25 Aug

ON IP TI SC R SU B

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

03:48 03:58 05:21 11:51 15:24 18:17 19:39

40 PAGES

NO: 15191

150 FILS

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

Hazare: Am ready to die for Indian anti-graft cause

11

www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 25, 1432 AH

Lyon in Champions League group stage

Bahraini Shiite opposition shuns election deadline

Moody’s cuts Japan rating

21

20

13

Lawmakers fume over ‘suspicious deposits’ PM, CB governor under fire; Oppn mulls mass resignation KUWAIT: This photo shows the construction site of the Mubarak Al-Kabir port project on Bubiyan Island, Kuwait. — AP

Port stirs tension with old enemy Dead or alive, NTC offers $1.7 million for Gaddafi

TRIPOLI: Fighting raged yesterday as Mohammed Gaddafi’s troops fought back near his Tripoli compound a day

after it was captured, while rebels offered a $1.7 million reward for the Continued on Page13

UMM QASR: Iraq and Kuwait, two countries that share a small border and big history of mutual suspicion and war, are at it again. This time they are arguing about Kuwaiti plans to build a mammoth port that Iraq claims interferes with its shipping lanes in the Gulf. Although it seems unlikely the tiff could escalate into

another conflict, the remarks are disturbingly reminiscent of the recriminations that preceded Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iraq in 1990 and point to the uneasy relationship that has persisted long after Saddam’s ouster. “With this project, Kuwait has laid the cornerstone Continued on Page 13

Max 47º Min 29º Low Tide 01:18 & 15:33 High Tide 06:50 & 22:23

By B Izzak KUWAIT: Prominent opposition MPs Ahmad AlSaadoun and Mussallam Al-Barrak yesterday demanded the resignation of the prime minister and governor of the central bank over the suspected money-laundering case in which two lawmakers are believed to be involved. Saadoun warned that Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah “should not remain in power”, vowing that he will use the constitutional tools “to the end” to protect the country.

Barrak, meanwhile said the central bank governor Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah must shoulder his responsibilities or “submit his resignation”. Opposition MPs in the meantime have been contemplating the possibility of submitting a resignation “en masse” but Saadoun and other leading figures now believe that unless the majority of the house, or 33 MPs, resign together it will not be productive.

The new developments came after Al-Qabas newspaper reported on Saturday that the accounts of two MPs have received transfers and cash worth a combined KD25 million and “it appears they were for political purposes”. Opposition MPs have strongly condemned the case and have been arranging to file a Continued on Page 13 Ramadan Kareem See Page 13

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

local

Gulf Bank puts a girgean smile on patients’ faces KUWAIT: Gulf Bank staff recently concluded their annual visits to children’s hospital units associated with Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospitals (KACCH), to share the joys of girgaen with them. Hospital visits included Farwaniya, Jahra, Ibn Sina, Al Razi, Amiri, NBK, and Zain. These visits created an authentic Ramadan ambience for patients, giving them a chance to relive the joyful moments of Ramadan and offering them color ful filled

Girgean bags, in addition to several activities that included face painting, henna, hair braiding, as well as a handshake from The 99 characters and various other characers.

Gulf Bank is committed to maintaining its position as part of Kuwait’s integral social fabric and the Bank perceives such visits as a moral obligation to delivering great spiritual support to these young A child with a painted face smiles patients. at NBK hospital.

Agility hosts ghabga for employees KUWAIT: Agility, a global logistics provider, recently hosted its annual Ghabga evening for employees and their families at the Al Raya Ballroom of the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. The funfilled event included entertainment, games and prizes; and it provided an ideal opportunity for employees to interact in a casual atmosphere after

work. During the event, employees also demonstrated the Agility spirit of ‘giving back’ through a silent auction to support the ongoing famine relief efforts in the Horn of Africa. All funds raised at the auction will be matched by the company and donated to the United Nations World Food Program ( WFP), one of Agility’s global humanitarian partners.

(Left) The 99 characters with one of the children during Gulf Bank’s Girgean visit at Ibn Sina Hospital. (Second left) The 99 characters with the children at Jahra Hospital during Gulf Bank’s Girgean visit. (Second right) Children at Farwaniya hospital enjoying their time with The 99 characters during Gulf Bank staff’s visit. (Right) Gulf Bank, Zain Hospital staff and a child with one of The 99 Characters.

(Left) Children at Al Amiri Hospital enjoying the fun filled activities organized by Gulf Bank. (Center) Gulf Bank KACCH staff with the 99 characters enjoying the visit with a child at Al Amiri Hospital. (Right) A child at Al Razi Hospital with The 99 character during Gulf Bank’s Girgean hospital visits.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

local

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Ras Al-Ardh Club holds Ramadan activities KUWAIT: The Ras Al-Ardh Sea Club hosted a Ramadan event that was attended by members and their families. Ali Al-Qallaf, Acting Managing Director for Touristic Affairs at the Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC) and Abdullah Shuaib Ras Al-Ardh Sea Club Supervisor graced the occasion.

Both were crowned winners of the football and tennis tournaments, as well as the Holy Quran memorization competition. Several traditional activities were organized, in addition to a special entertainment program.

Wataniya Telecom’s Girgean TV commercial a huge success KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom continues i t s s u cce s s f u l m o s t p ro s p e ro u s achievements since the beginning of Ramadan 2011. Wataniya TV channel was yet a tremendous revelation and was received with boundless and positive feedback among audience all over Kuwait. Wataniya Telecom announces the success and triumph of its Girgean T V Co m m e rc i a l w h i c h w a s a i re d throughout girgean time and scored a remarkable number of viewers.

The core idea behind this TV commercial was created with a very creative and amusing style and visuals, and it took everyone back to the old days when Kuwaiti people enjoyed g e n u i n e t r a d i t i o n s. M o re ove r, i t

h e l p e d i n i n c re a s i n g aw a re n e s s among young generations and gets them involved in every part of it.

On the whole, Wataniya’s Girgean TV commercial stresses the fact that no matter how old people are, they can always enjoy memories and traditions years after years.

Wataniya Telecom T V commercial was tremendously successful. Number of views on social network went rapidly higher within couple of days. I t drew in an amazing audience of over 1 1 0 , 0 0 0 v i e we r s i n j u s t a we e k .

Viewers were from different parts of the world: United States, KSA, Egypt, Qatar, UK, Bahrain, Germany, Australia and India.

y

A

4

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

LOCAL

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Posing some traffic questions

The epitome of corruption

By Waleed Al-Ahmad

By Fouzia Salem Al-Sabah

s MPs find it easy to overwhelm ministers with questions these days, I thought I’d try to do something similar, and pose my own set of questions to the Minister of Interior. This is in order to avoid being accused of ‘causing tension.’

I’d rather direct my questions to the ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs, Major General Dr Mustafa Al-Zaabi.

First, I’d like to be informed about the number of vehicles impounded during the past three months. These vehicles apparently bore stickers that carried offensive messages that damaged national unity. It’s no secret that placing stickers that are sectarian has become a phenomenon in local streets. This practice should be contained before it spirals out of control.

A

he Kuwait Municipality epitomizes corruption in the country. Some Municipal Council members commit violations in the field of construction, until it permeated into every aspect of the Municipality. It has now become difficult to find one single household that has not violated the technical and engineering aspects with respect to construction development in the country. The reason is the lack of strict laws to curb violators. That is why the house owner on completing the construction of a building, obtains an inspection warrant from the Ministry of Electricity. When the power connection is received, the building

T

How many cars were impounded and driver’s licenses were suspended? What are the total amount of fines collected during the past three months?

Has the ministry been able to enforce Article 207 and 208 that bans this practice? How many cars were impounded and driver’s licenses were suspended? What are the total amount of fines collected during the past three months? How many vehicles were released before their period of confinement ended? How many times have ‘wasta’ (mediations) been used to release impounded cars? I demand that a list of MPs who called up ministry officials to mediate for someone be released. I’d like to be informed about the names and models of impounded vehicles in order to investigate whether people with influence are involved in the matter or not.

While I’m at it, I’d like Maj Gen Al-Zaabi to inform me about the number of motorists that drove along past safety lane at highways, as well as the reason behind the lack of enough patrolling vehicles to detect such violations. Furthermore, I want to know how many drivers were arrested for erratic driving and swerving past traffic lights and roundabouts? The law stipulates that such violations are punishable. Has there been any intervention to release a violator’s license before suspension ends?

I have more questions to ask but there is not much space left in this column to list them all. Let them remain unasked, in appreciation of the ministry’s semi-commendable efforts! — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Hope for change with new leaders

By Shereeda Al-Mousharji he new Planning Minister Abdelwahab AlHaroun is a colleague who was a Member of Parliament for many years. He defended his opinions without insulting those who oppose him.

He was also my colleague at the Higher Planning Council and we were members of the same committee. I always felt that he was a man of vision and opinion. He listens to others before expressing his opinion. His tenure at the Higher Planning Council made him familiar with all obstacles that hamper the implementation of the development plan. So he is suitable for the post. We wish him all success.

I wish Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, the new undersecretary with the Information Ministry all success, and hope that his strong personality can contribute toward eliminating corruption that is rampant in the ministry, especially in the Television Affairs Department. I do not think that he needs to exert considerable effort to find out corruption, as it

T

is now everyone’s talk. However, the issue can only be tackled after courageous decisions are made.

Kuwait deserves better information, something that is more effective than what is presented currently.

Facilities are abundant and qualified personnel are in plenty.

We have heard about meat shortages in Egypt.

Some families eat meat only on occasions. It is sad to know that Kuwait is experiencing the same situation.

This is especially the case during the holy month of Ramadan, where meat is a staple of all dishes. Our driver has been unsuccessfully trying to procure a sheep from the Livestock Company. Apparently, one has to wait for his turn to buy a sheep, and the nearest available date is after Eid. It is believed that people are selling the receipts bear the date on which sheep is purchased from the black market. Can anyone believe that? Very strange, but Kuwait is a land of wonders! — Al-Jarida

kuwait digest

We need decisive leaders

In some developing countries, house owners won’t dare place a name plate on the gate without obtaining the Municipality’s approval. owner constructs one or two extra floors.

Strangely, the owner then wants to sell it. He turns into a broker, producing a certificate proving that no offences have been committed while constructing the building.

In some developing countries, house owners won’t dare place a name plate on the gate without obtaining the Municipality’s approval. Kuwait’ Municipality, on the other hand, is the symbol of corruption. Let me give you an example. In Hawally governorate and in Salwa, a citizen bought an old house, demolished it without cutting of power connection.

A contractor built a six-storey building without a plan or municipality supervision. Municipality officials were aware of this matter because newspapers wrote about it but did not interfere. The building was completed, with each floor containing five to six apartments in a residential area.

Of course, when the matter was publicized, some municipality officials confirmed the presence of legal loopholes that allows the construction of a building. They are studying the prospect of issuing a utilization certificate, confirming the validity of using the building that meets all technical and engineering specifications. They attempted to throw the ball at the Ministry of Electricity and Water. This is because the process of providing buildings with power falls within the jurisdiction of this ministry. Law number 5/2005 allows power supplies be cut off from buildings, as well as ministerial decision 206/2009 on the regulation of construction works. The procedures of connecting or cutting power to buildings are based on meeting all the conditions and commitments to rules and regulations. — Al Rai

By Terki Al-Azmi he abuse of financial surpluses is threatening the state’s future, creating structural flaws in the national economy.” This statement was made by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as he inaugurated the 30-member special economic advisory committees to study the country’s financial situation. HH the Amir also called for “taking into account the situation of earning a limited income,” while introducing measures to protect the state’s economy. Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi has made a significant point when he blamed hesitant decision making for a major part of the flaws.

Kuwait indeed faces a problem in making the right decisions. Decisiveness is one of the most important qualities of a decision maker that determines if a leading figure is competent enough to remain in its posts. Deterioration in the fields of education, health, security and environment, in

“T

Deterioration in the fields of education, health, security and environment, in addition to the spread of spoilt food and price rise, have occurred due to the lack of prompt decision-making capabilities. addition to the spread of spoilt food and price rise, have occurred due to the lack of prompt decision-making capabilities. This weakness ultimately affects people even low-income earners.

Al-Kharafi added that Kuwait does not face a dearth in the number of studies conducted.

However, the problem lies in the follow-up process, and the ability to protect the decision making process from politicization.

Kuwait needs to take measures to restructure the national economy and place standards to appoint decision-makers on the basis of integrity and productivity, which will have room only for ministers that are not hesitant in making decisions.

Our neighboring countries have built advanced infrastructural projects; diversifying their national resources while Kuwait is still unable to finish the construction of a new university in Al-Shaddadiya or road projects that have been stalled for years.

Meanwhile, the state official whose unprofessionalism caused this crisis, continues to remain in office.

‘Wasta’ is the root causes of many of Kuwait’s blights. We need effective solutions that will put an end to persistent issues. — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Uprooting corruption

By Abdellatif Al-Duaij is Highness the Amir’s directives to speed up the establishment of a national anti-corruption authority serves as testament to the fact that corruption is rampant in the country. HH’s special concern on the subject is further proof that it is a matter of national concern, and is not limited to a recent occurrence or malpractice by a few individuals or organizations.

Sadly, corruption and criminal acts have become daily occurrences that no longer stir peo-

H

Corruption doesn’t always mean passing tenders unlawfully, manipulation or illegal money transfer. ple’s reactions or evoke condemnations anymore.

Corruption doesn’t always mean passing tenders unlawfully, manipulation or illegal money transfer.

Every breach of law is a form of corruption, including an act that contributes toward committing the offense. Bribes also don’t necessarily involve money all the time. Wielding ‘wastas’ (unlawful practice exerting influence), or helping someone perform an illegal act is the worst form of corruption practiced in our country.

Such a behavior has helped turn corruption into a matter of public concern. Unfortunately, many, or more accurately, the majority of citizens practice some form of corruption.

A true desire to tackle corruption must start at the grassroots. It is at the lower order of society that feeds this destructive phenomenon no matter how hard we try to fight it. A corrupt lawmaker is only elected by voters that seek benefit. They hope that this MP can help achieve this through unlawful means. When lawmakers realize that citizens are complicit in the crime of spreading corruption, it reflects negatively on parliamentary performance. The Amir’s commitment towards combating corruption, instead of having the subject assigned to the Cabinet or Parliament, falls as part of efforts to uproot the problem.— Al-Qabas

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

LOCAL

Citizens and expats plan various programs for Eid Eid holidays are not long enough for travel

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received yesterday at Seif Palace the outgoing ambassador of Egypt Taher Farahat. The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah AlSabah. — KUNA

Muna launches online news interested in the Middle Eastern affairs especially those who seek to communiKUWAIT: The Kuwaiti columnist at Kuwait cate with others regarding various trade Times, Muna Al-Fuzai has launched the and intellectual issues,” added Al-Fuzai.

The program is providing consultancy first online program of electronic news in English to be found in both the iPhone for the foreign companies which look to extend to Kuwait as well. “As the Executive and App store.

Director of the American According to AlBusiness Council I’m sure Fuzai, this program, this program will be very whole in English, is the useful for the businessfirst of its kind in the men from the United Middle East as States, China, and all over designed by a Kuwaiti the world,” she explained. journalist. “I know that The program is divida news program is ed into two parts: the common in English first focuses on urgent speaking native counissues in the Middle East, tries but such a prowhile the second focuses gram by someone with on creating awareness of English as second lanthe commercial and guage is the first time. trade work and provides It’s a new idea here advice to foreign compaand a first for several nies that have an eye on reasons, one of which the GCC. is that the language of Muna Al-Fuzai The program can be the program is English, purchased worldwide while the program developer is Arab,” she told the Kuwait from the App store. “Users can download it for just 99 cents. They can search for it Times.

“This program is designed for the non- on the App store by my name; ‘Muna AlArabic speakers both expats residing in Fuzai’, and I hope they will benefit from it,” Kuwait and other people abroad who are she concluded.

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: The entire country enters into holiday mood during Eid festivities. This is a great opportunity for people to travel or invest their time performing useful activities. Many have charted out different plans to spend the upcoming Eid holidays.

Manal, a 45-year-old mother plans to travel to Bahrain by car with her family for a week, “We plan to shop, go to the cinemas, and avail of other recreational facilities. This year is different because we usually don’t travel during Eid. We spend it by visiting relatives. Most people I know are travelling. This year, my children insisted that we travel, now that there are two weeks for school re-opening. It’s a new adventure for us, and I feel it’s the best Eid,” she said.

Those who traveled last year plan to stay back in Kuwait, “I will enjoy shopping at malls. Also, I need to relax so that I can stay at home, and talk to people over the phone and send messages. I will also go to my club, swim and get myself a tan. Last year, I trav-

eled to my home country Lebanon and spent Eid with the rest of my family there,” said 27-year- old Hanan.

Others don’t like traveling during this time of the year, “I will stay home to watch TV and observe the political situation in my homeland Syria. The situation is not suitable there, and the

So I prefer to stay here,” said 38-yearold Ibtisam.

Many have prepared a schedule of programs for Eid, “Sometimes, I travel during Eid, depending on the budget and if I get vacation time. This year, I’m not travelling and I will visit the theatre to watch a comedy play. I will also have

People busy shopping for Eid. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Eid holiday is not long enough for long distance travel. I don’t like to travel during Eid, it’s a short holiday for me.

lunch with friends on the first day of Eid. I’m also planning to go on a trip to Failaka Island. I may go bowling or to

News

in brief

New cleaning contracts KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipality Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar said yesterday that Kuwait Municipality is awaiting approval of new cleaning contracts by state authorities.

Safar told KUNA that the municipality is waiting approval of the Central Tenders Committee of the Council of Ministers or the State Audit Bureau and other third parties, expressing hope to see all these parties cooperate for the sake of Kuwait’s interest. He expressed thanks to the cleaning companies which had made the public interest a priority by agreeing to extend the cleaning contracts for a period of one year beginning at the end of the current contracts and end next November 25. He added that there is a satisfaction for the level of hygiene in the country and such satisfaction was found through a questionnaire displayed on

Kuwait Municipality’s homepage.

Agricultural awareness KUWAIT: Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) said yesterday it was keen on activating the policy of constructive cooperation with all state institutions on raising awareness about wild and fungal plants in the environment. This came in a press release on the occasion of the initiation of cooperation between PAAAFR and Kuwait Society for the Protection of the environment for the cultivation of a number of fungal plants for the sake of getting the trainees to know and for more education as well.

PAAAFR also stressed the importance of these plant species for the environment and their role in reducing the phenomenon of desertification and sand encroachment in addition to a number of benefits in different areas.

the cinema in the evening. There is so much to do here,” stressed 29-year-old Soud. For others, Eid does not bring in any variety to their lives, “For more than 15 years, I have spent Eid in the same way. In the morning, I visit my grandmother’s place with the rest of my family and we stay back till lunch. I usually visit my uncle in the afternoon, and enjoy rest of the time in a chalet. I will stay in the chalet with my friends for the other Eid days,” highlighted 27year- old Salah.

Many citizens prefer spending time by the sea, “I will go to a chalet for breakfast and get a tan. I will stay there for the rest of Eid holidays. I also plan to cook, clean, prepare barbeque, and ride the jet ski and boat. Last year, I travelled. I just returned from a holiday. So, I am not entitled to receive more days off from work and I don’t feel like traveling. Also, the political situation in the region is not stable so I would rather stay here,” stressed 22year-old Khalid. Also, many expats, especially singles or bachelors, plan to travel to their home country to be with their families.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

local

MP demands Ahmadi homes reconstruction

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: MP Dlaihi Al-Hajari demanded that Ahmadi homes affected by gas leakage be rebuilt immediately, prioritizing it over Al-Sawaber apartments. He explained the current situation does not satisfy anyone, and the government has only reached tempo-

News

in brief

27,000 emergency calls KUWAIT: The emergency departments of the Ministry of Electricity and Water have received nearly 27,000 emergency calls. They mostly pertained to service disconnections between May 1 and August 9, reported Al-Qabas. A news report quoting an insider noted that at least one third of these calls were repeats. Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity stated that the emergency office located in Khaitan received the most number of calls - 15,700 in all. It was followed by Hawally with 4,269 calls, Al-Fahaheel with 2,255, AlSalmiya’s with 1,246, Kuwait City with 1,067, AlJahra with 960 and Al-Shuwaikh with 949 calls. The official noted that all problems have been rectified.

Ramadan donations Donations collected through this year’s Ramadan are expected to reach KD 86 million by the end of the holy month, and that as per predictions of a senior Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor officials who cited the reason behind large amount for the influx of charity made to Somalia. In a statement made recently to the press, director of the ministry’s charity organizations department Nasser AlAmmar noted that the credit card services used in addition to bank accounts deduction made it easier for donors to make charity, which also helped achieve huge profit in donations this Ramadan. AlAmmar also reiterated procedures that regulate charitable work in Kuwait, which he insisted on charity organizations to follow “in order to protect charity and prove to international organizations that Kuwait is keen on fighting money laundry and terrorism funding”.

Detainees to be released On the occasion of Eid-Al-Fitr, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHmoud Al-Jabar Al-Sabah has ordered the release of all police personnel who have been detained for disciplinary reasons. Undersecretary General Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al-Omar has issued a decision to release them, taking into account the time they spent in detention.

Gitmo detainees on hunger strike KUWAIT: Two Kuwaiti prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay prison joined a mass hunger strike carried out by 12 total inmates. They are protesting against their wrongful imprisonment without trial for more than a decade.

Barry Wingard, the attorney assigned by the Pentagon for Kuwaiti detainee Faiyez Al-Kandari said in a statement that his client was doing well, so was the other prisoner Fawzi Al-Awdha. The men have been on a hunger strike for a month.

He expressed concern over their health condition which has been ‘deteriorating every day,’ noting that they have lost a significant amount of weight, and are being force fed being fed through tubes. Moreover, Wingard echoed worries that Al-Kandari and Al-Awdha might ‘inflict self-harm.’ They indicated that tight measures were taken against them before the start of Ramadan, reported Al-Watan.

According to Wingard, both Al-Kandari and Al-Awdha apper to be “losing faith” in the Kuwaiti government’s ability to push for their release. The attorney described the Kuwaiti government’s efforts on that regard as being ‘poor.’

He urged His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to intervene with the US Administration to resolve the matter.

rary solutions to deal with an area that has been marred by a gas leakage. Al-Hajari told reporters that the owners of Ahmadi homes are still waiting for a temporary solution to be implemented. He explained that permanent solutions may not be imminent as natural gas cannot be controlled. It increases at certain times of

the year and reduces at other times.

However, Al-Hajari said, the government must solve this problem immediately for people living in block one. The total area does not exceed 280 square meters, and inspectors should evaluate homes, the MP demanded. He pointed out that AlSawaber apartments were not so bad-

Lawmaker miffed at Central Bank governor’s inaction Bank deposits case

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: The Central Bank Governor has two options - to either defend Kuwait and its constitution or resign, MP Musallam Al-Barrak remarked. He was reacting to comments after reports about millions of dinars deposited in some MPs’ accounts surfaced. Al-Barrak expressed astonishment that the Central Bank governor has not received any form of communication from the banks. He was dejected that the Central Bank Governor, who according to law, possesses the authority to supervise all the banks and the financial position of all clients. This is especially the case, if it refers to a short-term deposit period.

He questioned if any procedures are being taken according to law. Pointing at the public prosecution department, he added that under such conditions, no one has the information and documentation necessary, except for the Central Bank. He warned that the Central Bank governor was being ‘used’ by the government. “I am saying that this money is linked to political problems. It is linked to certain dates, when political problem took place. There is no money laundering involved.

The MP went on to say that the young generation is greatly pained by this unfavorable development; believing that the future is lost. They become more concerned about increasing their wealth and

buying property, tenders and gifts. The Kuwaiti people know who receives payment - there are many names but only a single payer.

“In the end, who has the authority to begin the first step? It is the Central Bank governor.” Al-Barrak asked the governor to use his power to protect the principles and Constitution.

In other news, MP Ali Al-Diqbasi said that he and other MPs are seriously thinking about the possibility of mass resignation, in response to the current government’s situation. “We welcome new elections. Several parliamentary questions have been made with respect to the KD 25 million scandals, and we have been deciding on holding a special

session to discuss this subject. It is the right of the public to know.”

With regard to procedures undertaken on the matter, he added that all choices are open. If the government fails to attend the session, people should be pushed to the streets.

“I wish we could implement the law.”

The financial position of leading figures are the first to begin with the MPs. He explained, never lose hope, and we should work toward achieving it. The first step is to spread awareness between public to the importance of having representatives.

He added, “We began losing trust and the government should answer clearly about what is being said here and there.

Mutilated body found on roof KUWAIT: An Asian was found ‘cut’ in pieces on the roof of a house in Hasawi area. An Arab expat who saw the naked body in a pool of blood informed the police. A murder case was recorded after Farwaniya Detectives Director Colonel Mansour Al-Hajiry had given orders to investigate the murder and find the killer. He said several expats were arrested relating to the gruesome case.

Saudi man hurt A 58 year old Saudi Arabian sustained severe injuries when a car hit him near a Supermarket in Fahaheel. The accident took place when a speeding car hit him.

Girl hit by car A six-year-old girl died after she was hit by a car in Fahaheel. The unfortunate girl was rushed to Adan Hospital by the driver of the car that hit but efforts to save her life were in vain.

KUWAIT: Graduates who participated in an English language course.

— Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

Wanted man arrested Ahmadi police arrested three citizens on King Fahd Road for being erratic. Drugs paraphernalia was found with them and the police said that one of them was on a wanted list of the drugs department.

National Guard concludes English training course

Citizen found dead A citizen was found dead in a car in Kheitan area of an apparent drug overdose. A security source said the man was found in car unconscious, but paramedics confirmed him dead. Investigations are underway.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: The National Guard held a ceremony to honor graduate students that participated in an English language course held at the Computer and Linguistics Training Center. “Fluency in English language is an

essential skill that National Guard personnel should possess,” said the training center’s head First Lieutenant Abdurramhan Rabah. Training commander at the National Guards Training Center Lieutenant Colonel Hamad Al-Barjas awarded certificates to graduates, as well as certificates of commemoration to trainers.

Watch stolen A female citizen reported Farwaniya police that an unknown person stole her purse with a KD 2000 worth watch inside.

Expat robbed An Asian expat complained against 3 persons for robbing his mobile phone and KD 200. He said the suspects claimed they were detectives, and as soon as he got his wallet out they snatched it with the phone and fled.

Woman severely beaten A security source said that a woman in her 30’s reported the police that she was severely beaten and handed them a medical report which indicated her feet were swollen. She said that her friend beat her for no apparent reason. Hawally detectives summoned the lady assailant who confessed to beating as a revenge to the complainant who had defamed and slandered her. — Al-Anbaa

The Grand Mosque medical emergency team.

15 injured in Amghara crash

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Extraordinary session to discuss multi-million dinar deposits KUWAIT: The top three parliamentary blocs have reportedly decided on holding an extraordinary session to discuss the multimillion dinar deposits that surfaced in lawmakers’ bank accounts. This comes on the heels of the Cabinet’s decision to establish an Anti-corruption Authority on Tuesday.

According to MP Dr Waleed AlTabtabae, the Development and Reform Bloc (DRB) coordinated with the Popular Action Bloc (PAB) and National Action Bloc (NAB) to file a petition to hold a session during the parliamentary break to discuss the matter where political briber y is involved.

Fellow DRB member Dr Jamaan Al-Harbash confirmed that the session is required to “unveil the mystery behind the multi-million bank accounts to hold those involved accountable.”

received a call from a prisoner from the deportation jail, stating that he was physically assaulted. MP Hayef called upon the Interior Ministry to investigate the matter and prevent the occurrence of such acts. He said that human rights committee would visit the jail to observe the condition of prisoners.

ly impacted and that its residents were not evacuated. The incident that took place in Ahmadi can be considered a natural disaster. The government should check these homes so that residents can receive suitable accommodation.

Also, MP Mohammad Hayef also a member of human rights committee

Meanwhile, PAB member Ali Al-Deqbasi asked for holding the session to address the spreading corruption in general, and feature enforcement of Anti-Corruption legislations. In the meantime, PAB leader and veteran parliamentarian Ahmad Al-Saadoun added a new question to a set of inquiries made earlier to Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali. He had placed an additional demand that photocopies of the decree enacting anti-money laundering law will be presented, reported Al-Qabas.

Independent MP Dr Mohammad Al-Huwailah asked the Cabinet and the Central Bank to announce that lawmakers declare evidence to prove that unlawful payments were made to their bank accounts “if the accusations are true.” On the other hand, MP Adnan Al-Mutawaa felt

that holding an extraordinary session is unnecessary, when the subject can be discussed by the Parliament’s public funds protection Committee, or finance committees. The independent lawmaker warned that an extraordinary session could cause tensions between the two authorities as he indicated that it’s unlikely to feature solutions or enforced legislations, reported Al-Jarida.

In other news, officials close to the DRB and PAB say that members can no longer consider a decision to submit a mass resignation, with the belief that their efforts won’t garner the required 33 MP quorum. The lawmakers reportedly want to avoid holding complementar y elections; a move they believe may result in the increase of pro-government MPs in the Parliament, reported Al-Watan.

KUWAIT: A bus carrying Asian laborers bumped into a car at Amghara near bachelors’ residence. Seven ambulances were called to the site, and dealt with 15 case from injured and broken limbs. All 15 Asian labors were taken to Al-Jahra and Farwaniya Hospitals.

Apartment on fire The Kuwait Fire Ser vices Department’s Control Room received an emergency call about a fire that broke out at an apartment in Sabah Al-Salem. Mishref Fire Center responded to the call, and was assisted by Al-Qurain center. The blaze raged in the fourth floor of the apartment, where four children and their father remained trapped. Firemen rescued them to safety. The Medical Contingency Team administered first aid treatment to them on the site.

Firemen tackled the flames and doused the fire.

Car knocks down citizen A 23- year old Kuwaiti man was hit by a passing car when he was trying to cross the street in Salmiya near Shoyoukh round about causing slight injuries to him. He was treated at the site.

Meanwhile, a 16 year old Kuwaiti youth was rescued from drowning while swimming at one of the sports clubs in Salmiya. He was rushed to Mubarak Hospital.

Two Kuwaiti teenagers, 14 and 16 years old, were involved in a car accident at Bayan near the US Embassy.

Both suffered from severe broken limbs and other injuries and are admitted at Mubarak Hospital intensive care unit.

A car accident near the traffic light of Ministry of Education at Shuwaikh resulted in breaking the ribs of a 28year old Iranian expat who was taken to Al-Sabah Hospital.

Medical emergency On the 5th day of night prayers at the Grand Mosque medical emergency dealt with 53 cases which involved 21 women and 32 men. All cases were treated in the field clinics.

Apartment catches fire. — Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Hunger striker says ready to die for anti-graft cause Page 11

Medvedev wins nuclear pledge at N Korea talks Page 10

Puzzled US East Coasters: An earthquake? No way Thoughts instantly turned to terrorism VIRGINIA: For a few minutes along the US East Coast, the question rang out: What was that? The answer - a rare earthquake, magnitude 5.8 - was far down on the list for most not used to the earth shaking beneath them. In Washington and New York, their nerves still raw, thoughts instantly turned to terrorism. In small towns and rural areas near the epicenter and else where, guesses ran the gamut: A truck crash or train derailment. A plane breaking the sound barrier. Worse, a nuclear reactor exploding.

There ended up being no known deaths or serious injuries, but cracks appeared in the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral, which had three capstones break off its tower. Windows shattered and grocery stores were wrecked in Virginia, where the quake was centered. The White House and Capitol were evacuated.

With the 10th anniversary of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks just weeks away, people were shaken physically and emotionally and poured from high-rises like the Empire State Building in New York, sick with mental images of planes and bombs. “I ran down all 60 flights,” accounting office worker Caitlin Trupiano said. “I wasn’t waiting for the elevator.” Chris Kardian, working in his garage not far from the epicenter, opted for the more prosaic and plausible: He blamed the shaking on two of his children in the overhead playroom.

“I just thought they were running around and being really loud,” he said.

“After about 15 seconds, it didn’t stop and I thought, ‘I don’t have that many kids in the house!’” Most needed just

minutes to discover what it really was: A temblor the US Geological Survey said was centered 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Richmond, traveling 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) beneath the earth’s surface and momentarily jarring as many as 12 million people. The most powerful earthquake to strike the East Coast in 67 years shook buildings and rattled nerves. There were no reports of deaths, but fire officials in Washington said there were at least some injuries.

The US Park Service evacuated and closed all monuments and memorials along the National Mall. The Pentagon, the White House, the Capitol and federal agencies in and around Washington were evacuated. Roads out of the city were clogged with commuters headed home. Marion Babcock, who spent two hours traffic instead of her normal 25 minutes, did the only sensible thing for her frazzled, frightened kids: “I treated their post-traumatic stress with copious amounts of chocolate mint and cookie dough ice cream.”

Between cell phones and social networks, news of the quake seemed to travel faster than the temblor itself.

Jenna Scanlon in New York, ended a phone call with someone in Virginia, and announced to her office colleagues there had been an ear thquake.

Seconds later, 7 World Trade Center began to shake. The scope of the damage - or lack of - also quickly became clear on social networks. Instead of collapsed freeways, people posted images of toppled lawn chairs and yogurt cups, broken Bobbleheads, picture frames askew on walls.

On Facebook, people joked with posts such as “S&P has downgraded

earthquake to a 2.0,” a swipe at the rating agency that recently lowered the federal government’s creditworthiness.

Another suggested New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a large man, had just “jumped into” the presidential race. A 5.8-magnitude quake releases as much energy as almost eight kilotons of TNT, about half the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II. Ceiling tiles fell to the floor at Reagan National Airport. The gothicstyle Smithsonian Castle, built in 1857, had minor cracks and broken glass.

And vigorous shaking left a crack and hole in the ceiling at historic Union Station when a chunk of plaster fell near the main entrance.

By the standards of the West Coast, where earthquakes are much more common, the Virginia quake was mild.

But quakes in the East tend to be felt across a much broader are, the waves traveling “pretty happily out for miles,” said US Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough.

More than 12 million people live close enough to the quake’s epicenter to have felt shaking. They were still feeling minor aftershocks up to 4.8 in strength. The last quake of equal power to strike the East Coast was in New York in 1944. The largest East Coast quake on record was a 7.3 that hit South Carolina in 1886. The fear in some places was real. Michael Leman had been mowing a neighbor’s lawn in Mineral when bricks began falling from a chimney and the earth heaved a large propane tank about a foot off the ground. “I thought that tank was about to explode,” he said, “and I ran for dear life.” — AP

VIRGINIA: Debris covers the isle at the Miller’s mart food store in Mineral, Va. Tuesday. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the area which was felt up and down the east coast. —AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Years

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

Nigeria’s oil-tainted Ogoni weary of blame game OGONILAND: Skillfully scooping water from beneath a thick black carpet of crude, veteran Nigerian fisherman Suagelo Kpalap gives a shrug of resignation at the mention of the latest twist in an oil spill blame game he’s watched for decades. A UN report released this month told Kpalap and the other inhabitants of Ogoniland, a region within the vast, oil-rich Niger Delta, what they’ve known for yearstheir environment is dangerously polluted and Royal Dutch Shell and the government aren’t doing enough to clean it up.

“Oil spills have wasted my life, my environment and livelihood. There isn’t much for me to enjoy at my age,” the 57-year old said, wiping oil-stained hands on ragged clothes. “My fishing nets are all soaked in oil, I don’t have money to get new ones and my canoes have been destroyed by the spills.” In some Africa delta regions, tourists enjoy the calm waterways and wildlife. The landscape of banana trees

and a pineapple farm where Kpalap stands looks bleak, stained with oil, in air filled with dark smoke from gas flaring. The UN report said Ogoniland required the biggest oil clean-up in history, which could take 30 years and cost an initial $1 billion. The paper, the most scientific and detailed report ever on Niger Delta spills, found levels of pollution that shocked the most pessimistic observers. In one community, drinking water was contaminated with benzene, a substance known to cause cancer, at levels over 900 times above World Health Organization guidelines. Shell and Nigeria’s stateowned oil firm NNPC were criticized in the paper for not meeting their own best practices. In 10 out of 15 areas the UN visited where Shell said it had completed its clean-up, high levels of pollution were still found.

Shell was forced out of Ogoniland in 1993 by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), led by poet and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa,

Armored Syrian forces raid region near Iraq border AMMAN: Armored Syrian forces killed one person and arrested dozens in raids on a tribal region near the border with Iraq yesterday, activists said, in their latest effort to subdue dissent against President Bashar al-Assad. A force of 20-30 tanks and other armored vehicles entered neighborhoods in the town of Mayadeen and the nearby village of Alburhama in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, before withdrawing to the outskirts, they said. “ They are mainly hit-and-run raids. The military is trying to avoid reprisals from the population, which is heavily armed. So they go in quickly to arrest people, sabotaging houses of wanted activists they cannot find,” a local activist told Reuters by telephone. The authorities have in the past allowed eastern Arab tribes to arm themselves, as a counterweight to Syria’s nearby Kurdish minority and partly to bolster support for Assad and his father, the late President Bashar alAssad, who are from Syria’s minority Alawite sect.

But the five-month uprising for

political freedoms has disrupted old agreements that have been key to 41years of Assad family rule of Syria. Deir al-Zor, the provincial capital, saw some of the largest protests, prompting Assad to send tanks into the city earlier this month. Residents say that assault on Deir al-Zor killed at least 40 civilians and that hundreds of people have been arrested in the last three weeks in the province, with one activists’ group putting the number as high as 3,000.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said this week more than 2,200 people have been killed in Assad’s crackdown, with his forces continuing “to employ excessive force, including heavy artillery ” to quell peaceful demonstrations. Assad says he is facing a foreign conspiracy to divide Syria, with the authorities blaming “armed terrorist groups” for the bloodshed. They say that 500 police and military personnel have been also killed.

Eastern Syria, including Kurdish northeast, produces all of Syria’s 380,000 barrels of daily crude oil output.—Reuters

KARBALA: Thousands of Iraqi Shiite Muslim worshippers gather at the Imam Hussein shrine in the central holy city of Karbala in the early hours of yesterday to mark the Qadr Eve or Lailat al-Qadr which commemorates the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel during the fasting month of Ramadan. —AFP

Brothel bill threatens Australia government CANBERRA: A political scandal involving a government MP over payments to prostitutes, which threatens Australia’s minority government, deepened yesterday when the lawmaker’s former union asked police to investigate his union credit card bills.

The move by the Health Services Union (HSU) increases the likelihood that police will launch a criminal investigation into the credit card bills of the union’s former boss Craig Thomson, now a government MP, including payments to a Sydney brothel.

Thomson has denied any wrongdoing.

But if police decide he can be charged with a criminal offence of which he is then found guilty, he would be forced to leave parliament, sparking a by-election that could bring down Gillard’s government which has a one-seat majority. The union had previously not complained about Thomson’s credit card bills, which meant police had limited scope to investigate the payments.

But yesterday, the union’s new national secretary Kathy Jackson said the union had now referred Thomson’s credit card use to police in the New South Wales state. “The HSU first became aware of questionable financial transactions in May of 2008 as a result of an exit audit following Craig Thomson’s departure as national secretary,” Jackson told reporters in Sydney. Gillard repeated her support for Thomson on Wednesday, but then shut down parliamentary question time 45 minutes early after a heated debate about the issue.

“I have made many statements about that in this house and I stand by every one of them,” Gillard said when asked if she still had full confidence in Thomson as a Labor lawmaker. Thomson on Tuesday stood aside from his role as the chairman of parliament’s influential economics committee, ahead of a scheduled hearing with the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia tomorrow. The scandal has dominated political debate and added to Gillard’s woes as she struggles to overturn record low poll ratings, and to find parliamentary support for key reforms such as a carbon tax and a new mining tax over the coming months.

Gillard won national elections a year ago this week with a one-seat majority, thanks to the support of one Green and three independent lawmakers. Polls suggest she would be convincingly thrown from office if an election were held today. The independents have maintained their support for Gillard’s government despite the heated attacks on her and on Thomson, led by opposition leader Tony Abbott who has been demanding the government call an early election.

The next election is not due until the second half of 2013, but if Thomson were to be convicted of a crime before then, Labor would likely lose his seat in a by-election, which could force an early election.

Were the opposition to win a by-election in Thomson’s seat, the government and opposition would control 75 seats each in the 150 seat parliament. — Reuters

after they said the oil giant had destroyed their fishing environment.

Saro-Wiwa was later hanged by the military government, prompting international outrage. In the years since, Shell has stopped pumping oil from the region but its pipelines and other oil drilling infrastructure remain, largely unprotected, and are susceptible to leaks, sabotage attacks and theft.

Shell says it is working to better protect its equipment in Ogoniland but repairs are thwarted by persistent sabotage attacks and illegal tapping by local oil thieves. MOSOP and residents of hundreds of communities across the Niger Delta are angry with Shell and other oil majors operating in the oil-rich country and frustrated with the government for not enforcing stricter operating practices. The government says the foreign oil company operators have to look after their equipment.

In a region where most people live on less than $2 a day, despite around

$240 million-a-day in oil export revenue flowing into Nigeria, residents are tired of decades of fighting and want a proper clean-up along the lines of what the United Nations has mapped out. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan last week constituted a committee to review the report and Shell and NNPC have both said they will look carefully at the findings. But there is skepticism that the positive statements of intent following the release of the report will result in any long-term changes in an area of the world far from the international media glare. Suanu Baridam, secretary of the Ogoni Council of Traditional Rulers, hopes the UN report will build momentum that will force Shell, NNPC and the government into long-term action. “We don’t want anything shortterm ... I know how they normally do their thing. Once you agree with them to do one thing now and they say they will come later, they end up not doing anything. People forget again,” said

Baridam. Shell, NNPC and the government have all supported the UN report’s depth and integrity and have promised to investigate its findings-a small victory has been met with cautious optimism by rights groups and many Nigerians.

The report proves the unacceptable environmental damage caused by oil drilling in Nigeria and offers a tough and long solution. One thing that has become clear is that the Nigerian government will have to drive any change.

“There is no point blaming Shell any more than we should blame ourselves,” said Senator Magnus Abe, the representative in the upper house of parliament for Rivers South-East, one of the three states in the Niger Delta.

“It is our responsibility as Nigerians to enforce our laws and ensure people obey our rules. If we compromise ourselves, compromise our offices and allow people to do what they like, it doesn’t make sense for us to blame everybody else.”— Reuters

Gaza truce under fire Gaza rocket lands in Egypt, border tension simmers GAZA: Israeli air strikes yesterday killed a Palestinian militant, prompting mortar fire into southern Israel just days after armed groups agreed to a temporary truce. Heightened tensions in and around the Gaza border raised fears of a fresh descent into violence scarcely 48 hours after militant factions agreed to end rocket fire on southern Israel on condition the air force also stopped its raids.

Ismael Al-Ismar, 34, a leader in the Al Quds Brigades-the armed wing of Islamic Jihad-died when a missile ploughed into his car in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, witnesses and the militant group said. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the strike, saying it had targeted “an activist linked to Islamic Jihad who was implicated in attempted terrorist actions in the Sinai.”

Israeli public radio linked Ismar to last week ’s militant attacks on southern Israel’s border with Egypt which killed eight Israelis. “(He) financed the attack in the south of the country last week and was responsible for financing a major attack that terrorists were planning to carry out in the near future,” it reported.

Several hours after Ismar’s death, two mortar shells hit the Eshkol region, which flanks the IsraelGaza border, Israeli police said, in an attack claimed by the Al Quds Brigades.

The group said it had fired six shells towards the Kissufim border crossing, in response to Ismar’s killing. Immediately afterwards, the air force fired on “two terrorists who had fired rockets at Israel,” the army said in a raid which Palestinian medics said moderately wounded two Islamic Jihad militants near Deir al-Balah.

The flare-up prompted Israel’s

RAFAH: Palestinians carry the body of Islamic Jihad militant Ismael Al Asmar, killed in an Israeli air strike on his car, during his funeral in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip yesterday.—AP Home Front command to order all residents living within rocketrange of the border to stay “within 15 seconds” of the nearest bomb shelter, media reports said.

The exchanges raised questions over the durability of a ceasefire agreement announced late Sunday following four days of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, which killed 15 Palestinians and an Israeli. The Egyptian-brokered truce was agreed to by Gaza’s main militant groups including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and on Monday the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) also agreed to abide by it.

Several hours later, four rockets were fired over the border, but Israel did not respond, with the press attributing it to “small terror groups looking to chal-

lenge Hamas and demonstrate their independence.” In light of the developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly to convene his 15-member security cabinet, which only two days ago agreed to limit Israel’s response to hitting anyone poised to fire rockets over the Gaza border.

Netanhyahu’s office declined to confirm to AFP whether a meeting was taking place. The secretive committee’s meeting is not routinely listed by the cabinet office. Last Thursday’s ambushes sparked a wave of titfor-tat attacks. In the following days, Israeli air strikes killed 15 Gazans, 12 of them militants, the army sources said, and armed factions in Gaza lobbed more than 100 rockets and mortar shells across the border,

killing one man.

Meanwhile, a woman was injured by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into the Egyptian town of Rafah yesterday, Egypt’s state news agency MENA reported, as tension simmered in the region after a spate of cross-border violence. The woman was taken to hospital with light injuries, said a security source in the area. Another source said it was the first time a rocket from Gaza had landed on a residential area and not in the desert, which was “raising concern among the security forces here”. Egyptian security forces were searching the desert frontier with Gaza and Israel for militants who may be behind the killing of eight Israelis on Thursday along a road north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, Egyptian officials said.—Agencies

Nuclear experts warn of Libya ‘dirty bomb’ material VIENNA: A research centre near Tripoli has stocks of nuclear material that could be used to make a “dirty bomb”, a former senior UN inspector said yesterday, warning of possible looting during turmoil in Libya.

Seeking to mend ties with the West, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi agreed in 2003 to abandon efforts to acquire nuclear, chemical and biological weapons-a move that brought him in from the cold and helped end decades of Libyan isolation. A sixmonth popular insurgency has now forced Gaddafi to abandon his stronghold in the Libyan capital but continued gunfire suggests the rebels have not completely triumphed yet.

Olli Heinonen, head of UN nuclear safeguards inspections worldwide until last year, pointed to substantial looting that took place at Iraq’s Tuwaitha atomic research facility near Baghdad after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003. In Iraq, “most likely due to pure luck, the story did not end in a radiological disaster,” Heinonen said.

In Libya, “nuclear security concerns still linger,” the former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in an online commentary. Libya’s uranium enrichment program was dismantled after Gaddafi renounced weapons of mass destruction eight years ago. Sensitive material and

documentation including nuclear weapons design information were confiscated. But the country’s Tajoura research centre continues to stock large quantities of radioisotopes, radioactive waste and low-

material in Tajoura could, if it ended up in the wrong hands, be used as ingredients for dirty bombs,” Heinonen, now at Harvard University, said. “The situation at Tajoura today is unclear. We know that during times

TRIPOLI: Libyan rebel stands with his weapon at the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli yesterday.—AP enriched uranium fuel after three decades of nuclear research and radioisotope production, Heinonen said. Refined uranium can have civilian as well as military purposes, if enriched much further.

