22 Sep

ON IP TI SC R SU B

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Libyan revolutionaries claim vital Sabha victory

Gulf mediator leaves Yemen empty-handed as battles rage

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SHAWWAL 24, 1432 AH

Indian govt says poverty begins below 50 cents a day

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Real Madrid fire blanks against Santander

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Rally calls for heads to roll over graft scandal MPs demand PM, Cabinet quit, vow grillings

Max 43º Min 24º Low Tide 12:55 High Tide 04:53 & 20:44

By B Izzak

Obama rejects Palestinian UN statehood bid UNITED NATIONS: President Barack Obama yesterday rejected Palestinian plans to seek U.N. blessing for statehood as he tried to avert a looming crisis that could erode Washington’s global standing and further isolate its close ally Israel. Obama’s last-ditch diplomatic effort won praise from Israel, which will rely on Washington to block the Palestinian UN membership bid, but drew a bitter response from the Palestinians, who said it violated the spirit of the “Arab spring” revolts and showed no sign of backing down.

US President Barack Addressing the UN Obama speaks at the General Assembly, Obama UN yesterday. — AFP - whose earlier peace efforts accomplished little - insisted that Middle East peace “will not come through statements and resolutions” at the world body and put the onus on the two sides to break a Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: MPs and protesters gather opposite the National Assembly yesterday demanding the resignation of the prime minister and the government over a corruption scandal. (Inset) MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei gestures in anger at the rally. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Iran frees US ‘spies’ TEHRAN: Two US hikers jailed for spying and illegal entry were on their way home to the United States yesterday after Iran released them on bail, months after handing them hefty jail terms. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, both 29, were driven straight to Tehran’s Mehrabad airport after their release from the capital’s notorious Evin prison and boarded a flight to the Gulf sultanate of Oman, which paid their bail.

Later, the aircraft from Oman’s Royal Air Force carrying Fattal and Bauer arrived at Muscat’s Royal airport, the private airfield of Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Wearing their light-coloured shirts and dark trousers, the pair ran down the steps of the plane smiling and shouting happily as they hugged their parents and took photographs with them. “They are healthy, happy and strong,” Fattal’s father told AFP. Sara Shourd who was arrested with the two and released last year was also at the airport, in addition to US ambassador in Muscat Richard Schmierer and members of Oman’s ministry for palace security, the sultanate’s top security body.

The foreign ministry said Oman welcomes the pair and “hopes this humanitarian initiative will be followed by other positive initiatives that would help achieve rapprochement between both the Americans and the Iranians ... to achieve stability in the region”. Oman also

TEHRAN: US ‘hikers’ Shane Bauer (right) and Josh Fattal smile at Mehrabad airport before leaving Iran yesterday. — AP thanked Iran “for responding to the efforts exerted by the sultanate’s government under the directions of his majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said... to release” Fattal and Bauer, the Oman News Agency reported. The families of the US hikers expressed relief at their release and hailed what they called “the best day of our lives”.

Continued on Page 13

Saudi media bypass rules DUBAI: Saudi Arabian bloggers and journalists say the arch-conservative Islamic kingdom will find it hard to douse glimmers of more open reporting despite a tightening of media rules after the spread of popular revolts through the Arab world.

As Saudis increasingly turn to satellite television, online news providers and social networking to follow current events, censorship targeting traditional media is becoming ineffective.

The world’s number one oil exporter announced a series of stricter regulations for journalists after “Arab Spring” unrest hit neighbouring countries earlier this year. “I haven’t noticed a pattern of these laws affecting how the Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Thousands of Kuwaitis demonstrated yesterday to demand the resignation of the prime minister and the Cabinet and the dissolution of the National Assembly over a corruption scandal in which a number of MPs allegedly received millions of dinars in bribes.

Organizers estimated the crowd at around 7,000 people, one of the largest rallies in many years, who chanted slogans calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to quit.

Around 20 opposition MPs representing all shades of the opposition attended the rally which was held opposite the National Assembly building amid tight security by hundreds of policemen and elite special forces. “We are here to press for the resignation of Sheikh Nasser and we will work for that,” declared prominent opposition figure MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun. “The large crowds here is a message for the leaders that corruption has reached its limit ... enough is enough” said Saadoun to the loud applause from the enthusiastic crowds who repeatedly chanted “leave, leave” to the prime minister.

“Corruption has become widespread in the country and Sheikh Nasser must leave,” said Saadoun, who announced plans to grill the prime minister and the ministers of interior, foreign affairs and defense, all of whom are senior members of the ruling family.

Islamist opposition MP Faisal Al-Mislem launched a scathing attack on the prime minister, saying that he is not fit to head the government and run the country, and the crowds agreed. “For the sake of the country, we call on HH the Amir to sack Sheikh Nasser immediately Continued on Page 13

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

local

KUWAIT: Several employees from the oil sector staged a sit-in outside KPC demanding rights and salary hikes. The demonstrators held banners reading ‘We discovered oil and gas,’ ‘Justice and equality is our demand.’ ‘We demand that law 28/1969 be implemented.’ ‘We want to be equal with workers of the government oil sector,’ ‘Until when will we be deprived of our rights,’ ‘Respect the law.’

‘REUSE Speakers Forum’ videos released online KUWAIT: In anticipation of the upcoming REUSE 5.0 exposition in early 2012 (w w w.projec treuseme.com), The en.v Initiative, a leading organization dedicated to social responsibility in the Arab World and Dow released High Definition (HD) video footage of the REUSE Speakers Forum on YouTube (www.youtube.com/envearth) and launched an online awareness campaign to reach out to the general public and educate them on key environmental issues facing the Arab World. Through videos of the forum, the general public will learn about the importance of sustainability as it relates to the private sector (companies and corporations) as well as the public sector (government and semi-governmental institutions). The videos further highlight issues related to gas emissions, renewable energy, agricultural productivity, waste management, and water shortage.

“Raising awareness to help protect the Kuwaiti environment, and to encourage sustainable practices in the community are important to Dow. We understand that the health of our business is intertwined with the health of the communities we are a part of.” said Markus Wildi, Vice President of Corporate Development in Kuwait, and President of Dow Middle East. “I hope that giving the general public access to video footage of these discussions has shed light on some of the challenges that we are currently facing in the region.

We aspire for the REUSE Speakers Forum to be a stepping stone for many more discussions that will lead to a change in the way that corporations do business as well

as the way that governments regulate them,” says Zahed Sultan.

The en.v Initiative’ recently organized the REUSE Speakers Forum at the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) - championed by Dow as the Title Partner.

The purpose of the forum was to promote a dialogue on sustainability in the region and spark a discussion on ways that can further put into perspective the challenges that the Arab world is facing regarding environmental issues.

Bringing together thought leaders, stakeholders and decision makers from Kuwait and across the globe, the panelists included Dr. Anne Wallin, Director of EH&S and Sustainability for Dow EMEA; Najib Saab, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Bia Wal Tanmia, Secretary General of the Arab Forum for Environment & Development (AFED) and President of MEC TAT; Chad Boettcher, Senior Vice President of Social Innovation, Weber Shandwick; Captain Ali Haider, Vice President of Kuwait Environmental Public Authority (EPA); Dr. Lia Carol Seighar t, Senior Environmental Economist, Regional Finance Coordinator MENA Region Sustainable Development, The World Bank; Dr. Sami Al-Yakoob, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Environmental General Trading and Contracting Company (GETCO); and Tarek Sultan, Chairman and Managing Director of Agility. The forum was mediated by the en.v Initiative’s CEO and Managing Partner, Zahed Sultan and was opened by a keynote speech from Markus Wildi, Vice President of Corporate Development in Kuwait, and President of Dow Middle East.

Illegal residents opt for odd jobs to survive Living in fear, determined to stay

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: For six years, the sight of the police has been frightening Benjamin, a 56-year-old Filipino worksing as a mandoub (representative) for various individuals by handling their paperwork at government offices. This is one of the few odd jobs he took up to survive after losing his residence permit and a job with a local freight company. He has learnt to overcome his fear of the police with thoughts about raising his son.

After losing his job, “thanks to wasta,” he managed to stay in the country. A native of Bulacan, Philippines, he admits that living without an iqama (residence permit) is similar to enduring torture, “I cannot move about easily the way I used to in the past [when he had a valid iqama]” he said. “I don’t want to see a police car. They are my enemies,” Benjamin quipped.

During the first year of his illegal stay, Benjamin was afraid of venturing out of his home in Jabriya. “After a few months of solitary confinement, I began going out and meeting people, trying my best to talk to a circle of friends. Most of them offered help ‘in words’ but not in action,” he shared his predicament.

A former employee with freight company, Benjamin wasn’t concerned about financial problems because he had saved up money, “I only realized that I was penniless when my son asked me for something and I couldn’t give it to him. As a father, my heart sank, I started to worry about everything—the future of my only son and how to survive in my present condition,” he narrated. His son, Jonathan is Benjamin’s youngest with a woman he met in Kuwait. Jonathan’s mother left the country immediately after he was born, leaving Benjamin to become the only caregiver. He has another family back in Manila, with three grown-up children who are happily married. At one point, he believed his youngest son was his ‘only life’.

Benjamin’s roommate offered a shoulder to lean on, offered shelter and food to both. It was a temporary solution. After three years, Benjamin struggled to find employment. He accepted odd jobs like laundry and ironing clothes for friends, “It was funny because I

even hate washing my dirty clothes. I learnt to accept my situation. Some good friends would pay extra after learning of my circumstance,” he said.

Benjamin decided to stay despite the announcement of the recent Amiri amnesty.

He believes he can earn more money here, “I love my son, I have a few more years to live.

So I’ll stay in Kuwait till they finally catch me here. My wasta can not help me.”

Since 2007, Benjamin has been in dire need of help. Recently he took a job as a mandoub - offering services to anyone in exchange for cash, “I will do paper work for

provided,” he narrated. When Das’ visa expired, he went back to his sponsor who had disappeared. “His cell phone wasn’t reachable anymore; so, I was left in a limbo. I never had any chance to renew my visa,” he told the Kuwait Times.

Das has had to adapt to a life of secrecy. In fact he has mastered the art. He has hired private-transportation from his place of residence in Bneid Al-Gar to his workplace in Shuwaikh, “I am hiding like a criminal. When I see police patrolling somewhere my heart pounds crazily. Even at home, I am in a full state of alert, buying a bottle of water from

KUWAIT: Expatriates doing odd jobs in Kuwait. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat anyone, instead of them queuing up for hours in the ministry or embassies,” he said. He explained that he works with another associate. “We’ll do the job. It’s legal except that my stay here is not.” He now manages to raise his son in Manila who is 12 years old now.

Non-existent companies Benjamin is not alone in his ordeal. Das S from Andhra Pradesh, India has been working illegally as a mechanic in Shuwaikh for the last two years. He entered Kuwait legally after purchasing a (Domestic Worker) Visa-20 that was issued by a non-existent company. “I had my sponsor, but the sponsor doesn’t own a company. So I was told to look for a job somewhere else,” he said.

“I managed to find a job myself. The sponsor told me that I can work using the visa he

the baqala can be a nerve wracking experience. I always make sure I don’t face the immigration police. I know I can be caught any time and could be sent back home.”

Married with two kids, Das came to Kuwait to improve his impoverished family’s living conditions in India. He had to sell a piece of land to pay for his visa that cost him KD 500.

When asked why he did not take advantage of the recent amnesty granted to expatriates he answered, “I am not ready to return home yet. I need money to start a business; I want a brighter future for my children, and I don’t want my son to experience the same life as I did,” he said. Das admits that he is prepared to be arrested any time, “If that happens I will never resist. I am ready to go home but I will stay until they finally catch me. At least here, I can earn money.”

KUWAIT: (Left) Some members/officials of ‘Media Box and Vintage Car museum’. (Right) Hatim Al-Hajj, (fourth left) and Dima Danawi (fifth left) with Media Box and Vintage Car Museum officials — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Media Box to organize second RPM ‘Car of the Year Awards’

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Media Box ’s RPM Magazine announced that the ‘Second Car of the Year Awards’ will be held on Oct 10. Hatim Al-Hajj, Media Box CEO announced the upcoming event yesterday at a press conference held at the Historical, Vintage and Classic Car Museum. It will also serve as the venue of the upcoming awards function. The awards ceremony will be held in Kuwait for the second time, aimed at bridging the link between consumers and car dealers in Kuwait. It offers a chance to get to know what consumers really admire and prefer here in Kuwait.

During the sidelines of a press conference, Dima Danawi, Media Box General Manager told Kuwait Times that voting is until September 30, 2011, “If you want your vote to be counted, please do so now. Voting for your choice of 2010 car began in March. You only have a few days left to be heard. Your vote matters to us,” she said. According to Danawi, people vote

according to their preferences, “The public can vote independently, regardless of whether they own a car or not. They can place their preferences.”

“There are many participants here as most people love cars. People here select the best car models . We are happy that it reflects their choices,” she said. Media Box is the only company that conducts surveys and provides venue for car brands, dealers and enthusiasts. “Car surveys and awards happen every year. We began in Kuwait as recently as 2009. We wish to hold this annually,” she noted. When asked about the connection between the Media Box and Car Vintage Car Museum, she said, “Only passion for cars. We are celebrating their birthday.”

The voting process is being organized by a third party online firm based in London www.surveymonkey.com. To vote please visit: www.surveymonkey.com/S/36XDB9Z. Categories include: Hatchback, small size, mid-size, large size, premium small size, premium mid-size car, premium large size car, compact

crossover, small size multi activity vehicle, midsize multi activity vehicle, large multi activity vehicle, large multi activity vehicle, premium compact multi activity vehicle, premium mid-size multi activity, premium large size multi activity vehicle, premium roadster car, premium Coupe car, super sport car, luxury car, gran turismo, sports sedan car, muscle car, mid-size pick-up, large size pick-up and mini-van. You can also vote for your ‘Dream Car’ and the ‘Best Car Dealer of the Year’. Media Box, according to Danawi, agreed to hold the award ceremony at the Vintage Car Museum to celebrate their first anniversary which also falls on October 10. The first awards ceremony was held at the 360 Mall Exhibition Hall. It anticipates a large number of people to attend the ceremony including car dealers, invited guests and people interested in promoting car industries in Kuwait. Last year, ‘Toyota Corolla’ emerged winner of the ‘2009 Car of the Year Awards.’ Media Box’s publishes in-flight magazines, car magazines (RPM), life-style magazine, bank magazines and TV guides.

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Vinegar diet ‘not healthy weight loss method’ A highly acidic product

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: A number of people in Kuwait suffering from weight problems have seized upon the latest dietary fad, the ‘Vinegar Diet,’ in the belief that this will improve digestion and help accelerate the burning of body fat, although there is no medical proof of its benefits and dieticians actively oppose it as a weight loss method, believing it to be unhealthy.

Joanna, a 35-year-old expatriate, took up the diet after being informed by friends that the vinegar

reason [for them].”

According to dieticians, the vinegar diet is definitely not a healthy weight loss method, with the high acid content of the vinegar potentially negatively affecting teeth and bones, while other ingredients could adversely affect blood insulin levels. Fatin Gharzeddine of Kuwait’s Diet Center warned dieters of the potential dangers of this diet: “Vinegar is a highly acidic product and using it daily in these quantities may damage tooth enamel and throat and mouth tissue, and in the long term cause low potassium lev-

KUWAIT: Different brands of vinegar displayed in one of the supermarkets. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat diet, which involves drinking a cup of water containing a tablespoonful of vinegar once a day, would act as a natural laxative, regulating her bowel movements and thus helping her to lose weight. After following the diet for over a week, she said that she had noticed no discernible weight loss, but her digestion had improved.

“I dissolved one spoonful of vinegar in a cup of water and drank it about half an hour before breakfast, and it was easier for me to go to the bathroom,” she told the Kuwait Times. Joanna noted: “I also noticed white pustules in my mouth, and I think this vinegar diet may be the

els, as well as negatively affecting bone density.” Gharzeddine also warned that “chromium in the vinegar affects blood insulin levels,” making the diet potentially particularly dangerous for diabetics.

The expert dietician pointed out that there have not been sufficient studies carried out into the possible effects on humans of consuming this much vinegar on a daily basis, adding that there is insufficient scientific proof to support the claims made for the diet. “Some studies claim that vinegar may help in reducing weight, but this is only a possibility since the majority of these studies were conducted on

animals and very few were done on humans. I think that the probability [of losing weight through this diet] is unclear to date and it needs longterm tests to prove its effectiveness in reducing weight.”

Gharzeddine explained the theory behind the vinegar diet, saying, “The vinegar reduces the [digestive] fermentation process, which makes the person consuming it feel sated and full. It also helps to regulate blood glucose levels and reduces the release of insulin into the bloodstream, triggering the chemicals that help break down fats.”

She went on, “There’s no difference [in effectiveness] between the different varieties of vinegar or the times when it’s consumed. All vinegars are acetic and have the same result, whether it’s apple, grape or any other type. Also, there’s no great difference [in the effect] according to when it’s consumed, whether it’s in the morning or during the day - it still works the same way.”

Gharzeddine advised those wishing to lose weight to follow a proper balanced diet approved by the American Dietetic Association (ADA). “ They should consume enough carbohydrates rather than consuming vinegar,” she advised “There’s no such term [medically] as a ‘vinegar diet.’ People here in Kuwait usually follow the protein diet, but as I see it all the components [of a balanced diet] are important. They should take up eating in moderation. They should also change their lifestyles by exercising more and quitting smoking if they smoke. Also, people should always consult a doctor when following any diet program, especially if they suffer from conditions like diabetes, osteoporosis or other medical conditions.”

The dietician concluded by again warning would-be dieters against the newest diet fad. “The so-called vinegar diet could be harmful to health if the person is using some medications or has low potassium levels. At the Diet Center we only add vinegar to some meals as an ingredient, not as a solution to obesity.”

First public school for students with learning disabilities opens KUWAIT: The first public school for students with learning disabilities opened yesterday as part of the Ministry of Education’s integration project.

An orientation was held on the sideline of inaugurating Al-Sadeem Elementary School for Boys; specialized in severe learning disabilities, for staffers. The integration project is supervised by the Center of Child Evaluation and Teaching and is sponsored by the health development fund of the Endowments Public

Secretariat. The project’s team leader Dr Issa Jassem, in a speech, highlighted different categories of learning disabilities, as well as teaching methods and challenges facing children with such hurdle. He pointed out that the project is first of its kind in Kuwait, as it aims at integrating children with learning disabilities with their normal peers in public schools.

“The project is working on rehabilitating and training 28 crews in Mubarak Al-Kabir Educational District, in order for them to obtain their educa-

tion quality certificate from a British consultancy body,” Jassem concluded.

Learning disabilities include several disorders, in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors. The unknown factor is the disorder that affects the brain’s ability to receive and process information.

People with a learning disability have trouble performing specific types of skills or completing tasks if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways. — KUNA

Police outnumber bedoons at announced protest site Bedoons frustrated by unfulfilled promises KUWAIT: Large number of police officers were present in Taima yesterday in the location where bedoons had announced were going to stage a demonstration.

Although the police were on hand from early in the day, no protesters were seen in the vicinity late in the evening. The stateless residents were due to stage a demonstration demanding basic human rights earlier in the day, although some question the move in light of the government’s adoption of a number of policies concerning their complaints. Some in the local media have questioned the government’s implementation of these policies, however.

An article in local daily Al-Qabas stated that the Central System to Resolve Illegal Residents’ Status (CSRSIR), the state body established in March to find solutions to the problems facing Kuwait’s stateless residents - commonly known as bedoons - passed a number of resolutions that were approved by the cabinet and parliament to grant full civil and social

rights to residents. These rights include free education, healthcare, the issuing of birth, death and marriage certificates, driver ’s licenses, civil ID and passports, and allowing them job opportunities.

Despite this, however, the article continued, as of the scheduled date of the protest, it appears that the only one of these resolutions put into practice was the one allowing bedoons to obtain subsidized food items from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI).

The article by Al-Qabas, indicates that all other departments failed to fully implement the other resolutions, with stateless residents still facing restrictions in acquiring official documentation, while in some cases such as a issuing driver’s license, there has been no progress at all.

Meanwhile, a CSRSIR insider told local daily Al-Anbaa that an agreement has been reached to form a committee to reexamine the files of nearly 30,000 stateless residents who face security restrictions that prevent them from

obtaining Kuwaiti citizenship.

These restrictions affect all bedoon people with any criminal record or evidence indicating possible nonKuwaiti origins.

In other news, Al-Rai reported that the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (MAIA) has detected cases in which a number of Hajj agencies that do not provide services to bedoon pilgrims are buying visas for the stateless residents from agencies that serve these residents, which are then resold to bedoons.

Saudi authorities annually offer a set number of places on the Hajj pilgrimage to bedoon pilgrims, and the matching number of visas is then issued in Kuwait. In recent years, some agencies that do not serve bedoon clients have been caught illegally selling illicitly acquired bedoons’ pilgrimage visas to others, with the price last year reaching KD350 each.

According to one MAIA insider, the prices being charged this year for these visas range from KD300 to KD400 each.

Kuwait to seek POWs’ remains in iraq KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti team will inspect four locations in Iraq where the remains of Kuwaitis taken as prisoners during the 1990/91 Iraqi invasion are believed to exist.

According to officials, the team has information on the remains of Kuwaiti martyrs. They can be found at a mass grave in Al-Nasseriya. It is one of the four locations that will be investigated soon. Kuwaiti inspectors carried out searches at the same mass grave seven months ago. It could not find the remains of Kuwaiti prisoners. They suggest that more inspections should be conducted before confirming that the graves

are not of Kuwaiti citizens’ owing to its vast size, reported AlRai. In other news, Iraqi MP Aliya Nassif urged the speaker of the Iraqi parliament Osama Al-Nujaifi to coordinate with experts from Iraq before his reported visit to Kuwait “to obtain an idea about the level of damage caused by Mubarak AlKabeer port.” The White Iraqiya Party member demanded in a recent statement that the Iraqi speaker study the subject comprehensively, alleging that a technical team that visited Kuwait last month builds “on information limited by data provided by Kuwaiti authorities.”

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

LOCAL

in my view

Satire Wire

Childish spat?

Call the police

Blame the parents

By Lisa Conrad Sawsan Kazak

lisa@kuwaittimes.net sawsank@kuwaittimes.net or as long as I can remember, I have never been a ‘kid-person’. I am not the type that loves to carry other people’s babies, makes funny faces at stranger’s children and can’t wait to have a fleet of my own. I have always been somewhat annoyed with children; the amount of nagging, crying and throwing up they do, has not appealed to me yet. These words always shock people because they assume that since I am a female, I must love kids.

But I recently realized that my dislike or annoyance was misplaced. I now see that it’s not children that bother me, but rather their parents. Some annoying behaviors that children do are due to their parents. For instance, it always used to annoy me when babies would cry uncontrollably in a restaurant. Well the baby didn’t make the decision to get dressed, jump in the car and go to the restaurant; that was the parents’ choice to bring a child in an unsuitable location.

Also, kids that walk around in shoes that squeak. Not that normal kind of noise when rubber hits the ground, but rather the shoes that have a squeaky toy built in. Yes parents might think it’s cute to hear how their child is learning to walk, but the ‘cuteness’ is lost on me and I’m assuming many others. But there again, the small child didn’t go to the store, pick out the shoes and decide to wear them to the mall; the parents did.

Then you have the kids that make a mess everywhere they go while they irritate everyone around them. I no longer blame these kids, they just have bad role models. Their parents are probably mimicking how to be loud and irritating; the kids don’t know any better.

My new found understanding for the root cause of children’s annoyances doesn’t change the fact that I am in no hurry to have kids. I simply feel sorry for the kids that have to put up with these kinds of parents.

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kuwait digest

MPsgate and the spilt broth!

By Dr Ghanim Al-Najjar alks about the MPsgate are endless. These will not end with their disappearance.

Commenting on corruption at the Municipality, HH the Amir once said that it was too burdensome even for the ‘camels.’ I was just wondering about how pervasive corruption is in all other establishments.

The significance of MPsgate is that it’s more political than legal. It might also help us perceive how corruption began, grew and spread to dominate all establishments to its present extent. It is a major administrative element and a tool for ‘political favoritism’ that began after the economic boom took place when oil was discovered in Kuwait.

During these times, ‘political funds’ become a major tool in making political bargains. Unless stricter control measures are used and made effective, public funds can be also used in politics in a systematic manner.

That is why the statements made by former minister Sheikh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah in the beginning of 2008 were right. He had said that ‘a price was paid to some MPs thanks to parliamentary inquiry, interpellation motion and even shouting during sessions!’

No reactions were recorded because ‘everyday’ talk after corruption was in place for over half a century. The fact that some MPs, namely pro-government ones, received fortunes to be spent and used during elections.

This tendency is more folkloric. That is why the MPsgate lawmakers are indifferent and not interested in stashing away cash. In fact, I believe that many are more amazed about why so much fuss was made.

So, public discussion is one real last chance at putting an end to such a shameful ‘culture.’ Our main challenge will be to utilize all the media, judicial and political momentum created by the scandal to create a more stable political administration rather than simply condemn the MPs involved in it.

They are not actually laundering any money, but only receive bribes. Our ancestors would say that ‘whenever the Sheikh gives you broth, take it, even by folding up the end of your dishdasha.’

What about more valuable gifts and enormous cash that cannot be held in the same manner?

Will they not stain clothes? — Aljarida

esterday, as I was arriving home, I saw a police car and various men talking in a tone almost loud enough to be an argument. The strained conversation continued at such a fast rate that neither I, nor my Arabic speaking friend, could decipher what was being said. Was it drugs? Had someone offended the other’s family? Had one stolen from the other? We pondered over what argument could have possibly been worth the police coming out to calm things. When I was robbed, I went to the police station, they didn’t come to me. So seeing them come out to resolve a quarrel made us particularly intrigued... it had to be something good, right? Something juicy.

Something controversial.

‘Anti-climactic’ is an understatement for the ‘something’ that we had been pondering from when we left the building to when we returned. As it turns out, one of the men was annoyed at the other for backing into his plant pot with his car, breaking the pot. He had demanded compensation for said plant pot and, upon being declined, had threatened to call the police. In a bout of bravado, the plant-pot-breaking guilty party insisted that he wanted to call the police himself and let them decide whether or not the plant pot should be compensated for.

Lo-and-behold, the police came to the ‘scene of the crime’ to settle the argument and decide whether the late plant pot should be paid for. They ruled that the guilty party should indeed pay the owner of the late plant pot for his loss, in case you were interested. Two things really struck me here as I watched this initially exciting, yet eventually disappointing, story unravel. Firstly, it is impressive that the police made the effort to solve the discrepancy in views. However, when did we become so incapable of handling our own problems and using basic logic that we need to call out figures of authority to solve our disagreements? Have we really become so reliant on others to determine our views of what’s right and wrong? The entire scene reminded me of school days and playground fights, but the replacement of small, fistshaking children with tall, finger-pointing grown men was surreal to say the least.

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kuwait digest

A prime minister from the public

By Ibrahim Al-Awadhi eople are watching local developments with tion with an inactive government and a parliaconcern, having already witnessed, as a ment whose members are more concerned with result of continuous political struggle, the pursuing questionable deals than with achieving country reach a miserable state of affairs. We have development. been worried by the prospect of reaching the I believe that part of the solution will come point of no return ever since a government through changing the Prime Minister. In addition plagued by corruption and an unproductive par- to the series of failures and violations uncovered liament put us between a rock and a hard place. during this government’s five-year tenure under Kuwait ’s problems are his leadership since 2006, in n umerable; th e most this period also featured six recent of these is the KD 25 grilling motions against Kuwait’s problems are innumillion scan dal th at h as the Prime Minister, which merable; the most recent of have left the country, along shaken the foundations of these is the KD 25 million scansociety yet failed to prompt w i t h i t s d e ve l op m e nt a l the government to ac t. dal that has shaken the foun- projects, in a state of inerKuwait is suffer in g from tia. dations of society yet failed to serious flaws created by a In my opinion, the way prompt the government to act. should be paved for Kuwait large swathe of problems Kuwait is suffering from serian d obstac les th at are to have a prime minister ous flaws created by a large elected by the people, as impeding national progress in all fields, including the swathe of problems and obsta- this would likely end the development plan, which cles that are impeding nation- ongoing political strife and looks set to chart a course support the concept of the al progress in all fields, includto failure. transfer of power, which ing the development plan, In spite of these failures, has been adopted in most the national government which looks set to char t a advanced democracies. It is continues to simply specworth noting here that the course to failure. tate, limiting its actions to Kuwaiti constitution does addressing urgent issues as not re s t r i c t t he p os t of opposed to addressing the p r i m e m i ni s te r a s b ei ng flawed implementation of major projects or hold- exclusive to the ruling Al-Sabah family. ing accountable those responsible for their failThis may help reduce the level of political tenure. sion in Kuwait, so that the focus can be turned to Citizens have realized they cannot miraculous- development in the hope that we can make the ly solve their country’s various problems; their notable strides in all fields already made in recent sense of hopelessness is growing out of a frustra- years by regional neighbors. — Al-Rai

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kuwait digest

Of dialects and power

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

kuwait digest

Rewriting Kuwait’s history

By Waleed Al-Rujaib uring a conversation with friends at a from three different civilizations that flourished in Lebanese village, I was surprised to hear the area at different points in history. Excavation them use expressions from Kuwaiti dialect’s work at a site in Subiya has led to the fascinating vocabulary. The strangest part is that they spoke a discovery of 7,000 year old civilization, including very traditional Lebanese dialect. what appears to be the ruins of ships similar to This brought to my mind, the debate about those used in ancient Kuwait. Remains of churches Phoenicians’ origin from the were also found. In my Arabian Gulf ’s shores. It is opinion, what’s been dissuppor ted by the theor y covered could only be a Archaeological excavation has that cities like Tyre, Dareen small part of the treasure never been given much attention and Jubail in Lebanon are of an ancient civilization in Kuwait; not even a fraction of named after sister cities in that lay buried beneath Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Kuwaiti soil. It can form the interest shown in some poor Historians also say that pivotal focal in rewriting countries. The Failaka Island is Phoenicians were skilled at Kuwait’s history. home to many historical secrets building commercial ships; Unfortunately, that are waiting to be uncovered.

Kuwaitis also excelled in it. archaeological excavaI’m raising this subject tion has never been givIt’s a crime against Kuwait and its because many are under en much attention in history that prevent the mysterthe impression that Kuwait Kuwait; not even a fracies from being unveiled. doesn’t have a civilization tion of the interest prior to the discovery of oil. shown in some poor The countr y at that time countries. The Failak a was inhabited by nomadic Arabs.

Island is home to many historical secrets that are The northern part of the Arabian Gulf serves as waiting to be uncovered. It’s a crime against an important passageway between ancient civi- Kuwait and its history that prevent the mysteries lizations. Kuwait has been a melting pot for people from being unveiled. This lack of attention paid to from different cultures. Many people settled here archeology has contributed to solidifying the in large numbers. impression that Kuwait was founded some three For example, the historical Kazma area that hundred to four hundred years ago. The discovery Jahra forms a part of, was inhabited by many civi- of ancient civilizations boost citizens’ loyalty to lizations. Excavation works conducted at the their country, as well as the respect that other Buhaita Hill location has uncovered the remains countries pay to the said country. —Al-Rai

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hould one be proud of being bilingual? When you speak two dialects, however, there is one person who is always out of sync.

I am a bedoon that speak two dialects. The first is my ‘original’ dialect which is mostly spoken by Najd tribes. The second dialect is the ‘Kuwaiti’ one that 90 percent of Kuwaitis speak. I wonder why a different dialect is not appreciated here? In the same line, being able to converse in Arabic and English is considered a hallmark of linguistic ability. I tried to reach to a conclusion, but failed to. However, I am not the only person that speaks two dialects.

The Government communicates to us in the different dialects: It presents a weekly ministerial report. It

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The Government communicates to us in the different dialects: It presents a weekly ministerial report. It addresses the media and cheats itself. That government performs its duty completely, although most weekly reports are scandals. It adopts a formal tone. addresses the media and cheats itself. That government performs its duty completely, although most weekly reports are scandals. It adopts a formal tone.

The second dialect that government uses is a strong one that expresses power and authority. It mainly targets bloggers who mostly fall outside the ambit of government control. I don’t blame the government because most of the scandals are published by bloggers and e- papers!

The third dialect, however, has a softer tone. It is much too mushy with foreign delegates or used when a minister participates in an international conference.

I don’t change my attitude even if I change my dialect.

What is shameful is that the government switches between dialects and attitudes. This is proof that our government has no fixed opinion. — Al-Anbaa

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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Expat migrant workers population drops by 17% Steps to solve illegal residents problem KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Dr Ibrahim AlDuaij Al-Sabah met at his office with Husain Ismail, the CEO of Kuwait Petroleum International.

Azam Al-Mutawaa, the Stakeholder Management Manager, explained the nature of the company’s work and its marketing proceedings outside Kuwait.

Government to review bonuses paid KUWAIT: Kuwait will review bonuses paid to state employees so that they align with inflation rates, according to a news report quoting sources. Speaking anonymously, officials stated that the Cabinet has asked the Civil Service Council and Civil Service Commission to work together to outline a detailed report on allowances paid. This is to serve as a basis on which monthly payments can be increased in accordance with inflation rates. Salaries and allowances to public sector employees in Kuwait are paid by the Civil Service Commission, as per regulations outlined by the Council.

The new development is described here as “the Cabinet’s attempt to avoid staging labor strikes while ensuring that all the protesting employees receive full rights.”

In the beginning of the week, staff members at legal departments have been staging strikes. They seek equality in financial privileges with employees at the Fatwa and Legislative Department that share similar academic qualifications but entitled to receive higher pay.

Yesterday, employees at private oil firms staged a sitin, a week after the Cabinet enforced general pay rises to staff members at the public oil sector - a decision that sparked a recent wave of protests. In the meantime, Ministr y of Commerce and Industry employees announced that they will hold a strike September 27 if bonuses aren’t paid, reported Al-Qabas.

Meanwhile, a report quoting senior security officials indicate that the National Guard is trained to fill in staff shortages created by labor strikes. This is as opposed to Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense personnel as suggested by Minister of Cabinet Affairs Ali Al-Rashid, reported Al-Rai.

Al-Bayda launches revamped website KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti online newspaper Al-Bayda has launched its revamped website with promises that it will provide even more comprehensive and diverse components that serve the interests of readers from all groups.

In a statement issued to announce the relaunch of the Arabic language site, Mohammad Al-Sawagh, the Editor-in-Chief of AlBayda, said that the paper continues to adopt a constructive media approach that shuns sectarianism and supports national unity and moderation.”

Al-Sawagh stressed that Al-Bayda “will continue exposing corruption and flaws in society to Mohammad help introduce improveAl-Sawagh ments to the countr y ’s current situation.”

Addressing topics concerned with improving Kuwaitis’ living standers will be amongst the subjects that Al-Bayda focuses on, said Al-Sawagh. “Al-Bayda will continue to offer opportunities for people with all sorts of views to share their opinions in accordance with the regulations and principles of the constitution and [Kuwait’s] social values, and in light of the atmosphere of freedom of media and democracy that Kuwait enjoys,” he added.

