afterward that did just that.

However, no grand new plan is expected to be hatched at this year’s meeting. In part that’s because the Fed already unveiled a new policy tool this month when it pledged to keep interest rates near zero into 2013.

Central banks rarely make such promises, so consider that a big move. But the world grows more nervous every day that a new recession lurks around the corner. Economists see rising risks that US growth could evaporate, while Europe languishes in a debt crisis. Even strong

Ford vehicles earn high APEAL rankings KUWAIT: Customers increasingly are demanding top fuel efficiency, and they are rating Ford highly for delivering, according to the JD Power 2011 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study released recently. All of Ford’s newer retail vehicles earned fuel efficiency ratings above their segment averages, according to the J D Power 2011 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout study. “Ford is an industry leader in fuel efficiency, and customers are pleased with the way we are helping them at the pump,” said Bennie Fowler, group vice president, Global Quality and New Model Launches. “Ford also is absolutely committed to the highest vehicle quality, delivering vehicles that surprise and delight customers while eliminating defects.”

The new Ford Fiesta and F-150 were first-place segment winners in the survey, which measures customer satisfaction in design, content and vehicle performance. The 2011 Ford Taurus and Flex were rated second in their segments. The new Ford Explorer, F-Series Super Duty, Expedition and Mustang scored third-place segment rankings.

Ford vehicles excelled in many areas of the study, particularly fuel efficiency, specifically: l All of Ford’s newer retail vehicles earned fuel efficiency ratings above their segment averages l Fiesta performs particularly well in the area of fuel efficiency in the subcompact car segment l New F-150 outperforms industry average for fuel efficiency APEAL sur-

veys customers on what they like about the performance, execution and layout of their new vehicle after the first three months in service.

Customers rate their level of “gratification” on a variety of vehicle attributes, including safety, fuel efficiency, cargo space, roominess and exterior styling.

“Customers are falling in love with Ford vehicles at first sight and growing even fonder of them over time,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “Customers increasingly are saying our fuel efficiency leadership is a reason to buy a Ford vehicle.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Ford Motor Company today has 12 vehicles that lead their sales segments in fuel efficiency - including four vehicles with EPA-certified 40 mpg or higher ratings - a claim no other full-line automaker can match. The company also is introducing five new electrified vehicles in North America by the end of next year.

The study also ranked customers’ happiness with smart new technologies and features, including MyFord Touch, multicontour massaging seats, changeable ambient interior lighting and refined sound quality. “MyFord Touch is helping to define the future of automotive interiors, and Explorer and Edge customers rank this new technology very highly,” said Kuzak.

“Customers also told us where they have questions, and we have been improving the ownership experience with software upgrades, dealer training and even more support to address their concerns.”

performers like China and Brazil show signs of slowing. Moreover, stocks have plunged, further threatening the economy because consumers could pull back if they sense their retirement savings are dwindling.

So at the very least, Bernanke will be expected to hold our hands a little when he speaks.

“Markets are increasingly hoping there will be some signs that the Fed will coming running to the rescue,” said Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. Most economists expect Bernanke will explain what’s in his policy toolbox while promising to use those tools if necessary. Markets will hush when he begins his speech, and he will be mindful not to disappoint.

One danger looming over the world economy and which could goad Bernanke into more action - is the prospect that the European crisis could worsen. Investors are nervous that some countries might not pay back their debts, so they are demanding some European governments pay higher interest rates to borrow. Ireland, Portugal

and Greece currently cannot borrow on the market, and now market forces appear to be tilting against larger countries, threatening to create a much larger crisis. Policymakers are scrambling to contain this, with the European Central Bank buying Italian and Spanish bonds this month.

But the ECB is internally divided over that move, creating further anxiety for investors. On Monday, the central bank will release figures that could show how committed it is to propping up Italy and Spain. A bad reaction by investors to that data - or to revised readings due during the week on US and British second-quarter economic performance - could increase pressure on Bernanke to act. Indeed, many people in the market expect the Fed will eventually launch QE3, the name given to what would be the third installment of a program to help the economy by buying assets on the market. “Expectations are for more to happen. It’s just a question of exact timing of when it happens,” said Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton in New York. — Reuters

FM EXPO returns to take stage with The Big 5 Show KUWAIT: FM EXPO, the Middle East’s only exhibition dedicated to the burgeoning facilities management industry, is taking its place alongside the construction industry’s biggest event - The Big 5 Show - from Nov 21 to 24 at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Andy White, Event Director, dmg :: events, said: “Amid increased construction growth in the Middle East, facilities management is becoming an increasingly important part of the picture. In this changing scenario, dmg :: events has taken the strategic decision to co-locate FM EXPO with The Big 5 Show, offering even greater exposure for FM service providers to meet with thousands of players from the construction industry.

“Frequently, the developers and architects who choose contractors are the same people who have to make a decision on facilities management when the project is completed. Having decision-makers and FM suppliers under the same roof makes a great deal of sense, as The Big 5 Show assumes the mantle of being a true ‘one-stop shop’ for everyone associated with construction and maintenance in the Middle East.”

FM is still a relatively young industry in the Middle East, but is one poised for huge growth. The market in the GCC alone is projected to reach a value of US $8 billion by 2013.

As such, the FM EXPO will not only showcase FM products and service providers but will also create an important platform for the participants to discuss issues affecting the FM markets, such as the introduction of strata laws in the Gulf, best practice solutions to improve the management, service level agreements, technology and innovation in FM among others.

David Thompson, Event Manager, FM EXPO, said: “FM EXPO was held in May this year, and was a huge success, with footfall up 10 per cent on the year before.

At the previous Big 5 Show, almost 40 percent of the 35,000 visitors stated that they wanted to see a greater FM presence at the event, which is why we decided to colocate FM EXPO alongside the region’s largest event for the building and construction industry. Exhibitors are excited to get a second chance at exposure this year especially given the extra benefits and opportunities The Big 5 Show offers. We’re taking their audience from 5,000 to 14500 - a three-fold increase that will encompass potential customers including architects, procurement directors, engineers, CEOs, facility managers, property owners association and real estate developers.”

KIMMCO holds iftar banquet for customers in the UAE DUBAI: On Monday, Aug 8, 2011, KIMMCO hosted an iftar banquet for its customers at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dubai. The banquet was attended by over 60 participants from the senior management teams of KIMMCO’s valued partners in the UAE. The KIMMCO team saw the occasion of the iftar banquet as a forum to strengthen customer relationships and speak about the traits of quality, industry leadership and technical and sales excellence, that underpin the insulation group brands.

Shahid Khan, Vice President of the Alghanim Industries Insulation Group,

delivered a passionate address about the values of teamwork, partnership and mutual success, and presented customers with a crystal model of the Burj Khalifa, laser engraved with KIMMCO and Rockwool India brands, as a token of KIMMCO’s appreciation. Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, is one of many iconic structures in the GCC that was insulated by KIMMCO, and is a project that symbolises the passion and dedication of the KIMMCO UAE team. KIMMCO will continue to hold iftar banquets in select markets over the holy month of Ramadan as part of its customer outreach program.

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 .4450000 .3870000 .3420000 .2720000 .2800000 .0040000 .0020000 .0737380 .7184060 .3810000 .0700000 .7042650 .0040000 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2716000 GB Pound/KD .4479230 Euro .3899090 Swiss francs .3448450 Canadian dollars .2744270 Danish Kroner .0523470 Swedish Kroner .0423280 Australian dlr .2821250 Hong Kong dlr .0348250 Singapore dlr .2244810 Japanese yen .0035400 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0739750 Bahraini dinars .7207110 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0724460 Omani riyals .7057300 Philippine Peso .0000000

.2760000 .4560000 .3980000 .3540000 .2820000 .2900000 .0072500 .0035000 .0744790 .7256260 .4010000 .0760000 .7113430 .0072000 .0530000 .2737000 .4513860 .3929240 .3475110 .2765480 .0527510 .0426550 .2843060 .0350940 .2262170 .0035680 .0059890 .0024970 .0031570 .0036860 .0745470 .7262840 .3871240 .0730060 .7111860 .0064700

Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

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

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.582 5.947 3.131 2.478 3.720 226.110 35.018

GCC COUNTRIES 72.829 75.041 709.370 725.390 74.367

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.000 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 45.719 Yemen Riyal 1.250 Tunisian Dinar 201.330 Jordanian Dinar 385.670 Lebanese Lira 183.200 Syrian Lier 5.896 Morocco Dirham 35.226 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 273.000 Euro 394.760 Sterling Pound 451.540 Canadian dollar 278.150 Turkish lire 152.770 Swiss Franc 349.780 Australian dollar 284.550 US Dollar Buying 271.800 GOLD 337.000 171.000 88.000

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

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

287.800 725.690 3.830 279.700 536.000 36.300 53.500 167.800 46.500 396.100 35.670 6.280

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 0.239 0.237 3.660 387.120 0.185 93.680 47.100 4.200 227.300 1.850 51.000 708.730 3.210 6.590 75.490 72.850 226.820 40.530 2.613 454.000 43.200 351.300 5.600 9.490 198.263 74.400 273.200 1.210

10 Tola

GOLD 1,922.270

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

3.645 6.423 9.407 0.271 0.273

SELL DRAFT

286.300 725.690 3.655 278.200

226.800 45.746 394.600 35.520 5.945

0.033

385.650 0.184 93.680 3.730 225.800

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees

349.800 5.600 9.340 74.300 272.800

Currency

272.750 276.920 450.580 394.090 346.410 723.150 74.235 74.865 72.695 383.925 45.738 2.477 5.946

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

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

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 452.000 272.800

Selling Rate

3.141 3.650 6.396 669.019 3.650 9.225 5.745 3.790 90.599

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 708.550 3.160 6.410 75.060 72.850 226.820 40.530 2.479 452.000

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer

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

273.000 3.155 5.980 2.495 3.655 6.460 74.430 72.995 725.000 45.725 456.700 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 387.500 5.750 398.200 284.300

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

272.400 394.800 451.800 278.000 3.580 5.978 45.725 2.477 3.650 6.405 3.145 725.400 74.225 72.750

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BUSINESS

Magazines flex apps - but will they make money?

NEW YORK: Beachgoers this summer may have noticed that their favorite magazines - from Time to Vanity Fair to Esquire - have shiny new tablet editions. Magazine publishers are betting heavily on the tablet platform, aggressively enticing new customers and existing subscribers to embrace their digital versions. Hearst and Conde Nast both struck deals with Apple in May, permitting consumers to subscribe through the iTunes Store - deals that closely followed redesigned apps from the likes of GQ and Vanity Fair.

Two months later, Time Inc. made its biggest tablet-related news to date, announcing it would release tablet editions for the remaining 17 of its 21 titles. Time had already released editions for its four most popular titles: Sports Illustrated, Time, Fortune and People. “Conde Nast and the others are looking at the tablet market as the promised land that will deliver them from the plight that they are going through in print and online,” said Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics, a research and consulting firm.

But the revenue for iPad apps has

yet to materialize. Neither Conde Nast nor Time nor Hearst has provided figures for what they’re making off their iPad apps. They have released subscription numbers, which, while growing, remain minuscule. For example, Conde Nast reported 242,000 digital customers in the six weeks since introducing iPad subscriptions, but that still makes up just 1.3 percent of its total print circulation.

Still, while publishers refuse to give up on the slumping print editions, they clearly see the tablet as the future. “While nascent, it’s clear that tablet editions will play an increasingly important role in our overall business moving forward,” a Conde Nast spokesperson said. Each of the major publishers continues to push more tablet editions into the market and make deals with various tablet makers.

Apple remains the king of the tablet market, and much of the enthusiasm stems from its decision in February to allow direct subscriptions through the iPad rather than limiting purchases to individual issues. Even with Apple’s new rules,

the publishers had been wary of striking a deal with Apple because it demands a 30 percent take on all apps sold in its iTunes store. Conde Nast and Hearst eventually relented - hence those subscription agreements in May - but Time has maintained a more limited relationship so as to control more of its revenue and subscriber information.

“What we know is that the No. 1 complaint - at least as far as magazines inside the Apple Store - is that they couldn’t get the magazines they love,” said Avi Zimak, advertising director for Hearst Tablet Media.

“They had to pay cover price on every single issue. To resolve that, we have offered it as a subscription.”

These slightly different approaches are but one sign that while publishers and industry analysts may agree on the significance of the tablet, they disagree on a whole lot when it comes to monetizing the digital content.

Print magazines rely on revenue through three streams - advertising, subscriptions and single copy purchases. That is unlikely to change for the print editions, but when it

Gulf Bank announces winners of the 32nd Al Danah weekly draw KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its 32nd Al Danah weekly draw on Aug 21, 2011, announcing a total number of ten Al Danah weekly prize draw winners, each awarded with prizes of KD 1,000.

The 32nd Al Danah Weekly Winners are: Salah Mohammad Khaleefa Al-Khalfan Zainab Hassan Abbas Al-Khalaf Hana Nasser Haji Al-Mashmoum Lafi Mutlaq Abdullah Al-Saeidi Adel Atiyah Mohammed Al-Showaihan Nada Mekal Husain Hamdan Ehaab Taher Ibrahim Gharbiah Ahmed Mohammed Munef Al-Ajmi Habib Mohammed Sufer Hussein Osama Anees Saleem Dawoud Gulf Bank encourages everyone in Kuwait to open an Al Danah account and/or increase their deposits to maximize their chances of becoming a winner in the upcoming weekly (KD 1,000 each for 10 winners), and the annual draw (1 million dinars). Gulf Bank’s Al Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and encourages them to save money. Chances increase the more

money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.

Al Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al Danah winner.

To be part of the Al Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 55 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance. Customers can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s bilingual website, to find all the information regarding Al Danah or any of the Bank’s products and services or log on www.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out more about Al Danah and who the winners are.

Back to School is fun with ABK KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait strives to offer the best financial solutions that fit all age groups, as such it announces its “Back To School” promotion with the Fahoodi Account.

Fahoodi is an interest bearing account especially designed for children up to 14 years that gives assurance to your child’s future.

With this promotion children will get fabulous “Back to School” Fahoodi branded bags from any ABK branch.

To enjoy this promotion customers can visit any ABK branch and either open a Fahoodi account or deposit into an existing Fahoodi account.

They can also transfer monthly to the existing Fahoodi account by placing a standing order to get an attractive Fahoodi school bag for their kids.

Fahoodi is designed to teach kids the joys of saving money at an early age. Children 10 years and above will receive a free ATM card and learn to carry out simple transactions like withdrawal and balance inquiry confidently. In addition to the fabulous range of “Back to School” bags, chil-

dren can get the new Fahoodi Debit Card and enjoy 15 percent discount at Baroue stores in Avenues, Discovery and Olympia malls. “Baroue - Let’s Play ” is a one -stop-shop designed exclusively around the needs, dreams and expectations of children, and moms-to-be.

Taste, an online marketplace-cummagazine that draws most of its revenue from e-commerce. Yet if Reichl is confident that e-commerce is the best model - and some industry analysts share her point of view most magazine publishers are not sold. At least not yet.

Rather than pursue an unproven form of revenue generation, the major publishers are still betting on the traditional avenues - advertising and subscriptions. But not only do ad revenues remain low, but subscription models also differ widely.

Time, for example, offers an allaccess plan geared to print subscribers, while Hearst offers one plan for its print magazine and another for its digital edition, and Conde Nast fits in the middle. Its print subscribers can access the digital editions for free, but it also offers annual subscriptions for digital editions.

The diverging plans reflect different philosophies about tablet and print subscribers. Time’s goal is to launch a model that gives existing subscribers more value, while Hearst considers tablet subscribers addi-

tive. Zimak argues that an all-access approach is too limiting, saying that the company wants to give readers the content they need - as long as it gets paid for it. “We look at it as an additive,” Zimak said of tablet subscriptions. “We know through research we’ve conducted that the overlap from print onto this medium has been minimal.”

Figuring out which of these models is most effective will become increasingly important given the investment publishers are making in tablets. “A lot of it is just figuring out what makes sense financially,” Reichl said. “You can make everything sing and dance, but it costs a lot of money.” With Apple unveiling its newsstand in September, each publisher will be put to the test. Though each one will have a different presence they offer differing numbers of titles for the iPad - the next few months are shaping up to be very revealing, especially with Amazon rumored to be launching a tablet soon. “We’re all in the sandbox,” Entner said. “We’re in the process of stepping out of the sandbox. Hopefully we don’t stumble over the rim in the box.” —Reuters

HK opens hearing on maid residency Landmark case inflames immigration debate HONG KONG: A court yesterday began hearing a Philippine maid’s bid to live permanently in Hong Kong, in a landmark case that is inflaming debate over how the city treats its army of domestic helpers. Most foreigners can apply to live permanently in Hong Kong after seven years of uninterrupted residency. But the wealthy financial hub’s 292,000 domestic helpers are specifically excluded from that right. Activists said a successful legal challenge would entrench domestic workers’ right to equality, but opponents say it would open the floodgates to immigration from the Philippines, Indonesia and other labour-exporting nations.

The cast was brought by Evangeline Banao Vallejos, who has lived in Hong Kong since 1986 but has been repeatedly denied permanent residency by immigration authorities. Vallejos was not present in the High Court, but scores of her supporters rallied outside before the start of the hearing, which is expected to last two days. “We are not asking for extraordinary privileges, we are only after equal treatment,” said Eman Villanueva, the vice chairman of the Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union.

The hearing was preceded by clashes on Sunday, when scuffles broke out during a march by some 300 people opposed to permanent residency for foreign domestic helpers and a rival group. Police arrested 19 individuals. The case has implications beyond Hong Kong for other Asian economies that rely heavily on cheap imported labour, but also for the territor y ’s semiautonomous system of government under Chinese rule.

Vallejos’s lawyers said in opening arguments that the authorities’ refusal was discriminatory and unconstitutional. “ There is no criteria (in the constitution) that any group must satisfy certain higher standards (for permanent residency),” counsel Gladys Li told the High Court, which was packed with journalists, lawyers and activists.

“There is no exclusion based on race, religion, nationality... or place of birth.”

If Vallejos wins, the biggest pro-Beijing party warned of an influx of as many as 500,000 people - including children and spouses of foreign maids - and extra costs of HK$25 billion ($3.2 billion) in social welfare spend-

Ahmed Al Hindal wins KD 1,000 in NBK’s Watani Online draw KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) recently conducted the first draw of its first-of-its-kind “Use Watani Online and Win” campaign designed to reward customers who do their banking with Watani Online. The aim is to encourage new customers to join the high-tech, secure, convenient and free online banking channel provided by the safest bank in the Middle East. Commenting on the occasion, winner of the first draw prize of KD 1,000 Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Hindal said: “This promotion is one of the best promotions ever offered by NBK. Watani Online allowed me to perform a variety of transactions including checking balances and viewing transaction statements, paying bills and transferring funds locally or internationally. I’m really proud to be an NBK customer. Thank you NBK,” he added.

NBK will host a total of eight draws over the course of eight weeks to give customers a chance to use Watani Online.

Customers who use Watani Online (www.nbk.com) to perform their banking transactions including account-to-account transfers, credit card payments, bill payments or local and international transfers will be entitled for one chance per day each time they log in to Watani Online to enter the draw to win KD 1,000 weekly.

comes to tablet editions-their digital doppelganger - how will publishers like Time or Hearst turn them into profitable enterprises? “I’d like to believe we’re moving towards this world where publishers are getting closer to understanding the tipping point on monetizing their content,” Donnie Williams, chief digital officer at Horizon Media, said.