“While we can be thankful that the highly enriched uranium stocks are no longer in Libya, the remaining

of regime collapse, lawlessness and looting reign.” A so-called dirty bomb can combine conventional explosives such as dynamite with radioactive material.

Experts describe the threat of a crude fissile nuclear bomb, which is technically difficult to manufacture and requires hard-to-obtain bomb-

grade uranium or plutonium, as a “low probability, high consequence act”-unlikely but with the potential to cause large-scale harm to life and property. But a “dirty bomb”, where conventional explosives are used to disperse radiation from a radioactive source, is a “high probability, low consequence act” with more potential to terrorise than cause large loss of life. “There are a number of nuclear and radiological materials at Tajoura that could be used by terrorists to create a dirty bomb,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, a director at the Londonbased International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank. There was no immediate comment from the IAEA on the Tajoura facility. A document posted on the IAEA’s website said it was a 10 megawatt reactor located 34 km (20 miles) east of the Libyan capital. The Vienna-based UN agency has been involved in technical aid projects in Libya, including at Tajoura.

Heinonen said Libya’s rebel Transitional National Council would need to be aware of the material at Tajoura. Once a transition takes place it should “take the necessary steps to secure these potentially dangerous radioactive sources”. Fitzpatrick said the looting that occurred at Iraq’s Tuwaitha centre “should stand as a lesson for the need for nuclear security precautions in the situation today in Libya.” — Reuters

A

y

e niv rsar n

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Years

i n t e r n at i o n a l

Chile faces 2-day shutdown over ‘utopian’ demands largest union coalition calls for strikes SANTIAGO: Chile is bracing for a nationwide, two-day shutdown as unions, students and center-left political parties demand fundamental changes in society. They want to replace Chile’s dictatorship-era constitution, which concentrates vast power in the presidency, with a new charter enabling popular referendums and making free quality education a right for all citizens. They also want pension reforms, a new labor code and more health care spending.

Chile’s largest union coalition called the strike for yesterday and today to join forces with the high school and university students boycotting classes for three months now. They have support from the center-left coalition that governed Chile for 20 years before

ty.” “Nothing is free in this life; somebody has to pay,” Pinera said when he proposed a 21-point education reform package to Congress this month.

The package includes $4 billion in new education funding, more scholarships, more teacher training, help for students who can’t pay their loans and a reduction from 5.6 percent to 2 percent in student loan interest rates. He also proposed a new government agency to take over and fund failing local schools, and an effort to make private universities comply with Chile’s law requiring non-profits to reinvest their gains.

But Pinera has drawn the line at more fundamental changes and flatly rejected the idea of popular plebiscites. Providing free education

SANTIAGO: People, one holding up a sign that reads in Spanish “Chile must be different, national strike on August 24 and 25,” protest in Plaza Nunoa, Santiago, Chile, Tuesday.—AP President Sebastian Pinera brought the right wing back into the presidential palace last year. Transportation workers and day-care providers also plan to strike, stranding millions of other Chileans. “It’s painful to see those working so hard to paralyze Chile,” Pinera complained Tuesday.

“We are perfectly conscious that our country has many unpaid debts, that there are many problems that remain unresolved, many of which were caused decades ago.”

Chile’s economy could lose $400 million - a disappointing setback, “especially now with huge storm clouds appearing in the global economy,” Pinera said. Chile’s GDP is growing at a healthy 6 percent, and the government has $24 billion in foreign reserves in its rainy day fund, but Pinera has warned against “the temptations of populism and irresponsibili-

Man hung from Mexico bridge MONTERREY: Gunmen hung a man from a pedestrian bridge over a busy avenue in the Mexican city of Monterrey Tuesday and shot him to death in front of dozens of motorists. A police investigator in Nuevo Leon state, where Monterrey is located, said the man was alive when he was hung and died after being shot. The investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, said the assailants left a threatening message but he wouldn’t reveal what it said.

Monterrey’s overpasses have seen several gang killings this year, often carried out in daylight in view of drivers on busy streets below. The Gulf and Zetas drug cartels are fighting for control of the city. Also Tuesday in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, two teenage boys of about 15 years of age were shot to death by unidentified assailants. State police in Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, said gunmen chased the teenagers down and shot them with about a dozen 9 mm rounds, the type of machine-pistol ammunition favored by drug gangs.Police also found a man’s dismembered body in a car in another Acapulco neighborhood.

As drug-related violence continued, Mexico’s top police official, Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna, met in Mexico City Tuesday with the head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele Leonhart, to review the results of bilateral cooperation in the fight against drug cartels.—AP

for everyone would mean forcing the poorest to help subsidize the most fortunate, he argued. Chile currently spends $2,000 annually per schoolchild, compared to $7,500 in the mostdeveloped countries, according to the multinational Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which Chile joined as it tries to leave the third world behind.

Education in Chile also has relied more on private funding than in any other member country, according to a 2004 OECD study. Chile’s government spent just 0.4 percent of its GDP on education, while student family contributions and bank loans made up another 1.8 percent, for a total of 2.2 percent of GDP. By comparison, the US government spent 1 percent of US GDP on education, leaving private sources to make up another 1.8 percent.

In other words, Chile’s government provided 18 percent of the money spent on education in the country, compared to 36 percent in the US In most other developed countries, the government assumes much more of this burden, providing 71 percent of the total education spending on average, enabling families to spend and borrow much less to see their children get ahead. Chile’s 3.3 million schoolchildren include 54 percent who attend local schools, whose quality depends on municipal funding, and 31 percent who attend state-subsidized private schools, whose quality largely depends on parent income. A luckier 9 percent attend nonprofit schools, often subsidized by corporations, and 6 percent attend private schools.

Pinera’s ministers have called protest leaders intransigent, but polls suggest most Chileans support their call for deeper reforms. Government spokesman Andres Chadwick dismissed the demands as “more than utopian,” and said the palace doors “have always been open” to labor leaders seeking dialogue. But such openness hasn’t extended to the student movement.

Legislative leaders have proposed a negotiating process that includes students and teachers as well as the government, but Pinera refused to sit down with the protesters before submitting his proposed changes to lawmakers. Students delivered a letter to the palace Tuesday asking for Pinera’s direct intervention to resolve the conflict. University of Chile student leader Camila Vallejo described it as a plea for Pinera to clarify whether “he really has the willingness to see education as a universal social right, and not as a consumer good, as he has suggested.”

Pinera’s education minister rejected the students’ overture hours later, saying that congress is the proper forum to resolve the conflict. Also Tuesday, Chile’s Supreme Court ordered police protection for Vallejo, 23, at the request of her parents, who said she had been getting death threats. One of the apparent threats was made on Twitter by a high-ranking Culture Ministry official, Tatiana Acuna, who invoked the infamous phrase Gen. Augusto Pinochet used while toppling socialist President Salvador Allende in 1973. Pinochet was recorded telling his troops: “If you kill the bitch, you do away with the litter.” Acuna told the court her message was misinterpreted, but she was removed anyway from her post as executive secretary of Chile’s national fund to support books and lectures.—AP

Venezuelan weekly must stop publishing: Judge CARACAS: A judge has ordered a weekly newspaper strongly critical of President Hugo Chavez and his allies to temporarily stop publishing while prosecutors proceed with slander charges against its director, the Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.

Prosecutors accuse Dinorah Giron, director of Sexto Poder, of committing the crimes by allowing the Aug. 20 publication of photo montage that ridiculed several female public officials by likening them to cabaret dancers.

Giron was released from police custody on Tuesday - two days after she was arrested. She has been prohibited from publicly discussing her case or

leaving the country, according to a statement released by the Attorney General’s Office. She must appear before a judge once every 15 days as prosecutors proceed with the case against her, it said. Giron denies any wrongdoing and representatives of the Miami-based Inter American Press Association, or IAPA, expressed concern the charges against her constitute a violation of freedom of expression.

The charges against Giron stem from the publication on Sunday of an edition carrying an adulterated photograph of six public servants including the president of Venezuela’s Supreme Court, director of the country’s elec-

tions council and its top anti-corruption official. The satirical photograph depicting the women as cabaret dancers appeared under a headline reading: “The Powerful Women of the Revolution,” a reference to the political movement led by Chavez.

IAPA President Gonzalo Marroquin called the ban “an abuse of power that encroaches on the Venezuelan people’s right to information.” “This reaction is a new step by the regime of President Hugo Chavez against free speech,” Claudio Paolillo, co-chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information said in a statement.—AP

y

A

10

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

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

Medvedev wins nuclear pledge at N Korea talks Meeting followed Kim’s four-day train ride

ULAN-UDE: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il yesterday promised President Dmitry Medvedev, in rare talks, that his reclusive state was prepared to renounce nuclear testing and allow transit of a gas pipeline. The meeting followed Kim’s fourday train ride through Russia’s Far East and Siberia, his third visit to the giant neighbor in the last decade but first since 2002. The secretive Kim made no comment to reporters after the meeting outside the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude some 5,550 kilometers (3,450 miles) east of Moscow, but Medvedev expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

“I am full of positive feelings.

The meeting was substantive and open,” Medvedev said. He told reporters that North Korea supported a planned pipeline to carry Russian gas supplies to South Korea through the North, a route that would allow Moscow to reach new energy-hungry Asian markets. He said the proposed pipeline would stretch more than

its territory,” Medvedev said. After a long-lasting freeze in the sixparty talks on the North Korean nuclear program, a Kremlin official said Pyongyang was ready to impose a moratorium on nuclear testing and processing if the discussions resume.

“Without preconditions, in the course of the negotiations, the North Koreans will be ready to

Russia-”without preconditions”.

But South Korea insists that its neighbor must first suspend its atomic activities. Pyongyang stormed out of the six-party negotiations in April 2009 and conducted its second nuclear test a month later. Kim earlier swept up to the meeting at the Sosnovy Bor (Pine Forest) garrison outside Ulan-Ude in a 1990s black

ULAN-UDE: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, second right, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, second left, walk during a meeting an a military garrison, outside Ulan-Ude yesterday. —AP 1,700 kilometres (1,000 miles) and start with volumes of up to 10 billion cubic metres per year.

The deal would concern “the transit of gas across the territory of North Korea and accordingly the addition to this project of the Republic of Korea, considering that the main consumers are on

solve the issue of introducing a moratorium on testing and spent nuclear fuel processing,” Kremlin spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said. North Korea has previously called for an early resumption of six-party talks-including China, Japan and the United States as well as the two Koreas and

Mercedes with no number plates.

He was personally welcomed by Medvedev, the Russian president’s business suit and bright violet tie creating a glaring contrast with the dull khaki uniform of the North Korean supremo.

The two men sat at a small table decorated with white flow-

ers, backed by the flags of the two nations. They were later joined by their delegations for full negotiations.

Kim had arrived in Ulan-Ude aboard his armored train a day earlier on a week-long TransSiberian journey which started at the weekend when he crossed the border into Russia’s Far East.

His journey has seen him enjoy varied excursions including taking a dip in Siberian waters, touring a plant making assault aircraft, taking a trip on the famed Lake Baikal, eating local fish and visiting a hydro-power station.

“I hope that you have been able to see what you wanted to,” said Medvedev. Kim replied: “Thank you for the great attention from your side Mr President, we are having a very fun journey.”

Kim is also seeking more economic and food aid from Moscow amid fears of a hunger crisis.

Moscow said on the eve of Kim’s arrival that it was sending up to 50,000 tonnes of wheat to North Korea.

North Korea’s Soviet-era debt of $11 billion was also discussed at the meeting, with a Russian source saying that some progress had been made. Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said the first step involves Pyongyang acknowledging that its owes the money to Russia as the successor of the Soviet Union, followed by agreement on the mechanism for the payback. Kim 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. The Kremlin says any opportunity must be seized to engage the Stalinist state in dialogue and trilateral projects could help promote stability on the divided Korean peninsula. —AFP

News

in brief

Four men in UK jailed for gang-raping fellow student LONDON: A British judge has jailed four students at a London college for raping a fellow student at a party. The four men filmed the attack on the 18-year-old Malaysian student on their mobile phones. Judge Peter Murphy said Norayr Davt yan, 22, Grigor y M elnikov, 23, Armen Simonyan, 20 and Oleg Ivanov, 23, had shown a “callous disregard” for their victim. They were sentenced Tuesday for between eight and 10 years in jail. The victim went to a party with friends in Davtyan’s room on January 21 and drank some whiskey. She passed out and woke up to find herself being raped by Davtyan. The other defendants later joined in. The students were studying at Bellerby ’s College in south London. The college said yesterday that its thoughts were with the victim.

German police phasing out German Shepherds BERLIN: Police in a German state are phasing out the countr y ’s namesake dog - the German Shepherd - in favor of the Belgian variet y.

Guenther Bonke - in charge of police dogs in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia - says it has nothing to do with German Shepherds being “too dumb” for police work - a question posed this week in a front-page headline in the Bild newspaper. Bonke told The Associated Press Wednesday that “while the German Shepherd is definitely not stupid, it often does not have the potential we need.” Among other things, Bonke says, he finds Belgian Shepherds - also known as Malinois - protect their handlers better in crisis situations, are more robust, and act more aggressively when needed.

Zimbabwe VP calls for ‘answers’ on husband’s death HARARE: Zimbabwe’s vice president tells state media that she questions why her husband, a powerful ex-general, was unable to escape the house fire that killed him. Vice President Joice Mujuru says Wednesday in the state-run Herald newspaper that she wants “satisfactory answers” from the investigation into last week’s death of Gen. Solomon Mujuru. Mujuru says she doesn’t understand why her ex-soldier husband was unable to escape from the house’s large, low windows. His death has also raised questions about the battle within longtime President Robert Mugabe’s party over who will succeed the ailing 87-year-old leader. Mujuru’s powerful military, political and business connections bolstered his wife’s efforts to vie for supremacy.

ROME: Pope Benedict XVI waves, during the weekly general audience at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo in the outskirts of Rome yesterday. —AFP

Pope says WYD sign of hope for Church’s future CASTEL GANDOLFO: The 2011 World Youth Day celebrations in this month were “a precious gift which gives hope for the future of the Church,” Pope Benedict XVI said yesterday during a general audience at Castel Gandolfo. The pontiff described the six day festivities, which took place from August 15-21 in Madrid and were attended by nearly two million young pilgrims, as “a moving ecclesiastical event” and a “true waterfall of light.”

“I thank God for this precious gift which gives hope for the future of the Church,” he said. The 84-year-old said the “irrepressible enthusiasm” of those who had come to celebrate the lavish Catholic youth festival in the streets of the Spanish capital had been proof of “a

young faith, full of courage for the future.” Benedict XVI told the 2,000 pilgrims attending the general audience how pleased he was that the young faithful had not been “put off by the wind and rain” which had lashed the city during the event.

“The meeting in Madrid was a magnificent show of faith for Spain and the world, for all of us,” he said. It was a chance for the young to “reflect, dialogue, tell each other about their experiences and pray together.” The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics announced the theme for the next World Youth Day, to take place in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 2013: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” — AFP

KIEV: Ukrainian riot police officers block opposition activists as they try to march on the 20th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union and protest the arrest of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Kiev, Ukraine yesterday.—AP

Ukraine marks independence amid Tymoshenko protests KIEV: Ukraine yesterday marked 20 years since it split from the USSR with ceremonies shadowed by sadness over its unfulfilled potential and protests over the arrest of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. The two decade anniversary of the declaration of independence by its parliament from the USSR on August 24, 1991 was to have been a glittering celebration for the strategic nation bordering four EU nations and Russia.

President Viktor Yanukovych took part in a ceremony dedicated to Ukraine’s unity at the statue of Saint Volodymyr overlooking the Dnipro river while stars will perform on Independence Square, the hub of the 2004 Orange Revolution popular uprising. But in a sign of the economically tough times, the authorities have scrapped a military parade that was to have marked the day to save over $20 million from the budget.

Meanwhile the proud expressions of unity threatened to get undermined by mass protests that have been called by supporters of Tymoshenko, the former prime minister whose arrest earlier this month caused international concern. A protest movement called the “Committee for Resisting Dictatorship in Ukraine” has called for a protest march from the statue of Ukraine’s national poet Taras Shevchenko down Kiev’s main Kreshchatyk avenue.

The action has been forbidden by a Kiev court but thousands still gathered in central Kiev, blocking traffic and briefly clashing with with security officers who blocked their intended march route to the president’s offices. Tymoshenko’s right-hand-man Olexander Turchinov told the protestors to regroup later on Independence Square, the scene of the 2004 uprising. In a further sign of the tensions, Ukraine’s security service said Monday it had arrested three people on suspicion of plotting a nail bomb attack at the ceremonies. However for many Ukrainians, their biggest concern is their own economic well being 20 years after independence, rather than that of Tymoshenko who is distrusted by some as a political chameleon changing colour every few years.

According to a survey by the Kievbased Razumkov centre, 61.7 percent of Ukrainians believe the situation in the country has deteriorated since 1991 and only 23.2 percent believe their families are better off. Only 37.4 percent think that Ukraine is a truly independent state, although more than half would still vote in favour of independence if put to the people in a referendum.

Tymoshenko was one of the leaders of then iconic 2004 Orange Revolution popular uprising forced a the annulment fraudulent presidential elections that were initially awarded to the pro-Kremlin Yanukovych. The re-run brought proWestern leaders to power and created unprecedented hopes that Ukraine was heading for a prosperous future at the heart of Europe.

But with corruption still dire even by regional standards, the pro-Western leaders falling out and the economy struggling, the Orange dream rapidly evaporated. Ironically, Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko in 2010 presidential elections which were commended by the West as free and fair. The president has since sought to show he is serious about EU integration. But Tymoshenko’s supporters argue her ongoing trial on abuse of power charges and her arrest is part of a vendetta pursued by the Regions Party of Yanukovych against her faction.

As Tymoshenko languishes in jail, former prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko sits in a US prison serving a money laundering sentence and ex-president Leonid Kuchma is being investigated over the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000. Western hopes that Ukraine would be a bulwark against Russian influence were disappointed amid a confused foreign policy that has swung from neutrality to vehemently pro-EU, to pro-Kremlin and back to neutrality within a decade.

No politician has managed to heal Ukraine’s geographic divide which has left the Ukrainian-speaking, nationalist West with quite different ideas about the country’s future from the Russian-speaking East where the Soviet Union is more fondly remembered.— AFP

Somalia famine set to spread to 2 new areas NAIROBI: Famine is set to spread to two new southern Somali regions with millions of people reeling from extreme drought, the top UN humanitarian aid official for the wartorn nation warned yesterday. “We are anticipating that two more areas of southern Somalia will be included,” Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, told AFP. Middle and Lower Juba are expected to be added to five other regions already declared by the UN to be in famine, including par ts of the war-ravaged capital Mogadishu, he said. “These areas were anticipated, and we are waiting only for the statistical analysis to confirm,” Bowden added.

The UN has described Somalia, where a civil war has been going on since 1991, as facing the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world.

Last month, the UN declared famine in the southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions of southern Somalia. It later spread to three further areas, including the Afgoye corridor, the world’s largest camp for displaced people. Famine implies that at least 20 percent of households face extreme food

shortages, acute malnutrition in over 30 percent of people, and two deaths per 10,000 people every day, according to UN definition.

“It (the famine declaration) stimulated a rapid increase in international funding and support,” said Bowden, adding that up to $280 million of funds pledged had already been received. Of the $1 billion requested for Somalia, 57 percent has been met, the UN official said, including $350 million promised last week by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. African leaders will also meet today to pledge funds to tackle the crisis. “The initiative is very welcome,” Bowden added. “It provides encouragement for traditional donors to have the involvement of Africans helping Africans in this crisis.” AlQaeda affiliated Shebab gunmen pulled out of positions in Mogadishu earlier this month, but continue to restrict aid into areas they control in famine-hit southern Somalia regions. Some 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa, including parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda, are affected by the worst drought in decades in the region and are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN. —AFP

Strauss-Kahn accuser’s family says justice was not done CONAKRY: In Guinea, the family of the woman who accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault feel the dropping of charges against him is injust, but said yesterday it was in God’s hands. The brother of the alleged victim, Guinean maid Nafissatou Diallo, from a pious Muslim family, told AFP “God is the only judge,” as he spoke to AFP after a New York judge dropped all charges against Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday.

“We leave it to God the almighty, but we would have liked to see justice done for my

sister,” said Mamadou Dian Diallo, the oldest brother of the 32-year-old, whose accusations ended career of one of the world’s most powerful men. While Guinean politicians refused to comment on the case, many inhabitants of the west African country’s capital Conakry, criticised the dropping of the charges.

“I am disappointed in the American justice system, disappointed to know that in the United States there is also injustice,” said Saliou Diallo, president of the “Support Nafissatou Diallo” movement, who is not

related to her. “No one can explain why the prosecutor dropped the charges using anything but deceitful arguments.” Secretary Ramata Souare, 47, was equally indignant. “I am ashamed as a woman, my female dignity has been assaulted. I am ashamed for DSK (Strauss-Kahn) who used all means, even the most dishonourable, to get himself out of this,” she told AFP. Trade unionist and banker Almamy Barry said: “One doesn’t know how to explain the action taken by the prosecutor who certainly would have received the medical report

which attests that there was rape.” Charges were dropped as prosecutors felt the alleged victim had an enormous credibility deficit, having lied on her US asylum application form, including about a gang rape she had suffered back home in Guinea.

She also lied in sworn testimony to the grand jury about her movements immediately after her alleged sexual assault at the hands of Strauss-Kahn. While Strauss-Kahn is free to return home, he still faces a civil suit which Diallo filed against him in August seeking unspecified damages.— AFP

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

11

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

i n t e r n at i o n a l

Karzai denounces use of child suicide bombers KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday denounced the use of child suicide bombers, saying that militants who recruit them to wage terror are “oppressors of Islam” and “oppressors of children.”

The president’s message was designed to highlight how the Taliban and other militants are soliciting children to conduct suicide bombings, which often kill other innocent Afghans and Muslims.

Karzai sat in a sunny courtyard at the presidential palace with about 20 youth who had either surrendered to Afghan authorities or had been arrested across the nation in connection with planned suicide bombings. After a brief chat, he ordered aides to help the young men, ages 10 through 16, find homes, education or be released to their parents.

He challenged the older ones to have a discussion with he and his religious advisers about whether launching suicide bombings and conducting other violence were the best ways to secure the future of Afghanistan.”If you convince us that you are right, we will go with you,” Karzai told them. In southern

Afghanistan, a local government official was assassinated on Tuesday evening the third official killed in Helmand province in a week, officials said.

The governor’s office in Helmand said two gunmen on a motorcycle fired at a member of the Nawa district council in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. The councilman was rushed to a hospital but died of his wounds. Insurgents have responded to heavy pressure from U.S. and NATO coalition forces by targeting officials and others aligned with the Afghan government. In two incidents Sunday, militants killed a councilman and chief prosecutor from Gereskh district.

On Friday, a man with a bomb hidden in his turban blew himself up outside the Helmand governor’s compound. One policeman was injured in the blast. Also in the south, a NATO service member was killed in an insurgent attack yesterday, the coalition said. So far this month, 70 NATO service members have died in the war, including at least 60 Americans. —AP

Pakistan says it doesn’t want to be used by others BEIJING: Pakistan does not want to be used as a base for militant groups and needs the world’s understanding as it tries to handle its problems, the foreign minister said yesterday. Hina Rabbani Khar also said after a two-day trip to Beijing that she wanted to further bolster ties with China, which has been Pakistan’s main supporter.

Chinese officials have blamed extremists trained in Pakistan for deadly attacks in the far west region of Xinjiang last month. “Pakistan just seeks the world’s understanding for the current challenges that Pakistan is going through.... we are the ones and our people are the ones that are paying the price who are experiencing the brunt of it,” said Khar, who was named foreign minister about five weeks ago.

Khar, who held talks with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and met Premier Wen Jiabao, said Pakistan did not want militant groups. “We have made it clear to our neighbors and we make it clear again that Pakistan has no interest for its territory to be used by any non-state

actors against any other country,” she said.

Islamabad is struggling to deal with the Pakistani Taliban and their affiliates, which seek to topple Pakistan’s proWestern government and install a hardline Islamist regime. Their anti-American rhetoric, combined with ineffective and corrupt government in Pakistan, means the militants have some support in the country. Khar said Pakistan was increasing its counter-terrorism cooperation with China.

Last month about 20 people were killed in violence in the far western city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, and Chinese authorities said one attack was carried out by militants trained in weapons and bomb-making at camps run by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement in Pakistan.

The government hasn’t disclosed evidence for that allegation. Security has been tight across Xinjiang since 2009 when almost 200 people were killed in fighting between majority Han Chinese and the Uighur (pronounced WEE’-gur) ethnic group. —AP

Hunger striker says ready to die for anti-graft cause Singh pleaded with Hazare to go on intravenous drip NEW DELHI: Indian anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare yesterday ruled out any compromise in his stand-off with the government over graft legislation, vowing to press on with a hunger strike now in its ninth day, even if it costs him his life.

With Hazare’s health failing and thousands of supporters packed into the muddy open ground in New Delhi where he is staging his public fast, time was running out for the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to end the crisis.

Singh pleaded with the 74year-old to at least agree to go on an intravenous drip, which Hazare has so far refused, and he called a meeting of political parties in parliament to find an end to the impasse. Hazare’s demand for more robust anti-graft laws has tapped into popular fury, particularly among the middle class, over the corruption that dogs Asia’s third-largest economy, bringing tens of thousands onto streets across the country in the biggest social protests since the 1970s.

“I’ve only lost six kilos and a bit of my kidney is affected, but it is nothing to worry about,” said the self-st yled G andhian ac tivist, addressing his admirers in the R amlila field just outside the walled city of old Delhi. “Until the government agrees to all conditions, I will not back down. Even if I have to die.” The government has begun to offer concessions over tougher anti-corruption laws, but a deal has remained elusive.

“Over the last few days, I have watched with increasing concern the state of your health,” Singh wrote in a letter to Hazare that was published by his office. “At worst, our paths and methodologies may differ, though I do believe that even those differences have been exaggerated.”

Despite the throng of supporters at Ramlila, criticism of Hazare’s unyielding stand has mounted steadily, with prominent social activists, intellectuals and politicians calling on him and his movement to come to a compromise.

Hazare’s protests earlier this year prompted the government to introduce an anti-graft bill in parliament in August, but he and his supporters have slammed the draft law as toothless. Hazare’s movement wants the draft bill withdrawn and their own versionwhich would create an

autonomous anti- corruption agency-to be passed by the end of this month, a demand senior government figures say is unrealistic. Hazare’s deteriorating health could force the government to decide on force-feeding him, a move that would risk sparking

something happens to him. We hope he breaks his fast in the next t wo days,” said 26-year- old IT graduate Raj Aryan. Hazare has rejected doctors’ advice to go to hospital or take an intravenous drip. “If anyone from the government comes to take me away

NEW DELHI: A supporter cleans the eye of India’s anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare before putting an eye drop, on the ninth day of his hunger strike, in New Delhi, India yesterday.—AP further protests against a fumbling government of elderly ministers widely seen as out of touch.

“Today is a very crucial day for the movement as his health is critical.

Some concrete decision has to take place in the next few days or this movement may turn violent if

forcibly, then block the gates. I will not go,” Hazare told his supporters late on Tuesday. He has remained lying or sitting on a public stage in the open for most of the day. He sleeps for a few hours in a small cordoned-off area during the night.

With key state elections due next year in the run-up to a general elec tion in 2014, Singh is under pressure to end a crisis that has paralysed policy making and parliament and added to his unpopularity amid high inflation and a run of corruption scandals.

M any of I ndia’s fast- growing urban middle class have joined forces with Hazare to protest against a system that requires bribes for everything from driver’s licences to birth certificates and has allowed politicians and businessmen to cream off millions of dollars through shady deals.

Several scandals linked to the government, including a telecoms bribery scam that may have cost the government up to $39 billion, led to Hazare’s latest protest. The ac tivist, who has carried out scores of hunger strikes over the last few decades to pressure governments, has since been visited

by Hindu gurus, former judges and Bollywood actors. But he has refused to have any politicians on his stage.

As his fast entered its ninth day, the sentiment inside Ramlila ground remained jubilant.

Thousands of people were again gathered in the grounds, large parts of which were waterlogged and muddy after overnight rain.

The main opposition, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is organising a nationwide protest against the government on Thursday as it seeks to gain influence over what has essentially been a protest driven by the urban middle class.

Hazare was briefly jailed last week, a move the government tried to reverse quietly. But he remained voluntarily in prison until the government allowed him to continue his vigil, in public, for 15 days, and finally emerged last Friday to huge cheers from a triumphant crowd. — Reuters

y

A

12

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

i n t e r n at i o n a l

China warns Taiwan opposition its policies threaten detente BEIJING: China warned Taiwan’s main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday that refusal to abandon a pro-independence stance risked upsetting recent hard-won detente between the two sides. DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday that Taiwan under her administration would pursue a “balanced, stable and moderate” policy towards China, shying away from the party’s previous strong anti-China words.

But the reaction from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office suggests Beijing will be in no mood to engage with Tsai if she is elected in January over Nationalist Party (KMT) President Ma Ying-jeou, who has signed landmark trade deals with China. “All the facts show that the DPP has still not changed its ‘Taiwan independence’ position of ‘one country on either side (of the Taiwan Strait)’,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement on its website (www.gwytb.gov.cn/).

Beijing regards the self-governed, democratic island as part of its sovereign territor y and has vowed to return it to the fold, by force if necessary. Despite the recent warming of ties, political and military suspicions remain deep on either side.

“This set of policies are unrealistic and cannot be accepted by the mainland,” the statement added. “Once put in place, they would mean there would be no way for cross-Strait consultations to proceed, and once more

there would be upheaval in relations.”

Tsai, a former academic who served as China policymaker in the previous DPP administration, has been credited with revitalising the party’s fortunes after its heavy loss in the 2008 poll and the subsequent jailing of former President Chen Shui-bian on corruption charges.

Pulling back from Chen’s pro independence rhetoric that infuriated China and made Taiwan a potent i a l As i a n f l a s hp oi nt , Ts a i ha s

focused on social issues and a pragmatic approach to put relations between the two into an international rather than bilateral framework. Her approach has put Tsai neck and neck in recent opinion polls with the incumbent President Ma, who is seeking a second term on the strength of his pro-China business policies that have delivered a boost to Taiwan’s economy and have delighted fore ign investors.— Reuters

Japan PM contender Maehara looks to powerbroker Ozawa Country set to select sixth PM in five years TOKYO: Former foreign minister Seiji Maehara, a leading candidate to be Japan’s latest premier, yesterday called on powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, the latest sign that the scandal-tainted party heavyweight could hold the key to the leadership race. Japan is set to select its sixth prime minister in five years in a party leadership race on Monday as it struggles to rebuild after a devastating tsunami, end a nuclear crisis at a crippled power plant, cope with a rising yen and curb massive public debt while the bulging costs of an ageing society.

Credit rating agency Moody’s yesterday in part blamed the political paralysis that has kept Tokyo from crafting effective policies for the cut in its rating on Japan’s government debt. When and whether to raise taxes to help curb public debt will be a

could matter more than policies in the party poll, in which only lawmakers can vote.

Other contenders have already made pilgrimages to Ozawa. But Maehara, 49, must tread a fine line between avoiding looking like an

“The problem for Maehara is how to cooperate with Ozawa without losing public support.”

Ozawa, who stepped down as DPJ leader over the donations scandal just months before the party swept to power for the first time in

TOKYO: Former Japanese foreign minister Seiji Maehara (center) is surrounded by reporters after meeting with ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) veteran lawmaker Azuma Koshiichi at the National Diet in Tokyo yesterday. Maehara declared his candidacy on August 23 to replace Naoto Kan as prime minister next week, shaking up the leadership race. —AFP focus of debate in the race to pick the next head of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), who will become prime minister because of the party’s lower house majority. But the visit to Ozawa’s office by Maehara, a security hawk who is the most popular among candidates with ordinary voters, suggested that relations with Ozawa

Ozawa puppet to keep voter support and preventing a decisive clash with the political mastermind, who runs the biggest party faction despite the suspension of his DPJ membership after indictment over a political funding scandal. “Maehara has very high public support and that is very powerful,” said one freshman DPJ lawmaker, who declined to be identified.

2009, has been the focus of feuding almost ever since his small Liberal Party merged with the Democrats in 2003. The bickering intensified when outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan sought to sideline the veteran strategist after taking office in June 2010.

Kan survived a no-confidence vote in June only by persuading Ozawa supporters not to back the opposi-

tion-sponsored motion in return for a pledge to step down later.

Ozawa allies worry that Maehara, who has strongly criticised him in the past, might imitate Kan’s example of trying to shut out the 69year-old powerbroker. They also want the DPJ to keep its campaign pledges to put more cash in consumers’ hands, promises current party executives are willing to revise to win opposition cooperation in a divided parliament. “What people are worried about now is that there will be the same pattern as the Kan government, which centred on a small group of people rather than the entire party,” said Tenzo Okumura, a DPJ lawmaker close to Ozawa who wants low-profile farm minister Michihiko Kano, 69, to win the leadership race. While Maehara has a tough balancing act, Ozawa also has a difficult calculation of his own to make. Some think backing Maehara-who has roundly criticised Ozawa in the past-would be a bridge too far.

“Ozawa wants to protect his own power so he wants someone who is willing to be his vassal,” DPJ elder Kozo Watanabe told Reuters recently. “Maehara is a politician with his own philosophy and he is not someone who would easily compromise.” But Ozawa’s clout has weakened since he was indicted and backing a losing candidate would add to the impression that he’s yesterday’s man. “Ozawa is not eager to be shut out in the cold, so this (cooperating with Maehara) could be a lifeline,” said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University ’s Japan campus. “He has a long record of not letting principles stand in the way.” —Reuters

Amnesty urges Bangladesh to stop unlawful killings DHAKA: Human rights group Amnesty International accused Bangladesh of unlawful killings by its special police force, urging the government to keep its promise of ending illegal executions. The watchdog also called on countries to refrain from supplying arms to Bangladesh that can be used by the elite force. Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have killed at least 200 people since 2009, when the current government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took office, despite her pledge to end extrajudicial executions, the rights group said in a report.

“Hardly a week goes by in Bangladesh without someone being shot by RAB with the authorities saying they were killed or injured in ‘crossfire’ or a ‘gun-fight’,” said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International’s Bangladesh researcher. “However the authorities choose to describe such incidents, the fact remains that they are suspected unlawful killings.” While the RAB justifies these killings as accidental or as a result of officers acting in self-defence, many victims are killed following their arrest, the watchdog said.

“The Bangladesh authorities must honour their pledge to stop extrajudicial executions by a special police force (RAB) accused of involvement in hundreds of killings,” the report said. The RAB has been implicated in the killing of at least 700 people since its inception in 2004, the report said. Any investigations into those killings

BANGKOK: Ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s ex-wife Pojaman (C), flanked by her daughters Phraethongtarn (L) and Pinthongta (top) and her son Panthongtae (R), arrives for an Appeals Court hearing at Bangkok’s Criminal Court yesterday. —AFP

Thailand court overturns Thaksin ex-wife’s conviction BANGKOK: Thailand’s criminal court yesterday overturned the 2008 conviction of the ex-wife of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on charges of tax evasion, a decision that comes two weeks after Thaksin’s sister took power as premier. The court said there was insufficient evidence against Potjaman Na Pombejra and her secretary, who along with her brother were found guilty in August 2008 of evading 546 million baht ($18 million) in taxes in a case the billionaire former prime minister has said was politically motivated.

The decision is one of several that suggests a possible change in the attitude of the courts since Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was sworn in two weeks ago. Since then, at least 22 detained Thaksin supporters, who wore red shirts at demonstrations, have been released on bail. Potjaman and her brother had been sentenced to three years in prison, while her secretary was given a two-year term. All had been released on bail.

The case was one of many against Thaksin and his family in the two years after he was ousted in a military coup in 2006. He now lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail for graft but he remains wildly popular with the rural masses.

Critics accused him of abusing his position to enhance his family’s wealth and of misrule and corruption, particularly over the $2.2 billion tax-free sale of his family’s telecommunications company Shin Corp to a Singaporean company in 2006.

The court yesterday found Potjaman’s brother, Bhanapot Damapong, guilty of tax evasion, but reduced his sentence to two years and a 100,000 baht ($3,340) fine. Potjaman had transferred 4.5 million shares of the now-defunct Shinawatra Computer & Communications PCL worth 738 million baht ($25 million)to her brother.

“Her actions have been honest,” said Tirapat Srichaiya, her lawyer. The couple were divorced in 2008, a few months after Potjaman’s conviction. —Reuters

Malaysian ‘forces husband to hear mistress tortured’ KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian woman has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping her husband’s mistress for several days and forcing him to listen by phone while his lover was tor tured and beaten, police said yesterday. The enraged wife was arrested on Tuesday in a suburb of the capital Kuala Lumpur, af ter her husband filed a police repor t, local district police chief Abdul Rahim Abdullah told AFP. The victim was found and freed a few hours later. Abdul Rahim said the husband was speaking with his lover on the phone last week when he suddenly heard his wife get on the line. “According to investigations, the wife and her brother had found the man’s mistress and made him listen while the two tortured and beat up

the mistress before hanging up,” he told AFP. He declined to give any details on the people involved in the case.

Abdul Rahim said the wife called her husband again the next day and let him speak to his mistress, who complained of being beaten and having her hair cut off. “The wife later met her husband on Sunday and showed him several pictures of his lover, who appeared to be tied up,” he said.

“She also demanded a 50,000 ringgit ($16,800) ransom if he wanted to see the mistress again but the police managed to track the wife down before the situation got any worse,” he added. He said that police had also arrested the brother and four accomplices whose role in the case he refused to specify. —AFP

Women’s marriage baffles Islamic police in Indonesia

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi police officer tries to control the crowd before ticket counters at Kamlapur central railway station in Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday. Special trains have been run to cope with passengers ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the Muslim festival that marks the end of holy fasting month of Ramadan. —AP have either been handled by the RAB or by a government-appointed judicial body, but details of their methodology or findings have remained secret, it added.

“It is appalling that virtually all alleged instances of illegal RAB killings have gone unchallenged or unpunished,” Faiz said. “There can be no justice if the force is the chief investigator of its own wrongdo-

ings... There is nothing to stop the RAB from destroying the evidence and engineering the outcome.”

Bangladesh’s police and the RAB continue to receive a wide range of military and police equipment from countries like Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey and the United States, the group said.

The watchdog called on these

countries to refrain from supplying arms to Bangladesh, which will be used by RAB and other security forces to commit illegal killings and other human rights violations.

“Any country that knowingly sends arms or other supplies to equip a force which systematically violates human rights may itself bear some responsibility for those violations.” —Reuters

BANDA ACEH: Islamic religious police in Indonesia’s Aceh province are stumped about how to handle a case of two women who married at the urging of neighbors concerned that one of the roommates was a man and therefore a couple living in sin. Aceh is the only province in the country that applies sharia, Islamic laws. The women, Nuraini and Rohani, came under pressure as neighbors assumed Rohani was a man because of her appearance and male nickname, Ranto. But after the marriage, suspicions grew that Rohani was actually a woman and local residents turned them in to the police on Sunday.

“In the Prophet’s book, people committing such a thing should be beheaded or thrown into the sea, but we don’t have that in our regulations,” Muddasir, the head of Aceh’s religious police, told Reuters yesterday. The religious police

are responsible for monitoring behavior in the province, often clamping down on skimpy clothing or unmarried couples. Sharia inspired bylaws contain regulations on promiscuity, and adultery can be punished by stoning to death.

Muddasir said his office had leafed through books of bylaws but failed to find any article regulating same-sex marriages. He said the couple have been detained, with police and religious figures considering ways to separate them forever. Tengku Faisal Ali, who heads an association of Islamic Boarding School Scholars in Aceh, said the case showed a shifting of values in Aceh society. This mirrors a wider conflic t in the world’s most populous Muslim nation between those pushing for an Islamic state and a mostly moderate and youthful population in the archipelago.—Reuters

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

Ramadan Kareem

The Night of Power 1

By ProductiveMuslim

I

n the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Beneficent (Surat-ul-Qadr) We have indeed revealed this (Quran) in the Night of Power (AlQadr): (1) And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? (2) The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. (3) Therein descend the angels and the ruh (Jibrail) by Allah’s permission, on every errand: (4) Peace!... This until the rise of dawn (5) Indeed, Laylatul-Qadr (the Night of Power) is a glorious and honorable night that is so grand, it’s beyond our comprehension. It was on this night that the Quran was first revealed to Rasullulah (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) by the greatest of all angels, Angel Jibrail. It is a night filled with importance and rahma (mercy), one that we should reflect upon.

Laylatul-Qadr is greater than 1000 months of worship. This one majestic night ALONE is superior to the equivalent of 83 years and four months of worship. The scholars have further defined this to be not just regular worship - but continuous worship of the highest-quality over 1000 months. To put this into perspective, throughout that span a practicing Muslim would accomplish at a minimum:- 147,654 FARD salat. - 2,450 days of fasting in the month of Ramadan. - 166 days of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. 4,333 Jum’a prayers. - 83 years worth of Zaka’at.

Laylatul-Qadr, in that one special night, is MORE worthy of blessings from Allah than the blessings you would receive if you were to accomplish the above. Subhanallah! Laylatul-Qadr is the opportunity to earn a lifetime of rewards in just ONE night.

Think about that!

The descendence of the Malaikaat Throughout this blessed night, the Malaikaat (Angels) will descend and fill the sky. There will be a constant flow of Angels coming to give their salams and immediately leaving. In other words, Angels will be coming and going throughout the night delivering salams upon those who are worshipping. It is the nature of the Angels to love those who perform Ibadaat and turn to Allah in repentance. They love those who praise and glorify Allah. They seek out those who perform such acts and pray for them.

Angel Jibrail will also be one of those Angels that will descend on this night. The very same Angel that was blessed to carry the wahi (revelation) to our messengers, including Rasullulah (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). How amazing is such a night, to be in the presence of such an Angel! One of the signs of Laylatul-Qadr is that on the morning after that night, the sun will be bright and clear, but the rays of the sunlight will not be as visible. It is said that because of the wings of the Angels on that morning, the rays of the sunlight will be blocked. Although we cannot see the Angels, we can try to reflect on the sheer magnitude of what is happening on that night.

NEWS

Bahrain opposition shuns election deadline DUBAI: Bahrain’s largest Shiite opposition group Wefaq said it missed yesterday’s deadline to register for by-elections for the 18 parliamentary seats it quit in protest at a government crackdown on mostly Shiite demonstrators this year. “The core issue is that the legislative authority does not exist anymore,” Khalil Al-Marzouq, a former Wefaq lawmaker, explaining why the bloc would not contest the Sept 24 polls.

Troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states went into Bahrain in March to help quell protests in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, in which at least 30 people, including four policemen, were killed, hundreds wounded and more than 1,000 detained. King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa started a national dialogue in July to tackle the issues that led to the unrest in February and

elusive strongman, dead or alive. Meanwhile, international backers of the insurgency were moving to free up billions of dollars in frozen assets for them.

Thick smoke hung over the Bab Al-Aziziya complex, where rebels and Gaddafi forces were fighting in the afternoon with light arms, heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and mortars, an AFP reporter said. Fighting also spread to the nearby Abu Slim area, where loyalist were on the attack, in marked contrast to Tuesday’s battle for Bab Al-Aziziya when they fled as the rebels breached the gates.

However, rebel commanders said they were determined to push the loyalist troops out of the area, which houses the Rixos Hotel, where around 30 foreign journalists remain trapped in precarious conditions. Many streets were deserted, with commanders saying dozens of pro-Gaddafi snipers had taken up positions. “There are snipers above and around the perimeter of Bab Al-Aziziya; there are dozens of them but we don’t know where they are,” said a rebel chief, Nuri Mohammed.

Two powerful blasts thought to be caused by an air strike rocked the capital early yesterday as a NATO warp lane flew overhead. A rebel military spokesman speaking to Al-Jazeera television said “Libyan territory is 90 to 95 percent under the control of the rebellion.” Colonel Abdullah Abu Afra said “the fall of Bab Al-Aziziyah marked the end of the Gaddafi regime in Tripoli and in Libya.” The whereabouts of Gaddafi and his family remains a mystery, but the former colonel broadcast a message in which he said his withdrawal from Bab Al-Aziziya had been a tactical retreat.

Rebels said they had found no trace of Gaddafi when they swarmed through his compound on Tuesday. In a speech carried yesterday by the website of a TV station headed by his son, Seif Al-Islam, Gaddafi said he had abandoned his compound in a “tactical withdrawal” after it had been wrecked by NATO warplanes. “Bab Al-Aziziya was nothing but a heap of rubble after it was the target of 64 NATO missiles and we withdrew from it for tactical reasons,” he said.

In a later audio message on Syria-based Arrai Oruba television, Gaddafi boasted that he had taken to the streets of Tripoli without being recognized. “I walked incognito, without anyone seeing me, and I saw youths ready to defend their city,” he said, without specifying when he did his walkabout.

He also urged “the residents, the tribes, the elderly to go into the streets ... and cleanse Tripoli of rats”-referring to the rebels.

Wherever he may be, the rebel National Transitional Council wants him, dead or alive, and has put a $1.7 million (1.2 million euro) price on his head. “The NTC supports the initiative of businessmen who are offering two million dinars for the capture of Muammar Gaddafi, dead or alive,” NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said in Benghazi. Abdel Jalil also offered amnesty to “members of (Gaddafi’s) close circle who kill him or capture him.” Gaddafi spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told Arrai Oruba that more than 6,500 “volunteers” had arrived in Tripoli to fight for the regime, and called for more.

Insurgents, jumpy but jubilant and armed with assault rifles, combed the streets of the capital yesterday for remnants of the regime. “We are the champions. We’ve been dying for 42 years and now we are going to live,” said Sharif Sohail, a 34-year-old dentist who had taken up arms to patrol the city centre. Rebels who secured Tripoli’s airport on Sunday said it was still under sporadic attack by Gaddafi fighters, with

March, but Wefaq withdrew, saying it was under-represented and that the dialogue would not deliver the changes Bahrain needed.

The government of Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, said reconvening a fully elected parliament was crucial to enact reforms proposed by the national dialogue and endorsed by the king, including enhancing the legislative body’s powers. The government said in a statement that it regretted Wefaq’s decision to boycott the election. “This is the opportunity for the people of Bahrain to vote in large numbers, thereby significantly boosting the reform process,” Khalifa Al-Dhahrani, speaker of the 40-seat parliament, said in the statement.