Al-Bayda newspaper was first launched as a print publication in 2005, but changed to a solely online format in recent years, in what Al-Sawagh described as a way of “coping with the technological developments of the third millennium.”

KUWAIT: The rate of expatriate migrant worker population belonging to fifteen different nationalities has reduced by 17 percent. This is according to annual statistics released by the Migration General Department as of Sept 6. It suggests that the state’s efforts to tackle human trafficking and problems related to illegal residents has been successful.

The detailed report states that citizens account for 2.4 million after nearly 40,000 people left the country earlier this year to make use of an Amiri amnesty. It has enabled illegal residents to exit without facing legal troubles or paying fines. Other reasons that contribute to this reduction include launching a crackdown on non-existent companies that collect money from laborers. They then find themselves unemployed after arriving in Kuwait, as well as adopt policies to that boost the labor market.

According to the report, 87,738 expat laborers in Kuwait work in the public sector (Article 19). The number increases to 965,486 in the private sector (Article 18) totaling to fifty percent of the total number of employees.

Meanwhile, the report indicates that 577,000 domestic workers (Article 20) live in Kuwait. At least 84 are female domestic workers. Also, 414,166 expatriate residents in Kuwait are on

a dependant’s visa (Article 22).

Indian nationals form the largest community of expatriate residents in Kuwait, with 624,841 residents as of September 6. At least 19,457 Indians work in the public sector, with 282,568 employed in the private sector. Also, 238,000 are domestic workers. The Egyptian community comes in second place with 439, 845. At least 44, 614 are employed in the public sector, and 269,122 in the private sector. At least 124, 259 Egyptians are dependants.

The Bangladeshi community forms the third largest expatriate community in Kuwait with (6,674 in the public sector, 115,646 in the private sector, 62,000 domestic workers). The Filipino community with 131,735 (3,198 in public sector, 46,000 in private sector, and 74,000 domestic workers). The Syrian community comes fifth, with 130,189 nationals (4,867 employed in public sector, 15,669 in private sector). Pakistani nationals are the sixth largest community with 121,109 citizens (2,751 in public sector, 88,000 in the private sector, 2,695 domestic workers). It is followed

by Sri Lankans in seventh place with 106,684 nationals (566 in public sector and 85,616 domestic workers), and Ethiopians with 58,389 (54 in public sector, 2,120 in private sector and 55,980 domestic workers.)

In the ninth place comes the Jordanian community with 51,939 citizens (2,416 in public sector and 17,000 in private sector) followed by the Nepali community with 48,690 (198 in public sector, 16,583 in the private sector, and 31,108 domestic workers). The Iranian community totals to 43,977 (694 in public sector, 25,590 in private sector), the Lebanese community stands at 41,979 (1,079 in public sector, 17,729 in private sector), the Indonesian community with 26,277 (753 in public sector, 1,266 in private sector, and 23,151 domestic workers). The Iraqi community stands at 15,312 (169 in public sector and 4,207 in private sector). The Afghan minority comes in fifteenth place with 13,867 nationals (128 in public sector, 9,921 in private sector and 709 domestic workers).

In other news, the Ministry of Interior(MoI) has passed a regulation to allow people who were approved work permits from the Ministry of Social Affairs but failed to obtain it before the amnesty’s deadline on June 30.

New residence permits will be issued to them as long as fines are paid. The provision also covers housemaids who have been affected by this problem. In order for a domestic worker to benefit from this provision, the Kuwaiti employer must pay the fine in court before

the permit is renewed. This is expected to resolve the problem of hundreds of housemaids whose sponsors failed to renew their residence permits prior to the amnesty’s deadline.

Meanwhile, a news report quoting a senior official in the Immigration General Department insisted that it has not received any instruction to increase the KD 250 salary cap so that an expatriate resident can sponsor his wife and children to Kuwait. The official that spoke anonymously added that such a decision is unlikely to be taken as it will reflect negatively on the state’s demographic structure. The official also added that no new instructions were issued regarding the ban currently placed on issuing new work permits or visit visas to citizens of Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, reported AlQabas.

The Cabinet reportedly decided during last Sunday’s meeting to amend two articles of the private sector’s labor law, according to which the labor forces’ authority will be placed under the ambit of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor instead of establishing an independent authority, reported AlAnba. The term ‘sponsor’ will be replaced by ‘employer.’

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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Premier heads Kuwaiti delegation at UN General Assembly KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is to preside over the Kuwaiti delegation at the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly and address the session today to express the state’s stances on main current issues.

His Highness’ speech is also to touch on the role of the United Nations at present and in view of current challenges and state of affairs in the world and stress the need for even more cooperation, coordination, and joint effort. The premier and the accompanying delegation arrived in New York Sept 17, and his agenda includes meetings with a host of senior officials, including UN Secretary General Ban KiMoon, with whom he discussed Kuwaiti cooperation on all UN bodies.

His Highness expressed Kuwaiti readiness to host UN bodies’ Headquarters or branches if that would facilitate their performance in the region.

His Highness also met with the president of Eritrea, premier of Bangladesh, premier of Bhutan, premier of Kosovo, premier of Albania, secretary general of Organization of Islamic Cooperation, president of Sierra Leone, premier of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, premier of Vanuatu, and the president of Togo.

This would be the fourth time Sheikh Nasser addresses the UN

General Assembly since assuming his post. The first time was in 2008, followed by 2009, and then in 2010.

The last time he addressed the assembly, the premier announced the State of Kuwait’s increase of its annual voluntary contribution to the organization’s budgets almost five-fold.

Kuwait is an active state in all UN initiatives and cooperates closely with all UN bodies, and has been since its independence in 1961.

The Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah had in 2008 inaugurated the United Nations Program for Human Settlements Regional Office in Kuwait, at its permanent HQ at the Arab Towns Organization building. The establishment of the center was virtue of a Kuwaiti donation and the office houses representation for all UN bodies active in Kuwait.

In 2009, in presence of both the premier and the UN secretary General, along with the foreign minister, a celebration was hosted upon the inauguration of the new UN House, in Meshred Area. The five-story building was a gift from the State of Kuwait and includes offices for five UN bodies and international organizations. The building came at a cost of KD 10 million.

The State of Kuwait has a proud UN record, with no violations of any UN resolutions. —KUNA

Minister assures hoteliers about govt support KUWAIT: Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr Amani Bouresli yesterday affirmed the significant role of the national hotels’ sector for boosting tourism and supporting the economy.

The ministry staff have been working to back up this sector and overcoming any obstacles that may stand in the face of the personnel in this field, said the minister.

She expressed satisfaction at the meeting she had held with the union of hoteliers for it constituted an opportunity for these businessmen to speak about their problems and concerns.

Talks during the meeting dealt with various issues, such as ideas for promoting this field, and prospects of establish-

ing a higher authority to administrate it.

The hoteliers, during the meeting, presented the minister with a file, regarding the classification of tourism as an industry, and another, dealing with work in the sector. The representatives of the sector expressed reservation at practice of the profession by some real-estates’ owners. Bouresli assured the hoteliers about the ministry commitment to practice its supervisory role.

Moreover, they expressed concern at government plans to build a number of new hotels in several districts, voicing concern at the forecast competition.

However, the minister re-assured them about the state keenness on supporting their businesses. —KUNA

Egyptians sue senior Kuwaiti politicians, security officials Illegal detention, torture KUWAIT: Around twenty Egyptian citizens have brought a lawsuit in the US against senior Kuwait politicians and security officials, demanding $380 million in compensation for being “arrested, tortured and deported” following a gathering they held whilst living in Kuwait in 2010 in support of potential Egyptian presidential candidate Mohammed ElBaradei. According to Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai, the plaintiffs, whose case is being heard in a federal court in New York, claim that they were subjected to torture whilst being held in detention in Kuwait at the direct request of officials from former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

Rape charges A police officer is facing rape charges after a woman accused him of sexual assault. The 19-yearold woman told officers at Sulaibiya police station that after vowing to marry her, the officer had lured her to an apartment in Salmiya on the pretext of discussing their relationship. Once they got inside, however, he allegedly raped her before abandoning her. The woman immediately went to her local police station to report the incident and a warrant has been issued for the officer’s arrest. In a separate case, an 18-year-old Kuwaiti man has been arrested after a 16-yearold compatriot brought rape charges against him. The accuser told officers at Hawally police station that the older teen had persuaded him to have sex, promising to pay him KD500 for it. When the encounter was over, however, he apparently informed the boy that he could not afford to give him the money, prompting the 16-year-old to press rape charges against him.

The investigation into the case is ongoing.

Bad date A chef and housemaid were taken into police custody after being caught having sex in the kitchen of their employer’s home in Nuzha by one of their employer’s children. The adventurous couple were apparently overcome by lust whilst their employers were entertaining guests

in the home’s diwaniya, but were spotted by the homeowner’s daughter as she was walking by the kitchen. She immediately shouted for her parents and, although the chef attempted to flee the scene, some of the visiting guests quickly apprehended him. The couple were

got into a fight with another driver at the UN Roundabout, with the spiteful fellow driver apparently deciding to seek revenge against him by falsely charging him with the rape of his (the accuser’s) sister, who apparently agreed to go along with this cruel pretence. After the

raised the suspicions of a fellow passenger on a flight coming to Kuwait from another Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country.

The stewards told police that they had been informed by another passenger that he heard the man saying something about a bomb whilst talking on the phone. No explosives were located aboard the plane, and police subsequently learnt that the suspicious passenger had completed the customary arrival procedures before leaving the airport and disappearing.

33 hunters arrested Thirty-three people were arrested in an unpopulated area of Jahra for possession of unlicensed weapons which they were using for illegal hunting. The detainees were caught in a recent police crackdown in the area which was aimed primarily at arresting residents in the country illegally. A total of 70 individuals whose visas had expired were detained during the operation, with 30 vehicles impounded for violating safety regulations. All those arrested were referred to the relevant authorities for further action.

KUWAIT: A bedoon (stateless) drug dealer was arrested

by General Department for Drug Control officers following a tip-off from an informant about his activities. The drug dealer put up strong resistance when the GDDC officers initially arrested him, lashing out at them before they could bring him under control. Officers confiscated a quantity of hashish from him, later recovering another kilogram of hashish and 200 amphetamine tablets from his home. — Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun taken to the local police station where they face charges of extramarital sex, which is illegal in Kuwait.

Spiteful siblings A motorist detained by police on false charges of sexual harassment was freed after officers at Shuwaikh police station realized that the charges against him were fabricated. The man had apparently

man was arrested, however, it quickly became apparent that the siblings had fabricated the entire story. The wrongly arrested man was immediately released and the nasty siblings were detained pending legal action against them.

Suspicious passenger The state security service is hunting for a man whose actions

Cleaner caught A cleaning worker employed at the Central Prison faces possible incarceration there after staff spotted him attempting to smuggle razor blades to an inmate. The cleaner was subjected to a search after his furtive behavior apparently aroused the suspicions of warders at the jail, who found the razor blades hidden on his person.

After admitting that he had been attempting to smuggle them in for an inmate, the man was taken into custody at the local police station to face further action.

‘Fowl’ play Detectives are hunting for a pigeon-fancying thief who stole a KD3,000 racing pigeon from a livestock farm in Kabad. The detectives accompanied police officers to the crime scene after the Kuwaiti owner of the valuable bird reported the theft at Sulaibiya police station.

—Al-Rai, Al-Watan

Media now essential tool of politics, diplomacy

(Left) Adel Al-Mutawa, Assistant General Manager, Consumer Banking Group during the checkup before donating blood.

(Right)A Gulf Bank employee takes a blood test before giving blood.

Gulf Bank holds Blood Donation Day KUWAIT: The Gulf Bank-sponsored Blood Donation Day was held at the Mubarak AlKabeer branch in Bank’s Head Office con Monday. The one-day event was open to all customers, staff and walk-in visitors. The Central Blood Bank had set up a specially equipped medical clinic in the branch from 9 am to 1 pm.

This event falls within the framework of a number of initiatives adopted by Gulf Bank in blood donation. It needs to increase the storage of blood at the Central Blood Bank that recently suffered from a shortage in blood inventories. It could threaten many patients’ lives. Building on this initiative, Gulf Bank recently sponsored the ‘Paint Kuwait Red’ campaign that was organized

by ‘Club 25 Kuwait’ to celebrate World Blood Donor Day. It was inaugurated by Dr Hilal Al-Sayer Minister of Health on June 16. It is aimed at raising awareness on the importance of donating blood and creating a new generation of blood donors that are committed to donating blood at least 25 times throughout their lives.

The campaign was launched at the Avenues Mall to promote awareness on blood donation and volunteer work. The Blood Donation Day is also part of a series of blood donation campaigns that were previously organized by Gulf Bank including the ‘Do Your Part - Donate’ campaign which was the first of its kind.

It was held throughout 2009, covering

a majority of the Bank’s branches. It allows everyone the opportunity to help others by donating blood. Gulf Bank was officially the top blood donor in the public and private sector.

Blood donation is a gesture which stems from the sense of duty towards the communit y. The Bank recognizes the importance of blood donation and praises all donors for their dedication to helping others. Gulf Bank has always supported initiatives which contribute to the development of the Society and its institutions.

I t in c ludes in itiative s i n t he B a nk ’s Corporate Social Responsibility program.

I t falls in lin e with t he ne e d s of t he Kuwaiti society.

LONDON: Media and related technology are nowadays amongst the essential tools of political and diplomatic work and cannot be overlooked, said Kuwaiti Ambassador to the UK Khalid Al-Duwaisan yesterday.

The diplomat was speaking after meeting with a visiting delegation from Kuwait’s Ministry of Information, headed by Assistant Undersecretary of the ministry’s News and Political Programming Division, Yousef Mustafa.

The delegation is holding meetings with and visiting leading media institutions in the UK to discuss possible cooperation and the provision of training programs for ministry personnel.

“Amid the profusion of media outlets such as papers and printed media, radio stations, and television channels, it is inconceivable to ignore media as a complementary tool to aid our embassies abroad in achieving their mission,” said Ambassador Al-Duwaisan.

The senior diplomat added that Kuwait’s state media serve to shed light on the country’s work overseas and thus clarify the state’s stances and viewpoints on various issues and towards different nations. Given the fast-moving nature of contemporary international developments and the rapidly changing political landscape, he said, we need to care for and invest in this tool even more.

The ambassador said that during his talks with the Ministry of Information delegation, Mustafa had provided him with a detailed briefing on the delegates’ visits to media institutions in the UK to date. The visit to the BBC’s offices was of particular interest and benefit, he added, and the delegation now has a bet-

ter idea of the tools and practices used in the production of the corporation’s material, whether in audio or audio-visual media.

During the meeting, the ambassador and delegates also discussed the ministry’s agreement with the BBC to make use of the British media giant’s extensive archives and how best to make use of this resource. The talks also featured discussion of the possible training programs offered by the BBC for information ministry personnel, with particular interest in the courses which would help the staff in the administration of the satellite news channel which the ministry plans to launch shortly.

Also speaking after the meeting, Mustafa said that the primary focus at this stage of the plans for the new station is on developing the ministry’s human resources, in particular its specialist staff, in preparation for the launch of the new station.

Mustafa further revealed that the information ministry has already signed an initial agreement with the BBC which will see the corporation providing training courses for staff at the ministry’s News and Political Programming Division.

The senior information ministry official also expressed his appreciation for the support of his immediate superior at the ministry, Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, and of the enthusiastic young Kuwaiti staff there, whether in the news division or elsewhere in the ministry.

The news division is undergoing rapid development and changes in all areas as part of the state’s major development plan, he explained.— KUNA

Kuwait keen to participate in various Arab housing events

(Left) Mohammad Al-Otaibi, Assistant Manager, Consumer Banking Group donates blood. (Right) Ali Al-Thuwaini, Senior Manager, Facilities Management and an employee at Gulf Bank donate blood.

CAIRO: Director General Organization for Housing Welfare Ali Abdulkareem Al-Fozan stressed his country’s keenness on participation in various Arab and regional meetings and events, especially on housing affairs.

He said after chairing the 56th session of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Council of Arab housing Ministers, that it discussed progress of the work of united Arab Building Codes Committee (BCC).

Members of the commission also tackled matters related to the Arab Housing Conference, the gap between housing needs and the offered units, besides adoption of four new codes.

The committee also approved two new projects of council of ministers of housing and reconstruction award, the first is on the dissemination of housing projects in the

Arab states to be presented in 2012, while the other is freeing bilateral trade between Arab nations.

Egypt offered a proposal of facilitating the cooperation between Arab contracting companies and Arab consulting bureaus.

The committee also talked over the Arab cooperation with regional organizations and countries in the field of housing and constructions. It also tackled the Arab consultant directory and green architecture.

Kuwait is participating in the 56th session of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Council of Arab housing Ministers, with a delegation headed by Al-Fozan, Vice Director for investment affairs Eissa Khadadah, and the director of technical office Jassem Al-Khlaifi, besides secretary of the board of directors in the General Organization For Housing Welfare. — KUNA

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

In bid to revive protests, Yemenis rush to martyrdom

35 bodies dumped in Mexico port city

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Rebels capture Gaddafi bastion NATO extends Libya mission by 90 days TRIPOLI: Libya’s interim rulers said yesterday they had captured most of one of Muammar Gaddafi’s last strongholds, a boost to an administration struggling to assert full control over the fractured country. Sabha-deep in the Sahara desert-had been holding out along with Bani Walid and Gaddafi’s hometown Sirte since the fall of the capital Tripoli a month ago. “We control most of Sabha apart from the alManshiya district. This is still resisting, but it will fall,” ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) military spokesman Ahmed Bani told Reuters.

CNN, citing a correspondent in Sabha, reported that NTC fighters had occupied the centre of the desert outpost yesterday after taking the airport and a fort the day before.

It was not immediately clear whether fighters would be able to hold their gains. Throughout seven months of fighting, advances have often been quickly reversed. Despite the apparent success at Sabha, chaos prevailed among fighters besieging Gaddafi’s other two hold-out towns.

Several attempts by NTC fighters to overrun Bani Walid and Sirte in the past week have ended in disarray and panicked retreat.

At Bani Walid, bored militiamen fired weapons at camels and sheep while awaiting orders yesterday, as much a danger to themselves as to Gaddafi fighters holed up in the town. One man shot his own head off and killed another fighter while handling a rocket-propelled grenade in full view of a Reuters team. In another incident, a fighter lost control of his machinegun and sprayed himself and another fighter with bullets, seriously wounding both of them.

Fighting at Bani Walid has been chaotic and scattershot with different brigades arguing among themselves, fighters from other areas not getting along with local fighters, and talk of traitors infiltrating the ranks and sabotaging the assault. Outside Sirte yesterday, NTC forces came under fire from Gaddafi loyalists on fronts east and west of the city.

Fighting on the west of the town was sporadic. East of the city, an NTC advance has been held back for days by Gaddafi loyalists. Reuters reporters travelling with the column said it came under sustained and heavy rocket fire yesterday. Fighters making their way back from the front line said they were meeting fierce resistance at Khamseen, 50 km east of Sirte and were unable to respond because they lacked the firepower. Others said the ferocity of the fighting from the Gaddafi loyalists had shocked them. “I’m 100 percent sure that there is someone important in Sirte, either Gaddafi himself or one of his sons, because his forces have become suicidal in the Khamseen area,” NTC fighter Hamed al-Hachy, told Reuters. “And they are trying to buy him time until he’s able to flee Libya.” Meanwhile, NATO allies agreed yesterday to prolong the air strike mission in Libya by another 90 days, an alliance diplomat said.

“Operation Unified Protector was just extended for 90 days,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity after a meeting of NATO ambassadors.

NEW CABINET Efforts to take control of all of Libya’s territory are taking place alongside attempts to appoint an interim cabinet, though that has also proven more difficult than expected.

A plan to announce a new interim government this week collapsed after members of the current council failed to agree. The NTC has its roots in the eastern city of Benghazi, although most of the fighters who captured Tripoli last month come from the west. The NTC says it aims to create a new interim administration that is more inclusive.

Libya will now probably name a new government within 10 days, interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said in New York yesterday, where he is attending the UN General Assembly. Libya’s de facto rulers won expressions of support from Washington, the African Union and South Africa on Tuesday and its new green, red and black flag flew for the first time at the United Nations. —Agencies

WADI DINAR: A former rebel fighter lays shrouded after a rocket propelled grenade accident in Wadi Dinar, Libya yesterday. — AP

Yemen violence leaves 80 dead SANAA: Snipers, shelling, and gunfire killed at least five people in the Yemeni capital yesterday, violating a truce reached a day earlier between state troops and defected soldiers who joined protesters. Civil war is looming in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country over President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s refusal to quit power after eight months of popular revolt. He is in neighboring Saudi Arabia recovering from a June assassination attempt that left him with serious burns.

Chaos could offer fertile ground to Al-Qaeda’s aggressive Yemen wing, which in the past few months has seized cities in a province just east of a key oil shipping channel. One person was killed by snipers walking along the streets of “Change Square” the name protesters have given their 4-km long encampment where for eight months they have demanded an end to Saleh’s autocratic 33-year rule.

Residents of Hayel street, adjacent to the area where the victim was walking, say they believe it is full of snipers that have left them trapped inside their homes. “We’re too afraid to go out even to go to the store,” said one resident. Three other protesters were killed by stray bullets as government and defected forces clashed near Change Square. A fifth died when a mortar shell struck the camp itself. The killings raised the death toll to 80 in four days of bloodshed, shattering a prolonged, uneasy stalemate that was set in place during fitful efforts to mediate the crisis. “We were just sitting in the tent and suddenly we heard these explosions above. Then something hit the tent next to us. Then bam! I looked up and Tareq was hit, his leg was bleeding,” said Abdelaziz, whose friend wounded in the attack. “My stomach was in knots.”

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretar y General Abdbullatif Al-Zayani left Sanaa empty-handed yesterday after two days striving to get a transfer of power pact signed to defuse the succession crisis. The state news agency SABA quoted him as saying he would have to wait until “conditions were favorable” to achieve this, suggesting the two sides were no closer to agreement.

Under the deal brokered by wealthy Gulf neighbors anxious to restore calm in Yemen, Saleh would hand over power in a matter of months. He has backed out of it three times.

US President Barack Obama told the UN General Assembly yesterday that Yemeni “women and children gather by the thousands in towns and city squares every day with the hope that their determination and spilled blood will prevail over a corrupt system. “America supports their aspirations,” he said. —Agencies

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Syrian forces kill six, face challenge from defectors

News

in brief

Residents report summary executions in Jabal Al-Zawiya AMMAN: Syrian forces killed at least six civilians in military operations in central and northwestern regions yesterday, residents said, following an increase in attacks on the army by defectors sheltering in rural areas. Neighboring Turkey, once a backer of President Bashar AlAssad, said it had suspended talks with Syria and may impose sanctions on Damascus, after failing to persuade it to stop a military crackdown on protests demanding Assad step down.

In a sign of the economic damage wreaked by the unrest, the International Monetary Fund forecast that Syria’s economy will shrink this year by 2 percent-a sharp downward revision from 3 percent growth which the fund predicted in April. The killings occurred in Jabal AlZawiya, rugged terrain near Turkey, where defectors have taken refuge in hideouts, and in the province of Homs, where army buses and checkpoints have been attacked more regularly, residents

and activists said.

“Jabal Al-Zawiya has become a hub for army defectors and we have received numerous eyewitness accounts of defectors and villagers who shelter them found killed summary execution style,” said Rami Adelrahman, director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A farmer from the region who gave his name as Khaled said several more bodies were found shot with their arms tied behind their back since last week, when forces loyal to Assad mounted an operation in pursuit of defectors.

Residents and activists said Jabal AlZawiya has been a route for deserters trying to flee to Turkey from the plains in the provinces of Homs and Hama to the south. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told journalists in New York that “we do not have any confidence in the current (Syrian) government” and accused Damascus of launching “dark

propaganda against Turkey”. “I halted talks with the Syrian government. I did not want to come to this point. But the Syrian government forced us to make such a decision,” Erdogan said after meeting US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

European Union governments, which have imposed an embargo on Syrian oil imports, yesterday banned European firms from making new investments in its oil industry and added several new entities and two individuals to a sanctions list. The sanctions, which will take effect on Saturday if formally approved in writing by the 27 EU states, also include a ban on delivery of Syrian banknotes and coins produced in the European Union.

Assad, who had strengthened an alliance with Iran prior to the unrest and support for the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, has sent mostly core troops from his minority Alawite sect across Syria to crush the six-month uprising. The

crackdown against protests calling for political freedoms in the country that has been dominated by him and his late father for the last 41 years has led to increased defections among the rankand-file Sunni majority in the army.

Diplomats, however, said the defectors lack outside support and have not managed to organize into a force that could pose a serious threat to Assad, with Syria’s neighbors, especially Turkey, keen to avoid instability on their borders.

“Defections have not reached a level that threatens Assad, but he cannot rely on most of the army.

Otherwise he would not have had to use the same loyalist core troops again and again to crush protests and move them from one city to another,” a European diplomat said. “It is clear that the security solution he has chosen is losing him support by the day from the Sunni majority.”— Reuters

Palestinians rally for statehood bid

SANAA: A Yemeni man digs graves ahead of burying dozens killed following three days of clashes between rival troops and attacks on anti-regime protesters at a cemetery in Sanaa yesterday. — AFP

Yemenis rush to martyrdom SANAA: As trucks screech past carrying bloody bodies and gunfire erupts up ahead, cheerful revolutionary songs blare out of loudspeakers-and throngs of Yemeni protesters start marching towards an unknown fate. “Goodbye friends, I’m headed for martyrdom,” shouts one man as he slips into a crowd holding up peace signs and shouting, “God is great!

Freedom!”

In the capital Sanaa’s “Change Square”, where thousands have camped out in ramshackle tents to demand an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33year rule, protesters are determined to rebuild momentum lost after eight months of demonstrations. Many say they are ready to die for it. Scores of protesters have already died in three days of gunfire, sniper attacks and mortar fire. The latest violence started on Sunday as police tried to stop the protesters’ advance. It soon deteriorated into fierce clashes between pro-opposition forces and loyalist troops that now divide this battle-scarred city between them.

Any further escalation in the protests in the days ahead could throw a wrench into plans for a power transfer deal between opposition groups and the ruling party. “We aren’t afraid. Death is better than a humiliating life,” shouts Abdelrahman Mawthaf, a lawyer, eliciting cheers from the protesters around him. “God willing, you will return a martyr,” one replies. Yemeni activists are eager to end a political stalemate they feel sent the Arab Spring’s longestrunning protest movement to the bottom of the global news agenda.

Protesters here say they are fighting for a democracy that will topple government leaders they feel are corrupt and offer them little opportunity.

Unemployment has sky-rocketed above 35 percent, 40 percent scrape by on two dollars a day or less, while a third suffer malnutrition. — Reuters

RAMALLAH: Flag-waving Palestinians filled the squares of major West Bank cities yesterday to rally behind President Mahmoud Abbas’s bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations in the face of US and Israeli objections.

“We are asking for the most simple of rights, a state like other nations,” said Sabrina Hussein, 50, carrying the green, red, black and white Palestinian national flag at a demonstration in Ramallah.

Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank under 1990s interim peace deals, gave school children and civil servants the day off to attend events in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron. A large mockup of a blue chair, symbolizing a seat at the UN, and giant Palestinian flags hanging from buildings provided a backdrop for the Ramallah rally, where attendance peaked at several thousand.

Palestinians said more people would have showed up if the authorities had better advertised the events. They also said the political divide between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which governs Gaza, had curtailed the turnout. The main venues were far removed from Israeli military checkpoints on city limits and the rallies were peaceful.

But away from the gatherings, more than a hundred Palestinian youths threw rocks at Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint on the edge of Ramallah. The soldiers responded with teargas and used a “screamer”a device that emits an ear-splitting high-pitched sound to disperse

crowds. There also were disturbances in the divided West Bank city of Hebron.

Later in the day in New York, US President Barack Obama was due to meet Abbas to urge him to drop

ship has added to deep Palestinian disappointment in Obama. The Palestinians have long complained of what they see as Washington’s complete support for Israel at their expense. “America talks about

NEW YORK: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rubs his eyes while US President Barack Obama speaks during the 66th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters yesterday. — AP plans to ask the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state.

Washington says statehood should be achieved through peace talks.

Abbas has said he will present UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with a membership application on Friday. The move requires Security Council approval and the United States, one of five veto-wielding permanent members, says it will block it.

CRY OF DESPERATION At the Ramallah rally, Amina Abdel Jabbar Al-Kiswany, a head teacher, said the UN bid was a step towards statehood, but not a solution to the decades-old IsraeliPalestinian conflict, which direct negotiations have failed to resolve. “It’s a cry of desperation,” Kiswany said. Reflecting anger with US policy, a Palestinian, his face covered by a scarf, climbed the stage scaffolding and set ablaze an American flag.

Earlier, some of the demonstrators had tried to stop the flag RAMALLAH: An international activist helps a burning.

Wa s h i n g t o n’s Palestinian protester, injured in his eye by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldiers during clash- pledge to veto the bid for UN memberes at the Qalandia checkpoint yesterday. — AP

human rights. They support South Sudan. Why don’t they support us?” said Tamer Milham, a 26-year-old computer engineer, referring to the new state of South Sudan which was admitted to the United Nations in July. US-brokered peace talks collapsed a year ago after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a 10-month limited moratorium on construction in Jewish settlements in areas Palestinians want for a state.

Netanyahu has called the Palestinian demand of a halt to settlement building an unacceptable precondition and urged Abbas to return to negotiations. Palestinians hope to establish a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The Palestinian Authority has held sway only in the West Bank since Hamas Islamists opposed to his peace efforts with Israel seized Gaza in a brief civil war in 2007.

Hamas has dismissed the UN bid as a waste of time and there were no rallies in the Mediterranean enclave, where Palestinians argue that Abbas should be devoting his energies to bridging the internal political divide. Israel cites historical and biblical links to the West Bank, which it calls Judea and Samaria, and to Jerusalem. It claims all of the city as its capital, a status that is not recognized internationally. — Reuters

Floods kill 70 in China BEIJING: Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain have killed at least 70 people in eight provinces in China, with 32 still missing, the government and state media said. The rain, which began earlier this month, has caused 26 billion yuan ($4.1 billion) in damage, the Civil Affairs Ministry said on its website (www.mca.gov.cn) late on Tuesday. Nearly 1 million people have also been forced to evacuate their homes. The floods have been most severe in the northwestern province of Shaanxi and the southwestern province of Sichuan. Nearly 40 rivers in various parts of the country are in danger of breaching their banks, state radio said.

Man wins eating contest, then dies KIEV: A 77-year-old Ukrainian man won a jar full of sour cream for coming first in a dumpling eating contest and then promptly died, local media reported yesterday. Ivan Mendel ate 10 dumplings in half a minute to win first place and a one-litre jar of sour cream in the contest held in the town of Tokmak in the southeastern Zaporizhya region on September 18, Fakty I Kommentarii newspaper said. Shortly afterwards, Mendel became unwell and died, according to local news websites. Dumplings, called “vareniki” in the former Soviet republic, are a staple of Ukrainian cuisine and are often stuffed with a range of fillings from mushrooms to cherries.

New bird flu outbreak NEW DELHI: Authorities in eastern India will start culling chickens and destroying eggs to contain a new outbreak of H5 bird flu, the government said in a statement, as a mutant strain of the virus is spreading elsewhere in Asia. Surveillance was stepped up in West Bengal, a state severely hit by bird flu outbreaks in the past. The federal government is pushing local authorities to ban the movement of poultry and its products, and restricting access to the affected area after samples tested positive for H5, a government statement said. “It has been decided to immediately commence the culling of birds and destruction of eggs and feed material to control further spread of the disease,” it said. Last month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned of a possible resurgence of bird flu and said a mutant strain of the H5N1 virus was spreading in Asia and beyond. It was not immediately clear if the latest outbreak in India was related to the new Asian strain. Virologists warn there is no vaccine against the H5N1 strain recently found in China and Vietnam that could potentially carry risks for humans and called for closer monitoring of the disease in poultry and wild birds to stop it spreading.

Airport evacuated LONDON: Police evacuated the main terminal at Manchester Airport after bomb disposal experts were called to check a suspicious package yesterday.

Greater Manchester Police said they were questioning a man under anti-terrorism laws. “We were alerted to a suspicious device and as a precaution have evacuated Terminal 1,” said Superintendent Phil Davies in a statement. “I must stress that at this time the item is being treated as a suspicious device and nothing more.” The airport’s operators said 11 flights leaving Terminal 1 would be affected this morning.

Incoming flights are operating normally and the airport’s two other terminals remained open. Police found the suspicious bag at the main security search area inside the terminal. “An evacuation is a standard precautionary measure while the investigation is completed to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff,” the airport statement said. Manchester Airport is Britain’s fourth biggest and handles around 20 million passengers each year. Britain’s security services lowered the threat level of an international attack by one notch in July to “substantial” from “severe”, meaning an attack is seen as a strong possibility.

Putin’s ally named speaker MOSCOW: Russia’s upper house of parliament, which is dominated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, elected a Putin ally as its speaker yesterday, replacing the leader of a rival party. Lawmakers in the 166-seat Federation Council approved Valentina Matviyenko, 62, in a 140-0 vote with one abstention. Matvieynko, a former governor of Putin’s native St Petersburg, becomes the first woman in the role. The Federation Council has limited powers and is largely seen as a rubber-stamp body that approves laws passed by the State Duma lower house. Matviyenko replaces Sergei Mironov, leader of the Just Russia party, who was ousted from the speaker’s post in May. To join the Federation Council, Matviyenko had to step down as governor of St Petersburg, where she had become unpopular.

Legal obstacles to Mediterranean gas exploitation LONDON: Turkey has called on the Greek Cypriot government to halt immediately offshore gas exploration work with Texas-based Noble Energy and said the Turkish navy might escort Turkish energy exploration ships in the Mediterranean.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said a planned continental shelf accord between Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state would result in the Turkish oil company TPAO having a presence in waters off northern Cyprus.

Israel, Cyprus, Turkey and Lebanon have claims to waters above some of the eastern Mediterranean reserves. Lebanon has no diplomatic relations with Israel, Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, and the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union do not recognize Turkish-speaking northern Cyprus. Below is a summary of the main sovereign maritime issues surrounding the development of the huge untapped natural gas reserves discovered in the eastern Mediterranean.

UN TREATY National rights and responsibilities in maritime issues are broadly defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an international agreement from 1982. UNCLOS gov-

erns all aspects of the seas and oceans, such as delimitation of areas including territorial seas and Exclusive Economic Zones, the control and licensing of economic and commercial activities, environmental control, marine scientific research, transfer of technology and the settlement of disputes relating to these matters.

While the Republic of Cyprus (and the European Union) and Lebanon have signed and ratified UNCLOS, neither Turkey nor Israel have officially endorsed the treaty.