However, he believes that “there is a lot of work that needs to be done to continue to succeed in the space.”

The most basic question to be answered is whether tablet advertising can generate enough revenue. Ruth Reichl, former editor of Conde Nast’s now-closed Gourmet magazine and current editorial adviser to Gilt Taste, does not think so. She points out that Gourmet fell victim to ad cutbacks, not circulation woes. “What killed the magazine was the recession,” and the fact that “none of our advertisers had any advertising budgets anymore,” Reichl said. “I feel strongly that going forward, the advertising model for magazines is not a viable model.” That is one reason she decided to take the helm of Gilt

ing. Vallejos’s lawyer rejected that argument. “It doesn’t mean if the bar is removed, then everybody will suddenly become entitled to permanent residency,” Li told the court, noting that other immigration requirements need to be met apart from the seven-year

Basic Law allows the legislature to define and refine the concept of ‘ordinary resident’,” he told the court. The case has also attracted arguments on the city’s judicial independence from Beijing, after some lawmakers called on the Hong Kong government to refer

and a minimum wage of $480 a month. But rights groups say they still face general discrimination and a lack of legal protection. A maid’s visa is tied to a specific employer, leaving her vulnerable to domestic abuse, the activists say. And without the right to per-

HONG KONG: Filipina and Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Union members leave the high court in support of Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a Filipina maid who has lived and worked in Hong Kong since 1986, yesterday. —AFP stay period.

David Pannick, a lawyer representing the Hong Kong government, argued that the immigration provision excluding domestic helpers did not contravene the territory’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law. “ The

it to mainland authorities for their interpretation of the Basic Law. Foreign maids in Hong Kong have relatively better working conditions than in other parts of Asia - they are guaranteed one day off a week, paid sick leave,

manent residency, she must find another job in domestic service or leave Hong Kong within two weeks if let go by her employer.

Another four Filipinas have filed similar lawsuits to Vallejos’s. Their cases are due to be heard in October. —AFP

Humidity, volatility fail to deter banker flow to Asia

Winner Ahmed Al Hindal receives the prize from NBK Public Relations Manager, Abdulmohsen Alrushaid.

.HONG KONG: Abhay Pande is getting adjusted to Singapore’s year-round heat and tropical humidity. His living space is tighter, compared to the New York home where he and his family used to live.

Though the Citigroup banker misses the summer breeze and ample room of his suburban, US Northeast life, he was pleased to find his work schedule buzzing with activity, the minute he arrived in Asia.

“They asked JFK why he was running for president and he said: ‘That’s where the action is.’ Professionally, this part of the world is where the action is,” said Pande, Citi’s head of industrials global banking for Southeast Asia. He arrived in Singapore about two weeks ago with his wife and two children.

Asia’s financial markets are down this year, and while hiring continues in certain areas, the industry is a long way off from its high-flying days before the credit crisis.

Still, a steady stream of U.S. and European-

based bankers continue to make the long trek East, to cities like Hong Kong and Singapore, where the overall fee pool is smaller but where economic growth keeps business opportunities flowing. The volume of primary stock offerings has grown every year since 2008, with Hong Kong the top city for IPOs globally the last two, at one point hosting more offerings than New York or London combined. Bond issuance hit a record last year.

Asia billionaires reached a record high of 332 this year according to Forbes magazine. That has helped fuel demand for jobs in Singapore, where Asia’s wealth management industry has historically been based.

“Over the next 20 to 40 years, Asia is going to be the principle growth driver for the global economy,” Pande said.

Rajiv Lulla recently moved to Hong Kong, looking to get closer to Asian markets and to his family in India. Lulla, Asia head of transportation investment bank-

ing for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, started in the new job about three months ago. He was previously based in Paris, where his wife would buy fresh produce and groceries every morning in a street market next to the home where they lived with their two sons. She now slogs through Hong Kong’s famous wet markets, walking past loud and smelly stalls of bloody fish heads, dried seahorses and murky tanks of eels, bass, crabs and other crawling, slithering ocean life.

For those who prefer, expensive foreign produce and meats are available too in the high-end markets located closer to Hong Kong’s Central district, and the island’s upscale south side. “Hong Kong is unique in that it provides tremendous opportunity to immerse yourself in the Chinese culture, but still retains the comforts of the west and what you’re used to,” said Lulla, who was unpacking the last boxes from the move last weekend. —Reuters

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Bourse rises from Sunday’s 7-yr low GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) reversed its negative performance witnessed on Sunday recording gains in most of the sectors during yesterday’s session. The market was supported by the increases witnessed in some blue chip stocks. It is worth mentioning that National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) finished the day being amongst the top gainers.

Market Indices Market weighted Global General Index (GGI), ended the day up by 0.97 percent, at 176.74 point. Market Capitalization was up for the day at KD 28.92 billion. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 5,780.90 point, adding 16.60 points (0.29 percent) to its previous close.

Market Breadth During the session, 78 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards advancers as 33 equities advanced versus 17 that retreated.

Daily Trading Activity Trading activity was mixed during the session. Total volume traded was up by 10.22 percent with 71.69 million shares changing hands at a total value of KD 15.18 million (8.59 percent lower compared to the day before). Services sector was the volume leader, accounting for 43.17 percent of total shares exchanged. National Ranges Company was the volume leader for the day with 11.36 million shares being traded. Banking sector was the value leader, accounting for 62.55 percent of total traded value. National Bank of Kuwait was the most active in terms of traded value during yesterday’s session, with KD 6.91 million worth of shares exchanged.

Top Gainers and Biggest Decliners In terms of top gainers, Global Investment House took the top spot for the day, adding 11.63 percent to its share value and closing at KD 0.024. On the other hand, Al-Rai Media Group Company shed 6.94 percent and closed at KD 0.067, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

business

Sector Wise Sector-wise, six out of the eight sectors moved northward during the day. Buying interest was observed in the banking sector.

Global Banking Index led the pack of advancers, producing 1.69 percent in gains.

As mentioned earlier, heavyweight NBK finished the session amongst the top gainers with an increase of 6.00 percent to reach KD 1.060. Gulf Bank followed reporting a 1.06 percent climb during the day, and closed at KD 0.475. Real Estate stocks followed, producing 0.96 percent in sector gains backed by National Real Estate Company’s advance. The scrip closed up by 7.14 percent at KD 0.060 to finish the day amongst the top gainers.

Fur thermore, Mabanee Company and International Resorts Company added 2.56 percent and 1.96 percent, respectively to their share prices.

Ser vices stocks too were notable advancers, adding 0.62 percent in sector

gains. Zain, Agility and Combined Group Contracting Company were up by 1.08 percent, 4.00 percent and 1.39 percent, respectively. The three companies over weighted all other declining stocks in the services sector.

On the other hand, Food Sector Index was the top declining in KSE for the day.

The sector shed 1.06 percent from its valu e. H e av y we i g h t Ku w a i t Fo o d s t u f f Company (Americana) was the only declining stock in the sector with a loss of 1.33 percent in its share price to reach KD 1.480.

The company solely pulled the food index down.

Oil News Oil prices fell yesterday on speculation that Col Muammar Gaddafi’s 40-year rule in Libya is on the edge of collapse. Brent crude in London plunged more than 3 percent to USD105.5 a barrel, while US sweet crude fell nearly 1 percent to $81.48.

Population surge, water crisis, prompt rethink on food: UN STOCKHOLM: Population growth and water stress are driving Earth to a food and environmental crunch that only better farming techniques and smarter use of the ecosystem will avert, a UN report issued yesterday said. The number of humans is expected to rise from seven billion in 2011 to at least nine billion by 2050, boosting demands for water that are already extreme in many countries and set to worsen through global warming.

“Currently, 1.6 billion people live in areas of physical water scarcity and this could easily grow to two billion soon if we stay on the present course,” according to the report.

“With the same (farming) practices, increased urbanisation and dietary patterns, the amount of water required for agriculture in terms of evapotranspiration would increase from 7,130 cubic kilometres (1,711 cubic miles) today to 70-90 percent more to feed nine billion people by 2050.” The 35-page assessment was compiled by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), drawing mainly on estimates in peer-reviewed journals. It was released at the start of World Water Week in Stockholm, a forum on water issues.

The report said that in many highintensity food-producing regions, water limits are already being “reached or breached”. They include the plains of northern China, India’s Punjab and the western United States.

Climate change will accentuate scarcity as it will altering patterns and intensity of rainfall. In Africa alone, agricultural output could be reduced by 1530 percent by century’s end. Using today’s farm techniques, focussing on always higher yields and ever-wider use of land, would be disastrous, said the report.

“If the same agriculture practices

continue to be used, it would result in the inevitable degration or complete destruction of the terrestrial freshwater and coastal ecosystems that are vital to life itself,” it warned.

The report, An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water and Food Security, called for innovation to improve yields and end hunger but also be less damaging to the environment. Ideas include better training for farmers, including incentives for environmentally-sound practices. Crops should be selected that are more suited to scarce or erratic rainfall, better irrigation techniques would improve the efficiency of water use and catchment ponds in hot countries could be invaluable mini-reservoirs, helping small farmers to survive in times of absent rain, said the report.

Planting trees and shrubs on the perimeter of fields discourages water runoff and retains soil moisture, thus helping crops. It also enables habitat links for species living in fragmented patches of forest. The report stressed better governance, in which ecosystems are managed holistically - in other words, governments, farmers, urban dwellers and specialists come together to look at how to balance the needs of all water users with those of the environment. By putting a dollar figure on the value of natural resources, farmers and consumers would get a better idea of the need to conserve, it said.

It cited a rough estimate of $70 billion for the global economic value of wetlands, of which 5.25 billion is generated in Africa and 37.1 billion in Asia. “We need to be thinking about bringing more and more agriculture into the ‘green economy’, where we value farming practices that protect our precious water resources in the same way we are beginning to value forest management that helps reduce greenhouse-gas emissions,” said IWMI head Colin Chartres. —AFP

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Truckers protest outside Australia’s parliament

This undated image provided by Jalila Essaidi shows Essaidi pointing a gun at a target at an undisclosed location. (Inset) This undated high-speed camera image shows a .22 caliber bullet hitting but not breaking the ‘bulletproof’ skin created by Essaidi with the help of Utah State research Randy Lewis. — AP

Researcher helps artist make bulletproof skinR Essaidi intrigued by concept of spider silk as armor SALT LAKE CITY: A bio-art project to create bulletproof skin has given a Utah State researcher even more hope his genetically engineered spider silk can be used to help surgeons heal large wounds and create artificial tendons and ligaments. Researcher Randy Lewis and his collaborators gained worldwide attention recently when they found a commercially viable way to manufacture silk fibers using goats and silkworms that had spider genes inserted into their makeup.

Spider silk is one of the strongest fibers known and five times stronger than steel.

Lewis’ fibers are not that strong but much stronger than silk spun by ordinary worms.

With Lewis’ help, Dutch artist Jalila Essaidi conducted an experiment weaving a lattice of human skin cells and silk that was capable of stopping bullets fired at reduced speeds.

“Randy and I were moved by the same drive I think, curiosity about the outcome of the project,” Essaidi said in an email interview.

“Both the artist and scientist are inherently curious beings.” Lewis thought the project was a bit off the wall at first, Essaidi acknowledged. “But in the end, what curious person can say no to a project like this?” she said.

Essaidi, who used a European genetics-inart grant to fund her project at the Designers & Artists 4 Genomics Awards, initially wanted to use Lewis’ spider silk from goats to capitalize on the “grotesque factor” of the mammalspider combination. But Lewis didn’t yet have enough of the spider goat silk to send hundreds of yards to Essaidi. So he sent her spools of silk from silkworms he had genetically engineered in a fashion similar to the goats. Essaidi initially intended to fire .22 caliber bullets at the “skin” stretched in a frame.

But she decided to place the “skin” on a special gelatin block used at the Netherlands Forensic Institute.

Using a high-speed camera, she showed a bullet fired at a reduced speed piercing the skin woven with an ordinary worm’s silk But when tested with Lewis’ genetically engineered worm’s silk grafted between the epidermis and dermis, the skin didn’t break.

Neither was able to repel a bullet fired at normal speed from a .22 caliber rifle. “We were more than a little surprised that the final skin kept the bullet from going in there,” Lewis said of the tests at reduced speed. “It still ended up 2 inches into the torso, so it would not have saved your life. But without a doubt the most exciting part for us is the fact that they were able to recreate the skin on top of our fibers. It ’s something we haven’t done.

Nobody has worked in that area.”

Essaidi was intrigued by the concept of spider silk as armor, and wanted to show that safety in its broadest sense is a relative concept, hence bulletproof. “If human skin would be able to produce this thread, would we be protected from bullets?” she wondered on her blog. “I want to explore the social, political, ethical and cultural issues surrounding safety in a world with access to new biotechnologies.”

She said it is legend that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. “ Will we in the near future due to biotechnology no longer need to descend from a godly bloodline in order to have traits like invulnerability?” she asked. Lewis downplayed the potential bulletproof applications of his research. “I certainly would not discount that, but I don’t see that as a tremendous application at the moment,” he said.

He said bulletproof vests already exist. But being able to grow cells and use the material to replace large amounts of human skin could be significant for surgeons trying to cover large wounds, or treat people with

severe burns. He said the material’s strength and elasticity would enable doctors to cover large areas without worrying about it ripping out - a big advantage over small skin grafts.

Lewis couldn’t give a time frame for such a use because it would require FDA approval.

But he hoped to do some animal testing within two years, and noted spider silk already has proven very compatible with the human body.

The next step is to generate more material to test what cells will grow on it - made easier with the “transgenic” silk worms and milk from goat spiders. The real stuff is still the holy grail for fibers and textiles but not the easiest to come by as evidenced by an 11-by4 foot tapestry unveiled two years ago at the New York Museum of Natural History that took millions of spiders to complete. “We know some skin cells will grow (on our fibers), but can we get cells that make ligaments and tendons grow,” Lewis said. He said it may be easier to use the genetically engineered silk to make materials better than actual ligaments or tendons.

Essaidi, meanwhile, said she has plenty of wild ideas but wants to transplant the bulletproof skin. She said Geert Verbeke, director of Verbeke Foundation in Belgium, the biggest Eco/BioArt museum, wants to wear the skin “as an ode to BioArt.” Back at Utah State’s biomanufacturing facility in Logan, Utah, Lewis just started breeding for the next round of milking in January.

He has about three dozen of the genetically engineered goats. He extracts proteins from the special milk then spins them in a way that replicates the spider’s method, resulting in a strong, light-weight fiber.

“Nothing is as strong as the natural fiber, yet,” Lewis said of spider silk. “But we are working on solving that problem.” — AP

CANBERRA: Hundreds of truckers circled Australia’s parliament yesterday in a campaign aimed at forcing the government to withdraw a proposed carbon tax law, and call new elections, the second anti-government protest in the nation’s capital this month. The truckers sought to draw on public dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s minority government and perceptions of economic incompetence, despite a robust economy. “Everyone is on the edge because the country is basically in a state of disarray. We’ve all been surprised at just how tough everyone is doing it,” said transport company owner Peter Whytcross as the “Convoy of No Confidence” trucks blasted horns from roads around parliament and Gillard’s home nearby.

Outside the booming mining sector, many Australians are fighting to keep pace with inflation and high house prices combining to make the nation’s biggest city, Sydney, one of the world’s most expensive places to live. Despite the country avoiding recession after the 2008 global downturn, a high Australian dollar and weak domestic demand are hur ting areas other than the resources sector which is booming on the back of strong demand from China and elsewhere in Asia.

Yesterday, the country’s biggest steelmaker, BlueScope Steel, announced 1,000 job cuts and closure of half of its steel-mak ing capacity, while Qantas Airways last week said it would cut costs and slash up to 1,000 jobs, shif ting much of its international operations into Asia.

Political opponents dismissed the truck protesters as a “convoy of no consequence”, saying only a few hundred vehicles circled the hill-top parliament instead of the thousands that the organisers had promised.

“But it has got the moaners’ brigade in town to moan about everything in

general and nothing in particular,” said Greens leader Bob Brown, whose party holds the balance of power in the upper house and is accused by truckers of holding Gillard’s Labor to ransom.

The prospect of losing blue-collar steel jobs from Labor hear tland areas south of Sydney, however, prompted assurances of support for the manufacturing sector from Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

“There is no higher priority for us as a Labor government than supporting jobs,” Gillard told reporters, while Swan promised a “market-based solution” to help manufacturing companies better compete in the face of overseas competition. The job losses will add to Gillard’s woes as she struggles in opinion polls which predict her government would be swept from office if elections were held. Fresh elections are due in 2013 and Gillard has a oneseat buffer with support from Green and independent lawmakers.

The conservative opposition, riding high in opinion polls, has called for a national vote on the controversial carbon tax, which truckers and miners say would drive up business costs and further erode fragile consumer confidence. “We can have a vote on the carbon tax without necessarily a change of government. I am making it easier with this bill to have this matter put to the people,” conservative leader Tony Abbott told lawmakers.

But in a much-needed political win for Gillard, the government and Greens late on Monday combined in the upper house Senate to endorse laws to set up a carbon offsets market for farmers and foresters. The laws, the first major package passed since the Greens took the key balance of power votes in the Senate on July 1, are a precursor to the carbon price package, which will be introduced into parliament next week. — Reuters

CANBERRA: The anti-carbon tax protest known as The Convoy of No Confidence encircles the Parliament House ring road yesterday. — AFP

Rebuilding blocks: Japan’s slow disaster recovery YAMADAMACHI/TOKYO: Sakari Minato has fixed up his house just enough for his family to move back in. The walls still have holes, the windows are temporarily sealed. You can still see the water marks on the outside of the home left by the March 11 tsunami that roared into this northeastern coastal fishing town at the speed of a freight train and bulldozed ever ything in its path.

Minato doesn’t know whether to spend the $100,000 needed to completely restore the house or move the family to higher ground away from the ocean. He still doesn’t know whether the government will declare his part of town by the coast an uninhabitable tsunami zone.

Five months after Japan’s worst disaster in generations left more than 20,000 dead or missing, entire communities along the country’s northeastern coast face a similar dilemma. They have cleaned up much of the rubble and mud, fixed up roads and restored power. Tokyo and local governments, however, have yet to come up with detailed plans and money needed to start the actual rebuilding. Every day of delay brings more agony for hundreds of thousands of survivors who cannot move on with their lives and makes it increasingly unlikely the economy will get a powerful jolt from the rebuilding effort any time soon. “Even if I get the house fixed, it could be the case that the national government ends up buying this area in two years because it’s a tsunami-flooded district,” said Minato, a 48-year-old auto dealer. “So we stopped fixing the house for now since it’s good enough to live in.” His family barely escaped the deadly waves and a fire that wiped out most houses in his neighbourhood in Yamadamachi, a fishing town about 470 km northeast of Tokyo which lost nearly 800 of its 19,400 residents.

When the disaster struck on March 11 government planners, economists and aid

agencies looked back 16 years when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit Kobe killing 6,400.

The conclusion was that the triple blow of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, a tsunami that reached heights of 15 metres (50 feet), and a nuclear plant meltdown crisis, eclipsed anything Japan had experienced in the past half a century. Yet Tokyo was expected to crank out a hefty emergency budget by August, allowing rebuilding to start in earnest in the second half of the year. Even as that timetable slipped, the government remained optimistic that reconstruction would kick in by the final quarter of this year.

Wishful Thinking Today this looks like wishful thinking and reasons can be found both on Japan’s northeastern Pacific coast and in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo’s government district.