Although the king agreed to expanding the powers

of the elected parliament last month, the broader powers of an appointed upper chamber are expected to be left intact. Bahrain’s Shiite majority demanded broader political liberties and an end to sectarian discrimination. A few Shiite groups, but not Wefaq, called for the monarchy to be abolished.

The government has said the unrest was sectarian and backed by non-Arab Shiite Iran. Bahraini Shiites denied this. They say they are systematically denied access to land and jobs, and cite the naturalization of foreign Sunnis, some of whom serve in the security forces, as proof of a policy of sectarian rule. Bahrain has asked a panel of international law and human rights experts to investigate the protests and their aftermath. — Reuters

Lawmakers fume over...

Continued from Page 1

TBILISI: A Georgian girl drinks cold water in downtown Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The temperature has reached record high 38 Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) in Georgia. — AP

Dead or alive, NTC offers $1.7 million...

Continued from Page 1

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

snipers along the road from the city, and that a rocket on Tuesday had damaged an airplane on the runway.

Airport manager Arabi Mustafa said that once the security problems are resolved and water and electricity restored, the airport would be reopened. Elsewhere, rebels advancing towards Sirte were blocked yesterday in the town of Bin Jawad as loyalists kept a stiff resistance, an insurgent commander said. After taking Ras Lanuf, 150 kilometers west of Sirte, the rebels had advanced up to Bin Jawad, but were stopped by heavy artillery fire, rebel commander Fawzi Bukatif said.

“Gaddafi’s forces are still fighting, we are surprised. We thought they would surrender with the fall of Tripoli,” Bukatif said in the nearby coastal town of Zuwaytina. “Maybe something or somebody is behind them,” he said, adding “maybe” when asked if he was referring to Gaddafi or his sons.

In other developments, Britain and France said they are working at the United Nations to unfreeze Libyan assets blocked by Security Council sanctions. “Diplomaticaly we’re engaged at the United Nations and elsewhere to pave the way for the unfreezing of assets,” Foreign Secretary William Hague said in London, shortly after France confirmed it was seeking a UN resolution to do so. A British official said the resolution would include releasing assets to help rebels set up a government and meet urgent humanitarian needs.

It came a day after the United States said it was working through the UN to release up to $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets for the cash-strapped rebels. In Moscow, President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would recognize the Libyan rebels if they “unite the country” while warning that Gaddafi, the Kremlin’s old ally, still retained influence. “Despite the successes of the rebels, Gaddafi and his supporters still have a certain influence and military potential.

We want them to sit down at the negotiating table and reach agreements on future peace,” Medvedev said. Not far from yesterday’s fighting, some 30 foreign journalists were still unable to leave their hotel after four days of siege. “It’s getting pretty miserable here and you can only imagine the sort of tension which the foreigners here, the journalists here, find themselves feeling at the moment,” BBC correspondent Matthew Price told BBC radio.

Yesterday morning, some of the journalists attempted to venture a few meters from the hotel before gunfire erupted nearby and armed men ordered them back. Electricity, temporarily cut, has been restored, but water remains scarce.

Mobile phone signals are poor and food is in short supply.

Meanwhile, four hundred people were killed and 2,000 wounded in three days of fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Gaddafi in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the head of the rebel council said yesterday. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council, told France-24 television that some 600 pro-Gaddafi fighters had been captured but the battle would not be over until the Libyan leader himself was a prisoner.

“According to our information, the number of those killed during the operation which has lasted three days is just over 400, with 2,000 wounded,” he said, without specifying if he was talking of both sides. “We captured up to 600 Gaddafi soldiers,” he added. Jalil said he thought that Gaddafi himself had fled Tripoli, saying he was not brave enough to stay and fight.

“I hope that he will be captured alive and tried so the world can know about his crimes,” he added. — Agencies

request to hold an emergency parliamentary session to discuss the issue and demanded that the government act immediately to expose the MPs and those who deposited the funds.

The government has made a brief comment, saying that the central bank has not received any information from the public prosecution about any complaints related to money laundering cases. The central bank also said that it has not received any information from local banks about “suspicious deposits” and was investigating. MP Barrak however said the governor has so far failed to shoulder his responsibilities under the law in exposing the suspicious accounts and take the legal action stipulated under the law.

The lawmaker said that the governor should either shoulder his responsibilities or submit his resignation.

Saadoun said that holding a parliamentary emergency session or a possible non-cooperation with the prime minister will not be enough to deal with this case and warned he will pursue it to the end.

“The prime minister must not remain in his post after this scandal,” said Saadoun and added that the governor of the central bank should have investigated the report and inspected the involved financial establishment immediately after the publication in accordance with the anti-money laundering law. Saadoun said that the case “undermines the security of Kuwait” and “we will not hesitate to question any side” for the sake of the country.

The veteran lawmaker claimed that some financial institutions have reported suspicious deposits but received instructions from the central bank to stop any action or report. Saadoun charged that the government is not running the country which is “being run by 4-5 influential people”. The lawmaker said that the resignation of opposition lawmakers “will not be productive unless at least 33 MPs resign” thus preventing the assembly from holding sessions which will eventually lead to dissolving it and calling for fresh elections.

Another opposition MP Ali Al-Deqbasi said yesterday that he has been contemplating to submit his resignation and that he welcomes new election.

Opposition MPs are expected to demand holding an emergency session after the Eid Al-Fitr holidays, probably in the second week of September.

Port stirs tension with old enemy Continued from Page 1 to put an end to Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations,” said Aliyah Nisayef, an Iraqi lawmaker who collected more than 70 signatures from parliament members denouncing the planned port, which would be among the Gulf’s largest and potentially overshadow Iraq’s proposals to attract shipping to its own tiny slice of the Gulf coast.

An Iraqi delegation recently returned from Kuwait after inspecting the port and is expected to deliver a report to Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki later this week.

Kuwait announced plans back in 2007, when Iraq was deep in a sectarian war, to build the $1.1 billion Mubarak Al-Kabir port on Bubiyan Island, one of the biggest islands in the Gulf. But it wasn’t until the Kuwaitis laid the cornerstone in April that Iraqis really noticed.

The accusations flew fast and furious that Kuwait was trying to strangle Iraq’s shipping channels and scuttle a planned Iraqi port project. In response, the Kuwaitis claim their project could benefit the whole region and accuse Iraqi opponents of risking years of slowly improved relations. Last week, dozens of Iraqi protesters gathered less than 300 yards from the Kuwaiti border to denounce the port plans.

Kuwait’s interior minister, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, warned that security forces would have “zero tolerance” for any crossborder protest attempts, according to the official Kuwait News Agency.

The dispute, too, mirrors the wider apprehensions around the region. Kuwait and other Gulf Arab states are deeply worried about widening Iranian influence in the Arab world, particularly Tehran’s close ties with Iraq’s Shiite-led government. Iran made its views on the port known through Kataib Hezbollah, a Shiite militia group funded and controlled by Iran that operates in Iraq. The group in July warned companies working on the port to stop and said the project would “besiege the Iraqi economy.”

But it’s not just Shiites who

oppose the plan. Politicians across Iraq’s political spectrum have rallied against it - reflecting fears that Iraq’s access to the lucrative Gulf shipping trade will be cut off just as the country is regaining its economic footing. Iraq’s only sea access is through a narrow strip of water going from the Gulf to the port of Umm Qasr.

Iraqis question why Kuwait with its hundreds of miles of coastline positioned its port where it directly juts into Iraq’s only access to the sea.

Already Iraq’s access to Umm Qasr is dependent on Kuwaiti largesse. The border that was negotiated after Saddam’s forces were evicted from Kuwait drew a line straight through the narrow waterway. But that’s not the way ships travel. Instead, they need to traverse the deepest point of the channel, which sometimes snakes into Kuwaiti territory.

Iraqis are worried Kuwait’s port plans will clog an already crowded waterway and make it difficult for ships to get to Iraqi ports. It also competes with a port Iraq plans to build on Al-Faw peninsula opposite Bubiyan Island. “ The effect of Mubarak port on Al-Faw port would be a jam of vessels and ships in this area that would risk the stoppage of ships,” said deputy chairman of the Basra Provincial Council Ahmed al Sulaiti. Basra province includes Umm Qasr and Iraq’s small coast.

Al-Sulaiti said the waves created from the movement of ships at the Mubarak port could halt or close work at Al-Faw port. For Kuwait, the port is seen as a critical step in restoring the country’s status as a center for international commerce and investment, which has largely migrated to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the past two decades. Kuwait envisions the port as a type of regional free-trade shipping and commercial hub also used

by Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia although none have so far expressed interest.

The project would be among the largest in the Gulf and could one day rival Abu Dhabi and Dubai as a transit hub between Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Kuwaiti authorities say the port is expected

to begin operations in 2015 as one of the first steps in a $100 billion vision to create a network of commercial zones and skyscrapers modeled after other Gulf mega-projects.

“The vision is to make Bubiyan the crossroads of transport, sea, railways and highways linking all the countries,” said Sami Alfaraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.

But Alfaraj believes Iraqi opponents of the project are trying to score political points by playing off of nationalist sentiment. “We are not scared by threats,” said Khalid Al Jarallah, from the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry in early August after a visit

by Iraqi officials to discuss the planned port. He vowed Kuwait would continue the project. Joost Hilterman from the International Crisis Group said Kuwait is also terrified that Iraq will once again invade.

Comments by Iraqis referring to Kuwait as Iraq’s “19th province” do not help. Many Iraqis do not even accept that Bubiyan Island is part of Kuwait - although the Kuwaiti military has a garrison there. By building the port Kuwait can further plant its flag there. Kuwait also has been demanding Iraq make good on roughly $25 billion in reparations it was owed by Saddam after the 1990 invasion. It was just such demands that Iraq repay the debt wracked up during the Iran-Iraq war that helped push Saddam’s decision to invade Kuwait in 1990.

The port showdown threatens to set back progress on easing tensions between Iraq and Kuwait.

Kuwaiti and Iraqi navy and coast guard leaders meet regularly and have developed strong relationships, say US military officials. The two countries’ navies have also held joint exercises. US military spokesman Maj Gen Jeffrey Buchanan said it serves both nations to find compromise.

“They (Iraq) want to make sure that there is no impact on the shipping lane for Iraq. That’s really what their concern is. And it makes sense from an Iraqi perspective to say to the Kuwaitis, ‘Hey this has to be coordinated,’” he said. “They have to work through it.” — AP

14

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

opinion

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher

YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief

ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24835619 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait.

E MAIL :info@kuwaittimes.net Website: www.kuwaittimes.net

Issues

Daunted Afghans now find refuge in former foe Russia

By Amie Ferris-Rotman igns in Dari decorate the creaky lifts of a Moscow hotel heaving with Afghan merchants and schoolchildren who have found refuge in a former foe.

Although still haunted by the decade-long war in which 15,000 Soviet troops were killed, Russia has renewed interest in Afghanistan, quietly allowing the local Afghan community to thrive as a gesture of goodwill.

“The Russians now welcome us. It is not like before,” said Ghulam Jalal, who heads the Centre for Afghan Diasporas, an organization that finds work for Afghans in Russia and keeps their culture and languages alive. Worried by intensifying violence in the NATO-led war against Taleban insurgents, Russia is flexing its muscles by proposing business and development plans in Afghanistan, which borders much of ex-Soviet Central Asia, viewed by Russia as its traditional sphere of influence. Afghans in Russia now make up the third-largest overseas Afghan community after Pakistan and Iran, and the largest community of immigrants from a country other than the former Soviet Union.

Very few of the 150,000 Afghans in Russia-a third in the capital-are in the country illegally, said Omar Nessar, director of the Centre for Studies of Modern Afghanistan in Moscow, in what he called a kind of a “gift”. “Over the years, you will see that few have remained with an illegal status. I suppose it is a gift,” Nessar said. Russia’s Federal Migration Service declined to comment, but a former lawmaker in Kabul agreed Russia has welcomed the influx of Afghans fleeing a succession of wars as it seeks greater influence in their country.

“No one wants an uninvited guest in their country.

There is a political connection here. Russia wants to reassert its role that it is a friend of the Afghan people and can be trusted,” said Noor-ul Haq Olomi, who recently stepped down from Afghan parliament after six years to work on his own political party. Russia’s interest and quest for stability in Afghanistan stems from a fear of the spreading insurgent activity and the steady flow of heroin from Afghanistan. Though Moscow has refused to send troops to the current war, it has embarked on a series of infrastructure and hydroelectric projects and wants to build housing, Russia’s envoy to Kabul Andrey Avetisyan said. The AfghanRussian relationship is at its best in 20 years, he said.

S

A MINIATURE AFGHANISTAN IN MOSCOW Jalal’s plush office is nestled in the cluster of grey towers making up the Sevastopol hotel in southern Moscow where 8,000 Afghans live and work. They have their own mosque, television station and weekly newspapers. An on-site school teaches children Afghanistan’s two main languages, Dari and Pashto, while adults learn Russian. Refugees sell Chinese-made gadgets and fluffy toys out of a thousand converted hotel rooms and the smell of freshly baked Afghan bread permeates the shops, which are packed with Russians seeking bargains. Their channel “Afghan TV” blasts out songs in Pashto. Nahim, from the western city of Herat, says Russia saved him from a life of misery in Afghanistan, where civilians are bearing the brunt of a war that has dragged on for 10 years since US forces first attacked the Taleban for sheltering Al-Qaeda after Sept 11.

The current conflict is the latest chapter in a brutal recent history: after the Soviet exit in 1989, the Afghan communist government collapsed, leading to fighting between warlords and paving the way for the Taleban’s rise to power in 1996. Millions of people are believed to have been killed and millions fled. Nessar, from the Moscow thinktank, said Afghans have been steadily flowing into Russia throughout the last three decades. Nahim, who gave only his first name, left Afghanistan with his brother in 1998, one of many Afghans to flee the oppressive Islamist Taleban regime.

Now 30, he returned briefly four years ago but said he was discouraged from staying by what he saw there. “We are witnessing first-hand what the Americans are doing there, how they act without a heart,” said Nahim, dressed in jeans and leather sandals in his shop, where he sells mosquito repellent, key chains and batteries. “The Taleban could return, and even if they are less violent than before, I will not go back,” he said in fluent Russian. Reports have intensified of talks between the Taleban and Western and Afghan officials that aim for a negotiated peace- and a possible role for the Taleban in government-as the United States and its NATO allies prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014.— 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.

Forgiveness in France a high hurdle for DSK

By Catherine Bremer onths of lurid media coverage about Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s 9minute encounter with a New York hotel maid and other sexual affairs make it hard to imagine the former IMF chief taking a major public role in France in the near future. The dismissal of the attempted rape and assault charges in New York on Tuesday-sparing him a messy US court battle and the risk of a long prison term-was cheered in advance by his Socialist Party allies in France.

Yet it is too late for him to enter the 2012 French presidential race that he was once pegged to win, and he may be too politically radioactive to take a role in the left’s campaign or to hold a government post should it win the April election.

Strauss-Kahn’s chief problem is that many everyday French people now feel they know too much tawdry detail about his private life to want him as a leader, and many were unaware how highly valued is his economic expertise around the world to put aside the sex scandal.

An opinion poll by Ipsos carried out on August 19-20 found only 28 percent of respondents had a positive opinion of Strauss-Kahn, down from 32 percent in July, and 61 percent had an unfavorable view of him, up from 57 percent in July. In Paris, dinner parties are now spiced up with tales of Strauss-Kahn’s extramarital sex life.

True or not, they have made him an object of ridicule. Cartoons poking fun at the affair have spread like wildfire by email. A You Tube clip doing the rounds showed the scandal has made it onto a snack food advert in Greece, featuring a Strauss-Kahn look-a-like making salacious gestures to a maid.

“What I think has become his biggest handicap, because it’s insurmountable, is that whereas before he was a person who was reassuring for the French, he now has the image of a fragile man and someone who could be a concern for voters,” said Herve Gattegno, editor of French current affairs weekly Le Point. The affair has shone a spotlight on a long tradition in France of turning a blind eye to womanizing by politicians, but media reports of a history of unwanted advances by the former IMF chief paint a less palatable picture of him.

The result may be that Strauss-Kahn opts to bypass politics altogether and seek an international role in helping resolve global economic problems and the sovereign debt crisis that threatens to engulf Europe. On Tuesday, he looked emotionally drained as he told the media outside his New York townhouse that he was looking forward to coming home to France and “resuming something of a more normal life” after settling some US affairs. “The big unknown today is whether he will be permanently damaged by this affair, and even he can’t know that,” said Gattegno. “The shock is still huge and there is obviously a moral judgment by the French people that is unavoidable, the negative view of this kind of behavior is going to count against him.”

Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman described the encounter in his luxury suite at the Sofitel Hotel in Manhattan on May 14 as quick and consensual. “She was a willing participant,” he told Reuters in an interview.

Assault was implausible largely because “she towers over him,” he said. Socialist presidential hopeful Manuel Valls said the whole affair had been “an extreme waste for Strauss-Kahn and France” and even ruling party Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said the former finance minister had “deserved better.” Front-runner for the Socialists Francois Hollande has suggested

M

that a man of his expertise may find a future role in government.

POLITICAL COMEBACK Given an inevitable media circus if he returns to Paris in coming days, it was unclear whether Strauss-Kahn would keep a low profile, speak in public or try to turn the page with a televised interview focused on global economic issues. Socialists urged him to bring his ideas to the debate over how to stem the latest bout of economic malaise.

“Today we need Strauss-Kahn’s voice. His voice has been absent from the political debate for much too long. Lots of French people, lots of Europeans, are waiting for his words,” said left-wing ally and lawmaker Jean-Marie Le Guen. But an editorial in the influential centreright daily Le Monde was damning, noting Strauss-Kahn had neither been declared “not guilty” nor truly cleared of the allegations that lost him his IMF job and his chance at the 2012 election.

“Like most French political men, he thought he was protected by our solid tradition of respecting private lives,” it said. “The media circus undoubtedly played a major role in DSK’s downfall ... But at the end of the day, the crux of the matter lies with Strauss-Kahn himself. Like with Bill

Clinton, whose presidency was (seriously damaged) by the Monica Lewinksy affair, he is above all the victim of his own carelessness.” Christophe Barbier, editor of L’Express weekly and a daily political interviewer on LCI TV, said Strauss-Kahn could

make his comeback on the ground in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles where he used to be mayor, or at a different level via his competence as an international economist. “ The problem is that, as we say in France, he is carrying a saucepan: whenever he moves it will make a noise,” he said.

“The French may feel that even if innocent of the charges, his behavior makes him unworthy of representing France. His behavior may have destroyed his intellectual merits. As soon as he speaks, the polls will show if they forgive him or not.” Ipsos analyst Brice Teinturier noted that while most voters say they don’t want to see him in a government post, that could change within a year, especially if the left wins the election.

The Socialists gather this weekend in the seaside town of La Rochelle for their annual congress and are unlikely to want the event to be hijacked by talk of StraussKahn’s return. They may be wary of getting too close to him while other legal cases are unresolved, including a civil case brought by hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo and an inquiry in France over allegations by writer Tristane Banon of an attempted assault.

Banon’s lawyer David Koubbi said the support for DSK from Socialists were “crassly indecent”, and Banon’s mother Anne Mansouret, who herself had a brief affair with Strauss-Kahn, said she was “deeply indignant” at the U.S. charges against him collapsing.— Reuters

Next Japan PM: Bold leadership a long shot

By Linda Sieg ho will become Japan’s sixth premier in five years is anyone’s guess, but one bet looks safe: he’s unlikely to provide the bold leadership that voters and investors in the troubled economy crave.

Factors ranging from an education system that rewards conformity to a political arena where personal ties matter more than ideas make improbable the emergence of a charismatic leader like Junichiro Koizumi, who swept to power in 2001 promising reform and served a rare five-year term before stepping down.

“There are underlying structural problems that lead to a paucity of political talent in Japan-it’s not just the (ruling) Democratic Party,” said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Tokyo’s Sophia University. “Koizumi was just the exception that proves the rule.” Koizumi, a media-savvy maverick who once quipped that approving anti-impotence drug Viagra mattered more than cutting pollution, not only entertained voters but inspired with pledges of reforms that, while painful, would break vested interests’ stranglehold on policies.

He promised to destroy his own long- dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the process if needed and made good on his threat to oust opponents of his plan to privatize the giant postal system as a symbol of reform, then led his party to a huge election victory in 2005. Few had predicted that Koizumi, a third-generation LDP lawmaker, would be more than a temporary poster-boy for reform. “Once he got in, he turned out to be much more effective as a communicator and rallier of public support than anyone anticipated,” said Columbia University professor Gerry Curtis.

Japan’s next leader has a slew of challenges on his plate, from battling a soaring yen and forging a postnuclear crisis energy policy to rebuilding from the March tsunami and reining in public debt while paying for reconstruction and the bulging costs of an ageing society. Seven Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lawmakers including Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and former foreign minister Seiji Maehara are now jostling to succeed unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan-already the second premier since the Democrats swept to power two years ago.

The 49-year-old Maehara, a conservative security expert who like Noda graduated from the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, a school to train business and political leaders, tops recent voter

W

surveys of preferred politicians. “Of all the candidates now, the one who has the best chance of leadership is probably Maehara, but (the question is) whether he can show the kind of leadership Koizumi showed, mobilizing the public as leverage against his own party,” Curtis said.

MAKING ENEMIES But Democrats, a fractious grouping of former LDP lawmakers, ex-Socialists and younger conservatives, may instead opt for an old-fashioned, LDP-style leader-someone like Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano, 69, an 11term veteran with few clear policies and few enemies. “ The K an government excluded Mr Ozawa and Mr Hatoyama and that was not in line with the DPJ’s true politics of ‘all on one team’,” Kano supporter Tenzo Okumura said. He was referring to Kan’s efforts to sideline scandal-tainted DPJ powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa and his ally, former premier Yukio Hatoyama. “What is being sought now is experience and know-how,” Okumura added.

Like Koizumi, the Democrats swept to power promising to change the way Japan is governed after decades of conservative LDP rule. But despite their very different styles, both Kan and predecessor Hatoyama floundered in the face of a divided parliament and a feud-riven ruling party. DPJ lawmakers such as Okumura, experts say, appear to have learned the wrong lesson from the Liberal Democrats’ decades in power and ignored the reasons for Koizumi’s success-his willingness to make enemies by sticking to his stance. “When the DPJ was formed, they took in anyone who opposed the LDP, and since the LDP stood for everything, so did the DPJ,” said Chuo University professor Steven Reed.

“They believe that a split has to be avoided at all costs. They are wrong, but they continue to believe it.”

The need to get opposition parties, who control parliament’s upper house and can block bills, to cooperate also works against the selection of a bold leader with well-defined policies.

“They somehow need to reach out to the opposition for some legislative coalition ... and that reinforces the tendency to go for someone who is bland and uninspiring,” Sophia’s Nakano said. Pure politics aside, an education system that stifles individualism may also be to blame for Japan’s long line of mostly colorless leaders.

“The education system makes sure that people who stand out are shunted aside,” Reed said. “If they get bold leadership, it will be by accident.”— Reuters

15

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

analysis

Predators and MRAPS: the military’s post-9/11 era he September 11 attacks ushered in a new era of warfare, with the United States relying on a new fleet of robotic aircraft and elite Special Forces with high-tech gear. Here are some of defining features of the post-9/11 wars:

T

PREDATORS: An unmanned, propeller plane equipped with cameras, precision-guided bombs and missiles, the Predator has allowed the US military to spy from the sky for hours on end and attack terror suspects without putting troops at risk. The Predators, part of a new wave of robots that are changing the face of war, became the workhorse of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the CIA’s covert drone campaign in Pakistan against AlQaeda and the Taleban.

The US military has 269 of the aircraft but is replacing them with an improved model, the Reaper, which can fly twice as fast and cruise at higher altitudes. The Predators and Reapers are among thousands of unmanned aircraft and ground robots now deployed by the American military, including the giant Global Hawk, a spy jet with a 116-foot wingspan that can fly at high altitude, replacing the U2 plane born in the Cold War era.

MRAPS Homemade bombs, the number one killer of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, proved lethal against the military’s standard vehicle, the Humvee, which has a vul-

nerable, flat bottom. Under former defense secretary Robert Gates, the Pentagon started buying large numbers of tougher trucks, designed to withstand blasts from roadside bombs, known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. The MRAPs’ V-shaped hulls help deflect the force of explosions and the vehicle’s higher chassis keeps

troops further from the main force of the blast from improvised explosive devices.

Commanders believe the MRAPs helped save thousands of soldiers’ lives, and cite figures that show the number of casualties from IEDs dropped more than 80 percent after the introduction of the vehicles. The US military now has 27,740 of the vehicles,

WASHINGTON: A memorial that is etched in stone is seen with the names of the 9/11 victims at the Pentagon Memorial in Washington, DC. — AFP

including more than 8,000 modified MRAPs for Afghanistan’s tougher terrain and bad roads.

High-tech gear: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan gave US soldiers a new look, with night vision goggles attached to helmets, sophisticated gun sights, knee-pads and digital camouflage.

The simple flak jackets worn by troops at the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003 were fortified with ceramic plates and eventually replaced with more elaborate personal “armor,” with collars protecting the neck and side panels.

Special operators: The “war against terror” elevated the role of elite special operations forces, the heavilyarmed, highly-trained troops that move in small teams. Often sporting beards to keep a low-profile, the commandos became a crucial weapon for manhunts and intelligence gathering. In Afghanistan in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks, special forces units and covert CIA operatives-some of them on horseback-deployed alongside Northern Alliance forces to push the Taliban from power. In Iraq and Afghanistan, commanders relied on the Special Forces units to carry out numerous night raids to capture or kill militant leaders in a bid to break the back of the insurgencies. Members of the Navy SEALs’ famed “Team Six” became national heroes when they led a daring nighttime raid deep into Pakistan, gunning down Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011.— AFP

9/11 grip on info can still be wacky

By Justin Pritchard ake a virtual tour of the state of New York on Google Maps and some blurry images appear. As you zoom down in satellite view, what looks like the crisp outline of the airport terminal near upstate Buffalo dissolves into a fuzzy white blob. Instead of cars, blotches of color sit in the main parking lot. Swing southeast 140 miles to the prison in Elmira, near the Pennsylvania border, or the atomic research lab in Schenectady, about 180 miles northeast from there - and the images hide behind the same type of blur.

The alterations are not the work of a hacker. In the world of post-Sept 11, 2001, they are the product of New York state’s homeland security apparatus, done in the hope of preventing terrorists from attacking. As a staggered nation scrambled after the Sept. 11 attacks to anticipate possible next targets, there was a widespread sanitizing of publicly available information suddenly viewed as tipsheets and road maps for terrorists. What also resulted, as shown by an Associated Press review for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, were some befuddling inconsistencies: telling private pilots not to fly over nuclear reactors, for example, and then not allowing them access to plant locations.

It was based on a fear that seemingly innocuous fragments of information could be paired to hatch an attack. If authorities could not be sure what information might help, they concluded it was best to keep as much secret as possible. Or if total secrecy could not be justified, at least make the information much harder to obtain. Security-sensitive information was not just the coordinates of the nation’s nuclear power plants, or the locations of massive inventories of dangerous chemicals, or detailed maps of potentially explosive natural gas pipelines.

Withheld from public view were things

T

that average citizens might need to know: emergency response plans for public buildings in Idaho, building blueprints in Delaware, and drinking water test results in Texas. The efforts sometimes have tried to defy the Internet-age reality that once something is public, it is close to impossible to make it private again. Critics who believe government swung too far toward secrecy, particularly in the years immediately after 9/11, do not believe all information should be available.

Rather, they argue that in too many cases decisions were made to hide information that was, in fact, important for the public to know.

“We do not have a king or a ruling class that decides what our security policies should be,” said Steven Aftergood, who directs the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. “Secrecy short-circuits the whole democratic deliberative system, and it’s fundamentally at odds with the kind of society we are all committed to.” Others argue that the government has performed with admirable openness what was called by President George W Bush’s administration the war on terror, especially compared to other times of war, when outright censorship was routine.

“What strikes me about the period after 9/11 is I think we’ve had an amazing flourishing of information and speech,” said John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who as a Department of Justice attorney helped develop the Bush administration’s program of aggressive interrogation techniques. Yoo also conceded, “You’re going to see individual programs where bureaucrats muck things up and make sometimes silly decisions. It’s inherent in bureaucracy.”

Online maps offer an interesting case study because while millions of people use them every day to get from point A to point B, they also can be used by terrorists and other criminals. Evidence introduced at a New

York terror trial showed that the defendants referenced Google’s mapping software during a foiled 2007 plot to blow up jet fuel tanks at John F Kennedy International Airport. In an unrelated case, one member of a group that used small planes to fly drugs from Canada to the northern US said he used Google Maps to scout hundreds of small airports for fences and cameras.

Less clear is the rationale behind other decisions to hoard information that once was public - or information that is public in one form but not others. Some examples: After 9/11, one concern was the nation’s network of underground pipelines, which if broken can fuel raging propane or natural gas fires.

Although some utilities kept their own maps public for a while, access to the National Pipeline Mapping System was almost immediately restricted, and remains so today.

In several post-9/11 accidents, first responders did not know about the existence or location of pipelines. In the case of a 2007 explosion in Mississippi that killed two and injured seven, federal safety investigators concluded that if local authorities had known the problem was a broken propane line, they would have evacuated the area so residents could not do anything that would have ignited the gathering gas cloud.

On the open access side of the security issue, opposition from first responders helped stop a plan by the US Department of Homeland Security to remove from rail cars the small placards that show a hazardous substance is being transported. Federal officials argued that the small signs amounted to bull’s-eye targets for terrorists. Firefighting chiefs in particular countered that the signs were critical in determining the threat level that a substance posed in such an accident, and how to control that threat.

Security has become an entrenched reason that governments at all levels give for

denying public records requests. Soon after 9/11, blueprints for structures including stadiums and state office buildings were exempted by Delaware lawmakers from public disclosure. An Alaska disclosure law passed in 2002 exempts infrastructure and security plans. New York City still refuses to release architectural plans of 2,500 buildings deemed security sensitive. Even the list of buildings is not public.

At the federal level, the tone was set by an October 2001 memo from then-Attorney General John Ashcroft that said federal agencies should be circumspect, because of national security concerns, in releasing information. One manifestation was the use of a disclosure exemption based on the protection of “critical infrastructure.” In March, the US Supreme Court rejected the government’s broad use of that exemption in a case involving a Washington state man who wanted to get maps that show how bad accidental explosions could be at the Navy’s main West Coast ammunition dump. The AP joined the case with a legal brief that argued the government was overreaching.

The other side of the issue comes into play when government restricts access to information already in the public domain. The US Environmental Protection Agency, for example, took down electronic versions of risk management plans filed by industrial facilities that use or store hazardous substances. In an unusual twist, those plans can be viewed in person at federal “reading rooms.” Each of the Sept 11 hijackers was involved in some kind of identity theft. In response to that fact, and, more so, profit-driven fraud, some states made it harder to get copies of birth certificates. Maine, for example, enacted a law that requires anyone who wants access to birth certificates and other vital records to document his “direct and legitimate interest in the records.” —AP

Bruised by war, Mogadishu slowly reawakens

By Abdi Sheikh heir life’s belongings piled on donkeys, Somali families weave along alleys filled with the corpses of starved animals to return to their bullet-ridden homes. After four years of war, Mogadishu bears the signs of a city slowly rising from the ruins of war.

Gunfire, bombs and mortars had punctured the coastal city almost everyday as Westernbacked government forces and African Union troops fought an insurgency by the Islamist al Shabaab rebel group. But earlier this month, the al Qaeda-inspired militants- outgunned and divided-withdrew nearly all their combatants from their bases in the capital and Somalis woke to what they say they hope will be an extended period of calm.

“I led a dog’s life for the last two years,” said Liban Abdulle who was forced to flee his home and shop in Abdiaziz, a once thriving Mogadishu district near the water-front. Al Shabaab overran the neighborhood in 2008, as it did elsewhere in Mogadishu, turning it into a battlefield, digging tunnels and trenches and commandeering people’s homes.

Abdulle fled to Elasha on the outskirts of Mogadishu, one of several towns where tens of thousands of displaced Somalis settled.

“I have now returned to my former home.

The house was looted and destroyed. But I am happy, my cousin sent me $400 to revive my shop. Business is good and people have returned,” he said. A local rights group said up to half a million people had returned to their dwellings in the last three weeks, in a city that numbered two million people before the insurgency. Those with no homes to return to in Mogadishu, fill squalid, makeshift refugee camps where an influx of Somalis fleeing famine in the country’s south have further swelled numbers.

AU tanks and Somali forces on pick-ups mounted with anti-aircraft guns patrol Mogadishu’s streets, trying to maintain the lull in fighting, which over four years has killed more than 20,000 people according to UN estimates. There are still some pockets of

T

resistance by al Shabaab in the capital’s northern districts. The militants have vowed to press the fight and resort to al Qaeda-style attacks. But the threats have not deterred many families from returning, with their mattresses, pillows, buckets, rugs and tyres piled high on carts and buses.

FILLING TRENCHES, CLEARING BUSHES On one Sinai street, bullet holes scar a row of one-storey bricked houses, their metal sheet roofs in various stages of collapse. “The rebels dug trenches, overgrown bushes crowd the house and the skeletons of our donkeys lie nearby,” said Gele Culusow from the Karan district, where hastily constructed

cemeteries mark the graves of those who dared remain to guard their houses. “Some good traders helped us with tractors to fill the trenches and to level heaps. Everyone around here has an axe to clear bushes around their houses. It is do it yourself,” he said. After four years away, Habiba Osman returned to her home in Taleh, a neighborhood between the K-4 road junction and Somalia’s main Bakara market, a former rebel base.

“Electricity cables, water pipes, the roof and some walls were ruined by shells. I understand al Shabaab were firing mortars from my house, prompting the AU’s shells to land on it,” said Osman who had to pay $4,000 to repair the damage. “Now there is hope for liv-

SHEBEDINO: One-year-old Ejigayehu (right) sits next to the mud hut that her family calls home in Shebedino. Ejigayehu suffers from malnutrition after her family’s maize crop failed this year because of delayed rains.— AFP

ing. I am home with my children.” Roads that once served as front lines in the fighting have re-opened. The booming parts of the capital are those which have been under government control for the last four years. There, vehicles are out on the streets late into the night, businesses stay open later and older houses along well-lit streets are being torn down to make way for newer ones.

LIVING TO SEE THIS DAY Mogadishu has become a haven for Somalis fleeing the drought-hit, rebel-controlled parts of the country where al Shabaab imposed a ban on food aid agencies and tried to prevent Somalis from fleeing in search of food. Although operating in Mogadishu is far from easy, relief groups say that more food aid is reaching refugee camps and sanitation conditions have improved since al Shabaab pulled out. “I never thought my children and I would live to see this moment,” said Samira Yasin who fled to the Korsan camp in Elasha from Mogadishu’s Daynile district after her husband and son were killed in fighting four years ago. Previously living under al Shabaab control, Yasin described a filthy, mosquito and flea-ridden camp where her children suffered from measles and malnourishment. “Now at least life is better. There are no parasites and no al Shabaab. We get free food, medicine and water. I will work for my children and take them back to our house,” she said. “I believe God will not revive al Shabaab again, because he is merciful.”

Many regional observers expect al Shabaab, who said their retreat was tactical, to reemerge in Mogadishu, this time as guerrilla fighters rather than a conventional fighting force. Still, many residents are optimistic for the future. On Tuesday, hundreds of men, traditional white cloth wrapped around their bodies, gathered in a football stadium and engaged in Shirib, poetic short verse composed by some Somali clans. They jumped to the rhythm of their chants: “Come out for peace. Mogadishu’s wounds are healed.

Come out for peace.”—Reuters

Focus

Tales of fasting and bribery in India graft saga

By Matthias Williams ndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a meeting of all political parties to help douse anti-corruption protests that have spiraled since last week in solidarity with a 74-year-old Gandhian social activist. Singh’s coalition government has struggled to contain a string of graft scandals since last year that have left him looking personally weak and stymied policy making both in parliament and in ministries. The following are some of the major corruption issues facing the ruling Congress party:

I

ANTI-CORRUPTION LEGISLATION The government has been in deadlock with social activist Anna Hazare over a parliamentary bill, which was first presented in 1968, to create a special ombudsman, or ‘Lokpal’, to prosecute ministers, bureaucrats and judges. By going on a fast and mobilizing thousands of supporters, Hazare prompted Singh’s government to introduce the bill into parliament in August, a significant milestone given that the legislation has stuttered for decades.

However, drafts have been introduced several times before and perished. Hazare’s supporters have slammed the existing draft as toothless, because it exempts many in a position of power from prosecution while in office, including the prime minister and the judiciary. Meetings between activists and politicians to draft the bill ended in mudslinging. The bill is now parked with a parliamentary standing committee. The protesters want the government’s draft bill withdrawn and their own version passed by the end of the month, a demand which senior government figures have said is unrealistic and undemocratic.

TELECOMS LICENCE ROW India may have lost up to $39 billion in revenue when the telecoms ministry gave out lucrative licenses and radio spectrum in 2007/08 at belowmarket prices, the state auditor has said. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s (CAG) report in November also said rules were flouted when the licenses were awarded, which led to many ineligible firms winning licenses. Telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja was sacked in November after the report was released.

He was then arrested on charges of misuse of ministerial office and criminal misconduct and is facing trial along with a group of telecoms executives and a prominent lawmaker from a key government ally, who was accused of conspiracy and accepting bribes. All involved have denied wrongdoing. Three firms have been charged: Reliance Telecom, Swan Telecom (now called Etisalat DB) and Unitech Wireless. Etisalat DB is now part-owned by Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat . Norway’s Telenor owns a majority of Unitech Wireless and the rest is owned by Indian realty firm Unitech Ltd. Both Etisalat and Telenor invested in their Indian ventures after the events in question.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES FIASCO Controversy has swirled around the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were held in October in the Indian capital, as the world’s third-biggest sporting event was hit by rows over perceived official incompetence and corruption. Construction of major structures such as stadiums and athlete housing missed a series of deadlines, ran many times over their original cost and were shoddily maintained, which became a PR disaster for the Indian government.

The former head organizer of the event, Suresh Kalmadi, a Congress party stalwart, was arrested on charges of inflating tenders worth millions of dollars for equipment. Kalmadi’s appointment also put the prime minister under rare scrutiny. Delhi’s chief minister Sheila Dixit, another Congress bigwig, also came under fire from a state auditor over costly tenders given to questionable contractors on her authority, sparking street clashes and prolonged protests that shut down parliament.

SPACE AGENCY SCANDAL India’s space agency is being probed by the CAG for granting a private firm lucrative mobile Internet bandwidth in 2005 without a proper bidding process that reports say has cost the government up to 2 trillion rupees ($44 billion). Prime Minister Singh, who personally oversees India’s space ministry, has denied that any revenue had been lost. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) leased transponders on two of its satellites to private firm Devas Multimedia, which granted it access to S-band telecom spectrum, worth billions of dollars to communication providers.

S-band spectrum, while not currently in extensive use, is likely to become increasingly valuable in India’s rapidly-growing mobile phone market, with its ability to provide wireless broadband and other mobile data services. The ISRO admitted that it granted Devas improper access to a valuable national resource in a flawed contract that undervalued the spectrum.

HOUSING SCAM Congress party politicians, bureaucrats and military officials, including the former army chief, have been accused of taking over a plush Mumbai apartment block intended for war widows. After the story broke in local media the government sacked the powerful chief minister of western Maharashtra state, who is a member of the Congress party.

Following a probe, the environment ministry ordered the demolition of the 31-storey building in January, citing the violation of environmental and land-use rules. The Arabian Sea-facing block with 103 apartments was built in an upscale Mumbai district that is among the world’s most expensive pieces of real estate. Apartments were sold for as little as $130,000 each, while local media estimated their value at $1.8 million each. —Reuters

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

sp orts

Scott seeks home title MELBOURNE: World number seven Adam Scott will join British Open champion Darren Clarke and 15th-ranked American Bubba Watson at the Australian PGA Championship as he seeks to win a maiden title in front of home fans in his native state of Queensland.

The in-form 31-year-old, who followed victory at the WGC-Bridgestone International with a top-10 finish at the U.S. Open earlier this month, leads a strong local field for the Nov. 24-27 tournament at the Hyatt Regency Coolum course in the sub-tropical Sunshine Coast. US PGA Tour winners Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley, along with 2006 U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy, had also joined a local contingent including former world number one Greg Norman and eighth-ranked Jason Day, the Australian PGA said in a media release yesterday.

“I know the Coolum course well and I’ve played there nearly every year, but I just haven’t been firing when it counted,” said Scott, who has returned to top form with a broomstick putter and Tiger Woods’s former caddie Steve Williams carrying his bag . “It would be great to play well this year and win in Queensland.”—Reuters

All Blacks back in full force for Tri-Nations decider WELLINGTON: New Zealand coach Graham Henry has named a near full-strength lineup for the TriNations title decider against Australia on Saturday, recalling captain Richie McCaw and a host of front-line players rested for last week’s loss against South Africa.

Dan Carter returns to push stand-in flyhalf Colin Slade to the bench, while tighthead prop Owen Franks has been named in the team released today in place of John Afoa after the All Blacks pack was outmuscled by the Springboks.

Brad Thorn, also rested for the 18-5 loss in Port Elizabeth, returns to the second row at the expense of lock Ali Williams for the match at Brisbane’s Lang Park, which will decide southern hemisphere bragging rights ahead of next month’s World Cup. Henry has replaced the entire backline that failed to convert a number of chances into tries against South Africa, with centre pairing Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith re-united as the All Blacks seek to retain the Tri-Nations trophy.—Reuters

Katich backs replacement SYDNEY: Dumped opening batsman Simon Katich has put his bitterness behind him and backed his unproven successor Phillip Hughes as the man to help lead Australia’s test cricket team out of the doldrums.

The 36-year-old launched an angry tirade against selectors after he was cut from Australia’s annual list of nationally contracted players in June, accusing the Andrew Hilditch-led panel of favouring potential over form in picking players. Katich had been one of Australia’s best performing batsmen over the past couple of years, but missed the last three tests of the doomed Ashes campaign after being ruled out with an Achilles injury.

His 22-year-old replacement Hughes, perennially hounded for a perceived weakness against quality seamers, failed to stand up to the rigors of England’s quicks for a second consecutive Ashes but was nonetheless rewarded with a contract. Rising above the rancor, Katich insisted Hughes has the potential to repay the faith of the selectors. “He knows how to make runs. He knows how to make big scores,” Katich said of Hughes, who averaged 16 in three tests against England, in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph.—Reuters

Worley pitches Phillies past Mets

ARLINGTON: Texas Rangers Endy Chavez (9) steals second, just beating the tag of Boston Red Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro (10) during the seventh inning.—AP

Red Sox down Rangers ARLINGTON, Texas: Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez homered twice as the Red Sox finally got their first win of the season at Texas, beating the Rangers 11-5 in Tuesday’s clash of American League divisional leaders.

Jacoby Ellsbury made an immediate impact in his return to the lineup, leading off the game with a single, stealing second and scoring on Gonzalez’s first homer, putting the Red Sox ahead to stay. The AllStar center fielder had missed three games after getting by a pitch.

Boston, which had lost its first four games at Rangers Ballpark this season, moved within two percentage points of first-place New York in the AL East.

Red Sox starter John Lackey (12-9) pitched 6 2-3 innings for his seventh win in his past eight starts. Texas starter Colby Lewis (11-9) allowed seven runs over six innings.

Tigers 2, Rays 1 In St. Petersburg, Brad Penny pitched effectively into the seventh inning as Detroit edged Tampa Bay. Penny (9-9) gave up one run over 6 1-3 innings, getting back to his best after shaky recent form.

Phil Coke struck out five over the final two innings for his first save. Alex Avila had an RBI single for the Tigers. Rays starter David Price (11-11) allowed two runs in eight innings to take the loss.

Athletics 6, Yankees 5 In New York, Brandon Allen hit two long homers and Eric Sogard connected for one that barely cleared the wall as Oakland hung on to beat New York.

Brandon McCarthy extended the A’s stretch of superb pitching by going into the eighth before allowing a two-out, three-run homer to Nick Swisher. Those three runs were one more than Oakland had given up in the previous three games combined.

The Yankees, who had trailed 6-0 in the seventh, got two more runs in the ninth against closer Andrew Bailey before Swisher flied out to the wall in right-centerfield with the bases loaded to end it.

McCarthy (7-6) struck out six in 7 2-3 innings, improving to 6-1 in eight starts since the All-Star break. Yankees starter Bartolo Colon (8-8) gave up five runs for the second straight start. He has not won in four starts.

Angels 5, White Sox 4 In Anaheim, Peter Bourjos drove a single through a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, lifting Los Angeles to its fifth straight win, edging Chicago.

After Erick Aybar’s one-out single off Jason Frasor (3-3), Alberto Callaspo moved

him to third with a single. Maicer Izturis walked to load the bases, and Bourjos singled to left for the winner.

Howie Kendrick earlier homered and tripled as the Angels matched their longest win streak of the season and trimmed their AL West deficit to 3-1/2 games behind Texas.

Chicago’s Paul Konerko had driven in the tying run with an eighth-inning single that was his 2,000th career hit. Angels closer Jordan Walden (4-3) pitched the ninth inning to take the win.

Indians 7, Mariners 5 In Cleveland, Anthony Vasquez won his major league debut as Seattle won the night game to split a double -header against Cleveland.

Vasquez (1-0) was one of five first-year players in Seattle’s starting lineup which scored five runs in both the third and fourth innings.

Fellow rookie Dustin Ackley got three RBIs off Zach McAllister (0-1). The Indians won the opener with a walk-off homer by Shin-Soo Choo, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Kusoke Fukudome and Choo hit solo homers and Jack Hannahan had a careerhigh four hits for Cleveland, which won despite going only 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

Choo’s three-run homer off Brandon League (1-5) in the bottom of the ninth gave the Indians a dramatic win.

Royals, 6, Blue Jays 4 In Toronto, Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler homered for Kansas City in the win over Toronto. Jeff Francoeur matched his career high with four hits as the Royals, who had lost six of seven away from home, but opened a 10-game, 10-day road trip in positive fashion.

Kansas City starter Bruce Chen (9-5) won his four th consecutive star t. He allowed four hits in 7 2-3 innings, walking only one and tying a career best with nine strikeouts.

Orioles 8, Twins 1 In Minneapolis, Alfredo Simon allowed just one run in a career-high eight innings, helping Baltimore cruise past Minnesota.

Simon (4-6) struck out a career-best eight, retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced and didn’t give up a hit after the third. Vladimir Guerrero and Mark Reynolds both had three hits for the Orioles, while Nolan Reimold added a three-run homer.

Minnesota starter Brian Duensing (813) was lifted in the third inning as his struggles continued. He gave up seven runs while losing his fifth straight game.