ISRAEL AND CYPRUS The vast majority of the gas reserves in question are in waters that are designated as being the Exclusive Economic Zone of Israel and Cyprus as permitted by UNCLOS. The two countries and their main corporate partners, America’s Noble Energy and Israel’s Delek Group, are well advanced in jointly accessing large gas reserves. In 2010, the Cypriot and Israeli governments signed an “agreement on the delimitations of the exclusive economic zone” between the two countries, which sets the maritime borders and the respective rights to explore natural resources within them by a median line.

Article 2 and 3 of the agreement state that in case there are natural resources, including hydro-

carbons reservoirs, between both Exclusive Economic Zones “the two parties will cooperate on ... the joint development and exploitation of such resources”, and that “if either of the two parties is engaged in negotiations aimed at the delimination of its Exclusive Economic Zone with another state, that party, before reaching a final agreement with the other state, shall notify and consult the other party.” Because Israel is more advanced in the exploration of its untapped gas resources, Cyprus is considering buying natural gas extracted from Israeli offshore fields until its own offshore fields become ready for production.

TURKEY The troubles between Cyprus and Turkey are mostly down to the division of the island into the southern Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a state only recognized by Turkey. Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a Greek inspired coup. Reunification talks have been held on and off over the years and the latest peace bid started in 2008. Ankara says the island’s wealth also belongs to Turkish Cypriots, who do not participate in the EU-Cypriot government.

Additionally, Turkey’s relations with Israel have

cooled in recent years, and Turkey said CypriotIsraeli exploration deals could harm peace talks between Turkey and Cyprus as well as Israel and Lebanon.

LEBANON Israel’s northern neighbor, Lebanon, also claims rights to explore gas reserves in the Mediterranean. While Lebanon has not laid claim to Israel’s finds, it said it has identified promising quantities of natural gas in what it considers its own waters. Lebanon also accused Israel in January of breaking international law by allowing energy firms to explore for offshore gas in the absence of an agreement between the two countries on their maritime border. In July, Israel outlined maritime economic borders that challenged what it said were boundaries submitted by Lebanon to the United Nations in a dispute fuelled by the massive Mediterranean gas finds. The map conflicts with a Lebanese submission from 2010 that gives Israel less maritime space, including areas that touch on recently discovered untapped gas reserves. Both sides point to the United Nations for arbitration, but UN officials in New York have been skeptical about the world body’s options. — Reuters

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Dispute threatens must-pass spending bill High-stakes disaster aid fight looms in US Congress WASHINGTON: The US Congress has drifted toward another confrontation that could disrupt wide swaths of the government as Democrats sought to double the amount of disaster aid in a must-pass spending bill. Republicans said they were confident the dispute would not threaten funds that are needed to keep the government operating past Sept 30, but the Senate’s top Democrat said he didn’t know if that was the case. “We’re not going to cave in on this,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference. Budget disputes between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democraticcontrolled Senate pushed the govern-

ment to the brink of a shutdown in April and the edge of default in August.

Now the two chambers are headed toward another round of brinkmanship, this time over the emergency aid needed to help local communities recover from one of the most extreme years for weather in US history. The Obama administration has requested an extra $5.1 billion to help victims of tornadoes, floods and other disasters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster fund has dwindled to $257 million, an aide said, and the agency has already suspended some rebuilding efforts to ensure that victims of Hurricane Irene get immediate

help. Republicans want extra disaster aid to be offset by spending cuts if possible to avoid deepening the country’s fiscal woes. The House is expected to pass a bill that pairs $3.65 billion in disaster relief with a $1.5 billion cut to a program that promotes electric vehicles. Republican leaders say they will approve the rest of the money in the coming months as they look for further budget cuts. “There’s no question the money will be delivered. This is all about a political game for Harry Reid,” Representative Eric Cantor, the No 2 House Republican, said at a news conference. That money will come as part of a stopgap bill that covers government spending through Nov 18.

REPUBLICANS DOWNPLAY CONFLICT Reid and other Democrats say the Republican approach hampers rebuilding efforts and goes against Congress’ usual practice of waiving normal budget rules for disaster aid.

“Perhaps they think there’s some political benefit in saying no to rebuilding America,” Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu said at a news conference.

Reid said he would hold a vote to nearly double the disaster funding in the bill to $6.9 billion. Some 10 Republican senators, many from disaster-hit areas, backed that approach last week. It’s unclear whether they would defy their Republican colleagues again.

The House probably would reject a bill that contained those extra funds, said Representative Kevin McCarthy, the chamber’s top vote counter. Top Senate Republicans sought to downplay the conflict.

After a year of repeated budget confrontations, lawmakers are eager to assure voters that they can work together to take care of essential business. “There won’t be a government shutdown,” said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

“Congress has always responded appropriately to disasters. We’re having a discussion about the way to do that and I’m confident it will be resolved.”— Reuters

35 bodies dumped in Mexico port city Two truckloads of bodies dumped at underpass

US builds secret drone bases in Africa and Arab Peninsula WASHINGTON: The United States is building a ring of secret drone bases in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of an aggressive campaign against Al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, The Washington Post reported yesterday, citing US officials. One base for the unmanned aircraft is being established in Ethiopia and another base has been installed in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, the newspaper reported.

A small fleet of “hunter-killer” drones resumed operations in the islands this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned drones could effectively patrol Somalia from there, the report said. The US military also has flown drones over Somalia and Yemen from bases in the African

nation of Djibouti and the CIA is building a secret airstrip in the Arabian Peninsula to deploy drones over Yemen, the article said.

The White House declined comment on the report. The United States and Seychellois officials have previously acknowledged the drones’ presence in the island but have said that their primary mission was to track pirates. But classified US diplomatic cables show that the unmanned aircraft have also conducted counterterrorism missions over Somalia, about 800 miles to the northwest, the Post reported. The newspaper said the cables, obtained by the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks, reveal that US officials asked leaders in the Seychelles to keep the counterterrorism missions secret. — Reuters

US spy agencies struggle with post-9/11 languages WASHINGTON: Despite intense focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East in the last decade, US spy agencies are still lacking in language skills needed to talk to locals, translate intercepted intelligence and analyze data, according to top intelligence officials. The Sept 11, 2001, attacks prompted a major push for foreign language skills to track militants and trends in parts of the world that were not a Cold War priority. But intelligence agencies have had to face the reality that the languages they need cannot be taught quickly, the street slang US operatives and analysts require is not easy, and security concerns make the clearance process slow-going.

As recently as 2008 and 2009, intelligence officials were still issuing new directives and programs in the hopes of ramping up language capability.

“Language will continue to be a challenge for us,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said at a congressional hearing last week. “It’s something we’re working at, and will continue to do so, but we’re probably not where we want to be,” he said. The US government needs speakers of Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Urdu, and other “exotic” languages which are more difficult for English-speakers to learn.

“If you hark back to the Cold War days, it was much easier for us to raise and have a cadre of highly qualified linguists say in Russian and East European languages which comes to our people much more naturally than to these Mideast languages,” Clapper said. The spy agencies will not publicly disclose the number of employees with language skills.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) says Arabic speaking capability increased throughout the intelligence community about three-fold over 10 years and Afghanistan-Pakistan language capability-including Baluchi, Dari, Kirghiz, Pashto, Punjabi, Tajik, Urdu, and Uzbekincreased by 30 times from before the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.

YEARNING FOR NATIVE SPEAKERS Intelligence agencies require more than just a perfunctory grasp to understand cultural meanings and different dialects. “In these very difficult terrorism targets, there’s obviously this yearning for native speakers,” said Ellen Laipson, president of the Stimson

Center, a Washington think tank. “Some of the people you’re trying to track are not themselves highly educated so they use a lot of slang, and it’s a higher standard than if you were trying to monitor or interact with very elite foreign ministry people of a developed country.”

US spy agencies are reaching out to first- and second-generation Americans whose heritage would provide the language and cultural understanding quicker than trying to teach someone from scratch. But they can face difficulties getting through the strict security clearance process because of family ties back in their country of heritage.

Intelligence officials say they are trying to change that. ODNI issued a directive in 2008 to make it easier to hire first- and second-generation Americans whose heritage is from countries that can raise potential security issues. ODNI also started a Heritage Council to reach out to Americans of Pakistani, Arab and Somali descent among others.

The CIA has run television ads geared toward recruiting from the Arab-American and Iranian-American communities. And it says a higher percentage of CIA officers are studying Arabic, Pashto, Urdu, Farsi, Russian, Korean, and Chinese. “The CIA is looking to hire first- and second-generation Americans-people who know the cultures and speak the languages of the world in which we operate,” CIA spokeswoman Marie Harf said. “We work very hard to dispel the myth that they can’t get a security clearance if they have spent time overseas or have relatives abroad.”

But, Harf said, it takes time. “For example, on 9/11, few American universities had world-class Arabic language programs. That’s changed now, in the same way that the countr y mobilized to teach large numbers of students Russian during the Cold War,” she said. Former CIA Director Leon Panetta made improving language proficiency a top priority in 2009 with a five-year plan to sharply increase those skills, including by tying promotions to senior ranks to language ability.

AMERICAN EDUCATION Language experts say the root of the problem lies in an American education system that does not emphasize learning foreign languages early on the way European schools do. — Reuters

MEXICO CITY: The bodies of 35 people with suspected links to organized crime were dumped on a road in eastern Mexico on Tuesday in a major escalation of violence in the once-quiet port city of Veracruz. The bodies were piled into two trucks abandoned under a highway bridge in Boca del Rio, about 3 miles from the city center, horrifying passers-by on the busy thoroughfare. Photos circulated on social media networks showed bodies heaped up in the back of the trucks and lying on the tarmac. “Keep away ... hooded men unloaded bodies from trucks, slow traffic, danger zone,” one Twitter user warned.

Local media reported some of the corpses, of both men and women, had their hands bound and showed signs of torture, and authorities said they were believed to be members of a criminal gang. “These were people involved in organized crime,” state prosecutor Reynaldo Escobar told the Milenio television station. All seven people whose bodies were identified in the hours after the dumping had criminal records, he added.

Violence between rival drug cartels has been heating up in the coffee- and sugargrowing state of Veracruz and daily newspaper Milenio said the dead were members of the feared Zetas crime gang, the target of several recent official round-ups in the region.

About 42,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon launched a campaign against drug cartels in late 2006. Most of the violence has been focused on the northern border with the United States, but has started encroaching on other parts of the country as some gangs fracture and old alliances dissolve.

UNPRECEDENTED VIOLENCE Violent incidents in the Gulf city of Veracruz had been rare until recently, but a group of armed men hurled a grenade into a popular area of the city in August, killing one

person. This week, 32 prisoners escaped from jails in Veracruz State, but Escobar said there was no sign any of the escapees were among the dead. “We have never seen a situation like this before,” he said.

The Gulf of Mexico port is used to ship

gangs like the Beltran Leyva and Sinaloa cartel are also moving in, Islas said.

The Zetas are a paramilitary-style group founded by deserters from Mexico’s army special forces who split off from their former employer, the Gulf cartel. They were blamed

BOCA DEL RIO: General view of the scene where 35 bodies were found at the Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez Blvd in Boca del Rio municipality, Veracruz State, Mexico yesterday. — AFP goods to Europe, making it a coveted spot for the crime gangs to control as the groups expand their global reach, said independent Mexican security expert Alberto Islas.

“Veracruz is an important strategic port. That has always been true for trade and commerce, but it’s now also true for drug exports,” Islas said. While the Zetas and Gulf cartels have had a strong foothold in Veracruz, other

US Republicans step up probe into energy loans WASHINGTON: US Republican lawmakers are stepping up their investigation into alternative energy loan programs in the wake of the collapse of the Solyndra solar company, the first company to receive such government funding. Days before Department of Energy deadlines to finalize $8.9 billion in loans for 14 pending renewable energy projects, Congressional investigators asked for detailed financial information on the deals and the government’s due diligence. “We are concerned that another rush to meet stimulus deadlines will result in DOE closing these deals before they are ready,” said Fred Upton, Cliff Stearns and Ed Whitfield of the House Energy and Commerce committee, in a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesday.

The lawmakers have been probing whether politics influenced government loans to Solyndra. They had expected company executives to answer questions at a hearing on Friday. But lawyers for Solyndra executives said their clients would not answer lawmakers’ questions, invoking their rights to avoid selfincrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. Upton and Stearns said they will still ask the executives why they “misled our members about the financial state of their company” during a mid-July lobbying trip, and about their dealings with the Obama administration.

Investigators asked for detailed financial information from the Energy Department on its pending clean energy loans as well as its existing portfolio of 18 guarantees worth $9.4 billion. A spokesman for the Energy Department said every deal closed by Sept. 30 will be “fully vetted” and has had months of extensive review. “We are not rushing to complete deals, we are using the full amount of time Congress allocated for the program so we can ensure that we fully complete all due diligence and make informed decisions based on the most recent data,” DOE spokesman Damien LaVera said.

ENOUGH DUE DILIGENCE? The loan guarantee program was created in a 2005 energy law, and its funding was supplemented by the federal economic stimulus package. The Energy Department has closed on a total of 18 guarantees, but had made conditional commitments for 14 other loans for solar, wind, biofuel and geothermal projects around the country. — Reuters

for a recent attack on a Monterrey casino which killed more than 50 people, many of them women, and for the massacre of 72 migrants last year. The Zetas and their former bosses are now fighting a battle for lucrative drug-smuggling routes to the United States in a rivalry which has engulfed the prosperous business city of Monterrey and the state of Tamaulipas in northern Mexico. — Reuters

Perry slams Obama ‘dangerous’ policy NEW YORK: Rick Perry accused President Barack Obama on Tuesday of not standing behind Israel as the Texas governor sought to draw Jewish voter support in his bid to win the 2012 Republican US presidential nomination. Perry, an evangelical Christian who leads opinion polls among Republican presidential hopefuls, told several dozen New York Jewish leaders that Obama’s Middle East policy was “naive, arrogant, misguided and dangerous.” “As a Christian, I have a clear directive to support Israel. Both as an American and as a Christian, I am going to stand with Israel,” Perry said. Perry made his foray into Middle East politics as the Palestinians prepared a unilateral bid for statehood, which they are expected to present tomorrow to the UN Security Council. Perry condemned the

Palestinian efforts and called Obama’s Middle East policy “appeasement” for contending that the Israelis and Palestinians should use the 1967 borders as the starting point for negotiations.

Israel has occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the 1967 Middle East war-land that the Palestinians want for their future state, with East Jerusalem as their capital. “We see in this American administration a willingness to isolate a close ally and to do so in a manner that is insulting and naive,” Perry said of Obama, a Democrat seeking re-election in the November 2012 US election. He also said that as president he would move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally. — Reuters

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Germany bans its biggest neo-Nazi group BERLIN: Germany has banned its largest neo-Nazi association, the HNG, which supports prisoners with far-right views and their families, the Interior Ministry said yesterday, the government’s latest step to curb the influence of radical groups. The Help Organization for National Political Prisoners and their Families (HNG) is, say German authorities, a threat to society and works against the constitution.

With the slogan “A front inside and outside”, the HNG seeks to reinforce prisoners’ right-wing views and motivate them to continue their struggle against the system, said the ministry. “It is no

longer acceptable that imprisoned rightwing extremists are being strengthened by the HNG in their aggressive stance against the free, democratic order,” Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement.

“By rejecting the democratic constitutional state and glorifying National Socialism, the HNG tried to keep right wing radical criminals in their own milieu,” the ministry said. The group, founded in 1979, has some 600 members. The ban follows raids in which police seized material from leading HNG members across Germany. Although farright groups attract most support in the

eastern states, where unemployment is high and prospects few, the raids took place in western states including Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has said that far-right groups have in the last few years sought to use the financial crisis and euro zone debt crisis to prove that the capitalist system has failed. The ban comes two weeks after the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), which espouses the end of parliamentary democracy, regained seats in the state assembly of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is also represented in Saxony.

Right wing groups in Germany, including the NPD, are more radical than populist, anti-immigration parties in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Sweden which have enjoyed greater success at the ballot box. Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution describes the NPD as racist, anti-Semitic and revisionist and says its statements prove its inspiration comes from the Nazis. The party says the German constitution is a “diktat” imposed by victorious Western powers after World War Two. Germany has banned several rightwing groups in the last few years but critics say the government needs to do

more to weed out extreme views which permeate society. “It is a sensible, if overdue, step to ban a criminal organization like the HNG,” said Anetta Kahane, head of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation which supports projects to boost civil society. “But we need to do more to educate people so that they can resist rightwing ideas. For example, judges and the police need to be educated to deal with extremists,” she said. “The problem of neo-Nazis has not gone away.” The police and judicial systems in several eastern German states have been condemned for failing to recognize and tackle the problem of neo-Nazi crime.—Reuters

Russia’s future ‘in question’ Russia heading towards turmoil, Gorbachev warns

ST PETERSBURG: Russian Orthodox faithful wait for their turn to enter the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg yesterday to attend a religious service. Being inspired by the Basilica of St Peter’s in Rome the Kazan Cathedral by the architect Andrei Voronikhin marked today its 200th anniversary. — AFP

Russia eyes resorts, seeks peace in North Caucasus ARKHYZ: It’s not easy for Sanzhar Shamshiyev to imagine his native Russian mountains in the North Caucasus dotted with luxury ski resorts and foreign holidaymakers.

But the five state-of-the-art tourism complexes that Russia plans to build near his home may create jobs that would help stop Shamshiyev and others from fleeing the region to find work and cut support for an insurgency fuelled by the region’s grinding poverty. “Decisions are difficult to make here.

There is anger at the poverty, the lack of jobs.

Many deal with the problem simply by leaving,” said the 23-year-old, standing on a street corner in Cherkessk, the quiet capital of Karachay-Cherkessia province. “I would stay for a chance to work,” he said.

The mainly Muslim provinces of the North Caucasus stretch along predominantly Orthodox Christian Russia’s southern borders with Georgia and Azerbaijan, reaching from the Black to the Caspian Sea. Rebels wage daily violence in an attempt to turn the region into an Islamist state. Russia’s most wanted man, Doku Umarov, who fought Russian soldiers in two separatist wars in his native Chechnya since 1994, leads the insurgency. Last year violence in the region killed some 750 people, analysts estimate. The rebels have vowed to disrupt the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea coast town of Sochi, which lies on the same mountain chain, though the Sochi area has yet to see the same level of violence as the provinces surrounding Chechnya, like Dagestan and Ingushetia. With the Games looming and only months to go before a parliamentary election in December and a presidential poll in March, Moscow is guarding against more major militant attacks, aimed at exposing Russian security weaknesses.

The $20-billion plan, touted as the country’s biggest tourism infrastructure project, will offer visitors hundreds of miles of ski trails across the stark, almost vertical mountain peaks, many of which are crowned yearround with powdery snow. Moscow says that only a massive project like this can end the cycle of poverty and violence at the centre of

the insurgency, which analysts say is exacerbated by heavy-handed tactics by law enforcement agencies and unemployment rates of near 50 percent in some areas. Critics say Moscow is not addressing the region’s poverty so much as flooding the North Caucasus with billions of dollars of state subsidies and grand projects in order to keep regional leaders loyal.

“The plan will go forward and it may bring jobs, but the causes of the insurgency are far greater than what this plan conceives,” said Andrei Piontkovsky, a political analyst at the Russian Academy of Science. “Moscow is using this money to make sure local authorities stay on their side,” he said. “Moscow is spending for political purposes, nothing more.”

GLITZY HOTELS Nestled in the tree-lined slopes near the village of Arkhyz, the first resort is planned in Karachay-Cherkessia, some 200 km west of Chechnya, where federal forces drove a rebel government from power over a decade ago.

The only signs of construction so far are the concrete foundations for chairlifts. When the resort opens for business at the end of this year, the mountains are expected to provide the winter setting for three ski slopes and two hotels. Eventually 11 hotels will open and the resort will be able to handle traffic of 500,000 tourists per year.

But locals say investment is not enough.

“There will still be extremism here after the resorts, and it’s hard to get rid of that,” said Vitaly Yusenko, 39, a resident of Cherkessk.

“Israel has tourism too, more than we will ever have, but it still has terrorism.” Though violence is rare in Karachay-Cherkessia, Shamshiyev says he hears stories of young men in nearby regions “taking to the mountains”, a euphemism used by locals to describe those who would rather fight against authorities than work with them.

Moscow started the company spearheading the project, Resorts of the North Caucasus (RNC), last year with capital of 60 billion roubles ($1.98 billion). — Reuters

Belarus’ Lukashenko keeps West guessing MINSK: In a book-lined study which, in normal times, she shares with her husband, Iryna Khalip makes her point with sweeping hand gestures. “Andrei will never ask for a pardon.

He won’t stay in jail if there is a political decision, of course. But there can be no trading (with the West) over his release,” she said.

Andrei Sannikov is a former deputy foreign minister and co-founder of a human rights group called Charter-97, and imprisonment has reinforced his status as a major opposition figure in the former Soviet republic of Belarus.

Nine months after a crackdown by President Alexander Lukashenko on protests against his re-election, the number of those still in jail has shrunk to a handful. They include Sannikov and two others who ran against Lukashenko for the presidency. They were given jail terms for planning, and taking part in, mass disturbances. A currency crisis is squeezing Belarus and Lukashenko is looking both to Russia and the European Union for new credit to keep his Soviet-style command economy running, bringing the issue of political prisoners to the fore.

Lukashenko has ruled since 1994 and was called Europe’s ‘last dictator’ during George W. Bush’s presidency in the United States. For years he played Russia off against the EU to

secure financial aid and stay afloat. Russia fears Belarus, which has borders with three EU countries, might drift into the Western camp if it is alienated by Moscow. The EU wants to ensure the country of 9.5 million, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy, does not return to Russia’s sphere of influence. Whenever the West appeared to be losing patience with him, Lukashenko would signal a commitment to reform or ease his tight grip to ensure more credit. Most of Belarus’s harassed opposition want a tougher line from the West. Over the past nine months, scores of others arrested on, or just after, election night in December have been released in dribs and drabs. A batch of 11 were freed under presidential pardon earlier this month.

But Khalip, 43, a campaigning journalist under a suspended two-year sentence linked to the December unrest, has no illusions about the strategy and Sannikov’s prospects of release from a five-year jail sentence.

“I think Lukashenko will drag their release out to the very last. He is keeping the best goods to the end. The release of these youngsters recently is just a smokescreen. “In reality, those who are his political competitors remain in jail,” she said. “Only a single principled position by the EU and the United States will bring real results.” — Reuters

MOSCOW: Russia faces instability and its future is in question if it fails to carry out political reforms and reduce its dependence on energy exports, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said in an article published yesterday. His call for change was part of a growing chorus of warnings from worried intellectuals as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitr y Medvedev prepare to announce which of them will run in a presidential election next year. In biting criticism of Russia’s development since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 following reforms he instigated, Gorbachev portrayed Russia as having a brittle and corrupt political system that could soon face turmoil.

He said there was a feeling of impending doom among ordinary Russians as well as business and political leaders but Russia’s leadership seemed obsessed with cosmetic tinkering rather than real reform.

“It is difficult to get away from the feeling that the Russian authorities have neither the political will nor the readiness to find a real way out,” Gorbachev, 80, said in an article published in two Russian newspapers.

“They (the authorities) are limited to cosmetic measures and more often to resounding declarations and the imitation of reform: appar-

ently powerful personal and corporate interests depend on the preservation of the status quo.”

The remarks by Gorbachev, who did not mention Putin or Medvedev, followed an interview this week in which former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov dismissed the

BREZHNEV ERA? Gorbachev has urged Putin not to run in the presidential election next March. He did not specifically do so again in his article, but he dismissed the economic boom during Putin’s 2000-2008 presidency as a period where excessive depend-

MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at a meeting with activists of the Popular Front in Moscow yesterday. — AP political system as a charade.

Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov also criticized the Kremlin last week, accusing is chief political strategist of interfering in party politics after he quit as leader of the pro-business Right Cause party.

ence on energy exports created “the illusion of stability and prosperity”. The father of “perestroika” (restructuring) and “glasnost” (openness) said Russia was returning to the era of Leonid Brezhnev, whose 1964-1982 rule is widely

portrayed as an era of stagnation when strong oil sales masked economic decline.

But Gorbachev also indicated he was unimpressed with Medvedev, who has not implemented the farreaching reforms he promised after being steered into the Kremlin by Putin in 2008. “The unwillingness to start reform or the desire to have partial change is often explained by the fear of losing power and the desire to prevent a new collapse of Russia,” he said. “But it is the very absence of change which threatens to provoke instability and put the future of the country in question,” said Gorbachev.

He said the president had become a “new Russian monarch”.

Reviled by most Russians for allowing the collapse of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev conjured up the image of Pyotr Stolypin, one of the Tsar’s last reformist prime ministers before the 1917 revolutions, to call for more radical change.

But he cautioned that the current leadership was unlikely to be able to implement sweeping reform and said that just changing those in power would have little impact. “A change of power with the preservation of the former system and the same rules of the game would just mean a change of places and the caravan would continue on its path towards the precipice,” he said.— Reuters

UK Home Office mulls gender-free passports LONDON: Britain could introduce a third gender category to British passports allowing citizens of indeterminate sex to opt out of standard male and female identification, a Home Office official said.

Under the proposals, those of indeterminate sex may be able to use an “X” to denote their gender on passports, rather than “M” or “F”. “IPS is considering the gender options available to customers in the British

passport, “an Identity and Passport Service (IPS) spokesman said in a statement.

“We are exploring with international partners and relevant stakeholders the security implications of gender not being displayed in the passport. This is at the early discussion stage and no decisions have been taken. Any changes to the UK passport would need to satisfy our rigorous security requirements,” he

said. Current regulations require transgender and intersex people to decide on a gender, which may not necessarily match the one adopted by the passport holder in practice.

Those undergoing gender reassignment operations are only allowed to adjust the gender in their passports after completing the sex change process. Supporters say changes to the system will help the transgender and intersex com-

munity avoid embarrassing situations at passport control if their appearance does not match the gender stated in their passport. The consultations follow the introduction of an opt out system in Australia last week, which meant citizens need not undergo sex change surgery to alter the gender on their passport, and may now nominate male, female or indeterminate as their sex.— Reuters

Catalonia ends Bullfighting BARCELONA: Bullfighting fans will shout “Ole” for the last time in Barcelona’s El Monumental bullring on Sunday before a ban on the sport takes effect across the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia. The regional legislature banned the centuries-old tradition which pits a swordwielding matador in a brilliant suit and red cape against an enraged bull-last year after Catalans signed a petition against it.

The bullfighting industry is still convinced it has a chance to overturn the ban and bring back the “toros” next season to Catalonia, the only mainland region in Spain that has blocked the sport-or the art as its fans see it. “I think the politicians will think twice about the ban and bullfighting will live on. And thank God because Catalonia has plenty of serious bullfighting fans and in a democratic country they should be able to go to a bullfight,” said Moeses Fraele, 64, owner of El Pilar, the breeder supplying bulls for Sunday’s spectacle.

Some 20,000 spectators are expected to fill a sold-out Monumental-the only bullring still operating in Cataloniafor Sunday’s blockbuster corrida starring celebrated Madrid matador Jose Tomas, who retired in 2002 but has made a few rare appearances since 2007. “There are several catalysts which could lead to the ban being overturned,” said Paco March, bullfighting critic for La Vanguardia, Catalonia’s top newspaper.

March said the conservative People’s Party-one of Spain’s two main political forces-is fighting the ban on constitutional grounds and the Catalonia Bullfighting Federation is collecting signatures to petition the Spanish Congress. Spain’s economic woes could also be a factor as regional governments such as Catalonia are under enormous pressure to cut spending and help the country trim its public deficit as it tries to dodge the euro zone debt crisis. Such austerity measures could make it difficult for the Catalonian government to pay El Monumental¥s owner, Pedro Balana, several million euros for the building. Even if the pro-bull lobby manages to reopen El Monumental, in a wider sense the blood is already on the sand. Every year fewer Spaniards go to the bullring. The number of bullfights shrank by 34 percent between 2007 and 2010 according to official figures. Barcelona’s Las Arenas ring shut in the 1970s and is now a shopping mall. “I don¥t know anyone my age who would go to a fight. It¥s not a Catalan tradition but an Andalusian or Extramadurian one. The fact that the bull is treated so badly even before the fight should override any tradition anyway,” said Laia Gomez, 31, a Barcelona customer service worker. Younger Spaniards do not know the names of top-drawer bullfighters and most struggle to explain to a foreigner the intricacies and rules of the tradition. —Reuters

BIRMINGHAM: Britain’s Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg addresses his party’s annual conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, central England yesterday. —AFP

Britain Lib Dems seen as divided LONDON: Britain’s Liberal Democrats are paying a high price for their place in coalition government, with most voters seeing them as divided and unlikely to keep their promises, a Reuters Ipsos/MORI poll showed yesterday. The Conservatives, the larger party in the ruling coalition, were seen as the most fit to govern and having a better team of leaders than their Lib Dem partners or Labor opposition.

The poll deals an untimely blow to the Lib Dems, enjoying a rare taste of power after entering coalition in May 2010, on the final day of their annual conference. Sixty-five percent of Britons regard the centre-left party as divided and only 16 percent regard it as likely to keep its promises, according to newly released data from the Reuters/Ipsos MORI political monitor. Support for the Lib Dems has plunged since they went into government, with the decision to reverse their opposition to higher student tuition fees particularly damaging. Only 23 percent of those polled thought the Lib Dems were fit to govern. Figures for the Conservatives were more positive, with half of Britons describing them as fit to govern. In terms of leadership, 44

percent said Prime Minister David Cameron’s party had a good team of leaders, against 34 percent for Labor and only 30 percent for the Lib Dems. However, almost one in three thought Cameron’s party was extreme.

Cameron has tried to rid the party of its “nasty” tag and has steered a centrist course, irritating some of his own grassroots supporters. Labor, ousted from power in 2010 after ruling for 13 years, is regrouping under new leader Ed Miliband. While his party is seen as “most likely to look after the interests of people like me” - 41 percent, compared to 32 percent for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, it trails the Conservative party on the key issues of being fit to govern and having the best team of leaders. Miliband, who has struggled to make an impact since he pipped his brother David to the leadership a year ago, will seek to win over delegates at his party’s annual gathering in Liverpool next week. Ipsos MORI said it interviewed a representative sample of 1,008 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone from Sept 10 to Sept 12. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.— Reuters

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US adds Indian Mujahideen to terror blacklist WASHINGTON: The United States has named the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to its official blacklist of foreign terrorist organizations, saying it has killed hundreds of innocent civilians in attacks dating back to 2005. “IM’s primary method of attack is multiple coordinated bombings in crowded areas against economic and civilian targets to maximize terror and casualties,” the State Department said in

announcing the designation, which bars US citizens from providing any material support to the group and freezes any assets it may have in the United States. The State Department said the IM, while based in India, has “significant links” to Pakistan and close ties to other groups on the US terror blacklist including Pakistanbased Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-eMohammad (JeM) and Harakat-ul

Jihad Islami (HUJI).

The United States and India have sought to step up counterterrorism coordination over the past several years as the two countries improve ties, although Indian officials say they would like more help, including better intelligence sharing. The State Department said the IM carried out a 2010 bombing of a popular German bakery in Pune, India frequented by

tourists, killing 17 and injuring over 60 people, and another attack in Delhi in 2008 that killed 30 people.

It said IM was also responsible for 16 synchronized bomb blasts in crowded urban centers and a local hospital that killed 38 and injured more than 100 in Ahmedabad and played a “facilitative role” in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by LeT that killed 163 people, including six

Americans. “These designations highlight the threat posed by IM not only to Western interests, but to India, a close US partner,” Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator, said in a statement. “The Indian populace has borne the brunt of IM’s wanton violence and today’s actions illustrate our solidarity with the Indian government,” he said. —Reuters

Afghans mourn murdered ex-president on Peace Day Killing risks stirring ethnic tensions

QUETTA: Pakistani Shiite Muslims gather beside coffins of community members in Quetta yesterday, after their killing by gunmen. Gunmen shot dead 26 Pakistani Shiite Muslim pilgrims travelling to Iran on September 20, the deadliest attack on the minority community in Pakistan for more than a year. —AFP

Pakistan’s ISI using group for proxy war US blasts Islamabad over Haqqani WASHINGTON: The United States has accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of using the Haqqani Network to wage a “proxy war”, hardening its criticism of Islamabad’s ties with Taleban-allied factions fighting NATO and Afghan troops in Afghanistan. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that in a discussion with Pakistan’s army chief that lasted about four hours, he had pressed Pakistan to break its links with the militant group. “We covered ... the need for the Haqqani Network to disengage, specifically the need for the ISI to disconnect from Haqqani and from this proxy war that they’re fighting,” he said in a speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Tuesday.

“The ISI has been doing this - working for - supporting proxies for an extended period of time. It is a strategy in the countr y and I think that strategic approach has to shift in the future.”

Washington blames the Haqqani Network, one of the most feared Taleban-linked groups fighting in Afghanistan, for last week’s attack on the US embassy and other targets in Kabul. It has in the past suggested that Pakistan’s powerful Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) maintains ties to the network to guarantee that it has a stake in any political settlement in Afghanistan when American troops withdraw.

Accusing the ISI of using the Haqqanis to wage a “proxy war” goes further, and risks fuelling tension between Islamabad and Washington, which have been running high since Al-Qaeda leader Osama

bin Laden was killed in a surprise US Navy SEALs raid in Pakistan in May. The United States has repeatedly pressed Pakistan to go after the network, which it believes enjoys sanctuaries in Pakistan’s mountainous North Waziristan region on the Afghan border.

The Washington Post reported that US officials had delivered an ultimatum to Islamabad in recent days, warning that if it did not cut ties with the Haqqani Network and help eliminate its leaders then “the United States will act unilaterally”. There has been no public statement suggesting that the United States could itself mount a full-scale offensive against the Haqqanis in North Waziristan, and the official line in background briefings is only that all options are on the table. The mountainous terrain would make it extremely difficult to launch a military operation in North Waziristan.

While keeping the pressure on Pakistan over its links to insurgent groups, US officials are also trying to shore up relations with a nuclear-armed country it considers a strategic ally in the fight against Islamist militancy. “What I believe is the relationship with Pakistan is critical,” Mullen said. “We walked away from them in the past and ... I think that cut-off has a lot do with where we are.” A senior US official told Reuters on Tuesday that, despite the strains over last week’s attack in Kabul, there had been incremental improvements in the relationship in recent weeks. “I don’t have a sense right now that its falling off the cliff again,” he said. —Reuters

Sri Lanka’s mines ‘will take a decade to clear’ MANNAR: Post-war Sri Lanka will need another decade to clear the half million landmines which lie buried under swathes of agricultural and forest land and around villages in the north of the island nation, the head of a demining group said. The country is in its third year of peace after government forces defeated the separatist Tamil Tigers in a civil war which lasted a quarter of a century, killing and injuring tens of thousands of people.

But as people who fled the fighting return home to rebuild their lives, they still face the threat of anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) like bombs, rockets and hand grenades left behind by the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan army. “Based on our current clearance rates, there are perhaps half a million landmines that need to be cleared,” said Nigel Robinson, country head of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), which has cleared 60,000 mines since 2002.