“Reconstruction would be a big boost to the economy ... But full-fledged rebuilding may need to wait until next year,” said Takashi Onishi, professor of city and regional planning at the University of Tokyo. Onishi sat on the government’s advisory panel on reconstruction and is helping the fishing towns of Kamaishi and Kesennuma in their reconstruction planning.

Japan’s steel industry initially counted on reconstruction to boost demand by 3-4 million tonnes over the next three years, but analysts have slashed their forecasts for next year and beyond by as much as half.

About half of the estimated 22.6 million tonnes of rubble the tsunami left behind has been cleared and the government aims to remove most of the debris from residential areas by the end of this month. But out of nearly half a million people displaced by the disaster, 84,000 remain in evacuation centers, temporary housing or with relatives or friends. They will not move on until local authorities decide what they want to rebuild and what to move out of the danger

zone. Once that is decided, Tokyo will draw up a national plan and allocate funds.

“How much will the government help?

Or big firms and reconstruction funds? We are reliant on them and the question is where is the money,” said Katsutoshi Tomiyama, 70. His jazz cafÈ in the picturesque fishing town of Rikuzentakata was swept away and he hopes to reopen it in neighbouring Ofunato, where he lives in temporary housing.

Officials in Tokyo point the finger up north and vent their frustration with how slowly requests from local communities are trickling in. Some local officials admit they are overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. “Honestly speaking, this is the first experience for us as well and we are now fumbling our way to figure out what and how to move forward,” said one official at a coastal town in Iwate prefecture. The town hopes to have a final reconstruction plan ready by the end of the year.

Similarly in Rikuzentakata, where nearly 1,800 of its 24,250 residents are dead or still missing, officials aim to prepare a plan in November hoping to get money from the regular budget for the next fiscal year starting in April 2012 rather than this year’s emergency allotments. That means that the bulk of the spending may be pushed back well into next year. “The national government has revealed a basic plan, but the details are not out yet,” city official Takeo Banno said. The relocation of homes to safe areas, which is one of the focal points of the rebuilding, could take several years. “In three to five years, large-scale relocation of houses is likely to make headway,” says Shogo Tsugawa, a senior government official in charge of rebuilding of Iwate prefecture.

Re-Thinking And Rebuilding To be fair , those dealing with the after-

math of March 11 face a task like none before and Prime Minister Naoto Kan was not exaggerating when he said Japan faced its biggest crisis since World War Two. Rebuilding what was damaged the way it was done after Kobe is not an option. Even before the disaster struck the Tohoku region was in trouble. Its fragmented fishing industry was struggling to stay afloat, agriculture dominated by small-plot farmers well past retirement age and its working population was shrinking at the fastest rate in all of ageing Japan, having fallen more than 8 percent in the past 15 years. “We need to avoid just doing the recovery job to prequake conditions,” said Ryutaro Kono, chief economist at BNP Paribas, who sat on the reconstruction panel.

Among the proposals are consolidating the fishing business, giving tax breaks for investors and creating special economic zones. They also include relocating homes to more elevated areas and rebuilding ports and other tsunami-ravaged facilities. Aside from the sheer complexity of the challenge is the slow grind of the political process. The deeply unpopular and increasingly isolated Kan has struggled to pull together his divided party and get any sort of cooperation from an openly hostile opposition that controls the upper house of parliament.

It took two months to get the first $50 billion batch of emergency spending out and another two to sign off on the next $25 billion installment, both earmarked for the initial relief, clean-up and temporary housing.

More than five months after the catastrophe the main spending plan worth up to 13 trillion yen has yet to take shape and no clarity on how it will be financed. With Kan on his way out, it is anyone’s guess when the “big budget” will be ready. “Government agencies need to work on the extra budget and next year’s budget at the same time but there are limitations in terms of manpower,”

one finance ministry official said.

Timing Matters In contrast to exasperated residents, financial markets have been sanguine about signs of slippage in reconstruction timetable. Those who are now rethinking their growth assumptions beyond this quarter are more concerned about the strength of the yen and clouds gathering over the global economy. Some economists say their colleagues may be too complacent and point out that while rebuilding spending will come sooner orlater, the timing matters too. Up to now, the base scenario has been that the serious money will start pouring in the final quarter of this year and early in 2012. That would boost sectors such as construction, steel and machinery at a critical time when the global economy may hit a soft patch and the upswing driven by companies restoring supply chains will have run its course. Now the risk is the big rebuilding effort will not come in time to act as a cushion. “Come the winter, seasonal factors may further delay construction projects,” said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

“From October-December and beyond, the economy is likely to show visible impact from the yen’s strength and if there is no lift from reconstruction, the economy ’s rebound is likely to peter out in the fourth quarter,” Kumano says. While the economy may still get a reprieve if Japan’s main export markets recover, those living in the belt of destruction on the coast can only wait or leave. Hiroki Haga, 63, whose newspaper delivery service in the coastal town of Otsuchicho was washed away by the tsunami, says the risk is that young people will pack up and look for work elsewhere. “The basics of how the town should be rebuilt are not ready. Our mayor died. No one can do anything.” — Reuters

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business

Sand for sale, environment ravaged KOH KONG, Cambodia: Round a bend in Cambodia’s Tatai River and the virtual silence of a tropical idyll turns suddenly into an industrial nightmare. Lush jungle hills give way to a flotilla of dredgers operating 24 hours a day, scooping up sand and piling it onto ocean-bound barges. The churned-up waters and fuel discharges, villagers say, have decimated the fish so vital to their livelihoods. Riverbanks are beginning to collapse, and the din and pollution are killing a promising ecotourism industry. What is bad news for the poor, remote Tatai community is great tidings for Singapore, the wealthy city-state that is expanding its territory by reclaiming land from the sea. Sand from nearby countries is the prime landfill and also essential building material for Singapore’s spectacular skyline.

As more countries ban its export to curb environmental damage entire Indonesian islands have been all but wiped off the map - suppliers to Singapore scour the region for what still can be obtained, legally or not. Cambodia, a poor country where corruption is rife and laws are often flouted, is now the No. 1 source. Singapore is by no means the only nation taking part in what is a global harvest of sand from beaches, rivers and sea beds.

Officials and environmentalists from China to Morocco have voiced concern and urged curbs. As construction booms in emerging economies and more sources dry up, however, exploitation of the remaining ones is likely to intensify.

Sand mining began anew in May on southwestern Tatai River, which empties into the ocean almost directly north of Singapore, across 1,300 km of open water. Despite denials by the main owner of sand mining rights in Koh Kong province, two Cambodian officials told AP that the sand is destined for the island nation. Singapore will not say where its sand comes from; the Construction and Building Authority said it is not public information. The National Development Ministry said the state’s infrastructure development company buys it from “a diverse range of approved sources”.

The mining visible on the Tatai

River clearly violates some of Cambodia’s own legal restrictions, not to mention a recent government order to suspend it temporarily. Vessels of a Vietnamese company were tracked by boat from about 10 km upriver to the Gulf of Thailand, where nearly a dozen seagoing barges, tugs hovering around them, took on the sand. The AZ Kunming Singapore, a 5,793-ton barge pulled by the AZ Orchid, was seen arriving empty from the open ocean, its tug flying a Singaporean flag. Both are registered with the Singapore government, which would not comment on the barge’s cargo or destination.

Ships from several countries, including China, were spotted in sand-mining operations in Koh Kong province, where residents joked about going to Singapore and planting a Cambodian flag there. The vessels included one from Winton Enterprises, a Hong Kong-registered group that was subcontracted to export sand to Singapore, according to Global Witness, a London-based environmental group that published a detailed account of the trade last year. The report said that miners had penetrated protected mangrove, estuary and sea grass areas, breeding grounds for marine life along a coastline and hinterland harboring some of the country’s last wilderness areas.

Cambodia’s cabinet spokesman, Siphan Phay, who was investigating the issue in Koh Kong, appeared angry that the temporary halt order was being ignored. He described the activity as illegal mining destined for Singapore, a surprising statement given that government ministers awarded the concession. A police officer in the economic crime division, who demanded anonymity given the issue’s sensitivity, also said the sand is going to Singapore. Ly Yong Phat, who holds the major concession in Koh Kong, has at times openly acknowledged the Singapore connection. But in a recent AP interview, amid tightening restrictions and mounting criticism, he said his company had not shipped sand to Singapore for more than a year because “our sand did not meet their standards”. The

dredging, he added, was for local sale and to deepen river channels.

However, a Malaysian company, Benalec Holdings, said it was ready to tap up to 530,000 tons for a reclamation project in Singapore from several sources in Cambodia, including Ly Yong Phat’s LYP Group.

Known as the “King of Koh Kong”, Ly Yong Phat is one of Cambodia’s biggest tycoons and a senator with close ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen. His holdings include hotels, a casino and agricultural plantations.

Land reclamation has enlarged

relations with Singapore over the sand on islands lying between the two countries. When miners finished with Nipah Island, reportedly all that was left was three or four palm trees protruding above the waterline.

Environmental groups say smuggling is believed to be continuing.

Vietnam banned exports late last year. Cambodia outlawed the export of sand from rivers in 2009 but allows it from some sea beds.

Recently, some government officials said that rivers where seawater flowed into fresh water, replenish-

SINGAPORE: This photo taken on Aug 16, 2011 shows Singapore’s Marina Bay complex which includes the 2,560-room Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino developed by a Las Vegas company built on reclaimed land (left) while cars travel to and from the main city (right) on an overpass to the Marina Bay area. —AP Singapore by more than a fifth, and up to 100 sq km more are slated for reclamation by 2030. What was once seabed is now Changi, among the world’s finest airports, and more recently the Marina Bay complex, which includes a 2,560-room hotel and casino developed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. Mountains of sand are needed for such fills. UN statistics show Singapore imported 14.6 mil-

Some see US trade deals as threatening states’ powers MONTPELIER, Vermont: A free-trade agreement between the United States and other countries around the Pacific Ocean might not seem like an obvious topic of discussion inside Vermont’s Statehouse. But in Montpelier and other state capitals, there’s growing concern that such agreements could undermine states’ authority in a host of areas, including regulation of important local industries, negotiations over health care costs and control over public utilities like water supplies.

Those watching the interplay of state laws and the provisions of international trade agreements acknowledge that some of their worries are speculative. Actual legal challenges, in which governments or corporations have brought complaints about government regulation to tribunals set up to resolve disputes under the trade deals, have been few in number. But Vermont and other states should be vigilant, said Robin Lunge, a former staffer with the Vermont Commission on International Trade and State Sovereignty who now directs health care reform efforts for Gov Peter Shumlin. “If it’s not important today, it could be vitally important tomorrow,” she said. “If you don’t pay attention today, you won’t know until you run into trouble.”

The system of negotiating international trade agreements makes it tough for state officials to monitor or affect the terms of the deals, said a report last year by the state of Maine . It focused on the possible effects of international trade provisions on the state’s efforts to regulate groundwater withdrawals for bottled water. In Maine, the bottled water industry includes Poland Spring, one of the top-selling brands in the US. “The negotiating process lacks transparency and precludes states from any meaningful participation in the negotiations even though the agreements have significant potential impact on state regulatory authority,” the report said.

In Vermont, Lunge was the main author of a letter Shumlin sent in June to President Barack Obama trying to raise an alarm about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a freetrade agreement being negotiated among the United States and eight other nations: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Shumlin said the agreement and a previous pact with South Korea could bring legal challenges to negotiations with drug companies over discounts, which save Vermont and other states millions of dollars a year in their Medicaid plan for the poor and other public health programs. Shumlin echoed comments made last September in a letter from five state lawmakers from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont that warned against “the continuation of an ill-conceived agenda to use trade policy to restrict foreign and domestic medicine pricing programs.”

lion tons last year, ranking it among the world’s top customers. Global Witness estimated that nearly 800,000 tons a year, worth some $248 million, were streaming to Singapore from Koh Kong alone.

The UN figures show that Cambodia supplied 25 percent of Singapore’s imports in 2010, followed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines. With its secrecy and lax enforcement of environmental regulations, Myanmar could emerge as a major supplier. The damage caused by

The agreements have required other countries to scale back their discount programs, but technical provisions have preserved discounts obtained by US states’ Medicaid programs. The governor wrote that those discounts, as well as those obtained by federally subsidized health clinics and teaching hospitals like Burlington’s Fletcher Allen Health Care, soon could come under attack as well.

Restricting other countries’ ability to negotiate for better drug prices “could allow our trading partners to challenge cost controls” used in the US, Shumlin’s letter said. “These programs serve vulnerable populations in the US, and trade policy should not put them at risk.”

Shumlin is raising an alarm needlessly, said Mark Grayson, spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Free-trade agreements are struck between national governments and do not impose requirements on states, he said, adding that a footnote in the Korea pact specifically says it won’t affect state Medicaid programs.

“Nothing in a trade agreement can conflict with US law,” Grayson said.

But the trade agreements could open an avenue for drug companies to try to appeal a state decision to exclude a drug from a list of preferred drugs, said Sean Flynn, a professor at American University’s law school who follows trade issues. The expense of defending against such appeals could weaken states’ ability to negotiate lower prices significantly, he said.

Similar concerns have been voiced about trade agreements as they affect the ability of states and municipalities to regulate their water supplies and who should have access to them. A study commissioned by Maine in 2009 concluded that it was uncertain whether legal challenges could be mounted under international trade agreements to a law in that state regulating water withdrawals for commercial uses. “There are water issues around the world regarding trade and trade agreements,” said Michael O’Grady, a lawyer with the Vermont Legislature’s research staff and counsel to the state trade commission.

“There is the potential in any regulatory field for a corporation from another country to bring an investment claim against the United States.” Corporations also can use international trade agreements to undermine federal law, said Robert Stumberg, a Georgetown University law professor who studies trade issues. Four of the five largest U.S. tobacco companies sued this past week to overturn new Food and Drug Administration requirements that cigarette packages carry labels showing graphic images of smoking’s ill health effects. At the same time, Philip Morris International is challenging a similar Singapore law before an international trade tribunal.— AP

sand extraction has spurred clampdowns on exports. Malaysia imposed a ban in 1997, though the media there frequently report on massive smuggling into neighboring Singapore. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad complains that sand pirates are “digging Malaysia and giving her to other people”. An Indonesian ban came in 2007, following years of strained

ing sand naturally, were exempt.

Global Witness spokesman Oliver Courtney said the trade in Cambodia revealed a “mismatch between Singapore’s reliance on questionably sourced sand and its position as a leader for sustainable development.” The city-state prides itself on environmentally sound urban planning. The dredging of the Tatai River began on May 17 “with a

fury,” creating a veritable traffic jam on the water, said Janet Newman, owner of the riverside Rainbow Lodge. “Before you could see crab pots bobbing in the river everywhere and fishermen going out.

Now there is nothing and nobody,” the British woman said.

Chea Manith of the Nature Tourism Community of Tatai said 270 families along the river have seen an estimated 85 percent drop in catch of fish, crab and lobsters and were being forced to eke out a living from small garden plots.

Tourists have all but vanished.

Armed with a petition, village leaders, tourism operators and a wildlife group met with Ly Yong Phat in early July. He appeared sympathetic, Newman said. He substantially reduced the dredging and has promised to stop altogether in October. A subsequent letter from the Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology ordered the LYP group to halt operations temporarily on the Tatai, citing a breach of regulations. The letter was obtained by Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Post newspaper, which made it available to the AP. Hun Sen himself expressed concern over the mining in the river.

“We hoped that the prime minister’s recent promise to review the impacts of the sand trade would lead to proper regulation of dredging operations,” said Courtney of Global Witness. “Unfortunately, the pledge does not appear to have been followed up with meaningful action.” The mining has continued on the Tatai, and violations, such as dredging closer than 150 meters (165 yards) from riverbanks, were clearly evident.

The Post also obtained a Ministry of Industry, Mining and Energy letter extending LYP Group’s concession in Koh Kong until Sept 2012. “We are just little people. We cannot do anything,” Chea Manith said. Newman sounded a more optimistic note.

“It’s my hope that the LYP Group will become sympathetic through this experience of having seen the reaction from people passionate about protecting their environment,” she said. “It would be sad if they just went somewhere else to dump the same on others.”— AP

Merkel under pressure over eurozone policies Collateral row rages on FRANKFURT: Germany’s Angela Merkel faced mounting domestic criticism of her euro zone policies yesterday, with the Bundesbank slamming an anti-crisis package she agreed to in Brussels last month and a senior ally warning he would vote against key parts of it. Elsewhere in the currency bloc, a week-long row over Finnish demands that Greece cough up collateral as a condition for new bailout loans raged on, with the Netherlands condemning a bilateral deal between Helsinki and Athens as illegal. Rating agency Moody’s warned that the dispute could end up delaying approval of a new aid package for Greece, driving it into default.

Despite public reassurances from Merkel over the weekend that she would not bow to pressure from European partners and financial markets to agree to joint euro zone bonds, there were signs of growing unease at her policy course from within her conservative camp.

Shortly after returning from an official trip to the Balkans on Tuesday evening, she is now due to attend a special meeting of lawmakers from her parliamentary bloc - the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) - to answer questions from concerned Bundestag members.

Reflecting worries about Merkel’s course, the CDU leadership has agreed to make the government’s euro zone policy a central theme of a party congress scheduled for early November, which had been meant to focus on education. Elsewhere in Europe, the German leader is being accused of doing too little to save the 12-year old single currency project, while at home she is increasingly under fire for having gone too far.

Both her partners abroad and allies in Germany have begun questioning her leadership in the crisis, which has sometimes seemed passive as she struggles to satisfy different interest groups. “Policy seems to be formed day by day. It’s always reactive, not proactive. There is no leadership from Merkel and that is the gist of the problem,” Josef Joffe, editor and publisher of respected German weekly Die Zeit told Reuters.

Yesterday, the Bundesbank

ATHENS: Greece’s Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos speaks during a conference yesterday. Venizelos said Greece needed to closely apply a recovery programme monitored by its creditors to neutralize the effects of a deeper-than-forecast recession, likely to exceed 4.5 percent of output. —AFP issued one of its most stinging criticisms to date of Europe’s-and by default Merkel’s - crisis management, saying governments risked turning the bloc into a “transfer union” in which Germany pays for the sins of its euro partners. Merkel and her 16 counterparts in the currency area agreed at a July 21 summit in Brussels to a series of new measures to combat the debt crisis that has raged since late 2009 and is now threatening to tear apart the bloc.

These included a second aid package for Greece and new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the rescue mechanism which will be able to intervene in the secondary bond markets to prop up weak countries once parliaments across the euro zone have approved the decisions. “The latest agreements result in a further big step towards joint liabiity and reduced disciplining via the capital markets,” the Bundesbank, which is led by Merkel’s former economic adviser Jens Weidmann, said in its monthly report.

Senior CDU lawmaker Wolfgang

Bosbach broke ranks on Sunday and vowed to vote against the EFSF steps when the Bundestag meets next month. Parliament seems sure to pass the measures, thanks in part to the support of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens.

But Bosbach’s public defiance is a sign that Merkel’s ability to hold her party together on euro zone issues is waning. Manfred Guellner, head of polling group Forsa, said sentiment towards Merkel had undergone a change over the past weeks, pointing to a survey published in Cicero magazine in late July which showed 61 percent of Germans now believe Merkel will not win a third term in 2013. “The fact that a strong majority don’t expect her to stay in office is completely new,” Guellner said.

Germany is not the only country where fierce debates are raging about the euro zone’s latest crisisfighting steps. In countries like the Netherlands, Finland and Slovakia, there is deep scepticism about providing further aid to the euro zone’s weakened periphery and giving the bloc’s rescue facility powers to prop

countries up with bond purchases.