The Twins have lost five of six games on the current homestand.—AP

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

Cleveland 7, Seattle 5 (1st Game); Seattle 12, Cleveland 7 (2nd Game); Oakland 6, NY Yankees 5; Milwaukee 11, Pittsburgh 4; Arizona 2, Washington 0; Philadelphia 9, NY Mets 4; Kansas City 6, Oronto 4t; Detroit 2, Tampa Bay 1; Cincinnati 8, Florida 6; Atlanta 5, Chicago Cubs 4; Boston 11, Texas 5; Baltimore 8, Minnesota 1; LA Dodgers 13, St Louis 2; Colorado 8, Houston 6; LA Angels 5, Chicago White Sox 4; San Diego 7, San Francisco 5.

American League National League Eastern Division Eastern Division Philadelphia 83 44 .654 W L PCT GB Atlanta 78 52 .600 6.5 NY Yankees 77 49 .611 Washington 62 65 .488 21 Boston 78 50 .609 NY Mets 60 68 .469 23.5 Tampa Bay 69 58 .543 8.5 Florida 57 71 .445 26.5 Toronto 65 63 .508 13 Central Division Baltimore 49 77 .389 28 Milwaukee 78 53 .595 Central Division St. Louis 67 62 .519 10 Detroit 70 58 .547 Cincinnati 63 65 .492 13.5 Cleveland 63 63 .500 6 Pittsburgh 60 68 .469 16.5 Chicago White Sox 63 64 .496 6.5 Chicago Cubs 56 73 .434 21 Minnesota 55 73 .430 15 Houston 42 87 .326 35 Kansas City 53 76 .411 17.5 Western Division Western Division Arizona 70 59 .543 Texas 74 56 .569 San Francisco 68 61 .527 2 LA Angels 70 59 .543 3.5 Colorado 62 68 .477 8.5 Oakland 58 70 .453 15 San Diego 60 70 .462 10.5 Seattle 55 73 .430 18 LA Dodgers 59 69 .461 10.5

PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia pitcher Vance Worley kept New York scoreless until the seventh inning, laying the foundation for the Phillies’ 9-4 win over the Mets in the National League on Tuesday.

Worley (9-1) finally allowed one run and had a career-high nine strikeouts to win his seventh straight decision. Playing without Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez, the Phillies still got 13 hits. The red-hot John Mayberry and Shane Victorino both hit homers and each had two hits and three RBIs. Mets starter Jonathon Niese (1111) gave up eight runs in four-plus innings in his worst start of the season. He is likely to go on the disabled list with a rib injury. New York has lost five straight.

Brewers 11, Pirates 4 In Pittsburgh, Casey McGehee homered during Milwaukee’s seven-run second inning as the Brewers powered past Pittsburgh.

McGehee’s homer came with Ryan Braun on base and accounted for the final two runs of a dreadful inning for Pittsburgh’s Ross Ohlendorf (0-1), who was making his first start since April 8.

Braun had a two-run double earlier in the inning. Nyjer Morgan finished 4 for 6 with two runs and two RBIs, and Jonathan Lucroy had three hits.

Milwaukee starter Marco Estrada (4-8) allowed two runs over seven innings, beating the Pirates for the second time in 11 days. The Brewers (78-53) surpassed last season’s win total and topped Pittsburgh for the 14th time in the past 15 meetings.

Braves 5, Cubs 4 In Chicago, Craig Kimbrel tied a major league rookie record with his 40th save, preserving Atlanta’s win over Chicago. Kimbrel worked the ninth for his 40th save in 45 opportunities, tying a mark set by Texas’ Neftali Feliz last season. He ran his scoreless streak to 31 2-3 innings as Atlanta won its sixth straight.

Jason Heyward hit his first career grand slam among his three hits.

He connected after Alex Gonzalez drew a two-ut bases-laded walk off Casey Coleman (2-6), making it 5-0.

Chipper Jones also had three hits for the Braves, who almost gave the game away. Alfonso Soriano lead off the Cubs’ four-run fifth with a homer. Then in the ninth, Aramis Ramirez singled with two outs, giving him a career-high five hits while extending his hitting streak to 12 games. He advanced to second to put the potential tying

PHILADELPHIA: Phillies Vance Worley is greeted by Brian Schneider after the pair scored two runs on a triple by Shane Victorino during the fifth inning. — AP run in scoring position, but Tyler Colvin struck out to end the game.

Atlanta’s Mike Minor (4-2) won his third straight start.

D’backs 2, Nationals 0 In Washington, Ian Kennedy pitched seven scoreless innings to steer Arizona past Washington.

Kennedy (16-4) struck out eight and also added a single and a double with the bat. It was his eighth win in his past nine starts, and it ended Arizona’s six-game losing streak.

Sean Burroughs’ two-run homer in the seventh inning was his first since 2005 and provided all the scoring for the game.

Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann (8-11) held the Diamondbacks scoreless through six innings before Burroughs’ shot.

Padres 7, Giants 5 In San Francisco, San Diego notched its fifth straight win, knocking San Francisco down to two games behind Arizona in the NL West race.

In the ninth, Nick Hundley doubled against Ramon Ramirez (2-2), then Logan Forsythe sacrificed him to third before Alberto Gonzalez singled up the middle for the goahead run. After a wild pitch, Will Venable added a run-scoring single.

Kyle Blanks earlier had a two-run homer for the Padres. San Diego’s Erik Hamren (1-0) retired iguel Tejada on a lineout to end the Giants’ three-run eighth, taking his first major league win. Heath Bell finished for his 35th save in 39 opportunities.

Dodgers 13, Cardinals 2 In St. Louis, Clayton Kershaw won his NL-leading 16th game as Los Angeles routed fading St. Louis.

Kershaw (16-5) is 8-1 with a 1.21 ERA in his past nine starts and notched eight strikeouts to hike his NL-leading total to 207.

Matt Kemp hit a three -run homer in the first and Rod Barajas had a solo homer in the third and three-run shot in the fifth for his 11th multihomer game. The Dodgers hit a season-high four homers while winning consecutive games in St. Louis for the first time since 2003.

Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse (118) was rocked for a season-worst eight runs in three innings as St. Louis dropped a season-low 10 games behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee.

Reds 8, Marlins 6 In Miami, Yonder Alonso homered and drove in four runs, including a tiebreaking double in the

ninth inning that sent Cincinnati past fading Florida.

Alonso, who grew up in Miami, had more than 200 friends and family members on hand to see him go 3 for 4 while making his first start of the season at first base.

Dave Sappelt tied the game 6-6 with a two-run double and the Reds scored four times in the ninth off closer Leo Nunez (1-4). They were the first career RBIs for Sappelt, who had three hits.

Jay Bruce hit his 27th home run of the season for the Reds, who inflicted a sixth straight defeat on the Marlins. Cincinnati’s Aroldis Chapman (3-1) struck out the only batter he faced to take the win.

Rockies 8, Astros 6 In Denver, Seth Smith and Jonathan Herrera each hit two-run homers to lift Colorado over Houston. Colorado took control of a back-and-forth game in the seventh. Smith led off with a walk and one out later Herrera hit a line drive off reliever Fernando Rodriguez (22) to give the Rockies an 8-6 lead.

Rex Brothers pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first major league save for the Rockies, who have won four straight for the first time since June. Matt Belisle (8-4) took the win. The Astros have lost three in a row.—AP

Japan advance at LLWS SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Japan has moved one step closer to defending its title at the Little League World Series. Hamamatsu City starter Shoto Totsuka combined with relievers Hiroyasu Sugiura and Takuya Okamoto to five-hit Langley, British Columbia in a 4-0 win Tuesday. Japan moves on to play either Mexico or Venezuela today.

A team from Tokyo won the World Series last year. The central Pennsylvania favorites from the Keystone Little League beat Warner Robins from Georgia 7-5 in the night match, with many of the 32,000-plus in attendance driving the 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Clinton County to watch their team.

Earlier, Cumberland, Rhode Island, had a 8-7 win over the Netherlands in a consolation game after Colin Cannata scored on an error in the bottom of the sixth.

An ear thquake centered in Virginia briefly rattled Lamade Stadium but play never stopped.

A Little League official said the venue was deemed safe after a structural engineer’s inspection.

Japan initially had trouble adjusting to Canada starter Cole Cantelon at the plate, managing just a walk over two innings, but finally got the bats going in the third.

Second baseman Ken Igeta had an RBI double to start the scoring in the three-run third, and catcher Asuya Otsuka added an RBI triple.

Shoto Totsuka struck out four over two innings before giving way to relievers Hiroyasu Sugiura and Takuya Okamoto. “It was a very fast fastball, but his location and his tempo were hard to time,” Sigiura said of Cantelon.

Nick Atkinson led Canada with three hits, while Yi Fan Pan added two singles. Cantelon gave up four runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings, and coach Jason Andrews said his starter pitched well except for losing control of his curveball in the middle of the game. “ We lost to the defending champs 4-0. We held our own,” Andrews said when asked how his team handled elimination. “It’s been a while since Canada did that. I think we represented very well. They’re very upbeat, very happy with the way they played.

In the night match, Brandon Miller got the offense going again with a leadoff single before coming around to score on Landon Breon’s two-run single. Miller, Pennsylvania’s 12-year-old sparkplug, finished the scoring in the frantic first with an RBI infield single.

Georgia had the winning run at the plate with two runners on with two outs in the sixth, but reliever

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Clinton County’s Alex Garbrick (6) scores as Warner Robins catcher Josh Coodman drops the ball during the first inning of a baseball game at the Little League World Series.—AP

Tyler McCloskey snared a bouncer to the mound to end the game.

Georgia shortstop Jake Fromm’s two-run homer to center sliced the deficit to 7-5 in the fourth. Fromm also made several sparkling defensive plays, including a diving catch in the hole to save an RBI single.

But the first inning proved to be

too much for Georgia to overcome. “The first inning we could have played a lot better defense. I don’t know if it was the crowd or what, but we couldn’t make a play in that first inning,” Georgia manager Phillip Johnson said. “That ended up being the difference in the game.”—AP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

S P ORT S

Myopic India architects of their own downfall MUMBAI: England steamrolled India with a consistent and ruthless display in the recently concluded 4-0 series whitewash but the tourists’ meek surrender of the number one test ranking was primarily their own doing.

Occupants of the top slot since December 2009, India added the 50-over World Cup in April this year to signal their intention of dominating the game like the West Indies and Australia had done so in the recent past.

However, England’s utter dominance in a quartet of lopsided test victories proved that India’s fortress was built on flimsy foundations.

India’s much-vaunted batting line-up failed to fire, their bowlers bled runs without success and the standard of their fielding would have embarrassed any club side.

“Indian cricket has become the laughing stock of the world game and while that might not seem to matter to a board that generates 70 percent of the sport’s global income and has in its locker-room the World Cup trophy, no less, ridicule tends to be a corrosive disease,” ESPN Cricinfo’s Andrew Miller wrote.

Many believe the seeds of destruction were sown by the Indian cricket board, which compiled a lucrative but punishing schedule that ensured most of the players were either exhausted or injured by the time they set foot on English soil.

India’s World Cup victory in April was preceded by a South Africa tour and less than a week after

lifting one-day cricket’s biggest trophy in Mumbai, skipper MS Dhoni and his men were honouring their Indian Premier League (IPL) obligations in the cash-rich Twenty20 league.

A short tour of the West Indies followed before they arrived in England just in time for a practice game ahead of the four-match series against a battle-hardened and hungry England side.

Ajit Wadekar, who led India to their first series victory in England 40 years ago, insists the players should have skipped the IPL tournament.

“Tell me which English player participated in the IPL? None of them,” Wadekar told Reuters. “We could not even enjoy our World Cup win properly.

The IPL started immediately. It was too much and it’s telling on the players.”

Wadekar’s point was driven home by the dismal experiences of three key players before and during the England series.

Openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan either picked up or aggravated existing injuries during the 51-day IPL tournament and subsequently skipped the trip to the Caribbean.

On top of that, a fresh injury to Gambhir compounded India’s crisis and the tourists were only once able to start a test with their regular opening partnership, tinkering with the batting order in the other three matches.

Sehwag was unavailable for the first two matches as he recovered from shoulder surgery and after

being rushed into action for the third test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, was dismissed for first-ball ducks in both innings.

Zaheer lasted just one test, bowling 13 1/2 overs in the first innings of the opening match at Lord’s, before a hamstring injury ended his tour.

India’s lack of planning, the hallmark of any team that wants to dominate the game, was also cruelly exposed. Devoid of a reserve opener in the squad, Rahul Dravid, India’s only batsman to offer resistance, was promoted to the top of the order to face England’s fired-up seamers with the new ball.

Selectors also sprang a surprise when they called up left-arm seamer RP Singh as Zaheer’s replacement, despite not playing a test match since April 2008.

They also recalled Dravid for the subsequent limited-overs series after an absence of two years in another decision that smacked of poor planning and desperation.

As Dhoni pointed out after losing his first series as captain, cracks had appeared throughout India’s much-vaunted batting line-up.

While the team urgently needs to identify and groom a third opener, the lower-middle order position vacated by former captain Sourav Ganguly when he retired in 2008 has also proved difficult to fill. Yuvraj Singh, who brings immense value in the shorter formats, has not been able to cement his place in the test side and Suresh Raina’s inadequate technique does not make him an automatic choice

either. Adding to that dilemma, batting stalwarts Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Vangipurappu Laxman are all on the wrong side of their thirties and phasing them out will be the biggest challenge for India, where cricket towers over all other sports.

“That’s a phase I think every country has to cope with. It’s like a cycle,” Wadekar said, referring to the crisis Australia faced after the retirement of players like Matthew Hayden, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

“Here, nobody bothers about it and there is no planning at all. We have to plan our future properly.

This is where we should do a little bit of rotation and get more youngsters.”

Former wicketkeeper and chairman of selectors Kiran More echoed those views. “Test cricket is the biggest concern area. Test cricket makes a huge difference for the young and fringe players. I think we haven’t developed one test player in the last few years,” More told Reuters.

“You have to promote young players, give them opportunities and carry them on the tours. That’s how you develop a player.

“You have to carry AN extra couple of fast bowlers on the tour. Pakistan during Imran Khan’s time used to carry 17-18 players on the tour.

“Imran used to carry extra fast bowlers who could bowl in the nets and gain the experience of the conditions. That has not happened... there have been so many changes. It is not helping the players and they are not gaining any confidence.” —Reuters

Liberty fight back to defeat Mercury

Keegan Bradley, the winner of PGA Championship

Bradley enjoys benefits of his major success EDISON: Keegan Bradley, the surprise winner of this month’s PGA Championship, is still getting used to his new status as a major winner.

The 25-year-old was like any other struggling player on the professional circuit until his breakthrough win at the Atlanta Athletic Club catapulted him to a new level.

He pocketed $1.5 million and has the giant Wanamaker Trophy sitting in his living room as a constant reminder of his achievement, but that is the least of what has changed in his life.

Now he gets text messages from National Football League (NFL) quarterbacks and phone calls from golfing greats, as well as some increasingly bizarre personal requests. “It’s been a lot of fun and kind of crazy at the same time,” Bradley told reporters on Tuesday.

“Today a kid asked me to sign his forehead. That was weird.” Bradley was speaking at the Plainfield Country Club, the site for The Barclays, the opening tournament of the season-ending FedExCup playoffs.

Ranked 108th in the world, he might hardly have rated a mention in the run-up to the event had he not won the PGA, but all of a sudden everybody wants to contact him. “I woke up on Tuesday morning and I looked at my phone and I had a text from (New England quarterback) Tom Brady, my absolute childhood hero,” Bradley gushed.

“I almost thought about just keeping it to myself because that’s how much Tom Brady is to me and my career and everything. To

get a text from him reaching out to me was a highlight of my career. “I got a call from Greg Norman, I swear to God, like something happens ever y day that I can’t believe.”

Students at the nearby St John’s University, where Bradley studied until a few years ago, have now adopted him as their new role model.

Earlier this week, he played a practice round with golfers in the University team he used to play for and he even stayed overnight with the budding young players at the University’s new golf house.

“I got to hang out with the guys and talk to them and answer any questions,” he said.

“They are looking at me as maybe the guy that they look up to on tour, which is a huge honor for me.

“They give me inspiration. I was only there three years ago. It’s cool to look at them and know I’m one of them and they are one of me.”

Another tangible sign of Bradley’s elevated status was his grouping for the opening round of The Barclays. His playing partners were his fellow American Phil Mickelson and British world number one Luke Donald. “I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never played with Phil in a tournament before,” Bradley said. “I know it’s going to be a little crazy, but I am also looking forward to playing with Luke Donald. “I just joined a club down in Florida that he’s a member at and look forward to getting to know him.” —Reuters

PHOENIX: New York’s Cappie Pondexter scored 17 points in the last quarter as the Liberty came from six points down with six minutes to play and beat the Phoenix Mercury 74-70 in the WNBA on Tuesday.

Pondexter finished with 25 points and Nicole Powell added 16 points for New York.

The Mercury got the ball with 12.7 seconds remaining but Penny Taylor missed a long 3point attempt and Pondexter made a free throw on the other end to seal it.

Candice Dupree had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Mercury, who were without leading scorer Diana Taurasi, who sat out with back spasms.

Storm 63, Silver Stars 55 In Seattle, the hosts opened a 1-1/2 game break over San Antonio in the fight for third place in the Western Conference.

Tanisha Wright had 16 points and Lauren Jackson scored six of her 13 in the fourth quarter for the Storm. Seattle’s Sue Bird became the 16th player to pass 4,000 WNBA points.

Sophia Young scored 14 points to lead San Antonio (13-13), which dropped its fourth straight and is just 1-1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles for the fourth and final playoff berth in the West.

Dream 83, Sky 80 In Rosemont, Illinois, Atlanta notched a crucial win over Chicago, opening a two game break on the Sky in their race for the last playoff place in the Eastern Conference.

Angel McCoughtry sank a pair of crucial free throws with 2.5 seconds left and finished with 22 points, while Lindsey Harding added 15 points for the Dream, who will be hard to catch with only seven games remaining.

Sylvia Fowles had hit a turnaround jump shot to give Chicago an 80-79 lead with 6.3 seconds left, but McCoughtry was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit the game-winners. Fowles had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Sky. Lynx 78, Shock 72 In Tulse, Oklahoma, Tulsa extended its unwelcome new WNBA record, falling to its 19th straight loss, beaten by Minnesota.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 18 points for the Lynx, and blocked a jump shot in the lane with 19.1 seconds remaining to help Minnesota hold off a late rally.

Lindsay Whalen scored 14 points for the Lynx. Amber Holt scored 18 points for the Shock, who fell to 1-24 this season.

Tulsa trailed only 55-50 after three quarters but stumbled through two brief yet costly scoring droughts in the fourth. The Lynx broke off a 7-2 run to pull away and scored five unan-

PHOENIX: Mercury’s Nakia Sanford (43) and New York Liberty’s Kia Vaughn (15) vie for a rebound during the fourth quarter in a WNBA basketball game. —AP

swered points later in the quarter for a 12-point lead.

Sparks 86, Mystics 82 In Washington, Candace Parker had 19 points, including the go-ahead basket with 38.9 seconds left in overtime, to lead Los Angeles over Washington.

Tina Thompson finished with 15 points and

10 rebounds for the Sparks, who went ahead 81-80 when Parker slithered through the defense for a layup, forcing the fifth and final change of lead during overtime. Matee Ajavon missed a layup on Washington’s next possession before Parker and Tina Thompson combined to sink five free throws to seal the win.

The Mystics have lost six straight games. —AP

Harrington puts money on Tiger to pass Nicklaus Right to left Khaled Al-Roudan, Roberto Carlos and Adel Al-Munifi

EQUATE sponsors Al-Roudan football tournament KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Company announced its sponsorship of the 32nd Al-Roudan Football Tournament 2011.

On this occasion, EQUATE Senior Executive for Corporate Communications and Client Affairs Adel Al-Saad Al-Munifi said, “ This sponsorship stems from EQUATE’s continuous support to activities that benefit the youth in Kuwait, especially Kuwaitis wishing to occupy their times with fruitful activities.”

Al-Munifi added that this event is only part of many sustainability driven sponsorships by EQUATE with the aim of serving different segments within the

Kuwaiti society.

Established in 1995, EQUATE is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC).

Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

EDISON: Padraig Harrington still puts his money on Tiger Woods breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 professional majors.

Harrington played the opening two rounds of the PGA Championship with Woods, who missed the cut. Even so, the Irishman saw him hit enough good shots to realize Woods’ game will not be gone forever.

“I still believe when he turns up and plays well in a given week, I think he’s well capable of winning any major he plays in,” Harrington said Tuesday. “He still has a good ball flight. He still hits it well. Once he puts it together in a given week, he can win and will going forward. ... OK, it wasn’t his week that week. But when it is his week, he will win again.”

Harrington said the difference now is that if something can go wrong with Woods on the course, it will. Woods was atop the leaderboard through five holes of the opening round, and one tee shot into the water changed everything.

He opened with a 77 and finished outside the top 100 in a major for the first time.

“This is what I would have seen at the PGA,” Harrington said. “He played better, much better than his score. Whereas when he was on top of

his game, he always scored really well. It was very rare that you would ever see Tiger Woods walking off a golf course where he had not got the most out of his round, where he certainly didn’t at the PGA. He got the minimum out of his rounds.”

Harrington said Woods appeared frustrated with the technical part of his game, which did not surprise him. Harrington knows better than most, since he always is tinkering with his swing.

“When you’re kind of happy with your game, you tend to get the most out of it,” he said. “You feel like you shot 70 and you end up shooting 68. And when you’re not happy with your game, you feel like you shot 70 and you end up shooting 72. I experience that myself a lot. That’s kind of what I see in Tiger’s game.”

Some of the top Americans have been bailing out on the World Cup since it changed formats and moved to China. Matt Kuchar sees nothing but a “cool opportunity.”

Kuchar, who is at No. 12 in the world ranking, has accepted a spot on the US team and will be joined by Gary Woodland. The World Cup is Thanksgiving week, Nov. 24-27, at Mission Hills in China. It will be held the week after the

Presidents Cup in Australia Kuchar played in the World Amateur Team Championship in 1998 when he was at Georgia Tech, and he played in the Walker Cup the following year. He did not represent his country again until the Ryder Cup last year.

“I think to be one of those two guys representing your country is really an honor,” he said.

Woodland is No. 38 in the world, a winner this year in Tampa and a rising talent in the American ranks who is known for his power.

“I think he’s going to be a guy we are going to see more and more playing some great golf,” Kuchar said. “And so I’m pretty excited to have a guy that plays as well as he does and hits it as far as he does as my partner. I think I can be the steady one that makes a lot of pars and watch him just make golf look pretty easy.”

And to think that Steve Stricker used to avoid golf in September.

Ten years ago, he went nearly all of September and October without touching a club, nearly costing himself a spot in the Tour Championship. Stricker is usually home that time of the year, getting ready for hunting season. —AP

y

A

18

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

SPORTS

Kenya eye medal boost at World Championships KANDY: Double Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino is confident Kenya will continue their impressive middle and long distance record at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Keino, the head of Kenya’s National Olympic Committee, told Reuters in an interview that the team would be pushing hard to improve on the four golds they won two years ago in Berlin, when they finished behind the United States (10) and Jamaica (seven).

“We can win more medals this time,” said Keino during a visit to Sri Lanka earlier this month. “We hope for gold medals in the men’s 800 metres, both men’s and women’s 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m, as well as from the marathon.”

Keino, who coaches the team’s 3,000 and 5,000 runners and broke world records in both events, said Kenya were sending a 52-member team to Korea for the Aug. 27-Sept. 4 event.

Ezekiel Kemboi and David Rudisha were among Kenya’s biggest hopes for gold, he added. Kemboi won gold in the 3,000 steeple chase in Athens 2004 and at the 2009 world championships and is the only medal winner back in the team from Berlin. Rudisha is the men’s 800 world record holder.

“Kemboi will have a definite chance and Rudisha as well,” said Keino. “(The team) are young and energetic. They are working had with intensive training in the past two weeks and they can challenge anybody in the world.”

Keino was wary, however, that the

exceptional standards at the event meant that gold medalists could come from anywhere.

“The challenge can come from anywhere,” he added. “We can’t underestimate anybody. And for me, more than everything, the most important thing is taking part in the games.”

Meanwhile, not even a bizarre case of frostbite will prevent former Olympic and world champion Justin Gatlin from lining up at the world championships, the US sprinter said yesterday.

Gatlin, who is in his second year back following a four-year doping suspension, developed the condition recently in steamy Florida of all places, he told a news conference ahead of Saturday’s opening of the world championships.

“There is a cryo (cryotherapy) chamber (where he trains) and I went in there on a hot day and had socks on and the socks were wet from sweat,” Gatlin said. “I was only in there for two minutes, but for some reason the socks froze to my ankles.”

For a while, “it felt like my feet were on fire.... and it hurt to walk”, Gatlin said of the frostbite. Now almost fully recovered, Gatlin is preparing for his first world championships since winning the sprint double in Helsinki six years ago but will only compete in the 100 metres and sprint relay in South Korea.

While the American was unable to race following a 2006 positive doping test for the banned steroid testosterone, Jamaican Usain Bolt emerged as the king of sprinting with times

Gatlin could only dream of in his presuspension days.

“He is a pioneer,” Gatlin said. “He is track and field at this time.” But Gatlin, given his second chance at athletics, believes there is hope he too could climb on the podium in Daegu alongside the lanky Jamaican.

“When it comes to championships, it is totally different from running one race... and a lot of people do not understand that,” said the 2004 Olympic champion, who has a legal personal best of 9.85 seconds in the 100 metres.

Bolt set his world record time of 9.58 seconds at the last championships in Berlin two years ago, where he repeated his triple gold-medal winning feat of the Beijing Olympics in 2008.—Reuters

‘Blade Runner’ ready for Daegu Championships

Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher

Schumacher marks 20 years in his ‘living room’ LONDON: Michael Schumacher celebrates a major milestone at SpaFrancorchamps this weekend, even if the glory years of the seven times world champion form part of Formula One’s history rather than its present.

It is 20 years since the sport’s most successful driver, with 91 wins and 68 pole positions, made his grand prix debut at the daunting Belgian circuit which he calls his “living room”.

The German did not complete a race lap with the struggling Jordan team that Aug. 25 afternoon in 1991, retiring with a clutch problem, but by qualifying seventh he revealed a talent that would enable him to dominate Formula One. He swiftly moved to Benetton and was on his way to greatness, taking his first win in Belgium in 1992 and going on to enjoy five more victories at Spa. Although no other F1 driver can boast a career spanning two full decadesArgentine great Juan Manuel Fangio crammed his five titles into just eight years-Schumacher’s former Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello has started more races since his own debut in 1993.

Once the ‘Rainmaster’ in the capricious local conditions, Schumacher will have to fight for whatever meagre points he can grab on Sunday.

Compatriot and champion Sebastian Vettel, dominant this season for Red Bull, will be the man to beat at Spa in a title battle that is all but over.

Vettel, the 24-year-old ‘Baby Schumi’, has an 85-point advantage over team mate Mark Webber with eight races, or 200 points, still to be won. Schumacher is 202 points off the lead.

The former ‘Red Baron’ is not even the number two German now, with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg and Renault’s Nick Heidfeld ahead of him in the standings, and he has not appeared on the podium since 2006 — the year he retired from Ferrari before launching his comeback last year.

It will still be a standout weekend for the 42-year-old and his army of fans in the penultimate race in Europe before

the long-haul stretch across Asia to the Middle East and South America.

“The race in Spa will certainly have a special touch to it this time,” Schumacher said in a team preview for what promises to be a wet weekend. “A lot has changed in those 20 years, but one thing has not: the track is still sensational...To me, Spa remains my ‘living room’, because it has been the stage for so many things which have been remarkable for my sporting career.”

Spa marks Formula One’s return from the long summer break, with Vettel and the rest raring to go at a classic high-speed track that is a drivers’ favourite as well as an enduring link to the sport’s golden age.

Vettel has won six of the 11 races this season and started eight on pole position, but he has never triumphed at Spa. Australian Webber, on pole last year before losing out to McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, is raring to go after his break.

“It’s such a great circuit to come back to after having some time away from the cockpit,” said Webber, who expected a tight fight with resurgent Ferrari and McLaren.

“Three weeks (away) is plenty. You certainly miss driving the car after that length of time,” added the Australian, who will celebrate his 35th birthday on Saturday. McLaren’s Jenson Button won the Hungarian race before the break, after Hamilton in Germany, but has a dismal Belgian record and retired from his last two appearances at Spa. The Briton, whose team have won three of the last five races, was dumped out by Vettel last year. “I love racing at Spa but unfortunately haven’t done too much of it recently as I’ve been taken out of the last two Belgian Grand Prix through no fault of my own,” said Button. “This year I’ll be hoping for more luck.”

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will also be fancying his chances, at a track that has favoured his team in recent years, after finishing the last four races on the podium. —Reuters

Diack re-elected IAAF president DAEGU: Senegal’s Lamine Diack was overwhelmingly re-elected president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday, but vice president Sergei Bubka needed a controversial second vote to retain his position.

Bubka, the retired world pole vault record holder from Ukraine, had finished an out-of-the running fifth in the original vote by the governing body’s congress.

But officials said there had been a technical problem with the voting system and ordered a new vote by hand.

“We looked at each other and said ‘What is going on,’” said American Robert Hersh, who was re-elected a vice president along with 2012 London Olympics leader Sebastian Coe, Qatar’s Dahlan AlHamad with Canadian Abby Hoffman, the first-vote co-leader with Al-Hamad, fifth. “I looked at that and instinctively thought that just looks .... it looks a bit of

a rogue result,” Coe said of the first vote.

Bubka, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) member who is tipped along with Coe as leading candidates to succeed Diack in 2015, picked up 41 votes from the first ballot to the second, whose results came more than seven hours later.

The delegates also voted a second time for the unopposed Diack, but there was no controversy. He received 173 yes votes of the 200 ballots cast in the first voting.

The count was 169 yes and 29 no the second time around. The four-year term will be the final one for the 78-year-old after serving as the federation’s top official since November 1999.

But whether he remains for the full term is open to speculation. Some believe he might become a candidate for the president of Senegal. —Reuters

LONDON: Oscar Pistorious will become the first amputee sprinter to compete at a World Championships against ablebodied rivals later this month but the South African accepts there will always be voices saying his carbon-fibre prosthetic blades give him an advantage.

Far from getting him down, however, the doubters spur him on and fuel his desire to reach greater heights. The 24year-old double amputee, nicknamed “Blade Runner,” has been selected to run in the 400 metres and 4 x 400m relay in Daegu, South Korea after smashing his personal best last month to meet the qualifying time.

That success was the fruition of two and a half years of hard training, he said.Pistorious celebrated another notable achievement in his career with an eye-catching time of 45.07 seconds, not far behind Grenadan teenager Kirani James’s 44.61 effort in London, the fastest one lap the year.

However, a leading South African sports scientist Dr Ross Tucker said allowing him to run at the World Championships was a “farce”.

“I don’t like being called, in essence, a cheat, when I know how hard I work,” Pistorious told Reuters in a telephone interview from his home in Pretoria after enduring a heavy training session in cold temperatures and through a hailstorm.

“I graft extremely hard and have sacrificed a lot to get where I am. If my prosthetic legs gave me such an advantage then every paralympic athlete would be running the same times I run.

“I know that I would never be in this sport if I had the smallest doubt in my mind that I had an advantage. Ninetynine percent of people do know what the facts are and I can’t be bothered with the one percent that don’t.”

Pistorious, born without a fibula in both legs, fought long and hard for the right to line up on the track in able-bod-

ied competition.

Initially banned from running in ablebodied events by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2007 he appealed successfully to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the decision was revoked in 2008.

The sport’s highest court determined that Pistorious’s biomechanics were only tested at full-speed when he was running in a straight line (unlike a real 400m race).

He has little time for the scientists who maintain his blades allow him to run at the same speed as able-bodied athletes while using less energy.

While he says he has the full support of the IAAF and respect from his competitors, it is those “outside the athletics fraternity” who are stirring the pot.

“It’s a minority of people that don’t agree with the science that has been done, that are very vocal and maybe illinformed,” Pistorious said.

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will always have people that criticise me.

I can’t spend the rest of my career worrying about it. Everybody is entitled to their opinion ... but it is not my job to prove them wrong.

“I’m not a scientist, I’m an athlete. The IAAF are very happy to have me in their races and my competitors are happy.”

Pistorious said he was in great shape for his World Championships bow from Aug. 27-Sept. 4 in Daegu where he is sure to generate plenty of attention. “I’m very excited ... a bit nervous... a lot of mixed emotions but they are all positive,” he said.

“It’s an amazing time in my career to be able to qualify to run in an IAAF World Championships... at such a prestigious event. It’s also a learning curve. I need to go there and run my best, be open minded and gather as much experience as I can for next year’s competition and the future.”—Reuters

Oscar Pistorious

Felix turns to 400m for new world challenge RALEIGH: Three-times 200 metres gold medalist Allyson Felix was looking for something special for her fifth consecutive athletics World Championship.

The American sprinter found it by combining her favourite race with an event that longtime coach Bob Kersee mentioned on the first day they sat down for a chat more than six years ago — the 400.

No woman has won both events at a single World Championships but Felix, who has come through a grueling twice-a-day workout schedule at what she jokingly calls “Bobby’s Boot Camp,” will try to do just that at the Aug. 27-Sept. 4 competition in Daegu, South Korea.

“I feel like now is the time to get out of my comfort zone,” Felix told Reuters in an interview. “It is going to be extremely difficult but I am excited to challenge myself.”

The California speedster could have settled for a run at her fourth consecutive 200 world title, a feat that has never been accomplished.

But the risk-taking 25-year-old decided the lure of the 200-400 double was too enticing to turn her back on.

“This is a nice change, a nice different challenge in something that is very difficult, and I love a good challenge,” said Felix, who already has the most career world championship gold medals by a female (six).

She can thank Kersee, who has coached multiple Olympic champions including Florence Griffith Joyner, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Valerie Brisco-Hooks, for the idea.

When Kersee interviewed to become Felix’s new coach in 2004 one of the first things out of hismouth was “Are you interested in running the 400?” Kersee told Reuters.

Felix, still just a teenager, was already an Olympic silver medalist in the 200 but Kersee saw 400 potential as well.

After all, he had coached Brisco-Hooks to Olympic gold in both the 200 and 400 at the

1984 Los Angeles Games. Now it is BriscoHooks who is offering advice and encouragement to Felix as she prepares for six races in seven days.

There could be even more if Felix competes for the United States in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. The challenge would be immense. Along with world-class fields with times faster than hers this year, Felix must fight mental and physical fatigue.

Many talented athletes would not even try, Kersee said. “You could be home watching Criminal Minds (on television) instead of being out on the track feeling like you are losing your mind,” the coach said of the workouts Felix has put in this year.

Allyson Felix

Yet the likable runner has endured, even finding time to bake a German chocolate cake one day and check out movies with friends.

A lanky high school sprinter just eight years ago, she has emerged as the female face of U.S. track and field. Success in Daegu could raise her profile even higher heading into the 2012 London Olympics.

Gregarious, well-spoken and attractive, Felix graced the cover of the international athletics annual for 2011 and has the type of personality adored by sponsors and the media.

Kersee likened her to a modern-day Wilma Rudolph, the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medallist at 100, 200 and 4x100 relay. “I don’t think Allyson is quite as tall as Wilma, but she (Wilma) kind of had that gazelle, slender look,” Kersee said.

Felix, though, has even more range than Rudolph and in June became the first U.S. woman to win national championships at 100, 200 and 400. However, she does not have an individual Olympic gold medal, her only victory coming in the 4x400 relay. Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown has beaten her in two Olympic 200 finals.

It is for that reason that both Kersee and Felix said that a repeat of the 200-400 double was not set in stone for London even if she was successful in Daegu.

“What we do here is no decision, one way or the other, on what we are going to do next year,” Kersee said, adding that there could even be a 100-200 double in 2012.

“Or she might just concentrate on the 200 and give it one more shot.” The key is getting Felix that individual Olympic gold medal.

“Pound for pound, is she one of the best female sprinters of all-time? Yes,” said Kersee.

“But the Olympics mean a lot to our sport, so she is not going to say she is one of the best until she proves that.”—Reuters

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

sp orts

Germans abandon TV races for the real thing HAMBURG: Matthias Dreier had just finished a 157-km race with 22,000 other cyclists and now had to hop into his car to make the long drive home so that he could get to work the next morning.

Never mind all that - the 46-year-old sales manager had a big smile on his face. “Cycling is just an incredibly cool sport,” said Dreier after taking four hours to complete the race, helped by hearty cheers from 750,000 spectators along the scenic course in and around Hamburg.

“I’ve been riding for 20 years but the passion grows every year,” added the hobby cyclist from Baden-Baden who rides 10,000 km a year. “A race like this is great because you see what pros go through.”

Cycling has become enormously popular in Germany with tens of thousands of enthusiasts taking part in mass public road races each week across the country.

With a formula similar to marathons or 10-km running events, bike races often feature a few elite cyclists who help to attract a buzz, crowds and the media.

Germans have been deeply disappointed by doping scandals in the professional cycling world, especially the fall

of 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich and the doping-tainted demise of the mighty Telekom team.

However, they refused to be put off the sport and redirected their fondness for it into racing and riding bikes themselves.

They spent a record 1.8 billion euros on more than four million bikes purchased in 2010, adding to a staggering total of 13 billion euros spent each year in total on the sport and cycling tourism.

Once-superb television ratings for the Tour de France have plunged so far in Germany that networks ARD and ZDF say they will drop live broadcasts of the race next year. Yet at the same time, the grassroots popularity has soared to new heights. “It’s a wonderful sport and we aren’t going to let the past doping spoil our fun,” said Bianka Pietz, a designer from Magdeburg who finished her 100km race in Hamburg in three hours.

“Cycling’s a great way to knock yourself out and have fun.”

The Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg calls itself the “largest race in Europe” with 22,000 participants split into three distance events - 55, 100 and 157 km.

There was also a professional race over 216 km on Sunday. Boasson Hagen

of Norway, who has won two Tour de France stages, triumphed in the professional race in four hours 49 minutes.

Ullrich won the 1997 race.

There were 13,500 cyclists at a similar mass race in Berlin in May, the Skoda Velothon, that featured age-group hobby cyclists in distance races of up to 120 km in and around the German capital. It was capped with a professional race over 182 km, won by Germany’s Marcel Kittel. “The popularity of the ‘Jedermann’ (everyman) races open to the public has definitely been booming,” said Marcus Degen, editor-in-chief of ProCycling, a leading cycling magazine. “But not just the big events like in Hamburg or Berlin.

“Every weekend you can find a lot of well-organised ‘Jedermann’ races with thousands taking part in places across the country. People want to test their limits and they’d rather be racing themselves than watching the Tour de France on TV.” Degen said cycling had became hugely popular in Germany in the wake of Ullrich’s heroics, similar to the boom in tennis that followed Boris Becker’s first Wimbledon win in 1985.

After Ullrich became the first German to win the Tour, television ratings soared

and hundreds of thousands of fans lined the streets to watch the occasional stage whenever the race crossed the Rhine to Germany.

“But the popularity suffered a big hit after Ullrich was thrown out of the Tour in 2006,” said Degen.

The Deutschlandtour, Germany’s top multistage tour for 10 years, was scrapped in 2009 as cycling stumbled from one doping revelation to another.

“Since 2006 the number of people taking part in racing themselves has grown continuously,” Degen added. “A lot of people decided they’d rather be out cycling themselves than sitting in front of the TV for three weeks in July.”

In an age of worries about climate change and rising petrol prices, more and more people are commuting by bike. In Berlin, the percentage of journeys every day made by bike has risen to 14 percent from six percent in the last 10 years.

“There’s a clear trend towards more cycling in Berlin and other cities every year,” said Michael Cramer, a leader in the German Greens party and a member of the European parliament who has not owned a car since 1979.

“There are the environmental aspects

for some people but also economic and practical reasons,” added Cramer, who was a catalyst behind the 160-km Berlin Wall Trail - a cycling path that follows the route of the former divide between East and West Berlin.

Berlin is home to a huge rally each year when up to 250,000 people take part in an Earth Day bike demonstration over some 50 km, up from 10,000 participants in the first year in 1995.

“It’s become the world’s biggest bike rally,” Cramer said. Degen said cycling was the “new mobility” and more people were taking their bikes on holiday with them. “If you’re on the motorway, it seems like every third car has bikes on a roof rack. Hotels also cater to biking tourists more and more.”

He said owning an expensive bike had also become a matter of status.

“Some cyclists don’t think twice about owning a 7,000-euro bike,” he said. “For some people it’s a sort of status symbol. I think most people enjoy cycling and racing because it’s a lot of fun.

“Partly because of the weather, we’re not and never will be a classic cycling nation like France, Italy or Spain. But it’s definitely booming in Germany now and there’s no end in sight.”—Reuters

Bayern sail through as Rossi rescues Villarreal Champions League

ZURICH: Zurich’s Philippe Koch (left) and Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery (right) fight for the ball during the Champions League qualification round second leg soccer match.—AP

Liverpool launch academy in India NEW DELHI: English Premier League club Liverpool launched their first soccer academy in India yesterday and said the club would have similar “footprints” in every continent by 2014.

“We want to have footprints in every continent in the next three years,” Steve Turner, head of Liverpool FC International Football Academy, told reporters after signing a contract to set up the Indian academy on the outskirts of Delhi.

Turner and former Liverpool striker Ian Rush will also travel to China to explore similar opportunities.

“China is next and we are also in discussions for potential partnerships in South America, United States, Canada, Vietnam and also Malaysia,” Turner added.

Asked why Liverpool chose India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies,

Turner said; “We are trying to connect with our fans and the football academy is a vehicle.”

European clubs have been keen to tap the Asian market, a growing trend underlined by Manchester United’s plans of a $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore by the end of the year.

Former England and Liverpool midfielder Steve McMahon will be head coach of the Indian academy which is named after him. Four centres are planned in and around Delhi and more facilities across the country over the next 18 months.

McMahon said the project was not “moneydriven” and would hopefully improve the standard of football in India.

“It’s going to take time but we are not here for a quick-fix,” he added. “We are here for a long time.” —Reuters

ZURICH: Bayern Munich sailed into the Champions League group stages with a 1-0 win at FC Zurich on Tuesday while two goals from Giuseppe Rossi rescued Villarreal in their playoff against Odense.

Danes Odense were one of three teams who failed in their bid to qualify for the first time, along with Wisla Krakow and Malmo.

Polish side Krakow fell at the final qualifying hurdle for the seventh time, losing 3-1 at APOEL Nicosia who scored the decisive goal in the 87th minute to win 3-2 on aggregate.

Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia progressed 4-3 overall despite losing 2-0 to Malmo in Sweden.

Racing Genk, who are without a coach, beat Maccabi Haifa on penalties to become the fifth team in the hat for Friday’s draw in Monaco where they will be joined by Europe’s elite.

Another five clubs will go through late yesterday, the pick of the matches being troubled Arsenal’s visit to Udinese.

Bayern, who have played in 13 of the last 14 group stages, were haunted by the prospect of failing to qualify in the season their Allianz Arena will host the final in May. However, their tie with Zurich was little more than a minor inconvenience and they effectively booked their place when Mario Gomez scored in the seventh minute of the second leg at the Letzigrund.

After that most of the fireworks came off the pitch as Bayern’s noisy contingent of fans ignored the stadium announcer and let off firecrackers throughout the game while lightning flashed around the ground on a sticky evening.

Swiss Super League runnersup Zurich were lively but rarely threatening while Bayern forward Franck Ribery was given the freedom of the pitch.

Bayern, though, will be concerned they did not take advan-

tage of the many openings created by the France playmaker’s trickery.

“It’s a shame the goal came so early,” said Zurich coach Urs Fischer. “We saw the difference between domestic and international football.”

Villarreal, facing a 1-0 first leg deficit against Odense, struggled to break the deadlock until Rossi struck twice in 16 minutes in the second half.

The I talian, linked with Juventus in the close season, got in front of his marker to

City seal Nasri deal MANCHESTER: Manchester City confirmed the signing of France midfielder Samir Nasri from Arsenal on a four-year contract yesterday in a deal understood to be worth £24 million.

Nasri’s long-awaited move to Eastlands was finally completed after the 24-year-old passed a medical and he is likely to go straight into Roberto Mancini’s squad for Sunday’s Premier League match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

“Manchester City FC is delighted to announce the signing of Samir Nasri, who has become Roberto Mancini’s fourth signing of the summer,” a statement on the club’s website confirmed.

“The French international joins the club from Arsenal on a four-year deal and will meet his new team-mates on Thursday. He will wear the number 19 shirt.”

City had been chasing Nasri for several months but the transfer looked as though it might stall over the weekend after reports that the former Marseille player’s agents were haggling over their cut of the transfer fee.

Mancini added to the confusion by warning Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he might pull out of the deal if Nasri played in Wednesday ’s Champions League tie against Udinese as that would stop him playing for City in the competition.

However, Wenger had already reluctantly accepted that he had to sell an unsettled player with only one year left on his contract It is believed City have paid around £24 million for Nasri, who is expected to double his wages as the club’s Abu Dhabi-based owners take their spending since the end of last season to over £70 million.—AFP

sent off in the 50th minute.

Wilton Figueiredo put Malmo ahead from a 69th-minute free kick. Pontus Jansson then scored to set up a tense finale and the visitors held on thanks to some fine saves from goalkeeper Ivan Kelava.

Genk beat Israelis Maccabi 41 on penalties, after winning the second leg 2-1 to record a 3-3 aggregate draw. The Belgians were playing under stand-in coach Pierre Denier after Frank Vercauteren quit following last week’s first leg.—Reuters

CYPRUS: Ailton (right) of APOEL, Nicosia, challenges for the ball with Osman Chavez of Wisla Krakow, Poland, during their Champions League playoff round second leg soccer match on Tuesday. —AP

Rodriguez wins Tour stage LONDON: Samir Nasri gestures outside at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England the home ground of Manchester City soccer team.—AP

open the scoring five minutes after halftime and then rifled in a brilliant volley in the 66th minute. Carlos Marchena added the third goal.

Brazilian Ailton netted twice as APOEL produced more heartbreak for Wisla who had a 1-0 lead from the first leg. Ailton’s second goal came in the 87th minute just as the Poles appeared set to end their jinx.

Dinamo, national champions for the last six seasons, took a 41 lead to Malmo but were made to suffer after Sime Vrsaljko was

SPAIN: Spanish cyclist Joaquin “Purito” Rodriguez won the mountainous fifth stage of the Tour of Spain yesterday after a 187-kilometre ride from Sierra Nevada to Valdepenas de Jaen.

French rider Sylvain Chavanel of the Quickstep team retained the overall leader’s red jersey. Katusha team leader Rodriguez powered to the line in the steep last metres of the race to finish in 4hr 42min 54sec, snatching the team’s second stage victory after fellow Spaniard Daniel Moreno won the fourth. Dutch rider Wouter Poels of the Vacansoleil team came in second, four seconds later, with Moreno third, finishing five seconds after his team mate.