“So it’ll perhaps take 10 years for Sri Lanka to become fully mine-impact free, assuming the current capacity of de-miners can be maintained,” he told AlertNet in an interview from a clearing in a minefield in the northwest district of Mannar. The FSD has 750 deminers clearing the mines, aided by other specialist groups. There are no official figures on exactly how many mines and UXOs were used during the war, although some reports suggest more than a million mines were planted during the 25 years.

EXTENSIVE USE The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor (LCMM) says the Sri Lankan government, which is not a signatory of the Landmine Ban Treaty, and the Tigers “made extensive use of landmines”. These included belts of Pakistani-made P4 MK1 mines laid by the army and long defensive lines of mines and booby-traps manufactured by the separatists.

The Tigers also left extensive “nuisance” mines in the north particularly in areas of intense fighting and often planted as its fighters retreated in the face of the army’s advance. Fortunately, casualties have been low despite the high mine density in parts of the country. The LCMM says there were 38 injuries and deaths in 2009 compared to 78 in 2008. “Casualties in Sri Lanka are relatively low compared to other places in the world, like Afghanistan where you have around 900 casualties per year,” said Robinson, adding that most were due to people doing “high-risk” activities like burning undergrowth to clear their farmland.

Mine risk awareness and the fact that the Tigers’ homemade mines became less effective over time helped keep casualty figures low in the Indian Ocean island, he said. “Now people have come back to their former communities, they’re desperate to get back onto their land-to grow crops and to produce income for their families,” he said. “Landmines are a significant inhibitor to allow that process to happen.” —Reuters

KABUL: Afghans gathered to mourn assassinated former president and chief peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani yesterday, World Peace Day, as fears mounted that his death could deepen ethnic divisions and nudge the country towards civil war. Rabbani, perhaps the most prominent Afghan to be killed since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, died at his home on Tuesday when an insurgent he was due to hold talks with detonated explosives concealed in a turban.

The killing was a strong statement of Taleban opposition to peace talks and the latest in a string of high-profile assassinations to shake the confidence of ordinary Afghans that security can be maintained as foreign forces withdraw.

Rabbani was Afghanistan’s most influential ethnic Tajik and his killing is likely to exacerbate ethnic divides. This may do more to damage peace efforts than the loss of a negotiator who had so far produced limited evidence of steps towards talks.

Hundreds gathered yesterday on the blocked-off street around Rabbani’s home and armored cars with blacked-out windows carried senior officials, friends and other prominent Afghans to a memorial service inside. World Peace Day activities planned for across the capital, including a concert for women by famous Afghan singer Farhad Darya, were cancelled.

Rabbani’s inner circle have chosen a hilltop overlooking Kabul’s diplomatic enclave to bury the man who made his name as a fiery lecturer and activist and then became an anti-Soviet fighter, before briefly heading the country after the fall of the Soviet-backed regime.

“An emergency cabinet meeting today has approved the burial of Professor Rabbani on the Wazir Akbar Khan hilltop,” said Waqif Hakimi, a spokesman for Jamiat Islami Afghanistan, Rabbani’s political party. The area came

under attack a week earlier when insurgents holed up in a high-rise fired rockets and gunfire towards the US Embassy and the headquarters NATO-led coalition and battled foreign and Afghan forces for 20 hours.

PROMISE OF TALKS Several of Rabbani’s aides said

believe in peace, sent the worst signal.” A Taleban spokesman who claimed responsibility for the assassination repeated his claim yesterday to Reuters, but corrected some details of his earlier account, including the names of the assassins. The spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, was reached on a phone number he has used

Badakhshan. “We have no choice but to arm ourselves and defend the country. This is a plot hatched by the government to get rid of Rabbani, because he was exposing the fact that the government wanted the Taleban to come back.”

A group of about nine students clustered around him nodded in

KABUL: An Afghanistan National Policeman (ANP) stands guard next to men placing a banner featuring slain former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul yesterday. —AFP the bomber had been escorted through layers of security without checks, because of promises he brought a message from the Taleban leadership. “He was told there would be an important message, but this is the message he got,” former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, a protege of Rabbani said.

“He made great efforts to see if there was any chance to make peace but the murderous Taleban group, which we believed didn’t

previously, and his voice sounded the same as in previous conversations.

Students from Kabul University gathered on a street draped with black banners close to Rabbani’s home and carried signs venting their anger at the government, which they blamed for his death.

“The situation will further deteriorate because of the killings of our leaders,” said Mujeed, a 21-yearold student of political law, from Rabbani’s home province of

I won’t run for PM again: India opposition veteran Move frees up younger candidates NEW DELHI: An 83-year-old veteran of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said yesterday he did not want to run for prime minister again in elections due by 2014, a move that frees up younger candidates to challenge the government.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition has struggled to contain anger against high food prices and graft scandals since winning a second term in

AHMEDABAD: India’s Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi (2nd left) and former deputy Prime Minister L K Advani (left) leave the stage following a lamp lighting ceremony at the Gujarat University Convention Centre in Ahmedabad on September 17, 2011. —AFP 2009. But the BJP-led opposition has often looked weak, plagued by infighting and lacking a credible leader.

Lal Krishna Advani, who built his career on Hindu revivalism, stepped out of the limelight after fighting

a losing campaign against Singh. But a planned nationwide tour against corruption sparked talk of a return to the frontline. His withdrawal paves the way for other BJP heavyweights to challenge the ruling Congress party. These include Narendra Modi, the popular but divisive chief minister of Gujarat state, praised for fostering industrial growth and economic development but accused by some of abetting religious riots.

Other candidates could include Sushma Swaraj, opposition leader of the lower house. “I am happier to be a part of the party. I do not want to become the prime minister,” Advani told reporters. Advani’s campaign against Singh was criticized for appearing at times shrill and out of touch and for not mobilizing the party’s middle class base. On the stump, he famously branded Singh as the country’s weakest ever prime minister, a criticism that sparked a backlash of support for Singh.

The BJP has sought to take advantage of widespread discontent against Singh’s government, especially in urban areas, that has sparked massive protests and lifted social activists protesting against corruption to national prominence. Modi embarked on a three-day fast over the weekend to promote “harmony”, which was seen as a way of helping revamp the image of a leader accused by critics of complicity in religious riots that killed at least 1,000 people in 2002.

Such a gesture carried national resonance as it followed the high-profile hunger strike of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare that mobilized thousands to demonstrate on the streets against the government.

Modi’s critics, including members of Hazare’s inner circle, branded it a cynical PR exercise. Advani’s nationwide “yatra”, or journey, was greeted with similar skepticism by his critics. Veteran political analyst Kuldip Nayar said Advani’s announcement had cleared up uncertainty about whether he would run.

“Advani has removed a misunderstanding, so that is a good thing,” he said. “Now there is all the more reason that he would project Narendra Modi as a candidate.” —Reuters

agreement. Ahmad Wali Masoud, a prominent politician and brother of the late resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, said Rabbani’s death was a catastrophe that could change Afghanistan’s political landscape.

“Since he could not do it, I’m sure no one else can make peace with the Taleban,” he told reporters.

“Some people believed he could do something, but now with his death, the (hope of) peace is dead as well.” —Reuters

7 sentenced to death for Pakistan lynching ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court has sentenced seven people to death for lynching two teenage brothers last year in a case that shocked the country, prosecutor Shakeel Thakur said. Mistaken for robbers, Mughees Butt, 17, and Muneeb Butt, 15, were beaten with sticks and rods before being strung up on metal poles in broad daylight as a large crowd and several policemen looked on.

The bloodshed was captured on a video and broadcast on television news channels. The images reinforced the widespread view that Pakistan’s police and courts can’t deliver justice. As well as the seven people sentenced to death, six people were given life sentences. Five people were acquitted.

Thakur said the prosecution was satisfied with the verdict but would appeal the life sentences. “We want those sentences enhanced to the death penalty,” he said.

Ten policemen were sentenced to three years imprisonment for failing to perform their duty as the brothers were beaten to death.

The police are often despised as corrupt and ineffective. At times, they are accused of taking part in or encouraging extra-judicial killings. Many Pakistanis say the courts are riddled with graft, agonizingly slow and let too many criminals go. Islamist militants battling the state often try to capitalize on the frustration with the courts and police, promising swift Islamic justice. —Reuters

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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

Is a general election looming in Malaysia?

KUALA LUMPUR: A recent slew of populist measures have strengthened expectations that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib could call a snap election within the next 6 months, as he seeks a mandate to execute economic reforms and strengthen his grip on power. Bonus payments for civil servants, a cash payout for farmers and affordable housing for low-income earners are among the steps the government has taken to cushion the impact of higher prices and address a major gripe among voters.

Najib is also expected to announce several political reforms on Thursday, including amending a controversial security law to make good on promises to allow increased freedom of speech. The government’s popularity has taken a dip over the past year because of anger over the rising cost of living, the slow pace of political reforms and widening religious discontent. Analysts say Najib has two options: hold snap polls to cut his losses or delay elections, which would buy him time to appease disgruntled ethnic minorities. The following are possible scenarios on the timing of the next general

election, which is not due until 2013, and the implications for reforms.

SOONER OR LATER Najib may opt for an early election for fear that economic growth could take a sharp dive if the global economy slipped into recession.

“With signs of global growth moderating, and the global economy showing signs of weakness, it would make sense for PM Najib to call an election soon, rather than risk the economic climate turning much worse,” Barclay’s Capital said in a note on Sept. 1.

Analysts say the ruling National Front coalition could also press ahead with early polls as it discounts the support of nonMuslim ethnic minorities who appear steadfast in their opposition towards the government.

Najib could also be persuaded to call for an early election with former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition struggling to build on its strong victory in a Sarawak state election.

The three-party opposition grouping has been plagued by infighting and distracted by Anwar’s protracted trial on sodomy charges, which he denies.

Najib’s popularity rating is also still relatively strong at 56 percent in August, although it has declined steadily since hitting a high of 72 percent in May 2010.

BUY SOME TIME On the flip side, Najib could hold out beyond the next 6 months to give himself more time to execute reforms. Since taking office in 2009, the premier has taken modest steps to cut fuel subsidies and liberalise the economy. Critics say he must move a lot faster if he wants to make good on a pledge to put Malaysia back on the radar of foreign investors.

The government may also want more time to placate unhappy ethnic minority Chinese and Indians who complain of marginalisation. Loss of support among the two ethnic groups contributed to the ruling coalition’s disastrous showing in the 2008 general election when it lost its once iron-

clad, two-thirds majority. Najib could also take a bet that holding polls later rather than earlier would see the opposition fur-

ther weakened by internal squabbles and the lack of clear leadership if Anwar were jailed for sodomy. — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (left) gestures as he speaks at a radio station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Najib’s to-do list is suddenly looking like a pop star’s diary. In the past two weeks, he has made an unexpected appearance at a concert, indulged in a radio prank call and offered free beverage coasters to some of his 200,000-strong followers on Twitter. — AP

Chinese activists challenge power with election push Hundreds of independent candidates fight for seats

CHONGQING: A combo of photos shows a passenger boat as it capsizes after being hit by a restaurant boat on the flooded Jialing River in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality. Nearly 1.7 million people have been forced to abandon their homes and dozens more have died in heavy flooding across large parts of China, the government reported. — AFP

Japanese arms firms suffer cyber attacks TOKYO: The United States yesterday expressed concern about recent cyber attacks on defense contractors in Japan, which build USdesigned missiles, warships and military aircraft, calling for the attacks to be taken seriously. Experts speculated that the cyber assaults announced this week, the first on Japan’s defense industry, may have included the Stuxnet computer virus which has been described as a guided cyber missile which targets industrial control systems. “Cyber security must be a public-sector priority,” US embassy spokeswoman Karen Kelley said.

One industry source said Washington has been pressuring Japan to step up security against cyber assaults. The attacks on Japan’s top defense contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which builds F-15 fighter jets, Patriot missiles and nuclear reactor parts, and on other contractors, may have come from a nation state, some experts said.

Mitsubishi Heavy is also involved in the development of a ship-launched surface-to-air missile designed for the US ballistic missile shield and is therefore privy to highly-sensitive weapons technology.

Similar attacks earlier this year, which included one on the US defense industry, were said to have originated in China. Chinese authorities denied having anything to do with those or the latest ones reported in Japan. Japan’s defense industry, supplied by a slew of small and medium-size firms with key technologies, is seen as particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks. “Many of

these small firms could have been hacked in the past, without anyone noticing,” Kobe University Professor Masakatsu Morii said. Computers at Mitsubishi Heavy, Japan’s biggest weapons maker, were subject to an online assault in August. The company, which supplies over 20 percent of Japan’s defense equipment, said that some network information, such as IP addresses, may have leaked.

An outside contractor is now checking to see if any sensitive data had been breached. “I believe this is probably the first example of a Stuxnet attack in Japan,” said Yoshiyasu Takefuji, a cyber-security expert at Keio University. Mitsubishi Heavy said that it has so far found eight viruses, none of which were Stuxnet. The Stuxnet computer worm, which some suspect was created by the United States and Israel, targets industrial control systems sold by Siemens and used widely in infrastructure including nuclear power generators, chemical factories, water distribution systems and pharmaceutical plants.

Mitsubishi Heavy delayed reporting the breach to the defense ministry, which may have been a violation of its military supply contracts. A second Japanese military contractor, IHI Corp, which builds engine parts for fighter planes, said its employees had been subject to a growing number of suspicious emails which it had informed the police about. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a maker of airplanes, helicopters and rocket systems, has also been receiving virustainted emails, the company confirmed on Tuesday. — Reuters

BEIJING: Hundreds of independent candidates fighting for seats in China’s usually tame local congresses are opening a new front in the nation’s battle over political rights, courting voters on the streets and Internet despite political controls.

The ruling Communist Party says the provincial and municipal People’s Congresses are the basis of democracy Chinese-style. Critics, however, say the councils-stacked with party officials, powerless to control budgets and unwilling to challenge policies-are tame chambers used to give a facade of popular acclaim to top-down power.

This year, however, unprecedented numbers of independent candidates are seeking to change that, challenging the much larger slates of Party-backed candidates, despite a crackdown on dissent and slim chances of winning seats, activists said. “There are many, many more candidates than before. It’s impossible to give precise numbers, but many more,” said Li Fan, the head of the World and China Institute, a small, privately funded Beijing group that monitors elections. “There are two reasons. First, social grievances are deeper than before, so more people want to become congress delegates to press for rights. Second, there is the role of the social media.

Microblogs are playing a big role,” said Li. In elections across China in recent and coming months, Chinese voters choose about 2 million delegates to represent them in local assemblies, according to the National People’s Congress, the national-level parliament. In some respects, the elections for these bodies are not unlike the government assemblies and councils that run states and

cities across the United States and other countries. But the similarities quickly dissolve.

Most voters in China tend to unquestioningly tick the box for the Party’s candidates, but the election law in theory allows independent challengers to nominate themselves. In past elections, which happen every five years, a few independent candidates have won spots on local assemblies, which they used to campaign against government abuses and land grabs. This year’s independent campaigners said they face many barriers to becoming formally accredited, including police harassment, bureaucratic sabotage and many voters’ wariness of risking trouble by endorsing them as candidates.

Even if some win that recognition, their hopes of winning seats are slim.

“We need to solve China’s systematic problems, and the key to a breakthrough is elections,” said Zhou Decai, a farmerturned-businessman campaigning for a place on a congress in his home county in Henan province in central China. “Even if a few get in (to congresses), that won’t change things,” Zhou said in an interview in Beijing, where he said he had been speaking to lawyers and supporters about his plans. “But the election can expose problems in China’s system, and it’s also a way of putting pressure on local government officials,” said Zhou, a stocky, crew-cut man who has long campaigned over land disputes in his home Gushi County.

PARADOX The spread of independent campaigns has underscored the paradox that even as the Communist Party has sought

to deter dissent, new sources of discontent keep welling up, often aided by the spread of the Internet. The surge of election-inspired activism was the latest sign that a government crackdown, which brought the detention of dozens of dissidents this year, was encountering emboldened opposition, said supporters of the movement.

“This shows that demands for political rights have spread and now more ordinary citizens are joining in,” said He Depu, a long-time dissident released from jail early this year who is supporting independent candidates in Beijing. “ The chances of them being elected as people’s congress delegates are slim, but the importance is in participating, because it shows that people have political expectations that must eventually be met,” said He. He spoke over the telephone after, he said, police told him not to meet a foreign reporter. He is not allowed to seek a congress seat because he remains stripped of political rights as part of his sentence on subversion charges, he said.

In a sign of China’s changing times, independent candidates have embraced China’s growing microblog websites to promote their campaigns. Dozens, if not hundreds of such campaign sites can be found on Sina Corp’s dominant “Weibo” microblogging site. On his “Weibo” site, 31-year-old Beijing candidate Xu Chunliu tells prospective supporters that, “as a member of your community, I share the residents’ complaints”. He also vows to clean up the neighborhood’s traffic jams and poor management.

“There are more independent candidates than before, because I think ordinary people understand more about their

rights, and the Internet has also made us more visible and improved our communication,” said Liu Xiuzhen, a 57-year-old retired transport worker who is also campaigning as an independent in Beijing, where the vote takes place in November.

“Some of us are rights defenders, and think we can help other disadvantaged groups by doing this,” said Liu. She said she and a dozen of other candidates were prompted to run because they felt the government did not help them reclaim money lost in an investment scam. The Communist Party has made stronger control a priority as it heads towards a leadership handover late next year. Despite the outward show of democracy, some independent candidates working with He, the dissident, said they were detained while canvassing potential supporters. Yao Lifa, the “godfather” of China’s independent candidate movement since he won a seat in his local assembly in 1998, was detained by officials for several months and is now under guard for much of the day in his hometown in central Hubei province.

“Because we’re in the middle of this election, they want to stop me from helping others,” Yao told Reuters in a latenight phone interview. Yao lost his seat in 2003, when city officials refused to let him formally run again. “The growing number of (independent) candidates shows that corruption and social divisions are forcing more ordinary people to stand up for themselves,” said Yao, a former school official. “But the government is also increasingly harsh,” he said.

“It wants to have a show of democracy, but is afraid the show will be taken from its grasp.”— Reuters

China sentences four to death BEIJING: Courts in China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang have sentenced four people to death for violence in two cities over the summer which left 32 people dead, the regional government said on an official website. The government blamed the incidents in Kashgar and Hotan- both in the majority Uighur southern part of Xinjiang-on religious extremists and separatists who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan.

Many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people native to Xinjiang, resent Chinese rule and controls on their religion, culture and language. The courts in the two cities found the four, who all appeared to be Uighurs judging by their names, to be guilty of crimes including involvement in terrorism, arson and murder, the Xinjiang government website www.tianshannet.com said late yesterday.

“Both cases were heard in open courts in accordance with the law, with representatives from all walks of life attending,” the local government said on the website. “During the trial, the accused ... confessed everything.” But the Germany-based exile group the World Uyghur Congress said the four had been tortured while in detention and were given only very limited access to lawyers. “The so-called open trial is a special type of Chinese political swindle,” spokesman Dilxat Raxit said in an emailed statement.

The incidents were the worst violence Xinjiang has experienced since 2009 riots in regional capital Urumqi, when clashes between majority Han Chinese and Uighurs killed nearly 200 people, many of them Han. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China was committed to ensuring stability in Xinjiang. “I believe that the regional government’s relevant authorities will take effective measures to strike hard against violent terror incidents,” she told a regular news briefing.

Xinjiang is strategically vital to China and Beijing has shown no sign of loosening its grip on the territory, which accounts for one-sixth of China’s land mass and holds rich deposits of oil and gas and borders Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Central Asia. Beijing, wary of instability and the threat to the Communist Party’s grip on power, often blames what it calls violent separatist groups in Xinjiang for attacks on police or other government targets. It says they work with Al-Qaeda or Central Asian militants, though experts doubt the extent of those contacts.— Reuters

INCHEON: A group of South Korean religious leaders walks to depart for North Korea at Incheon airport, west of Seoul yesterday. — AFP

Two Koreas say talks ‘constructive, useful’ BEIJING: Bitter rivals North and South Korea held a second round of “constructive and useful” dialogue yesterday as momentum builds for a resumption of six-party talks on dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. The nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met in Beijing for their second meeting in two months, amid a thaw in tensions on the divided peninsula after relations nose-dived last year to the lowest level in nearly two decades.

“We talked about nuclear issues, and this is part of our effort to resume six-party talks. We will continue to make these efforts in the future,” the South’s envoy Wi Sung-lac told reporters, according to the South’s Yonhap news agency. But the two failed to bridge their differences over the starting point for a new round of the six-party talks, which also involve China, the United States, Japan and Russia.

The North’s Ri Yong-ho echoed remarks by Wi, saying the talks were “constructive and useful”. He maintained, however, that six-party talks should be held without preconditions. Seoul and Washington insist that Pyongyang must first halt its nuclear activities, including its uranium enrichment program, and allow the return of international nuclear inspectors before talks can restart. Experts say the six-party process appears to be firmly back in the frame, but say it will be next year before the forum is reconvened. “This is the beginning of what may well be a very long process,” a diplomat based in Pyongyang said.

Ties between the two Koreas have deteriorated

sharply since the six-party talks broke down over two years ago. The North has since conducted a nuclear and long-range missile test, and 10 months ago unveiled a uranium enrichment program which opens another path to make an atomic bomb. Last year, Seoul also blamed the North for sinking one of its warships, an accusation Pygonyang rejects, and the secretive state carried out a first ever artillery attack on a civilian location on South Korean soil.

Under pressure from their main allies, Washington and Beijing, to calm tensions, the two Koreas have this year taken tentative steps to restart regional talks which offer the North economic aid in return for abandoning its nuclear ambitions. In July, the two Koreas’ nuclear envoys met for the first time in two years. That was followed by a top level meeting between American and North Korean officials a week later.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il has reached out to his old Cold War friends in Beijing and Moscow for help in getting the talks restarted, as UN sanctions have starved the country of economic activity and hard currency. Kim has twice visited China this year and last month made his first visit first to Russia in nearly a decade. Pyongyang said yesterday it was sending its premier, Choe Yong Rim, to Beijing next week. Analysts say the North is unlikely ever to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons, as it sees an atomic bomb as the ultimate bargaining chip, as well as a deterrent against attack. — Reuters

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NEWS

SIRTE, Libya: Revolutionary fighters fire cannons toward pro-Gaddafi forces from the western outskirts of Sirte yesterday. — AP

Gulf widening in Bahrain DUBAI: As Bahrainis prepare for a vote to fill parliamentary seats vacated in protest by opposition members, authorities have tried hard to restore a sense of normality to the streets after a harsh government crackdown on demonstrations in March. But a solution to the Gulf kingdom’s sectarian split looks a long way off. Protests flare nightly in smaller villages, home to many of Bahrain’s majority Shiite Muslims. They say the Sept 24 vote, a national dialogue and an investigation into alleged abuses have done little to address grievances that brought them out onto the streets in the first place.

“What the last seven months have shown is that the potential for real change is quite limited within the existing confines,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. “We’re at a stalemate and I don’t think either side has a clear strategy going forward of what exactly to do.” Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim rulers quashed Shiite-led protests after the demonstrators became increasingly strident in their demands

for an end to sectarian discrimination and a greater say in government.

At the government’s request, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent in 1,500 troops to help suppress the unrest in Bahrain, a strategically important island off the coast of Saudi’s oil-rich Eastern Province and home to the biggest US military presence in the region, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. At least 30 people were killed, hundreds wounded and more than 1,000 detained in the crackdown on protesters. Eighteen members of Bahrain’s largest opposition bloc, Al Wefaq, resigned from the 40-seat parliament in protest, triggering Saturday’s by-election. Wefaq is boycotting that too, and is struggling to control more radical opposition elements.

The government’s handling of the protests and ongoing uncertainty has tarnished Bahrain’s image as a business-friendly Gulf hub where banks had thrived over the past two decades after relocating there after Lebanon’s civil war in the 1980s. Already this year, French bank Credit Agricole has

said it will close its Bahrain office, BNP Paribas plans to move some of its back-office operations out of the country and JP Morgan was reported to have relocated its regional private banking headquarters to Dubai.

The government has accused the opposition of pursuing a sectarian agenda with backing from Iran, the non-Arab Shiite giant just across Gulf waters. “The people who want to try and sabotage the upcoming by-election don’t speak on behalf of the rest of Bahrain,” said Abdul-Aziz Mubarak Al-Khalifa, international counselor for the countr y ’s Information Affairs Authority. “Al Wefaq don’t have a monopoly on parliamentary life here.”

Bahrain launched a national dialogue in July to discuss reforms, but Wefaq also pulled out of that forum and called it a charade after the opposition bloc was accorded only 35 seats out of 300 at the table. Based on the talks, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa agreed to expand the elected lower house’s powers of scrutiny. Yet the appointed upper council, the Shura, was left untouched. — Reuters

Iran frees US ‘spies’ Continued from Page 1 The release of the pair, who had been in custody for more than two years in a case that poisoned already difficult relations between Tehran and Washington, came as President Mahmud Ahmadinejad was in New York for the UN General Assembly. “Moments ago they left Iran via Mehrabad airport and it seems that the two American nationals have left for Oman and from there to America,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported. “The Swiss ambassador to Tehran and a delegation from Oman were present when the two American prisoners were released,” IRNA reported earlier.

Fattal and Bauer were released into the custody of the Swiss embassy as Washington has no diplomatic relations with Tehran and its interests are looked after by the Swiss. Oman, a US Gulf ally which has good relations with Iran, agreed to pay the two men’s bail which was set at five billion rials ($400,000) each. “Yes, the money for the bail was provided by Oman,” the two men’s lawyer Masoud Shafii said. Oman paid bail of a similar amount for the release of the third US hiker Shourd, 32, last year. In addition to Oman, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani also helped to mediate, Iraqi officials said. The Swiss embassy was also involved, but the ambassador, Livia Leu Agosti, was not allowed to enter Tehran’s Evin prison and had to wait in her car for the men’s release.

Ahmadinejad, who first announced last week that Fattal and Bauer would be freed, reaffirmed in an interview released Tuesday that his country would free the two hikers despite delays. “I did say within the next few days and I still say the same thing. And God willing they will be released very soon,” Ahmadinejad told US network ABC, amid concern over the delays in their release.

Ahmadinejad told US media last week that the pair, who have been held since being arrested near the mountainous border with Iraq on July 31, 2009, would be released imminently.

But the judiciary, dominated by ultraconservatives, said later that no decision had yet been taken and that

it was studying a bail application from the pair’s lawyer.

However, the release on bail of the two Americans, has already been approved by one judge, and Shafii had been told on Sunday to expect the second judge to return to work on Tuesday. Bauer and Fattal were arrested along with Shourd, who left Iran in September last year after being granted bail on humanitarian and medical grounds. Shourd’s bail had been set at $500,000 and was also paid through Oman.

On Aug 21, Bauer and Fattal were each sentenced to eight years in prison by a revolutionary court in Tehran on charges of espionage and illegal entry. They have appealed against the ruling. All three have consistently maintained that they innocently strayed into Iran while hiking in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region. Human rights group Amnesty International gave a cautious welcome to the two men’s release on bail. “It is a welcome - if long overdue -step that the Iranian authorities have finally seen sense and released Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the London-based watchdog’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. “They must now be allowed to leave Iran promptly to be reunited with their families,” she added.

The jailing of Bauer and Fattal sparked anger in Washington which already has deep differences with Tehran over its controversial nuclear program, its refusal to recognise Israel and its support for militant groups across the Middle East. US President Barack Obama regarded the jail terms handed down against the pair as “an abomination”, top White House diplomatic nominee Wendy Sherman told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month.

Shourd, a teacher, writer and women’s rights activist, met Bauer, an Arabic-speaking freelance journalist, while helping to organise demonstrations in the US against the war in Iraq. The two moved to Damascus together in 2008. Fattal, who grew up in Pennsylvania, is an environmentalist and teacher. He travelled in 2009 to Damascus, where he met Shourd and Bauer. — Agencies

Rally calls for heads to roll over graft...

Continued from Page 1 ... If the era of Sheikh Nasser does not end, corruption will only grow bigger,” Muslim stressed. “The continuity of the prime minister in the post is a disaster for Kuwait,” said Mislem, who added that if Sheikh Nasser had been held to account for the cheques he issued to MPs two years ago, there would have been no corruption now. The lawmaker also said that the Kuwaiti people deserve an elected government and they should get it. Mislem also announced that he will file a request to grill the prime minister over the suspected illegal bank deposits.

The corruption scandal was exposed a month ago when a press report said that a number of MPs had accepted millions of dinars in illegal transfers into their accounts during a short period. The public prosecution last week launched an investigation into the bank accounts of at least nine MPs who were

referred by two banks, National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House. More MPs are expected to be referred for investigation in the coming weeks as press reports said that several local banks are reviewing a number of suspicious accounts of MPs. MP Saadoun has estimated the transfers to be in the range of KD 96 million.

Speaking at the rally, MP Hassan Jowhar said that all MPs who accepted the illegal brines must be held to account and their accounts must be investigated since they became members of parliament. Jowhar called for forming a national front to press for holding corrupt MPs accountable and said he is confident the front will succeed. MP Dhaifallah Buramia called for the resignation of all corrupt MPs before they are forced to quit, adding that all cases of suspected corruption will be investigated.

MP Mohammad Hayef insisted that the large crowd is a clear mes-

sage for the government to depart, saying the message must be understood by decision-makers in order to safeguard the security of Kuwait.

Former MP Nasser Al-Sane said that corruption in Kuwait has been rising steadily since Sheikh Nasser was appointed prime minister in 2006.

MP Mubarak Al-Waalan said that political bribes are not only in the form of cash, also in contracts and appointments to senior posts.

Corruption has been on the rise in this state which amassed more than $200 billion of budget surpluses over the past 12 fiscal years, thanks to high crude price. Between 2003 and 2009, Kuwait slipped 31 places to 66th position on the Berlin-based Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index among 178 nations. In 2010, however, it improved 12 places to the 54th position but still came last among the six-nation energy-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), behind Saudi Arabia.

Saudi media bypass rules Continued from Page 1 media covers things,” said a blogger who regularly writes about politics, society and media. “And nowadays anything that doesn’t make its way to the mainstream media will make its way online.”

In a royal decree issued in March as protests were boiling over in the region in March, Saudi King Abdullah forbade criticism of senior members of the Sunni Muslim clergy. A new media law issued in April then threatened fines and the closure of publications that offended top figures or were seen to jeopardise stability. More recently, a leaked draft of an anti-terrorism law classified “endangering national security” and “harming the reputation of the state” as terrorist offences.

Mirroring the spread of blogging, Twitter and a multitude of other ways to spread information, Saudi media had become more open and critical in recent years of both the government and the country’s rigid social mores.”I don’t think that what has been going on in the last 10 years will be pulled back,” said Hussein Shobokshi, a columnist for the website of the Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya. “Saudis, especially the youth, are becoming extremely creative and entertaining in delivering their message online.”

Yet despite progress towards more open reporting, Saudi newspapers and official television channels apply a strict standard of self censorship more severe than in most neighbouring countries. The government already uses the threat of closure and bans on offending writers or editors to stifle criticism.

Last year, a liberal editor had to quit his newspaper after it published an article critical of Saudi Arabia’s official Wahhabi school of Islam. And when Saudi billionaire Prince

Alwaleed bin Talal announced plans on Sept 13 to launch a news channel, the kingdom’s capital Riyadh was noticeably absent from the handful of Gulf cities he cited as possible bases for the venture.

The new regulations might push editors to clamp down further on some risque subjects. “It will affect attitudes for columnists and everybody in the kingdom when you have a royal decree and a new media law talking about more restrictions on the media,” said Khalid Al-Dakhil, a Saudi columnist for the Arab daily Al-Hayat. “It’s very unfortunate at this particular time.”

Twenty years ago, newspapers were so worried about upsetting the Saudi government that they waited days before reporting on Iraq’s invasion of the kingdom’s neighbour Kuwait. Today, with an Internet penetration rate of 44 percent, according to internetworldstats.com, and satellite television available in most Saudi homes, such blanket control would be impossible. “The bar is being raised and the consumer, the viewer, the reader will not accept a lower bar,” said Shobokshi.

In recent years the authorities have also pressured news outlets to adopt a more liberal editorial approach. The policy was aimed at diluting extremist religious attitudes, which the government says attracted some Saudi citizens to militancy. In a 2009 US diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks, a Saudi editor said King Abdullah had personally visited his office to push for more progressive news coverage. “He told us that conservative elements in Saudi society do not understand true Islam, and that people needed to be educated,” the editor was quoted as saying by the cable’s author.

Analysts who follow the kingdom have noticed how the new official tone translated into changes in

press coverage. “What we’ve seen over the past 10 years was that the media was allowed to criticize, for example, the haia (religious police), and that criticism of the royal family as a whole was no longer held as a taboo,” said Madawi Al-Rasheed, author of “A History Of Saudi Arabia”.

“But the council of higher ulama (clerics), the grand mufti, the king and top royals could not be criticized in the official press.”

Some analysts interpreted the new laws as a sop to senior clerics who had backed the ruling family by saying anti-government protests were wrong. “The (new) law was to show appreciation for what the clergy did in opposing the revolutions,” said Dakhil.

“It is a quid pro quo. But if it wasn’t for King Abdullah, there would never have been that much openness in the media.” The ruling Al Saud dynasty has always run the kingdom in alliance with clerics of the puritanical Wahhabi school of Islam, trading government support of the clergy for the legitimacy that religious backing bestowed on their rule.

But in recent years newspapers have increasingly reported on what they see as extreme, or eccentric, positions adopted by clerics. The trend began in 2002 when the press accused Saudi religious police of preventing schoolgirls evacuating a burning building because they were not wearing full Islamic attire, leading to 15 deaths. When a cleric last year issued a fatwa that said unrelated men and women could get around sexual segregation if the man drank the woman’s breast milk, he was ridiculed in the national press. Despite the new laws, journalists believe that sort of case will still be reported. “The momentum will be maintained,” said Shobokshi. “The whole principle of maintaining a productive, constructive press in Saudi Arabia will continue to be the case.” — Reuters

Obama rejects Palestinian UN statehood bid Continued from Page 1 yearlong impasse and return to peace talks. “There is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades,” Obama told an annual gathering of world leaders in New York, though he offered no new prescriptions for relaunching negotiations.

Grappling with economic woes and low poll numbers at home and growing doubts about his leadership abroad, Obama is wading into Middle East diplomacy at a critical juncture for his presidency and America’s credibility around the globe. He faced the daunting test of Washington’s already diminished influence in the region in his bid to dissuade the Palestinians from going ahead with a push for statehood in the UN Security Council on Friday in defiance of Israeli objections and a US veto threat.

Obama attempted to strike a delicate balance as he took the UN podium. He sought to reassure Palestinians he was not abandoning his pledge to help them end Israeli occupation and achieve eventual statehood while also placating any Israeli concerns about Washington’s commitment to their security. Members of the General Assembly, where pro-Palestinian sentiment is high and Israel has often felt ostracized, listened politely but without enthusiasm to Obama’s 36-minute speech. There was widespread skepticism on Obama’s chances of success in Middle East peace diplomacy and he may only be able to contain the damage from the UN statehood drive. The Obama administration says that only direct peace talks can lead to peace with the Palestinians, who in turn say almost two decades of fruitless negotiation has left them no choice but to turn to the world body.