Ewald Nowotny, a member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) governing council, said on Monday that he was worried that political jousting in member states could end up delaying parliamentary approvals of the July 21 deal beyond October.

Any delay would put more pressure on the ECB, which agreed to reopen its controversial bond buying program earlier this month after promises from European governments that the EFSF would take over this task within months. The bank bought another 14 billion euros of bonds last week to add to the record 22 billion euros a week earlier, according to a breakdown published yesterday. Merkel is also under fire from across Europe for not taking more radical action including expanding the EFSF, and business groups in Germany called last week for joint euro zone bond issuance.

Moody’s said the division over the collateral row pointed to the need for Germany and France to take stronger steps to support the euro project. —Reuters

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

TECHNOLOGY

Google wants to turn your smartphone into a wallet Smartphones transform into virtual credit cards

PALOALTO: Dave Willner (left) and Sasha Rosse work in Facebook’s User Operations department, at the online networking site’s new headquarters. —MCT

Is social-networking site a phenomenon or a fad?

SAN JOSE: Is Facebook a phenomenon or a fad? Even as it has grown to more than 200 million users and become the global leader in social-networking Web sites, many people see it as just a nifty way for people to share information and images among far-flung friends and acquaintances. But admirers say Mark Zuckerberg’s 5-year-old startup is poised to fulfill hype as the next big thing - that it will power online social interaction the way Google drives online search.

Facebook is aggressively moving beyond the home page to pursue its mission to become a “social utility” that helps people “connect and share.”

To typical users, Facebook may seem a stand-alone Web site - a vehicle for people to renew and revitalize personal relationships, to post comments and photos, and perhaps play games. But more than 10,000 Web sites now recognize a service called Facebook Connect, which enables users to use their Facebook ID and password to move fluidly between sites where registration is required. The service also adds new social functions to those other sites. For example, a person who posts a video on YouTube can also share it via Facebook with a single click.

And Facebook has global reach, having been translated into 50 languages, with 40 more in development, the company says.

Every new Facebook user, every “friend” added, every business that starts a page, every Web entity that recognizes Facebook Connect - all add to the critical mass behind Facebook’s momentum.

From a business perspective, the connections enhance the value of what Facebook calls the “social graph” - its ever-expanding map of human relationships - even while skeptics wonder about its ability to turn its popularity into profit.

How important is Facebook? Shouting over live rock at a recent Facebook party at a San Francisco nightclub, Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of fast-growing online game maker Zynga, likened it to Netscape, the browser startup that launched the dot-com boom in 1995.

Separately, Joe Greenstein, cofounder of Flixster, a site that lets film buffs share reviews and comments, suggested that Facebook Connect represents the 21st-century upgrade of e-mail.

If Google ignited the so-called Web 2.0 business era, Facebook may be ushering in Web 3.0, he said. The opportunity, Greenstein said, “is theirs to lose.” Those assessments contrast sharply to some other notable perspectives. A year ago, Internet mogul Barr y Diller elicited laughter at a business conference by dismissing Facebook as “a Princess phone” a communications fad. Similarly, Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. empire includes Facebook rival MySpace, was once quoted as calling Facebook “the flavor of the month.”

But while Facebook doubled its user base in the past year, MySpace has been slipping. While Facebook only recently surpassed MySpace in US users - both have about 70 million each, according to comScore - Facebook appears far more successful in holding users’ attention. A recent study by Nielsen Online found that the total amount of time Americans spent on Facebook in April increased to more than 233 million hours, a nearly 700 percent increase over April 2008.

MySpace, meanwhile, endured a 30 percent decline.

In April, News Corp hired former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta to

take over as CEO of MySpace. This week, Van Natta announced plans to cut about 400 jobs from MySpace’s “bloated” work force. Facebook’s own lofty aims were underscored during a spring news conference where Christopher Cox, vice president of product, delivered a presentation that included a portrait of the communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, known for saying, “The medium is the message.”

Cox said he thought of Facebook as simply as a Web site for college students in October 2005, when he first bicycled from Stanford University to visit the startup’s modest office in downtown Palo Alto. Facebook, which Zuckerberg famously founded at age 19 in his Harvard University dorm, was 20 months old then and lacked many features it has today. The startup had about 40 employees, including perhaps a dozen engineers. Cox, then 22 and about to start graduate studies in Stanford’s artificial intelligence program, said he didn’t consider himself a serious job candidate.

But as one of Facebook’s top technologists started drawing dots and lines on a white board and talking about “the social graph” - the first time Cox had heard the term - he found himself transfixed by Facebook’s ambitious vision.

“Who do we communicate with?” Cox said. “Who do we trust? This is the value Facebook is creating for people.” Cox soon withdrew from Stanford and joined the yearlong project building Facebook’s “news feed” that streams comments among Facebook “friends.” Initially controversial, it’s now a signature feature.

Facebook has grown to more than 800 employees and about 200 engineers, attracting a recent investment that valued the company at $10 billion. In May, the operation vacated 10 offices in downtown Palo Alto to consolidate in a spacious building vacated years ago by Agilent Technologies. Other employees are scattered around the world.

Even as the globe has lurched into recession, the Facebook economy seems to be booming. In the two years since Facebook opened its platform to outside developers, more than 300,000 Facebook applications, or “apps,” have been created - games, quizzes, digital gifts and more.

The successful apps boost users’ engagement with Facebook - sometimes called “stickiness” - but do not directly provide revenue. Piggybacking on Facebook has been profitable for several startups.

Zynga, which according to some reports is raking in annual revenues of $100 million with the poker game Texas Hold ‘Em and other games, has grown from 45 employees to more than 250 in the past year, Pincus said. About “70 percent, perhaps 80 percent” of Zynga’s growth, he said, could be attributed to Facebook.

Flixster ’s growth also illustrates Facebook’s role as a driver of Web innovation. Founded in Januar y 2006, Flixster.com ?was attracting about 4 million monthly unique visitors when Facebook opened its development platform. Fearing competition, Flixster quickly built its own Facebook app. That app’s traffic quickly surpassed visitors to Flixster.com. More recently, Flixster built an app for Apple’s iPhone - and it’s activated via Facebook Connect. “It’s the glue,” Greenstein said. The success of Facebook’s development platform has inspired a trend: Google, MySpace, Twitter, Bebo, Yahoo and the Apple iPhone have all opened up to outside developers. — MCT

MOUNTAIN VIEW: In a Mountain View convenience store, Marc Freed-Finnegan carries a bottle of water up to the cashier, who scans it and announces the price.

Freed-Finnegan touches his smartphone to a gray plastic sensor labeled “PayPass,” and “Information Sent” appears on his phone’s screen, with a MasterCard image and a few digits of his card number. FreedFinnegan, who oversees the forthcoming Google Wallet service that is expected to become available to the public for this first time later this month, has just paid with his phone.

Google Wallet uses a technology called Near Field Communication, short-range communication systems that can transmit secure credit card data within a range of about 1.6 inches, allowing a smartphone to become a virtual credit card or prepaid cash card. The new Google service, one of several new technologies that aim to turn smartphones into payment devices, will initially be available to a select group - users of a Samsung Nexus S Android phone on the Sprint network - but Google hopes to gradually extend that audience to other phones, wireless carriers and credit card companies.

The Wallet service ultimately will bundle payments with online discount offers and loyalty programs, so one tap of a consumer’s phone at the frozen yogurt store could simultaneously provide a payment, cash in a discount coupon and record the purchase for the store’s customer loyalty point program. “Most people’s wallets are a mess,” said FreedFinnegan. “We’re trying to help improve that.”

Google Wallet is just one of a wave of new mobile payment technologies from startups and established companies that are about to give smartphones yet another ability - becoming a virtual billfold or pocketbook as well as a communication and information device. No one expects the wallet to become extinct anytime soon. But while consumers have long been able to use mobile apps to buy things online with a phone as they would on a desktop computer, new proximity technologies like NFC will soon allow the phone to step into the role of the credit or debit card, becoming the actual payment tool in bricks-and-mortar stores.

Among the other ventures: Isis, a joint venture of AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, says it will launch the first trials of its NFCpowered smartphone payment system in the first half of 2012, l

with support from Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. l Square, a San Francisco-based startup launched by Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, already provides hardware that allows merchants to use an iPad, iPhone or Android phone to swipe credit cards, as well as a mobile app that

day might be coming when you could forget your wallet and get through the day using your phone, it will be awhile, experts say, before you can throw your wallet away altogether.

“Payments change very slowly,” said Aaron McPherson, an IDC analyst who follows payment systems. “We’re still seeing lots of

say it will have to bring together an array of partners, including phone manufacturers, wireless carriers, banks, retailers and credit card companies. Technologies like NFC will also allow consumers to use their phones to gather much information about products while they are in a store, and also to quickly compare

MOUNTAIN VIEW: Marc Freed-Finnegan, senior business product manager for the Google Wallet project, demonstrates how customers will be able to use their smartphones to pay for a purchase. — MCT lets consumers pay by showing their name and photo to a participating merchant. “We think of what we’re doing as reinventing the entire process of buying and selling in the real world,” said Keith Rabois, Square’s chief operating officer. “We’re not a mobile payments company. We’re reinventing payments, assuming that everybody is carrying a mobile device.” l Two Silicon Valley startups, Jumio and Naratte, allow users to complete the equivalent of a credit card swipe by transmitting payment data through the camera of a mobile device in the case of Jumio, or through an inaudible ultrasonic signal from a phone in the case of Naratte’s “Zoosh” technology. Last month, eBay spent $240 million to acquire Zong, a Menlo Park, Calif., company that lets users make purchases and charge them to their wireless phone account.

Despite the surge of new payment technologies made possible by the increasing ubiquity of the smartphone, old payment methods aren’t going away. While the

check usage, and that method is centuries old. Cash is millennia old, and we’re still using cash.

We’re seeing a real blossoming of creativity and all these different payment technologies, but it’s way too early to make any kind of prediction about which one will win out.”

PayPal says purchases on all kinds of mobile devices using its services, including both proximity technologies like NFC as well as standard Internet-based purchases, are expected to grow tenfold from $750 million in 2010 to $7.5 billion in 2013. But the online payments company says it remains agnostic about which proximity technology will win out. NFC is not a new technology.

Some municipal transit agencies already use NFC in reusable fare cards, which allow transit riders to pay their fare by laying the card on a sensor. But earlier experiments using NFC technology for in-store purchases did not gain traction. If Google is to be successful with NFC this time and also unify loyalty and coupon services - experts like McPherson

prices with online competitors.

“For a lot of these stores, unless they figure out how to get more engaged with consumers, they risk becoming very expensive showcases for online stores,” said Laura Chambers, senior director of mobile for PayPal, which is also looking at NFC-based payments.

“The mobile device has definitely put more power into the hands of consumers.”

Google argues its service will be more secure than a standard credit card because phone users will have to activate one to two layers of PINs before the actual payment can go through. The service also allows merchants to more easily gather data about their customers by recording their purchases. With payments, “there is a huge gap between online mobile and the offline world. It’s really overdue that there is new technology to make it really simple and secure,” said Daniel Mattes, founder and CEO of Mountain View-based Jumio.

“The technology is simply ready.

It’s a great movement, especially for the consumer.” — MCT

App aims to make navigating Disney Parks easier, fun NEW YORK: Finding your way around the Disney’s Magic Kingdom and locating a favorite character can be a daunting experience but a new app aims to make it easier. In the advertisements, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy always seem to be nearby and eager to pose for a picture, but sometimes families have a different experience. Hoping to bring reality closer to the fantasy, Disney Parks has launched Mobile Magic, an app to enhance visitors’ experience with a GPStracking system.

The app helps find the locations of Disney characters, checks wait times for popular rides, finds a restaurant or the best shop to buy a souvenir and can track down your car in the parking lot after a long day.

“There are so many people who go to Disney time after time, and this a is very user friendly and practical app that everyone can use to make your trip more enjoyable,” said Rick Laney, a spokesman for Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless.

The app allows users to play interactive trivia games with other people in the park, sets reminders when a show is about to begin, gives the local weather and helps to reserve a table in a restaurant. The free app is the only official app for Disney Parks and is compatible with most smart phones. — Reuters

Skype buys messaging startup GroupMe WASHINGTON: Skype, the Internet communications group set to be acquired by Microsoft, announced plans Sunday to buy the mobile messaging startup firm GroupMe for undisclosed terms. GroupMe was founded in 2010 at the Techcrunch Disrupt Hackathon and is headquartered in New York. The deal, coupled with the acquisition of mobile video provider Qik earlier this

year, “augments Skype’s role as an innovator in driving unique mobile user experiences,” the company said in a statement. “ Through the acquisition of GroupMe, Skype continues its drive to provide a global multimodal and multi-platform communications experience.

The acquisition of GroupMe complements Skype’s leadership in voice and video communica-

tions by providing best in class text-based communications and innovative features that enable users to connect, share locations and photos and make plans with their closest ties.” Tony Bates, Skype’s chief executive, said GroupMe “has created an incredibly sticky group messaging experience that works across mobile devices and platforms, making this a per fect addition to the

voice, video and text products in the Skype family.” Founded in 2003 and based in Luxembourg, Skype is in the process of being acquired by US software giant Microsoft after being spun off by eBay. Microsoft said recently it hopes to close the deal for purchase of the Internet voice and video leader by October, once it gets the green light from European regulators. — AFP

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

health & science

Medical tests affect chimps physically, psychologically Many chimpanzees suffer PTSD all their lives

Pressure changes in air could worsen diabetes NEW YORK: Changes in cabin pressure during flights may cause insulin pumps to deliver too much or too little of the medication, possibly putting extremely sensitive diabetics at risk, according to a study. Researchers led by Bruce King at John Hunter Children’s Hospital in Newcastle, Australia wrote in the journal Diabetes Care decided to investigate after learning of a 10-year-old girl with type 1 diabetes whose blood sugar got too low an hour after takeoff.

After hearing of other diabetics who used insulin pumps- which are meant to deliver insulin throughout the day, usually to people with type 1 diabeteshaving a similar experience, they put ten insulin pumps on a commercial flight.

During takeoff, when air pressure was decreasing, the pumps delivered about 1 to 1.4 extra units of insulin on average. During descent, when pressure was increasing, some insulin was sucked back into the pumps, causing them to give out too little insulin, by less than 1 unit. “Atmospheric pressure reduction causes predictable, unintended insulin delivery in pumps by bubble formation and expansion of existing bubbles,” King and his team wrote. King added in an email to Reuters Health: “Any person using an insulin pump should be aware that big pressure changes can cause this effect.”

Other diabetes researchers, though, said the issue was infrequent and unlikely to cause problems for most diabetics. “It’s certainly not a frequent and recurring problem I hear about from patients who fly,” said Robert Cohen, an endocrinologist at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. “The people who are very sensitive to small changes in doses are the ones who are going to be most sensitive to this. People who are on large doses or are not very sensitive...are far less likely to be affected by this.”

King and his team recommended disconnecting the pump before takeoff and landing and making sure there are no air bubbles in the insulin before reconnecting it, but Cohen said it was extremely important that people understand how to carry this out correctly. He added that patients should check with their doctors to see if this concern applies to them, and if so, how to safely deal with it. The pumps used in the study were made by Animas and Medtronic, which wrote in a joint statement to Reuters Health: “Many factors affect blood glucose during travel and the effect of small does variations over the course of a plane flight is unlikely to be clinically significant. “However, we are both continuing to further explore this subject.” — Reuters

Common factor seen in all forms of Lou Gehrig disease PARIS: A breakdown in a recycling mechanism in cells in the brain and spinal cord has been pinpointed as the common cause of all forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the tragic neurogenerative disorder known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The problem lies in a system that recycles the building blocks of proteins inside neurons, according to the discovery, reported in the journal Nature on Sunday. The breakdown occurs in hereditary and non-hereditary forms of ALS, as well as a form of the disease that targets the brain, known as ALS/dementia. More specifically, the finger of blame points at a worker chemical called ubiquilin2, whose job is to help recycle faulty or damaged proteins in the neurons.

When ubiquilin2 does not work, junk

parts of proteins build up in the cell, causing it to be badly damaged. The research “opens up a whole new field for finding an effective treatment for ALS,” said Teepu Siddique, a professor at neurology at Northwestern University in Chicago, in a press release. “We can now test for drugs that would regulate this protein pathway or optimize it, so (that) it functions as it should.” ALS affects around 350,000 people around the world, many of them young adults in the prime of life. Patients progressively lose muscle strength, eventually becoming paralyzed and unable to speak, move, swallow or breathe. The illness is named after the star US baseball player Lou Gehrig, who died from the disease in 1941. — AFP

Fewer stars as universe runs low on gas: Study

SYDNEY: Australian scientists gazing billions of years back in time with powerful radio telescopes yesterday warned that the universe’s lights—the stars—were quite literally running out of gas. Robert Braun, astronomy and space chief at Australia’s government science agency CSIRO, said about one-third of the molecular gas vital for the formation of new stars had been used up and the skies were slowly dimming. Braun’s team mapped the light densities of galaxies about five billion light years from Earth and compared them with today’s “local universe” to see how much gas they contained and rates at which new stars were born.

“We’ve seen a decline in the amount of stars being formed by more than a factor of 10, probably closer to 20 or even 30,” said Braun of his research, due to be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. “It turns out that these galaxies actually had 10 times more gas with which to form the stars than they do today. We just aren’t seeing as much gas fall in to form the new stars,” he told AFP. The key to the dwindling number of stars was a shift in the universe’s dominant forces about eight billion years ago-the reasons for which remain a mystery-which saw gravity overtaken by dark energy. Essentially gravity’s opposite, the

repulsive force has seen the universe expand at exponential speeds in the past few billion years, pushing galaxies further from the “intergalactic medium” where they can refuel on gas. “Gravity attracts but this dark energy, it seems, is a repulsive force so that things are flying apart at an ever-increasing rate,” Braun told AFP. “The gas that was once within reach can no longer be pulled in and as such the star formation rate is declining rapidly and will continue to decline into the future.”

A typical galaxy’s star-making gas supplies last just 1-2 billion years. The growing darkness was so incremental Braun said it would be impossible to notice in a human lifetime, but were someone to live for one billion years they would “see things changing very dramatically” in the skies above. Without a reversal in the universe’s dark energy-fuelled expansion-the likelihood of which remains a great scientific puzzle-Earth’s inhabitants would very slowly but surely inch toward nights of deep darkness, he added. The gas mapping work was started by French astronomer Francoise Combes some years ago at the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique (IRAM), and Braun said Combes-now at the Observatoire de Paris-collaborated on his study. — AFP

FORT PIERCE: Donovan the chimp transformed from a friendly ape who “adapts well to peers” to one who beat his female cagemate so aggressively they had to be separated. Lira became a “chronic hair plucker,” with large barren patches on her body.

Bobby bit and mutilated his own arm, leaving permanent scars. He was so depressed that he slept sitting up, facing the wall of his cage. The debate about medical testing on chimpanzees often revolves around the physical impact on the chimps - week after week of liver biopsies or year after year of being infected with HIV or hepatitis.

But an examination by McClatchy Newspapers of the chimp-research world found that, in addition to a physical toll, the testing life can have a significant impact on a chimp’s mental state.

For the roughly 180 chimpanzees that live at the Alamogordo Primate Facility, on an Air Force base in New Mexico, the world of research looms large: For the past 10 years, they’ve been kept out of research; now the National Institutes of Health is trying to move them to a research facility in Texas, where they’d be used in studies on hepatitis and possibly other ailments.