French rider David Moncoutie had made a bold break minutes earlier and built a 30second lead on a swift, winding descent five kilometres from the finish but was caught and overtaken as the race entered the southern town. Thursday’s sixth stage is a 193-kilometre ride from Ubeda to Cordoba, with a steep stretch near the end that threatens to scupper sprinters.—AFP

Klitschko looms for victor of Chagaev, Povetkin bout BERLIN: Heavyweights Ruslan Chagaev and Alexander Povetkin squareoff in Er fur t, Germany, on Saturday with the WBA world title up for grabs and the chance to fight undisputed champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Klitschko earned a unanimous decision over Britain’s David Haye in Hamburg at the start of July to add Haye’s WBA belt to his IBF and WBO crowns.

After his victory over 12 rounds, the WBA promoted him to super champion status, meaning the belt is now vacant and whoever wins at Erfurt’s Messehalle will have a chance to challenge Klitschko for the Ukrainian’s belts.

“Saturday is finally the moment for which I have been waiting so long, I want

to fulfill my dream of winning a world title,” said Russia’s Povetkin, the 2004 Olympic heavyweight champion, who is unbeaten from 21 fights with 15 knock-outs.

“Ruslan is a strong-willed athlete who never gives up, he has a real warrior spirit.”

This is a curious bout between two boxers who have struggled with injuries in recent years.

Chagaev, 32, won the WBA heavyweight title in Stuttgart in April 2007 when he beat Russian giant Nikolai Valuev with a majority decision.

But a torn achilles tendon injury in 2008 saw him lose the belt before he lost a titlefight to Klitschko in Gelsenkirchen in June 2009 after retiring in the ninth round.

“I’ve been waiting for a second chance to win the

title and it is imperative that I use it,” said Chagaev, who hails from from Uzbekistan.

Povetkin, 31, has twice lost the chance to fit Klitschko: the first time he missed out with an ankle injury, the second time he did not sign the final contract.

“It was not about money at that time, both sides could not agree on the details of the contract,” the Russian told SID, an AFP subsidiary.

“But for now only the fight against Ruslan counts.”

Unusually, neither fighter opted to take Wednesday’s final press conference into a war of words with an air of respect between the pair. “ We will only duel on Saturday,” said Chagaev, who has 17 knock-outs from 27 victories with just the one defeat.—AFP

City seal Nasri deal

‘Blade Runner’ ready for Daegu Championships

19

18

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Myopic India architects of their own downfall Page 17 KAZAN: Lyon’s Michel Bastos (left) battles for the ball with Rubin’s Vitali Kaleshin (center) and Roman Sharonov during their Champions League qualification soccer match yesterday.—AP

Lyon in Champions League group stage KAZAN: Lyon reached the Champions League group stage for the 12th straight year yesterday after holding Russian club Rubin Kazan to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff match.

The French club safely protected its 3-1 lead from the first leg, although Bibras Natkho gave the home team some hope when he put Rubin ahead in the 77th minute. However, Bakari Kone equalized for Lyon 10 minutes later to see the French side through to the group stage.

Later Wednesday, Arsenal seeks to protect a 1-0 lead over Italian club Udinese, and Benfica hosts Twente after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.

Meanwhile, Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid will join England’s elite

clubs Manchester United and Chelsea among the top seeded teams in Thursday’s Champions League group stage draw.

Inter Milan, the 2010 winner which lost its title to Barcelona, also heads one of eight four-team groups to be drawn in Monaco. AC Milan needs Serie A rival Udinese to eliminate high-ranked Arsenal in Wednesday’s playoffs for the seventime European champions to avoid dropping into the pot of No. 2 seeded teams.

Big-spending Manchester City seems the most dangerous opponent of the third-seeded clubs. Rankings are based on performance in UEFA’s competitions in the past five seasons, and Man City has played in the second-tier Europa League

just twice in that span.

Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund, which won the 1997 Champions League, returns after a nineyear absence as a No. 4 seeded side.

With UEFA rules preventing clubs from the same country being placed in the same group, a foursome of Barcelona, Milan, Man City and Dortmund would shapes as a tough and glamorous potential group.

The fourth-seeded pot also includes Napoli, which last played in the old-style European Cup 21 years ago, while Romanian champion Otelul Galati will make its debut.

One place in the lineup was left vacant Wednesday when Turkey withdrew its

champion Fenerbahce, which is under suspicion in a widespread match-fixing investigation.

UEFA had promised that any club found guilty of corrupting matches will be kicked out of its marquee competition and have its results wiped from the record.

“UEFA is working very hard behind the scenes to ride the game of these threats,” general secretary Gianni Infantino said at the playoffs draw this month. “We will not hesitate to prosecute any individual, any official or any club.”

It was unclear how UEFA will allocate Fenerbahce’s place in the draw. Turkish league runner-up Trabzonspor was eliminated in the qualifying rounds and could

Japanese sweep worlds PARIS: Japan claimed a clean sweep of the gold medals on the second day of the World Judo Championships at the Palais Omnisport de Bercy here yesterday.

Riki Nakaya, Aiko Sato and Misato Nakamura won their categories to take Japan’s record to five golds from the six categories contested so far this week.

In two of the three categories of the day Japan boasted the reigning champion but although both of those failed to retain their titles, other fighters stepped up to the plate instead.

World number two Nakaya ushered in a changing of the guard at under-73kg when he beat holder and compatriot Hiroyuki Akimoto in the semifinal, scoring a half-point waza-ari with an outer leg reap (osotogari).

Before that he had produced the throw of the day in golden score in his quarter-final against Kazakhstan’s Rinat Ibragimov with a counter pick-up (te-guruma) that lifted Ibragimov almost to head height before he came crashing down on his back.

The final pitted Nakaya against world number four Dex Elmont who had impressed all day with his shoulder throw (seoi-nage) but needed a judges’ decision to make the final after a scoreless semi against France’s Ugo

Legrand. The final was far from a classic and it was decided on a single penalty, shown to Elmont for passivity.

Legrand won hosts France’s first medal of the competition as he took bronze along with Uzbekistan’s Navruz Jurakobilov.

Sato was another to depose a reigning champion compatriot in

lost every time,” she said.

“But since I had lost four times before I had nothing to lose so there wasn’t much pressure.” Sato caught Matsumoto with a bodydrop (tai-otoshi) and followed it up by pinning her team-mate for ippon. The final pitted her against Brazil’s Rafaela Silva following a raft of shocks on the other side of

PARIS: Japan’s Riki Nakaya (white jersey) fights with Nicholas Tritton of Canada during their men’s under 73 kg category elimination round at the World Judo Championships. —AP

the semi-final of the under-57kg division as she dominated Kaori Matsumoto, who is also the world number one.

It was her first ever win over her rival. “Obviously my hardest fight was Matsumoto as I had fought her four times before and

the draw. Silva started those off by beating Olympic champion Giulia Quintavalle of Italy in the second round with a sukeshi counter. Germany’s Miryam Roper stunned world number two and Masters champion Telma Monteiro of Portugal in the same

round, catching her with an ankle tap (kosoto-gari).

Silva slammed Roper in the semi-finals with a huge hip throw (o-goshi) and then flattened American Marti Malloy, who had knocked out Austria’s world number three Sabrina Filzmoser, with osoto-gari.

But in the final the unfancied Silva proved to be out of her depth and Sato dropped underneath her to flip her over with seoi-nage to claim the title.

Matsumoto came back to earn a bronze alongside Romania’s Corina Caprioriu. The women’s under-52kg category ended in an all-Japanese final, just as it had done in Tokyo a year ago.

But this time it was Nakamura who finished on top as she reclaimed the crown she also won in 2009. “In Tokyo she was more aggressive and I was passive so this time I tried to be more aggressive,” said Nakamura.

“I think this is a big first step towards the London Olympics but there are a lot of obstacles ahead so I must take one step at a time.”

Yuka Nishida had been the favorite as world champion and world number one but produced little in a dull final that saw Nakamura score the only minor point. Spain’s former European champion Ana Carrascosa and Andreea Chitu of Romania took the bronze medals. —AFP

be reinstated, yet it has also been implicated in the match-fixing probe.

The Champions League is the world’s most watched club competition, and UEFA distributed euro 754 million ($1.09 billion) in prize money and bonuses among clubs which played in last season’s group stage. The 32 clubs in today’s draw are set to share at least the same amount as a three-year cycle of broadcasting and sponsorship deals ends next May after the final in Munich.

The final places will be decided after the return matches yesterday in five playoffs, including Udinese-Arsenal, Rubin Kazan-Lyon and Benfica-FC Twente.

The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout rounds starting

in February, and the eight third-placed teams join the Europa League competition in its knockout phase.

The draw is conducted at the beachside Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo during a lavish ceremony. As a warmup act, UEFA will announce the inaugural winner of its Best Player in Europe award.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez, and Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo figure on a three-player shortlist elected by a panel of 53 journalists.

The panel, representing each of UEFA’s member nations, also votes for the winner. UEFA created the honor after “France Football” magazine combined its traditional European award with FIFA’s world player prize.—AP

Caroline rocks New Haven after quake NEW YORK: An earthquake halted play and forced the evacuation of the New Haven Open on Tuesday but it could not stop world number one Caroline Wozniacki from romping to a 6-3 6-0 second round win over Slovenia’s Polona Hercog.

After opening match defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati, Wozniacki finally found some hard court form in her final tune-up ahead of the US Open overwhelming her Slovenian opponent in 73 minutes.

Chasing a fourth consecutive New Haven crown, the Dane got the match off to a slow start before finally making a breakthrough to go up 5-3 and holding serve to love to take the opening set.

She then showed her class and shifted into top gear to blow Hercog off the court in the second and sealed a convincing win. Fans had to wait a little longer to see the world number one in action after play was stopped earlier in the day when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake rattled the east coast of the United States. Centred in Virginia, the quake was felt in Connecticut shaking the Yale University campus forcing an evacuation of the grounds. After being inspected by fire marshals, spectators were allowed back into the facility and play resumed later in the afternoon.

Russian Elena Vesnina provided another shock upsetting seventh seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic 6-4 2-6 6-4 after they had their first round match interrupted by the quake.

In other action, third seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy cruised to an easy 6-2 6-1 second round victory over Romanian Monica Niculescu. Meanwhile, American Andy

Roddick romped past lucky loser Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round of the Winston-Salem Open on Tuesday, and get his US Open preparations back on track. Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, has seen his buildup to the season’s final grand slam interrupted by an abdominal injury, but showed no signs of rust speeding past his French opponent in 73 minutes. Ranked 21 and outside the world top 20 for the first time since 2001, Roddick has played just one event since Wimbledon losing his opening match last week at Cincinnati.

But the American looked in vintage form blasting 11 aces past Roger-Vasselin and completed the match without facing a break point. Unlike the WTA event in New Haven, Connecticut, which had play halted by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that rattled the eastern seaboard of the United States, the Winston-Salem carried on without interruption. Ukrainian third seed Alexandr Dolgopolov was an easy 6-4 6-4 winner over Argentine Carlos Berlocq while fourth seed American John Isner eased past Israeli Dudi Sela 7-6 6-2. It was also smooth passage into the third round for Nikolai Davydenko, the fifth seeded Russian rolling over American qualifier Michael Russell 6-2 6-2 while seventh seed Juan Monaco of Argentina stopped Germany’s Tobias Kamke 7-5 6-0.

Ukrainian number nine Sergiy Stakhovsky saw off Kazakhstan’s Andrei Golubev 6-1 2-6 6-4 while 10th seeded Dutchman Robin Haase, the ATP Tour’s comeback player of the year, swept past American James Blake 6-4 6-1.—Reuters

y

A

Japan unveils measures to deal with strong yen

e niv rsar n

Years

Page 25

German business confidence drops Page 25 THURSAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Gulfsands clarifies Assad regime links Page 23

A bold renaissance for Tupperware, redefined Page 26

DAMASCUS: Syrian street vendors display shoes and clothes for sale in a pedestrian area in downtown Damascus on Tuesday. (Inset) A giant copy of the new 100 Syrian lira note hangs at the entrance of Syria’s Central Bank on Tuesday. — AFP

Syria economy hit but not collapsed DAMASCUS: The Syrian economy, hit hard by five months of anti-government protests, could survive unrest and sanctions into next year but experts and officials warn of a sharp deterioration afterwards. The protests, which have rocked much of the country since mid-March, have dramatically slowed economic activity, with analysts predicting negative economic growth in 2011 as a result of a decline in tourism and investment. “During the first three months of the revolt, everything stopped because consumers were stunned,” said Abdul Ghani Attar, vice-president of Attar Group, a Syrian conglomerate with investments in hotels, finance, pharmaceuticals and office equipment.

“Since June, economic activity has resumed, but is down about 40 percent from a year ago.” The 32-year-old continued: “For the moment, the private sector, which represents 70 per-

cent of GDP, has survived, but if the situation does not improve next year, the economy will really suffer. There is a risk of layoffs.”

Even now, Syria’s economic indicators paint a grim picture. The Washington-based International Institute of Finance predicts the country’s economy will contract by three percent, and tourism, which accounts for 12 percent of GDP and 11 percent of employment, is sharply down. The overall number of investment projects, meanwhile, are down 47.84 percent in the first half of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010, according to official figures. To make matters worse, the population are now only buying the bare necessities because of a fear of the unknown, according to Naji Shawi, who heads the Shawi Group.

The turnover of the Shawi Group, which is involved in food, pharmaceu-

ticals, cleaning products and finance, is down between five and 10 percent compared to last year, he said. “Until now, the business sector is surviving, but if this crisis continues for more than six months, there will be problems,” he said.

Syria’s main stock market has plunged 40 percent since mid-March and consumption is markedly lower, with clothing and electrical stores in Damascus lying bare. The country imported just 2,000 cars in May, against 20,000 in March, and overall imports have halved compared to last year, according to a European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. By contrast, building materials are booming because, with police occupied by widespread protests, unsupervised construction is on the rise. Street vendors are also doing well for similar reasons.

For the moment, the economic

decline has not spread to the currency, as the Syrian pound is down just eight percent against the US dollar since mid-March. Syrian central bank governor Adib Mayalheh last week took increased steps to limit foreign exchange transactions, and the country still has around $17 billion in reserves.

“They are probably lower now but in all cases we have no clear data on that,” said Jihad Yazigi, editor of the Syria Report economic newsletter.

“Also, at least half of the budget goes to investment expenses, so the government could very well decide to skip most investment expenses (actually it has already partly done so) and use that for current expenses, i.e. salaries, running overhead,” he added in an emailed response to questions.

Syria’s 2011 budget amounted to $16.7 billion, 43.4 percent of which was dedicated to investment.

According to Shawi, Mayalheh told him that “during the good times, it (the central bank) held $5 billion to manage the fluctuation of the Syrian pound, and until now, it has injected $2 billion to support the currency.”

The European diplomat, meanwhile, claimed that Iran had recently provided $6 billion to help Damascus manage the currency, but could provide no proof.

“The situation has deteriorated, but it is not desperate,” said Lahcen Achy, a Syria specialist at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “The regime can survive this for a long time.” Achy added: “The economy will not bring down the regime and if it did, it would take a very long time.

Experience shows that regimes can survive under embargo because they can still smuggle in goods and money via Turkey and Lebanon. In any case, if he has to make a choice, the security

Moody’s cuts Japan rating TOKYO: Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Japan’s credit rating by one notch yesterday, blaming a buildup of borrowing and revolving-door politics for delaying efforts to cut the world’s largest debt. The downgrade of Japan’s government bond rating to Aa3 from Aa2 came days before the nation was due to see its sixth new leader in five years, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan set to resign over his handling of the March 11 disasters.

While expected, the decision by Moody’s put further pressure on a political leadership charged with safeguarding a recovery from the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, a surging yen and a slowing global economy. Moody’s move also comes after the United States saw its top AAA rating cut by Standard & Poor’s, amid growing fears for eurozone giants such as Italy and Spain, and puts Japan on a par with China. The agency said its first Japan downgrade since 2002 was due to large budget deficits and the rise in Japanese government debt since the financial crisis, coupled with the lack of long-term planning to deal with it and the prospect of weak future growth. “Over the past five years, frequent changes in administrations have prevented the government from implementing long-term economic and fiscal strategies into effective and durable policies,” said Moody’s. “The March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, have delayed recovery from the 2009 global recession and aggravated deflationary conditions.” Moody’s also downgraded some of the nation’s major banks, including Mizuho Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, local governments and other companies in the wake of its Japan move, helping send the Nikkei index down 1.07 percent. Kan described the down-

grading as “regrettable” while Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda - a key contender in the race to replace Kan - defended the creditworthiness of Japan’s bonds. “The smooth sales of Japanese government bonds at recent auctions show that confidence remains unshaken,” Noda told reporters.

Markets offered a limited reaction given that Moody’s warned in May that it would likely downgrade Japan. The yen, which hit a post-war high of 75.95 to the dollar last week, remained in a narrow range around the 76.60 level after the announcement and bond yields were steady. “The market’s reaction to Moody’s downgrading is limited as the move was not a big surprise,” said Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Former foreign minister Seiji Maehara is seen as the favourite to replace Kan, but whoever does must move quickly to secure Japan’s post-quake recovery while winning confidence that Japan can cut its debt, say analysts. Japan’s debt stands at around 200 percent of its GDP, after years of pump-priming measures by governments trying in vain to arrest the economy’s long decline. Much of government spending is swallowed up by a social security system catering to a rapidly ageing population, while entrenched deflation and the feeble economy have made it hard for lawmakers to curb borrowing.

The March disasters helped plunge the economy back into recession and will force the government to borrow more to help fund reconstruction. Japan saw its third straight quarterly contraction in April-June, with the economy shrinking by an annualised 1.3 percent.

The rise of the yen meanwhile threatens exporters already facing a slowing global economy, raising the prospect of more production being moved overseas to retain com-

TOKYO: A pedestrian walks past a share prices board yesterday. — AFP petitiveness.

Yesterday, Noda pledged stronger market oversight and unveiled a $100 billion facility aimed at helping to weaken the yen after repeated attempts to cool the unit through market intervention, but the plan under-

whelmed markets. The program would encourage firms to exchange the Japanese currency for foreign denominated assets, with the one-year facility aimed at encouraging merger and acquisition activity to make the most of the strong unit. — AFP

forces will be the last to experience any cuts.”

Shawi concurred, noting that “the West relies on the economic weapon, but one can always adapt. Look at Iraq in the past. Sanctions are good for headlines, but they hurt the people, especially the poor, never the regime.”

A potential European oil embargo could have an impact, however, as 95 percent of Syria’s oil exports go to Europe, amounting to a third of the country’s revenue. In the absence of a wider UN-backed ban, however, Damascus could still sell its crude to non-European countries. Russia and China have thus far blocked such an embargo. In any case, according to an economic expert based in Damascus who did not want to be identified, “the 11th five-year plan which called for investment of $100 billion, half of which was to come from the private sector, is now out the window”. —AFP

Nakheel to issue $1 billion sukuk DUBAI: Dubai’s Nakheel will issue the first tranche of a 4.8 billion dirhams ($1.31 billion) Islamic bond to trade creditors today, its chairman said, as the property firm completes a complex debt restructuring underway since 2009. Ali Rashid Lootah said the developer, which held separate debt talks with banks and trade creditors, will issue a 3.8 billion dirhams ($1.03 billion) first tranche of the sukuk at a profit rate of 10 percent. Nakheel is restructuring a total of $16.06 billion in debt, including $8.71 billion of government debt which is to be converted into equity. The remaining amount is owed to trade creditors and banks.

“It’s been a tough 18 months ... we have managed to complete a complex restructuring,” Lootah said at a press conference. “The completion of the final restructuring ends a chapter for Nakheel and we look forward to delivering our commitments towards our trade creditors and investors.” The company offered trade creditors repayment of 40 percent cash and the remaining 60 percent in the form of an Islamic bond, or sukuk as part of its restructuring program.

The Islamic bond will not be backed by the government but by Nakheel’s assets, the chairman said, adding no assets had yet been sold as part of the restructuring.

The second tranche of the bond, the timeframe of which was not disclosed, will be used to meet trade creditor claims, he said. Bank creditors will be offered an interest rate of 4 percent over the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and repayment after five years, Lootah said.

The company is restructuring $2.2 billion of bank debt.

The sukuk is already being offered at a 20 percent discount in the secondary market by some trade creditors, signalling their preference to cash out rather than wait for maturity. It will trade on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse, Lootah said. Nakheel, which overstretched itself building islands in the shape of palms and other ambitious projects, was part of state-owned Dubai World which recently completed a $25 billion restructuring with banks. The developer’s ownership shifted to the government last month as a concluding step of the parent firm’s complex restructuring process. Nakheel’s coordinating committee is made up of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Dubai Islamic Bank and Barclays Capital.—Reuters

y

A

22

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

BUSINESS

Going green at work reen offices are favored by 88 percent of professionals in the Middle East, according to a recent poll conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 jobsite, which shed light on the importance of going green in the office and its impact on preserving the environment, boosting staff morale and productivity. What is the concept of a “Green Workplaces” all about? A recent report issued by SHRM defines a “green workplace” as a workplace that is environmentally sensitive, resource efficient and socially responsible. How can you then, as an individual, do your part in saving the environment while at work? Below are some top suggestions from the Bayt.com team: 1. Depend on Daylight while you can: You’re present in the office for at least 8 hours a daymeaning natural light could easily be engulfing your space for at least half of your day. Think twice before putting the lights on and make it a point to turn them off every time you step out of your office. In case the sun does not really have a way to your office, are eco- friendly light bulbs an idea you could possibly pitch to your management?

2. Reduce paper waste: Go digital and avoid printing. If you are left with no other alternative, print on both sides (and set your printer on “draft” as default mode) keeping in mind not every document/ e-mail or article needs to be print-

G

GALAXY Tab 10.1 hits Kuwait KUWAIT: Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced the retail availability of the GALAXY Tab 10.1 in Kuwait. Measuring just 8.6 mm and weighing 565 gm, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 is the world’s thinnest and lightest mobile tablet currently available.

Powered with Android 3.1 Honeycomb operating system and 1 GHz dual core processor, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 offers faster and smoother transitions between different applications, more intuitive navigation between home screens and broader support of USB accessories. The tablet provides super-fast 4G download speed with HSPA+ 21Mbps connectivity for reduced data transfer time.

Additionally, the Tab 10.1 comes with a built-in full Adobe Flash Support (10.2) for enhanced user experience.

The device includes a brilliant 10.1inch touch screen display with WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution delivering vibrant colors and crisp clarity. This expansive screen is centered inside a narrow bezel to enhance the wide viewing angle.

Users can enjoy full HD1080P playback and record videos of 720P picture quality on the new tablet. “The GALAXY Tab 10.1 is a remarkable example of Samsung’s constant innovation, demonstrating our dedication to designing products of the highest standard, ensuring they fit the unique needs of the technology-savvy Arab audience,” said Ashraf Fawakherji, General Manager of Samsung Gulf Electronics Telecommunication Group.

“We have combined our innovations in design and display with an intuitive user experience, creating a new class of products that will lead the tablet market.”

Features Samsung’s GALAXY Tab 10.1 is equipped with a number of features designed to ensure an outstanding user experience. These include: l Customized User Experience “Samsung TouchWiz UX” Samsung’s TouchWiz user experience is designed with a Live Panel menu for customizing the home screen of the GALAXY Tab 10.1 with digital pictures, favorite web sites and social network feeds.

In addition, the TouchWiz UX includes a “Mini Apps” tray of commonly used features such as task manager, calendar and music player which can be launched while other major applications are already in use. l Readers Hub & Social Hub The GALAXY Tab 10.1 will also gain access to Samsung’s Readers Hub service, which is a robust library filled with more than 2.2 million books, 2,000 newspaper in 49 languages and 2,300 magazines in 22 languages. Also, Samsung’s Social Hub service will aggregates email, contacts, calendar and social network connections into a single interface. l Impressive Speed, Power & Battery Life The GALAXY Tab 10.1 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity to deliver rapid mobile download speeds and reduce data transfer times. The GALAXY Tab 10.1 also includes a Nvidia Tegra 1GHz dual core application processor for powerful gaming and multimedia performance. The Tab’s ultra-thin design does not sacrifice battery life, thanks to a 6800 mAh battery providing up to 9 hours of continuous video play on a single charge. l Full Adobe Flash Player Compatibility The device offers extensive Web browsing access through Adobe(r) Flash(r) Player compatibility. Flash Player delivers beautiful HD video, faster graphics rendering, and high performance on the GALAXY Tab 10.1 and is designed to take advantage of native device capabilities - enabling richer, more immersive user experiences. l Polaris Office Polaris Office is a Mobile Office Solution which allows users to easily read and edit various PC document formats on their device. l Quality Cameras and Sound The GALAXY Tab 10.1 features a 3 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera providing smooth video chat capabilities and seamless HD video playback. High quality speakers are positioned on the right and left sides of the device for a rich, deep audio experience.

The Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 is available at electronic stores across Kuwait.

ed out. Remember to suggest using recyclable paper (or at least get a set of recyclable paper that you can personally use).

3. Desktop versus Laptop: Make sure to set your desktop or laptop to automatically go on standby mode once it has been inactive for more than 15 minutes and at the end of your working day, do turn off your computer. Laptops consume 85 percent less energy than desktops according to a report issued by BBC, so you might want to opt for a laptop once your desktop is worn out (Macs use even less electricity than others).

4. Replace fake with real: Keeping the office green entails adopting real plants instead of fake ones.

Take the time to look after a “real” plant or 2 in the office. This not only cleans the air and promotes good health but also keeps your morale up and boosts your creativity.

5. Telecommute (when/ if) possible: Does your job necessitate your physical presence in the office on daily basis? Can you come to an agreement with your direct manager to work from home once or twice a week? Is videoconferencing an option when you have business meeting?

Limiting business/ work travel not only helps you better balance between life/work and promotes your organizational loyalty (as

GBI offers 100G on its undersea cable

confirmed by 44 percent of Middle Eastern professionals in a recent Bayt.com poll about “Telecommuting in the Middle East”), it also helps you reduce air pollution.

6. Give your transportation means a thought: So commuting might be a feasible option for you and your employer for one or two days a week, how about the rest of the week? Are any colleagues living in your neighborhood? Is sharing a ride or an eco-friendly carpool an option? Share your thoughts with them and prompt them to adopt your idea. Not only will this save the environment, it will also save them fuel money and parking fees! Other ideas would be for you to stroll to and from work if that is an option, or maybe cycle on a sunny morning! You will then be doing both the environment and your health a favor!

7. Bring your lunch in a reusable container: Take the time to cook your food at home- preferably local and /or organic- then pack it in a reusable container along with reusable plates and cutlery. Keep in mind that deliveries always leave packaging waste behind- and are rarely healthy for you. Post-lunch coffee? Aim for reusable coffee filter.

8. Adopt a green lifestyle: One cannot hope to go green at the workplace and get people to fol-

low his/ her lead if he/ she is not adopting a green lifestyle in general. Going green at home is not a strenuous task. Top green rituals to keep in mind are: using recyclable paper shopping/ grocery bags, recycling magazine and newspapers, turning off the lights before leaving your room/house, buying foods locally, substituting a car ride for a bike ride or a walk whenever/ wherever possible, steering away from the laundry machine and letting the sun do all the work for you instead. Make sure your kids are aware at an early age of the benefits of a green lifestyle and guide them gently to follow your steps. These habits will be kept with them for a lifetime and will also be carried along to the following generation.

9. Let the world know why you’re going green: Voice it to your co-workers and your management alike: You have undertaken a mission and that mission is “greening” your life at home and the office.

State the reasons behind your decision and the benefits that the environment, yourself, your coworkers and your employer could reap. You might want to mention that a recent Bayt.com poll about Green offices in the Middle East has shown that 52% of Middle Eastern professionals feel part of a bigger cause when they are working for a “green” organization and this results in a productivity boost!

What more can an employer wish for?! Go Green!!!

GIC appoints DCEO

DOHA: Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Gulf’s first privately owned submarine cable operator, is the first operator to offer true 100G connectivity on parts of its undersea cable network. GBI has made the move to 100G to meet growing demand from the carrier community for high-capacity services that bridge Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 100G signals a new era of interconnectedness and demonstrates the kinds of technological innovation happening in the Middle East. GBI has invested $500 million in its network infrastructure and committed to delivering future-proof network technology that is ready to meet the capacity demands of today as well as tomorrow. The networking technology uses state-of-the-art DWDM technology and total system design capacity has increased to close to 10 Terabits per second on certain sections “100G has been something that has been discussed in the industry for a long time and GBI is proud to be the operator to usher in this new era of undersea cable connectivity. As capacity demands continue to grow aggressively, GBI made the decision to use the latest in technology and ensure that we are prepared to meet the demands of our customers in the long term,” says Ahmed Mekky, founder and CEO of GBI. “The emerging markets have only begun to see the benefits of increased connectivity and we will see exciting growth in these markets challenging operators to keep up. GBI has built its business to meet these capacity challenges. “ As a result of this announcement and the recent announcements of the our extended coverage across Europe, the GBI network is now going much further and faster than originally envisaged, and is indicative of GBI’s commitment to be an industry leader. “GBI is driving the industry forward in terms of network technology. The company has embraced 40G and is looking toward the future by going live with 100G. As the first subsea cable operator to go live with 100G on its network, GBI is setting the pace for undersea cable network deployments in the telecoms market,” stated Samih Kawar, GBI’s CTO.

KUWAIT: The Gulf Investment Corporation is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Russell Read as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer (DCEO & CIO). Most recently, Read launched C Change Investments in 2008 specializing in identifying and investing in technologies that transform the consumption, distribution, and production of the world’s natural resources, including energy, agriculture, and water. Prior to launching C Change, Read was the Chief Investment Officer for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), overseeing North America’s largest pension plan and an investment staff of over 200 professionals, introducing a number of new strategies and vehicles into the portfolio including its commodities, infrastructure, clean technology, and forestry investments programs.

Read started his career as an economist at First National Bank of Chicago (Chicago’s largest bank) and then spent several years as an actuary and investment analyst at CNA Insurance and The Prudential.

From 1993-2000, Russell joined Oppenheimer Funds where he led their efforts in new product development, quantitative strategies, risk management, and commodities investments. In 2000 he joined Scudder Investments/Deutsche Bank Asset Management and became their Deputy Chief Investment Officer in 2004.

Read has a well-rounded background across private and public markets. He has accumulated a rich set of investment experiences including hands-on portfolio management, asset allocation, risk management, and product development. Read credentials include a BA in Statistics and an MBA from the University of Chicago, and an MA in Economics and PhD from Stanford University.

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

.2700000 .4450000 .3870000 .3420000 .2720000 .2800000 .0040000 .0020000 .0737380 .7184060 .3810000 .0700000 .7042650 .0040000 .0430000

.2760000 .4560000 .3980000 .3540000 .2820000 .2900000 .0072500 .0035000 .0744790 .7256260 .4010000 .0760000 .7113430 .0072000 .0530000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2716000 .2737000 .4479230 .4513860 .3899090 .3929240 .3448450 .3475110 .2744270 .2765480 .0523470 .0527510 .0423280 .0426550 .2821250 .2843060 .0348250 .0350940 .2244810 .2262170 .0035400 .0035680 .0000000 .0059890 .0000000 .0024970 .0000000 .0031570 .0000000 .0036860 .0739750 .0745470 .7207110 .7262840 .0000000 .3871240 .0724460 .0730060 .7057300 .7111860 .0000000 .0064700

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.582 5.947 3.131 2.478 3.720 226.110 35.018 3.645 6.423 9.407 0.271 0.273

GCC COUNTRIES 72.829 75.041 709.370 725.390 74.367

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES 47.000 45.719 1.250 201.330 385.670 183.200 5.896 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

SELL CASH 290.400 725.420 3.820 279.300 535.800 36.300 53.400 167.800 46.480 397.500 35.660 6.280 0.033 0.239 0.237 3.660 386.980 0.185 94.270 47.100 4.200

230.400 1.850 51.000 708.470 3.210 6.590 75.460 72.830 227.680 40.620 2.612 454.500 43.200 348.100 5.600 9.490 198.263 74.370 273.100 1.210

228.900 708.290 3.160 6.440 75.030 72.830 227.580 40.620 2.477 452.500 346.600 5.600 9.320 74.270 272.700

GOLD 1,885.870

10 Tola

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 452.500 272.700

Sterling Pound US Dollar

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

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

SELL DRAFT 288.900 725.420 3.650 277.800

227.600 45.653 396.000 35.510 5.965 0.033

385.510 0.184 94.270 3.750

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

290.35 280.60 350.90 397.35 453.16 3.62 3.675 5.952 2.483 3.734 3.162 74.23 725.37 45.75 387.98 708.73 75.20 72.81

Selling Rate 272.650 278.075 450.820 395.580 344.670

722.885 74.205 74.840 72.670 383.780 45.625 2.475 5.965 3.147 3.648 6.427 668.775 3.655 9.205 5.740 3.810 90.565

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

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 272.800 3.150 5.985 2.495 3.655 6.475 74.375 72.895 725.300 45.640 455.300 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 387.600 5.750 397.800 281.800

Al Mulla Exchange

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank

Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

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

y

A

23

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

BUSINESS

Iraqi women heading households struggle financially BAGHDAD: Many of the one million women who head Iraqi households struggle to pay basic living expenses in a traditionally male role while coping with the loss of a husband, the Red Cross said yesterday. Magne Barth, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to Baghdad, told a news conference in the Iraqi capital that there are around one million femaleheaded households in Iraq, according to official figures. “These are widows, wives of missing and detainees, or divorcees, who are alone in charge of their family. Many had to cope with the traumatic death of their husband,” he said. “All of them have in common

to struggle to pay basic living costs.

Iraq is a patriarchal society, where families are headed by men,” Barth said. “Many women are not prepared to fill that role, and it is culturally and socially difficult for them to do so.”

An ICRC survey of more than 100 “vulnerable women heading households” conducted between September and December 2010 found “that these women are living in precarious situations, in poor living conditions, with poor diets,” Barth said. “ They rely on their relatives, neighbours, communities and charities to cope with their needs. Seventy percent of them spend more than they earn and have to borrow money,

sell their assets and cut on crucial spending like education and health,” Barth said.

Mariam, a 46-year-old displaced widow in the central province of Diyala, has been living in a former school with her seven children since 2008, in a room with a door that does not close and windows with no glass, according to an ICRC report based on the survey. “I’ve received two eviction orders, but I have nowhere else to go,” Mariam was quoted in the report as saying, adding that “I have no money to either repair the door or install windows.”

Amina, a 39-year-old whose husband was killed and who was forced

to flee her home in Mosul in north Iraq just days later due to threats, eventually settled with her three children at her brother-in-law’s home, but wants a house of her own, the report said. “What I want is a house of my own, and the chance to earn money on my own. I don’t want to depend on my husband’s relatives, who are already poor,” she said. Many of the women surveyed by the ICRC had not worked before or had limited education and work experience, and faced a labour market that offered few opportunities for women, Barth said. “ What these women need is comprehensive state support,” he said, adding that the ICRC has since

2009 helped almost 1,000 women to cover the costs of travelling to register for aid under Iraq’s welfare allowance system.

During 2011 and 2012, the ICRC will provide about 6,000 women with between 40,000 and 130,000 Iraqi dinars ($34 to $111) per month for six months, “to give them some relief until they are included into the social allowance system,” he said.

Marta Pawlak, the head of the ICRC Iraq Women and War Project, said it can take between three and five months for women to gather the necessary documents, register and begin receiving aid from the Iraqi government. —AFP

Gulfsands clarifies Assad regime links Makhlouf relationships conducted at ‘arms-length’ LONDON: Oil company Gulfsands Petroleum Plc moved to clarify its links with Syria’s Assad regime yesterday as it sought to defuse media speculation and pressure group criticism about its activities in the conflict-torn country. In a statement Gulfsands said it was compliant with sanctions and had kept its relations with Assad’s cousin Remi Makhlouf, who owns a 5.7 percent stake in Gulfsands via his investment company Al Mashrek, at “arms-length”. London-listed Gulfsands said it had had “constructive commercial relationships” with interests linked to Makhlouf since it first entered Syria in 2000. “All such relationships have been conducted on arms-length commercial terms, have been properly documented and have been disclosed as required by pertinent laws and regulations,” Gulfsands said in a statement.

HEBRON: Palestinians shop in the Old City of Hebron on Aug 21, 2011 during the holy month of Ramadan. —AFP

In Hebron, bargains draw rare crowds to Old City HEBRON: An unlikely noise can be heard in the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank - the sound of Ramadan bargain-hunters dipping in and out of shops and buying cut-price goods. The crowds milling round the city’s ancient streets are a change of pace for vendors here, who for years have suffered the consequences of Israeli-imposed security restrictions that have brought business to a virtual standstill. Israel says the restrictions are necessary to protect some 600 hardline Jewish settlers who live in the heart of the city, among a Palestinian population of around 6,000.

Palestinians here say the measures have effectively shut down what was once the bustling heart of this city, costing local shopkeepers dearly and turning the Old City into a ghost town. But the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, a group that works to revive the Old City, saw Ramadan as the perfect time to dispel some ghosts and draw shoppers back to the area. So they launched a canny campaign, encouraging companies to slash their prices and even set up temporary stalls piled high with bargains in a bid to attract customers. “Our plan had a variety of elements,” says Walid Abu Halawa, public relations director for the committee.

“We wanted to reach out to traders and customers. We’ve facilitated transportation, decorated the city and carried out information campaigns, among other things,” he told AFP. “In cooperation with the local Chamber of Commerce, 18 local companies announced discounts and price cuts of between 25 and 30 percent on their products in the Old City, and some also decided to open temporary shops here.”

So far, the results are clear, he said.

Before Ramadan, only 154 shops in the Old City were open for business, the number now is about 300. That still represents just a fraction of the 1,100 Old City shops that once opened their doors to customers each day. Many have now closed altogether in the face of tight security measures and occasional attacks from settlers in the city. But Abu Halawa said the committee’s efforts have helped boost the numbers of shoppers since the beginning of Ramadan by 80 percent.

During fasting month, families often prepare elaborate meals to break their sunrise-to-sunset fast, inviting relatives and friends to large meals that require

plenty of ingredients. The festival that marks the end of the fasting month, Eid Al-Fitr, is also a time of gift-giving, and many Palestinians flocking into the Old City were keeping an eye out for potential presents for their children. In one dairy shop, the crowd was packed so tightly that customers could barely move around each other to pick out cheeses, much to the delight of employee Wael Taha. “Since the beginning of Ramadan, the number of shoppers has multiplied several times over, as have our sales,” he said. “As you can see, we can barely match the demand of the customers, but we really want to serve the people of Hebron.”

Inside the store, Fatima Qadimat scanned for bargains after making her way into the Old City from the countryside surrounding Hebron. “I heard about the campaign to lower prices through the media and the prices here really are reasonable and cheap by comparison with the markets outside the Old City,” she told AFP. While the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee can take credit for the lower prices drawing shoppers, the city has another draw during Ramadan - the Ibrahimi Mosque. The site is holy to both Muslims and Jews, who know it as the Cave of the Patriarchs, but its history of sparking tensions between the two faiths means tight regulations govern which worshippers can use the site and when. Muslims have exclusive access during Eid Al-Fitr and another major festival, Eid Al-Adha. They also have special access for the Friday prayers during Ramadan, when many Palestinians take the opportunity to pray without the usual restrictions. “It’s the fourth holiest place for Muslims... and there is a great religious reward for praying here, especially during Ramadan,” said Hijazi Abu Sneineh, head custodian of the mosque.

“Ordinarily, we might have 20-30 people praying here for the afternoon Asr prayer, but during Ramadan the numbers can be upwards of 3,000 worshippers,” he said.

Traders in Old City are revelling in the rare crowds now flooding into their stores. But one shop owner, who declined to give his name, expressed concerns that the newfound customers could disappear as quickly as they arrived. “All it takes is one Israeli soldier to take a decision, and the whole city will shut back down again,” he said. —AFP

Etisalat names Julfar group CEO DUBAI: UAE telecoms operator Etisalat has appointed Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar to a newly created group chief executive role as part of a new global expansion strategy, it said yesterday. Julfar was most recently chief operating officer at the Abu Dhabi-listed former monopoly, the company said. Julfar also serves on the board of Etisalat’s two international subsidiaries, including its Saudi Arabian venture Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), a company statement said yesterday. “The appointment comes as part of a new expansion phase that will see Etisalat strengthen its position globally,” it said.

Etisalat, which dropped plans to buy a controlling stake in Kuwait’s Zain for

$12 billion earlier this year, currently operates in 18 countries. The stateowned telco was preparing for a major management shake-up that included the retirement of its long-time chairman and the appointment of a new group chief executive, a local newspaper reported earlier in the month. The Gulf’s largest telecoms firm, which is 60-percent-owned by the government, reported a 14.9 percent drop in profits last month, on higher operating costs and increasing competition in its home market from Dubai-based operator du.

Etisalat’s group financial officer Salem Al Sharhan left in April, citing personal reasons. —Reuters

The European Union put Makhlouf and 12 other Syrian officials on its sanctions list on May 17 in response to a crackdown on pro- democrac y protests against President Bashar Al-Assad’s authoritarian rule.

Makhlouf owns Syria’s largest mobile phone company, Syriatel, and several large construction and oil firms. O ther links detailed by Gulfsands include the rental of offices in Damascus

from a Makhlouf-owned firm and the payment of around $1 million in fees and milestone payments to Ramak, another Makhlouf company, for providing advice on identifying and pursuing exploration opportunities in Syria.

Gulfsands said it had suspended all payments and voting rights pertaining to Makhlouf’s stake in the company following the imposition of sanctions.

“Gulfsands is fully compliant with all applicable sanctions and is committed to continuing compliance with any sanctions that may apply from time to time,” the company said. The company said it released the statement in the light of recent sanctions against Syria and press speculation over its relationship with Makhlouf. London-based campaign group Platform called last week for an investigation into

Gulfsands’ relationship with the Assad regime.

Shares in Gulfsands have more than halved since March on worries about its Syrian operations and the possibility that the EU could follow the United States by banning the import of Syrian oil products. An EU diplomat said yesterday EU governments were likely to adopt such an embargo by the end of next week. —Reuters

New Porsche 911 Carrera: Tradition meets modernity DUBAI: At 48 the Porsche 911 Carrera is younger than ever: The completely redesigned generation of the sports car icon is stepping into the limelight with its flat, stretched silhouette, exciting contours and precisely designed details. Yet from the very first glance it remains unmistakably a 911. True to the 911 tradition, the distinctive Porsche design language with its tendons and muscles exudes power and elegance.

The 100 mm longer wheelbase and reduced height combined with the up to 20-inch wheels underpin the athletic appearance. At the same time, the compact sports car exterior dimensions were retained. From a front perspective, attention is drawn to the wide-arched wings, the 911’s trademark, that highlight the wider front track making the new 911 Carrera models sit even more solidly on the road.

The remodelled exterior mirrors are accommodated on the upper edge of the door and not as before on the mirror triangle. Not only is this aerodynamically advantageous, it also emphasises the new design line and visual impression of width.

The all-new, lightweight body is an intelligent aluminium-steel construction. It is responsible for a significant proportion of the weight reduction of up to 45 kilograms combined with significantly greater rigidity. Due to aerodynamic optimisation measures, including a wider, variably extending rear spoiler, the lift of the new 911 Carrera could be further reduced, while retaining a good Cd value.

To complement the modern exterior design, the Porsche designers created a new interior based on cues from the Porsche Carrera GT. The driver is now even more closely integrated with the cockpit thanks to the centre console rising up to the front with the high-mounted shift lever located especially close to the steering wheel in typical motor spor t fashion. Like in the exterior design, classic Porsche elements can also be found in the interior: the instrument cluster with five round instruments of which one of them is a high resolution multifunction screen, the central rev counter and the ignition lock to the left of the steering wheel.

Setting the standard in its

class, as it has for generations, the new 911 Carrera and Carrera S raise the performance and efficiency bar yet another notch. All versions get by with significantly less than ten litres of fuel per 100 kilometres. Fuel consumption and emissions are up to 16 per cent lower compared to preceding models. Among other things, this result is achieved by systems and functions such as auto start/stop, thermal management, electrical system recuperation, the world’s first seven-speed manual transmission and the socalled “sailing” function, in vehicles equipped with the PorscheDoppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK).

The new electro-mechanical power steering offers not only Porsche’s typical precision and

based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), 1.6 l/100 km less than its predecessor.

Also, with an emission level of 194 g/km CO2, it is the first Porsche sports car to make it below the 200 g/km mark. The new Carrera S features a 3.8-litre boxer engine delivering 400 hp.

Its fuel consumption when equipped with the optional PDK is reduced by 14 per cent (1.5 l/100 km) to 8.7 l/100 km, despite offering 15 hp more horse power.

That equates to CO2 emissions of 205 g/km.

At the same time several performance improvements have been implemented for both models. The Carrera S with PDK manages to accelerate from nought to 100 km/h in 4.3 sec-

response but also helps to increase efficiency and reduces the general fuel consumption.

The 911 Carrera with the new 350 hp 3.4-litre boxer engine and optional PDK consumes a mere 8.2 litres per 100 kilometres

onds. Pressing the Sport Plus button of the optional Spor t Chrono package, cuts that to 4.1 seconds. The Carrera with PDK needs only 4.6 seconds (Sport Plus: 4.4 seconds) to sprint from a standing start to 100 km/h.

The new 911 does not just offer better longitudinal dynamics but also a top performance at an unprecedented level in terms of transverse dynamics. In addition to the longer wheelbase, greater agility, precision and driving stability are mainly based on the wider front track, the new rear axle and the new electromechanical power steering.

Depending on the model, there are other standard or optional active control systems available that further enhance the vehicle’s driving dynamics, including the optional Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) active roll stabilisation system which is available on the 911 Carrera S for the first time. The system reduces lateral inclination when cornering by ensuring that tyres are in an optimal position relative to the road surface and thus able to transmit higher lateral forces. As a result, maximum cornering speeds are increased; even faster lap times on racing circuits are possible.

With the new 911 Carrera the span of apparently contradictory attributes that have typified the Porsche 911, such as performance and efficiency, sportiness and everyday practicality has been even fur ther extended.

That makes the 911 Carrera more of a 911 than ever. The new model celebrates its world premiere at the 2011 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show. The 911 Carrera and 911 Carrera S can be ordered as of now starting from $91,041 for the 911 Carrera and $107,796 for the 911 Carrera S (GCC). First deliveries can be expected in the first quarter of 2012.

y

A

24

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

business

KSE recoups some losses GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) advanced during yesterday’s session to regain some of the losses incurred in Tuesday’s session. The market was flat almost all throughout the session but increased as the session came to an end. Traded value was dramatically down for the session with an aggregate value of KD 4.90 million.