Obama followed his speech with a round of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who echoed the president’s assertion that negotiations were the only path to a peace deal but offered no new ideas on how to restart talks. Netanyahu, who has a strained relationship with Obama, predicted the Palestinians’ UN bid “will not succeed”. Obama was considered unlikely to lean too hard on the hawkish Israeli leader for concessions to the Palestinians, mindful he cannot afford to alienate Israel’s broad base of support among American voters as he seeks re-election in 2012.

Ahead of Obama’s talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a key aide, Yasser Abed Rabbo, voiced

disappointment over Obama’s speech. “There is a gap between praising the struggle of Arab peoples for the sake of freedom and between an abstract call for negotiations between us and the Israelis ... Freedom should cover the (whole) region.” Signalling European patience was also wearing thin after years of halting US-led diplomacy, French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed an ambitious timetable to resume peace talks within a month and achieve a definitive deal in a year. The White House had no immediate comment on Sarkozy’s initiative.

The drama over the Palestinian UN bid is playing out as US, Israeli and Palestinian leaders all struggle with the fallout from Arab uprisings that are raising new political tensions across the Middle East. It also comes as Israel finds itself more isolated than it has been in decades and confronts Washington with the risk that, by again shielding its close ally, the United States will inflame Arab distrust when Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world is already faltering. Taking note of deep frustrations over lack of progress on the IsraeliPalestinian front, he said: “Israelis must know that any agreement provides assurances for their security.

Palestinians deserve to know the territorial basis of their state.”

With the looming showdown overshadowing the rest of Obama’s UN agenda, failure to defuse the situation will not only mark a diplomatic debacle for Obama but also serve as a stark sign of the new limits of American clout in the Middle East. Obama also used his wide-ranging speech to tout his support for democratic change sweeping the Arab world, laud the US killing of Osama bin Laden, urge further sanctions against Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad and call on Iran and North Korea to meet their nuclear obligations - twin standoffs that have eluded his efforts at resolution.

Senior diplomats from the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - the “Quartet” of Middle East mediators - were scrambling for a compromise but with little sign of a breakthrough. The speech offered no new prescriptions for IsraeliPalestinian peace from Obama. But he made clear that he was not backing away from his speech in May when he angered Netanyahu - and sparked an Oval Office clash - by declaring that negotiations for any final peace deal should be based on Israel’s pre-war 1967 borders plus mutually-agreed land swaps. — Reuters

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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Issues

Hamas quietly hoping for failure of UN bid

By Mai Yaghi aza’s Hamas rulers are quietly hoping that the Palestinian bid for UN membership fails, in the hope they can score some political points without a new split, analysts say. “If Abu Mazen fails, Hamas will be stronger than ever,” political analyst Akram Atallah said, using the nom-de-guerre of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. “It’s his last card,” he said, adding that failure would end the prospect of peace negotiations with Israel - “to the benefit of Hamas”. The Islamists wrenched control of the Gaza Strip from Abbas’s secular Fatah movement in bloody fighting in June 2007. They oppose any concessions to Israel and ultimately seek an Islamic state in all of historical Palestine.

For them, Abbas’ campaign for a state alongside Israel in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including east Jerusalem, is nothing more than a sellout. Earlier this month, senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya told Palestinian MPs in Gaza that the campaign should be seeking membership for a Palestinian state on all of “historical Palestine” - including areas now in Israel. “Hamas is betting on the failure of Abu Mazen at the UN because it thinks it will be a positive step for Hamas and because it has an interest in hastening the end of his rule,” said Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a professor of political science at Gaza’s Al-Azhar university.

Following years of bitter rivalry, Hamas and Fatah signed an unexpected reconciliation deal in May but it has yet to be fully implemented - and in the meantime, both sides are keen to avoid issues which could exacerbate tensions. On Monday, Hamas and Fatah agreed not to stage any demonstrations in Gaza over the demand for full UN membership for a Palestinian state. The two sides had “agreed to cancel any action or demonstration supporting or denouncing the recourse by Abu Mazen to the United Nations,” a Hamas statement said, indicating the two factions had decided to “unify their positions” in Gaza to avoid any friction which could harm reconciliation efforts. Although Hamas has pledged not to do anything to hinder the diplomatic efforts at the United Nations, the Islamist group says it was not consulted over Abbas’ plans to seek membership for a Palestinian state on the lines which existed before the 1967 Six Day War. “There should have been a consensus on a unified national strategy rather than a solitary decision,” said Ismail Radwan, another Hamas leader.

Last week, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that statehood on Abbas’ terms could weaken the case for Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes and also delegitimise armed opposition to the Israeli occupation. “(It) carries numerous risks and could violate national rights such as the right of return, the right of resistance and self-determination,” he said. Hamas premier Ismail Haniya said on Sunday that the movement did not support the UN bid, arguing that no Palestinian leader had a mandate to sacrifice fundamental Palestinian rights.

But he also said Hamas favoured the establishment of a Palestinian state on any part of “historical Palestine” and not would seek to disrupt the attempt. “There is no mandate for any Palestinian leadership to infringe on Palestinian national rights, nor is there a mandate for any Palestinian actor to make historic concessions on Palestinian land or rights, foremost among them the right of return,” he warned. But Hamas would “not place obstacles in the way of the establishment of a Palestinian state with full sovereignty,” he added.

Analysts said the relatively moderate tone of the comments coming from Hamas was an attempt by the Islamists to leave themselves room for manoeuvre in the event that the UN campaign does result in progress for the Palestinian cause. “If Abu Mazen gets a state, that state shall be governed by the Palestinian political system, of which Hamas is a part,” Atallah said. “That would be a political gain for Hamas and boost its legitimacy.”

But success in New York could also work against the Islamist movement. “It would be a setback to Hamas since the project (led by Fatah’s Abbas) would appear to be achieving better results than its own,” he said. While Abbas would be able to take credit for statehood and international recognition, Hamas would simply be seen as being responsible for the blockade on Gaza which Israel imposed in June 2006 after militants snatched soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid.— AFP

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Turkey’s tough talk may backfire

By Ibon Villelabeitia urkey’s threats to send warships to gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean mark a new projection of Ankara’s growing power in the region, challenging Cyprus’s drilling plans and casting a shadow over Israel’s preparations to exploit huge deposits.

But Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s tough tactics risk isolating Ankara in the region, fanning tensions with the United States, its ally, and hurting its bid to join the European Union.

Raising the stakes in a dispute over drilling rights around the divided island of Cyprus, Turkey said it could provide naval escorts for survey vessels poised to explore for oil and gas off northern Cyprus, in response to the Greek Cypriot south’s “provocative” decision to start drilling.

And Erdogan has said Turkish aircraft, frigates and torpedo boats will watch over the eastern Mediterranean, where the Cypriot and Israeli governments have signed an exclusive economic zone agreement to explore natural resources. Such threats might be designed to unsettle investors in the area, but Ankara may have misjudged their impact. “Erdogan’s aim is to deter foreign investors in the contested eastern Mediterranean, but Turkey is isolated on this issue,” said Fadi Hakura, from the London-based Chatham House think tank. “It is clear that the US and the EU will come firmly

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behind Cyprus, despite Turkey’s muscular approach.”

Split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup, Cyprus is represented in the European Union by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government. Turkey, the only country to recognise the breakaway state of northern Cyprus, has said any reserves belong to both communities and cannot be exploited unilaterally by the Greek Cypriots. Texas-based based Noble holds the exploration concession for a block off southeast Cyprus that lies close to a gas field in Israeli waters - thought to be the world’s largest find of the last decade.

Turkey, an EU candidate country that straddles East and West, has been steadily trying to increase its influence in the Middle East and in Central Asia, powered by its booming economy. Erdogan received enthusiastic receptions during an “Arab Spring” tour last week that included Egypt, Tunis and Libya. After long maintaining close ties with Syria, he has spoken out ever more strongly against President Bashar al-Assad’s armed repression of a popular uprising, taking a clear line that the region’s Arab states have struggled to articulate.

Meanwhile, ties between NATO member Turkey and Israel have nosedived since a bloody Israeli raid on a Turkish ship bound for Gaza last year, and Turkey has threatened to send naval vessels to escort future aid convoys

trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Turkey’s stance has won kudos among Arabs and Muslims. But Daniel Korski, from the London-based European Council on Foreign Relations, said it might alienate EU states who already have reservations about admitting a largely Muslim country. Ankara started EU accession talks in 2005 but they have flagged, largely because of the stalemate over northern Cyprus. “Some Europeans are now beginning to worry about the point of strategic dialogue with a country that is moving beyond the pale of normal behaviour. It is going to be incredibly difficult,” Korski said.

Sinan Ulgen, from the Istanbul-based Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, said Turkey has until recently used its “soft power” to advance its interests, but was now growing in confidence and assertiveness: “Turkey is sending the message to the international community that it has to deal with Turkey and take Turkey into consideration,” Ulgen said.

Last year Cyprus and Israel signed an agreement establishing their maritime borders and the respective rights to explore natural resources within them. Ankara rejects any such delimitation, threatening itself to declare a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone with northern Cyprus, which would reach far into the waters carved up by Cyprus and Israel, and to drill for gas there itself.

Guil Bashan, an energy analyst at Tel Avivbased IBI investment house, said the dispute would add to investors’ concerns, but that it would not have a major impact on Israeli drilling projects. “The tensions, the concerns do add a new dimension of risk to investors, but I don’t think it’s significant. In Israel, these things get a lot of attention politically, but have a small impact on the economy and on stocks,” Bashan said. He said much of the financing for new projects had already been secured, but if the geopolitical situation worsened and investors saw higher risk, “they may want a higher risk premium”.

The United States, dismayed at the deterioration of ties between its two key regional allies, has urged restraint and reconciliation.

Ulgen said Turkey may be calculating that Washington cannot afford to imperil its relations with Turkey at such a crucial moment for the Middle East, especially since Ankara agreed last week to host a NATO radar system.

“The vision in Ankara is that Turkey is such a core country in the Middle East and in North Africa, and with such a regional influence, that at the end of the day not even a country like the United States has the luxury to push Turkey,” Ulgen said. US President Barack Obamamet Erdogan in New York later on Tuesday. Turkish officials had said they would discuss Turkey’s neighbours Syria and Iran as well as wider issues. — Reuters

Putin powers ahead in presidential race

By Timothy Heritage mitry Medvedev is in danger of losing Russia’s presidential race before it has even started. Despite hinting he wants a second term, the president has sunk deeper into Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s shadow in the past few weeks and disappointed supporters by failing to announce he will run in the presidential election in March. Putin, by contrast, has been energetically gearing up for a parliamentary election on Dec 4 that could launch his own presidential campaign and looks every bit the “alpha dog” he was once portrayed as in leaked US diplomatic cables.

“Regardless of the outcome of Russia’s presidential election, Prime Minister Putin is poised to remain Russia’s top political authority. He is the current kingmaker, and shows no intention of leaving the political scene,” said Cliff Kupchan, a Russia specialist at Eurasia Group, a US-based consultancy.

“Regarding the presidency, ambiguity remains on what choice Putin will make. But his active agenda and political strength, especially compared to Medvedev’s slipping clout, suggest that Putin will probably return as president.”

Putin, 58, has been shown on television riding a motor bike, scuba diving and scaling a climbing wall, and looked as much at ease chatting to youths on a beach this summer as discussing the global economy with foreign experts last week. He is deliberately keeping Russians guessing about whether he or Medvedev, 46, will run in March or whether he will continue to pull the strings from behind the scenes next year as prime minister or in some other role. If he declares his hand too soon, one of them - particularly Medvedev - could become a lame duck. Delaying the decision prolongs uncertainty for foreign investors who are holding back until they know who will be in charge next year.

Despite the silence, there is a growing consensus among political analysts that Putin wants to remain in power. Many say he wants to return to the post he held from 2000 to 2008 as president of the world’s largest country and biggest oil producer. Others say Putin could remain prime minister or take on some other role with the status of national leader. “I think Putin has decided. It is just a question of whether he wants to come back as president or stay as an even more powerful prime minister,” said Alexander Rahr, an expert on Russia at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Putin could reveal his plans at a congress of his United Russia party on Friday and Saturday. But many political analysts think he will wait until after the parliamentary election, hoping that a strong showing by his party would strengthen his credentials as a presidential candidate. Putin helped steer Medvedev into the presidency in 2008 because the constitution prevented him having a third successive term, but the former KGB spy remains more influential than his protege in a power-sharing arrangement

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known as the tandem. He is expected to have the final say on which of them runs and opinion polls suggest either of them would win. They are not expected to run against each other.

Nothing can be taken for granted. Some analysts still say Medvedev could stay on and some say a third candidate could emerge with Putin, who heads United Russia and a loose coalition around it called the People’s Front, pulling the strings. “I think there’s still a 30 percent chance there will be third candidate,” said Alexei Pushkov, who hosts the weekly analytical programme Post Scriptum. He did not speculate who the surprise candidate might be. But with a consensus growing around Putin’s candidacy, Medvedev’s supporters say now is the time for him to announce a presidential campaign

if he wants to stay on. They say Western investors and politicians would prefer a more liberal leader than Putin and one who is more committed to political and economic reforms.

“The best for him (Putin) is ... to stay on in any title he wants but to let modernisation go on, with Medvedev - being younger, being a new generation, being better with the West and with the outside world, being better with the intellectuals and intelligentsia - to carry on as president,” said Igor Yurgens, an economic adviser to the Kremlin.

But Medvedev has ignored calls to break out of Putin’s shadow, despite warnings of stagnation and crisis if the prime minister returns to the presidency. He made no mention of his political ambitions in a speech at a forum he hosted in the city of Yaroslavl this month and his performance there compared unfavourably with Putin’s at a conference the prime minister hosted a week later. “From (Medvedev’s) statements this summer, it is clear that he stopped fighting for the future presidency sometime in July,” analyst Mikhail Delyagin told the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

Medvedev sat in the audience listening quietly after his speech in Yaroslavl. Putin remained seated on stage after delivering a speech at his forum in the southern city of Sochi and took part in a long debate on the global economy. Putin’s domination of the economic and political scene was also evident in his lead role in state oil company Rosneft securing a deal with US firm ExxonMobil to extract oil and gas from the Russian Arctic. If he runs, Putin risks damaging his reputation as the man who ruled Russia during an economic boom where household incomes improved on the back of a rise in global oil prices. He also helped restore Russia’s self confidence on the world stage. But a senior political source said in July he believed Putin had already decided to run, and was worried by a perception that Medvedev did not have enough support among political and business leaders to ensure stability if he tried to push ahead with political reforms as head of state. Other political sources have also suggested Putin simply does not trust Medvedev enough to allow him another six years as president - the term has been extended from four years - and has been disappointed with his performance.

Kremlin and government spokespeople dismiss such remarks, saying the two men get on well and see eye-to-eye on policy.

Political and economic analysts also see more difference in style than policy. Medvedev’s ratings remain high in opinion polls, as do Putin’s. But a poll released by the VTsIOM research centre on Sept 14 showed only eight percent of respondents regard Medvedev as a “true leader capable of rallying others”.

Forty-seven percent of respondents found it hard to say whether he had any achievements or failures as president and 23 percent said there had been no achievements at all. “I don’t really care who’s president because we have no good politicians,” said an unemployed 24-year-old woman who gave her name only as Anna. Samanta Akhmedova, a 25-year-old beautician, said: “What’s the point of voting? It’s all pre-arranged anyway.” — Reuters

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Inter fire coach Gasperini MILAN: ” Inter Milan fired coach Gian Piero Gasperini yesterday after he managed only one draw and four defeats in his first five competitive games in charge.

The final straw was Tuesday night’s dismal performance in a 3-1 defeat at promoted Novara, who themselves had failed to win in their first two Serie A outings of the season.

“The club thanks Gian Piero Gasperini for his effort he showed in developing the role, and expresses regret at the interruption of the working relationship,” 2010 European champions Inter in a statement on their website (www.inter.it).

“At the end of the day, the results have determined everything,” Gasperini told reporters at Inter’s training

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

sp orts

Years

2012 Davis Cup opener

ground. “I’m very disappointed.“We had established a good rapport, it’s a shame to have had to interrupt it. There’s much regret all round.”

Inter added that Daniele Bernazzani and Giuseppe Baresi had taken charge of training on yesterday. Gasperini, 53, is the third coach to leave Inter since the departure of Jose Mourinho following the 2009/10 treble-winning season, the club having also parted company with Rafael Benitez and Leonardo. Last year, Inter saw their run of five successive scudettos ended by neighbours AC Milan and were humiliated by Schalke 04 in the Champions League, losing 5-2 at home to the Germans on their way to a quarter-final exit.—Reuters

LONDON: Davis Cup finalists Spain and Argentina have been handed contrasting ties in the draw for the 2012 World Group, first round which was made in Bangkok yesterday.

Spain, who will be chasing their third title in four years against the south Americans in December, will host Kazakhstan but Argentina have been handed a tough assignment away to Germany. The pick of the first round ties sees Switzerland at home to 32-times champions the United States.

2010 winners Serbia, beaten by Argentina in the semis in Belgrade at the weekend, are at home to Sweden while France, who lost out to Spain, travel to Canada.

Japan, back in the World Group for the first time since 1985, have been rewarded with a home draw against Croatia. First round ties will be played on Feb 10-12.

Full draw: Spain v Kazakhstan; Austria v Russia; Canada v France; Switzerland v US;;Czech Rep v I taly ; Serbia v Sweden; Japan v Croatia; Germany v Argentina. — Reuters

French ‘farce’ theory AUCKLAND: All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen yesterday dismissed out of hand the idea that the France team selected for Saturday’s World Cup clash at Eden Park was a second-string outfit.

The front page splash on yesterday’s edition of New Zealand’s biggest newspaper the Herald, described the much-anticipated match as a “French Farce” and accused the Europeans of fielding a “B team” for the Eden Park encounter.

“I think it’s a really good team,” Hansen told reporters “Their coach has picked what he thinks is the best team for the tournament. We’ll treat them with the utmost respect as we

Yankees move closer to playoffs NEW YORK: Ivan Nova pitched cleanly into the eighth inning, Curtis Granderson drove in four runs and the New York Yankees moved within one win of a playoff berth by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 on Tuesday night. Granderson hit a three-run double and reached base four times, boosting his MVP credentials as the Yankees slowed Tampa Bay’s charge at rival Boston in the AL wild-card race. New York can secure its 16th postseason trip in 17 years with one victory in late yesterday’s day-night doubleheader against the Rays.

The AL East leaders have a six-game lead over second-place Boston, their largest of the season. Tampa Bay remained two games behind the Red Sox for the AL wild card.

the seventh before Chicago rallied against rookie reliever Zach Putnam (0-1).

Angels 10, Blue Jays 6 At Toronto, Mark Trumbo hit a three-run homer, Vernon Wells added a solo shot as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-6.

Trumbo went 2 for 5 with four RBIs and Erick Aybar stole home as the Angels kept their faint postseason hopes alive. Los

Angeles started the night five games behind Texas in the AL West, and 41/2 games behind Boston in the wild card race.

Joel Pineiro (7-7) allowed four runs and nine hits in six-plus innings to win for the second time in three starts. He walked two and struck out three.

Rich Thompson, Bobby Cassevah each worked one inning of relief, Garrett Richards got two outs in the ninth and Scott Downs finished for his first save.

Mariners 5, Twins 4 At Minneapolis, Mike Carp had five hits, Adam Kennedy hit a tiebreaking infield single in the seventh inning and the Mariners beat the Twins, sending Minnesota to its 10th straight loss.

The Twins haven’t had a 10 game losing streak since September 1998. Jason Vargas (9-13) pitched six innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, though only three were earned. Alex Liddi hit his second career homer for Seattle.

The Twins loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth against closer Brandon League, but League managed to convert his 35th save in 40 chances on a strikeout and pair of groundouts. Brian Duensing (9-14) gave up one run in relief for Minnesota.

Orioles 7, Red Sox 5 At Boston, Robert Andino’s three-run double in the eighth inning gave the Orioles a win and ruined the Red Sox’s chance to extend its two-game lead in the AL wild-card race.

Andino’s winning hit came off Jonathan Papelbon, who had gone 21 games since last allowing a run on July 16. It was his second blown save of the season. The Red Sox seemed headed for a three-game, wild-card lead over Tampa Bay, which lost to the New York Yankees 5-0 on Tuesday. But their struggles continued as they fell to 4-13 since leading the Rays by nine games on Sept. 3. Boston has seven games remaining and Tampa Bay has nine.

Indians 4, White Sox 3 At Cleveland, Alexei Ramirez’s seventhinning single broke a deadlock and led Chicago to a win over the Indians, giving the White Sox a split of the day-night doubleheader.

Asdrubal Cabrera’s solo home run and six strong innings from Fausto Carmona gave Cleveland a victory in the first game. The teams, who were eliminated from the AL Central race last week when Detroit clinched the division, are battling for second place. The Indians lead the White Sox by 11/2 games.

Matt Thornton (2-5) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win in the second game and Chris Sale went the final 1 2-3 innings for his seventh save. Cleveland took a 4-3 lead into

Samaraweera out of Pakistan Test series COLOMBO: Sri Lanka left out experienced middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera from a squad of 16 named yesterday for the three-match test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month.

Samaraweera, who turns 35 today and has a test average of over 52 in 68 tests, was dropped for the third and final test against Australia which ended in a draw on Tuesday to make way for young opener Lahiru Thirimanne.Thirimanne opened the batting with Tharanga Paranavitana after captain Tillakaratne Dilshan decided to drop down the order to try and regain form.

Dilshan made an attractive 83 batting in Samaraweera’s position at number five and later said that he would prefer batting in that position in the future. “Thilan will not come into the reckoning in our long term plans,” said chairman of selectors Duleep Mendis. “We intend giving youngsters an opportunity while the seniors are around. He might be considered on a short term basis.”

Mendis said spinner Ajantha Mendis was not considered for selection as he was undergoing treatment for a recurring back injury. The squad comprises all 11 players who played in the final test against Australia plus five others - batsman Dinesh Chandimal, bowlers Dammika Prasad, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Pradeep and wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva.

All-rounder Angelo Mathews, named vice captain to Dilshan for the first time, will only play as a batsman.

“Angelo has gone to Australia for treatment for his left knee and we will not risk bowling him in the series,” said Mendis. Sri Lanka play Pakistan in a series of three tests in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah starting on Oct. 18.

Sri Lanka will name a new squad for the five-match one-day international series and one-off Twenty20 at the end of the test series.— Reuters

Royals 10, Tigers 2 At Kansas City, Eric Hosmer went 5 for 5 with a three-run homer and Luis Mendoza got his first major league win in more than three years in the Royals’ win over the Tigers. Hosmer’s five-hit game was the first by a Royals player since Billy Butler on July 27, 2009. Mendoza held the Tigers to two runs, one unearned, and six hits in seven innings in his first big league appearance since April 19, 2010.

Mendoza (1-0) got his first major league victory since Aug. 3, 2008 while with the Texas Rangers, an 8-4 decision over Toronto.

NEW YORK: Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon takes Wade Davis out of the baseball game during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees. — AP

Rangers 7, Athletics 2 At Oakland, California, Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer in the first to lead the AL West-leading Rangers over the Athletics.

Michael Young hit an RBI single in the third that gave him 200 hits for the sixth season and drove in another run in the eighth, Mike Napoli also singled in a run and Texas won for the eighth time in 10 games.

The first-place Rangers maintained their five-game division lead over Los Angeles after the Angels won 10-6 at Toronto.

Reigning AL champion Texas is 12-5 in September. The Rangers magic number to win the AL West is down to four. Rookie Michael Taylor hit his first major league home run in the fifth - his 18th career at-bat - for Oakland’s lone run against Derek Holland (15-5), who won his fourth straight decision. — AP

always do.” France have famously sent the All Blacks out of two World Cups, most recently with their shock 20-18 victory in Cardiff at the 2007 tournament.

The media accusations against France lay mainly in coach Marc LiËvremont’s decision to hand Morgan Parra, normally a scrumhalf, his first start at flyhalf alongside Dimitri Yachvili at halfback for the Pool A showdown. “You can say that it’s the first time they’ve picked that combination, because that’s a fact,” added Hansen. “But when we picked Ricahrd Kahui on the wing, everybody thought we were crazy.

That hasn’t turned out too badly.—Reuters

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

NY Yankees Boston Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore X-Detroit Cleveland Chi White Sox Kansas City Minnesota Texas LA Angels Oakland Seattle X-Philadelphia Atlanta Washington NY Mets Florida Milwaukee St Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Chicago Cubs Houston Arizona San Francisco LA Dodgers Colorado San Diego

American League Eastern Division W L PCT 93 60 .608 88 67 .568 85 68 .556 78 76 .506 64 90 .416 Central Division 89 65 .578 76 77 .497 75 79 .487 68 87 .439 59 94 .386 Western Division 89 65 .578 84 70 .545 69 85 .448 65 89 .422 National League Eastern Division 98 56 .636 88 67 .568 74 79 .484 73 81 .474 70 85 .452 Central Division 91 64 .587 85 69 .552 75 80 .484 69 86 .445 68 87 .439 53 101 .344 Western Division 89 66 .574 83 71 .539 77 76 .503 70 84 .455 67 88 .432

GB 6 8 15.5 29.5 12.5 14 21.5 29.5 5 20 24 10.5 23.5 25 28.5 5.5 16 22 23 37.5 5.5 11 18.5 22

X—Won Division Title

Nationals sweep Phillies PHILADELPHIA: Ross Detwiler outpitched Cliff Lee by tossing 7 1-3 impressive innings and Washington beat NL East champion Philadelphia 3-0 on Tuesday night to complete a sweep of their day-night doubleheader.

In the opener, Tommy Milone threw six scoreless innings and pinchhitter Ryan Zimmerman delivered an RBI single in the 10th to lift the Nationals to a 4-3 victory.

Detwiler (3-5) allowed three hits in his longest career outing. The lefthander earned his first road win after going 0-9 in his first 12 starts away from home.

Lee (16-8) gave up three runs - two earned - and 11 hits, striking out nine in seven innings. It was his first loss since July 25. The Phillies have lost four straight since clinching their fifth consecutive division crown. The Nationals have won nine of 12.

Drew Storen finished off the threehitter for his second save of the day and 40th this season.

Danny Espinosa hit his 20th homer for the Nationals. Milone allowed four hits, struck out two and walked none.

Pinch-hitter Michael Morse sparked Washington’s winning rally with a two-out walk in the 10th. He moved up on a passed ball and scored when Zimmerman singled off Michael Stutes (6-2). Tom Gorzelanny (4-6) worked the ninth for the victory.

Braves 4, Marlins 0 At Miami, rookie Randall Delgado pitched five innings for his first majorleague win and Atlanta put the brakes on their recent poor form.

The Braves still lead St. Louis by 21/2 games in the NL wild-card race after blowing a ninth-inning lead to lose Monday. The margin was 101/2 games on Aug. 25.

Delgado (1-1), making his sixth career start, pitched around five hits and lowered his ERA to 2.70. Cristhian Martinez and Anthony Vavaro both retired six consecutive batters to

complete the 16th shutout for the Braves, which ties for third-most in the majors.

Freddie Freeman hit his 20th home run for the Braves, who won for only the seventh time in their past 19 games. Alex Gonzalez hit his 15th homer but left the game in the sixth inning with a strained right calf.

Anibal Sanchez (8-9) lost to the Braves for the third time in as many starts this year, allowing three runs in five innings.

Brewers 5, Cubs 1 At Chicago, Shaun Marcum threw eight strong innings as Milwaukee edged closer to the NL Central title.

Marcum (13-7) allowed five hits and one run and struck out seven. He doubled and scored during Milwaukee’s four-run third inning.

Rickie Weeks drove in two runs and Nyjer Morgan reached base three times, stole a base and scored two runs to help the Brewers reach 91 wins for the first time since 1992.

Milwaukee needs a combination of three wins or Cardinals losses to clinch the division. Chicago’s Randy Wells (7-5) allowed six hits and five runs in five innings.

Reds 6, Astros 4 At Cincinnati, Homer Bailey shut Houston down again and came up with a career-high three hits and Devin Mesoraco homered to help Cincinnati end a four-game losing streak.

Brandon Phillips also homered while Jay Bruce had three hits and Dave Sappelt and Juan Francisco each added two hits for the Reds.

Bailey (9-7), who went into the game 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three starts against the Astros this season, allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings.

Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 34th save. Houston starter Bud Norris (6-11) left the game two outs into the third inning with

discomfort in his right shoulder.

Norris allowed seven hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts.

Nick Punto added an RBI single.

Reliever Octavio Dotel (4-3) was the winner. New York has lost 10 of its last 13 games.

Cardinals 11, Mets 6 At St. Louis, pinch-hitter Ryan Theriot hit a double with the bases loaded in the seventh inning to help keep St. Louis in the wild-card chase.

Albert Pujols went 4 for 5 to push his batting average to a season-high .304. It was the 36th four-hit game of his career and seventh of the season.

The Cardinals’ 11th win in 13 games kept them 21/2 behind Atlanta in the wild-card chase. The Cardinals scored six times in the seventh to come back from an early 4-0 deficit after the Braves beat Florida 4-0.

Theriot hit a pitch from Tim Byrdak into the gap in left-center to bring in Pujols and Lance Berkman, who both singled against Josh Stinson (0-2) for a 7-6 lead.

Pinch-hitter Adron Chambers followed an intentional walk to Yadier Molina with a three-run triple and

Padres 2, Rockies 1 At Denver, Mat Latos tossed 8 2-3 shutout innings and Orlando Hudson had two hits for San Diego. Latos (814) got just his third win since June 27 despite stringing together 10 straight quality starts. He struck out a season-high nine and came within a pitch of his second career complete game.

Eric Young Jr. had two hits for Colorado, which has lost six straight.

The Padres didn’t need much offense against Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin to win for the fourth time in the last five games. Jason Bartlett scored on Hudson’s single in the first to make it 1-0, and Hudson and Jeremy Hermida hit consecutive doubles in the sixth to make it 2-0.

Chacin (11-13) allowed one earned run and six hits, struck out four and walked two in six innings. Rookie Jordan Pacheco singled up the mid-

PHILADELPHIA: Washington Nationals’ Jayson Werth (bottom) reacts after being hit by a pick off throw as Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco looks for the loose ball during the seventh inning. — AP

dle to break up the shutout and Heath Bell came in for his 40th save.

Dodgers 2, Giants 1 In Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw became the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first 20-game winner in 21 years, beating San Francisco 2-1 and pushing the Giants closer to elimination from the NL West race.

Kershaw (20-5) allowed six hits and one run in 7 1-3 innings, walked two and struck out six to go 5-0 against the Giants this season - the first Dodger to do so since Vic Lombardi in 1946.

Four of the wins came against Tim Lincecum, with Kershaw allowing one earned run in those games. Javy Guerra pitched the ninth to earn his 19th save in 20 chances.

Lincecum (13-13) extended his career-high loss total, giving up two runs and eight hits in seven innings.

The loss ended the Giants’ eightgame winning streak and dropped them another game behind Atlanta and St. Louis in the NL wild-card race.

They trail the Braves by 41/2 and the Cardinals by 2 with eight games to play.

Pirates 5, D’backs 3 At Phoenix, Charlie Morton threw six scoreless innings and Pittsburgh slowed Arizona’s drive toward the NL West title.

Any combination of three Arizona victories or San Francisco losses and the Diamondbacks will dethrone the Giants as division champions.

Derrek Lee hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the Pirates and Pedro Alvarez had a solo shot in the second.

Morton (10-10), loser of his previous four starts, allowed three hits and struck out five in his first victory since Aug. 8.

Daniel Hudson (16-11) lasted five innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing three runs and seven hits. Joel Hanrahan pitched a perfect ninth for his 39th save in 42 tries. — AP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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Big 12’s fate rests with Oklahoma and Texas NEW YORK: Over the past dozen years, Oklahoma and Texas have teamed up to turn the Big 12 into one of the nation’s foremost college conferences, winning two national championships and playing for the title a half dozen times.

And now, the league’s fate rests squarely in their hands. Will they stay together and find a way to make the Big 12 viable into the future? Will they leave together and take their riches west to the burgeoning Pac-12? Or will they part ways, potentially bringing down the league and ending one of the sport’s most colorful and storied rivalries?

Each school’s board of regents took action Monday to empower the university presidents - David Boren at Oklahoma and Bill Powers at Texas - to choose a new conference home. Yet neither is saying goodbye to the Big 12, or the other, just yet.

Boren said his focus is solely on either stabilizing the Big 12 through an equal revenue-sharing plan or taking Oklahoma to the Pac-12. Powers wouldn’t divulge Texas’ options, saying only that the process is “ongoing.”

“We’re almost like a family. Sometimes we don’t see things exactly the same way,” Boren said. “But while we like being rivals, we also like to work together when it’s appropriate and we’re continuing to have conversations with our friends at the University of Texas. “And I think we’re always stronger when Texas and Oklahoma move together, just as we’re stronger when Oklahoma State and Oklahoma work together.”

Boren said he has been in daily contact with Burns Hargis, his counterpart at Oklahoma State, and the instate Bedlam rivals won’t be separated. Oklahoma State’s regents have called a special meeting on realignment Wednesday.

“Whatever we do, we’re going to do it together and

I think that’s very good news for the state of Oklahoma,” Boren said.

It’s not so simple with Texas, which has been playing Oklahoma regularly for over a century - long before the two became conference partners in the mid-1990s.

“We have different perspectives,” Boren said. “I would put it this way: We’re listening with respect to each other at this point in time, but it’s too early to tell whether we’ll make a common decision or not.”

The Pac-12 already snapped up Colorado from the Big 12 last summer, and it flirted with adding Texas and Oklahoma as part of a package deal that would have created a 16-team superconference stretching from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast.

But the Longhorns and Sooners stayed put, committing to stay with eight other members in a smaller Big 12. The league then hammered out a $1.2 billion television contract, but it wasn’t enough to keep everyone happy.

They decided not to create a conference network similar to the ones in place by the Big Ten and Pac-12, not to split revenue equally and not to create any barriers to Texas’ creation of the Longhorn Network through a 20-year, $300 million agreement with ESPN that proved to be divisive.

Texas A&M announced last month that it would seek membership in the Southeastern Conference and was accepted into the league with the condition that it must resolve legal issues first - namely, the threat of lawsuits from Baylor and other Big 12 schools.

Now, the league is in a state of disarray again. “I would simply say it is not a strong vote of confidence in the conference office that this has happened in such a short period of time,” Boren said. All Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe could say in response was

that the conference is “assuring our members that maintaining the Big 12 is in the best interest for their institutions” and that his case for the league is as strong as it was last year, when two schools bolted.

“The status quo is certainly not stable,” Boren said.

“That’s one of the things we’re weighing: Can it be made stable?”

School and conference officials from the Big East and Big 12 have been discussing ways to merge what’s left of the two leagues if Texas and Oklahoma leave the Big 12, a person involved in the discussions told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about the situation.