The science of chimp research is dicey. The United States is virtually alone in the world in pursuing it, and many scientists say the chimps’ value as a medical model is declining. Chimps are among humans’ closest genetic cousins, and given their range of emotions and their level of understanding, researchers themselves afford chimps special protections that other research animals don’t get, even monkeys. According to the National Research Council, the public “expects a high level of respect for the animals,” given the “special connection of chimpanzees to humans.”

For the chimps, research can be lonely and debilitating; some end up with mental ailments including post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

Sometimes the symptoms will ease once the testing ends, but sometimes they stick with a chimp for life. “Chimpanzees depend on close physical contact.

They love their comforts, and like to stretch out on a nice soft bed of grass. They make their own choices all the time,” famed chimp researcher Jane Goodall said.

“None of these things can in any possible way be experienced by a laboratory chimp. I’ve been in quite a lot of medical research labs, and the truth is I wish I hadn’t, because they haunt me.”

The researchers who handle the chimps disagree. They say the chimps are treated well and humanely, oversight panels ensure that only necessary research is performed on them, and they’re given space to move and play. John VandeBerg, who oversees the primate facility at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, said the chimps were treated compassionately and that life in the lab was good. If he were a chimp, McClatchy asked, where would VandeBerg himself rather live: Texas Biomedical or Chimp Haven, a forested sanctuary in Louisiana where some chimps go to retire?

VandeBerg thought for a minute before answering: “You know, that’s an interesting question. I would rather be living here. ... Chimp Haven is a wonderful facility - a beautiful facility, has beautiful outdoor areas. ... So it’s a lovely facility. But what we have here is far better veterinary capacity.” He said the lab had vets on staff, full medical facilities and the ability to generate rapid test results. “We have medical capacity way beyond what Chimp Haven has, and if I were a chimpanzee I’d rather be here, where I could get the medical attention that I might need some time in my life, especially as I got old.”

The chimps, he said, even have televisions. They like to watch animal movies. The effort to understand the chimps’ minds has grown in the past decade. One chimp who helped illustrate the impact of research was Billy; his story was chronicled in the medical journal Developmental Psychology in 2009. Raised as an entertainer - working the birthday party circuit - Billy lived compatibly with humans and had a strong bond with his owners before he was given over to researchers at age 15. At a chimp

lab in New York, he was caged alone, except when paired with Sue Ellen for breeding; he attacked her instead. For 14 years, he was used for research into hepatitis, HIV, measles and polio.

During that time, he turned hostile, uncooperative, aggressive and depressive; he wouldn’t interact normally with other chimps.

After one experimental procedure, he chewed his thumb off.

Even when he left the lab for retirement at a sanctuary, Billy remained fearful and agitated. He screamed if the door to his cage was left open, and he couldn’t go to sleep until he himself had tested that the door was locked. Billy had an impressive memory and he interacted well with humans, even mimicking them at times, by spooning cream and sugar into his coffee, for example. One day, Billy became excited while he was watching television. He gestured wildly for the facility director to come look. On the T V screen: Goodall. Billy had met her years before. The director turned up the TV volume, and Billy sat to watch the program.

Many of the animals in New Mexico saw the same kinds of changes in their personalities that Billy did. Their stories emerge from thousands of pages of medical records that an advocacy group, In Defense of Animals, unearthed after a lengthy legal fight with the NIH. The records were provided exclusively to McClatchy with no strings attached, for its own review.

Donovan was born in 1995, and today he’s described as having a light-colored mouth and eyebrows. His fact sheet says: “likes people, gets along with group, playful.” His favorite food is “anything.”

One of the earliest entries in his medical file was in July 1996, when he was first paired with a female named Sakari as they were being prepared for shipment from Alamogordo to a separate research facility. “Animals

animals, although probably they can hear. So when I’ve seen footage of knockdowns, there’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of screaming from the other chimps.” What the chimpanzees often see is workers coming toward them in biohazard suits. They get shot, and if they’re on perches, they fall to the concrete below.

The records don’t reveal specifically how Donovan handled the blood draws. But his temperament changed. In November 1997, his chart and Sakari’s said the two had needed to be pulled apart. Sakari’s chart said: “Separated from 1588 (Donovan) because he has become very abusive towards her - biting fingers (plus) beating on her back (plus) chest.” He suffered in other ways as well. In April 1998, Donovan underwent a procedure that was part of a hepatitis C experiment. Within five minutes, his heart rate plummeted to 60 beats per minute, from its normal 90 or 100. His heartbeat was very irregular, his breathing labored. He turned pale. It took about an hour for the episode to pass. Another time, during a liver biopsy, the needle hit his gallbladder.

From before his second birthday until he was 6 years old, researchers subjected Donovan to 200 bleeds and 40 biopsies. He spent much of his time housed alone, and in 2002, a memo from the US Department of Agriculture, which has some oversight over animal laboratories, noted the impact of such housing on Donovan and 13 other chimps: “Because of the longterm housing in these single cages, these chimpanzees have not been able to perform speciesspecific behaviors, including social and physical behaviors ... normal exercise and full stretching are not possible in these cages. This has ... caused physical and psychological suffering and distress to the chimpanzees.”

Donovan was removed from

FLORIDA: Ryan yawns while watching onlookers from a metal barrier behind the living quarters of one of the islands at the Save the Chimps sanctuary. — MCT seem to be getting along well @ present,” according to his file. But there was one red flag: “Adapts well to peers. Does not adapt well to handlers.” Donovan’s research record from early 1997 to early 2001 shows week after week of bleeds and biopsies. While some chimps can be trained to present their arms for injections, Donovan’s chart says he doesn’t do that. That usually means chimps are required to go through what’s known as a knockdown, shooting them with tranquilizer darts so they can be moved to exam rooms. There, lab workers can draw blood, saliva or other fluids.

It’s not often a smooth process. “You have a sentient animal, with similar emotions and intelligence to us,” said Laura Bonar, an advocate with a New Mexico animal rights group that’s tracked the Alamogordo chimpanzees. “ They are housed by themselves, where they can’t have companionship from other

research and transferred to the Alamogordo Primate Facility that year. Other chimps reacted in other ways. Lira, a 17-year-old female who recently died, took part in late -1990s hepatitis research. She was cut open, her liver exposed and then directly injected with hepatitis. Eight months later, she was infected again, this time with five needles directly into her liver or spine.

More than a year after that, she was infected with hepatitis yet again and underwent liver biopsies every other week for several months to track the disease’s progress. The details of those experiments - which included a tracking number, allowing the identification of the chimp in question as Lira - were published in scientific journals in 2000 and 2002. But it wasn’t until her medical records were released that it became apparent what else was going on at the time of the experiments. For more than two years, starting when she was 4 years

old, Lira was housed alone, given the requirements of the study she was part of. During that time, she had “liver and muscle damage from multiple percutaneous liver biopsies.” In 2000, her records said she was a “chronic hair plucker” and had large bald areas on her body. In 2001, the records noted she “appears depressed,” and said to “continue extra enrichment.”

Lira was one of the most recent chimps to die at Alamogordo. Last May, an NIH record said, she experienced “sudden cardiac death” at age 17. That was very young, given that female chimps can easily live into their 30s or 40s. Lira’s body was weak, and had signs of multiple bite wounds. Her “liver was enlarged” and her spleen “enlarged and friable.” Her brainstem “appeared enlarged and swollen with areas of liquefaction.” The NIH won’t detail all the kinds of tests that Donovan and the other still-living chimps could undergo if they go back into research. The NIH said chimps were essential for research and that it would “ensure humane and fair treatment of these animals.”

“I think everybody recognizes that if we had an alternative model we would be using it,” said Sally Rockey, a deputy director at the NIH who oversees animal testing.

“Since it is the only model we have now, it’s crucial that we continue.” Many scientists disagree, saying the knowledge once gained only by examining a live animal now can be learned in a petri dish, and that chimpanzees don’t work as human fill-ins, as once had been hoped.

The federal government lays out rules for housing research animals, down to the minimum sizes of their cages. The rules also say that primates should be housed in pairs or groups, although exceptions are allowed for certain medical experiments.

Once they come out of their cages, and even once they leave labs altogether, some chimps are slow to heal. That’s evident at Save the Chimps, a grassy sanctuary near Florida’s east coast where many former New Mexico chimps have gone to live out their lives. A chimp named Bobby got there after making the 40hour truck ride from New Mexico.

He’s among 228 chimps in the facility, on a series of 12 islands cut from former orange groves near Fort Pierce. He lives on “Bobby’s Island,” named for him.

Among his housemates are Scotty, who shows off for visitors by twirling around, and Nuri, who’s something of a recluse, her legs permanently bent from life in a cage. Workers had to build a ladder so Nuri could get in and out of the chimp house.

Bobby is friendly, although one of his favored greetings is to spit a mouthful of water on a guest. He also carries with him the scars of self-mutilation.

Bobby was born in a research facility in 1983. He was taken from his mother shortly after birth and raised by humans. A year later, he began serving as a research subject. Officials at Save the Chimps say Bobby was used in at least eight studies. He was anesthetized more than 250 times and had numerous liver and muscle biopsies. For much of that time, he lived alone. He eventually became a self-mutilator, biting his arm and often causing serious wounds. Before the sanctuary took custody of him in 2002, he’d been in a small barren cage; he was depressed and emaciated and slept sitting up, facing the wall of his cage.

For lab chimps, the transition to Save the Chimps is startling.

Many of them haven’t been properly socialized and are unable to relate to other chimpanzees; others are afraid of humans or large groups of chimps. Many have spent years in small cages. Some have never been on grass or in trees before. Jen Feuerstein, the sanctuary’s director, said chimps would walk tentatively toward the outdoor playland that had become their home. Some gingerly tested the grass with a hand or foot before daring to step onto it. Some climbed onto the play equipment but didn’t know how to get down. And some remain fear ful of the vast outdoors: Pumpkin, for example, has been at the sanctuary for five years and does step outside the chimp house. But she’s never been seen venturing onto the grassy island beside it. — MCT

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

H E A LT H

TRX: Versatile workout forged from slapdash beginnings NEW YORK: TRX, hatched when a US Navy Seal improvised a fitness tool from his parachute webbing, has become the workout darling of personal trainers, group fitness instructors and home exercisers alike. “It’s a nylon strap with two handles,” said Frank Salzone, a trainer with the Equinox chain of fitness clubs who has been using TRX on himself and with clients for three years. “You can do over 200 exercises with it,” he said. “I think it’s one of the best pieces of equipment in the gym.” Part of the beauty of TRX (for Total body Resistance eXercise), according to Salzone, is its adaptability.

“It started with a Seal stationed away from home, so the idea is you can work out anywhere. You can hang it from a door in your hotel room, a tree or a jungle gym,” he said. “You’re using your own body weight to do the lifting.” Salzone said the full-body workout works across body angles and easily adjusts to different skill levels.

“When your body is lower, there’s more weight to pull. When you get tired you can easily step back a little, or stand up

to pull less,” he said.

Once you master the basics, he said, you can incorporate countless other workouts, such as lunges, or tools such as dumbbells or medicine balls. “Or you can stand on one leg, one arm. There’s always something to make it more difficult.” Salzone loves something called the atomic push-up, which is accomplished with hands flat on the floor and feet suspended in straps six-to-12 inches above the ground. “As you come up you pull knees into chest, so you’re working the whole upper body as well as your abdominals.”

There are TRX workouts geared specifically to surfers, golfers, and tennis players. What makes TRX so popular with athletes, according to Salzone, is the unrelenting emphasis on core strength. “On TRX, no matter what exercise you’re doing you’re engaging your core,” he said. “It’s training the other muscles to keep your body balanced and to move in different directions with or against resistance. Josh Lyon of the 24 Hour Fitness chain of gyms, encourages clients to use a trainer to

get started in TRX. “TRX is an innovative piece of equipment that takes the concept of lifting a weight but focuses you on performing a movement,” he said. “But it’s not as intuitive as some other workouts. It’s really easy to do wrong, but if you do it right it’s a great way to challenge your body.” Rather than go through an entire TRX workout, Alice Burron, a Wyoming-based exercise physiologist and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, likes to fit some TRX into her clients’ routines.

“Instead of a regular push-up I might use TRX,” she said. “Clients think it’s hilarious because I can pull another hat out of the bag. TRX is fun, interesting, and it incorporates great usage of muscles.” Burron said the TRX package sold online comes with an instructional DVD, and she encourages people to go to YouTube, where even more TRX options abound. “It’s trendy and as in all things trendy it will probably trend out for a while, and then come back,” she said. “That’s just the nature of this business. I like it. I think it’s fun, but it’s not the end all. Nothing is.” — Reuters

COLUMBUS: One of three Fishing Cat kittens is seen at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Born on July 29, the three kittens are being cared for at the zoo by their mother in a secluded den. — AP

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My

Journey through

Palestine (Part II)

A

lthough the mountains of Jerusalem seemed to be reflected only in my glasses, the true reflection will be in my heart until the day I die. This is the reflection of the misery of a people and their 63 years of suffering. The Holy City looked spiritual but yet so sad. There was an air of sorrow in most of the sacred places.

ByæB adryaæD arwishæ

9

On my previous trip to Palestine three years ago things were vague and cloudy for me. I was returning home after having left Palestine as a kid and I returned as a mature adult. I was confused in my heart and in my thoughts. The confusion began the moment I set foot on the Allenby Bridge or what is today known as King Hussain Bridge, the crossing point between Jordan and the West Bank. I was lost in my thoughts. I could hear the voices of the Jordanian officials on one side of the bridge and two minutes later of the Israeli immigration officers on the other. By the way, the bridge is built over the Jordan river, the place where Christ was baptized.

During my first trip I was lost in my emotions. I recalled the time when I left the bridge as a kid.

At that time in 1969 after the second occupation of the West Bank I left believing that the West Bank would be liberated in one or two years just as my father thought when he was forced to leave Palestine earlier in 1948.

5 4

6

Going back On this second return trip to Palestine I was more focused on seeing what had taken place more recently and comparing it to what I saw three years ago. In all honesty, the situation was far worse than my first visit. Things have changed dramatically. The Israelis played a big role in changing the demographics of the country. When I went to Bethlehem, the city I grew up in, I could not recognize many of the main streets which connected Bethlehem to the other villages and Jerusalem. Many settlements had been built separating villages from each other. The Israelis also changed the topography of the place to provide security for the settlements. They even changed the names of streets and posted these in Hebrew.

The Jews began killing Palestinians and attacking them in villages so that they would flee and leave their land. They succeeded in terrorizing people especially after the Deir Yassin massacre. They made sure that the media carried reports of the horrors in Deir Yassin and that those accounts of how they slashed open the bellies of pregnant women, tortured families and burnt children reached all the villages. I don’t think that anybody escaped the massacre. They did exactly what had been done during the European Holocaust, but this time the Palestinians were the victims. The people in the other Palestinian villages were scared and fled to the other part of Palestine which is now called the West Bank.

7

He left only after a tough struggle in my family’s native village Al-Maliha, a part of Jerusalem, in which my parents, uncles, grandparents resisted the invaders who came from Europe to Haifa Port and then spread all over Palestine, assisted by British soldiers as at that time Palestine was under British mandate.

1

While driving from Bethlehem to Hebron I asked the driver to slow down as I was trying to recognize my family house, which was on the main road between Hebron and Bethlehem.

The driver laughed at my request, explaining that the whole area has changed. He asked me: “How long have you been away for?” The village that one used to be able to enter in 10 minutes now takes one hour to reach passing through the mountains after the Israelis rerouted the main road in order to protect their settlements.

All I could see was settlement after settlement after settlement in every area. They have stolen every inch of the land, whether in Bethlehem, Hebron or Jerusalem. They took it all. This stolen land which is now scarred by settlements was occupied by the ugly Separation Wall which they have erected thinking that this is a safety barrier for them.

The saddest part for me was when I visited Hebron. The old city looked gloomy. Despite its large population it looked as if there was no work, no life. In 1967 it was one of the most booming cities in Palestine. Today it is full of settlers and an army to protect the settlers.

Sadness and abuse Hebron, as you know, is the place where the Tomb of Prophet Ibrahim is. This site is surrounded by a mosque which has also been invaded. The Israelis have forced most people out of the mosque and left it under heavy security, with the experience of entering it leaving a worshipper feeling that they are entering an army barracks. The mosque’s location is in the end of an old souq in Hebron. The settlers were so mean that they even occupied all old houses over the old souq to ensure complete control.

They arrogantly throw their garbage out of the windows onto the people below, forcing the residents in Hebron to protect themselves from being hit by rubbish hurled at them.

Children, young adults and families are abused on a daily basis by settlers, who also hurl foul language and insults at women.

The Israeli army looks on at all this and sees these occurrences as a source of laughter. All the shops are closed. There is no action and no sales. Kids are running around and you can see the poverty they live in. Yet you see resistance in the eyes of these kids. They are saying: “This is my land and I am not leaving!”

In Bethlehem I wanted to visit my family home where my grandparents, brother and grandmother were buried in the family ground.

However, I was told that the Israelis have seized it all, including the mosque which was near the tomb. Some peace-lovers!

2 8

3

1. The view from Al-Qods souq.

2. A worshipper is praying in Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

3. It is an ordinary day in one of the coffee shops in Ramallah souq.

4. Badrya Darwish in front of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

5. Inside the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem which is built on the site believed to be the location of the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

6. Darwish in a souq in Ramallah.

7. When the souq is not buzzing with shoppers, Palestinians are creative when it comes to hiding from the scorching sun.

8. Palestinians who refused to leave their native land live in shacks.

9. Darwish is pictured in Nativity Church in Bethlehem.

10. A part of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

• The collage of images shows different places across Palestine. – Photos by Darwish and Majed Al-Sobej ; Design by Sherif Ismail.

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00:45 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 01:40 Untamed And Uncut 02:35 Killer Crocs 03:30 Natural World 04:25 I’m Alive 05:20 Animal Cops Houston 06:10 Cats Of Claw Hill 06:35 Cats Of Claw Hill 07:00 Meerkat Manor 07:25 The Really Wild Show 07:50 Jeff Corwin Unleashed 08:15 Natural Born Hunters 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 10:05 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 11:00 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 11:55 Meerkat Manor 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 New Breed Vets With Steve Irwin 13:45 Animal Cops Houston 14:40 Animal Precinct 15:30 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Jeff Corwin Unleashed 17:00 Natural Born Hunters 17:25 Dogs 101 18:20 Breed All About It 18:45 Orangutan Island 19:15 Crocodile Hunter 20:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 21:05 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 22:00 Ray Mears’Wild Britain

00:00 00:30 01:20 02:10 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 04:50 05:05 05:25 05:40 05:45 05:50 06:10 06:25 06:45 07:00 07:20 07:35 07:55 08:10 08:20 08:40 08:55 09:15 09:30 09:40 10:10 10:40 11:25 12:15 12:45 13:15 14:10 15:40 16:30 17:15 17:45 18:15 19:10 20:00 20:45 21:15 21:45 22:40

00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 03:55 04:20 05:15 05:40

My Family The Weakest Link Holby City Children, The Eastenders Doctors My Family Tweenies The Roly Mo Show Me Too Forget Me Not Farm Spot’s Musical Adventures The Adventures Of Spot Tweenies The Roly Mo Show Me Too Forget Me Not Farm Tweenies The Roly Mo Show Me Too Forget Me Not Farm The Adventures Of Spot Tweenies The Roly Mo Show Me Too Forget Me Not Farm The Adventures Of Spot My Family My Family The Weakest Link Royally Mad Doctors Eastenders Holby City My Family Royally Mad The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City Royally Mad The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City Spooks

Dirty Jobs Miami Ink Ultimate Survival Wheeler Dealers On The Road Fifth Gear Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How Does It Work

06:05 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:45 09:10 10:05 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 15:05 16:00 16:25 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Dirty Jobs Wheeler Dealers On The Road Fifth Gear Street Customs 2008 How Does It Work Mythbusters Cake Boss Auction Hunters Flying Wild Alaska Dirty Jobs Ultimate Survival Miami Ink Dirty Jobs Wheeler Dealers On The Road Fifth Gear Mythbusters Deadliest Catch Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings How Does It Work Cash Cab (US) LA Ink Animal Cops South Africa Pit Bulls And Parolees Deadliest Catch

00:05 Smash Lab 00:55 Extreme Engineering 01:45 Mighty Ships 02:35 Kings Of Construction 03:25 Scrapheap Challenge 04:15 How Does That Work?