Top Gainers and Biggest Decliners Gulf Investment House took the top spot for the day, adding 9.62 percent to its share value and closing at KD 0.0285. On the other hand, Al Argan I nternational Real Estate Company shed 29.41 percent and closed at KD 0.120, making it the

gainers, reporting a 1.04 percent climb during the day, and closing at KD 0.485. On the other hand, Boubyan Bank ended the day shedding 1.67 percent to reach KD 0.590. Investment stocks followed acquiring the two top gainers spot for the day. The sector produced 0.58 percent in gains backed by Gulf Investment Company’s and

amongst the top gainers with an addition of 5.81 percent to reach KD 0.455.

On the other hand, Real Estate Sector Index was the top declining in KSE for the day. The sector shed 0.62 percent from its value. Al Argan International Real Estate Company was the only declining stock in the sector with a loss of

biggest decliner in the market.

National International Company’s advance. Both stocks closed up by 9.69 percent and 9.09 percent reaching KD 0.0285 and KD 0.030, respectively. Furthermore, Global Investment House and Kuwait Projects Company added 4.08 percent and 3.28 percent, respectively to their share prices and helped in lifting up the index.

Services stocks too were notable advancers, adding 0.25 percent in sector gains. Heavyweight Agility’s stock went up by 3.92 percent to end the day at KD 0.265. Yiaco Medical Company fished the day of

29.41 percent in its share price. The company over weighted all the advancers and solely pulled the real estate index down.

Market Indices Market weighted Global General Index (GGI), ended the day up by 0.35 percent, at 176.47 point.

Market Capitalization increased reaching KD 28.88 billion. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 5,781.90 point, adding 14.40 points (0.25 percent) to its previous close.

Market Breadth During the session, 70 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards advancers as 29 equities advanced versus 18 that retreated.

Daily Trading Activity Trading activity was down during the session. Total volume traded was down by 10.52 percent with 36.41 million shares changing hands at a total value of KD 4.90 million (26.94 percent lower compared to the day before). Services sector was the volume and value leader, accounting for 47.23 percent of total shares exchanged and 37.20 percent of total traded value.

Al Safat Energy Holding was the volume leader for the day with 7.36 million shares being traded.

Aviation Lease & Finance Company (Alafco) and Zain were the top value traded in the services sector, with KD 0.52 million and KD 0.48 million worth of shares traded.

However, Kuwait Finance House (KFH) was the most active in the market with KD 0.60 million worth of shares exchanged.

Sectors Wise Sector-wise, five out of the eight sectors moved northward during the day while two declined and one stayed flat. Buying interest was observed on the Services sector.

However, Global Banking Index led the pack of advancers, adding 0.66 percent to its value. Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) finished the session amongst the top gainers with an increase of 6.25 percent in its share price to reach KD 0.850.

Gulf Bank was also seen among the

Oil News The price of Kuwaiti crude oil increased by $2.26 to reach $103.97 per barrel (pb), compared to USD101.71 per barrel the day before, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). The increase of oil prices is due to the possible Federal Reserve Bank’s quantities easing policy, based on the current bad economic conditions in the US.

Gulf markets mixed DUBAI: Sharp gains in US shares lifted sentiment in most regional markets yesterday, resulting in a marginal rally, while muted Ramadan trade weighed on Dubai’s property stocks. US stocks shot up 3 percent on Tuesday on speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would signal new help for the faltering economy in his speech on Friday. But many investors are sceptical that he will deliver, given the Fed’s recent pledge to keep rates near zero and the political difficulties of taking action as a presidential election year approaches. Gulf investors shrugged off Moody ’s Investors Service ratings cut by one notch on Japan’s government debt yesterday.

Saudi Arabia’s index rose 1 percent in a healthy rise ahead of a holiday that stretches over a time of uncertainty in global markets. Petrochemical stocks rose on strong fundamentals.

Bellwether Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) climbed 0.8 percent and Saudi K ayan Petrochemicals advanced 2.5 percent.

The petrochemical index accounted for nearly half the turnover in the market and climbing 0.8 percent. “ There is still a lot of uncer tainty about what’s going to happen over the holidays-par ticularly what Bernanke will announce in US on Friday,” said Paul Gamble, head of research at Jadwa Investment. “The investment approach is to prepare for volatility while you’re away, so many individuals are getting out of the market. There are less institutional buyers as well.” Saudi Arabia’s bourse is closed from Aug 25 for Eid Al Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting. Egypt’s index also rose, closing 0.7 percent higher, while taking support from world stocks.

Egyptian Electrical Cables grabbed the most volumes, climbing 1.9 percent and heavyweight Telecom Egypt rose 1.6 percent. Commercial International Bank advanced 2.9 percent. In UAE, property stocks dragged down Dubai’s index despite news from developer Nakheel on a sukuk issue that was expected to lift investor sentiment.

Dubai’s Nakheel will issue the first

tranche of a 4.8 billion dirhams ($1.31 billion) Islamic bond to trade creditors today, its chairman said, as part of a complex debt restructuring underway since 2009. Contractor Arabtec , one of Nakheel’s trade creditors, weighed on the index with a 1.5 percent fall and Emaar Properties slipped 0.4 percent. “This thing has been long anticipated, it is supposed to be good news for developers who deal with Nakheel,” said an Abu Dhabi-based trader who asked not to be identified due to company policies. “The market is taking a holiday. When we’ve all come back from Eid, this will be seen positively. This is one more thing Nakheel has done to put its finance house in order.” The benchmark ended 0.1 percent lower, extending its 2011 losses to 10.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s index added 0.2 percent in its third-straight gain. Telecoms operator Etisalat climbed 0.5 percent, after it appointed Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar to a newlycreated group chief executive role Aldar Properties supports, rising 0.8 percent. Elsewhere, Qatar’s benchmark ended lower by 0.2 percent at 8,109 points, but held above the suppor t of 8,000 levels. Large - caps weighed with Qatar National Bank slipping 0.2 percent, Industries Qatar retreating 0.5 percent and Qatar Telecom falling 2.5 percent. Elsewhere, Oman’s index ended 0.5 percent higher, recovering Tuesday ’s losses.

Volumes hit a near three-month high.

Renaissance Services led gains by turnover, closing 1.9 percent higher, as investors picked up the bluechip at attractive price. The oil services firm hit a near two-year low, after it uncovered fraud at its unit Topaz and reported a 77 percent drop in first-half net profit. “The market is clearly in the oversold region, we need some trigger to see the momentum,” said Kanaga Sundar, Gulf Baader Capital Markets head of research. “Today it came in the form of positive global sentiment and also the bottom fishing, (investors) looking at value buying in bluechips.”

Oman International Bank climbed 1.6 percent. — Reuters

y

A

25

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

BUSINESS

Hungary, E Europe want rail sector back on track BUDAPEST: A visit to Hungary’s largest train station makes clear why the government is being forced to take radical steps to soak up $1.5 billion in debt and seek funding from as far away as China to renew its railways. Some 160 workers are needed to keep 17 tracks operational at Budapest-Nyugati, some on switches dating back to the 1920s. On a recent weekday, a group of five switchmen waited for trains that passed by their tiny shack a half-mile away from the platforms.

Every few minutes one of them walked by the tracks and threw the heavy iron switch in a semicircle, his back arching.

Settling back onto a rough-hewn bench, one of them lit a cigarette and looked around the decrepit rail yard. “If they really do modernise this place, there won’t be more than a few dozen of us left,” he said. “But I’m not very afraid. Things never happen too fast around here.” Hungary is betting it can get the system back on track by wiping its debt slate clean and winning new financing from interested parties in Europe and China, but skeptics wonder whether it’s just money down the drain - again.

While Europe boasts some of the most advanced rail systems in the world, the European Union’s newer ex-communist members are burdened with rundown, inefficient networks that drain state budgets and incur heavy losses every year. At a time when

public debt is foremost on investors’ minds and when the EU is keen on building up a seamless regional rail network, the situation behind the former Iron Curtain is coming under close scrutiny.

Various strategies are being pursued Bulgaria is in talks with the World Bank for a 310 million-euro loan to go to state railways BDZ and upgrading railway infrastructure; the Czech Railways group and Poland’s state PKP are looking at full or partial privatisations; and Romania’s recent 20-billion-euro deal with the IMF is conditioned on closing 1,000 km of track and cutting staff, among other reforms.

It’s a battle to simultaneously support and overhaul an essential service used by millions while finding creative ways to pay for it all.

With central Europe’s biggest debt by far at 77 percent of gross domestic product, Hungary’s crisis looms large. Budapest’s plan is to take over MAV’s $1.5 billion debt using a one-off budget windfall in return for drastic reforms and upgrades that will use subsidies and investment from the EU and China, which wants to support infrastructure to bolster its own growing investments in the country. “I’m skeptical. No government has ever been able to get this done,” ING chief analyst David Nemeth said. “They will certainly improve the fiscal situation, chiefly through reduced interest costs, but what

MAV needs is a real reform in services.”

Officially MAV says it has no plan to cut staff, though experts say there is considerable room to let some of the 43,000 workers go. Union leaders also rule out mass layoffs and say staff numbers will fall off anyway through attrition. “There are reserves in headcount... (but) maintaining the current network and the schedule would be impossible if we fired thousands of workers,” MAV’s recently appointed Chief Executive Officer Ferenc Szarvas told Reuters.

What the railway needs most, everyone agrees, is investment. The government plans to assume MAV’s debt by drawing from the roughly $15 billion it amassed this year by eliminating a mandatory private pension fund system and returning its assets to state management. But the railway, which recieves $1 billion a year in subsidies, also needs renovated tracks to allow more trains to run, predictable timetables to boost cargo traffic and clean carriages and stations to lure back passengers after losing a quarter of its traffic in the last six years. “We need to make the public transit system sustainable,” Development Minister Tamas Fellegi told Reuters earlier this year. “Financing is one - prominent - slice of that.” The investment upgrades are likely to cost a minimum of $2-3 billion, experts say. Enter the EU, which has spent lavishly on railways throughout Europe, and China,

which eyes Hungary and its railways as a strategic investment opportunity.

Budapest has a budding special relationship with China, whose leaders chose Hungary as a regional logistics hub. During a recent visit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Beijing would invest in Hungary, including its railways. At least one large Chinese company, electronics maker Huawei , has said it would build its European supply centre in Hungary. Others may soon follow, and they will want easy access to other markets. “For the Chinese economy to have a real regional trade and logistics hub here, first they need infrastructure,” said Development Minister Fellegi.

“We must build several centres to ensure the proper regional connections.”

Hungary has used less than half of the 22.4 billion euros ($32.2 billion) in EU development funds earmarked for it in the EU’s 2007-2013 budget period, so it could theoretically use that pool to finance big projects, ING’s Nemeth noted. “Most of the money is typically drawn toward the end of EU budget periods, so the timing looks good,” he said. Brussels regards railway development as a plank of its long-term transport strategy, and the European Commission has recognised the extra investment needed in eastern Europe’s core rail network so as to form international corridors. “Our priorities

for investment in transport infrastructure focus on filling in the missing links and removing existing bottlenecks so that we achieve a genuinely European transport network,” a Commission official told Reuters.

The EU also eased co-financing rules recently, requiring less in matching funds from Hungary, Romania and Latvia, as well as Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

The International Monetary Fund, which bailed out Hungary in the 2008 crisis, argued in a report in April that Budapest is going about the problem back-to-front, and that it should only take on the MAV debt after it has formulated a credible reform plan.

Budapest wants to get started this year while it has the pension fund buffer, however. “We need to create sustainability (at MAV),” Fellegi said. “If possible, we need to do that in a way that it has the positive effect on the (national) budget that we would like.”

The government will unveil its wider plan “in the near future,” the ministry said in an emailed response to questions. Analysts were concerned that this latest effort to rescue MAV, like others in the past decade, would come to naught. Without major reforms, ING’s Nemeth said, MAV “will recreate its current debt load, as it has after previous rounds of debt consolidation, within a few years-and the rail system will remain as bad as it is now.” —Reuters

Japan unveils measures to deal with strong yen $100bn facility to help weaken currency TOKYO: Japan’s finance minister unveiled steps yesterday to combat the yen’s rise, which threatens to undermine the recovery of companies following the March earthquake and tsunami. Yoshihiko Noda announced a $100 billion facility aimed at helping to weaken the yen after it last week hit a post-war high against the dollar on global economic fears, and imposed new rules on the disclosure of foreign exchange holdings by financial firms.

SYDNEY: Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce announces company full-yearresults yesterday. —AFP

Takeover speculation as Qantas profit doubles SYDNEY: Qantas Airways announced a doubling of its full-year net profit yesterday but warned of challenging times ahead as speculation mounts that the national carrier could become a takeover target. The Aus$250 million (US$262 million) result for the year to June 30, from an airline planning an Asia-focused restructuring, compared with an Aus$112 million profit in the previous corresponding period. Its underlying profit before tax - the airline’s preferred measure of financial performance - was Aus$552 million, above the Aus$377 million in 2009/10.

The company said it achieved the result despite an Aus$224 million impact from natural disasters, including floods and cyclones in Queensland state, the Christchurch and Japanese earthquakes and Chile’s volcanic ash cloud. “This result reflects the strength of the Qantas Group’s portfolio and is our best performance since the global financial crisis,” said chief executive Alan Joyce. “ We achieved the result while overcoming significant external and operational factors, including a series of natural disasters, a 28 percent increase in average fuel prices and an underperforming international business.”

While there were improved earnings for its domestic and freight business, and strong results from budget offshoot Jetstar, whose earnings before tax and interest rose 29 percent, international operations lost Aus$200 million. Joyce said this was “unacceptable”.

“It is important to put the result in context.

The Group’s planned capital expenditure over the next two years exceeds Aus$5 billion,” he said. “Fuel prices are expected to remain high and there is considerable uncertainty in the global economy.”Qantas International repor ted a loss of over Aus$200 million in the year on invested capital of over $5 billion, an unacceptable return.

Continuing down this path would be unsus-

tainable.”

Earlier this month, the airline announced a five-year plan to turn the international arm around. It will see 1,000 jobs slashed as part of a new emphasis on Asia, which has been met with a firestorm of criticism from unions, who have threatened strike action.

The revamp also involves Qantas spending US$9.5 billion on new planes and teaming up with Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi Corp. to launch a new low-cost domestic airline, Jetstar Japan.

Additionally, it will also set up a joint-venture premium airline based in Asia. “Our intention is that in five years’ time Qantas Airlines - domestic and international combined - will exceed its cost of capital on a sustainable basis,” said Joyce. With its share price hitting record lows of Aus$1.42 this week, talk has been rife that the carrier could be a takeover target, with potential suitors attracted by Jetstar and Qantas’ solidly performing frequent flyer program.

But Joyce played this down. “There’s no formal or informal bid on the table and nobody has approached us. It is pure speculation,” he said, on a day the stock climbed as high as Aus$1.60 before retreating to close at Aus$1.52. The Australian newspaper reported “high-level” speculation about an Aus$3.5 billion-plus bid for the national icon from a private equity fund. But it said Treasurer Wayne Swan and Transpor t Minister Anthony Albanese were inclined to oppose any private equity bid on national interest concerns. Joyce said there was a lot more value in Qantas than the share price indicated, adding that despite losses on its international routes it was a good business.

The company said it was not possible to provide profit guidance for the year ahead because of the volatility, uncertain economic conditions and the major changes taking place in the company. —AFP

BANGKOK: Pedestrians walk past fruit stalls along a street in downtown Bangkok yesterday. —AFP

The package, which comes after Japan’s repeated attempts to weaken the yen through currency market intervention including a unilateral move in August, left markets underwhelmed, with the unit rising against the dollar in the wake of Noda’s announcement. The program would encourage firms to exchange the Japanese currency for foreign denominated assets, with the one-year facility aimed at encouraging merger and acquisition activity to make the most of the strong unit. “The move is expected to encourage firms to exchange yen-denominated assets into foreign currency,” Noda told a news conference.

“The move is aimed at stabilising the forex market,” he said, adding that the yen’s recent moves were “one-sided”.

Under the scheme, up to $100 billion will be used to finance Japanese firms’ overseas merger activities and help with natural resources procurement, enabling them to secure funds at low costs. The foreign currency funds will be released to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which will then collaborate with private banks to make loans. The package will also see the Finance Ministr y strengthen its monitoring of the foreign exchange markets, requiring dealers to report trading positions through to the end of September, said Noda.

The new disclosure rules require banks and major financial firms to repor t their foreign exchange balances twice daily.

They are designed to help authorities monitor what they believe is excessive speculation in the market. But markets were not too impressed, with the yen

strengthening against the dollar on the news. The greenback briefly fell to 76.53 yen at one point from 76.89 earlier, before sitting at 76.62 yen in later trade.

The new measures will not

Asahi and Kirin buying companies overseas in search of growth. Yesterday’s emergency credit facility “may do little” in practice; the requirement that dealers report their fixed posi-

The strong yen threatens to undermine Japan’s faster-thanexpected but fragile recovery from the March 11 disasters, amid increasing international scrutiny over its finances. Earlier

KAMAISHI, Japan: A worker walks past the grounded cargo ship Asia Symphony, which was pushed onto the harbor wall in Kamaishi port by the tsunami of March 11, yesterday. —AFP have much of an impact unless Japanese firms suddenly develop a large appetite for buying up foreign firms, Credit Agricole head FX strategist Mitul Kotecha said in a research note. The strong yen has helped aid a flurry of deals with the likes of brewers

tions may have a larger impact, Kotecha said. “The FX market is a global market,” Yuji Kameoka, managing director of foreign exchange at Daiwa Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires. “It is hard to contain FX movement with only these measures.”

Wednesday ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Japan’s government debt rating one notch to Aa3, saying political instability and weak prospects for Japanese growth would make it difficult to tackle the industrialised world’s biggest debt. —AFP

German business confidence drops FRANKFURT: German business confidence fell sharply this month, the Ifo economic research institute said yesterday as it released the latest in a series of bleak indicators for the eurozone’s economy. The monthly Ifo business climate index plunged to 108.7 points from 112.9 points in July, underscoring a sharp slowdown seen also in eurozone consumer confidence. German business expectations for the coming six months showed a sharp drop as well, a development noted with particular concern by analysts.

The latest Ifo poll was well below expectations of a decline to 111 points and was the biggest drop since the index lost 4.9 points in Nov 2008. It was also the measure’s lowest level since June 2010 and marked a very sharp fall from the record high of 115.4 in February as the German economy, the eurozone’s biggest, bounced back from its worst post war recession. “Turbulence in the financial and foreign exchange markets, the sovereign debt crises in certain eurozone countries and the development of the US economy have contributed to uncertainty,” Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said in a statement.

An Ifo sub-index that measures companies’

expectations for the next six months fell to 100.1 points meanwhile from 105. A figure below 100 indicates a downturn and it was the expectations’ lowest level since October 2009. UniCredit counterpart Andreas Rees noted it was also the indicator’s sixth consecutive decline and added: “There can absolutely be no denying that this is a downward trend.”

An Ifo statement quoted president HansWerner Sinn as saying: “The current business situation, however, continues to be assessed overall as good, although the situation appraisals in recent months were significantly more favourable.” The survey of around 7,000 firms showed falls in all of its categories manufacturing, retailing and construction, and backed up an EU Commission survey of consumer confidence released on Tuesday.

That poll’s fall of 5.4 points to minus 16.6 points was a sharper drop than one seen in Oct 2008 after US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, setting off the global financial crisis and recession. “The Ifo survey data therefore add to a growing picture of rapidly deteriorating business and household confidence in Germany,” Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said. Meanwhile, euro-

zone industrial orders also surprised economists on the downside, showing a decline of 0.7 percent in June instead of an anticipated gain of 0.5 percent, according to EU data.

On Tuesday, Markit’s purchasing managers index for eurozone private sector activity showed it stagnating in August while the ZEW index of German investor confidence slumped for the sixth month running to a level last seen in Dec 2008. Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer said the debt crisis would decide if Germany now just faced a soft patch or a more serious downturn. The German economy grew just 0.1 percent in the second quarter, well off the first quarter pace of 1.3 percent.

If the debt crisis escalates “and Italy and Spain are cut off from the capital markets and default, this would likely trigger a global uncertainty shock similar to after the Lehman bankruptcy. The economy would then enter a serious recession,” Kraemer warned.

Economists agreed that in light of the softer data, the European Central Bank would refrain from raising its main interest rate again this year, having already hiked it twice by 0.25 percentage points to 1.50 percent. —AFP

y

A

26

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

BUSINESS

Luxury retail not part of India’s success story MUMBAI: When Nita Ambani went shopping for 25,000 pieces of high-end Japanese crockery, she did not go to the Noritake store in her posh neighborhood of southern Mumbai.

Instead, the wife of the richest man in India called a Noritake store in Sri Lanka, where the upscale dinnerware for her new $1 billion home would be far cheaper. Ambani’s decision illustrates why India’s growing number of wealthy consumers has not translated into riches for luxury retailers such as LVMH or Prada despite what, on the face of it, looks like a no-brainer. An economy growing at nearly 9 percent has spurred more than 200,000 millionaires, trailing only the United States and China.

The total net worth of “ultra” high net worth individuals - defined by net worth of more than $5 million - is $1 trillion and is expected to surpass $5 trillion by 2016. Yet India accounts for only half a percent of the global luxury market at $846 million. Greater China, on the other hand, accounts for 10 percent of the global market at $17 billion. Trying to sell expensive chic in India faces several challenges: steep import duties of up to 30 percent, inadequate luxury retail infrastructure, real estate regulations and a clientele that prefers to buy its luxury overseas for reasons of cash and cachet.

“India is a tough market, the system is laborious,” Gayatri Ruia, Development Director of Palladium in Mumbai, a mall that houses several brands, including luxury and premium.

“And the Indian spending pattern is different.

In Japan or China, even an entry level secretar y would not be seen without a Louis Vuitton bag.”

Wealthy Indians are not opposed to spending money on expensive goods, as can be seen in the proliferation of Porsches and other high-end cars in Indian cities. But a rich businessman driving an expensive foreign car may not spend lavishly on luxury branded suits, for example, Ruia said. “ The average Indian wealthy person sees no value in branded

goods. The few who do are in the habit of shopping while vacationing abroad.” Signs are that this will not change soon. The Indian luxury market is expected to grow at an average of 5 to 10 percent between now and 2013, compared with a robust 25 to 30 percent forecast for China, according to consulting and research firm Bain & Co. Part of the problem is providing the Indian consumer with a luxury shopping experience in a country where streets are strewn with garbage and squalid slums sit across from posh mansions. Luxury retailers are attempting to get around this by selling their wares out of five-star hotels, international airports and malls built exclusively to sell designer labels. But only two luxury malls have been built so far - one in the capital of New Delhi and the other in the southern city of Bangalore.

Mumbai, home to some of India’s richest, including the billionaire Ambani brothers and Bollywood actors, does not have a single dedicated luxury mall like those littering China, Singapore and Western capitals. “The challenge is infrastructure. Luxury requires an ecosystem,” Anand Ramanathan, manager at KPMG Advisory, said. “It’s pointless having a luxury mall on a road that is potholed. Even the so-called ‘luxury malls’ in India are not really luxury. They have issues with basic infrastructure, with training of staff, it’s just not a luxury experience.”

India’s first stand-alone luxury retail store opened in July, a 3,000 square-feet store for France’s Hermes that has an art gallery on the second floor and a glass elevator to travel the two floors. “There is no need for this twospeed network of shops,” said Bertrand Michaud, president of Hermes India. “We have to be on the street, not in hotels. And we have to offer what is offered overseas,” Michaud told Reuters in an interview at the opening of the flagship Hermes store in Mumbai.

The problem is, most of India’s rich prefer buying their luxury abroad. “This is partly

because, unlike in the west, even the rich Indian is a price-conscious one,” said Shobhaa De, Indian newspaper columnist, socialite and novelist. With import duties of up to 30 percent, luxury goods are often far cheaper outside India. “Also, the variety is much more overseas, the service is much better, the whole experience is much nicer,” said De, whose daughters shop for their luxury mostly outside India.

In a recent popular Bollywood movie titled Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ( You Only Live Once), a lead character asks his friend living in Europe to buy the Hermes Ostrich Kelly bag worth 12,000 euros ($17,000) as a gift for his fiancÈe in India, reflecting the limited variety in Asia’s third largest economy. Several Bollywood actors have been detained by customs at Indian airports in recent months, allegedly flying in with undeclared branded accessories bought overseas and having to pay thousands of dollars in duties before being released. “It’s a chicken and egg situation,” said Ruia. “Variety is limited because franchisees see that business is slow, so they have to be tentative when buying their merchandising. And business is slow par tly because variety is limited,” Ruia said.

Those doing business in India face steep import duties, scarce and costly real estate, a 51 percent foreign ownership cap in single-brand retail and other bureaucracy, only to f ind few c usto m er s af ter ju mping through the loops. The storied Taj Mahal hotel in the nation’s financial capital has a Louis Vuitton store that houses its signature bags. The hotel also has a Dior store, which sells pret-a-por ter dresses that star t at around $5,000 and bags that kick off at $2,500. On a recent visit, the stores were mostly empty of customers except for the occasional curious tourist.

Many international luxury brands are loss-making in India, including Hermes, which hopes to break even in a year. “It’s difficult, it’s frustrating, to do business here,”

M ichaud said. “Real estate regulations, bureaucracy, it takes years to set up office, the goods sit at customs for months. I wish they would make it easier.” Most luxur y brands have many more stores in China than they do in India. Louis Vuitton has 35 stores in China but only three in India. “The key challenge for global brands is figuring out how to get access to the Indian consumer,” Claudia D’Arpizio, a Bain & Company partner in Milan said. “China’s infrastructure is more developed than India’s, with a variety of luxury malls,” D’Arpizio said. “ The brands that are mastering the market are those that are staying close to consumers, evolving with them, and offering a customized retail experience and merchandise selection.”

In an effort to conquer at least that hurdle, some luxury retailers are now tailoring their offerings to an Indian market where ethnic dress and jewelry is the norm at most formal events. Hermes, for one, plans to lau nch s a ris in Oc tober, M ichau d told Reuters. The saris will be made in Paris and cost above $2,000 each. A matching blouse could be made to measure in Mumbai at an additional cost. “If you want to succeed in India, you have to be part of the Indian life,” Michaud told Reuters.

Italian luxury retailer Bottega Veneta, a unit of PPR, recently launched its limitededition “Knot India” clutch, which blends conventional embroidery with a signature Bottega weave and has “India” embossed on a sterling plate inside, just below “Made in Italy”. Italian luxury men’s fashion brand Canali has designed a “bandhgala” (closed neck) jacket specifically for the Indian market, inspired by jackets worn by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. “Clients love such products for two reasons: one is the cultural connect and second is the special feeling of owning something not availa ble a ny where els e in the world,” s aid Sa njay K a poor, mana ging direc tor of

Genesis Luxury, which markets brands such as Jimmy Choo, Canali and Bottega Veneta in India. “A limited edition ‘India-specific’ product. The trend is growing and more brands are jumping on this customized product bandwagon,” Kapoor said. Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey’s private equity arm in Asia, L Capital, in July bought a 25.5 percent stake in Genesis Luxury.

The luxury jewelry market is dominated by local names in India, where a prosperous business community prefers gold and ethnic designs to platinum and diamonds. A glance through the Indian edition of Vogue magazine shows several advertisements for luxury watches, but international fashion, accessories and jewelry are conspicuously absent. A single ad for Cartier has the photo of an exquisite piece of jewelry with an overseas phone number. The French chain has only one jewelry boutique in India.

American luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co, known for its little blue box, has no boutiques in India, but told Reuters it plans to open its first store in the countr y soon.

“Weddings are a big part of jewelry purchase,” Laxman Narasimhan, director of McKinsey & Co, said, adding that weddings accounted for 50 percent of the Indian jewelry market. Indian weddings require big, chunky, gold jewelry, aimed at impressing and outdoing - relatives. “If you had a product that didn’t really reflect the 50 percent, i t ’s n o t g o i n g to s e l l a s m u c h ,” s a i d Narasimhan, who runs McKinsey’s emerging markets consumer insights group. Still, optimism remains. Luxury is aspirational, and an entire generation growing up looking at Gucci bags or Jimmy Choo pumps would want to buy them when they are working adults, Ruia said. “An 18-year-old buying Mango, will want to buy Armani when she’s 24, but she needs to see it when she goes shopping at 18,” Ruia said. “The current generation of Indian adults didn’t have that.” —Reuters

A bold renaissance for Tupperware, redefined Adidas Adipure Trainer M

Adidas launches barefoot shoe PORTLAND: Adidas is going barefoot. The world’s second-largest athletic company unveiled its first “barefoot” training shoe Tuesday, which is designed to mimic the experience of exercising barefoot while providing the protection, traction and durability of a shoe. The Adipure Trainer, which is a cross between a glove for the feet and a traditional shoe, hits US stores in November priced at $90. The barefoot shoe is part of a strategy by Adidas, which is based in Germany, to expand into the U.S. where rival Nike dominates.

Adidas joins a list of athletic makers trying to tap into the small but burgeoning U.S. market of fanatical runners and gym-goers who swear by shoes designed with as little material between the wearer and the ground as possible.

“People who believe barefoot is the way to go...are very emphatic about it,” said Matt Powell, an analyst with industry research organization SportsOneSource Group. “They want to spread the message. It sounds religious but some of them are evangelical about it.”

The athletic shoe and clothing business has been fairly resilient during the US economic downturn, but it is an industry that thrives almost entirely on new products. When it comes to shoes, the latest and greatest captures the US customer. While barefoot shoes make up a tiny fraction of the $22 billion US athletic shoe industry, it is one of the fast-growing categories. Sales have more than doubled in the past year to roughly $750 million, according to SportsOneSource.

Nike, the world’s biggest athletic company, holds roughly 65 percent of the market and appeals to barefoot loyalists and mainstream exercise enthusiasts alike with the traditional running-shoe look of its “Free” line. Vibram has about 10 percent of the market with its Five-Finger shoe, which encases each toe separately and has come to define the style. Other big companies such as Merrell, Fila, Saucony, Asics and New Balance also have their own barefoot or so-called minimalist offerings.

The design of the Adidas barefoot shoe strikes a balance between the two styles. The brightly-colored trainer, which features the trademark Adidas three stripes, covers the foot as a shoe would but with a sock-like fit and toe compartments to allow more natural movement. “The Adipure Trainer is a unique piece of equipment for elite level athletes that we’re bringing to our core consumer,” said Patrik Nilsson, president of Adidas North America.

The growing US barefoot market is an important one for Adidas. The company runs a close race with Nike globally, but the gap is much wider in North America. In their most recent fiscal years, Nike generated $7.58 billion in revenue in North America. Adidas, meanwhile, had roughly $4.05 billion in revenue when translated to U.S. dollars. Nike holds 48.2 percent of the market share in U.S., while Adidas comes in at a distant second with 11.7 percent. Adidas, which recently has seen its sales improve in North America, has implemented a growth strategy that relies heavily on gaining market share in the U.S. The company said it is trying to connect better to US consumers through new products and marketing.

The company, which has long relied on its strength as a soccer and lifestyle brand, has put a bigger push behind other sports that are big in the US as well. In basketball, for example, it’s expanded its products in recent years and signed Chicago Bulls player Derek Rose, who was the NBA’s most valuable player this year. “To be successful is damn hard work day in and day out,” said Herbert Hainer, CEO of Adidas speaking from the company’s U.S. headquarters in Portland. “It’s not just basketball or having Derek Rose or Tiger Woods, or whatever. It’s a lot of different things all the time and connecting right with the consumer.” —AP

Sales party held somewhere every 1.7 seconds WASHINGTON: Cindy Hallman-Morris grew up with Tupperware’s burping bowls, gelatin rings and pickle keeper, but she considered herself a casual buyer of the brand once she had her own kids. Until this year, when she was sucked - happily - into the Tupperware vortex. “I attended a party and then hosted a party and then it seemed everyone I knew was giving a Tupperware party,” said the 44-year-old high school math teacher in Asheville, North Carolina. “It’s never ending!”

Tupperware, it seems, is enjoying a renaissance 65 years after it first hit the market with Wonder bowls, Bell Tumblers and Ice-Tup molds for homemade frozen treats. Long gone is the signature burp, that whoosh of air from pressing on the center of a lid to tightly seal in the goodness. Also gone is the color goldenrod, fussy floral accents and the soft pastels of the 1950s and ‘60s. Today’s Tupperware is drenched in edgy shades of “purplicious” and “fuchsia kiss”, or crisp in greens dubbed “margarita” and “lettuce leaf”.

You can buy contemporary takes on Wonderlier bowls and those little salt and pepper shakers, but Tupperware Brands Corp also sells an appetizer tray that looks like a caterpillar, fancy chef’s knives, bakeware and heavy stainless steel pots and pans. The company has choppers, whippers and microsteamers. Updated FridgeSmart containers with the two familiar vents are embedded with dishwasher-resistant charts recommending how much air to let in for various fruits and vegetables. Broccoli’s a heavy breather, for instance. Asparagus isn’t. The Orlando, Florida-based company has acquired a sense of humor with a set called Thatsa Bowl and Thatsa Mega Bowl, but left the Jel-Ring Mold pretty much alone while aggressively modernizing, diversifying and pursuing emerging markets around the globe. A few years ago, the company boasted that a Tupperware party was held somewhere in the world every 2.3 seconds. Now it’s 1.7 seconds, driven by a direct sales force of 2.6 million - still mostly women - in nearly 100 markets, said Rick Goings, the chairman and chief executive who arrived 20 years ago from Avon. Worldwide sales last year totaled $2.3 billion, including beauty and personal care products. “I got here and found out the company was in trouble,” Goings said. “The headquarters was for sale. They had just written off $100 million. Everybody loved it but they loved it in a historical sense, like the Model T.” One of the first things he did was hire Susan Perkins, the company’s first woman chief of design, to replace generations of stuffy industrial wonks who likely never had to use Tupperware at home. Also on Goings’ plate: making products more appealing to young people, and ceding ground to lower cost plastic containers and bags - which, according to him, are lousier than Tupperware for the environment because they don’t last as long or work as well. The company has had more than seven straight quarters of positive sales growth and expanding earnings, due largely to markets outside the United States, but nothing quite so explosive as the early decades.

The “party plan” for selling in homes to friends and neighbors was put in place by inventor Earl S. Tupper’s right hand, a divorced mom from Detroit named Brownie Wise, after Tupper’s failed attempts to sell in stores.

Home parties remain the way most consumers scoop up their Tupperware, though there’s an option to host online parties and Tupperware itself sells from its website.

Admired by House Beautiful in 1947 as “Fine Art for 39 Cents,” Tupperware today is functional, fun and fashionable, but it isn’t cheap.

The microwave SmartSteamer, for example, goes for $139 and a seven-piece Vent ‘N Serve set for $130. “It IS quite pricey, but it lasts forever,” Hallman-Morris said. “It really does.”

Pricey, that is, in today’s palooza of plastics.

There wasn’t much by way of comparison back in 1938, when Tupper first got his hands on a sticky black glob of polyethylene slag, then figured out how to turn it into squishable kitchen storage and cereal bowls. Plastics of

the party plan, allowing the company to soar to 20,000 dealers by 1954, a golden year.

Stanley Home Products used the party plan before Tupperware came along, but Wise refined it, whipping women into a frenzy for selling the newfangled plasticware. She first peddled Stanley, adding a bit of Tupperware to the mix and later switching altogether, catching Tupper’s eye with an impressive sales network in Detroit, then Florida. Appointed vice president and head of sales, Wise promised real money and recognition for hard workers, without the need for formal educa-

This 1950’s photo shows Brownie Wise as she tosses a bowl filled with water at a Tupperware party. (Inset) This 1951 photo shows Earl S Tupper and Wise as they hold resin pellets at the Tupperware factory in Farnumsville, Massachusetts. —AP the time were hard, brittle and smelly, prone to leaks and easily breakable. Without lids, homemakers used moist towels, tin foil or shower caps to make food last on the counter and in ever-improving refrigerators.

Tupperware’s success is a study in perfect post-war timing, a period of rapid growth in consumer products, consumption and the rise of suburban living after women were sent home from wartime factories. Not bad for a New Hampshire farm boy and failed tree doctor who barely graduated high school.

Tupper’s base material and introduction to the business came at DuPont during a year’s stint in its plastics division in Leominster, Massachusetts. But it was the flamboyant Wise, not the all-business Tupper, who refined

tion or job experience. The company’s lifetime guarantee that products won’t chip, break, crack or peel remains in place. So do big-ticket incentives for top sellers.

“I basically was able to walk away from not knowing where my next paycheck was coming from,” said Kevin Farrell, a Los Angeles actor who dons Daisy Dukes, crazy makeup and a blonde wig to sell Tupperware in drag as the brash southern trailer-dweller Dee W Ieye. He sells a lot of Tupperware - six figures’ worth most years. Farrell’s a regular recipient of big Wise-inspired prizes, a Pontiac G-6 convertible for one. “It feeds me better than doing televi-

Tupperware Impressions Tumblers

The Tupperware SmartSteamer

sion work. There’s a joy from going into people’s homes and bringing them a great product and having fun at the same time,” he said.

Wise, an admirer of positive thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale, put on splashy Homecoming Jubilees every year for hundreds of Tupperware Ladies. Held at the company’s swank headquarters, the jubilees were equal parts circus and revival meeting, with themes like the Gold Rush-style “big dig” in 1954. Wise buried about $50,000 worth of mink stoles, diamond rings, gold watches and little cars that the faithful could redeem for the real thing after they dug them up. Wise had her own rags-to-riches story: a meager Georgia childhood and a desperate need to support son Jerry after a bad marriage to an abusive alcoholic whom she divorced in 1941.

“Brownie made it clear, if you’re divorced, married, single, disabled, Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, Christian, it doesn’t matter. Tupperware is an opportunity for you,” said Laurie Kahn, who wrote, produced and directed the 2004 PBS documentary “Tupperware!” “These women were very traditional, yet they were subverting the system from the inside,” she said. “They could earn more money than their husbands if they were successful, and be able to put their kids through college and buy houses.” Some made millions through their own sales forces.

Husbands quit jobs as firefighters, factory workers or truck drivers to help when their wives’ Tupperware businesses took off, Kahn said. Wise, often photographed in her favorite peacock wicker chair amid fawning male Tupperware executives, was the first woman to make the cover of Business Week, in 1954, well before Mary Kay, Martha Stewart or Oprah. But four years later, she was unceremoniously dumped by the quirky, paranoid Tupper after seven heady years with the company. The falling out was complicated, fed by Tupper’s disdain for Wise’s excesses and his desire to sell the company to avoid heavy estate taxes in the event of his death, by some accounts.

According to Kahn’s film, Tupper felt that suitors for the company would have no interest in taking on a female at the top. After receiving a paltry $35,000 settlement, slightly less than her annual salary, Wise was unable to make her Tupperware magic reappear. She dabbled in real estate, took up pottery making and died in relative obscurity in 1992 at age 79.

“She was living the life she wanted to, but Tupper held all the cards. She poured her whole life into Tupperware,” said Bill Kealing, who wrote the 2008 book “ Tupperware Unsealed” (University Press of Florida).

Tupper’s patent for his famous air-tight, leakproof seal, modeled on an inverted paint can lid, expired about a year after he fired Wise.

He sold the business for $16 million to Rexall Drug Co., renounced his US citizenship and wound up living in Costa Rica. He died in 1983 at 76. As for Tupperware parties? Rexall, with access to thousands of drug stores, could have sold the products off shelves but kept the home party plan in place.

Tupperware Brands has since spun off as an independent once again. Goings chalks up the party plan’s success to the power of the demo. “It still works. People still have the same values,” he said. “We’re sensing people want to get reconnected.” —AP

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

TECHNOLOGY

Japan ‘computer grannies’ gripping to Internet lifeline TOKYO: Fifteen years ago, a growing sense of isolation due to old age prompted Kayoko Okawa, then 66, to knock on the door of a local volunteer center and timidly ask if it was possible for someone her age to start an online community for seniors. The energetic 81-year-old is now president of the “Computer Grandmas Group” and says connecting this way can ease loneliness for Japan’s increasing number of seniors who live alone-and, more importantly, stave off a lonely death, with the bodies often not found for days. “I like to remember how we used to write letters including photos, pictures,” Okawa said.

“It was the personal touches that mattered.” Turned down 15 years ago by many groups with comments like “there’s no way a granny like you could do it,” Okawa’s tentative questions were met by friendly enthusiasm and advice from two young men, who immediately offered to help set up the network and print business cards for her. Advocating

the use of IT technology among the elderly, the Computer Grandmas, who now number over 250 women-and menacross Japan, hold twice-monthly classes to teach seniors how to use the internet. They also maintain a listserve which has become a thriving online community. “I suppose it spread because everyone felt lonely. It’s a time of life when everyone, whether male or female, feels a little alone,” Okawa said.

“We talk about the ‘ageing society’ and the ‘need for psychological support’ and such... but the truth lies in everyone being just a bit lonely.” When Okawa first began her quest, personal computers were still quite expensive and could cast upwards of 600,000 yen ($7,800 in current terms), way beyond the cost of pensioners. She and a group of volunteers made the rounds of companies to ask for donations of used computers.

When they visited the Japanese branch of Microsoft, they struck gold. “ We arrived at their storage rooms. It was like

entering a room full of treasure,” Okawa recalled.

Grim reality Behind the group’s light-hearted approach lies awareness of the grim reality that the number of deaths among seniors living alone has become an increasingly urgent social problem, with their bodies sometimes not discovered for days. Last year, 4.6 million elderly lived alone across Japan, and the number of those who died at home rose 61 percent between 2003 and 2010, from 1,364 to 2,194, according to the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health in Tokyo. A deep-seated Japanese reluctance to interfere in the lives of others, even neighbors, means that some of these people may go through their days without talking to anybody.

Looser family bonds and smaller families also play a role. The 2010 national census showed that the number of sin-

gle person households had increased once again, accounting for 31 percent of all households in Japan. Yuki Ishikawa, the 66-year-old director of Tanshinken, a group that advocates to make life easier for those living solo, says a sense of independence and fight is needed by the middle -aged and elderly living alone, at least in the Tokyo area.

“It’s about how to support yourself on your own, to not be shamed by a society standardized to a ‘two parents, two unmarried children’ stereotype,” she added. In this way, the internet plays a key role in both psychological and practical support, particularly in times of emergency such as the March 11 disaster following a massive 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. With land lines down, people of all ages went online to verify the safety of friends and loved ones via sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Okawa’s group has held “Twitter Salons” for seniors twice since March but admits it’s still hard to tell if Twitter works well for the

older generation, since it may be too fast a medium that updates too quickly for seniors. The listserve, by contrast, is slow.

Others say that limited internet access remains a hurdle. “The older generation has been left behind by the internet age. This needs to be changed,” said Keiko Higuchi, 79 and director of the Women’s Association for Better Aging Society. But awareness of the internet’s usefulness may change this.

According to the ministry of Internal Affairs, while only 39 percent of Japanese above 65 had access to the internet in Japan last year, some 67 percent used some form of online community to keep in touch after the quake.

Now, Okawa says some members of her group log on to their computers first thing in the morning to check what emails they had received during the night. “Even if it’s just through your fingertips, being connected to someone else is important,” she added. — Reuters

Post-quake, West teases East on social networks East’s reaction to ‘DC Earthquake Devastation’ mocked

TOKYO: Japan’s camera maker Nikon unveils the company’s first water-proof digital camera called the “Coolpix AW100”, equipped with a 16 mega-pixel CMOS image sensor and a 5-25mm/F3.9 - 4.8 zoom lens, equivalent to a 28 - 140mm in 35mm format, in Tokyo yesterday. Nikon will put it on the market on September 8. — AFP

US Bay Area Rapid Transit to discuss wireless policy SAN FRANCISCO: A transit agency in the middle of a free speech debate over cutting wireless access to its San Francisco Bay area stations during a protest is hoping to ease tensions with a special public meeting to discuss whether there should be a policy regarding the tactic. The Bay Area Rapid Transit agency board of directors met yesterday morning in Oakland to discuss whether it wants to continue using the tactic, which drew unfavorable comparisons to Hosni Mubarak’s attempts to cut Internet access to most of Egypt to quell demonstrations protesting his regime. “We’ve had a number of protests over this that have been disruptive to our passengers,” board president Bob Franklin said. “We want to provide an appropriate forum to hear from those protesters with this meeting.”

Franklin said the board isn’t expected to take any action during the meeting.

Instead, he said the session is being held to gather ideas and hear from all sides about what wireless access policy BART should adopt. BART became the first reported US governmental agency to shut wireless access as a security measure when it turned off power to cell towers in four San Francisco stations on Aug 11, when a protest over BART police shooting and killing a transient was planned. The action was taken after leaders of the protest told demonstrators to

look for last-minute instructions on how to disrupt the evening commute on social networks and text messages. The protest failed to materialize after BART cut wireless access.

The tactic, though, has prompted two rowdy demonstrations on each of the past two Monday nights. The first demonstration prompted BART to briefly close four stations, but no arrests were made even though protesters unfurled banners and loudly chanted slogans on the platform in violation of BART safety rules. The protest Monday night forced closure of two stations and resulted in close to four dozen arrests in the subway and in city streets above after demonstrators refused police demands to disburse. Four demonstrators were arrested after refusing BART police demands to refrain from protesting on the Civic Center station platform. Franklin believes there was a conscious decision Monday to not tolerate protests on the platform.

“It’s dangerous,” he said.

Franklin said BART police have been better handling each successive demonstration. The first protest, held July 11 over the police shooting, caused massive delays throughout the BART system.

There were no delays reported Monday night, Franklin said. “This has been an ongoing process,” BART Deputy Chief Daniel O. Hartwig said. — AP

CAPE CANAVERAL: In this file photo provided by NASA, astronaut Scott Kelly, Expedition 26 commander, right, poses with Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. — AP

NASA’s humanoid robot comes alive CAPE CANAVERAL: NASA’s humanoid robot has finally awakened in space.

Ground controllers turned Robonaut on Monday for the first time aboard the International Space Station. The robot was delivered to the orbiting complex back in February. It took this long for the operating software to get up there, and for the astronauts to have enough time to help with the experiment.

The test involved sending power to all of Robonaut’s systems. The robot was not commanded to move. That will happen next week. Team members were exhilarated by Monday’s successful test. It’s being tested as a possible astronaut ’s helper. Robonaut, also known as R2, is the first humanoid robot in space. For now, it exists from the waist up. —AP

SAN FRANCISCO: On the East Coast, people tweeted and Facebooked with expressions of surprise, worry and sometimes panic over the most powerful earthquake to hit them in decades. The magnitude 5.8 quake, centered outside Richmond, Virgina, was felt across office buildings and sidewalks along the Eastern Seaboard - in places more accustomed to snowstorms than earthly rumblings. Buildings were evacuated.

News networks shook off the August lull. On Facebook, Twitter and even Google’s fledging Plus network, people asked yesterday if it was really an earthquake they just felt or perhaps Godzilla paying a visit. For many, it was the first quake they ever experienced.

Their West Coast peers, more used to such rumblings, promptly started making fun of them.

“Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake??? Come on East Coast, we have those for breakfast out here!!!!” wrote Dennis Miller, 50, a lifelong California resident whose house in Pleasanton sits on an earthquake fault line. He said he’s had a number of people click “like” on his post on Facebook - all of them from the West Coast, though. “I haven’t heard from anyone on the East Coast because they are probably still sitting under their kitchen tables,” Miller said in an interview, with a laugh. Miller added, “I wouldn’t even wake up to a 5.8 if I was asleep.” On Twitter and Facebook and over email, people circulated a photo in a serene garden set-

NEW YORK: A man speaks on his cellphone as others wait to be allowed back into their office buildings near the courthouse after an earthquake was felt in New York on August 23. —AFP

ting, with a table and four plastic lawn chairs. One of the chairs flipped on its back. The mock image carried the title “DC Earthquake Devastation.”

Even East Coasters seemed to understand. Joanne Razo, a legal assistant who lives in Washington DC, has lived through an earthquake in Los Angeles and said she knows that a 5.8 quake is mild by West Coast standards. But for her, the scary part was not the ground shaking but that “this area is not equipped to handle

Parents, ACLU sue NJ city over Facebook records TRENTON: The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the state’s biggest city for refusing to release records related to a $100 million gift pledged to its schools by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit against Newark on behalf of a parents group denied access to records requested under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. The initial April 1 request sought to review correspondence among Zuckerberg, Newark employees including Democratic Mayor Cory Booker, state officials and others involved in the deal. “As parents, as taxpayers and as citizens, we have a need and right to know how the money pledged to Newark’s public schools will ultimately serve Newark’s public school students,” said Laura Baker, who filed the initial request and has a granddaughter in the school system.

The Booker administration released a statement late Tuesday saying there was no correspondence between the mayor and Zuckerberg.

A city spokeswoman said they communicated in person and over the phone. The $100 million pledge was announced a year ago by Republican Gov. Chris Christie, Booker and Zuckerberg as they appeared together on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show. Zuckerberg described the gift as a “challenge grant” to Booker, who’s trying to raise $100 million more to match what Zuckerberg has promised to contribute over five years. The gift was presented as a way to try to improve the district, which has been plagued for years by low test scores, poor graduation rates and crumbling buildings. The district was taken over by the state in 1995 after instances of waste and mismanagement, including the spending of taxpayer money by school board members on cars and restaurant meals. Parents said they want to know more information about how the highly publicized gift would be used. After requesting several extensions to have time to locate documents, the city denied the request on July 19 in a letter, saying any communications between Booker and Zuckerberg “were not made in the court of the mayor’s official duties.” The letter went on to say that if Booker were exercising his official duties, any documents would be privileged.— AP

anything like this.” As with the earthquake in Japan earlier this year, many people first heard about the events on the East Coast through social networks.

Stellamarie Hall, who works for a marketing agency in San Francisco, suddenly saw her Facebook page explode with, as she put it, “East Coast people freaking out.” Her company’s East Coast office, meanwhile, sent out a companywide alert that travel might be affected.

“We were laughing but we def-

initely understand that New York and certain metropolitan areas are not designed around earthquakes,” said Hall, 26. Hall, who was born and raised in San Francisco, has lived through several earthquakes, big ones like the 1989 Loma Pierta quake that killed dozens of people and small ones that happen several times a year. “We’re accustomed to rumblings,” she said. Of course, the tables might just turn if a freak snowstorm ever hits San Francisco. — AP

Banks too shy for social networking MANILA: To say that social media has become part of our daily lives would be an understatement.

Internet users tend to spend most of their time online on sites like Facebook and Twitter talking to friends, looking at photos and making status updates for everyone in their network to see, studies have shown. But less than a decade after Mark Zuckerberg’s creation took over the world, at least one segment of society refuses to hop on to the social networking bandwagon-banks.

Most companies now tap social networks to reach larger markets. Local telcos are now more effective in addressing customer concerns when reached through Twitter, while cosmetics companies have put up “Like” pages on Facebook to show everyone just how effective their products are.

“Based on feedback, [banks] are still trying to get a feel on how to go into social media sites,” said Allan Tumbaga, president of the Bank Marketers Association of the Philippines (BMAP). Tumbaga said local banks may be slow in adopting their own social media strategies, but industry players are aware of the potential of social media as a way of reaching clients.

“Banks are really interested in setting up (social media accounts),” he said. “The trend is for everyone to go into social networking ... it’s becoming a relevant communication channel for our customers, and we want to be a part of that.” And the numbers back this up. As of the end of last month, there were an estimated 750 million users on Facebook. About 30 million of those users are from the Philippines, which means a third of the population is on Facebook. Social networking sites allow companies to reach and interact with their customers like never before. These can also be a vital tool in reaching more than one in three Filipinos that do not have access to banking services today.

BMAP already sat down with several Internet marketing gurus to learn how to capitalize on the social media phenomenon, focusing mostly on how the channel has been used by foreign banks.

“We want to learn from the experience of other countries and adopt the best practices here,” Tumbaga said. Overseas, giants such as Citi and Bank of America have used social media as more than just a marketing tool. They tap sites like Twitter and Facebook for customer service, market

research and for building communities with clients. But according to Tumbaga, banks are also being extra-careful about social media, where a company is prone to critical bashing from the public. As a result, local banks believe that the gains to be had from social media are just not worth the trouble yet, Tumbaga said. He explained that the smallest rumor about an institution’s financial problems can easily go “viral” and explode through various social networks, leading to a possible bank run that may affect not just a company and its customers, but an entire economy as well. The trepidation is shared by many foreign lenders as well. A recent survey by Datamonitor showed that as much as 60 percent of the world’s banks have no social media plans whatsoever, while just 6 percent of retail banks maintain accounts, but merely to answer basic queries from customers. Tumbaga said this apprehension is understandable given the nature of the banking industry, where every risk has to be measured.

Another concern for local banks is security.

Tumbaga said many companies have yet to understand the possible risks of interacting with their customers through social networking sites. He said some customers can be tricked into divulging sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and passwords. But Australian technology research firm Ovum said financial institutions had no reason to fear social networks, given the media’s growing reach and relevance to the lives of customers. “The banks, without a social media strategy, are being short-sighted and are placing themselves in a dangerous and vulnerable position compared to competitors who have realized that social media can and must play an intrinsic role in their business,” Ovum analyst Marth Bennet said.

The company said a handful of retail banks have begun to use social media such as First Direct in the UK, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo in the United States, and Rabobank in the Netherlands. “They are still feeling their way, and their strategy is very much a work in progress,” Ms. Bennet said. “These banks have been justifiably held up as industry leaders for their use of social media. However, there is no universal acceptance that social media is either important or suitable for retail banks,” she added. — MCT

28

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

health & science

Seniors learn better from mistakes OTTAWA: Canadian researchers have found the first evidence that older brains remember information better if it is learned through trial and error, rather than passively taking it in, a study said yesterday. “Learning the hard way proved to be the best way,” lead study investigator AndreeAnn Cyr told AFP. The finding was published in the Psychology and Aging journal online, ahead of the print edition. Educators and cognitive rehabilitation clinicians were surprised at the findings, which challenge a large body of published science that has shown that making mistakes while learning information hurts memory performance for older adults, and that passive learning is better suited to older brains. “ The scientific literature has traditionally

embraced errorless learning for older adults,” said Cyr. “However, our study has shown that if older adults are learning material that is very conceptual, where they can make a meaningful relationship between their errors and the correct information that they are supposed to remember, in those cases the errors can actually be quite beneficial for the learning process.”

In two separate trials, scientists at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute in Toronto compared the results of memory exercises performed by 45 adults in their 20s with those of 45 older adults with an average age of 70 years. Two learning methods were applied. The first involved passive learning in which participants were asked to remember a category such as “flower” and a relat-

ed word such as “rose.”

Another method was learning with errors, where the category is provided but the participant has to guess the related word before it is eventually provided to them. The difference in the two methods is akin to reading a book versus passively watching a movie. “It requires more cognitive effort when you have to come up with the answers yourself,” Cyr said.

The brain makes richer associations and linkages when encoding the information if it has to dig for the answers, whereas passive or errorless learning is less taxing on the brain, because the correct answer is simply provided. In both trials, participants remembered the context of target words better if they had been learned through tri-

al and error. But this was especially true for older adults. “Older adults are typically experiencing age-related declines in memory, so they get a bigger boost from setting up learning to create richer memories than younger adults who are not experiencing any memory impairments,” Cyr explained.

“Young people also have a leg up because they’re pretty good at spontaneously creating memory associations and making their memories richer.” The findings may have important implications for how information is taught to older adults in the classroom, and for rehabilitation procedures aimed at delaying cognitive decline-procedures that rely on knowledge of how to train an aging brain, according to Cyr. — AFP

How many species on Earth?

8.7 million, give or take Time to discover running out, say Scientists SINGAPORE: Scientists have yet to discover, or classify, about 90 percent of the plant and animal species on Earth, which is estimated to be home to just under 9 million species, a study says. The study, published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology yesterday , vastly increases the estimated richness of life on the planet. More than 1.2 million species have been formally described and named so far.

Scientists have long tried to classify life on Earth and to finally figure out how many species there are but estimates have varied wildly from 3 million to 100 million. The quest is no mere scientific fancy. Humans derive huge benefits from the richness of life on the planet, from foods to medicines, to clean air and water.

Knowing how many species there are and taking steps to ramp up the search and description could lead to more discoveries that benefit mankind.

The recent surge in extinction rates only made the quest more urgent, the scientists said. “With the clock of extinction now ticking faster for many species, I believe speeding the inventory of Earth’s species merits high scientific and societal priority,” said Camilo Mora of the University of Hawaii and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, who led the study. Some UN studies say the world is facing the worst losses since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago.

Species are classified according to a 250-year-old taxonomy system. This groups life into a pyramid-like hierarchy, with species at the base, then genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom and domain.

Patterns Mora and team studied existing

species databases and taxonomic data. They wanted to see if there were numerical patterns in the rankings, working on the assumption the higher taxonomic categories, meaning those at the top of the pyramid, are much more completely described than those as the bottom.

They examined well-known groups

AMBON: This undated image provided by seaphotos.com shows the face of a Histiophryne psychedelica, a highly atypical a psychedelic frogfish (Antennaridae) first described in 2009 from a handful of specimens photographed in Ambon, Indonesia in 2008. It has a vestigial, non-functional lure (illicium/esca) and probably traps its prey inside coral holes and crevices or within coral rubble. The unusual pattern is thought to mimic the appearance of several kinds of hermatypic coral, and while varying slightly from individual to individual, appears to remain unchanged throughout the life of each individual. —AP

and found the relative numbers of species assigned to phylum, class, order, family and genus follow consistent patterns. Applying this pattern to less well-studied groups could yield a reasonable estimate of total species numbers. The result was 6.5 million species on land and 2.2 million in the ocean depths. The study had a error margin of 1.3 million in total. The results suggested 86 percent of existing species on land and 91 percent of species in the ocean still await description, the scientists concluded. “The diversity of life is one of the most striking aspects of our planet,” the scientists say in the study. “Hence knowing how many species inhabit Earth is among the most fundamental questions in science. Yet the answer to this question remains enigmatic.”

Writing in an accompanying commentary to the research, Robert May of the Zoology Department at Oxford University lamented the rapid rate of species loss, due to land clearing, pollution, climate change and other factors. “It is a remarkable testament to humanity’s narcissism that we know the number of books in the US Library of Congress on 1 February 2011 was 22,194,656,” wrote May, until recently the president of The Royal Society. But it was remarkable that science “cannot tell you to within an order-of-magnitude how many distinct species of plants and animals we share our world with,” he added. — Reuters

Apple scab fungus more resistant to pesticides TRAVERSE CITY: Apple growers in the eastern US have a despised enemy known as apple scab - a disease caused by a fungus that forms ugly brown or greenish-black pockmarks on the fruit’s skin. Growers have kept the disease under control for decades by spraying trees with pesticides. Now, researchers say the chemicals may be losing their effectiveness as apple scab becomes ever more resistant, worsening the threat of outbreaks in commercial orchards. “We’ve dealt with fungicide resistance over the years, but this time we’re losing three or four different classes of completely unrelated fungicides at the same time,” said Henry Ngugi, a plant pathologist with Penn State University’s Fruit Research and Extension Center. “We have to literally go back to the drawing board.”

Just one scab lesion can reduce an apple’s value by 85 percent because it can’t be sold as table fruit, said Janna Beckerman, a Purdue University botany professor. It still can be used for juice, sauce or other products, but that brings much less money. If the lesion splits open, bugs get inside and the apple becomes worthless. Anecdotal reports from orchard owners and agriculture extension agents suggest the disease is spreading in parts of the Midwest and Northeast, although the situation can vary from one farm to another. Pesticide resistance and wet spring weath-

er, ideal for the fungus’ growth, are considered likely culprits.

The USApple Association, an advocacy group representing 7,500 growers, doesn’t know how widespread the problem is but fears it could get “significantly worse” unless the cause is nailed down and a solution found, regulatory affairs director Mark Seetin told The Associated Press in an e-mail. “I’m seeing growers who are doing what I’d consider a good job of spraying but still have a lot of scab in their orchards,” Ngugi said. In a newsletter article earlier this month, he reported seeing “levels of apple scab that I never imagined possible” during recent orchard visits. “This may sound scary,” he wrote, “but it is my considered opinion that if the level of devastation from scab reoccurs in the coming years, it would threaten the Pennsylvania apple industry.”

Jim Lerew, who grows about 600 acres (242 hectares) of apples in York Springs, Pennsylvania, said more than half of his crop has scab damage. “It’s definitely the worst ...

I’ve seen in my lifetime,” he said. Others in the industr y say things aren’t so dire. The Michigan Apple Committee is funding research on apple scab but “it’s not something that anyone is panicking about,” executive director Denise Donahue said. Growers in Michigan, which ranks third nationally in

HOBART: Farmer Ryan Richardson, owner of County Line Orchard, displays examples of apples and leaves from McIntosh apple trees on his farm that have been affected by apple scab fungus, in Hobart, Ind. — AP

apple production, are more worried about pests such as the brown marmorated stink bug, she said. Scab rarely shows up in Washington, the biggest apple growing state, thanks to the arid climate. But it’s the most damaging fungal disease in orchards east of the Mississippi River. In the moist Upper Midwest, some of the most popular apple varieties - McIntosh, Gala and Fuji among them - are particularly susceptible. Growers apply fungicides up to a dozen times a season to ward off the disease.

For decades, manufacturers have come up with replacements for chemical mixtures the fungus outwitted. By using a rotating lineup of fungicides from year to year, farmers usually stayed a step ahead of the scab. But the fungus now appears to be overcoming multiple fungicides at once. In a paper published this month in the journal Plant Disease, Beckerman and several colleagues described samples collected in Indiana and Michigan that are resisting all four of the most commonly used classes of chemical treatments.

Another ominous sign: The fungus apparently hasn’t developed any new weaknesses while evolving to resist the pesticides, unlike what usually happens in nature, the paper said.

The earliest generation of fungicides came along in the 1960s. They worked well, but drew increasingly tight regulation because they endangered other organisms. So, companies devised chemicals that specifically targeted apple scab.

Although the newer products are safer for the environment, it’s easier for the fungus to mutate and resist them - “evolution on steroids,” said Wayne Wilcox, a Cornell University plant pathology expert. No new classes of fungicides are known to be under development, he said. That leaves growers with a narrowing list of options. They could try new mixtures of existing chemicals. Or they could revert to the older varieties, which the fungus never defeated. They’re legal if used in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, but are more expensive and must be applied more frequently to be effective.

Despite the inconvenience and higher expenses for growers, consumers are unlikely to be affected by the fungicide resistance problem unless apple scab reaches “catastrophic” levels, Wilcox said. Farmers can’t afford to pass along much of the added cost because grocery stores could stock more apples from competing regions. —AP

ALTADENA: In this file photo, school children practice their “drop, cover and hold” technique. — AP

East Coast earthquakes: How do they travel so far?

WASHINGTON: A rare 5.8 earthquake that rattled the eastern United States on Tuesday was felt over a wide area from Toronto, Canada down to Georgia due to the hard, brittle quality of the ground, experts said. The quake that struck midafternoon near Richmond, Virginia was the strongest in the state since 1897, and shook the eastern seaboard for some 30 seconds, sparking a wave of panic among residents. “Earthquakes of this magnitude are unusual in your area, but the fact that you shook so hard and the event was actually some distance from you is not unusual,” Thomas Jordan, director of Southern California Earthquake Center based at the University of Southern California, told AFP by phone.

The outer rocky shell of the Earth, known as the lithosphere, is colder on the East Coast than in California, which is well known for experiencing frequent earthquakes. “So when something shakes, it is like hitting a bar of steel, it rings pretty well. Whereas on the West Coast, the rocks are higher temperature and it is more like hitting something quite a bit softer,” he said. Lucy Jones, a USGS spokeswoman, said the West Coast crust is broken up by active faults so it “doesn’t do as good of a job of transmitting the energy.” “On the East Coast, you have this old, hard, cold crust that does a lovely job of transmitting the waves like a solid bell,” she said on CNN, so that an earthquake “can definitely be felt hundreds of miles away.”

The US East Coast has plenty of fault lines, but they are ancient, and are inside a creaky plate that is under pressure from being jostled and pushed by other plates, experts said. Occasionally, pressure builds up and stresses will be released in earthquakes, like the one on Tuesday. “They are faults that used to be very active faults hundreds of millions of

years ago, unlike the faults on the West Coast... (that) are active today,” Jordan said. Jack Boatwright, a seismologist with USGS, told AFP that one aftershock of 2.8 magnitude was recorded in the hour following the quake. Other parts of the world that are similar to the US East Coast in terms of earthquake dynamics would include India, as well as some parts of Russia and Australia, he added.

“In India, that large triangle is relatively old, so we think that it conducts energy similarly,” he said. Other differences between East and West Coast quakes are the sounds they make -residents of California are less likely to hear banging associated with a big quake unless they are very near the epicenter, he said. “On the East Coast you might hear it many kilometers (miles) away, so don’t distrust the people who said they heard it,” Boatwright said. Jordan added that the likelihood of a bigger quake in the near future was minimal. “There is a small probability that this could be the first of a set of earthquakes and there could a larger earthquake coming, but the chances of that are small, about three to five percent.” On the US East Coast, where brick and wood buildings are not typically built to withstand shaking, a local official in Virginia said they were investigating calls of structural damage.

Washington’s National Cathedral reported “significant damage,” with parts of three of the central tower’s four pinnacles, its uppermost spires, having fallen off. No one was injured by the falling debris. “On the East Coast you have a lot of structures that, since they haven’t been built to withstand earthquakes, don’t do a very good job if they are actually shaking,” said Jordan. Any damage that occurs is typically close to the epicenter in such quakes, and the area where the quake struck was not a heavily populated town center. — AFP

Diet alone helps lower bad cholesterol: Study NEW YORK: A diet packed full of “cholesterol-lowering” ingredients such as nuts, beans and high-fiber grains cut bad cholesterol better than a low-saturated-fat diet, even though both diets were vegetarian, according to a Canadian study. The drop in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol-the so-called bad cholesterol-was big enough that dietary changes could be an alternative to statin medications for many people, said researchers led by David Jenkins at the University of Toronto. “There’s no question that statins have made a major difference in terms of cardiovascular disease control,” he told Reuters Health of the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But at least for now, “we can only get so far with statins.”

One in four adults aged 45 and older in the United States takes the cholesterol-lowering drugs. Jenkins and his colleagues wanted to see how big an effect a diet based on the pillars of cholesterol lowering foods could have on LDL numbers without statins. They randomly split 351 Canadians with

high cholesterol into three groups, all of whom were assigned to vegetarian diets. One group got nutrition counseling promoting a low-saturated-fat died for six months. In the other two groups, dieticians helped participants fit more cholesterol-lowering foodsincluding soy milk, tofu, nuts, oats, peas and beans-into a healthy diet.

The dieticians met with some people twice, others seven times. After six months, people on the low-saturatedfat diet saw a drop in LDL cholesterol of 8 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) on average.

That compared to decreases of 24 mg/dL and 26 mg/dL in participants on the cholesterol-lowering diets. The average starting LDL was about 170 mg/dL, where a number 160 mg/dL and up is considered high. That drop is really a lot, said Yunsheng Ma, a nutrition and heart disease researcher from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, who was not involved in the study. “A lot of people rely on the medication, but diet is really power ful actually,” he told Reuters Health. —Reuters

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

H E A LT H

Softer is not safer for sleeping babies: Study NEW YORK: Many parents put soft bedding such as pillows and blankets where babies sleep, despite warnings that the cushioning increases the risk of infant death, a US study said. That’s because many are under the impression that a soft sleeping environment means the baby will be more comfortable or protected from injuries, said Rachel Moon, from Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC and one of the study’s authors. “When it comes to babies’ sleep environment, soft is not safe, it’s actually dangerous,” she added.

Researchers know that black babies are at least twice as likely as white, Latino and Asian babies to die of accidental suffocation, strangulation or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as “crib death.” While some of that higher incidence may be linked to genetics, some is also likely due to parents unknowingly putting infants in a dangerous sleeping place, Moon

added. To find out whether black families know about the risks, Moon and her colleagues conducted one-to-one interviews and small group discussions with 83 black mothers in Washington DC and nearby Maryland.

All had a new baby at home. The researchers asked women if they used soft bedding and bumper pads in their baby’s crib or other sleeping location, and why or why not.

While the interviews were only done with black mothers, parents of all races may misinterpret a pediatrician’ s recommendations or what constitutes a safe sleeping environment, said Debra Weese-Mayer, a pediatrician at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

According to findings published in Pediatrics, more than half of the mothers reported using soft bedding for their baby, telling researchers they wanted to make sure the children were comfortable and warm. They also

said they used pillows as a barricade on beds or sofas, or to prop babies up.

“We were surprised that people use (soft bedding) because they think it’s going to make their baby safer,” Moon told Reuters Health. “We weren’t that surprised that people use it to make the babies comfortable.”

Some mothers thought doctors’ recommendations to use a “firm sleep surface” included a bed where a sheet was tucked tightly over pillows-but that’s still a dangerous sleep situation, Moon and her colleagues warned. The mothers also used bumper pads on cribs if they worried that a baby would hit its head on the railings or get an arm or leg stuck. But as with pillows and blankets, bumper pads pose a suffocation risk, Moon said, adding that there really isn’t any need for themespecially for very young babies. SIDS kills about 2,500 babies every year in the United States. Putting babies to sleep on their sides or stomachs is

known to increase the risk, as is having them sleep in their parents’ bed. Fern Hauck, a SIDS researcher at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, said she understood the desire to make babies comfortable with soft bedding in the hope that they’ll sleep better and longer. “But babies can pretty much sleep anywhere. If you get them used to a firm crib mattress, they’re going to sleep fine on a firm crib mattress,” she added. All the experts agreed that awareness of the dangers needs to be raised across the board. “(The study) is a very humbling lesson that even though we think we’re giving a very clear message, if the parent and the caretaker are interpreting it in a way different from what we intended, we’re not doing a very good job,” said Weese-Mayer. “If it can save some babies because we do a better job of translating our recommendations, that’s wonderfully important.” — Reuters

DETROIT: Steven and Jess Lucero with their baby, Avi. — MCT

y

A

30

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

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 Dsouza- 60035824, Shalini Alva- 23726164, Suma Bhatt- 97834578 Salmiya & Hawally: Swarna Shetty- 99006934, Kripa Gatty66044194 Kuwait City, Jahra, Sharq : Rekha Sachu- 65044521,97862115 Farwaniya, Abbassiya, Shuwaikh & Khaitan: Sathyanarayana- 66585077 Sanath Shetty67712409.

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.

Al Mulla International Exchange Company hosts Iftar party for staff

A

l Mulla International Exchange Co. conducted a grand iftar party for their entire staff at Ramada Hotel Al Riggae on the 20th of August 2011.

As a prelude to the Iftar party, there was a recitation from Holy Quran by Sheikh

Kahairey. The General Manager of Al Mulla Exchange, Mr. Rajesh Gairola then gave a welcome speech along with some motivational thoughts to the 500 odd staff gathered there regarding the love and spirit Ramadan holds for all of

us. Following the welcome address, mementos and certificates were given to outstanding achievers of the company.

After the ‘magrib’ prayers the staff enjoyed the sumptuous Iftar that was served. The venue was used as an occa-

sion to foster togetherness and team work amongst the staff. Al Mulla Exchange rose to the premier position in Kuwait by offering innovative services and differentiated services to the customers.

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.

IKEA Kuwait hosts girgian celebration

India medical tourism destination event

T

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 “IndiaMedical 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 needs. 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 stor y 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.

An advance team lead by Dr. Narottam Puri, Advisor - Health Ser vices, FICCI and Chairman, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers, visited Kuwait from 10 - 12 July 2011 for holding preliminary discussions on the event. They called on Mr. Vidhu P. Nair, Charge d’ Affaires of the Indian Embassy who promised to extend all assistance for the successful conduct of the event.

I

KEA Kuwait recently hosted exciting Girgian celebrations at its premises in the Avenues Mall as part of the Holy Month of Ramadan’s traditional activities. IKEA Kuwait distributed special girgi’an boxes to children who accompanied their parents to the IKEA store making it an enjoyable shopping experience for all.

IKEA Kuwait continues to reinforce its support and honor its loyal customers through memorable events.

Entertainment City announces Eid timing

T

he Entertainment City welcomes visitors during the Eid Al-Fitr holiday from 4:00 pm to 1:00 am, as celebrations are set to feature a special entertaining program prepared for the occasion.

“The facility’s administration prepared several activities to be held during the holiday, including a circus show and a cartoon characters’ display”, said operations and activities department director at the Touristic Enterprises Company Anwar Al-Nisf in a press statement.

Meanwhile, Al-Nisf noted that entrance tickets are sold during the holiday. He wished Entertainment City visitors to enjoy their time at the facility during the Eid.

Pravasi Deseeya Cultural Congress leaders meet with the new Indian ambassador Satish C Mehta.

y

A

31

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

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

EMBASSY OF 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

A group photo for social committee members with senior citizens and care home personnel.

nnnnnnn

Social committee members with senior citizens.

Reem Al-Wuqaiyan, Fatima Al-Absi and Karima Al-Murdhi with four senior citizens.

KBC visits elderly homes

T

he Kuwait Bank Clubs’ social committee members paid visits to elderly care homes on the occasion of Ramadan, and shared a celebration with senior residents that included distributing gifts and girgian.

Social committee chairperson Reem Al-Wuqaiyan and Mazin Khalaf rewards a senior citizen.

(From left) Abbas Al-Blushi, Reem Al-Wuqaiyan, Kharima Al-Murdha, Fatima Al-Absi and Dhiyaía AlHmoud posing with senior citizens.

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

A group photo with residents at a care home for people with special needs.

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.

KBC sports committee chairman Musaíed Al-Mutawa and Reem Al-Wuqaiyan with senior citizens.

A senior citizen recieves a reward from a kid taking part in the event.

Bangladesh Awami League Observes National Mourning Day

T

he Bangladesh Awami League, Kuwait chapter, observed the 36th national mourning day that marked the sad demise of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The observation amid discussion, Iftar and prayer Mahfil took place on Thursday, 18th August at Gulshan hotel in Kuwait city. Gallant freedom fighter Engineer Abdul rab the president of Bangladesh Awami league Kuwait chapter presided over the program. Abdus Sobhan the general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League Kuwait branch brilliantly presented the program. Abdur Rob Maula Editor on monthly Maru Lekha and Ex-general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League,

Ahmadur Rahman Masum General Secretary of Awami Foundation of Kuwait. Mohammed Masud Karim President of Awami Sechsasebak League and Joybangla Cultural group Kuwait Chapter, Mohammed

Lak Miah General Secretary Awami Sechsasebak League Kuwait, Hasan Ali General Secretary of Joybangla Cultural Group, Azadur Rahman Azad President Faridpur Samity, Jahangir Hossain Bablu President

Jatio Kabita Parisad, were guests of honor at the function.

The function started with recitation from Holy Quran recited by Mowalan Rahim Ullah and one minute silence was observed in

honor of the martyrs of August 15, 1975. Bangladesh Awami league President Kuwait chapter Eng. Abdul Rab, General Secretary Abdus Sobhan, Vice president Chunnu Babu, Bhar Uddin, Nurul Amin, Shamim, Harunur Rashid, Joint Secretary Ramjan Ali, Momin, Sujit, Organizing Secretary Omar Faruque, Habibur Rahman President of Bangladesh Awami League Fahaheel Branch Delivered speeches highlighting the glorious Achievements of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Special prayer was offered seeking diving grace for the departed soul of Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and of all the martyrs of August 15, 1975.

nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF IRAN The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kuwait announced their official working hours during the holy month of Ramadan, which will go between 9:00 am and 2:00 pm on weekdays. The Iranian embassy extends will wishes to His Highness the Amir, the government as well as the people of Kuwait on this occasion. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF SLOVAK REPUBLIC The Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the State of Kuwait would like to inform the public that from 8th August 2011, the working hours of the Consular Section will be on Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 till 13:00 hrs.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

00:45 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 01:40 Untamed And Uncut 02:35 In Search Of The King Cobra 03:30 Monster Bug Wars 04:25 Killer Whales 05:20 Animal Cops Houston 06:10 Dogs 101 07:00 Meerkat Manor 07:25 The Really Wild Show 07:50 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Bad Dog 10:05 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 11:00 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 11:55 Meerkat Manor 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 Animal ER 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 Crocodile Hunter 17:25 Must Love Cats 18:20 Breed All About It 18:45 Gorilla School 19:15 Crocodile Hunter 20:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 21:05 Big Five Challenge 22:55 Seven Deadly Strikes 23:50 Planet Earth

00:00 00:30 01:15 02:10 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 04:50 05:05 05:25 05:40 05:50 06:10 06:25 06:45 07:00 07:20 07:35 07:55 08:10 08:15 08:20 08:40 08:55 09:15 09:30 09:35 09:40 10:10 10:40 11:25 12:15 12:45 13:15 14:10 14:40 15:10 15:40 16:30 17:15 17:45 18:15 19:10 20:00 20:45 21:15 21:45 22:40 23:30

My Family The Weakest Link Casualty Full Circle With Michael Palin Eastenders Doctors My Family 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 Tweenies The Roly Mo Show Me Too Forget Me Not Farm The Adventures Of Spot The Adventures Of Spot Tweenies The Roly Mo Show Me Too Forget Me Not Farm The Adventures Of Spot The Adventures Of Spot My Family My Family The Weakest Link Lark Rise To Candleford Doctors Eastenders Casualty My Family My Family My Family Lark Rise To Candleford The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Lark Rise To Candleford The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Ray Mears’ Wild Foods My Family

00:00 00:30 00:45 01:00 01:30 01:45 02:00

BBC World News World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News America Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News

02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 Newsday 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 Sport Today 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 BBC World News America 23:30 Hardtalk

06:00 American Dragon 06:20 Kick Buttowski 06:40 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 07:00 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 07:25 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 07:50 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 08:15 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 08:40 Kick Buttowski 09:00 Zeke & Luther 09:25 Zeke & Luther 09:50 I’m In The Band 10:15 The Super Hero Squad Show 10:40 Suite Life On Deck 11:05 Suite Life On Deck 11:30 Pair Of Kings 11:55 Phineas & Ferb 12:20 Phineas & Ferb 12:45 I’m In The Band 13:10 Kid Vs Kat 13:30 Kid Vs Kat 13:50 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 14:10 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 14:30 Pokemon: Giratina & The Sky Warrior 16:00 I’m In The Band 16:25 Suite Life On Deck 16:50 Zeke & Luther 17:15 Zeke & Luther 17:40 Phineas & Ferb 18:05 Phineas & Ferb 18:30 Escape From Scorpion Island 18:55 Kick Buttowski 19:20 American Dragon 19:45 Aaron Stone 20:15 Kid Vs Kat 20:40 I’m In The Band 21:05 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 21:30 Zeke & Luther 21:50 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 22:15 The Super Hero Squad Show

TV PROGRAMS

00:00 People Of The Sea 01:00 Megalopolis 02:00 Going South 02:30 Travel Today 03:00 Intrepid Journeys 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 People Of The Sea 06:00 Dream Destinations 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Rivers Of The World 09:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 10:00 Planet Food 11:00 First Class Italy 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Flavours Of South Africa 14:00 Rivers Of The World 15:00 Going South 15:30 Travel Today 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Dream Destinations

00:15 Sonny With A Chance 00:35 Good Luck Charlie 01:00 Shake It Up 01:25The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 01:50 Sonny With A Chance 02:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 02:35 Jonas 03:00 Kim Possible 03:25 Fairly Odd Parents 04:15 Stitch 05:00 Replacements 05:50 Emperor’s New School 06:35 Stitch 07:25 Replacements 08:15 Fairly Odd Parents 09:00 Emperor’s New School 09:20 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 09:45 Phineas And Ferb 10:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 10:30 Suite Life On Deck 10:55 Good Luck Charlie 11:20 Fish Hooks Splits 11:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:00 Jake & The Neverland Pirates Splits 12:10 Jungle Junction Splits 12:20 The Hive 12:30 Handy Manny Splits 12:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates Splits 12:50 Sonny With A Chance 13:10 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 13:35 Phineas And Ferb Splits 13:50 Shake It Up 14:15 Hannah Montana 14:35 Suite Life On Deck 15:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 15:25 Sonny With A Chance 15:45 Good Luck Charlie 16:10 Phineas And Ferb 16:30 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 16:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 17:20 Hannah Montana 18:20 Suite Life On Deck 18:45 Fish Hooks 19:10 Shake It Up 19:35 Jake & Blake 20:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 20:25 Hannah Montana 20:50 Fish Hooks 21:15 Hannah Montana 21:45 Shake It Up

00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 03:55 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:25 07:50

Dirty Jobs Miami Ink Ultimate Survival Wheeler Dealers On The Road Fifth Gear Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How Does It Work Dirty Jobs Wheeler Dealers On The Road Fifth Gear Street Customs 2008

THE DESCENT 2 ON OSN ACTION HD

08:45 09:10 10:05 10:30 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

How Does It Work Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings Science Of The Movies Weird Or What?

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) Chris Ryan’s Elite Police Get Out Alive Kidnap And Rescue

00:05 00:55 01:45 02:35 03:25 04:15 04:45 05:40 06:10 07:00 07:55 08:50 09:40 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:15 23:40

Smash Lab Extreme Engineering What’s That About?

Weird Connections Scrapheap Challenge How Does That Work?

Extreme Engineering One Step Beyond Engineered Scrapheap Challenge Stephen Hawking’s Universe The Gadget Show What’s That About?

Weird Connections Da Vinci’s Machines How The Universe Works Sci-Fi Science The Gadget Show Prototype This Bang Goes The Theory Smash Lab The Gadget Show Prototype This Bang Goes The Theory Bang Goes The Theory The Gadget Show

00:05 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 00:30 Good Eats - Special 00:55 Paula’s Best Dishes 01:20 Paula’s Best Dishes 01:45 Unwrapped 02:35 World Cafe Middle East 03:25 Chopped 04:15 Good Eats - Special 04:40 Unwrapped 05:05 Ten Dollar Dinners 05:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 05:50 Paula’s Party 06:35 Barefoot Contessa 07:00 Chopped 07:50 Guy’s Big Bite 08:15 Everyday Italian 08:40 Good Deal With Dave Lieberman 09:05 Ten Dollar Dinners 09:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:55 Barefoot Contessa 10:20 Aarti Party 10:45 Boy Meets Grill 11:10 Unwrapped 11:35 Paula’s Party 12:25 Everyday Italian 12:50 Paula’s Best Dishes 13:15 Good Deal With Dave Lieberman 13:40 World Cafe Asia 14:05 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 14:30 Good Eats - Special 14:55 Unwrapped 15:20 Boy Meets Grill 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Guy’s Big Bite 17:00 Barefoot Contessa 17:25 Paula’s Best Dishes 17:50 Aarti Party 18:15 World Cafe Asia 18:40 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 19:05 Good Eats - Special 19:30 Food Network Challenge 20:20 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 21:10 Barefoot Contessa 21:35 Barefoot Contessa 22:00 Unwrapped 22:50 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 23:15 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam

00:05 Jungle Junction 00:15 Little Einsteins 00:40 Higglytown Heroes 01:10 Jo Jo’s Circus 01:30 Special Agent Oso 02:00 Jungle Junction 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:50 Higglytown Heroes 03:20 Jo Jo’s Circus 03:40 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Jungle Junction 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Higglytown Heroes 05:30 Jo Jo’s Circus 05:50 Jungle Junction 06:15 Higglytown Heroes 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 Timmy Time 08:20 Handy Manny 08:30 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 08:55 The Hive 09:10 Handy Manny 09:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:50 The Little Mermaid 11:05 Jungle Junction 11:20 Imagination Movers 11:45 Handy Manny 12:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:25 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 12:40 Lazytown 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Special Agent Oso 13:25 The Little Mermaid 14:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:05 Handy Manny 15:30 The Hive 15:40 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 15:55 Imagination Movers 16:20 Lazytown 16:45 Jungle Junction 17:00 The Hive 17:10 Little Einsteins 17:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

17:55 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 18:25 Little Einsteins 18:50 Special Agent Oso 19:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:50 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 20:10 The Little Mermaid 20:27 Animated Stories 20:30 The Little Mermaid 21:20 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 21:35 Jungle Junction 21:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:15 Timmy Time 22:25 Handy Manny 22:40 Jungle Junction

00:25 00:55 01:25 03:15 04:10 05:05 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:15 12:05 13:05 17:55 18:55 20:55 21:25 22:25 23:25 23:55 York

Kendra Then And Now Too Young To Kill 25 Most Stylish Sexiest Extreme Hollywood THS Behind The Scenes E! News Khloe And Lamar THS E! News Khloe And Lamar E! News Khloe And Lamar Chelsea Lately Khloe And Lamar E! News Chelsea Lately Kourtney And Kim Take New

00:15 Final Fu 00:40 Mantracker 01:30 World Combat League 02:20 Sports Jobs 02:45 Final Fu 03:10 Wrestling With Reality 04:00 I’ll Do Anything 04:50 Mantracker 05:40 World Combat League 06:30 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2007 08:00 X Games Heroes 08:25 IFMXF 2010 09:15 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 10:55 Eds Up 11:20 Eds Up 11:45 Glutton For Punishment 12:35 Final Fu 13:25 Mantracker 14:15 World Combat League 15:05 Eds Up 15:55 Glutton For Punishment 16:45 X Games Heroes 17:10 IFMXF 2010 18:00 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 19:40 Mantracker 20:30 Final Fu 20:55 Final Fu 21:20 FIM World Motocross MX3 2011 22:10 World Combat League 23:00 Wrestling With Reality 23:50 Final Fu

00:30 01:20 02:10 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 Jones 22:50

The Haunted Psychic Witness I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters The Haunted Mystery ER Murder Shift Forensic Detectives Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Mystery ER Ghost Lab FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn FBI Case Files Mystery ER Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Ghost Lab FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery ER Street Patrol On The Case With Paula Zahn FBI Case Files True Crime With Aphrodite

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:30 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00

Meet The Amish Wild Rides Destination Extreme Endurance Traveller Departures Meet The Amish Wild Rides Destination Extreme Endurance Traveller Departures Meet The Amish David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Bondi Rescue Travel Madness City Chase Marrakech Perilous Journeys Ultimate Traveller Meet The Natives: USA David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Travel Madness City Chase Marrakech Perilous Journeys Ultimate Traveller

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10

Swamp Men World’s Deadliest World’s Worst Venom Superfish American Eagle Wild Detectives Hidden Worlds The Living Edens Journey Into Amazonia Monkey Thieves World’s Worst Venom Superfish

True Crime Scene

SPEED ON O 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

American Eagle World’s Deadliest The Living Edens Wild Amazon Monkey Thieves World’s Deadliest Snakes Killer Dragons Moray Eels: Alien Empire The Living Edens Wild Amazon Monkey Thieves Monkey Thieves World’s Deadliest Snakes Killer Dragons

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:15 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 18 22:00

Halloween 2-18 Gothika-18 Tortured-PG15 The Day After Tomorrow-PG Triassic Attack-PG15 Evolution-PG15 The Stepfather-PG15 Triassic Attack-PG15 Unbreakable-PG15 The Stepfather-PG15 Battlestar Galactica: The PlanThe Descent 2-18

01:00 Tortured-PG15 03:00 The Wronged Man-PG15 05:00 Desperate Hours: An Amber Alert-PG15 07:00 Me And Orson Welles-PG 09:00 The Wronged Man-PG15 11:00 Stuart Little 2-FAM 13:00 Attack On Leningrad-PG15 15:00 The Brothers Bloom-PG15 17:00 Planet 51-PG 18:45 Sherlock Holmes-PG15 21:00 Flash Of Genius-PG15 23:00 Sinners & Saints-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 02:00 Louie 02:30 Rita Rocks 03:00 Just Shoot Me 03:30 Just Shoot Me 04:00 Two And A Half Men 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 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 The Simpsons 10:00 Parks And Recreation 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 The Simpsons 15:00 Parks And Recreation 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Just Shoot Me 19:00 Happy Endings 19:30 Community 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 State Of The Union 22:30 Rita Rocks 23:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00

Mindhunters-18 Casualties Of War-18 Blood: The Last Vampire-18 Staten Island-PG15 Speed-PG15

11:00 13:15 15:15 17:15 19:15 21:00

The Set Spe Coll Trac Legi

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Last The Nati 17 A Tom Mon Reve Ace Last Foo Dan Unm

01:00 Dick Star-PG15 03:00 Goo 05:00 I Spy 07:00 Swe 09:00 Nap 11:00 Adv Dragonslay 13:00 Flyin 15:00 Iron 17:30 Nap 19:00 Whe 21:00 Flas

01:00 Dr. D 03:00 Insp Claw’s...-FA 05:00 Catc 07:00 Tom 09:00 Stev Animaniac 11:00 Tom Holmes-FA 13:00 The 15:00 The 17:00 Tom Holmes-FA 19:00 Dr. D 21:00 The 23:00 The

00:00 Dea 02:00 The Lee-PG15 04:00 Afric 06:00 Tang 08:00 Sto Homecom 10:00 The 12:00 Gas 14:00 Afric 16:00 The 18:00 A Da 20:00 Dor 22:00 My L

00:00 UFC 01:00 Sup 03:00 Pow 04:00 ITM 06:00 Spe 07:00 Tran 08:00 ITM 10:00 WW 12:00 Sup 14:00 Pow Highlights 14:30 Spe 15:30 The Official Film 16:30 Live 20:30 Le M 21:00 WW 22:00 UFC 23:00 Euro

00:00 00:30 02:30 03:00 04:00 06:00 06:30 07:00

Euro Prem ICC Golfi Curr FIVB Euro Rug

Classifieds THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

ACCOMMODATION One room available in two bedroom flat in Farwaniya behind Crowne Plaza in front of Dar Al-Quran.

Please call: 50129393.

(C 3589) 25-8-2011 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.

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

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

FOR SALE Toyota Camry model 2001, 4-cylinder, very good condition. Tel: 60035758.

(C 3581) 21-8-2011

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

SITUATION VACANT A Kuwaiti family looks to hire a driver, 35 years older, Christian, good behavior.

Contact: 99199020.

(C 3590) 25-8-2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines RJA JZR THY ETH UAE DHX ETD MSR FDB GFA QTR THY FCX JZR KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY ETD GFA MEA KNE MSR JZR SYR MSR UAL SHY RJA MSR FDB OMA JZR QTR KAC KAC SVA KAC KAC

Flt 642 267 772 620 853 370 305 614 67 211 138 770 201 555 412 157 507 206 382 302 332 53 352 284 362 855 132 125 301 213 404 789 623 561 341 610 982 4125 640 621 57 645 357 140 562 546 500 552 788

Arrival Flights on Thursday 25/8/2011 Route AMMAN BEIRUT ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA ISTANBUL DUBAI / BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON LUXOR ISLAMABAD DELHI MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI COCHIN DHAKA COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT JEDDAH SOHAG SOHAG DAMASCUS / DEIREZZOR CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES ANTALYA AMMAN ASSIUT DUBAI MUSCAT MASHAD DOHA AMMAN ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH DAMASCUS JEDDAH

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

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

745 257 134 118 403 303 857 154 215 510 777 327 239 127 63 227 3555 502 542 618 786 774 614 674 458 572 617 61 93 647 179 402 178 618 372 445 859 217 136 981 981 135 606 185 612 636 389 539 43 205

JEDDAH BEIRUT DOHA NEW YORK COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI ISTANBUL BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH TUNIS / DUBAI AMMAN SHARJAH DUBAI COLOMBO / DUBAI ALEXANDRIA BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI SINGAPORE / ABU DHABI MUMBAI AHWAZ DUBAI KANDAHAR / DUBAI MUSCAT DUBAI BEIRUT GENEVA / FRANKFURT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD BAHRAIN LUXOR DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE CAIRO DHAKA LAHORE

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

Airlines AXB DLH AIC KLM PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR THY JZR JZR RJA GFA KAC JZR BAW FDB JZR KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC UAE ABY KAC QTR ETD GFA KAC MEA KAC JZR KNE JZR KAC MSR KAC JZR SYR MSR KAC SHY RJA FDB MSR

Departure Flights on Thursday 25/8/2011 Flt Route 394 COCHIN / KOZHIKODE 637 FRANKFURT 976 GOA / CHENNAI 447 AMSTERDAM 216 KARACHI 773 ISTANBUL 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 615 CAIRO 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 560 SOHAG 164 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 356 MASHAD 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 787 JEDDAH 153 ISTANBUL 551 DAMASCUS 256 BEIRUT 561 AMMAN 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 101 LONDON / NEW YORK 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 165 ROME / PARIS 405 BEIRUT 541 CAIRO 776 JEDDAH 790 JEDDAH 238 AMMAN 501 BEIRUT 624 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 342 DEIREZZOR / DAMASCUS 611 CAIRO 8057 ABU DHABI 4126 ANTALYA 641 AMMAN 58 DUBAI 622 ASSIUT

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

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

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

982 646 673 746 617 773 178 505 202 141 613 538 82 304 404 135 858 216 328 128 184 266 511 64 3556 228 134 283 361 571 62 616 331 351 648 403 457 619 543 373 445 860 218 102 137 301 205 502 554 607 981 411 415

BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH DAMASCUS DOHA BAHRAIN CAIRO BAGHDAD ABU DHABI DUBAI / COLOMBO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN TUNIS SHARJAH DUBAI BEIRUT RIYADH DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI / COLOMBO BAHRAIN DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI AHWAZ TRIVANDRUM COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT ABU DHABI / SINGAPORE ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD LUXOR ALEXANDRIA LUXOR WASHINGTON DC DULLES BANGKOK / MANILA KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA

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

34

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 420

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) A home or family business will bring in more money than you thought the remainder of this year. Fondness and appreciation for lessons learned and for your roots in life take on greater importance for you now.