The Big East is left with only six football members after Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced plans to join the ACC this weekend, and the Big 12 could be in a similar situation if Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech all join Texas A&M in departing.

Boren has previously said he would consider the league a better option if it expanded back to 12 teams, and he said Monday that better revenue sharing must also be in place for the Sooners to stick around. “Our goal is to be an equal partner in any network, and we think it ought to be the goal of every other member of any conference that we’re a part of to be an equal member of that conference,” Boren said. “We all ought to value each other - every single member of that conference - and none of us should seek to play a stronger leadership role than anyone else.”

Ultimately, the Big 12’s future likely comes down to whether the schools raking in the most money want to share enough of it with those earning the least, or if they’d rather leave their current rivals behind and chase a bigger paycheck.

Any move by Texas could be complicated by the Longhorn Network as school officials explore whether other leagues would let them keep their recently launched venture or force them to make changes to fit established media rights guidelines. For example, Pac-12 bylaws created six regional networks that are shared by conference schools.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has said his league is not necessarily looking to expand, and some university leaders have expressed concerns about expanding again after adding Utah and Colorado this year. There is no guarantee the Pac-12 presidents will welcome new members, especially if Texas is not one of them. Boren rejected the notion that the Pac-12 was sending up signals that it should back off its pursuit of a move westward, saying “no one has given us any words of discouragement on any front.”

Texas officials have said they want the Big 12 to hold together but would keep “all options” open for the university, including reported discussions with the Pac-12 and ACC. But Texas has little appetite for a Big 12 without rival Oklahoma or Texas A&M. “Last time everybody talked about where everybody was going, we ended up staying in the same place,” Longhorns coach Mack Brown said. “So my thoughts have always been the same: I think the University of Texas wants to stay in the Big 12.”

Texas Tech president Guy Bailey said it’s a sensitive time and “any comments regarding Tech’s plans are premature at this time.” Tech’s regents are not scheduled to meet until next month.

College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo in New York; AP Sports Writers Stephen Hawkins in Dallas, Michael Marot in Indianapolis, Kristie Rieken in Houston, and Betsy Blaney in Lubbock, Texas, contributed to this report. — AP

Stewart opens Chase race with first victory of season

JOHNS CREEK: In this file photo taken Aug. 11, 2011, Tiger Woods hits a drive on the fifth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. —AP

Finchem: Total parity on PGA Tour since Tiger slide ATLANTA: One of the most significant changes on the PGA Tour since the downfall of Tiger Woods has been a return to “total parity” among the players, according to Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.

While Woods has become a shadow of the dominant figure that used to win multiple times on the U.S. circuit, virtually every one of his peers is now capable of tournament success on any given week, Finchem said.

“We’ve gone very quickly from a point in time when we were very much a sport that had a dominant player (Woods) to all the way to the other end of the spectrum,” Finchem told reporters at East Lake Golf Club on Tuesday.

“We’re at a point of total parity. Anybody out here can win any given time. So far the fans seem to really like it, and it’ll be interesting to see what develops in that regard going forward.

“Our ratings are up this year as a result of that interest, and I think that interest triggered a lot of what was very positive in our television negotiations.”

Former world number one Woods, a 14times major champion, has slipped to 49th in the rankings while trying to rebuild his golf swing and private life following the breakup of his marriage and assorted injury problems. Comfortably the best player of his generation, he has not won since the 2009 Australian Masters.

Asked how tournament sponsors had responded to the shift to ‘total parity’ on

the PGA Tour this year, Finchem replied: “It’s good.

“There was always an overstatement of the problem if you have a dominant player.

Tiger was playing 17 weeks a year (when he dominated). We have 47 tournaments, and they’re all growing.”

Finchem said he had been especially encouraged by the number of young players who have flourished on the US circuit.

Rory McIlroy (US Open) and Keegan Bradley (PGA Championship) won major titles while fellow young guns Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson and Gar y Woodland have all triumphed on the PGA Tour this year.

“There’s a real interest with this number of young players, and I think that sponsors feed off the fans in that regard,” Finchem said.

“They see the galleries and they see the interest level and they see the television numbers. In today’s world, if you’re spending millions of dollars for a sport, you’re really studying it pretty carefully.

“When I go around the country, the first thing I hear from people is: ‘Boy, you’ve got a lot of great young players right now.

They’re so athletic and fun to watch’. I think that every indication is that this is the beginning of a long term.”

There have been 12 first-time winners on the 2011 PGA Tour, six of them rookies.

In all, 14 twenty-somethings have triumphed this season, accounting for 16 victories. — Reuters

Massive jackpot gets players’ attention ATLANTA: This week’s Tour Championship offers a plethora of winning scenarios for the prestigious FedExCup where the lucrative jackpot for the overall champion has certainly got the attention of the players.

Any of the top five players in the season-long points standings would secure the trophy, and a staggering $10 million bonus, with victory at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday in the PGA Tour’s final playoff event. “There’s a lot at stake-the FedExCup champion, winning the Tour Championship and obviously there’s a big bonus for that, too,” long-hitting American Dustin Johnson told reporters at East Lake on Tuesday. “This week the zeros (in $10 million) definitely catch your attention.

That’s a lot of money, and that’s enough for you to think about, for sure.”

Johnson is one of the fortunate five going into Thursday’s opening round, lying second in the standings after a successful season highlighted by victory at The Barclays last month.

“I’ve had a pretty good year and a good playoff run,” the 27-year-old said. “I’m in a

good position. All I need to do is win the tournament and I win everything but it will be tough. “We’ve got 30 of the best guys on Tour playing here this week and nobody is just going to give you anything.

You’re going to have to earn every bit of it.”

Only 30 players have qualified for the last of the four playoff events after 125 started out at the weather-hit Barclays won

by Johnson at Plainfield Country Club.

Among those in the elite field at East Lake is Britain’s Justin Rose, who vaulted from 34th in the FedExCup standings to third by winning the BMW Championship at Cog Hill on Sunday.

“This is an opportunity I didn’t really foresee happening at the beginning part of last week,” said the 31-year-old Englishman, who adopted a successful door-die attitude at the BMW. “I’m viewing this as an opportunity rather than now trying to worry about my position and trying to just think about it from the perspective of nothing to lose once again. I haven’t been in this situation all year, so just let it ride.” —Reuters

JOLIET: Tony Stewart took himself out of title contention before the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. A topsy-turvy season led the two-time NASCAR champion to cross his name off the list of drivers he believes are legitimate title contenders, and nothing he did on track at Chicagoland Speedway changed his mind. That includes winning.

Stewart picked up his first win of the season Monday - a day after rain washed out the opening round of the 10-race Chase - by flawlessly conserving fuel to the finish. The victory, his 40th career win in the Cup Series, tied him with Mark Martin for 16th on the all-time wins list.

More importantly, it vaulted him from ninth in the standings to second, and he trails leader Kevin Harvick by a mere seven points.

So, Smoke, you sure you aren’t in the mix for a third NASCAR championship? “One day doesn’t change the whole season,” he said.

Stewart, who likely benefited the most from the rain out because he was plagued with a migraine headache all day Sunday, seemed subdued in his victory celebration. He’s had, by his own admission, “a rough year,” and it was just last month when he said the No. 14 team didn’t even deserve a spot in the Chase.

But his Stewart-Haas Racing team has turned it up a notch, evidenced by three-straight top10 finishes and, on Monday, the end of a 32-race losing streak. Round 2 of the Chase shifts to New Hampshire, where Ryan Newman led a 1-2 finish for SHR in July. So Stewart may not like his title chances, but this recent upswing has crew chief Darian Grubb believing the team is in the mix. “That’s Tony’s mind-set,” Grubb said. “We all work too hard to ever come to feeling that way.”

His rivals tend to agree with Grubb.

“If you believed him when he said (that) ... you’ve never raced Tony Stewart,” said Steve Letarte, crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. “He’s a master of deflection. He seems to always be there.” “Counting Tony Stewart out? That’s pretty funny that he counts himself out,” added Harvick. But there are likely some drivers wondering if Chicago didn’t crush their title chances.

While Stewart was able to stretch his gas to the finish - ironic, since he ran out of gas while leading with one lap to go in last year’s Chase opener at New Hampshire - at least five Chase drivers ran their tanks dry in the closing laps.

Five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, points leader Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon were among the drivers who ran out of gas on the last lap, and all plummeted in the final finishing order.

Harvick, who started the race tied with Busch

JOLIET: Driver Tony Stewart (14) crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Chicagoland Speedway. — AP for the points lead, held on for second after his crew chief told him to run wide open and not worry about fuel. “ When he turned me loose, I probably should have just listened to him, I was really gun shy,” said Harvick, who called the closing laps “nerve-racking.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. capitalized other drivers’ fuel problems to finish third, his best showing since he was second at Kansas 14 weeks ago.

The strong result pushed him from 10th to fifth in the standings.

“Obviously we gained a lot of spots there at the end with guys that were short of fuel,” said Earnhardt, “but we were running really well at the end.” Johnson wound up 10th, and dropped two spots to eighth in the standings. “I really felt like I had done enough,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what I did so desperately wrong.”

Matt Kenseth led four times for 46 laps, had to save gas at the end and still ran out. Even worse, because JJ Yeley pushed him across the finish line - apparently in eighth-place - NASCAR ruled the last-lap assistance was illegal and dropped Kenseth to 21st in the final running order. “I don’t know what to do about the fuel mileage,” said Kenseth, the pole-sitter, who dropped six spots in the standings to 10th.

“It is really frustrating to be a race car driver and they drop the green on the last run of the day when you are supposed to put on a show for the fans, and you have to run half throttle and can’t floor it or you will run out of gas. It is

pretty aggravating to do all the work and qualifying and pit stops and adjustments but none of it makes a difference.”

Kyle Busch, who began the day tied with Harvick for the points lead, ran out of gas and finish 22nd. He’s now ninth in points.

“I saved as much fuel as I could, but I guess it just wasn’t enough and we ran out with two to go,” said Busch. “Just really disappointing day.”

Same for Jeff Gordon, who rallied back into the top-10 from an early tire issue, only to run out of gas and finish 24th. He dropped from third in points to 11th.

“It was definitely not the race we wanted to start the Chase off with,” Gordon said. “We’re going to fight like crazy these next nine races and we could still get it done.”

Hardest hit on Monday, though, was Denny Hamlin. He used the second wild-card spot to make it into the Chase and had the worst day of the 12 championship contending drivers.

A vibration forced him to pit out of sequence, which dropped him a lap down from the leaders. He could never make it back, and a flat tire later sealed his 31st-place finish.

A year after nearly ending Johnson’s run, Hamlin is probably now out of title contention and left the track without commenting.

Carl Edwards finished fourth and was followed by teammates Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch. Clint Bowyer finished seventh, and Newman, Martin and Johnson rounded out the top 10. —AP

Panthers and Predators hit the ice for doubleheader SUNRISE: On an 87-degree, late-summer day in South Florida, the Florida Panthers tried to get people thinking about hockey. Twice.

The NHL preseason started in most unusual fashion Monday, with the Panthers hosting the Nashville Predators for a doubleheader - one where no player actually skated in both games.

Nashville won the first game 5-3, a matchup that began at 3:08 p.m. with an estimated 500 or so people in the seats, many of them ardent fans who wore Panthers jerseys.

Nearly seven hours later, Florida finished off a 4-3 win in the nightcap. So it wasn’t exactly a playoff atmosphere. Players didn’t seem to mind.

“I think it’s a neat idea,” said Panthers forward Steven Reinprecht, who had an assist on Florida’s first goal of the afternoon game. “And it’s definitely created a buzz. I know there’s a lot of talk about the doubleheader. And I think there’s a lot of buzz with all the new guys we brought in and everything. So it’s nice to be able to showcase most guys in one day. Pretty neat idea.”

The Panthers called it “Hockey Day in South Florida,” with autograph sessions preceding both games and plenty of reminders everywhere that the season starts for real next month. Florida

BALTIMORE: Nashville Predators goalie Jeremy Smith (30) pokes at the puck against Washington Capitals’ Stanislav Galiev, of Russia, (49) during the third period of an NHL preseason hockey game. The Predators won 2-0. —AP home games drew an average of 15,685 last season, meaning 81 percent of the available seats were filled - the 25th-best mark in the 30-team NHL. But the team hopes a slew of roster changes, along with a new coach and aggressive marketing campaign helps generate more attention, an ongoing battle in some of hockey’s nontraditional markets.

“Since they’ve moved hockey more to the south, it might get people interested,” said Nashville’s Colin Wilson, who scored the first goal

of the day. “We want to make it as exciting as possible so we can get more people in the stands. And obviously if you’re playing against the Winnipeg Jets right now, it’s going to be filled up. To come to a not-exactly-filled-up barn, it feels a little bit more like tryouts.”

To call the crowd for the day game not-exactly-filled-up means Wilson was being more than a little polite. The nightcap drew significantly more people, though the overwhelming majority of seats remained empty. —Reuters

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

S P ORT S

Patriots impress but playoffs will be real test NEW YORK: Tom Brady has racked up remarkable numbers in the first two weeks of the National Football League (NFL) season but any question marks over his New England Patriots team will not truly be answered until the playoffs.

The Pro Bowl quarterback has an astonishing 940 passing yards, completed 66 of 88 passes and thrown seven touchdowns in his team’s opening two games against Miami and San Diego.

What should be truly frightening for those hoping to halt Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s team this season is the range of options available to Brady.

Receivers Wes Welker and Deion Branch each have over 200 yards receiving while tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski have a combined 337 yards and five touchdowns.

“Rob was very productive last year, so was Aaron when he got his opportunities. Now they’re primarily on the field for almost all the game,” Brady said in an interview with Boston radio station WEEI. “They’ve been able to take advantage of their opportunities. Other teams as you go through the season will try to figure out ways to stop them, to slow them down. Then we’ve

got to use other guys. We’ve got to get other guys opportunities.

“It’s a complementary game.

If they’re covering the tight ends, we’ve got to throw it outside. If they’re covering outside, we’ve got to throw it inside. It’s a chess game. It’s constantly trying to take advantage of something that they ’re not aware of.”

One tactic the Patriots have used to their advantage has been the no huddle offense which has allowed Brady to lead fast and relentless drives down field while defenses struggle to catch their breath and reorganise their personnel.

But the Patriots have been less impressive on the other side of the ball - allowing Miami’s Chad Henne to throw a career-best 416 yards and then letting San Diego’s Philip Rivers put up 378 yards - but they have made crucial plays at the right time to ensure a 2-0 start to the NFL season.

The AFC East, which includes the New York Jets and this season’s early surprise package Buffalo Bills, is a tough division to top but it would be a brave man who bet against the Patriots reaching the playoffs this year.

New England’s form has carried over from last season

when, after losing to Cleveland in Week 9, they won their remaining regular season games to finish 14-2.

But when it came to the crunch time, the Pats fell at the first hurdle, losing to the Jets in the playoff opener and bringing their Super Bowl ambitions to an abrupt end.

The feeling was not a new one for Brady, who enjoyed an unbeaten 2007 regular season and went to the Super Bowl, where they were tipped to emulate the Miami Dolphins perfect season in 1972, only to lose to the New York Giants.

Brady suffered a seasonending injury in the first quar-

ter of New England’s opening game to the 2008 campaign and came back the next year to lead the team to a division title but then lost in the first round of the playoffs to Baltimore.

Brady has three Super Bowl rings, was twice named most valuable player of the championship game and his legacy as one of the top quarterbacks of all time is assured.

But this latest incarnation of Belichick and Brady’s Patriots needs some post-season success if they are to turn all the impressive statistics and spectacular passing play into a memorable new chapter in the franchise’s history. —Reuters

Tonga demolish Japan

Maria Sharapova in action in this file photo

Tour is no grind for resurgent Sharapova TAIPEI: You will not find Maria Sharapova moaning about crowded schedules after a year in which the Russian has returned to within sight of the summit of women’s tennis.

The world number two has some sympathy for the top male players who have made rumblings about possible strike action over what they see as a too punishing calendar but after having her career knocked sideways by injury she is clearly happy to be globe-trotting again and winning tournaments.

“I really missed doing what I’ve done since I was four years old and I really felt that there is so much more in me that I could bring to the court,” the 24year-old told Reuters in Taipei where she will play an exhibition match against fellow Russian and world No.4 Vera Zvonareva today. “( The schedule) is so much better than it was years ago,” she added, when asked about the demands on the serving shoulder that needed major surgery in 2008 and kept her out of the game for 10 months, in which time she dropped to 126 in the world.

“We finish two or three weeks before the men do. You can say that’s nothing but it’s huge in our sport, it gives us more time to take a breather whereas before af ter the season you could maybe take a week off. Now you can take two weeks off and not feel guilty about it.”

Sharapova, who returned to the top 10 in March after reaching the final in Miami, was a semi-finalist at the French Open and runner-up at Wimbledon and recently won her 24th career title in Cincinnati.

While she did suffer bouts of illness early in the season she has crucially remained injury free this year-a major factor in her rise up the rankings.

Now she is looking for ward with renewed optimism. “That’s what drives me, that’s the reason why today I find myself in that position and a position also to even do better,” she said. “I’d love to win Wimbledon again, that’s always a

goal of mine, the French Open is one that I haven’t won but I feel like with every year I compete I play better at the French Open.

“I have many goals and that’s what’s drives me to keep getting better.” With no dominant force in the women’s game this year, the path does seem open for Sharapova to add to her three grand slam titles, although the depth of the field makes it tricky.

Three of the four grand slam titles went to first-timers this year and Sharapova dismissed any suggestion that it was evidence of a lack of top quality.

“A few years ago you would come into a tournament in the first few rounds and people were saying ‘well women’s tennis you’re winning first rounds 6-0 6-1,’ and now it’s kind of like ‘well why are the first few matches so tough’,” she said.

While Sharapova probably does not want the year to end, Zvonareva was less enthused about the calendar. She said the current W TA schedule was “quite tight” and said players would like to have more flexibility and choice over which tournaments they could play in.

“With this kind of schedule we have to play ever y single weekend and sometimes you feel good but sometimes you don’t feel good but you still push yourself hard and at the end of the day you could get sick or get injured,” she told Reuters.

She said players want more discussion on the issue, though there were different views with some players wanting to play more and some less. “ We have to find some solution where we can find the right balance, because right now it’s a little bit too busy for us. We travel too much, but on the other hand we get a lot of opportunities to play, so we have to think about it and we’re working on it and we’re trying to find the right balance.”

Next stop on the Tour for Sharapova and Zvonareva is the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo starting on Sept 25. — Reuters

AUCKLAND: Tonga beat Japan 3118 in a frenetic World Cup clash yesterday in a fitting end to a day that started with rugby heavyweights France being accused of cynically devaluing the tournament.

The front page splash on New Zealand’s best-selling Herald newspaper screamed that the French had turned Saturday’s highly-anticipated clash with the All Blacks into a “farce” by naming a “B Team” for the Eden Park match.

The allegation had added piquancy because of conspiracy theories swirling around since Ireland’s shock humbling of Australia last weekend exploded the presumptions of who would play who in the quarter-finals.

The thrust of the conspiracy theory is that France had named a weakened side because finishing second in Pool A would keep them away from the side of the draw likely to contain all three TriNations teams.

France lock forward Pascal Pape laughed off the accusation as a desperate bid to sell newspapers but then warned that it might backfire on the hosts.

“It is a lack of respect for the players chosen for Saturday,” he said. “That motivates us more than it demotivates us. It is extra motivation.”

Winger Vincent Clerc was also amused and said it was perhaps the result of France having knocked the All Blacks out of the 1999 and 2007 World Cups.

“They need to reassure themselves if they are to beat us in a World Cup after those two defeats,” he said. “I’m not upset, it makes me smile actually.”

There was support too from All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen, who said he thought the French team selected was “really good” before contemptuously dismissing any suggestions that New Zealand would ever be guilty of such manoeuvring.

“We’d get hung from the highest tree in New Zealand if we go out and try not to win a test match, it’s just not in our psyche,” he said.

Tonga will be joining all of New Zealand in hoping for a comprehensive victory for the All Blacks on Saturday after their win in the only match of the day kept alive their slim hopes of a place in the quarter-finals for the first time.

The Pacific islanders made the

most of their physical superiority in the scrum and at the breakdown at Whangarei but it was 16 points from the boot of Tonga flyhalf Kurt Morath that separated the two sides, who both scored three tries.

“We have one more game left and we have nothing to lose, especially to play against a team like France,” said Tonga coach Isitolo Maka, whose team must now win their final game with a bonus point and hope the All Blacks hammer the French. “The win tonight will give us big confidence to take them on next week.”

Japan coach John Kirwan bemoaned his side’s error count as they ensured that, for all the good rugby they have played at the tournament, the “Brave Blossoms” would go home without the two wins they craved.

“It was a very difficult game for us,” he said. “Tonga were a very physical side, but we just made too many mistakes.”

Australia will be looking for their second victory of the tournament in Wellington on Friday and they named their team to face the United States.

Scrumhalf Will Genia will captain the Wallabies for the first time in the absence of lock James Horwill, who is rested, but there was no place for flanker David Pocock, who is still struggling with the back injury that ruled him out of the Ireland defeat.

Thursday’s single encounter pitches the defending champion Springboks against Namibia, who shipped 105 points in their only previous meeting with their southern African neighbours.

Assistant coach Gary Gold visibly bristled when he was asked whether South Africa would ever countenance trying to manipulate their quarter-final draw with a less than wholehearted effort in a pool match, describing the idea as “preposterous”.

“Under no circumstances would it even be considered that anything else but winning right to the end is what’s going to be required,” he said.

Namibia fullback Chrysander Botha, meanwhile, said his team were at least anticipating the support of the majority of the locals as they took on their monumental task at the North Harbour Stadium.

“In Auckland everybody seems to hate the Boks so everyone is getting behind us,” he said. —Reuters

NEW ZEALAND: Japan’s Hirotoki Onozawa attempts to bust the tackle of Tonga’s Viliami Ma’afu during their Rugby World Cup game. —AP

DUNEDIN: England rugby team player David Wilso (right) juggles with two rugby balls during training session at the Carisbrook stadium. England will play Romania in their next World Cup Rugby match, Saturday. —AP

Navratilova: Top stars right to consider strike

DENMARK: New world champion Tony Martin of Germany shows his gold medal on the podium of the elite men time trial over 46.4 kilometers (28.8 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen. —AP

Martin claims world time trial gold COPENHAGEN: Tony Martin gave Germany their second gold medal at the road world championships when he won the time trial in impressive fashion yesterday.

One day after compatriot Judith Arndt claimed the title in the women’s time trial, Martin clocked a best time of 53 minutes 43.85 seconds over the 46.4-km course, beating Briton Bradley Wiggins by 1:15.83 and four-times champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland by 1:20.59. Having won time trials in the Tour de France and the Tour of Spain this season, the 26-year-old German set a

best time at every time check to improve on his 2009 and 2010 performances when he had to settle for bronze medals. Cancellara had looked set for silver but the Swiss, who also won the time trial gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, gradually faded away and lost considerable ground near the finish when he went off against the safety barrier.

Wiggins, a three-times pursuit Olympic champion, made a cautious start before sneaking time off fourth-placed German Bert Grabsch to secure his first podium finish at a road world championships. —Reuters

LONDON: Former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova believes the sport’s leading male players are right to consider going on strike in a bid to take control of their overcrowded schedule.

Navratilova knows from experience just how draining life on the tennis circuit can be for top stars and she has sympathy for the growing discontent among stars like Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

World number four Murray recently revealed players have had enough of being pushed into gruelling schedules by the ATP, who govern the men’s Tour, and are likely to discuss the possibility of strike action at a meeting in Shanghai next month. The threat has been criticised by some, but Navratilova, winner of 18 grand slam singles titles, believes the likes of Murray, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer would be right to flex their muscles should the powers that be not listen to their concerns.

“If it’s the only way they can get to that point, that’s what they have to do — if they can unify themselves enough and if that’s the last resort,” Navratilova told BBC Radio Five Live.

“Without the top players, you really don’t have anything and if they band together like that then the powers that be have to talk to them and listen to them.

“They have been complaining about the long schedule for a long, long time and nothing has happened. The schedule is just as long. “We’re the only sport that does not have an off season. For the guys who are still playing in December, or even without the Davis Cup, they have about four weeks, then they start up in January. —AFP

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Armstrong paid banned doc’s front company ROME: Lance Armstrong made payments to an Italian physician banned for doping through a front company in Switzerland, an Italian newspaper reported yesterday.

The mainstream, Milan-based daily Corriere della Sera said the seven-time Tour de France winner directed funds to a company in the Neuchatel region called Health and Performance.

Citing work by Swiss and Italian investigators, Corriere said that Michele Ferrari, a banned Italian physician who was once Armstrong’s training adviser, was behind the “anonymous company now in liquidation.” Ferrari was cleared on appeal in 2006 of criminal charges accusing him of distributing doping products to athletes, but he remains barred for life by the Italian Cycling Federation under a 2002 ruling.

Armstrong has long denied doping and has never tested positive. The American

has acknowledged meeting Ferrari nonprofessionally since publicly severing their working relationship in 2004. A spokesman for Armstrong did return a message seeking comment. Armstrong, who won the Tour every year from 1999-2005, is being investigated by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles that has been meeting for more than a year to examine illegal drug use in professional cycling.

The Corriere report details an alleged doping ring coordinated by Ferrari that also involved cyclists Denis Menchov and Michele Scarponi. A register of Swiss companies lists Health and Performance as being created in Neuchatel on Feb. 26, 1996, as a sports medical and training consultancy. It was listed as having working capital of 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000) before being liquidated last Nov. 23, after a decision by the company’s general assem-

bly. The newspaper did not say when the alleged payments from Armstrong to Ferrari’s company were made. Italian authorities said earlier this year they suspect Ferrari of continuing to work with 20 to 30 top-level cyclists despite his ban, including Armstrong, and are actively pursuing that line of investigation.

Corriere reported that Ferrari’s son also was involved in the doping ring, and that Armstrong called the son before last year’s Tour, referring to the son as “No. 1.”

Without naming its sources, Corriere reported that a total of 30 people are under investigation in a widespread doping ring coordinated by Ferrari, including former Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta winner Menchov and Giro runner-up Scarponi.

Scarponi was banned for 18 months in 2007 for involvement in the Spanish doping scandal called Operation Puerto.

Menchov has been linked to a doping inquiry involving the Humanplasma lab in Vienna, although he has never been suspended. Other cyclists reportedly under investigation include former Russian time trial champion Vladimir Gusev and another Russian, Vladimir Karpets.

Physicians, lawyers, and a bank worker at a BSI branch in Locarno, Switzerland, also are mentioned by Corriere as being under investigation.

The inquiry is reportedly looking into alleged money laundering, fraud and doping, with more than 10 million euros ($13.64 million) in funds seized by authorities during the operation.

Menchov himself reportedly had 2.4 million euros ($3.27 million) seized from his accounts. The alleged doping ring reportedly involves illegal movement of money between Italy, Monaco and Switzerland.

Corriere claims that Ferrari used a series of foreign cell phones and meetings in unusual places for doping purposes. The report said he used a mobile “camper” as a medical office, moving from one mountain to another - driving from the Italian Apennines to St. Moritz in Switzerland to the Euganei hills near Padua. Ferrari lives in Ferrara, in central Italy.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still not complete, an Italian law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the Corriere report is “all true, and you can relay it across the ocean.” Calls to Padua prosecutor Benedetto Roberti, who is leading the inquiry into Ferrari, went unanswered.

A woman who answered the phone at Ferrari’s house said the physician was not at home, and Ferrari’s lawyer would not comment.—AP

All hail soccer’s comeback kids CYPRUS: UEFA President Michel Platini (left) walks with Cyprus Football Association President Costakis Koutsokoumnis (right) during a UEFA summit in southern port city of Limassol. —AP

UEFA to ask FIFA to scrap August dates LIMASSOL: European soccer’s governing body will ask FIFA to scrap the August dates for exhibition games on the international calendar, two officials with knowledge of the situation said yesterday.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because an announcement by UEFA President Michel Platini is not expected until today.

Europe’s 53 national federations agreed to the proposal in a meeting to discuss changes to the soccer calendar, which dictates when clubs must release players for international duty. European clubs have pressed UEFA and FIFA to drop August internationals, describing them as “nonsense” matches that disrupt training for the season.

National coaches, including France’s Laurent Blanc, have also spoken out against the games, which allow squads barely 48 hours for preparations.

UEFA members concluded a two-day strategy session yesterday with the international calendar and structure of national team competitions at top of their agenda.

However, the officials told the AP that federations want to maintain the num-

ber of days players must report to national teams each year.

UEFA will propose playing 18 matches, in nine double-header fixture blocks, over each two-year cycle of qualification matches for a World Cup or European Championship, the officials said.

FIFA is also consulting world soccer’s five other continental bodies before agreeing to a calendar of international match dates from 2015-2018. FIFA, however, can choose to remove August slots from the current schedule before it expires in 2014.

In another matter, the Swiss club FC Sion was criticized for taking soccer authorities to court after the team was expelled from the Europa League.

UEFA said “any member of the football family which refuses to accept the rules of the competition should not participate in it.” Sion has flouted FIFA statutes by seeking reinstatement in court.

UEFA expelled Sion because it beat Scotland’s Celtic in the playoff round using players signed in breach of a FIFA transfer ban. Sion and UEFA meet in a Swiss court next Tuesday, two days before Celtic is to play its second group stage match.—AP

Guardiola praises Qatar ahead of sponsorship vote BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has extolled Qatar, calling it “the most open Muslim country”, as the club mulls scrapping a massive sponsorhip deal linked to the gas-rich Gulf state. Barcelona signed a five-and-a-half year shirt sponsorship deal worth up to 170 million euros ($225 million) with the non-profit Qatar Foundation in December touted as the largest sponsorship deal in football history.

But the club’s decision to collect money for the first time in its history to display a logo on its jerseys did not go down well with many fans who have pressured Barcelona’s board to re-think the deal at a meeting on Saturday.

Barcelona’s legendary former Dutch coach Johan Cruyff has blasted the endorsement deal as “vulgar” while former club president Joan Laporta has said he would prefer to see the jerseys carry only the logo of UNICEF, an image which has “a message, a cause”.

Guardiola, who played for Qatar’s Al Ahly between 2003 and 2005 and who was one of the ambassadors for the nation’s successful 2022 World Cup bid, has stepped into the debate in comments published on the club’s official website.

“I can tell you that I lived for two years in Qatar and my family and I received wonderful treatment,” the 40-year-old said.

“Qatar is opening up to the Western world and I know the efforts that the Foundation is putting in to do some really good things. I think that we often don’t understand the Muslim world - nor they us.” The Qatar Foundation, founded in 1995, has set up projects focusing on education, scientific research and com-

munity development, mainly in the Middle East.

Part of the opposition to the shirt sponsorship deal stems from the lack of democracy in Qatar, which has no organised opposition groups and where parliamentary elections have repeatedly been postponed.

Thousands of Barcelona fans have signed a petition to demand that the agreement be revoked and the club’s board decided to let representatives of club members to decide on Saturday if the deal will remain in place. “ These are difficult times and the board has the obligation to search for alternatives. Qatar is the most open Muslim country and the closest to the Western democracies, but they need time,” said Guardiola.

“If the members decide to continue, then we will still have the sponsorship of a foundation which is doing things for research and for culture. If not, then we will move ahead with different resources.

“Whatever happens, the players will continue to run and fight, which in the end is the most important thing,” he added.

Barcelona won the Spanish league and the Champions League last season but despite success on the field the club is struggling financially.

The Catalan side posted a loss of 79.6 million euros last season-their first in seven years-and they have debts of 442 million euros.

Qatar is home to a US military base and it hosts and funds Al Jazeera, a news channel that has come under fire from Arab states since its inception in 1996 for its coverage of topics previously deemed taboo in the region.—AFP

PARIS: “He hurt his knee and will be out for the season.” The throwaway words often used in soccer to describe players with serious injuries are woefully inadequate in helping us, the fans and laymen, understand just how tough, lonely and dispiriting the road back can be.

So congratulations to Hatem Ben Ar fa, Stuar t Holden and Owen Hargreaves, all remarkable survivors who are completing that journey this week. All make a very comfortable living from soccer. All knew before they got hurt that theirs is a contact sport with an inherent and elevated risk of injury, possibly permanent. No one forced them to play.

They have all had top-notch medical care.

But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t sympathize. Their singular determination to recover sufficiently to play again offers lessons on grit and determination that go beyond sports.

Pumped full of nervous excitement, Holden played the entire way for Bolton on Tuesday night, his first match since Manchester United defender Jonny Evans ripped open his left knee and fractured a bone with a studs-up tackle March 19. Before kickoff, Holden says he felt that all of the rehab, all of the long and boring hours spent immobilized on his couch, “all of the hard work and the sweat and tears and everything put into it over the last six months was more than worth it.” “ That’s what you think about the whole time, you know, is stepping back out onto the pitch,” the midfielder said in a telephone interview yesterday, still shivering from the ice bath he had just climbed out of. “Just for me, mentally, to keep myself going was tough at times.”

Professional athletes aren’t the only ones who feel miserable on crutches or in plaster.

But because they can’t return to work if they don’t fully recover, they do face self-doubt and questions that perhaps the rest of us don’t: Will I be the same player I used to be? Will I recover in time for next season? Will the team give my spot to someone else? Must I find a new team?

Will I have to uproot my family?

“All of a sudden, all these questions will hit home to every single guy,” says Paul Lake, the former Manchester City captain whose harrowing biography, “I’m Not Really Here,” recounts how his promising career was cut short by injury.

Like actors who come alive for the camera, players need sizable egos to want to perform for the crowds. Falling out of the limelight because of injury and discovering that they are not invincible or irreplaceable can be a big shock, sports psychologists say. Where once they relied on their physical prowess, they suddenly find themselves reliant on others - doctors and trainers - and hoped-for recovery dates can be repeatedly pushed back, all making them feel that they no longer control their own destiny.

Lake says he used to obsess over his injured knee - “How is it feeling today? When I wake up, is it different today? Is it better?” - and try to be

upbeat although, inside, he just wanted to hide away.

“I used to dread having to speak to people,” he said in a phone interview. “I would do anything, I would run a mile, rather than have to be interviewed or have to walk past fans, because it wouldn’t be, ‘Are we going to win Saturday, Lakey?’ ... I was asked, ‘How is that knee of yours? When are you going to be back?’ To which I’d lie and say, ‘I’m back in six weeks.’”

“Some nights I would just pace the room. It was the loneliest place,” he said.

“I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone,”

any further forward. It was incredibly frustrating.”

Holden says he spent “hours upon hours on the couch and the only thing I could do was to crutch down to the local coffee shop just to get out of the house.” Watching his Bolton teammates from the stands, he would “put on a brave face.”

“It’s more tough mentally than anything else because it’s what you do for your livelihood.