04:45 Extreme Engineering 05:40 One Step Beyond 06:10 Nextworld 07:00 Scrapheap Challenge 07:55 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 08:50 The Gadget Show 09:15 The Gadget Show 09:40 Junkyard Mega-Wars 15:45 Weird Connections 16:10 Scrapheap Challenge 17:00 Alien Planet 17:50 Sci-Fi Science 18:15 The Gadget Show 18:40 Bad Universe 19:30 How The Universe Works 20:20 Smash Lab 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 Bad Universe 22:50 How The Universe Works 23:40 The Gadget Show

BBC LIFESTYLE 00:15 Come Dine With Me 00:40 Come Dine With Me 01:05 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 01:25 What Not To Wear 02:15 Come Dine With Me 02:40 Come Dine With Me 03:05 Come Dine With Me 03:30 Come Dine With Me 03:55 Come Dine With Me 04:20 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 04:45 Daily Cooks Challenge 05:10 Daily Cooks Challenge 05:40 Daily Cooks Challenge 06:10 Come Dine With Me 06:35 Come Dine With Me 07:00 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 07:25 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:55 Daily Cooks Challenge 08:25 Daily Cooks Challenge 08:55 Daily Cooks Challenge 09:25 Daily Cooks Challenge 09:55 Daily Cooks Challenge 10:25 What Not To Wear 11:15 Rhodes Across China 12:00 Cash In The Attic 12:45 Antiques Roadshow 13:40 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 14:05 Holmes On Homes 14:50 What Not To Wear 15:40 Rhodes Across China 16:30 Cash In The Attic

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

TV PROGRAMS 17:15 Antiques Roadshow 18:05 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 18:30 Holmes On Homes 19:20 Rhodes Across China 20:10 Cash In The Attic 20:55 Antiques Roadshow 21:45 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 22:10 Holmes On Homes

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:45 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:05 05:30 05:50 06:35 07:00 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:25 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:05 14:30 14:55 15:20 15:45 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 20:20 20:45 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:15 23:40

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 21:00 Series

Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Good Eats - Special Paula’s Party Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia Lidia’s Italy Lidia’s Italy Boy Meets Grill Boy Meets Grill Good Eats - Special Unwrapped Ten Dollar Dinners Paula’s Best Dishes Paula’s Party Barefoot Contessa Chopped Guy’s Big Bite Everyday Italian Good Deal With Dave Lieberman Ten Dollar Dinners Paula’s Best Dishes Barefoot Contessa Aarti Party Boy Meets Grill Unwrapped Paula’s Party Everyday Italian Paula’s Best Dishes Good Deal With Dave Lieberman World Cafe Asia Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Good Eats - Special Unwrapped Boy Meets Grill Chopped Guy’s Big Bite Barefoot Contessa Paula’s Best Dishes Aarti Party World Cafe Asia Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Good Eats - Special Food Network Challenge Guy’s Big Bite Guy’s Big Bite World Cafe Asia World Cafe Asia Food Network Challenge Barefoot Contessa Barefoot Contessa World Cafe Asia

Morning Drive Golf Central International Asian Tour Beach Sports This Week in Baseball Major League Baseball PGA Tour Highlights The Golf Fix Morning Drive Golf in America Golf Central International School of Golf Major League Baseball PGA Tour Highlights The Clipper Round Speedway Grand Prix USAR Pro Cup Series Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour Major League Baseball NASCAR Camping World Truck

00:30 Ghost Lab 01:20 Psychic Witness

02:10 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:45 05:15 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Stalked: Someone’s Watching Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghost Lab Mystery ER Murder Shift Forensic Detectives Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Mystery ER Disappeared FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn Fugitive Strike Force Mystery ER Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Disappeared FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery ER Street Patrol On The Case With Paula Zahn Fugitive Strike Force Deadly Women Couples Who Kill Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 01:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 01:30 Don’t Tell My Mother 02:00 Word Travels 02:30 Market Values 03:00 The Best Job In The World 03:30 Madventures 04:00 Which Way To...

05:00 Word Travels 05:30 Market Values 06:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 07:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 07:30 Don’t Tell My Mother 08:00 Word Travels 08:30 Market Values 09:00 The Best Job In The World 09:30 Madventures 10:00 Which Way To...

11:00 Word Travels 11:30 Market Values 12:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 13:00 Meet The Natives 14:00 Banged Up Abroad 15:00 Danger Men 16:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 16:30 By Any Means 17:30 Earth Tripping 18:00 A World Apart 19:00 Meet The Natives 20:00 Banged Up Abroad 21:00 Danger Men 22:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 22:30 By Any Means 23:30 Earth Tripping

00:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 01:00 World’s Deadliest 01:55 I, Predator 02:50 The Invaders 03:45 Zambezi 04:40 Wild Detectives 05:05 Wild Chronicles 05:35 Hunter Hunted 06:30 The Living Edens 07:25 Sea Strikers 08:20 World’s Weirdest 09:15 I, Predator 10:10 The Invaders 11:05 Zambezi 12:00 World’s Deadliest 13:00 The Living Edens 14:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 15:00 Monster Jellyfish 16:00 Planet Carnivore 17:00 The Invaders 18:00 Zambezi 19:00 The Living Edens 20:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 21:00 Monster Jellyfish 22:00 Planet Carnivore 23:00 The Invaders

00:00 Camp Hope-PG15 02:00 Killshot-18 04:00 Child’s Play 3-18 06:00 Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen-PG15 08:30 The Damned United-PG15 10:15 Heaven’s Fall-PG15 12:00 From Paris With Love-18 14:00 The Damned United-PG15 16:00 The Bodyguard 2-PG15 18:00 From Paris With Love-18 20:00 The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day-18 22:00 Bodyguard: A New Beginning

01:30 Pete Smalls Is Dead-18 03:15 Three Investigators-PG15 05:00 Hurricane Season-PG15 06:45 The Great Debaters-PG15 09:00 My Son, My Son, What Have You Done?-PG15 11:00 Three Investigators-PG15 13:00 Hurricane Season-PG15 15:00 Parlez-Moi De LA Pluie-PG15 17:00 The Front-PG15 19:00 The Last Song-PG15 21:00 Love N’ Dancing-PG15 23:00 Ninja Assassin-18

Public Enemies On Osn Movies Action

00:00 Seinfeld 00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 01:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 02:00 Comedy Central Presents 02:30 Comedy Central Presents 03:00 Just Shoot Me 03:30 Just Shoot Me 04:00 Two And A Half Men 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Will And Grace 06:00 Coach

06:30 The Drew Carey Show 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Two And A Half Men 08:30 Just Shoot Me 09:00 Will And Grace 09:30 Traffic Light 10:00 Cougar Town 10:30 Coach 11:00 The Drew Carey Show 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 Two And A Half Men 13:00 Just Shoot Me 13:30 Will And Grace 14:00 Coach 14:30 Traffic Light 15:00 Cougar Town 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Just Shoot Me 18:30 Just Shoot Me 19:00 Cougar Town 19:30 Raising Hope 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The Cleveland Show 22:30 Rita Rocks 23:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

The Cape Criminal Minds In Treatment In Treatment The Closer Cold Case Covert Affairs The Cape 8 Simple Rules ...

Coronation Street Tower Prep Covert Affairs The Closer Cold Case 8 Simple Rules ...

Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tower Prep The Cape 8 Simple Rules ...

Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tower Prep Grey’s Anatomy Private Practice House Criminal Minds Covert Affairs

01:00 03:30 05:30 07:15 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:15 21:00 23:00

Public Enemies-18 Orphan-18 Mirrors 2-PG15 Bad Girls-PG15 The Three Musketeers-PG15 Phone Booth-PG15 Virtuality-PG15 The Three Musketeers-PG15 The Manchurian Candidate-18 Jason X-PG15 Bodyguard: A New BeginningValhalla Rising-18

00:00 That Thing You Do!-PG 02:00 Say It Isn’t So-18 04:00 Did You Hear About The Morgans?-PG15 06:00 Leaving Normal-PG15 08:00 One Fine Day-PG15 10:00 The Lizzie McGuire Movie-PG 12:00 Double Wedding-PG15 14:00 Ed-PG 16:00 That Thing You Do!-PG 18:00 Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee-PG15 20:00 Love Hurts-PG15 22:00 Mallrats-18

01:15 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:15 13:30 14:45 17:00 18:45 21:00 23:00

Cape Fear-PG15 Joueuse-PG15 Mona Lisa Smile-PG15 Make It Funky!-PG15 Lost In Yonkers-PG Amelia-PG15 The Young Black Stallion-PG15 Capitalism: A Love Story-PG15 In God’s Hands-PG Missing-PG15 The Informant!-PG15 Whatever-18

00:15 Titanic-PG15 03:30 Invictus-PG15 05:45 The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle-FAM 07:15 Easy Virtue-PG15 09:00 The A-Team-PG15 11:00 Drumline-PG15 13:00 It’s A Wonderful Afterlife-PG15 15:00 The Bounty Hunter-PG15 17:00 The A-Team-PG15 19:00 Two Lovers-18 21:00 Love Hurts-PG15 23:00 Love N’ Dancing-PG15

01:00 Kung Fu Magoo-FAM 03:00 Dinosaur Island-PG 05:00 Fly Me To The Moon-PG 07:00 Time Kid-FAM 09:00 Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard-PG 11:00 Nanny Mcphee And The Big Bang-PG 13:00 Gladiators: The Conspiracy-PG 15:00 Gold Diggers: The Secret Of Bear Mountain-PG 17:00 Nanny Mcphee And The Big Bang-PG 19:00 Nativity!-PG 21:00 Gladiators: The Conspiracy-PG 23:00 Gold Diggers: The Secret Of Bear Mountain-PG

00:00 01:45 04:00 PG15 05:45 08:00

Shanghai-PG15 Robin Hood (2010)-PG15 Elle: A Modern Cinderella TaleAnother Year-PG15 Passing Strange-PG15

Child's Play 3 On Osn Action HD 10:45 Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief-PG15 13:00 Another Year-PG15 15:30 Passing Strange-PG15 18:00 You Again-PG15 20:00 The Haunting In Connecticut 22:00 Knight And Day-PG15

00:00 Test Cricket 07:00 WWE NXT 08:00 Speedway FIM World Championship 09:00 The Open Championship Official Film 10:00 Trans World Sports 11:00 Live Rugby Union ITM CUP 13:00 Le Mans Series Highlights 13:30 Powerboats UIM Class One Highlights 14:00 Super League 16:00 WWE SmackDown!

18:00 UFC 133 21:00 UFC 134 Countdown 22:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union

00:00 Trans World Sport 01:00 Super League 03:00 AFL Highlights 04:00 European PGA Tour Highlights 05:00 NRL Premiership 07:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 07:30 Futbol Mundial 08:00 NRL Premiership 10:00 AFL Highlights 11:00 Live ITM Cup Rugby Union 13:00 Rugby World Cup Classics 13:30 Trans World Sport 14:30 ICC Cricket World 15:00 World Hockey 15:30 AFL Highlights 16:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 17:00 Premier League Snooker 19:00 ITM Cup Rugby Union 21:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 21:30 Live Scottish League Cup 23:30 European PGA Tour Highlights

00:00 01:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

AFL Highlights European PGA Tour Highlights Tri Nations Super League AFL Highlights Golfing World European PGA Tour Highlights SPL Highlights World Hockey FEI Equestrian World Scottish Premier League Futbol Mundial Golfing World AFL Highlights ITM Cup Rugby Union European PGA Tour Highlights NRL Full Time Golfing World SPL Highlights FIVB Beach Volley Ball Futbol Mundial Rugby World Cup Classics NRL Full Time Trans World Sport AFL Highlights

00:00 02:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 16:30 17:30 18:00

V8 Supercars Championship UFC 134 Countdown WWE SmackDown!

UFC WWE NXT WWE SmackDown!

Speedway Powerboats F1 Highlights Mass Participation Modern Pentaholn Modern Pentaholn V8 Supercars Championship Mass Participation Speedway Le Mans Series Magazine WWE SmackDown!

20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

WWE Vintage Collection UFC 134 Countdown UFC Unleashed UFC The Ultimate Fighter

00:15 Casablanca-FAM 01:55 Summer Stock-FAM 03:40 Ride Him, Cowboy-FAM 04:35 Boom Town-PG 06:30 TCM Presents Under The Influence-U 07:00 The Catered Affair-PG 08:30 36 Hours-PG 10:20 An American In Paris-FAM 12:10 Bhowani Junction-PG 14:00 Boys’Town-PG 15:30 The Comedians-PG 18:00 They Died With Their Boots OnFAM 20:15 A Patch Of Blue-PG 22:00 Where Eagles Dare-PG

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:55 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:55 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:55 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

Life After People Ice Road Truckers Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Lock N’ Load With R. Lee Ermey Mega Movers Ax Men Life After People Ice Road Truckers Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Lock N’ Load With R. Lee Ermey Mega Movers Ax Men Life After People Ice Road Truckers Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Lock N’ Load With R. Lee Ermey Mega Movers Ax Men Life After People Ice Road Truckers Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars American Pickers Lock N’ Load With R. Lee Ermey

00:00 Jerseylicious 01:00 Fashion Avenue 01:30 Fashion Avenue 01:55 Big Boutique 02:25 How Do I Look?

03:20 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

04:15 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

05:10 Homes With Style 05:35 Area 06:05 Clean House 07:00 Big Boutique 07:30 Big Boutique 08:00 Homes With Style 08:30 Homes With Style 09:00 Fashion Avenue 09:25 Fashion Avenue 09:55 How Do I Look?

10:50 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

11:50 Clean House: Search For The Messiest...

12:50 Clean House 13:45 Clean House Comes Clean 14:15 Mel B: It’s A Scary World 14:45 Jerseylicious 15:40 Ruby 16:35 Giuliana & Bill 17:30 Clean House Comes Clean 17:55 Clean House Comes Clean 18:25 Top 10 18:55 Top 10 19:25 Big Boutique 19:50 Fashion Avenue 20:20 Clean House 21:15 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

22:10 Jerseylicious 23:05 Giuliana & Bill

00:00 Planet Food 01:00 Essential Specials 02:00 Cruising The South China Sea 03:00 People Of The Sea 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Planet Food 06:00 First Class South Africa 06:30 First Class South Africa 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Indian Times 09:00 The Soller Railway 10:00 Planet Food 11:00 Travel Today 11:30 Luxury Getaways 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Flavours Of Mexico 13:30 Cruise Today 14:00 Indian Times 15:00 Essential Specials 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 First Class South Africa 17:30 First Class South Africa 18:00 Flavours Of South Africa 18:30 Flavours Of South Africa 19:00 Globe Trekker 20:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 21:00 Secrets Of Ancient China 22:00 Trabant Trek 22:30 Word Travels 23:00 Globe Trekker

00:00 01:00 02:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Music For The Masses Greatest Hits VH1 Music VH1 Hits Aerobic VH1 Hits Music For The Masses Top 10 Music For The Masses VH1 Pop Chart VH1 Hits Music For The Masses VH1 Superchart Guess The Year Music For The Masses VH1 Loves VH1 Pop Chart Cover Power

00:15 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:35 05:00 05:25 05:50 06:15 06:35 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:35 09:00 09:20 09:45 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:20 11:35 12:00 12:10 12:20 12:30 12:40 12:50 13:10 13:35 13:50

Sonny With A Chance Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Jonas Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Stitch Stitch Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Stitch Stitch Replacements Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Emperor’s New School The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody Phineas And Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Splits Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Splits Jungle Junction Splits The Hive Handy Manny Splits Jake & The Neverland Pirates Splits Sonny With A Chance The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody Phineas And Ferb Splits Shake It Up

Classifieds TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

ACCOMMODATION Accommodation available in 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom, C-A/C apartment for a decent couple, executive bachelor or working lady in Mahboula close to Gulf Road. Contact: 66216713.

23-8-2011 Sharing accommodation available near Salmiya garden for 2 spinsters / 2 bachelors or family without children. Rent KD 100. New building with separate bath & C-A/C. Please call on 97202795 / 25654182.

(C 3588) 23-8-2011 Sharing accommodation available from September 1, Abbassiya, near Neethi Store building, full furnished 2 bedroom flat, share with keralite family. Looking for executive single bachelor or couples only for South Indians.

Contact: 66788568 or afternoon 66944127. (C 3586) 22-8-2011 One big room attach bath available for decent bachelor or couple, 2 BR C/AC flat in Fintas, near London hospital and close to Fahaheel Highway. Contact 60020168.

(C 3580) 21-8-2011

Sharing accommodation available at Khaitan in a studio flat for a single bachelor with a Mangalorean R/C bachelor near to bus stop.

Contact: 66036893. (C 3565) Room for rent in Hawally, location - interaction of Beirut + Tunis Street behind Popeye Restaurant. Contact: 66266105/ 66440968.

(C 3575) Sharing accommodation available with Indian decent bachelor single bed room flat. 1+1 basic. Very good location in Salmiya, Amman street, Indian community school-3, adjacent building.

Please contact Mob: 99813483. (C 3577) 17-8-2011

FOR SALE Toyota Camry model 2001, 4-cylinder, very good condition. Tel: 60035758.

(C 3581) 21-8-2011 CHANGE OF NAME I, Thiru V. Muthu Kumar (Hindu) son of P. Veeraperumal born on 2nd May 1984 residing at No:

8/59, Madhavan Street, Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram - 623707, has converted to Islam with the name of V. Muthu Mohamed. (C 3587) 23-8-2011

Busam Aswani holder of Indian Passport No: H2028715, issued in Hyderabad, India.

Before I am non-Muslim (Hindu) then I convert to Muslim, hereby change my name to Fatima Riaz.

(C 3582) 21-8-2011 I, Abel C. Abella Tagongtong, Filipino wish to change my name to Vir Niqel Abella Tagongtong.

(C 3578) 18-8-2011

SITUATION WANTED Engineer with 4 years experience as Data Analyst /

operation support (Telecom / Retail). Good working knowledge in Oracle, Unix and MS Office. Contact: 65794224. (C 3583) MBA (Finance) with bachelor’s degree in Engineering and 2 years experience in Kuwait looking for further experience in Finance.