Making your home situation more pleasant and attractive plays a part in this realization. Real estate could bring you much gain before the end of this cycle. You may yearn for family harmony. Lasting values—whatever you find to be true and lasting— can guide you now, opening up avenues that have remained blocked. Your home environment, friends and surroundings in general receive much attention. You could gain from the time you spend with young people this afternoon. Do not forget to include all family members in large decisions.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You cannot become expressive unless you are also receptive and receptive you are—all morning. You may find yourself serving to guide someone younger than you in matters of importance today. This may make today a bit challenging, but with your sense of humor, anything heavy will quickly be turned toward a positive end results. This is a time in which support and recognition should be available from both your family and friends. You feel at home in the world and it takes care of you. Plans to entertain or to be entertained may be in order this afternoon. It is easy to go along with community events and the results of your participation are memorable. Your mate or love partner is smart—listen and be patient, she or he may be helping you save money today.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. The longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code.

4. Of or relating to alga.

9. Occurring widely (as to many people).

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

14. A coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds.

15. On or toward the lee.

16. Having or resembling a beak.

18. Before noon.

19. A sudden short attack.

20. Strike with disgust or revulsion.

21. Tall feather palm of northern Brazil with hard-shelled nuts yielding valuable oil and a kind of vegetable ivory.

23. All the plant and animal life of a particular region.

26. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

27. A metric unit of length equal to one thousandth of a meter.

28. A Powhatan Indian woman (the daughter of Powhatan) who befriended the English at Jamestown and is said to have saved Captain John Smith's life (1595-1617).

31. Nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate.

33. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

34. A state in northwestern North America.

36. Someone who engages in arbitrage (who purchases securities in one market for immediate resale in another in the hope of profiting from the price differential).

39. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

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

45. Genus of tall smooth herbs of forested mountains of Europe and Asia minor.

47. Support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway.

51. A city of east central Mexico (west of Veracruz).

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

57. A bottle with a stopper.

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

60. A statement that deviates from or perverts the truth.

61. Of or concerning the face.

64. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

65. Late time of life.

66. Naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporary pseudopods for feeding and locomotion.

67. A bachelor's degree in naval science.

DOWN 1. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

2. A city in northwestern Syria.

3. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.

4. Any of various deciduous or evergreen ornamental shrubs of the genus Abelia having opposite simple leaves and cymes of small white or pink or purplish flowers.

5. A boy or man.

6. A unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns.

7. Jordan's port.

8. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

9. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

10. By bad luck.

11. Shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane of from volcanic activity.

12. Any of various plants of the genus Sedum.

17. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

22. A small cake leavened with yeast.

24. A Turkish unit of weight equal to about 2.75 pounds.

25. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.

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

30. The bill in a restaurant.

32. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

35. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

37. A run that is the result of the batter's performance.

38. The cry made by sheep.

40. Type genus of the Giraffidae.

41. A boy or man.

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

43. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

44. An ancient Egyptian city on the west bank of the Nile opposite Cairo.

46. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

48. A track or mark left by something that has passed.

49. Open to or abounding in fresh air.

50. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

52. A signal transmitted along a narrow path.

54. Decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincers.

55. Conduct or direct the steering of a ship or plane.

56. Type genus of the Anatidae.

58. Small cubes with 1 to 6 spots on the faces.

62. A heavy odorless colorless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances.

63. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You are at your mental best with sharp ideas and clear thoughts. Personal achievements are easy today. Perhaps this is a good day to make a presentation to your boss, gain information or move forward with some important discovery or experiment. There is much energy and drive for whatever you want to accomplish. A puzzlement you may want to work through today concerns a friend that seems a bit more emotional than usual. You may have trouble understanding those who seem excessively emotional, yet your own practicality may attract just such types into your life. A social affair may be in the works this evening. You are at your most elegant, particularly in social situations. Love is in the air this evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You may find yourself analyzing your surroundings. Someone is sympathetic to your feelings today and there is a sense of support and harmony for whatever changes you want to see happen. Conversations of an inspiring kind may be in order with young people or others around you. An interesting conversation with some friends may have you thinking about the psychic events in your life. You place a high value on your dreams and ideals and consider them very helpful. You experience the unity around you—that which joins things together.

Mysticism, mythology, poetry and music are natural. These are all known items to you.

People who encounter you may wish they could see the world as you see it. You are a mentor to others in many ways.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You may enjoy probing into some difficult professional issues at this time. You value your ability to solve problems and will quickly find the answer to a few mathematical problems. You develop some new solutions to what was once a difficult process. With your report, you will save your company quite a lot of money but you must not communicate these discoveries to fellow workers just yet. This afternoon would be a great time to check out some books or perhaps begin your own book or life as a producer, etc. Your skills are varied and you may be called upon to tutor a young person later this evening. Enjoy the family within your own household tonight; they have plenty of hugs and stories of the day to share. Clear communication is very important.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Take care of any financial responsibilities today. If there are some bills that you do not think you can pay, send a small amount of money and a note of a promise for payment to come. Then make it a point to set aside the funds for any outstanding debts on a timely basis. You can make an extra income with plants, gardening, landscaping, handy chores, etc. Matters that have been confusing in the past may become clear this afternoon. Entertainment is desired later today. Use this opportunity to be creative in how you play this out. Visiting the zoo, feeding ducks at a park, fishing or perhaps the dollar movie can fit the bill just as much as a concert for which you might not be able to get tickets. After all, the most important thing is companionship.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) This is a time when you can expect a little interest from higherups. In looking to boost business a prize could be offered for the best idea or method or whatever the subject may be. This is just a heads up before the questionnaire begins and you will be able to put your ideas to test. There is recognition from others around you and if you like working in groups, two other people could enhance each other’s ideas or one idea into quite a profitable outcome. You may feel that you are in touch and in harmony with others; the lines of communication are open. Support is available for anything you want to accomplish. You are an action type of person who gains the attention of others and seems to get things moving.

When you get home tonight, clear your mind; relax!

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Do not take chances or risks just now—be satisfied with the ordinary and usual. Novel ideas or insights could be more damaging than useful. There is hectic emotional energy present. You are very expressive and outgoing when it comes to your feelings and emotions—you may find yourself in deep discussions today concerning world affairs, trends of the community, etc. This urge to express yourself, to speak out and be heard, propels you into many an interesting situation. Creativity of all kinds holds your interest and you could find yourself spending money on some form of music, art or literature. You are driven to excel in any form of physical or creative expression—sports, theatrics, arts and crafts, etc. There are some fun surprises tonight!

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

Professional conferences and meetings can be boring but with you in the group, never dull. You must, however, learn to wait until you are asked before handing out an hour’s worth of lecture when asked only a few questions. Friendships and involvement in group activities play a more important part in your life at work and at home. You enjoy the company of your friends or the interaction of acquaintances on a bus. You tend toward long-lasting friendships and are very loyal, sometimes a bit too settled. You will however, display your nimble mind with a ready with this day. You are quick to get insights and to see new solutions as you approach the genius level with your communication skills, particularly when you want to be expressive.

You are an aggressive prime mover—able to get things moving. You could discover some new things about yourself through your creativity abilities and self-expression. If your profession has anything to do with communication and sales, you should be the winning sales person. You will certainly be able to convince a difficult customer out of complaining or perhaps to try a new product; yes, life is interesting with you at the helm of the ship.

Before you go home this afternoon higher-ups will acknowledge your good problem-solving abilities. Increased confidence and a more outgoing manner is the key that opens many a new door for you. Some time out this afternoon for a bicycle ride or a little exercise would be good.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You love to communicate and pursue conversations. The mental world appeals to you and you are very discriminating, but appreciative when it comes to concepts, ideas, thoughts, etc. You value good research and real inquiry. You may find yourself attending a book review or book signing in a nearby library or bookstore later this afternoon. Lovely words and a flair for description are what hold your attention—the artistic in all its many forms. Conversations with relations this afternoon may find you digging beneath what is said or suggested. You are very direct and manage to get to the heart of most matters without thinking. Sometimes people come to you for advice because you can simplify and reveal things hidden.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

A strong urge for the social life may find you out of doors.

However, you may be feeling a bit pushed. This will probably be a better time to work on any repairs or some sort of upkeep around your living area.

Stress relief is workable through this sort of physical activity. Later today you can concentrate on your love relationship—which could afford some nourishment just now.

Work on developing a love that knows no conditions. Your home environment, friends and surroundings in general get attention tonight—encouragement is all around. The key to understanding your personality and the circumstances where you find yourself can be found in the support system that surrounds you. Tonight is the time to appreciate your loved ones.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

i n f o r m at i o n

FIRE BRIGADE

112

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

24812000

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

PHARMACIES

AIRLINES

ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Hawally

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Kuwait Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways FlyDubai Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines Aeroflot

22433377 177 22924455 22414400 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22425566 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22417901/ 2433141 22456700 22958787 22453820/1 22404838/9

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist 25340300

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581 22641071/2

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Salem soso

22618787

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

Dentists

Internists, Chest & Heart

25339330

25655535

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

General Surgeons

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345

Central African Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia

00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689

y

A

36

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

lifestyle G O S S I P

Stinson’s new CD to help Haiti kids

Stiller to receive British comedy award en Stiller is being honored for his comedic contributions by the British Academy of Film and Television.

The group’s Los Angeles branch says Stiller will receive the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy. Veteran producer Nigel Lythgoe called Stiller “a master of comedy who, just like the legendary filmmaker for whom this award is named, embodies the remarkable multi-hyphenate talents of actor, writer, director and producer.” Lythgoe serves as chairman of BAFTA Los Angeles. Stiller will receive the honor at the Brittania Awards on Nov. 30, when actress Helena Bonham Carter and animator John Lasseter are also being recognized. The 45-year-old Stiller has earned box-office success and critical acclaim as a writer, director, actor and producer. He will next be seen opposite Eddie Murphy in “ Tower Heist.”

B

year after Tommy Stinson’s online auction raised nearly $50,000 for children ravaged by last year’s earthquake in Haiti, the Replacements bassist is getting ready to help out again. “One Man Mutiny,” his second solo effort, comes out Aug 30 on Stinson’s own label, Done to Death Music. He plans to donate half of the proceeds to Timkatec, a nonprofit that houses and educates homeless children in the Port-au-Prince area. “It could be a little, it could be a lot, depending on how the record does,” he told The Associated Press from his home in upstate New York, where he recently moved from suburban Philadelphia. Timkatec was able to enlarge one of its main buildings and increase enrollment by around 200 children after last year’s auction, Stinson said. He put some of his guitars and trademark custom-made plaid suits on the auction block last summer, along with concert passes and other items, after visiting Haiti to attend a graduation ceremony for 60 young men from Timkatec who earned trade degrees. The school, founded in 1994 by a Roman Catholic priest, trains destitute boys to work as plumbers, electricians, tailors, shoemakers and construction workers; its sister school trains teenage girls as

A

Lady Gaga gets drawn into ‘The Simpsons’

cooks, hairdressers, seamstresses and child care workers. Haiti has been painfully slow to rebound, and its place in the international spotlight has dimmed, since the magnitude-7 quake pulverized the capital on Jan 12, 2010. Rubble from thousands of collapsed buildings remain where they fell and The International Organization for Migration estimates about 630,000 Haitians are still without homes. “I’m probably not going to get to do another auction this year because I don’t have enough items for it,” he said with a laugh. In the meantime, he is encouraging his friends in the music world to help the organization and hopes that the new record will create additional awareness of Timkatec and its mission, as well as more funding. Stinson, who is also finishing up a new record with fellow Minneapolis natives Soul Asylum and hitting the road with Guns N’ Roses in October, hopes to find time in his crammed schedule to return to Haiti in the fall. “There still might be a small window of opportunity for me to do that in September ... for the start of the new school season,” he said, “to see the new building and especially to see the kids. The kids are what it’s all about.”

Allen feels like a penguin ily Allen feels like a penguin that “waddles”. The pregnant pop star woke up this morning feeling like the aquatic species of bird - which is known for only being able to move slowly on land - because of her everexpanding baby bump, but her penguin dilemma led her to start thinking about the chocolate biscuit that shares its name with the animal. She wrote on her twitter page: “I feel like a penguin, not the chocolate covered biscuity kind, but an actual penguin that waddles . now can’t stop thinking about chocolatey penguins doh! (sic).” Lily who got married to Sam Cooper earlier this summer - is starting to feel the effects of pregnancy as she enters her third trimester. In a twitter post on Sunday she wrote: “I can’t see my toes and I’m not bendy anymore.” Since tying the knot in June, Lily and Sam have been living in domestic bliss at their country home in Cranham, Gloucestershire, South West England. The 26-year-old singer has even been learning how to knit and sew, previously saying: “I’m being taught how to knit. I’m so not rock ‘n’ roll anymore. I’m embroidering too. I’m actually in the process of making cushions.”

Cruise drives Red Bull race car

L

Bieber joins Swift on stage f Lady Gaga’s public persona seems a little cartoonish already, you haven’t seen anything yet. The “Judas” chanteuse will appear on an upcoming episode of “The Simpsons,” Fox confirms to TheWrap. In an episode entitled “Lisa Goes Gaga,” the singer will descend on Springfield in order to inject a little levity in the glum town, and in particular to cheer up little Lisa Simpson through the power of song, dance and um, flash-mobbing. (Hopefully,

I

Gaga and devout vegetarian Lisa won’t clash over Gaga’s infamous VMAs meat dress.) And just to make sure that the episode matches up to its super-fabulous guest, the story will be spruced up with a flame-shooting bustier and a same-sex kiss with Simpsons matriarch Marge. (Gasp-has Marge forsaken her original musical crush, Bobby Sherman?) “Lisa Goes Gaga” will air next spring, as part of the longrunning animated series’ 23rd season.

Miley Cyrus

to become an aunt he ‘Last Song’ actress’ older brother Trace Cyrus is reportedly expecting a baby with former ‘The Suite Life of Zack and Cody’ star Brenda Song, according to E!. It would be the first child for the 23-year-old beauty and Trace, 22, who are thought to have begun dating in May when they appeared at an event for the first time together. Trace - who has previously dated Demi Lovato - is best known for his band Metro Station and his clothing line, but has made no hint of expanding his family. Writing on twitter yesterday , he revealed he had enjoyed dinner round his sister Miley’s house and now wanted to thieve her new dog. He wrote: “I just got home from having a nice dinner at Miley’s house. Got to say I want to steal her new dog Floyd. He is so awesome!”The rocker also revealed he was planning to add a new tattoo to his already large collection of inkings. Trace tweeted: “Pretty sure going to see Chris Garcia next month and get both my feet tattooed and a little more done on my back. Very excited for that!” —Bang Showbiz

T

ustin Bieber made a surprise appearance at Taylor Swift’s concert last night. The ‘Never Say Never’ singer stunned the ‘Love Story’ hitmaker and her fans by arriving on stage to sing his song ‘Baby’ with her at the concert which took place at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. After the show, the 21-year-old country musician wrote on her twitter page: ”You think you’ve heard LOUD screaming in your life. Then @justinbieber comes out and does a surprise song during your show. Woah. Unreal. (sic)” In response to Taylor’s tweet, the 17year-old teen heartthrob replied:”@taylorswift13 we should do that more often. :) great show! #muchlove. (sic)” Taylor is close friends with Justin’s girlfriend Selena Gomez and the singer-and-actress recently revealed the ‘Mine’ hitmaker - who split from Joe Jonas in 2008 - is always there for her whenever she needs some advice. Selena explained: “Every problem I ever have is healable by Taylor Swift. When Taylor was going through a hard time breaking up with Joe Jonas, we’d make each other playlists. I’d send her some girl-empowering music and she’d send some back. “What I love about Taylor is that she believes in the whole love story - Prince Charming, soul mates. Because of her, I haven’t lost faith.”

J

Kardashian:

T

om Cruise reached a speed of 181 miles per hour when he tested a Red Bull race car. The motoring fanatic - who starred in 1990 stock car racing film ‘Days of Thunder’ - impressed former Formula 1 (F1) driver David Coulthard with his skills behind the wheel when took control of the 850-horsepower vehicle on a 2.5km race track in Rosamond, southern California.

Tom completed 24 laps during the sevenhour high octane session - his first in an F1 car - and his top speed was just four miles per hour short of David’s best on the same day. David said: “Tom’s the real deal. He thoroughly impressed me. I was surprised that he picked it up so quickly and is such an accomplished driver. “His recall was incredible considering how complicated driving an F1 car is. He’s a guy who really pushes the envelope in real life. “This day was not green screened!” Tom is also a keen motorbike rider and has done his own bike stunts in several of his movies including the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise and ‘Knight and Day’, in which he starred with Cameron Diaz. When he isn’t pulling off bike stunts, Tom is also a big fan of cruising on his motorcycles, particularly on the coastal roads of Northern California.

Tom - who is married to actress Katie Holmes - said: “I love cruising the Pacific Coast Highway. Up north, as you’re driving up to Montecito - that’s the great drive. I like the wonderful off-camber turns. You take it about two, three in the morning. I like the empty road at night, the nice sweeping turns. It can be challenging as well as fun.”

Marriage was heaven im Kardashian’s felt like she was “in heaven” at her wedding. The reality TV star experienced a fairytale ceremony when she tied the knot with basketball player K ris Humphries in front of 440 guests in Montecito, California, last Saturday , and she admits everything was so perfect it felt almost unreal. She told the new issue of People magazine: “It was like we were in heaven.” Kris, 26, added: “I’m going to remember how perfect it was.” While Kim “felt like a princess” at her lavish wedding at which no expense was spared, she insists the day was as much about the couple celebrating their love for one another as it was about the occasion. She added: “Glam aside, that wasn’t our main goal. It was really about our family and each other.” Kim’s mother Kris Jenner played a big part in planning the wed-

K

ding while her stepfather Brue Jenner gave her away. Her sisters Khloe and Kourtney were matron and maid of honor, and her nephew, 21-month old Mason, was ring bearer. Kim, 30, also paid tribute to her late father, lawyer Robert Kardashian, saying in a special tribute during the ceremony: “I so wish my dad could be here today to walk me down the aisle. But I know in a way he is here, and I feel his loving presence all around me. I love and miss you, dad.” During the wedding and reception Kim wore three Vera Wang dresses, and the happy couple had a 10 layer wedding cake from Hansen’s Bakery - which at six feet tall towered over Kim. For exclusive personal photos from Kim’s fairytale wedding and all the details, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday .

A

y

e niv rsar n

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Years

lifestyle

swan boats T R A V E L

New

for Asbury Park, New Jersey park

Photo shows a swan pedal boat.

Photo shows Ellis Goodson and Ellissa Goodson as they ride a green dragon pedal boat.

I

t’s a blast from the past, served with youthful abandon, easy aerobics and a sprinkle of yoga-like serenity. A new concession offers a modern twist on Asbury Park’s century-old tradition: swan boats on Wesley Lake. A short stroll from the Atlantic Ocean boardwalk, locals and tourists alike are now happily pedaling around the shallow inland waters while enjoying a view of Asbury Park’s famous old Carousel House (700 Ocean Ave.) and the Victorian splendor of neighboring Ocean Grove. The boats shaped like sleek storybook creatures gleaming and proud-looking, their wings curved with a suggestion of Art Deco style are making quite a splash at this rejuvenated music and beach destination.

Linda Occhipinti and Joseph Gambarony opened Asbury Park Pedal Boats (Lake Avenue, between Heck and Grand avenues) this season. The precise history and description of the original swan boats are elusive. Unlike the new pedal versions, some apparently were motorized, and accommodated larger groups. “It looked like a great, big, white swan,” local resident Shirley Schneider said, recalling a vibrant, festive family gathering from the past that included the Ferris Wheel and Tunnel of

Love at the adjacent Palace Amusements, which closed in 1989.

An old postcard depicts dressed-up ladies and gentlemen in hats in a boat similar to what she described. Going back even farther in time, news accounts from the 19th century provide fascinating glimpses into the colorful era in which the swan boats first thrived. In June, 1889, the Trenton Evening News’ “Asbur y Park Doings” column noted “the various kinds of craft that ply up and down” Wesley Lake, including about 100 rowboats and four swan boats. The following month, an owner of Wesley Lake swan boats, Charles W. Borzell, testified at a drug store operator’s bootlegging trial. Borzell, noticing his employees were tipsy, had “decided to get something to drink there himself.”

Informed that he needed a prescription for whiskey, “Mr Borzell replied that he did not want it bad enough for that. It was then intimated to him that it would not cost him anything, as there was a physician there who would write it for nothing.” “Mr Borzell declined the prescription on those generous terms, but procured the whiskey without it,” the Trenton paper said. In August 1904, “while scores of brilliantly

Monkeying around in Belgian zoos brings girls out on top

decorated boats laden with laughing passengers were taking part in the marine carnival tonight on Wesley Lake, fire broke out on one of the pleasure crafts called the Swan, with a party of twenty on board,” The New York Times reported.

As paper decorations “blazed up,” the “affrighted passengers ... shrieked with terror and many of them fainted.” Firefighters prevailed, though the carnival ended “inauspiciously.” Evidence of a swan resurgence appears in a November 1973 Times

File photo shows worker Paige Connelly as she wipes dew off swan pedal boats in Asbury Park, NJ. —AP photos

Da Vinci

portrait back in Germany for first time since war

L

eonardo da Vinci’s treasured painting “Lady with an Ermine”, a work belonging to Poland that was stolen by the Nazis, has gone on display in Germany for the first time since World War II. The 15th century portrait of a young woman holding a white ermine-otherwise known as a stoat or shorttailed weasel — has pride of place in a major exhibition of Renaissance art to open Thursday at Berlin’s Bode Museum. Along with the Mona Lisa, the work is one of just four paintings of women by the famed Italian Renaissance master.

Stolen by Hitler’s troops during World War II, the masterpiece was later returned to Poland. The culture ministry in Warsaw was

Female bonobos play together at the Planckendael zoo.

A

female bonobo has been named “the world’s smartest ape” after beating chimpanzees distracted by male rivalry in a contest between two Belgian zoos, whose results took scientists by surprise. The chimps, generally a more aggressive, male-dominated species than bonobos, were expected to take the title.

But the winner turned out to be a nondominant female named Djanoa who showed proof of uncommon patience and perseverance, said Jeroen Stevens, a primatologist with the Royal Society of Zoology of Antwerp.

Or, maybe she just liked nuts more than the others, he added. “Now the real research begins” on personality and social order and .. snack food preference in the monkey world, he said. The match this summer was organized “above all as a game”, said Stevens.

It pit the bonobo team at Planckendael Zoo in Mechelen against the chimp team at Antwerp Zoo, both in Belgium’s northwestern Flemish region, just as the latest incarnation of the Planet of the Apes movies was to hit big screens the world over. The initiative meant to draw attention and raise funds for a campaign aimed at cutting down on monkey hunts in Cameroon, where “bush meat” is often con-

sidered a prized delicacy.

Inspired by a popular Flemish quiz show, “The Smartest Person in the World”, the contest put the two closely related species through six tests in which the apes had to use rudimentary tools like branches to extract nuts or oranges from hiding places.

Chimps do this in nature, to pry out ants or termites to eat. They also use stones to open nuts but bonobos, reputedly less dexterous, had never been seen doing this in the wild, Stevens said.

What’s more, the chimps’ handlers had trained them on the labyrinths ahead of the contest whereas the uninitiated bonobos were at first afraid of the games. What Stevens hadn’t banked on was a political struggle in the chimp troop, where two younger males were challenging the dominant member of the last decade. With such primordial concerns, the agitated chimps forgot about the “human” challenge as the focused Djanoa came first in four of the six tests while only one male champ won a single game, Stevens said.

Bonobos are considered more peaceful than chimps, though less is known about their group structure other than it seems female dominated and they are readier to use sex to resolve conflict than chimp-type fighting. —AFP

legal notice, which mentions a Wesley Lake “Swan Boat Ride.” The current boats, steered with a center knob, hold one adult and two children, or two adults and one child. It works equally well with one or two people pedaling. A ride costs $20 for a half-hour with three aboard, $18 for two, and $15 on Tuesdays. Three white swans are accompanied by two cheery dragons, a pelican and a very popular black swan.

The concession has hosted birthday groups and a relay race. Passengers have gazed at a full moon, and fireworks, from the backs of fiberglass water fowl. The swans have even attracted a bride and groom. The footwork might be tricky in a wedding gown - “but hopefully, the new husband is doing the pedaling,” Occhipinti said with a chuckle. Occhipinti, who’s also a personal trainer, isn’t sure how many calories the gentle workout can burn. The lessenergetic can pedal out and “let the breeze blow you back.” Land-lovers can watch from Adirondack chairs lining the shore. The concession is open from 11 am to 9 pm on weekdays, and 10 am to 9 pm on weekends, weather permitting. Come fall, the swans will be out on weekends through October. —AP

initially hostile to the idea of the painting on wood leaving the country, fearing it could be damaged. But a personal appeal by its owner, Polish aristocrat Prince Adam Karol Czartoryski, convinced the ministry to allow it to go on display in Madrid earlier this year, then Berlin and later London.

The German press called the loan a gesture of “reconciliation” between Poland and Germany. Around 1800, the Czartoryski family acquired the 54x39 centimeter (21.25x15 inch) portrait painted by da Vinci between 1488 and 1490. The work is believed to depict Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of an Italian nobleman, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan and the son of one of da Vinci’s patrons.—AP

A woman walks past a boot decorated with a reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting “Lady with an Ermine” outside the Bode Museum which is hosting the exhibition “Renaissance Faces - Masterpieces of Italian Portraiture” yesterday. — AFP

The painting “Lady with an Ermine” by Leonardo da Vinci is seen at the exhibition Renaissance Faces in Berlin, yesterday.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

lifestyle M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

Lady Gaga, Ryan Reynolds class photos published (Left) In this 1993 image released by Ancestry.com, actor Ryan Reynolds, top left, is shown during his junior year at Kitsilano Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia.

(Below) In this 2002 image actress Scarlett Johansson is shown decorating a Christmas tree.

In this 2002 image released by Ancestry.com, actress Scarlett Johansson is shown during her senior year at Professional Childrens School in New York. —AP photos

B

radley Cooper ’s teenage tennis practice. Lady Gaga’s first communion. A young Scarlett Johansson decorating a Christmas tree. Ryan Reynolds goofing around with his highschool classmates. Country crooner Blake Shelton as a guitar-playing kid. These are just a few of the before-they-were-stars photos included in Ancestry.com’s US School Yearbook Collection. The genealogy website recently expanded its yearbook database to include nearly 7 million images from thousands of schools in the United States.

The database is designed to provide insight into family members’ school years, says Ancestry.com executive vice president Josh Hanna, “and while you’re searching, you might just find a famous classmate.” Among the celebrities included in the expanded database are Jon Stewart, LeBron James, Justin Timberlake, Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney, Will Ferrell and Sean Penn, sporting shaggy locks like his Jeff Spicoli character from 1982’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” The expanded US Yearbook Collection will be available beginning Aug 24. —AP

In this 1992 photo actor Bradley Cooper is shown during chemistry class in his junior year at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pa.

In this 2004 image Lady Gaga, also known as Stefani Germanotta, is shown with her father during a dance her senior year at Convent of the Sacred Heart School in New York.

Young Pakistanis turn to music to

beat bombers

A

gainst a backdrop of militant bombs and bullets, wealthy young Pakistanis are turning to the beat of modern music to help bring social change to their troubled Muslim nation. “I love how when you enter the place, you’re completely transformed,” said DJ Faisal Big at a recent all-night rave in a brick factory courtesy of London’s Ministry of Sound.”It doesn’t feel like Pakistan-definitely not the Pakistan you see on the media.” The one-off Ministry of Sound event cost $100 dollars, an expensive night out in the impoverished country-but the mini-revolution has spread far beyond the brick factory doors.

Organizers persuaded the famous London nightclub, billed as the home of dance music and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, to send over a DJ to lead a club for one night only. The youth music scene in a deeply conservative Islamic state, dogged by deadly Taliban and Al-Qaeda attacks, is opening up to

point from his home last week, youngsters gather to bury their frustration in heavy metal. But this is not a popular revolution-these are the sons and daughters of some of the wealthiest families in Pakistan, taught at expensive English private schools, performing to each other in a school auditorium. “Heavy metal is a way to express anger about what’s happening to the country,” said Zain, a guitarist in increasingly popular band Takatak, named after the sound of a knife chopping up goat genitalia.

The band’s six heavy-metal lovers believe that the drums and music not only ease frustration, but help others speak out. “We have terrorism. We have bombs.

We have drones. We have no education, suicide bombers. There’s the Taliban. There’s the governmentwe’re not going to play Beatles in a warzone, are we?” said the band members, interrupting each other before heading to the show. Gig organizer Younas Chowdhry estimates that there are more than a hundredunderground bands in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, the three major cities. Bands organize their own gatherings and perform privately, with the general public largely unaware of what’s going on behind the curtains and in basements.

“They want society to open up, they want a revolu-

(From left) Pakistani members of heavy metal music band of Takatak from Shahzore Bhatty (vocals), Zain Peerzada (rhythm guitar) and Jamil Razvi (guitar base) perform during a gig. engaged and so there is this sort of change.

“If it’s not being reflected at the level of the street it’s only because of terrorism,” said Rahman. He says there is a long history of music as an instrument of social change in the spiritual Sufi tradition of Islam in the region. But academics are more circumspect about the power of the tiny elite to change society in a country where the literacy rate is 57 percent and the mosques are better at mobilizing the street than secular causes. “It may not be an effective antidote to extremism but it is a first step towards rebuilding a tolerant Pakistan,” Tariq Rahman, who teaches Pakistan studies at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, wrote recently. —AFP

A Pakistani man dances during an electronic music showcase in Lahore. new influences-offering anger-release and a space for political expression. The cultural capital of Lahore is centre-stage for young people looking to modern music for a break from stifling militancy and political crises.

Close to a preaching centre for Muslim scholars and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s estate, many spend Saturday nights dancing at farmhouses and makeshift clubs on Raiwind road leading to the countryside outside Lahore. “This is Pakistan, my Pakistan, the changing Pakistan... no more bombs, no more terrorism, our society is changing,” said Tahir Ali, dancing at the Ministry of Sound event on Raiwind road. “You will see, one day the whole Pakistan will change, we will change our country, we will bring revolution over here and we will get rid of extremism,” said Zoobia, dancing with her cousin Umair as dawn broke. Across town, there is a very different atmosphere but one that is also a world apart from traditional Pakistani music.

In Model Town, the neighborhood where a 70year-old American aid expert was kidnapped at gun-

(From left) Pakistani members of heavy metal music band of Takatak Shahzore Bhatty (vocals), Yusuf Ramay (drums), Zain Peerzada (rhythm guitar), Isa Najam (guitar bass), Daud Ramay (drums) and Misbah Uddin (lead guitar) pose for a picture in Lahore. —AFP photos tion and change of the country’s image from a terrorland to a modern vibrant nation and they are sending this message across through music,” said Chowdhry.

“For the general public, it is like loud noise. But the youth is getting our message, our music is getting popular and our message is being conveyed, we are heading towards change and youngsters are ready to play a role,” said Misbah, another Takatak member.

Then there is the band Laal, which means red and is the long-standing voice of Pakistan’s tiny communist party, also used to organizing concerts to gather peo-

ple for public meetings.

Lead singer Taimur Rahman combines classical poetry with a more contemporary style and has successfully motivated peasants into campaigning for ownership of the land they cultivate occupied by the military. Now he’s getting even more political, satirizing the corruption of politicians and Pakistan’s failure to address terrorism or find Osama bin Laden, who was shot dead by US special forces within the country on May 2. “At a mass level now, young people are wanting to be involved in politics and wanting to be

A Pakistani woman dances during an electronic music showcase in Lahore.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

lifestyle M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

In this film image released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Al Pacino portrays Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant turned kingpin, right, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira Hancock in a scene from ‘Scarface.’

Pacino, ‘Scarface’ cast

celebrate film’s legacy

(From left) Actors Al Pacino, center, F Murray Abraham and Steven Bauer pose together at ìScarfaceî Legacy Celebration Event .

A

l Pacino says he got burned while making “Scarface.” Literally, he grabbed the hot barrel of a gun that had just shot 30 rounds during one of Tony Montana’s violent scenes.”My hand stuck to that sucker,” the 71-year-old actor recalled. He couldn’t work for two weeks. Pacino relayed the experience during a discussion with “Scarface” co-stars Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia and F Murray Abraham and producer Martin Bregman at a party in Los Angeles Tuesday heralding the film’s Blu-ray release.

Part of the charm of the film, Pacino said, is that it wasn’t initially a hit.

“It’s one of my favorites because of its whole evolution,” he said. “It (was) sort of eviscerated after it opened by the press. ... Nobody was fond of it, except it had good audience participation.” He said “it’s almost a miracle” audiences continue to discover and appreciate the film. He wanted to make it after being inspired

by Paul Muni’s performance in the 1932 original.

Sidney Lumet suggested he make the main character Cuban instead of Italian. Pacino’s “Scarface” is set in 1980s Miami, and Tony Montana is an ambitious immigrant who runs a growing drug empire until he even-

tually collapses under greed and addiction.

Pacino’s performance as the gun-wielding, cokesnorting Montana is among his most memorable. He said that during the nine months he was shooting the film, his character practically inhabited him. When a friend’s yappy little dog lunged at him, Pacino said he cocked back his fist instinctively, as if threatening a punch. “So I love Tony Montana, man, because I couldn’t do that!” Pacino said Tuesday. Bregman called “Scarface” a “perfect, perfect movie.” Its timeless themes of greed, desire and ambition would make it controversial even if it were just released today, Pacino said.

Screenwriter Oliver Stone and director Brian De Palma were both “trying to talk about the avarice of the ‘80s,” Pacino said. “At that time, there was this whole thing about greed, which was Wall Street and everything, and I think that’s part of it. A great character, too, Tony Montana - a person who dares to do anything, who flies like a Phoenix, like Icarus, close to the sun.” The Blu-Ray will be released Sept 6. “Scarface” is also set to play at 475 theaters nationwide on Aug 31 for a special one-night engagement.

(From left) Robert Loggia, F Murray Abraham, Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, and Martin Bregman pose together onstage during the “Scarface” Legacy Celebration Event in Los Angeles, Tuesday . — AP photos

Family helps Glen Campbell fight the darkness S

inger Glen Campbell is having a great time. Make no mistake, it is tragic that Alzheimer’s disease is slowly stripping away the memories and abilities that define one of music’s greats. But day-to-day, surrounded by his family and friends, encouraged to play his guitar and sing and golf and joke, the 75-year-old Campbell is often smiling. “I’m really not worried about anything,” Campbell said. “You know those people who say, ‘Oh, geez, I

Musician Glen Campbell poses for a portrait in Malibu, Calif. —AP

wonder what’s going to happen tomorrow?’ Tomorrow’s cool. Just don’t mess it up. It’s just wonderful. I think where I am at right now in this universe, I wouldn’t want to be anything else than what I am.”

Call it The Zen of Glen, and it has been reached through the hard work of his wife, Kim, his children and his business associates who often are as close as family. They have created a carefully engineered environment meant to shelter and encourage Campbell at every turn, whether he is at home or on the road. The Campbell family allowed The Associated Press a glance at the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s life during a recent visit to Biloxi, Mississippi, where Campbell played his first show last month since announcing he has Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease that so far has proven incurable.

That show was a dry run in preparation for a string of dates overseas this year, and for a goodbye tour next year in support of his last studio album, “Ghost on the Canvas,” out next Tuesday.

“What’s really fun is it’s not like work now because I’ve got my kids here, and my wife here, and they’re all playing,” Campbell said. There are indeed moments of confusion, memories that refuse to coalesce and words for simple things that remain just out of reach.

But for the most part, Campbell does not realize he has Alzheimer’s. He is untroubled by the gravity of it all.

Gently reminded of the diagnosis he says, “It hasn’t come by yet.” “You get

a little forgetful,” Kim says. “Well, it may look like that, but I don’t want to hear it sometimes. That’s an old trick.” And everyone laughs. Out of sadness, a smile.”We call it part-timers,” Kim said.

“You just never know. Some days are great, and some days he maybe repeats himself a little. On stage a couple of times he might forget what key a song is in, which 20 years ago might never happen.” It started with simple forgetfulness about 10 years ago. Early on, doctors gave less dire diagnoses.

As it advanced, there was confusion and anxiety: The family wonders if the disease contributed to a short return to drinking that resulted in a drunken driving arrest in 2003.

Recently California took away his driver’s license. Kim avoided telling him as long as possible, finding excuses to drive them everywhere they went. She is afraid he’s slipping from the early stage to the middle stage of the disease, and there is no predicting how long he will be able to perform. The album and tour dates are the family’s way of helping him stay anchored in the present. “I do get nervous about his ability to stay on track and read his teleprompter and remember his chords,” Kim said. “So far everything’s been pretty good. Eventually I expect if this progresses as it normally does, we’ll start to have problems. So we’re preparing to get him off the road and retire, but we wanted to go out with a bang. He wants to do it as long as he can, but the scary thing is you don’t know when the shoe’s going to drop.

We’re all worried that if we stop, he’ll

get worse more quickly.”

The power music has to preserve what Campbell has left is on display any time he picks up a guitar. His fingers appear to have forgotten nothing and still float over the strings. “I can’t imagine what that guy must’ve been like at 25 because at 75 and in this condition he’s frightening,” said Julian Raymond, producer of “Ghost.” “He’s really very good. He’s blessed in that sense.”

Always has been. What Campbell lacked in formal training, or perhaps because of what he lacked, he made up for with feeling and his ear and a preternatural sense of what fit where. As a young man coming west out of Arkansas, he was enchanted by the sounds of jazz and country and rock and the true melting pot that American music was in the 1950s and 1960s. At 16, he took an uncle’s invitation to join his band in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and play on a radio show. He eventually migrated to Los Angeles. “I didn’t go to Nashville because Nashville at that time seemed one-dimensional to me,” Campbell said. “I’m a jazzer. I just love to get the guitar and play the hell out of it if I can.” Despite being unable to read music, he joined a crack team of session players known as The Wrecking Crew. They recorded iconic songs like The Byrds’ “Mr Tambourine Man,” and Simon and Gar funkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “ The Monkees” and “The Age of Aquarius” while helping Phil Spector develop his game -changing wall of sound approach. —AP

‘Real Housewives

of New York City’s’ 5th season delayed

T

hese are uneasy times for Bravo’s “Real Housewives” reality-TV juggernaut. First, the second season of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” was thrown into chaos by the suicide of Russell Armstrong.

Then the cast of “Real Housewives of Miami” was touched by misfortune when Alexia Echevarria’s 13-year-old son, Frankie, was seriously injured in a car accident. And now “Real Housewives of New York City” has encountered its own uncertainty, albeit on a less serious matter.

An individual close to “RHONY” confirms to TheWrap that the production schedule for the upcoming fifth season of the series has been pushed back, “due to some production details that needed to be finalized.” The scheduling change is unrelated to the troubles with the Beverly Hills “Housewives.” The second season for that show, which is handled by a different production company, is being re-edited in the wake of Armstrong’s suicide, with its Sept 5 premiere date still in question.

Though there have been reports that Bravo is considering replacing some or all of the New York City cast, it’s unclear if the production pushback is related to any potential changes.

Bravo has yet to make any announcements about whether any of the current “Real Housewives of New York City” will be replaced. Fans of the show have complained that the New York City “Housewives” lost its spark after Bethenny Frankel left to star in her own Bravo series.—AP

Young Pakistanis turn to music to beat bombers

38

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Feathers catching the fancy of fashion insiders

Naeem Khan

A sign on a hair salon door advertises feathers in Solon, Ohio.

T

he fashion flock seems to have developed a fancy for feathers: They’re decorating cocktail dresses and bohemian jewelry, and being braided into hair.

They’re statements of femininity and luxury - without being too frilly, experts say. “I think feathers are the ultimate in flirtatiousness,” says designer Peter Som. “ There’s a sense of movement, and feathers take color really well.” Guess that means the sky is the limit. Some likes to see a knee-length feathered skirt paired with a simple white menswear-style shirt or a camisole.

“Show some leg,” he advises, “and wear a strong shoe.”

Naeem Khan, who has twice dressed Michelle Obama for black-tie state dinners, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that he favors the “cloud effect” you’ll get from ostrich feathers on a grand-entrance gown. A stiffer feather - perhaps a rooster feather - can add a bit of a rock ‘n’ roll texture to a skirt or vest, Khan adds, and other feathers can be used on outerwear for warmth. “I’ve used them in a practical way, on vests and jackets and capes.

You can use them like fur.” Meanwhile, designer Pamella Roland’s favorite feathered look from her fall collection is a jersey dress with lace sleeves and ostrich feathers.

“It’s a very glam look.”

She has had feathers in her collection since “Day 1,” and, personally, she has several times worn a feather capelet with a simple black dress. With most of her clients in Florida and California, she notes that it’s nice to have feathers as a fur alternative. “These ladies love to dress up, but you can’t really wear fur in the sunbelt. ...

You can wear feathers year-round - maybe white feathers for spring and black for winter.” Look for style commentator Mary Alice Stephenson to be wearing this fall a delicate top tipped with feathers around the neckline to offset masculine, high-waisted trousers, or a feather tank under a jacket with a pencil skirt. “Feathers inject glamour into clothes that are more straightforward, edgy or masculine,” she says.

She also gushes over Alexander Wang’s sexy, strappy sandals with a pouf of pink feathers at the toe. “My feeling about feathers is, if they’re done in a subtle, sensual way, then it’s something you want to embrace for fall,” Stephenson says. But too many tufts run the risk of a Big

Pamella Roland

Bird effect. “That’s easy for me to say, being 6 feet tall. If I was swathed all over in feathers it would be too much,” Stephenson says. “Taking the runway to your life is about seeing feathers at the Pucci fashion show, and you see how to wear a feather purse from Talbots, or a statement necklace with a feather, or even feather shapes or prints.”

Lots of people are trying out the trend in their hair, reports Brenda Pederson, stylist at the Oscar Blandi Salon in Manhattan. There’s been a burst in requests over the past two months, she says. It takes just a few minutes to thread a feather into dry hair. “Most of the process is deciding where you want it to be and what color you want. ... I think it’s a new trend, makes people happy. It’s quick and easy, and it’s not a big commitment like a new hairstyle,” Pederson says.

She had a purple one in her own hair for three weeks, although the feathers can last up to six. Mostly tweens, teens and 20-somethings are getting it done, but one woman in her 50s came in and looked great when she walked out, Pederson says. “It looks good on every type of hair and hairstyle. It’s not for the conservative, though.”

When “American Idol” stylist Soyon An first used feathers on Crystal Bowersox last year, she had to get them from a craft store because they weren’t readily available; now they seem like they’re everywhere. “It’s not just for the stage - or even just for your hair or earrings,” says An. “I think feathers are a great look for an event or cocktail party.” On the more casual, approachable side, she’s seeing feather prints on T-shirts and bags inspired by bohemian, Indian and Peruvian looks, especially in color combinations with turquoise, white and brown.

Stephenson encourages women to give it a try - even if it’s in small, measured doses, and maybe in black at first. But more important than color, style or the wearer’s age is to wear it with confidence, she says. “People are really intimidated by feathers ... but they can be a really great tool.” —AP

Giambattista Valli

Naeem Khan

Giambattista Valli A model wears fashion created with feathers at the Pamella Roland Fall 2011 Collection. —AP photos

Emilio Pucci

Could Dior be homing in on new designer?

T

he fashion world is abuzz over the possibility that US-born designer Marc Jacobs might take over as creative director of Dior. The label, widely considered the jewel in the crown of French fashion, has been floundering for nearly six months, since its longtime creative director John Galliano was summarily sacked over allegations he made anti-Semitic remarks.

Jacobs is among the top tier of designers worldwide, adored by critics and consumers for his signature label and for his work for Louis Vuitton - the coveted bag maker which is also owned by Dior parent company LVMH. Fashion trade publication Women’s Wear Daily on Monday cited anonymous sources as saying that Jacobs has been approached

by LVMH management about a move to Dior and that the two parties were in talks about a possible deal. The report said another critical and commercial darling, Phoebe Philo - designer at LVMH label Celine - could be tapped to replace Jacobs at Vuitton, if the deal goes through. Officials at Dior and Vuitton said they could not confirm the negotiations.

Dana Thomas, a veteran fashion journalist and author of the industry expose “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster,” said she found a possible Jacobs move plausible. “This is about the safest move LVMH can do,” Thomas said in an email to The Associated

Press. “Everyone loves Marc. He’s boundlessly creative. He knows how to assemble and managed an excellent team. And he is resolutely modern.” From a commercial perspective, Jacobs’ departure from Vuitton would likely have little impact because “fashion is such a small slice of Louis Vuitton’s sales,” Thomas said, adding, “Really, what folks want is that classic monogram bag.” Jacobs is also seen as a solid choice in an industry where the mental and emotional stability of designers has emerged as a concern following the 2010 suicide of British star Alexander McQueen and the Galliano case.

Galliano, in a Paris court appearance in June, blamed industry pressures and alcohol and prescription drug addictions for his outbursts, including one in which he is seen on video praising Adolf Hitler.

Jacobs has done a stint in rehab for addictions of his own, but is widely regarded as having overcome his substance problems. “Having worked with Marc for so long (at Vuitton,) LVMH knows what they are getting at Dior. No surprises, no drama,” said Thomas.

Jacobs, a tattoo-covered New Yorker known for his penchant for wearing kilts and Dr. Martens boots, is one of several designers spotlighted by the rumor mill as possible candidates for the coveted Dior job. Others rumored to be in the running include Alber Elbaz of Lanvin; Sarah Burton, who replaced McQueen at his label; Haider Ackermann, a

British fashion designer John Galliano appears at the end of his men’s fall-winter 2011/2012 fashion collection presented in Paris. —AP

rising star with his own signature brand, and Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy, yet another LVMH brand.

Jacobs, 48, is a native New Yorker who seems like he has always gotten to do it his way.

He went from Manhattan’s High School of Art and Design straight to Parsons The New School of Design, where he was named design student of the year. He started selling his work while still in school, and launched his own label in 1986.

When Jacobs began working at Perry Ellis in 1987, business partner Robert Duffy was already by his side and they were hired as a team. They were fired that way, too, in 1992, after Jacobs turned out the groundbreaking grunge collection full of plaids and flannel that was heralded by fashion insiders, even winning the CFDA award as top womenswear designer, but the look was rebuffed by the more traditional brand.

Jacobs and Duffy reorganized and launched the Marc Jacobs collection label in 1993, but largely lived off their reputations and their list of friends including supermodels, celebrities and photographers - until Jacobs took on the top design job for Louis Vuitton in 1997. As part of that deal, LVMH agreed to finance Jacobs’ signature collection, which also has grown to include the contemporary line Marc by Marc Jacobs. Jacobs splits his time between New York and Paris.—AP