And, you know, (while) you’re out there, people are competing for your places, people push themselves ahead of you. You don’t wish an

LONDON: This is a Saturday March 19, 2011 file photo of Bolton Wanderers’ Stuart Holden as he lies on the ground after a tackle from Manchester United’s Jonathan Evans earning a red card in their English Premier League soccer match. —AP Hargreaves says in a video inter view on Manchester City’s Web site. The midfielder who shone for England at the 2006 World Cup hasn’t completed a match for three years. Knees, hamstring, shoulder - they’ve all let him down. But he did not give up.

Released by Manchester United, Hargreaves posted videos of himself training on YouTube to prove he was fit again and he persuaded City to take a gamble and sign him this August.

Hargreaves started for City against Birmingham in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night, his first appearance with the club.

“It’s difficult for people from the outside looking in. You’d think, ‘ There’s something going wrong there. The guy is made out of glass,’” Hargreaves acknowledges. “I missed Champions League finals. I missed World Cups.

I missed so many big games that I would have loved to be a part of, and it’s difficult when you’re in it and you’re trying to find a solution to these things and you seem to not be going

injury on anyone but sometimes it opens doors for other players,” he said.

But rehabbing with other injured players helped: “You can pick each other up when you’re having a down day, you rely on those close to you, you rely on your friends, your family, you rely on anyone, really, to give you a boost and to remind you all that it’s going to be worth it once you’re back out there playing.”

Ben Arfa broke the tibia and fibula of his left leg last October. The France international told Le Parisien daily that he counted down the hours Tuesday before his comeback match for Newcastle that night and afterward felt “filled with happiness. I’m alive again.” Holden echoed those thoughts.

“I’ve become an expert in rehab at this point, but I hope that this is the last time I have to do that,” he said. “Once you get back on the field, you make that first tackle, you make that first pass, and it goes long way to pushing yourself back to 100 percent.”—AP

Olympic chief says sports ambitions failing LONDON: Britain’s drive to increase sports participation as a legacy of next year’s London Games is shaping up as a failure, the head of the national Olympic committee said yesterday.

When London was awarded the Olympics in

2005, bid leaders promised to increase the number of people playing sports in Britain by more than 1 million by 2013.

However, with recent figures showing that 21 of 30 selected sports had a decrease in the num-

LONDON: Team GB Sailors selected for the 2012 Olympics during the announcement at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich. British sailor Ben Ainslie will compete for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal at next year’s London Games. —AP

ber of participants since 2007, British Olympic Association chairman Colin Moynihan said a “great deal of work” still needed to be done.

“The reason the BOA looked to bid to host these games originally was in part because it would lead to a step change in sport throughout the whole country - not just in east London but the whole country,” Moynihan told the BBC. “We are a long way from delivering that step change.” Moynihan’s comments follow similar criticism of the participation drive by Richard Caborn, who was sports minister in 2005.

“The Olympics will be a spectacular success but we are not capitalizing on that,” Caborn said.

“We are in danger of failing completely on the long-term sporting legacy of the games.

“There needs to be a major change of direction in the strategy on this if the disastrous decline experienced by many of the sports is to be reversed.”

Organizers have targeted raising the number of people playing sports three or more times a week by 2013 to 7.815 million from the 2007 figure of 6.815 million.

Latest figures published by government agency Sport England showed only a slight increase in participation, to 6.881 million.

“The pace of change needs to increase significantly over the next 12 months and beyond,” Sport England chairman Richard Lewis said.

Lewis said the British government has written to all sports governing bodies “with the clear message that they must deliver participation growth or put their public funding at risk.”—AP

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Real fire blanks against Santander BARCELONA: Real Madrid’s slump continued yesterday as they could only draw 0-0 away to Real Santander leaving them with a return of just one point in their last two La Liga matches.

Coach Jose Mourinho rang the changes after the 1-0 defeat by Levante at the weekend which included Jose Callejon and Lassana Diarra coming into the side but it was another ineffective performance.

It was a scrappy game with misplaced passes and Real were not able to get into their stride, while their individual stars were also unable to come to their rescue.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a header well saved by keeper Tono Rodriguez before the break and in the second half the introduction of Angel Di Maria did make some difference but he was unable to change the course of the match.

The Argentine saw a powerful strike parried

by Tono but at the other end keeper Iker Casillas also blocked well from Oscar Serrano.

In the closing stages Real were reduced to

pumping the ball for ward hopefully and Racing were able to hang on. The draw leaves Real Madrid on seven points, two adrift of Malaga, who won 1-0 on Wednesday over Athletic Bilbao, Valencia and Real Betis, who have both got a game in hand.

The result is good news for the reigning domestic and European champions Barcelona who lock horns later on Wednesday with Valencia.

Elsewhere yesterday Atletico Madrid recorded their second successive 4-0 win as they beat pointless Spor ting Gijon with Colombian striker Falcao scoring a double following on from his hat-trick at the weekend.

A second half strike from Santi Cazorla gave Qatar-owned Malaga victory over Athletic Bilbao and Levante’s good form continued with a 2-1 win away at Rayo Vallecano.

On Tuesday Sevilla had missed the chance to take provisional top spot but nevertheless maintained their unbeaten run as they hung on for a 0-0 draw at Osasuna.

The hosts had plenty to prove after their

thrashing by Barcelona and attacked from the outset with Roland Lamah in particular causing plenty of problems but despite their much improved performance there was no reward.

Juan Nino had excellent opportunities in both halves while Sevilla also survived a penalty claim when Diego Perotti appeared to handle the ball in the area.

A Giuseppe Rossi strike put Villarreal on

course for their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Mallorca with Nilmar also on target in the second half.

Real Sociedad beat Granada 1-0 in slightly fortuitous circumstances with a Daniel Estrada cross catching out the Granada keeper Roberto Fernandez who had come off his line.

Today Real Betis, another side with a 100 per cent record, face Zaragoza. —AFP

Spanish League results/standings Spanish league results and standings yesterday: Malaga 1 (Cazorla 62) Athletic Bilbao 0; Atletico Madrid 4 (Lora 28-og, Dominguez 68, Falcao 72,

81) Sporting Gijon 0; Racing Santander 0, Real Madrid 0; Rayo Vallecano 1 (Tamudo 72) Levante 2 (Valdo 10, Ballesteros 29).

Spanish league table after yesterday’s early matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Malaga Valencia Real Betis Sevilla Levante Barcelona Real Madrid Atletico Madrid Real Sociedad Rayo Vallecano

4 3 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4

3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1

0 0 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 2

1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

7 6 5 5 4 15 10 8 5 3

2 3 2 3 2 2 3 1 4 3

9 9 9 8 8 7 7 7 7 5

Osasuna 4 Villarreal 4 Real Zaragoza 3 Espanyol 3 Real Mallorca 4 Grenade 4 Racing Santander4 Athletic Bilbao 4 Getafe 3 Sporting Gijon 4

1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0

2 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 0

1 2 1 2 3 3 2 3 2 4

2 4 2 3 1 1 3 4 3 2

9 8 7 4 4 6 8 7 6 9

5 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 0

SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Angel Di Maria from Argentina (left) duels for the ball with Racing Santander’s Francisco Perez during their La Liga soccer match. —AP

Teenager saves Milan’s blushes

FRANCE: Lyon’s French forward Jeremy Pied (right) reacts with his teammate Lyon’s French midfielder Maxime Gonalons, after scoring against Montpellier. —AP

Montpellier top, Lyon slip PARIS: Marseille registered their first win of the season against 10man Evian, Montpellier regained the top of the table while Lyon slipped up at Caen on an incident-packed night of French league action yesterday.

The Stade Velodrome faithful have had precious little to smile about this term with their 2010 champions and last season’s runners-up hosting French first division newcomers Evian without a win from their first six games.

The pressure was piling up on France’s best supported side and their heavily-decorated manager Didier Deschamps.

With only three points out of a maximum 18 Marseille went into

French League results Cercle Dijon 1 (Mandanne 33-pen) Brest 0; Caen 1 (Nivet 45+2-pen) Lyon 0; Ajaccio 1 (Mostefa Sbaa 54) Montpellier 3 (Cabella 3, Estrada 9, Utaka 35); Paris Saint Germain 2 (Nene 36-pen, Gameiro 71pen) Nice 1 (Monzon 61-pen); Marseille 2 (L. Remy 25, 74) Evian/Thonon 0; Lorient 1 (Emeghara 23) Auxerre 1 (Oliech 62); Nancy 1 (Moukandjo Bile 15) Valenciennes 1 (Cohade 82); Sochaux 2 (Butin 24, Maiga 41) Rennes 6 (Montano 22-pen, 71, Kana-Biyik 35, Feret 51, Hadji 69-pen, Kembo-Ekoko 90+4).

the game embarrassingly occupying the foot of the table, their worst ever position at this juncture of the season. Loic Remy went close to putting the out-ofsort giants into an 18th minute lead, leaping over the Evian defence for a header which went wide. Seven minutes later the 24year-old striker was in the air again to head home a freekick fired over from the right touchline

by Mathieu Valbuena and this time there was no mistake as the ball flew past goalkeeper Stephan Andersen to settle the hosts’ nerves.

Marseille were gaining in confidence with every kick, dominating their less illustrious guests who went into the break a man down after Guillaume Rippert was sent off in the 42nd minute, the defender picking up a second yellow for a foul on Valbuena.

Deschamps’ men killed off the game when Remy scored his second, again a header, this time off a Valbuena corner, in the 74th minute. The precious win lifted them up to 15th, on six points, and Deschamps cut a contented figure afterwards. “The best pill in our situation is victory,” he said.

“This is our first win of the season, we have to appreciate it. “It was essential to win tonight. We had at least a dozen chances, even if we scored on two set pieces. The fact that Evian were down to ten men helped us. This will give us a bit of serenity and confidence after some tough days.” Montpellier coasted to a 3-1 win at Ajaccio with first half goals

from Remy Cabella, Marco Estrada and Nigerian John Utaka. Mostefa Sbaa reduced the deficit in the second half but the damage had been done. Montpellier’s fifth win of the campaign put them on 16 points, two clear of Lyon who went down 1-0 at Caen. The multiple champions made life difficult for themselves after Hugo Lloris was sent off for felling Romain Hamouma for his second yellow two minutes from the interval.

Benjamin Nivet made no mistake with the resulting penalty to inflict the first defeat of the season on Lyon, for whom this was a disappointing follow-up after their 2-0 weekend win over Marseille. Lyon coach Remi Garde said: “There wasn’t much going on until the penalty and the red card. We hadn’t begun to play, nor had Caen.

“As for Lloris, I’m upset for him, he misses our next game but I’m lucky in having as number two keeper Remi Vercoutre, I’ve got confidence in him.” Rennes routed Sochaux 6-2 to go second on goal difference. PSG, down to fifth after a draw with Evian last weekend, moved up a place after a nervy 2-1 win over Nice, both sides ending with 10-men. The Parisians took a 36th minute lead when Brazilian Nene scored from the spot for a penalty awarded after a foul by Drissa Diakite. Nice levelled on the hour again by a penalty converted by Luciano Monzon, with PSG bagging the points with the third penalty of the encounter ten minutes later, taken

by Kevin Gameiro. — AFP

crucial stop to deny Cassano a clear scoring opportunity.

Seedorf clipped the ball over the top and Cassano took it down on his chest before firing against Handanovic’s legs from seven yards.

It was backs to the wall for Udinese and they crumbled on 63 minutes as Cassano slipped the ball

ROME: Teenager Stephan El Shaarawy saved AC Milan’s blushes as he came off the bench to snatch an equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Udinese at the San Siro yesterday.

The result left Milan just a point above the relegation zone and means that neither of the two Milan giants have a victory after three games of the new season.

Inter Milan’s 3-1 defeat at Novara on Tuesday, which led to coach Gian Piero Gasperini being sacked on Wednesday, means they are in the bottom three, a point behind Milan.

Genoa are the early Serie A leaders on goals scored after they beat Catania 3-0. In Milan the champions were hoping to avoid the pitfalls that befell their neighbours the day before but in the end were lucky to escape with a point. In a quiet start the only clear chance came from an Alexandre Pato header that drifted well off target.

That was just about the Brazilian forward’s only contribution before he limped off to be replaced by Italo-Egyptian teenager El Shaarawy, an Italy youth international who spent last season on loan at Serie B Padova.

Milan shot themselves in the foot on 29 minutes as goalkeeper Christian Abbiati spilled a Gabriel Torje cross from the left and Antonio Di Natale accepted the gift to shoot into an empty net.

Marauding full-back Pablo Armero then tested Abbiati’s nerves with a rocket the keeper stopped at his near post. The closest Milan came in the first period was a bullet free -kick from Dutch veteran Clarence Seedorf that beat Samir Handanovic but crashed back off the post.

In first half injury time Antonio Cassano teed up Antonio Nocerino but Handanovic was out quickly to block at his feet before Ignazio Abate fired the rebound wide.

The champions turned up the pressure after the restar t and Handanovic had to make another

Benatia before moments later getting down quickly to save a snapshot from Di Natale.

Rodrigo Palacio, a transfer window target for Milan, scored twice before Guinea midfielder Kevin Constant added the third to send Genoa top. Juventus remain just behind after a 1-1 draw at home to

TURIN: Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero (left) is challenged by a Bologna unidentified player during a Serie A soccer match —AP to his right and El Shaarawy pulled the ball back across a wrong-footed Handanovic and inside the far post.

That sparked Udinese out of their shell and they almost had the lead again 15 minutes from time when Di Natale teed up Giampiero Pinza who cracked a shot against the inside of the post, the ball rolling across the line before going wide of the far post.

In the closing stages Milan were indebted to Abbiati for holding onto a point. First he scrambled across his line to claw away a header from Morocco centre-back Mehdi

Bologna. Mirko Vucinic opened the scoring for the hosts before getting sent off before half-time.

Daniele Portanova scored the equaliser seven minutes into the second period. Napoli dropped off the top after losing 1-0 at Chievo as coach Walter Mazzarri’s team selection backfired spectacularly as he left out five first-team regulars.

Atalanta moved off the bottom following a 2-1 win at Lecce that means they even moved above Inter and out of the relegation zone despite starting the season with a six-point penalty. —AFP

Italian League results/standings Italian Serie A results and standings yesterday: AC Milan 1 (El Shaarawy 63) Udinese 1 (Di Natale 29); Cesena 1 (Mutu 14) Lazio 2 (Hernanes 48-pen, Klose 54); Chievo 1 (Moscardelli 72) Napoli 0; Fiorentina 3 (Jovetic 46, 81, Cerci 61) Parma 0; Genoa 3 (Palacio

29, 34, Constant 79) Catania 0; Lecce 1 (Mesbah 25) Atalanta 2 (Denis 3-pen, 56); Juventus 1 (Vucinic 29) Bologna 1 (Portanova 52); Palermo 3 (Zahavi 1, Bertolo 15, Miccoli 76) Cagliari 2 (Conti 84, Nainggolan 90).

Italian Serie A table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Genoa Juventus Udinese Napoli Fiorentina Palermo Cagliari Novara Lazio Chievo Catania

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

7 6 5 6 5 7 6 6 5 4 1

3 2 1 3 2 6 5 5 5 4 3

7 7 7 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4

Lecce 3 1 0 2 3 4 3 Parma 3 1 0 2 3 8 3 AC Milan 3 0 2 1 4 6 2 Atalanta 3 2 1 0 5 3 1 Roma 2 0 1 1 1 2 1 Siena 2 0 1 1 0 1 1 Inter Milan 3 0 1 2 4 7 1 Bologna 3 0 1 2 1 5 1 Cesena 3 0 0 3 2 6 0 Note: Atalanta penalised six points at start of season for match-fixing

Tonga demolish Japan

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Real fire blanks against Santander

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Armstrong paid banned doc’s front company Page 18

LONDON: Manchester City’s Pablo Zabaleta (left) tackles Birmingham’s Guirane N’Daw during their English League Cup soccer match. — AP

Hargreaves scores on City debut LONDON: Owen Hargreaves made a dream debut for Manchester City as the injuryplagued midfielder scored the opening goal in his side’s 2-0 victory over holders Birmingham in the League Cup third round yesterday.

Hargreaves was making his first appearance for City after being released by their bitter rivals Manchester United at the end of last season following a series of knee injuries over the last three years.

The 30-year-old, who had managed just six minutes of action since September 2008, took just 17 minutes to mark his return in style as he smashed a fine long-range strike past Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle for his first goal since April 2008.

He eventually completed 57 minutes before departing to a standing ovation from

the City fans after being substituted to avoid provoking any muscle problems in his first prolonged outing for three years.

Birmingham’s last match in this competition was that memorable 2-1 win over Arsenal in the final at Wembley, but much has changed at St Andrews’ since then and the Blues are now languishing in the Championship after relegation on the final day of last season.

They were no match for City and Mario Balotelli increased the hosts’ advantage with his first goal of the season, a powerful effort from inside the penalty area, in the 38th minute.

Hargreaves wasn’t the only England international making his long-awaited return from injury yesterday.

At the Amex Stadium, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard made a 15-minute substitute appearance in the closing stages of his side’s 2-1 win at Championship club Brighton.

Gerrard was back in action for the first time since March after surgery on a recurring groin injury and his presence helped Liverpool finish off Gus Poyet’s Brighton.

Kenny Dalglish made seven charges to the side that started Sunday ’s 4-0 defeat at Tottenham, with recent signings Sebastian Coates and Craig Bellamy both handed their first starts. Bellamy, in his second spell at the club, opened the scoring in the seventh minute as he ran onto Luis Suarez’s pass and drilled a low shot into the far corner.

Brighton’s Craig Noone once did building work at Gerrard’s house-fitting a roof onto the

Japan, S Korea cruise to Olympic wins HONG KONG: Asian giants Japan and South Korea cantered to home wins while Australia fired blanks in a dour draw yesterday in the final round of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics.

Later, Saudi Arabia and Qatar drew 1-1 in Riyadh, Uzbekistan beat Iraq 2-0 in Tashkent, and Syria defeated Bahrain 3-1 in a qualifier played in Jordan.

In front of an expectant home crowd in Tosu, Japan beat Malaysia 2-0, with a goal in either half breaking the visitors’ doughty defence.

Dominating the game throughout, Takashi Sekizuka’s side opened the scoring in the tenth minute after midfielder Keigo Higashi latched onto a defence-splitting pass to slot the ball beyond the Malaysian goalkeeper.

The home side frayed their supporters’ nerves spurning several good chances and finding Malaysian keeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat in top form. But a 77th minute strike from substitute Ryohei Yamazaki secured the three points.

“We had the first goal early on in the game.

Our plan was to defend the lead and go for additional goals,” said Japan coach Sekizuka adding his side would need to be less profligate against fellow Group C teams Bahrain and Syria. South Korea also scored two without reply to beat Oman in Changwon, courtesy of a glorious 23rd minute free-kick from Yoon Bitgaram and a nicely taken second in the 74th minute by Cerezo Osaka midfielder Kim Bo-kyung.

Yoon, who won the foul just outside the box, got up to take the free kick and angled

England star’s games-room during his days as a non-league player-and the boyhood Liverpool fan showed he had the tools to compete with the Reds as he fired a long-range shot against the bar.

But Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt got the decisive second goal in the 81st minute when he struck with a low shot via the far post.

Ashley Barnes notched a 90th minute consolation for Brighton when he converted a penalty after Jamie Carragher ’s foul on Vicente.

Ten-man Chelsea won 4-3 on penalties against west London rivals Fulham after a 0-0 draw after extra time at Stamford Bridge.

Andre Villas-Boas’s side had Brazilian defender Alex sent off early in the second half and saw Fulham’s Pajtim Kasami miss the

resulting penalty.

And the Blues rode their luck in the shootout as well as Frank Lampard missed their first kick before Fulham’s Moussa Dembele and Bryan Ruiz failed from the spot to send Chelsea through. Villas-Boas had made nine changes from the team beaten 3-1 by Manchester United at Old Trafford as the Por tuguese coach gave full debuts to Romelu Luk aku, Oriol Romeu and R yan Bertrand, with Josh McEachran and Paulo Ferreira making their first appearances of the season. Everton needed extra-time to see off West Brom 2-1 at Goodison Park . Chris Brunt’s 57th minute penalty gave Albion the lead but Marouane Fellaini equalised in the 89th minute and Phil Neville got the winner in the 103rd minute. —AFP

Holders Rangers eliminated

TASHKENT: Uzbekistan’s Oleg Zoteev (right) and Iraq’s Faisal Jasim Nafil fight for the ball during their AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics soccer match. —AP the ball into the top right of the net.

He turned provider in the second-half feeding Kim to seal the win. South Korea are paired with Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in Group A. Their next game is against Qatar on November 23.

Where Japan and South Korea won comfortably, Australia struggled in a turgid encounter with the United Arab Emirates in Adelaide which ended 0-0.

Going into the match as favorites to win their group, the Australians were outplayed by the visitors for large periods of the match.

UAE striker Ahmed Khalil menaced the Aussie goal throughout the first half, blasting just wide from 25 yards out after the half hour

with goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne beaten.

Khalil nearly broke the deadlock three minutes later after finding the net only to have the goal ruled offside.

Australia had two golden chances to turn the tide in the second half, both courtesy of influential Brisbane Roar midfielder Mitch Nichols.

Nichols failed to latch on to an inviting 59th minute cross and steered a diving header into the hands of UAE goalkeeper Adel Mohamed ten minutes later.

Australia, who routed Yemen 7-0 over two legs to reach the group stages, will be determined to raise their game against other Group B opponents Iraq and Uzbekistan. —AFP

GLASGOW: A stoppage time goal from Mark Millar helped First Division Falkirk pull off a shock 3-2 defeat of Rangers to dump the holders out of the Scottish League Cup. The game seemed destined for extra time when goals from Dorin Goian and Nikica Jelavic in the final seven minutes cancelled out Farid El Alagui’s second-half double for Falkirk.

However, in the third minute of added time Rangers keeper Neil Alexander fumbled Millar’s free-kick from 18 yards into the net to send the First Division side into the draw for the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Celtic gained revenge for one of their most embarrassing defeats in recent years as they moved into the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals with a 20 win over Ross County at Victoria Park.

The First Division side had dumped the Hoops out of the Scottish Cup at the semifinal stage in 2009 but goals from Gary Hooper and a Scott Boyd own goal ensured there would be no upset this time around.

At the Falkirk Stadium, Rangers headed into the game on a high after their win in Sunday’s Old Firm derby however there were warning signs for the Ibrox side immediately after the break when David Weatherston’s shot bounced off the roof of the net.

Alexander then pulled off a tremendous save to deny Millar before El Alagui opened the scoring in the 58th minute when he headed home a Kieran Duffy cross.

Steven Naismith hit the post and Carlos Bocanegra headed just wide as Rangers pressed for an equaliser. Goian headed just over from a Steven Davis corner before El Alagui doubled Falkirk’s advantage in the 73rd minute.

The Moroccan rose above Wylde to head home Craig Sibbald’s cross past Alexander for his tenth goal of the season. Rangers piled the pressure on and pulled one back through Goian in the 83rd minute when the Romanian headed home Steven Whittaker’s cross. Substitute Jelavic then came to Rangers’ rescue with a drive into the net from six yard in the 87th minute after good work by Kyle Lafferty.

However, the home fans were sent wild in stoppage time when Alexander didn’t cope with Millar’s free-kick as Falkirk sealed a late winner. At Victoria Park, Celtic settled any early nerves when Hooper gave them a 13th minute lead.

Anthony Stokes swung the ball in from the left and his strike partner was in the right place to fire Joe Ledley’s headed knock down past Michael Fraser from two yards out.

The home side were presented with a chance when Kelvin Wilson’s poor headed clearance landed at the feet of Michael Gardyne whose first time volley cracked off the base of Fraser Forster’s post with the keeper beaten.

At the other end keeper Fraser made a fine stop with his feet from Ledley after Hooper’s clever pass sent him clear in the box. Celtic increased their lead five minutes into the second-half through an own goal.

Stokes was released down the right by James Forrest and his drilled ball across the face of goal was turned into his own net by Boyd under pressure from Beram Kayal.

The sides join Hibernian, Dundee United, St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Second Division East Fife, who knocked Aberdeen out on penalties on Tuesday, in the draw for the quarter-finals. —AFP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Lloyd’s of London sinks to $1bn loss

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Tools IMS to hold First Franchise Conference in Kuwait Page 22

NINGXIA: Visitors tour the centre during the China-Arab State Economy and Trade Summit in Yinchuan, in northwest China’s Ningxia region yesterday. — AFP

Financial risks rising in US, Europe: IMF Euro-zone asked to halt debt crisis contagion WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund says the global financial system is more vulnerable than at any point since the 2008 financial crisis. Risks to banks and financial markets have increased in recent months, the global lending organization said in a report yesterday. The European debt crisis is affecting its banking system to the point where banks may pull back on lending to conserve cash, which threatens to worsen growth in the region.

The IMF urged the euro-zone yesterday to try to halt contagion in the euro-zone from the public debt crisis by tapping an emergency fund to bolster its weakest banks. In its semiannual Global Financial Stability Report, the International Monetary Fund suggested that authorities could expand the use of the European Financial Stability Facility to directly aid the banks. “Some European banks urgently need to bolster their capital levels,” the IMF said. “In current market conditions, however, this may not always be possible, so public backstops, first at the national level and ulti-

mately through the European Financial Stability Facility should be used to provide capital to banks as needed,” the IMF said.

Meanwhile, there are growing doubts that the US lawmakers can forge the political consensus needed to reduce its growing budget deficits. Rising deficits were a key reason Standard & Poor’s downgraded long-term US debt last month. European leaders should quickly implement an agreement reached in July that provides the region’s bailout fund with more flexibility, while the US and Japan must phase in steps to reduce their deficits, the IMF said.

“Risks are elevated, and time is running out to tackle vulnerabilities that threaten the global financial system and the ongoing economic recovery,” the IMF said in its semi-annual Global Financial Stability report.

The report is the second warning from fund in as many days. On Tuesday, the IMF sharply cut its growth forecasts for the global economy, the United States and Europe for this year and 2012.

The 187-member group is holding its annual meeting at the end of this week in Washington. The meeting brings together finance ministers and central bankers from around the world. The IMF has been stepping up its pressure on Europe to resolve its financial problems, which the fund sees as major threats to the global economy. Political squabbling between European leaders has interfered with the region’s ability to reach a sustainable solution, the report said. Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s chief economist, said Tuesday that “Europe must get its act together.” He criticized its leaders for being “one step behind the action.”

The IMF contributed $41 billion to a $150 billion rescue package for Greece assembled

by European leaders in May 2010. Officials from the IMF and European Central Bank are reviewing Greece’s progress in cutting its government budget deficit before providing the next installment of funds from that loan.

Europe’s larger banks, which hold substantial amounts of Greek and other troubled gov-

In India, poverty begins below 50 cents a day NEW DELHI: India’s economic planning body has said any villager earning 50 cents a day is not poor and should not qualify for a government ration card-a figure condemned by experts yesterday.

Those with a daily income of 25 rupees (50 cents) in villages and 32 rupees (65 cents) in cities should be ineligible for subsidized food and other supplies, the Planning Commission told India’s Supreme Court. Anyone earning above these levels would have enough funds for “food, education and health”, the commission said in a submission to the court lodged on Tuesday.

The proposed new benchmarks, which have already been approved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office, were condemned by poverty experts as unrealistic-especially with India’s soaring inflation. “There is no way one person can feed and house himself on 32 rupees in a city for a day. This figure has no meaning for the common man,” Anupama Datta, deputy head of the National Slum Dwellers Federation, told AFP. The Planning Commission, which says it has to set the poverty line to make optimal use of funds, filed the figures after the Supreme Court requested the updating of the cut-off point in the face of India’s near double-digit inflation.

While India boasts a burgeoning class of urban rich thanks to a fast-growing economy, hundreds of millions of people still face a lack of food, clean water and prop-

er housing. “A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of rice costs 40 rupees which would last a family just one day,” said New Delhi housemaid Ambika Muthuswami, adding that three bananas cost about 10 rupees.

India’s proposed poverty line cut-off is far below the World Bank’s figure of $1.25 a day. Prominent Indian social activist Aruna Roy told the DNA newspaper that the level reflected “the government’s lack of empathy for the poor” and a “perspective completely divorced from reality.”

The Congress-led government has been under huge pressure to reduce its massive subsidy bill for the poor in order to

reduce a gaping fiscal deficit. Around 37 percent of India’s 1.2 billion population are currently deemed to live below the poverty line and are being given subsidized food and cooking fuel through state-owned stores.

Biraj Patnaik, adviser to an official commission on the right to food, said “when it comes to helping the poor, the government wants as few people as possible to get even the minimum benefits” to reduce its expenditure. The final poverty line cut-off figures will be set after a national survey to be carried out in 2011-12, the commission said. —AFP

AMRITSAR: An Indian homeless women Santosh (right) gives a bath to her child on the roadside in Amritsar yesterday. India’s economic planning body has said any villager earning more than 50 cents a day is not poor and should not qualify for government welfare — a figure condemned by experts. — AFP

ernment bonds, should boost their capital reserves, the IMF said. That would protect them in case the bonds lose more of their value or Greece defaults on its debts.

The capital should come from private markets, the IMF said. But if that isn’t available, governments should provide the funds. The IMF said that banks were exposed to euro200 billion ($274 billion) in credit risk from shaky government bonds, and euro300 billion if the risk of losses on loans to other banks were included. The IMF said the figure didn’t represent the amount of capital banks needed to raise.

The IMF stance that banks need to quickly raise large amounts of new capital is at odds with that of the European Central Bank, whose president, Jean-Claude Trichet, has said that banks have trillions in securities they can pledge as collateral for loans from the ECB. European stress tests earlier this year flunked eight banks and found 16 with barely enough capital to weather a new downturn; governments have in many cases resisted pushing for recapitalization, instead disputing

the methodology of the tests.

Recapitalization of banks can be a painful process, since shareholders are pressed to put up more money or see their holdings diluted, and share values can fall sharply. Hard-pressed governments are reluctant to put up the money themselves, after pouring billions of taxpayer euros into bank rescues during the earlier years of the crisis. In the United States, policymakers should take steps to improve the financial position of US households, the report said. One way to do that would be to reduce mortgage debt for those Americans who owe more on their homes than they are worth. About one-quarter of US homeowners are in that position. Reducing that debt burden would improve consumer demand and support growth, the report said.

“Restoring confidence in the stability of the US housing market is the key to bolstering the prospects for US banks,” which have been hurt by slower growth, the report said. David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this story. — AP

Kuwait edges down before protest MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Most Gulf markets edged higher yesterday ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting as investors expected further monetary easing for the faltering economy but Kuwaiti shares slipped on political uncertainty. Qatar’s bourse hit an 11week high, lifted by banking stocks. The index rose 0.6 percent, to its highest close since July 7.

“The next two weeks are critical-we have the quantitative easing announcement in the US, and the Greek debt talks in Europe; these things can take the market in any direction,” said Joe Kawkabani, Franklin Templeton Investments(ME) chief investment officer of equities. Masraf Al Rayan and Industries Qatar were the main support, rising 0.9 and 1.2 percent respectively. Barwa Real Estate gained 1 percent.

“Banks have started to become more aggressive this year after cleaning up their books. Loan growth in Qatar, which is a good indicator of risk appetite, was at 5 percent growth,” said Kawkabani.

Elsewhere, Kuwait’s benchmark dipped 0.4 percent, ahead of a planned protest later against alleged corruption. Some protesters want the resignation of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah. “People are just being careful and waiting to see what’s going to happen with the protest,” said a Kuwait-based trader who asked not to be identified. “If sheikh Nasser will resign, the streets will be positive and the market will go up. If things don’t get better, I don’t personally expect a heavy sell-off but it will be slow.”

Large-caps Kuwait Finance House and Ahli United Bank fell 1.1 percent each and Kuwait International Bank lost 1.8 percent.

In Dubai, the index rose 0.5 percent to close at a two-week high.

Real estate-linked stocks supported, as Arabtec gained 0.7 percent, Drake & Scull climbed 1.1 percent and Emaar Properties rose 0.7 percent. In Abu Dhabi, the index stemmed a 10-day decline, closing 0.04 percent higher. Aldar Properties gained 2.5

percent, accounting for almost half of all shares traded on the index. In Oman, Galfar Engineering climbed 2.5 percent after saying its chairman has received regulatory approval to raise his stake in the company to up to 35 percent.— Reuters

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BUSINESS

Al-Khatib: Tools IMS to hold First Franchise Conference in Kuwait

Mobilink, Apliman Technologies to offer next generation SDP

Minister of Trade and Industry to patronize conference KUWAIT: The executive manager of Tools IMS Rasha Al-Khatib said that Tools began intensifying preparations to launch the First Franchise Conference in Kuwait which is going to be held on the 18th of December under the auspices of the Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Amani Boresly which will shed the light on the current and future state of the franchise projects in Kuwait.

Al-Khatib declared that this conference is the first of its kind in Kuwait indicating that Tools took the initiative to launch the First Franchise Conference because of the greater importance of the franchise projects in Kuwait for the training and experience it provides for the people who are working in it, as well as for the added economic value it represents as an intermediate sector connected to many important national sectors, and also for employing the freshly graduates in the local market.

Rasha Al-Khatib

UNB tests market for benchmark-sized bond

Saudi Aramco sells 100,000tn for Oct SINGAPORE: Saudi Aramco sold over 100,000 tons of October naphtha at about $20.00-$21.00 a ton above Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, nearly 18-24 percent higher versus a recent deal done out of Saudi Arabia, traders said yesterday.

Saudi Aramco sold around 50,000 tons of the spot volumes for mid-October loading from Rabigh at around $21.00 a ton. It separately sold another 40,000 tons from Yanbu to be co-loaded with 15,000 tonnes from Jeddah for end-October loading at premiums of about $20.00.

The two buyers were not immediately known, traders added. The new premiums were higher compared to the $17.00 a ton for 230,000 barrels to be co-loaded with 15,000 tons from Yanbu for early October lifting, sold jointly by Samref and Saudi Aramco. Naphtha sentiment has been firm on tighter supplies caused by limited European exports to Asia as Western refiners were cutting runs on squeezed margins caused by high crude prices. Cracks, the premiums/losses obtained from refining Brent crude into naphtha, were around a three-week high on Tuesday at $136.35 a ton premium. — Reuters

Emaar Properties eyes hotel sales DUBAI: Dubai developer Emaar Properties is looking to sell two hotels in its Downtown Burj Dubai development, according to a report yesterday. Arabian Business, citing unnamed sources, said on its website that the developer of the world’s tallest tower is looking to offload its Al Manzil and Qamaradeen hotels as well as other properties in the area. “As company policy, we do not respond to market rumors or speculation,” a company spokeswoman said when contacted by Reuters. Among Emaar’s high profile assets is Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping centre. It also has a joint venture with Italian fashion house Georgio Armani to develop luxury hotels. Second-quarter revenue from rental and hospitality rose 24 percent over the same period last year despite a 23-percent fall in total revenues and a 69-percent plunge in net profit, it said in July. —Reuters

BEIRUT: Apliman Technologies wins accreditation to provide Mobilink with its highly developed SDP (Service Delivery Platform) to support Mobilink’s operations in 15 countries, with SDP deployment in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar and Malaysia. In line with the agreement signed between the two parties, Mobilink chose Apliman SDP to leverage the operator’s services to the highest levels of reliability, to maximize efficiency and to minimize churn.