Contact: 67731590. (C 3584) 22-8-2011

MATRIMONIAL Proposals are invited for a born again girl, 5.3”, 29 yrs, working as an Admin Professional with a reputed company in Kuwait. Email: lyndakuruvilla@gmail.com (C 3585) 22-8-2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines RJA THY ETH UAE DHX ETD MSR GFA QTR AFR JZR KAC KAC KAC BAW KAC JZR FCX JZR KAC JZR KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC UAE IRA QTR ABY QTR ETD GFA MEA MHK MSR UAL RJA KAC KAC KAC SVA

Flt 642 772 620 853 370 305 614 211 138 6700 539 544 118 412 157 416 506 201 557 206 533 302 332 53 352 284 855 605 132 125 6130 301 213 404 711 610 982 640 512 562 546 500

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 23/8/2011 Route AMMAN ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO BAHRAIN DOHA PARIS CAIRO CAIRO NEW YORK MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR LUXOR BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA ISLAMABAD ASSIUT MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI COCHIN DHAKA DUBAI ISFAHAN DOHA SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT BAGHDAD / NAJAF CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN TEHRAN AMMAN ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH

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

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

745 746 257 134 303 857 215 510 213 127 63 3555 227 104 166 502 542 618 786 774 777 674 790 572 61 93 647 402 552 1405 618 372 443 859 217 136 981 981 612 185 636 135 389 205

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

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

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

Departure Flights on Tuesday 23/8/2011 Flt Route 637 FRANKFURT 976 GOA / CHENNAI 44 DHAKA 240 SIALKOT 532 ASSIUT 773 ISTANBUL 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 615 CAIRO 139 DOHA 6700 DUBAI / HONG KONG 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 745 DAMMAM / ABU DHABI 256 BEIRUT 511 TEHRAN 561 AMMAN 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 604 ISFAHAN 101 LONDON / NEW YORK 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 212 DEIREZZOR 6131 DOHA 165 ROME / PARIS 405 BEIRUT 541 CAIRO 712 NAJAF / BAGHDAD 501 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 776 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 641 AMMAN 789 MEDINAH

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

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

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

982 551 673 617 746 501 773 82 304 135 858 216 128 3556 511 64 184 228 283 134 361 571 62 343 538 351 648 403 1405 619 373 443 860 218 381 102 137 301 205 981 411 613 556

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

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

34

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 418

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) The whole process of work today could be stopped up and sluggish. You may have to bide your time. This is the best time to study, progress in your work or teach. Your organizational abilities and sense of responsibility will be what guides you and proves successful. You could feel more comfortable in this working situation by the end of this week. Who you know counts this week. Circulate with those who can help you get ahead. Your intuitive insights and your common sense, as well as good humor, will see you through to the end.

Quick thinking could beat the competition when your mind is extra sharp. Get those brilliant ideas of yours on paper and make your next move quietly; you will be pleased with the results. Romance is possible this evening.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Communication, computers, electronics and everything new wave excites you and you excel here. You may discover new ways of working with traditional materials. This is a perfect time to be assertive and to move forward in your career decisions. You have all the drive and energy you could want for successful results. The path is open and clear for you. Music is likely to play a more important role for you than usual and a period of material acquisition can satisfy a deep yearning to be free from want. The supportive help of someone today can be an important factor that will affect business or reputation and increase your sense of security. You are a fine psychologist, researcher or detective and are good at dealing with joint or individual finances.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

4. Cause to be embarrassed.

9. Informal terms for money.

13. An informal term for a father.

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

15. (Greek mythology) Greek god of war.

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

17. At right angles to the length of a ship or airplane.

18. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight.

19. Having a woven pattern.

21. Tall feather palm of northern Brazil with hard-shelled nuts yielding valuable oil and a kind of vegetable ivory.

23. A small ball with a hole through the middle.

25. Hormone released by the hypothalamus that controls the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone from the anterior pituitary.

26. Divulge information or secrets.

29. The content of cognition.

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

34. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

35. Ox of southeast Asia sometimes considered a domesticated breed of the gaur.

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

39. A rotating disk shaped to convert circular into linear motion.

41. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

43. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

44. A Portuguese province on the south coast of China and two islands in the South China Sea. 47. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

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

51. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

55. The part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands.

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

60. The seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located adv.

61. A lake in northwestern Russia north of St. Petersburg.

62. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

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

64. Any of a class of weakly acidic organic compounds.

65. A young woman making her debut into society.

DOWN 1. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

2. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

3. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

4. Lower in esteem.

5. A coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds.

6. (informal) Of the highest quality.

7. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

8. The wrist bone in line with the 4th and 5th fingers.

9. Valuable fiber plant of East Indies now widespread in cultivation.

10. A river that rises in northeastern Turkey (near the source of the Euphrates) and flows generally eastward through Armenia to the Caspian Sea. 11. (comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns) Quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree.

12. (Old Testament) The eldest son of Isaac who would have inherited the Covenant that God made with Abraham and that Abraham passed on to Isaac.

20. A French abbot.

22. (informal) Exceptionally good.

24. Deciduous shrub of North America.

27. The act of slowing down or falling behind.

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

30. An Indian nursemaid who looks after children.

31. A small cake leavened with yeast.

32. A team of professional baseball players who play and travel together.

36. Squash bugs.

38. The United Nations agency concerned with the international organization of food and agriculture.

40. The trait of lacking restraint or control.

42. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

45. (of complexion) Blemished by imperfections of the skin.

46. Covered or protected with or as if with a case.

49. Pompous or pretentious talk or writing.

50. An officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer.

52. Set down according to a plan.

53. (of a young animal) Abandoned by its mother and raised by hand.

54. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

56. Any high mountain.

57. Gone by.

58. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Any blocks or frustrations are easily worked through today.

Communicating and the transaction of clear messages are important to you. Divide overwhelming tasks into manageable chunks and see the chunks as steps on the road to achievement. Your timing should be perfect and those around you should find you most natural. You can throw your worries out the window where issues of performance are concerned. Whether you are at home today, in the office or issuing some political speech, you are productive and efficient. Letters and phone calls take much of your time later this afternoon. Music is enjoyed by you and your partner, perhaps away from home this evening. Perhaps you have found a dinner theater for this evening’s entertainment.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You are valued for your ability to make practical decisions concerning group issues. You could be most persuasive with others and may be nominated to represent a group. You are eloquent in the way you handle others. This afternoon there is a longing to spend money on an object of desire without having the money on hand—careful, this may be more costly than it is worth. You may feel you have been holding back with expenses and now you are going to spend on yourself. Consider looking around for a better price for this item so that you will not have regrets later. You give, you get and you spend generously on entertainment, education and travel this whole month long. There is a tendency to exaggerate at this time. Above all you are a lover.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Lots of activity in the workplace today calls for concentration and organization. You may also be speaking or representing your company. You do not waste words and communications tend to be clear, short and to the point. You are very determined and deliberate when it comes to mental work and you would make an excellent investigator or chemist. You concentrate on what is essential. You tend to collect things and material success— money, home, security, possessions—is very important to you. There are opportunities to add to your hobby or prized collection this afternoon. Think carefully about upcoming expenses before you spend. You may find someone at home needs money for education, clothes, etc.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You may find yourself having emotional differences with someone. Those around you, or the situation you find yourself in, may not feel right to you just now. You could be challenged. Time alone during the noon break could bring everything back into perspective. Health improvements are likely now and this is an excellent cycle for getting those annual physicals out of the way. You enjoy working with your mind and can usually find a solution to even the worst problems. Your skills in this regard make you expert at counseling and guiding others. You may find yourself guiding an elderly person or persons in your family this evening.

Give them the opportunity to express themselves and help them create a plan for future interests or activities.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) This is a great time to be with others in a relaxed or work atmosphere. You may find that both your personal growth and your career may depend upon how you can handle some ethical question today.

You will benefit from analytical insights, getting to the heart of things. The supportive help of a woman or a girl can be an important factor that will bring about positive results. You have the qualities of a fine psychologist, researcher or detective and are good at dealing with joint or others’ finances. There is a feeling of being at peace and stable on the emotional level. Music is likely to play a more important role in your life this evening. You may enjoy a concert or an impromptu get-together with friends. Your energy level increases.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Circumstances may urge you to great effort and hard work today. Things are working with rather than against you, so do not hold back and do not overdo by trying to go too far too fast. Let things take their natural course. You may enjoy probing into your inner workings or some good solid gossip this afternoon—be careful in what you say. You are dynamic and always expressive in thought and speech. You appreciate your own ideas and tend to be outgoing. You could be a bit emotional from time to time but because you feel so strongly you could also be a good entertainer. For the next few weeks, you will find that you attract the opposite sex quite easily. Your energies and your thoughts are in a most positive mode.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

New ways to communicate or an easy manner will make conversations go well. You may find yourself more talkative than you were before this new technology. You are at your mental best with intelligent ideas and clear thoughts. You will make every opportunity to involve yourself with co-worker conversations during the noon break. You could be looking to advance yourself and it is important to keep up with any information. Close relationships are fun this afternoon. You may decide to pitch in and help finish some long-term project around a family home later this evening. Careful—do not overexert yourself. Feeling cared for and needed is comfortable. Sharing responsibilities helps to continue or create an everlasting bond.

There are insights into your own inner workings today. What is hidden or going on behind the scenes may become very clear. You should be able to get your ideas across with ease. The making for a bright and witty day is ahead. Your communication skills are at a high-water mark. Your manner is so favorable that you would make an excellent counselor or teacher. You could find yourself familiarizing a new employee with his or her surroundings and duties. You find it easy to solve any problems that may come up today—others appreciate your enthusiasm. Your practical skills are linked to your almost mystical inner vision. You manifest your ideals and dreams in an organized and clear-headed manner. A book review is fun this evening.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You could find that you are appreciated or valued for your feelings and ability to act and get things done. All sorts of people depend on you to help them become organized and in focus. You may often be sought after as just the right person for a particular job. Any career that you seek in which you will be of service to others is a perfect choice—you very much want to be helpful. There is a feeling of being at peace on the emotional level and stability and permanence satisfies a deep emotional need. Any form of group exercise is a wonderful release of tension for you this afternoon. You may find yourself looking for a little romance this evening. If you are not involved in a love relationship, you may find a special someone is not so far away.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

This is a great time to be with others and to work together.

Work, achievement and ambition mean a lot to you now. You are satisfied with your income for the moment but your thoughts are always on the move in an upward direction. You may be looking forward to a seminar on how to improve your earning or to invest your savings. You can expect a sense of support and goodwill from those around you. You take time out from your busy day to demonstrate a particular technical tool to a co-worker this afternoon. Your thoughts may be more on home and family later today. This evening you will be expressing your creative side as you help a young person prepare for a test or a contest. This may mean an upcoming science fair.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

i n f o r m at i o n

FIRE BRIGADE

112

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

24812000

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

PHARMACIES

AIRLINES

ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Hawally

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Kuwait Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways FlyDubai Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines Aeroflot

22433377 177 22924455 22414400 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22425566 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22417901/ 2433141 22456700 22958787 22453820/1 22404838/9

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist 25340300

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada) Dentists Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581 22641071/2

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Salem soso

22618787

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Neurologists

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

Gastrologists

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 25655535

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

General Surgeons

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345

Central African Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia

00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689

y

A

36

e niv rsar n

Years

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Eid festivities at Marina Hotel Kuwait

IBC meets new Indian ambassador

I

ndian Business Council, Kuwait, Executive Committee members and senior advisors met with the new ambassador of India, Satish C Mehta at the Indian Embassy last week. IBC extended a very warm welcome to the ambassador and wished him a very pleasant stay in Kuwait. Gen Secretary briefed the ambassador about IBC activities and introduced all the members of the delegation comprising the Chairman S K Wadhawan, Vice Chairman Tony Jashanmal, Gen Sec Ramesh Kohli, Senior Advisors Dhiraj Oberoi, Sam Alphanso, Kuldeep Lamba, Saulat Ali Khan, RC Suresh, and Kanwar Bahl.

Announcements 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 Dsouza60035824, 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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efitting the spirit of togetherness and harmony that marks Eid celebrations, Marina Hotel Kuwait extends its warmest greetings to the guests and their families. The hotel has unveiled a rich choice of culinary flavours, family entertainment and special room packages to make this Eid truly memorable. The festivity commences with bountiful Eid Al-Fitr offerings, guests are invited to enjoy the flavors from around the world. Experience a memorable culinary journey while shar-

ing this special time with friends and family. Start your morning with steaming coffee and delicious breakfast at The Six Palms Restaurant and indulge yourself during dinner while savoring on the International Buffet filled with Oriental specialties and an Oriental band performance. Watch authentic innovations spring to life inside the Atlantis Restaurant with the finest lunch buffet dishes from around the world.

Marina Hotel has planned special programs for children of all ages to partici-

pate in the Eid celebrations. With the Marina Kids Club program they have an opportunity to benefit from the various fun filled activities along with the Kids Club entertainers which include Eid shows, games for adults and kids, magic shows, movie viewing, football, volleyball, basketball, bouncy castles, trampoline, face painting, sand castle building and much more.

The hotel also invites you to celebrate Eid Al Fitr with special room packages including complimentary breakfast.

Families wishing to spend their Eid holidays at Marina Hotel can avail of the room packages at discounted prices.

They can take the opportunity to relax in the luxurious rooms and benefit from the hotels various facilities and amenities.

They will have access to the spa and state of the art Coral Reef Health Club. Head towards Marina Hotel this holiday season as it will feature Eid specials that will appeal to the finer tastes of guests. Enjoy all the enticing offers and make your family’s Eid holiday a memorable event.

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.

Konkani musical show Comedian Philip, the 1st NRI Goan comedian, is all set to entertain you with a Konkani music show titled “Ani, Anik Zaiem?” to be presented by the United Friends Club on September 9 at 4pm at the AIS (American International School) Auditorium, Maidan-Hawalli. This is Kuwait-based comedian Philip’s third musical show after the overwhelming success of staging “Tum Vhoir Aum Sokol” and “Hem Kazar Koslem” in Kuwait and overseas.

India medical tourism destination event

Burgan Bank celebrates girgian

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he Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), along with Trident Exhibition Pvt. Ltd., and supported by Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Commerce, and Government of India, is organizing an event entitled “India-Medical Tourism Destination 2011”. The event will run from 14th 15th September 2011 at the Kuwait International Fair (KIF) Ground, Mishref, Kuwait. The objective of the event would be to highlight the benefits of medical tourism and to emphasize India’s role in providing affordable and quality healthcare to the Kuwaiti people.

Healthcare is an essential need. However, quality healthcare facilities are not available everywhere.

And if at all available, the cost is exorbitantly high in most parts of the world. With a large pool of highly trained doctors and affordable treatment cost, the Indian healthcare sector aims to replicate the success of the Indian software sector. Over the past few years, the medical tourism story has changed dramatically in India. Private enterprises including corporate hospitals, chemists, freelance agents are all working in tandem to build a thriving ecosystem that educates, facilitates and ferries medical tourists from across the world. In the year 2010, this system brought around 600,000 patients from over 30 countries around the globe, mainly from USA, Canada, UK, Russia, the Middle East and Africa to India who spent Rs.4,500 crores (US$1 billion) in treatments.

Advantages for medical tourists in India include reduced costs, availability of the latest medical technologies and growing compliance of international quality standards and absence of language barriers.

The most popular treatments sought in India by medical tourists are transplant surgeries (liver, kidney, heart) cardiac bypass surgery, eye surgery, orthopedic surgery and spinal surgery. India is known in particular for heart surgery, hip and knee resurfacing and other areas of advanced medicine and alternative medicines. As per the latest report, over 10,000 Kuwaiti nationals went to India in 2010 for treatments related to cardiac, spinal, cosmetic and various other surgeries.

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urgan Bank recently celebrated girgian with special care complex at Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, and provided the attending children, orphans as well as the elderly with girgian boxes, that are aimed at shedding light on the importance and true spirit of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Burgan Bank continues to support the different segments across the Kuwaiti society. The bank’s corporate social responsibility portfolio continues to grow with a wide array of initiatives that demonstrate its leadership as a financial institution that is socially dedicated.

United Indian Forum supports Anna Hazare

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group of Kuwait residents and Andhra people gathered under the United Indian Forum in Maliya last Friday to extend their support to veteran social activist Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption.

Hazare is on an indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi to press his demand for the ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’.

The supporters, who were seen holding banners reading ‘honest India, strongest India’, said that corruption is breeding in India since it got independence, and insisted that the Jan Lokpal Bill is the only tool by which corruption could be curbed.

“Basically we have gathered

here to support Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption.

Corruption is rising in India for the last 64 years and the government and lawmakers are not taking any step to curb it,” said Gondi Ramakrishnam Naidu, President,Pravasaandhra Seva Samithi and Darla Srinivasa Achari (United Indian Forum).

“Anna Hazare has raised his voice against corruption and we are with him. We want that corruption should end soon and we feel that Jan Lokpal Bill will be helpful in ending corruption, so this Bill should soon be passed in the Parliament,” they added.

The much-debated Lokpal Bill, which aims to set up an anti-corruption watchdog in

India, was tabled in the Lok Sabha on August 4.

Hazare and his supporters claimed that the Bill tabled in its present form in the parliament lacked teeth to counter corruption.

The version of the Lokpal Bill drafted by the government has kept the Prime Minister, the judiciary and lawmakers out of its ambit.

Mubarak, Manchala Raju, Chengal Rayudu Gowd, Sankar, Subramanyam Naidu, Gafar, Muni Ratnam, Subbarayudu, Babu, Srinivasulu, Hussain took part in this event.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

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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

Farewell reception held

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ean of the Diplomatic Corps in Kuwait Abdulahad Embaki held a reception to bid farewell to the Egyptian Ambassador in Kuwait Taher Farahat. It was attended by diplomats, dignitaries, and other important personnel. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

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

Joybangla Group observes National Mourning Day

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n Aug 15, 1975, the National Mourning Day, Father of the Bengali nation and the founding premier of the Peopleís Republic of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman along with most of his family members was brutally murdered on this darkest episode in 1975.

Commemorating the National mourning day - Joy Bangla Cultural Group Kuwait chapter has met on a discussion meeting and prayer mahfil at Quakab hotel in Kuwait City on Aug 21, 2011. The program was presided over by Masud Karim President Joy Bangla Cultural Group Kuwait chapter. Bangladesh Awami League Kuwait chapter President and the chief Advisor of Joy Bangla Cultural Group Kuwait gallant freedom fighter Engineer Abdur Rob was the chief guest in the event.

Among the special guests were Abdus Subhan General Secreatary of Bangladesh Awami League Kuwait chap-

ter, Bahar Uddin, Jems Rojario vice president of Awami Seschsasebak League Kuwait branch, Jahangir Hossain Bablu President of Jatio Kabita Parishad, Touhidul Islam Harun President of Friday Forum Kuwait.

The program commenced with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, Recited by Moulana Nurul Huda. The one minute silence was observed in honor of the martyrs of Aug 15, 1975.

General Secretary of Joy Bangla Cultural Group Kuwait chapter Hasan Ali, Organizing Secretary Fazlur Rahman Ripon, Sadat Hossain Salman, Abul Hossain Rashed, Tofazal Hossain, Kabir Hossain, delivered speeches highlighting the glorious achievements of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman. Special prayer was offered seeking divine grace for the departed soul of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mojibur Rahman and all the martyrs of Aug 15, 1975 by Moulana Nurul Huda.

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.

To ensure that the most recent version of the Temporary Resident Visa application form is being utilized, applicants should refer to the CIC website. As of January 15, 2011, forms are to be filled in electronically. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday.

Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

The forms are available on the internet at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5257E. PDF. A guide explaining the process can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/5256E.PDF. 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 During the holy month of Ramadan, the office timings of the Indian Passport and Visa Service Centres of BLS International Visa Services Co., Kuwait, situated at (a) Emad Commercial Centre, Basement Floor, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Sharq, Kuwait, and (b) Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No. 25-26 Makka Street, Fahaheel, Kuwait, will be from 8 am - 3 pm from Saturday to Thursday (i.e. six days a week). Embassy of India, Kuwait, will maintain its usual working hours.

Farewell

Yiaco holds ghabqa

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IACO medical company hosted its annual ghabqa for staff members and their families over the weekend at the Regency Hotel. The event featured commemoration of some employees as well as a festival that included traditional displays. Free girgian was distributed to the people who attended.

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meeting was held on July 29 in Hassawi for the farewell of ABM Faizuallah. He has worked with Al-Ahleia switch Gear Company for the last 23 years. He was also the former President of Probashi Shahitta Parishad for 8 years. Mozammal, Shohel Rana, GolamMawla, Anwar, Abdul Barek, Farid Ahmed, Jassim, Salam, Kashem, Jahid, Nurnobi, Sha alam, Hamid, and Azizul Islam (Pakhi) were also present at the meeting.

Patriotism fills children’s meeting

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ndia’s Independence day celebrations and children’s meeting was held at Mangaf Auditorium with the combined efforts of Balavedi Kuwait, KalaKuwait and Mathrubhasha Samithi which turned out in invoking patriotism in the new generation - Indian students residing in Kuwait. The whole program was steered by the children. Balavedi Kuwait Fahaheel regional Joint

Convener Abhijith S Nair presided over the meeting.

Speeches prepared by the Malayalam class students by themselves were also presented. Ghandi and Nehru memorial messages were presented by Manna Prince and Devika Padmakumar respectively. KalaKuwait General Secretary R.Naganathan inaugurated the function. Gowri Nirmal presented the Independence Day

message. Aparna Shine presented the oath to which remind all about the importance of our mother tongue today in which the crowd repeated the oath. Fahaheel regional convenor Rahil K Mohandas presented the Introductory address followed by felicitations by Bhashasamithi General Convenor P K Janardhanan, principal chairperson

Reghunathan Nair, Balavedi Principal chairperson P R Babu and Rajan C Kulakkada.

Balavedi Kuwait Fahaheel regional Joint convener Bharath Prashanth welcomed all whereas convener Anakha Sidhique rendered the vote of thanks followed by a multiple variety of cultural programs by the children. Group Songs and poetry recitations were presented by Abhiram

SanalKumar, Bhadra Prashanth, Devesh PadmaKumar, Asmitha Sidhique, Gowri Nirmal, Anjana, Nikhil Sudharan , Bobin, Anne, Avani Vinodh, Suman Somaraj, Sowrav Jyothidas, Jerin, Jothsin, Rose and Jeevan. The event was steered by K P Shine, James, Sudharan. T R, Jayan C C, Suresh P B, Jyothidas, Bineesh K Babu, Shubha Shine, Sudarshanan and K P Poulose.

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EMBASSY OF IRAN The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kuwait announced their official working hours during the holy month of Ramadan, which will go between 9:00 am and 2:00 pm on weekdays. The Iranian embassy extends will wishes to His Highness the Amir, the government as well as the people of Kuwait on this occasion. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF SLOVAK REPUBLIC The Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the State of Kuwait would like to inform the public that from 8th August 2011, the working hours of the Consular Section will be on Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 till 13:00 hrs.

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lifestyle F e a t u r e s

File photo, South Korean tourists pose in front of the Sambulam, Three Buddha Sculpture, on Diamond Mountain in North Korea. —AP photos

South Korean tourist makes a contribution into a box in front of the Buddha Sculpture at Diamond Mountain.

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South Korean tourists take their memorial pictures.

South Korean tourists tour at the Diamond Mountain.

yongyang’s vow yesterday to scrap all South Korean property at a joint mountain resort could end what was once a rare haven for curious southern tourists within North Korea. For a decade, visitors from the South came in droves to Diamond Mountain, essentially a modern South Korean resort an hour’s drive into the North, where they could play golf, relax in hot springs and soak up the folklore of the beautiful mountain. One of the few bright spots of cooperation between the divided countries, however, has been on hold since a North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean woman at the resort three years ago.

North Korea is now threatening to end it completely by getting rid of South Korean assets and opening the resort to international investors. Yesterday, Pyongyang ordered all South Korean workers at the resort to leave within 72 hours and banned any South Korean property from being removed. The North is angered by Seoul’s refusal to resume the lucrative tours until Pyongyang formally apologizes for the shooting death and allows a joint investigation.

Diplomats from the United States and the two Koreas are separately pursuing tentative talks meant to jump-start North Korean nuclear disarmament talks, but the meltdown at Diamond Mountain - once a promising symbol of potential inter-Korean cooperation - shows how deep animosity runs on the Korean peninsula.

The South immediately expressed regret yesterday about the North’s comments on Diamond Mountain and planned to seek international mediation. Nestled near a craggy mountain range that stretches to the sea, the resort drew hundreds of millions of dollars of South Korean investment until the shooting death halted cross-border tours in July 2008.

Diamond Mountain tours started in 1998 under the initiative of a South Korean tycoon with roots in the North.

Nearly 2 million South Koreans flocked to the resort, eager to see its beauty and be part of a spirit of reconciliation that blossomed during two liberal South Korean governments’ engagement with the North.

Often hailed as the peninsula’s most beautiful peak,

Diamond Mountain has been praised by both ancient and modern Korean musicians, painters and historians. The North’s media often tout its beauty, describing the way white clouds drift over its saw-toothed peaks.

The land around Diamond Mountain, however, has seen tension since the 1950-53 Korean War. Thousands of troops died fighting to conquer hills south of the mountain during the war. Two years before the tours began, a group of armed North Korean infiltrators slipped south of the border aboard a submarine, rattling South Koreans until most of the agents were killed.

The start of the tours led to many of the troops guarding the border to fall back and allowed South Korean businesses to capitalize on a tourism asset they had long eyed.

The languishing resort appeared in fair condition last year when family members separated by the truce that ended the Korean War were briefly reunited under a Red Cross program. A handful of workers were stationed there

by South Korea’s Hyundai Asan company, the resort’s operator. Slogans were carved into hillside rocks, with propaganda billboards hailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as “the sun of the 21st century.”

Ties between the Koreas frayed badly last year. The North bombarded a South Korean island last November, killing four people. It also denies responsibility for the sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors in March 2010. North Korea in June told the South to draw up plans to salvage its assets. Hyundai Asan estimates $370 million in sales have been lost since the tours were suspended.

North Korea had annually won tens of millions of dollars from the tours, analysts believe.

Hope that tours could be revived followed a meeting of nuclear envoys from North and South Korea held in Indonesia last month. A later visit by a high-level North Korean diplomat to New York was another sign of possible thawing in the Korean peninsula’s icy ties. But last month the two countries failed to agree on more talks about the resort. “The Diamond Mount program is holding on to its last breath,” Kang Sung-yoon, a North Korea professor at Seoul’s Dongguk University, said. —AP

Dubai unveils

Eid Al-Fitr festival T

he Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment unveiled the highlights of the fourth edition of ‘Eid in Dubai’ Eid Al-Fitr 2011 at a press conference held at the Meydan hotel on Tuesday, 16 August. The highly anticipated celebration, scheduled to take place during Eid Al Fitr holidays, promises a range of multicultural activities, affirming Dubai’s position as the premier destination for festivals and events.

This year’s programme includes live performances and attractions from around the world, promising the widest selection of cultural activities ever to be offered during ‘Eid in Dubai’. Residents and visitors alike can look forward to events including a children’s concert at Modhesh World featuring ‘Arabs Got Talent’ finalist Hala Al Turk , the Shoppiesta festival at Meydan with five days of themed concerts and festivities, and the highly anticipated ‘Fire of Anatolia’ show at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Other attractions include concerts by famous Arabic singers, Eid carnivals at Modhesh World, and fireworks displays. Shopping malls and retail outlets across Dubai are organizing amazing shopping discounts and offers as part of ‘Eid in Dubai’. The promotions run until September 10.

Addressing the gathering, Ms Laila Suhail, Chief Executive Officer of DEPE said: “We at Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment continue our strive towards achieving our vision of positioning Dubai as

Faris Karam

one of the leading tourism, shopping, and business destinations in the world and we aim to reach that goal by doing what we do best - organizing festivals and events of global standards.”

“We started the ‘Summer in Dubai’ campaign with the fourteenth edition of Dubai Summer Surprises that was followed up by a promotional campaign during Ramadan organized in collaboration with several government and private entities under

the name of ‘Ramadan in Dubai’.

And we conclude the campaign by sharing with you what we have to offer our visitors during ‘Eid in Dubai’ noting that ‘Eid in Dubai’ celebrations are inspired by the unique cultural and social mosaic of Dubai,” she added.

Mr Ibrahim Saleh, Festivals Coordinator General and Deputy CEO of DEPE, who presented the ‘Eid in Dubai’ highlights through a presentation, said: “Eid in Dubai is a social occasion which

unites different nationalities from across Dubai in celebration of this one joyous occasion.

There is a great deal of anticipation surrounding the planned events, and we are looking forward to hosting families from across the UAE and visitors from around the world for this year’s festivities.”

For the first time ever, the retail and hospitality sectors will have the support of the official Dubai Calendar website as a tool

for planning and promoting Eid activities. The site www.dubaicalendar.ae, is a portal through which Dubai’s government agencies, festival organisers, retailers and charity organisations can freely announce promotions, events and activities to residents and visitors.

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Wayne to release new album online after VMAs L

il Wayne is hoping his performance on the MTV Video Music Awards will be so good, fans will rush out and get his new album: The rapper is making it digitally available at midnight after Sunday’s show.

“Tha Carter IV” will be available on iTunes, Amazon.com and other digital outlets. The physical album will hit stores Aug 29. “Tha Carter IV” features collaborations with Drake, Cory Gunz, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes and others.

Lil Wayne says he’s making history. “I am extremely excited to be the first artist to uti-

lize such an amazing idea. I hope that I can open the door for others,” he said in a statement yesterday. The strategy is similar to that used by Jay-Z and Kanye West for their best-selling “Watch the Throne” collaboration, which was available exclusively on iTunes for several days before hitting physical retailers. It debuted at the top of the charts last week.

Lil Wayne’s Grammy-winning “Tha Carter III” was the best-selling album of 2008. He spent most of 2010 in a New York jail after pleading guilty to a weapons charge. Lil

Wayne is up for two VMA awards. The show is scheduled to air live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Lady Gaga, Adele and Chris Brown are also set to perform.

Pitbull was just added to the lineup, and Jessie J will be in the house band for the night. MTV said there will be no single host this year because it is experimenting with a “nontraditional format.”

Celebrate the festivities of Eid with Centrepoint

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efitting the spirit of togetherness and harmony that marks Eid celebrations, Centrepoint the popular shopping destination in Kuwait would like to greet all its patrons on this festive occasion. An exciting new collection is now available in stores for you to check out and promises to completely bowl you over with a wide variety of styles to choose from.

Splash; the high-street fashion brand at Centrepoint is all set to woo its customers with an exclusive sequined and crystal-embellished collection; keeping in mind that one would like to add a touch of “bling” to their wardrobe staples. The compilation of 15 different styles will be available under one of the most popular brands “MS” in the Splash bouquet.

Available in a variety of bold colors like golden, silver, hot pink, purple and black the collection also features crystal-embellished T-shirts with quirky designs. These embellished pieces will be up for grabs; so make a dash to your nearest store and enjoy the fun and festivities of this wonderful season.

At “Juniors”, your little ones can too sparkle and shine with the new Eid collection at. An entirely new range of shimmering festive wear that adds a touch of opulence is surely set to mesmerize your senses. From petite occasion wear to smart casuals, the entire range showcases an endless variety of the latest offering for your little ones.

In sync with the cheerful mood of the festival, the range highlights a vibrant color palette of cherry red, baby pink, sunflower yellow, sea blue, jet black to mention a few.

To compliment the festive season, one should look out for the new musthave collections of gorgeous colors from NYX cosmetics available at

Lifestyle in Centrepoint. Available are three gorgeous Look kits which come with nine eyeshadows, two lip colors, applications, mirror and instructions to go about using the product. It’s surely guaranteed to give you that perfect look this season. So also, kits for your eyes and lips are available in store.

Completely new to Lifestyle, the NYX Nail polish collection in forty three delicious shades comes in almost every imaginable color.

Formulated for long lasting wear with no lumps or lines; the expert applicator brush picks up the right amount of liquid and smoothly applies polish.

The formula is super quick dry.

In line with your wardrobe, Shoe Mart has introduced a unique collection this season. The collection comes with great shoes coupled with matching clutches and accessories. Stilettos and sandals enclosed in elegant red and pretty pink with statement brooches and stones to leopard print peep toes rings out style and sensuality for this festive season.

The accessories collection expresses an essence of Greek Goddess. The collection of metallic gold and silver plated necklaces designed with leaf like designs and shiny chains will make a statement. Paired with eye catching nature enthused earrings for your daily dose of glamour.

Eid is the time of giving and Centrepoint aims at doing so by rewarding its customers with the very best and most special prices. Ride on to any Centrepoint showrooms at Al Rai, Fahaheel, Kuwait City, Salmiya, Hawally, Jahra and Fintas and adorn yourself for Eid.

File photo shows Lil Wayne performs during the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.— AP

A girl looks at the illustration of “Nobita” at the People’s Plaza on display during a press preview at the Kawasaki City Fujiko F Fujio Museum in Kawasaki yesterday. The museum exhibiting works of art produced by Fujiko F Fujio, acclaimed author and manga artist, will open to the public on September 3. —AFP

India Fashion Week

Models walk the ramp for designer Manish Malhotra during the grand finale of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Winter/Festival 2011 in Mumbai yesterday. —AFP

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Dubai unveils Eid Al- Fitr festival

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

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Indian youth make a human pyramid to reach and break the ‘Dahi Handi’, an earthen pot filled with yoghurt, as they celebrate Janamashtami, the birth anniversary of Hindu God Krishna in Mumbai, India, yesterday.—AP

60,000 celebrate Hindu

festival in British countryside

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n a typically English setting, the grounds of a mock-Tudor country mansion, thousands of pilgrims are celebrating what organizers claim is the biggest Hindu festival outside India.

More than 60,000 people were expected to attend the two-day Janmashtami festival on Sunday and yesterday, celebrating the god Lord Krishna’s birth, at the Bhaktivedanta Manor temple outside suburban Watford, northwest of London.

The rolling fields backdrop of Letchmore Heath suggests an English country fete, as does the bunting and muddy grass, but the flavor is unmistakably Indian. Dancing, dramas, devotional songs and inspirational talks from swami teachers filled the tents as outside, mothers in brightly-colored saris sipped coconut juice in the sunshine as children had their faces painted blue like Lord

Krishna. The smell of cattle and spicy food fills the air as thousands soak up the party mood.

“Janmashtami is a coming together of a great big family,” said former temple president Gauri Das. “People wouldn’t miss this for anything. There’s just such a spirit that captures everybody,” the 49year-old temple senior told AFP. “There’s a tremendous atmosphere of devotion and goodwill. It’s a cultural extravaganza.

“The magic of this place is that it’s the Hertfordshire countryside,” he added.

“You couldn’t turn it into an architectural piece of India. But at the heart of it are the ethics, ideals and devotion of Hindu culture. It’s become an iconic symbol of the British Hindu identity.”

The 1880s manor was bought for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1973 by Beatles gui-

tarist George Harrison, a devotee. As ducks waddled from the ornamental lake, pilgrims queued on the clipped lawns beneath the oak and willow trees, bearing flowers and fruit to decorate the shrine of Krishna. Inside, devotees enjoy their fleeting moment passing the shrine as chanting and drumming echoes around the room.

The manor is also a dairy farm and pilgrims could feed the 46 cows, which are fond of carrots and the sugary jaggery sweets popular in South Asia. The temple is behind the production of “Ahimsa” (non-violent) milk, from cattle that are not slaughtered when their milking years are over. Indian, London and regional English accents can be heard wandering between the bookstalls and children’s play areas. Avi Singh, 26, a warehouse operative from Luck now in northern

Public’s first glimpse of It

was 27 years ago when the idea of a memorial to Dr Martin Luther King Jr was first proposed to be built on the National Mall, reports CBS News Correspondent Chip Reid. Yesterday the public gets its very first glimpse. On the edge of the Tidal Basin stands an imposing 30-foot-tall granite statue of Dr King, the first person who’s not a president to be honored with a major memorial on the mall - surrounded by monuments and memorials dedicated to presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. It was the Lincoln Memorial that was the setting for Dr. King’s most famous speech, 48 years ago - a defining moment in the civil rights movement.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed ...” “It creates a sense of completeness that Dr King’s contributions now stand at the highest levels of American history,” said Mark

Morial, president of the National Urban League. The memorial portrays King emerging from the “stone of hope,” while leaving behind what he himself called the “mountain of despair.” Parts of King’s other speeches are etched in the surrounding walls ... reminders of his role in the civil rights movement as a leader struggling for justice and equality, until he was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39.

Some critics say it doesn’t look like Dr King, the result they say of choosing a sculptor from China, Lei Yee-Shin. But Harry Johnson, CEO of the National Memorial Project Foundation, says they simply chose the best sculptor for the job, something Dr King would have understood “Dr King himself said you shouldn’t judge a person by their skin but by the content of their character, and in these terms we’re talking about this man’s artistic character,” said Johnson. Johnson also notes that King’s children say the likeness is a good one Among people who chose not to wait for the official opening, some see controversy ahead ... “I think that it’s a poor job for a great American,” said visitor Glenn Gillis. But many say this is just what the nation needs now “I think it really does help us to come closer to the best that we can be,” said visitor Patricia KarlinNeumann.

“And at the moment it feels that we are so distant from the best that we can be as a nation.” “It’s pretty important,” said Rick DelGado. “It’s pretty symbolic, and it’s very necessary and a long time coming.” The memorial will open to the public later this morning. On Thursday they will cover it up again in preparation for the official unveiling next Sunday, a ceremony in which President Obama, the nation’s first black president, will participate.—CBS

The Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial is seen yesterday in Washington, ahead of its dedication next weekend.—AP

Spectators watch as Indian Hindu devotees form a human pyramid to break the ‘dahi-handi’ (curd-pot).

India, who moved to England six months ago, was impressed by the free festival.

“It’s nice, everything is gorgeous. It’s like we are in India, apart from the weather!” he told AFP. “I’m surprised there is a festival held here. I never thought an Indian temple could be here,” he said as he surveyed the greenery.

Non-Hindus were also among the thousands wandering between the food stalls, exhibitions and entertainment.

“We were intrigued and wanted to experience something different,” said Hayley Crompton, 26, a costume maker from Nottinghamshire in central England. “It’s a really beautiful atmosphere, really happy. “It’s like an English summer partyonly with much better food,” she said, finishing off a portion of potato curry.

According to the last published census in 2001, there were 558,000 Hindus

in Britain, one percent of the population.

Therefore, roughly a tenth were expected to visit the festival. One play, India Joe and the Temple of Krishna, told the story of a London-accented Hindu youth, telling his Indian-accented father of how the savings of his generation had been blown away in the recession and how he was determined to make the best of his life by facing it fully armed with his faith.

“These are contemporary British Hindu kids who are reinterpreting their ancient traditions into the most modern setting,” Das said.”Hindu children here have never had the same confidence they have today. “Bollywood, yoga, meditation, vegetarianism; these things have become popular culture in Britain.”—AFP