Commenting on this successful cooperation, Munaf Bukhari, General Manager-Corporate of Mobilink said, “Apliman’s success in emerging markets provides an excellent reference to choose them as a preferred partner and their state of art SDP platform not only enhances Mobilink’s existing technical capabilities but also strengthens Mobilink’s unparallel experience and insight into supporting Mobile operators to integrate with their SDP platforms and services. Mobilink’s strategy is to have an open and Modular SDP platform which can help in quick deployment of innovative services, fast integration with Operators and flexibility to add on additional components to provide enhanced services across the operators Mobilink is connected to in the ME region “.

Apliman Technologies is committed to enhancing telecommunications.

Using Aplimanall-inclusive SDP, Mobilinkcan offer its customers a rich variety of services.The platform saves Mobilink all the hassles of network integration and multi-platform management with minimal operational and capital costs, the key point any mobile operator looks for. Flexible enough to host a wide range of services that cope with next-generation technology, Apliman SDP promises Mobilink greater long-term benefits on both, the operator and the consumer levels.

Honored to work with Mobilink,

Al-Khatib added that the conference aims to shed the light on the promising investment opportunities that the franchise projects provide in Kuwait, and to help those who are interested in building their own middle or small projects specially the young investors which ultimately will enhance the selfemployment culture. The conference also aims to introduce the current status of the franchise projects in Kuwait and explore the promising sectors as well as introduce the investors to the most important international and regional franchises that they can invest in.

Al-Khatib said that international speakers will attend the conference in addition to local experts, and many Kuwaiti pioneers will share their unique experience in franchising , indicating that Tools will hold besides the conference workshops for the young investor who are interested in building their own franchise projects.

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi lender Union National Bank is eyeing a dollar-denominated benchmark bond issue after planned investor meetings next week, which will test market appetite for regional debt amid a charged global economic backdrop.

UNB has picked five banks for the potential issue, it said on Wednesday, with roadshows due to kick off on Sept 25 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, followed by Asia. Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC , National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered were given the mandate for the bond, which will be issued subject to market conditions following investor meetings.

Benchmark-sized is widely accepted to mean at least $500 million. UNB has a $1 billion term loan maturing in December, Thomson Reuters data showed. In July, Reuters reported UNB

had mandated the same banks, with the exception of NBAD, for a potential issue.

The bond would be the first international issue from the Gulf Arab region since Abu Dhabi-based lender First Gulf Bank sold $650 million in Islamic bonds, or sukuk, at the end of July.

A pipeline of bond issues from the region has been held up by global volatility, in particular euro zone sovereign debt woes, leading borrowers to adopt a wait and see attitude and to wonder about the eventual cost. “It is got to be a squeaky clean credit, at a concession,” said one bank analyst speaking on condition of anonymity. UNB shares are up 12 percent this year. The bank is majorityowned by the Abu Dhabi government through the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. The government of Dubai is a 10 percent shareholder, Thomson Reuters data showed. — Reuters

Munaf Bukhari TarekItani, Executive Director of Apliman Technologies said, “While Apliman Technologies always thrives to sign multiple operators cross country deals, this was especially important to us, as it allows us to strengthen our Asian presence by entering the Malaysian market”.

With this honor, Apliman Technologies reinforces its presence in the Asian market and accelerates the development of mobile communications in such a market of significant potential. Apliman Technologies is a leading Telecommunications Solutions provider in Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

We have an international portfolio of installations spanning 4 continents and serving hundreds of millions of subscribers worldwide. Top mobile operator groups trust our solutions that range from Messaging, Voice, USSD, and Mobile Advertising to Enterprise and Customer Care solutions. Ever since its founding, Apliman Technologies has been at the forefront of developments in the field. It has existed long enough in the market to establish customer loyalty and become a trademark of trust.

Al-Tijari issues memorial postal stamps marking its 50th anniversary KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait has issued a series of memorial postal stamps concluding thereby its celebration of its 50th anniversary which coincided with Kuwait celebrations of the 50th Independence Day. The new issue of stamps reflected 5 images which best suit the architectural development of the Bank’s Head Office premises going through the old Head Office which represents the actual starting point of the Bank’s business activities in addition to the slogans which marked Commercial Bank of Kuwait’s celebrations of its golden Jubilee.

Commenting on the new issue of the stamps, Sheikha Nouf Al-Sabah, Head of Advertising & Public Relations

Department said that the Bank has previously prepared an outstanding program that marked its 50th anniversary celebrations through a widespread media campaign which covered and highlighted the important strides the Bank has made being the second oldest Kuwaiti Bank, noting that Commercial Bank has taken the lead in introducing innovative banking services and products to the Kuwaiti banking industry. Sheikha Nouf added that the new issue of the stamps comes within the mutual cooperation between Commercial Bank of Kuwait and the Ministry of Communications and emphasizes the Bank’s social responsibility and endeavors to support all the events and activities that aim at demonstrating and

highlighting the image of the State of Kuwait. In this context, Sheikha Nouf, noted that the Bank has previously cooperated with the Ministry of Communications in the issuance of memorial postal stamps on the Bank’s “43” anniversary and the Ministry has previously reproduced some images of Al-Tijari calendars for issuing postal stamps that reflected the old Kuwaiti heritage and traditions that the Bank always endeavors to survive through its annual calendars.

Philatelists who wish to collect the newly issued stamps can visit Ministry of Communication - Postal Sector, Philatelic Bureau Office as of today to obtain a copy of the first issue of such stamps.

Sheikha Nouf Al-Sabah

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

.2720000 .4270000 .3720000 .3040000 .2730000 .2780000 .0040000 .0020000 .0745100 .7259280 .3810000 .0700000 .7116400 .0040000 .0430000

.2790000 .4390000 .3820000 .3220000 .2830000 .2890000 .0072500 .0035000 .0752590 .7332230 .4010000 .0760000 .7187920 .0072000 .0530000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2744500 .2765500 .4290340 .4323170 .3746930 .3775600 .3068540 .3092020 .2756630 .2777720 .0503080 .0506930 .0412290 .0415440 .2808720 .2830210 .0352320 .0355020 .2162390 .2178930 .0035930 .0036210 .0000000 .0057920 .0000000 .0025160 .0000000 .0031610 .0000000 .0036920 .0747510 .0753230 .7282740 .7338460 .0000000 .3911600 .0732060 .0737660 .7131350 .7185920 .0000000 .0063940

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 3.629 5.754 3.140 2.501 3.611 218.580 35.429 3.684 6.345 9.073 0.271 0.273

GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

73.589 75.825 716.770 732.960 75.143 ARAB COUNTRIES 47.600 46.260 1.263 195.920 389.700 1.851 5.996 34.140

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 275.850 Euro 39.850 Sterling Pound 435.430 Canadian dollar 279.340 Turkish lire 153.680 Swiss Franc 311.170 Australian dollar 283.710 US Dollar Buying 275.500 GOLD 333.000 168.000 87.000

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

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

SELL CASH SELL DRAFT 287.200 285.700 733.240 733.240 3.860 3.688 281.400 279.900 541.500 36.600 54.100 167.800 218.700 47.250 46.283 381.900 380.400 36.040 35.890 6.190 5.755 0.034 0.033 0.241 0.240 3.700 391.150 389.680 0.187 0.186 92.510 92.510 47.600 4.240 3.630

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

230.500 1.869 52.500 716.130 3.240 6.630 76.270 73.610 218.670 38.470 2.604 437.500 43.700 313.000 5.600 9.500 198.263 75.170 276.100 1.230

229.000 715.950 3.155 6.370 75.840 73.610 218.670 38.470 2.500 435.500 311.500 5.600 9.220 75.070 275.700

GOLD 1,871.220

10 Tola

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 435.500 275.700

Sterling Pound US Dollar

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY 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

SELL DRAFT 286.55 281.53 313.36 380.08 434.03 3.66 3.700 5.723 2.503 3.606 3.145 75.03 733.22 46.28 392.17 716.39 76.01 73.60

SELL CASH 287.25 283.00 323.00 381.50 444.00 3.75 3.800 6.150 2.660 4.200 3.320 75.25 733.25 48.00 391.00 717.00 76.15 73.70

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank

Selling Rate 275.600 278.680 434.095 379.890 309.205

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

730.710 75.010 75.650 73.455 387.940 46.255 2.498 5.770 3.147 3.688 6.338 676.022 3.705 9.145 5.800 3.690 91.545

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 Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 275.650 3.155 5.765 2.510 3.695 6.385 75.140 73.650 732.700 46.255 438.900 3.190 1.550 391.600 5.750 383.400 283.200 3.690

Al Mulla Exchange Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) US Dollar 275.250 Euro 380.200 Pound Sterling 435.630 Canadian Dollar 279.700 Japanese Yen 3.640 Indian Rupee 5.742 Egyptian Pound 46.200 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.498 Bangladesh Taka 3.675 Philippines Peso 6.339 Pakistan Rupee 3.140 Bahraini Dinar 733.200 UAE Dirham 75.000 Saudi Riyal 73.500 *Rates are subject to change

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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In US, two housing markets and two directions NEW YORK: In America, it’s starting to feel as if there are two housing markets. One for the rich and international buyers - and one for everyone else.

Consider foreclosure-ravaged Detroit. In the historic Green Acres district, a haven for hipsters, a pristine, three-bedroom brick Tudor recently sold for $6,000 - about what a buyer would have paid during the Great Depression. Yet just 15 miles (25 kilometers) away, in the posh suburban enclave of Birmingham, bidding wars are back. Multimilliondollar mansions are selling quickly. Sales this August were up 21 percent from the previous year.

The country club has ended its stealth discounts on new memberships. And Main Street’s retail storefronts are full.

“We’re getting more showings, more offers and more sales,” says Ronnie Keating, a real estate agent with Sotheby’s International. Think of this housing market as bipolar. In the luxury sector, the recession is a memory and sales and prices are rising. But everywhere else, the market is moving sideways or getting worse.

In the housing market inhabited by most Americans, prices have fallen 30 percent or more since the peak in 2007. That’s a steeper decline than during the Depression. Some people have had their homes on the market for a year without a single offer.

Almost a quarter of American homeowners owe more on their house than it’s worth. Another quarter have less than 20 percent equity. About half of homeowners couldn’t get a mortgage if they applied today, says Paul Dales, senior US economist for Capital Economics.

But then there is the other housing market, occupied by 1.5 percent of the US population, according to Zillow.com. The one with outdoor kitchens and in-home spas; with his-and-her boudoirs and closets the size of starter houses. The one that is not local but global, with international buyers bidding in all cash. And where the gyrations of the stock market are cause for conversa-

News

in brief

Bahrain ups gas prices for aluminum producer DUBAI: The National Oil and Gas Authority of Bahrain (NOGA) is to raise the price of gas supplied to Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) by $0.75 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) to $2.25/mmbtu from Jan. 1, 2012, Alba said yesterday. Many energy intensive industries in the Middle East have thrived on huge gas price subsidies which many industry observers say need to be phased out to encourage investment in regional gas exploration and discourage waste. “If the notified price increase takes effect, Alba expects that it would result in an increase of approximately $85 million in Alba’s cost of sales for the year 2012 based on its expected production level,” Alba said in a statement. Alba currently pays just $1.50/mmbtu for gas it uses to produce more than 870,000 metric tons a year of high grade aluminium, a fraction of the cost paid by competitors in other parts of the world.Qatargas to double LNG supply to Asia SINGAPORE: Qatargas wants to double its long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Asia from 11 million tons currently to more than 20 million tons, a company official said yesterday. “Over the long term, we should be able to double the size of our portfolio in Asia Pacific in excess of 20 million tons with additional sales to Japan, China and others,” said Andrew Seck, assistant director of LNG marketing for Qatargas, at an industry conference in Singapore. Seck did not give a timeline for the increase. Qatargas’ long-term contracts of rougly 11 million tonnes in Asia Pacific are currently split between Japan and China, and the company hopes its recent short-term boost in supply to Japan would lead to more long-term supply commitments.

DP World confirms $850m loan refinancing DUBAI: Dubai’s Port & Free Zone World (PFZW), the direct owner of global ports operator DP World, has signed an $850 million loan refinancing, the latter said in a bourse statement yesterday. “DP World Limited has been advised that Port & Free Zone World FZE has refinanced its outstanding $850 million debt facility secured in part against certain of its shares in DP World,” the statement said. Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that the five-year loan had been signed by 15 banks and was almost evenly split between conventional and sharia-compliant tranches.

Qatar aims to invest billions in farm city DOHA: Qatar aims to invest billions of dollars in an agricultural city to house food growers and processers, in an effort to increase its food supply security and combat rising food prices, a government official said. “It is in the early stages, but it would be a large investment, in the billions of dollars,” Mohamed Ahmed al Obaidly, head of the agricultural and environment committee at the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Doha. “We want to have the full chain, from production to end use. We’re aiming for a complete city which will include research and development, food processing, distilleries and growers, as well as utilities and universities,” he said. Arid Gulf nations, largely dependent on food imports, have reacted to skyrocketing food prices by buying farmland in developing nations to improve their security of supplies. Qatar currently has $6 billion invested in food security outside the country, Obaidly said.

Al Faisal Holding buys W London hotel DUBAI: Qatar’s Al Faisal Holding, owned by a Qatari royal family member, has bought the W London Hotel from Northern Irish developer McAleer & Rushe for 200 million pounds ($318 million), it said in a statement yesterday. The 10-storey property opened in February and has 192 rooms, a Michelin-starred restaurant, a 35,000 square foot M&M’s store and 11 apartments. It was put up for sale in January by property broker Jones Lang LaSalle.

tion, not cutting expenses.

In this land of luxury properties, the Great Recession seems over. Prices of $1 million-plus properties have risen 0.7 percent since February, according to Zillow. Prices of houses under $1 mil-

economist Stan Humphries.

After every recession since World War II, housing has led the economic recovery. Not this time.

The renewed vitality in the comparatively small market for luxury homes is not enough to power a

MICHIGAN: Real estate agent Ronni Keating waits outside for a client to view a home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Think of this housing market as bipolar. In the luxury sector, the recession is a memory and sales and prices are rising.— AP lion have fallen more than 1.5 percent. Normally, these two segments of the housing market rise and fall together. But now, they’re moving in opposite directions.

“Luxury is the best performing segment of the housing market right now,” says Zillow.com chief

full-blown recovery. This bifurcation in the market is yet another reason Michelle Meyer, the chief economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, says her housing outlook is “increasingly downbeat.”

The phenomenon is not limited to real estate.

You can see the same split in other gauges of the

economy. Sales at Saks versus Walmart. Pay on Wall Street versus Main Street. Corporate profits versus family balance sheets.

The divide is also making credit a perk of the rich. Mortgage rates are the lowest in decades.

But what good are absurdly cheap rates if you can’t get a mortgage? The banks aren’t granting credit to anyone “who even has a smudge on their application,” says Jonathan Miller, founder of real estate consulting firm Miller Samuel. Applications for new mortgages languish at 10-year lows.

Across the US, prices on high-end homes fell after the subprime crash in the fall of 2008. The price on the $25 million mansion became $20 million, then $15 million. Such “bargains” are pushing more luxury buyers to commit to more deals.

There are other factors, too. In Detroit, a recovering auto industry is helping propel high-end sales. All those car executives who have helped turnaround the American auto industry used to rent. Now they are using their performance bonuses to buy homes.

Wall Street’s recovery has brought back the market for mansions in the Hamptons, on Long Island, where the number of closings has returned to the 2007 level, and for luxury co-ops in New York City. And because of social-network riches in Silicon Valley, twice as many homes have sold for $5 million or more this year than last.

But in the other housing market, an apartment tower built in 2007 in San Jose, California, recently converted to all-rental. The building had not sold a single unit. In Miami, a city that exemplifies the foreclosure epidemic, idled cranes dot the skyline.

Unemployment shot up again this summer from 12 percent to 14 percent, a level not seen since the energy crisis in 1973. There are so many two-bedroom condos in gated communities with golf courses, private pools and rustic jogging paths that you can pick one up for $25,000, 66 percent off the price five years ago. But luxury condos priced at $1 million or more are selling as rapidly as they did during the boom.—AP

Weak markets push Gulf brokers to consolidation Dubai’s Shuaa looking for M&A in region DUBAI: The good times long gone, many Gulf brokerages are under pressure to consolidate as slumping market turnover and weak asset values put their survival in doubt. Obstacles to tie-ups and mergers abound in a region where most announced deals end up failing. But brokers are finding they may be left with only one other option-outright closure.

“The regional brokerage industry has to consolidate,” said Anthony Mallis, chief executive of Bahrain-based investment bank Securities & Investment Co (SICO).

“There is gross overcapacity in at least three out of the six Gulf markets, and certainly in these markets it is pretty obvious that a number of brokers are insolvent.”

Once a shining symbol of Dubai’s investment banking prospects, the emirate’s Shuaa Capital said last week that it would hunt for a potential acquisition rather than wait for markets to turn around. It is seeking ways to boost revenue amid a slump in its home market.

“The company expects that any potential acquisition would boost its revenues and create cost synergies that will have a positive impact,” Shuaa said. The investment bank, which took blue-chip companies such as DP World public during the boom years, is in talks with a number of target companies for potential deals, it said.

Shuaa has looked at HC Securities and Beltone Financial in Egypt as potential candidates, sources told Reuters.

Other brokers are likely to follow the same path or shut down operations, analysts say, as the Gulf’s securities industry shows no clear signs of revival from a slump triggered by the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and a crash of real estate and other asset prices across the region.

While the Gulf’s economic growth has revived since the crisis, local and international investors have been reluctant to push asset prices in the region back up with the global economic climate still uncertain. Ninety brokerages are licensed

Dubai developer Nakheel’s $1bn sukuk sits on seabed DUBAI: Much of the land backing a $1.03 billion sukuk bond from Dubai property developer Nakheel is unreclaimed seabed, bank sources said, leaving trade creditors holding the paper with scant recourse to tangible assets in the event of a default.

The Islamic bond, or sukuk, is part of Nakheel’s $16 billion debt restructuring deal which repays trade creditors 40 percent in cash and 60 percent via the bond. The two assets that back the sukuk are a strip of waterfront land and a still partially submerged crescent that will form part of a man-made island shaped like a palm at Jebel Ali, on Dubai’s outskirts.

The land plot consists of 350 million square feet of undeveloped land at Waterfront South. The remainder is made up of 1.3 billion square feet along the Palm Jebel Ali crescent, of which only 10 percent has already been reclaimed from the sea. “I’ve tried to find it on Google Earth, but all I found was an undredged plot of land,” said Ahmad Alanani, senior executive officer for fixed income at Exotix.

Nakheel declined to comment. The sukuk prospectus does not outline the assets allocated to support the sukuk but a term sheet distributed to creditors details the area. Such intangibility would usually cause investors to steer clear but Nakheel’s trade creditors have limited options, said a Dubai-based trader.

“You take what you are given or you get nothing,” he said. Many contractors, who waited over two years for their cash owed, have sought to exit the instrument in the secondary market. Their concerns are less about the quality of the assets and more about liquefying the position, said one source knowledgeable about the dealings.

Bids for one auction of sukuk worth 320 million dirhams being sold by an international contractor were due on Tuesday, according to two bankers. The paper is trading at a chunky discount and an auction process was unlikely to raise the price. On Wednesday it was at between 75.7890 and 78.316 for a corresponding yield of 17.555 percent and 16.631 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

That is down from 78.900 to 80.050 for a yield of 16.415 percent and 16.011 percent a day earlier.

“Those looking to buy into the sukuk will not do so because of the valuation of the collateral backing the paper or the issuer’s cash flow generation capacity,” Alanani said. “They are more likely to do so as a play on the Dubai government backstopping any obligation from the developer,” Alanani added. —Reuters

to trade the two domestic bourses in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, according to the Securities and Commodities Authority. But this number may now have fallen by more than half as many of them have asked for their licenses to be suspended or have shut themselves down completely, securities analysts say.

Turnover on Dubai’s bourse is set to slump to a seven-year low in 2011, with this year’s annual traded value likely to be less than a fifth of that of 2008. Its benchmark index is down about 10 percent year-to-date and some 80 percent below a 2008 peak.

The exchange has not seen a single initial public offer of shares in more than three years. “Given the fall-off in volumes from 2008, we expected an accelerated period of consolidation, especially in the UAE,” said Akber Naqvi, executive director at Dubai-based Al Masah Capital.

Naqvi said the consolidation was not so far happening as fast as he had expected.

But since the top five brokers in the UAE control more than 80 percent of market share, there is considerable room for further consolidation, he and other industry experts said.

Even larger markets such as Saudi Arabia have not been immune from the slump. Regulators have given licenses to about 60 brokers which are competing with banks for a share of trading volume which has shrunk considerably in the last few years. The Saudi index is down 8 percent so far this year.

Bahrain, the small Gulf Arab state where not a single company trades on a daily basis, has around 12 brokers; Oman has over 20 brokerages operating.

“The sad part is that the downturn has been across the board. There is no market in the Gulf you can look at and say, we need to be there,” said one Muscat-based securities analyst who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to media. — Reuters

Greece to outline more austerity to secure loan ATHENS: The Greek cabinet was expected to outline major public sector layoffs, more spending cuts and tax increases yesterday to secure a bailout instalment crucial to avoid running out of money next month. Greece is the front line in a euro zone sovereign debt crisis that also engulfed Ireland and Portugal and now threatens Italy, Spain and some of Europe’s biggest banks, risking plunging the West back into recession.

Officials said European governments are looking seriously at steps to recapitalize banks most exposed to sovereign risk after initially rejecting an IMF call last month for urgent action.

Fears of another credit crunch or recession due to Europe’s inability to overcome the debt crisis have dominated the run-up to this week’s IMF/World Bank and Group of 20 meetings of finance chiefs in Washington. A Greek government spokesman said austerity measures negotiated in tough talks with European Union and International Monetary Fund officials would be announced in the afternoon after a special cabinet session.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos acknowledged before the meeting that Greece’s public finances would have gone off the rails without checks by the so-called troika of EU/IMF inspectors, who walked out of Athens on Sept 3 after uncovering a new deficit shortfall.

But he also said the EU had failed to manage the debt crisis as decisively and fast as required, and Greece was being blackmailed by the financial markets.

“Do we need to take additional measures? Yes, we need to take additional measures,” Venizelos told lawmakers, adding that the country needed the help of its international lenders, who have imposed a string of unpopular tax rises, pension cuts and economic reforms since they rescued the country in May 2010.

“If it weren’t for the troika’s control...

ATHENS: Public sector employees carry a banner, reading: “No Layoffs,” as they demonstrate outside the Greek Parliament yesterday. Greece’s leading unions on September 21 announced a general strike on October 19 and a nationwide civil service strike on October 5 against state austerity cuts designed to clinch an EU-IMF debt rescue. — AFP unfortunately we would have derailed fiscally,” he said.

Venizelos had a two-hour conference call late on Tuesday with senior troika officials, who pushed Greece to accelerate its austerity and reform drive to release an 8 billion euro loan disbursement next month, without which Athens will not be able to pay salaries, pensions and bills.

In a sign that a deal may be close, the European Commission announced after the call that troika mission chiefs would return to Athens early next week to complete their quarterly review of progress on Greece’s adjustment program. Diplomats, economists and market analysts say Greece is likely to get the aid tranche, if only to buy time for European governments to recapitalize wobbly banks and strengthen the euro

zone’s rescue fund to cope with a default perhaps early next year.

A Finance Ministry official said Venizelos had agreed to bring forward measures from the so-called “mid-term plan,” in which it has committed to slash its budget deficit through 2014 and sell some 50 billion euros in state assets.

Greek media reported the measures were likely to include accelerated sackings of state workers, pension and wage cuts for civil servants, increases in heating fuel tax and extension of a one-off property tax announced.

The government has so far said it will immediately put up to 3,000 public employees into a so-called labor reserve, in which they draw 60 percent of salary for a year while looking for another state job. Another 20,000 would follow in a second wave. — Reuters

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KSE momentum fizzles out GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT K U WAI T: Ku wait Stock Exchange (KSE) failed to sustain the positive trend seen in the last week as investors rushed to book their profits since the end of last week. Investors are trying to figure out what stocks should they buy, hold or sell before 3rd quar ter financial res u l t s s e s s i on s t ar t af ter September 30, 2011. It is worth mentioning that, Zain closed the session up by 1.02 percent at KD0.990.

Global General Index (GGI) ended the day down by 0.09 percent, at 183.14 point. Market capitalization was also down for the day, reaching KD29.90bn.

On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 5,955.9 point, shedding 21.1 points (0.35 percent) to its previous close.

Market breadth During the session, 106 companies were traded. M arket breadth was skewed towards decliners as 49 equities declined versus 21 that advanced.

Trading activity was mixed during the session. Total volume traded was up by 6.43 percent with 213.63mn shares changing hands at a total value of KWD16.95mn (8.69 percent lower compared to Sunday’s session). Services sector was the volume leader, accounting for 42.3 percent of total shares exchanges.

Al-Safat Energy Holding Company was the session’s most traded stock with 31.88mn shares exchanged. The same sector was the value leader, having 34.2 percent of total traded value. Al-Safat Investment Company was the most active in terms of value traded, with KWD2.05mn worth of shares traded.

Top Gainers and Biggest Decliners In terms of top gainers, National Petroleum Ser vices Company was the top gainer for the day, adding 8.20 percent to its share value and closing at KD0.330. On the other hand, Al Dar National Real Estate Company shed 9.76 percent and closed at KD0.019, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sectors Investment Index declined by 0.80 percent. Al-Safat Investment Company was a major loser in the sector, as it lost 6.02 percent from its open price to close at KD0.078. KSE decided to resume trading in the company’s shares, effective September 21, 2011 as a new stock. The stock, which was suspended since May 15, will be out of the index calcula-

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

BUSINESS

tion for the next 15 sessions.

Kuwait Syrian Holding Company registered an increase of 3.23 percent to close at KD0.032. It is worth mentioning that the stock was the only gainer in investment sector during Sunday’s session.

Global Bank ing Index decreased by 0.33 percent on the back of the decline registered in 3 stocks, Kuwait International Bank , which dropped by 1.79 percent, followed by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and Ahli United Bank which closed down by 1.08 percent each. Earlier during the day, the Central Bank of Kuwait has turned down a request by local banks to raise the maximum limit of the consumer and installment financing they offer to their customers.

On the other hand, Global

Services Index registered a gain of 0.54 percent on the back of the gains recorded in telecom stocks, Zain and National Mobile Telecommunications Company ( Wataniya) closed up by 1.02 percent each.

Oil News Price of the Kuwaiti crude retreated $1.14 in Tuesday ’s trading to stabilize at $105.70pb, compared to $106.84pb in Monday ’s trading, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on Wednesday. The crude oil prices fell for the second consecutive after the announcement of Standards Poor’s (SP) company on reducing the credit rating of Italy, which enhanced the possibility of a drop on the oil demand in Europe, regarding that Italy is the third strongest economy in Europe.

Brent creeps up ahead of Fed, economy weighs LONDON: Brent crude futures pushed slightly higher yesterday but moves were muted as investors awaited a US Federal Reserve policy meeting in which the bank is expected to announce further steps to stimulate the economy.

Brent crude gained 23 cents to $110.77 a barrel at 0811 GMT, after slipping as low as $110.08. US crude for November delivery fell 24 cents to $86.68.

Brent crude has been supported by supply disruption caused by outages from producers in the North Sea, and due to the war in Libya which cut off a significant stream of high quality oil. However the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya and an increasingly bleak economic outlook has kept many analysts bearish on the longer term prospects for oil prices.

“There’s set to be weaker growth as shown by the IMF which points to lower oil demand and production in Libya is coming on stream faster than expected,” Christophe Barret, analyst at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank said.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday sounded the latest warning about growth, saying that the United States and Europe could slip back into recession, a factor that weighed on oil prices earlier in the day. The Fed is expected to announce plans to intervene in the bond market to push long-term interest rates-already near historic lows-even lower.

Barret said that a decision by the Fed to stock up on longer-term Treasury notes as

expected, may initially be supportive of crude prices, but that it would have negligible longer term impact.

“What matters is the supply-demand balance, slow growth matters more than monetary easing.”

A surprise build in crude stocks in the world’s top oil consumer added to pressure on the US benchmark. The IMF’s comments overshadowed a slight easing of worries over Europe’s debt after Greece promised further cuts to its public sector before a second conference call with international lenders. “Uncertainty over the rate of progress and possible direction of intergovernmental negotiations on debt restructuring continues to inject volatility into financial markets,” analysts at JPMorgan said in a report.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed an unexpected build in US crude oil inventories, compared with analyst expectations for a draw, in the week to Sept 16. Gasoline and distillate stockpiles rose slightly. The market will now be watching out for the weekly report from the US Energy Information Administration, due out at 1430 GMT yesterday.

Producers may intensify efforts to curb output if Brent falls towards $100 a barrel because many of the Middle East crude exporters may have to spend heavily on social programs for some time to prevent public upheaval, and this will require higher income from oil shipments, JPMorgan said. —Reuters

Dinar stable vs dollar KUWAIT: The exchange rate of the Kuwaiti dinar (KD) was stable against the US greenback, with the dollar trading for KD 0.275, while the euro came to KD 0.277 yesterday, according to the Central Bank of Kuwait bulletin. The bulletin reported the sterling pound down to KD 0.432, the Swiss franc up to KD 0.309, and no change was seen in the rate of the Japanese yen, trading at KD 0.003. Generally at present there is an inclination to take risk in the global markets, and preference for highyield currencies and assets. This is despite the rating agency Standard and Poor’s

bringing down of Italy’s credit rating.

There is prevailing optimism over the open federal committee meeting on interest rate, which is also fueling risk-taking.

The US federal reserve is to continue easing its monetary policy and supporting the economy through a third quantitative easing. This grabbed attention and anticipation more than fears regarding European debt crises and general global economic slowdown fears, specifically after the International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast of global economic growth. —KUNA

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

BUSINESS

UAW shifts focus to Chrysler, Marchionne DETROIT: With a tentative agreement with General Motors Co in hand, the United Auto Workers union shifts its focus to Chrysler Group LLC where a one-week contract extension will expire late yesterday.

Last Wednesday night, less than two hours before the four-year pact between the union and Chr ysler was to expire, Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne fired off a letter to UAW President Bob King chiding the union chief for missing an opportunity.

Marchionne said: “You and I failed” the US government that funded the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy and bailout by not coming to agreement on a

contract by the deadline.

Most of the work had been done by last week, and only a meeting of the two chiefs was needed to finalize the deal, Marchionne’s letter said. “We are down to the resolution of a few issues, primarily involving the economics for our employees for the next four years,” Marchionne’s Sept. 14 letter said.

In the same letter, Marchionne agreed to the one-week contract extension. Meanwhile, at Ford Motor Co, an open-ended extension was agreed upon ahead of the Sept. 14 expiration. While King on Tuesday said he had not decided whether to enter intensive talks next with Chrysler or Ford, those close to the talks say Chrysler is up next and Ford-the

only automaker not to take a US government bailout in 2009 — will be last.

GM workers at union halls and plants across the country will begin voting on the proposed pact this week and are expected to ratify it by Sept. 29, according to Joe Ashton, UAW vice president for GM relations.

Chrysler, led in its final push by Marchionne, who was expected to return to Detroit late Tuesday night, is holding a hard line against additional fixed-cost increases.

Marchionne told reporters in Italy this week that GM and Chrysler are “two completely different entities” and that Chrysler should not be expected to match GM’s packages of

one-time payouts.

Chrysler has 23,150 UAWrepresented workers. GM has about 48,150 union workers, and Ford has about 41,000. GM’s proposed agreement calls for a $5,000 ratification bonus per worker, $1,000 annual “inflation” bonuses for three years and a profit-sharing plan paying $1,000 per worker for every $1 billion of North American GM profit after it makes at least $1.25 billion on its home continent. A $4 billion annual profit would yield a $4,000 per-unionworker profit-sharing check, before taxes.

King said on Tuesday that he believed a basic “framework” had been set at GM for use with Chrysler and Ford. But Chrysler

executives have made it clear that they will not accept terms as generous as GM. A source on Tuesday night said Chrysler will seek a commitment from the UAW that the union and the company will not return to the “bad habits” of high fixed costs that helped to nearly sink the U.S. auto industry, after the contract now being negotiated would expire in 2015. “ The bad habits must be gone forever, period. It’s a strategic decision,” the source said, adding that Chrysler wants a commitment not to reinstitute cost-of-living-allowances and other “bad habits” for the 20152019 contract and beyond.

Last week’s chiding letter to King was not the first time that

Marchionne has sparred with the UAW. President Barack Obama’s auto task force chief Steven Rattner recounted in his book “Overhaul” a run-in Marchionne had with then-UAW President Ron Gettelfinger in April 2009.

Marchionne told the union boss that US autoworkers had to accept a “culture of poverty” rather than expect a “culture of entitlement.”

Marchionne is CEO of Italy’s Fiat SpA, which has managed Chrysler since 2009. The Italian automaker expects to increase its stake in the American company to 58.5 percent by the end of this year, up from 53.5 percent, on a fully diluted basis. —Reuters

Lloyd’s of London sinks to $1bn loss Japan disasters hit insurance industry

BEIJING: Visitors check a model of Boeing 747-8 airplane at an aviation expo in Beijing yesterday. A top Boeing executive says China’s fast growing demand for aircraft is influencing how the company designs and markets planes. —AP

New planes designed with China in mind: Boeing BEIJING: China’s fast growing demand for aircraft has become a strong influence on how Boeing Co designs and markets its newest planes, one of the company’s executives said yesterday.

Ihssane Mounir also said Boeing welcomes future competition from China’s state-owned COMAC, which is developing a pair of passenger jets, but warned the commercial aircraft business could be punishing. “It needs a lot of money, it needs a lot of patience, and the learning curve is tough,” Mounir, senior vice president of sales and marketing for greater China and Korea, told The Associated Press.

Mounir’s comments at the Aviation Expo China in Beijing follow Boeing raising its estimate for Chinese commercial aircraft purchases over the next 20 years to 5,000 jets, at which time China will be the world’s second largest plane market after the United States.

“The number is pretty staggering. It’s mind boggling actually,” Mounir said.

Boeing aims to capture a least 50 percent of that demand, and is developing its planes with an eye specifically on the Chinese market, he said. “You would be a fool to ignore the requirements of China.

China is one of the drivers” of how Boeing designs and builds its planes, Mounir said, listing size, seating configuration, range, and fuel efficiency as areas in which Boeing takes its customers’ requirements into account.

A similar trend has already taken hold in the auto industry, where global car makers

including Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co, and BMW have introduced new models with the Chinese consumer in mind.

Chinese airlines have tripled the size of their fleets over the past decade to a total of 1,593 jets and plane maker AVIC estimates an additional 4,583 passenger planes need to be added over the next 20 years to keep up with passenger growth and to replace aging aircraft.

AVIC helped set up COMAC to build China’s entrants into the large commercial airplane industry: the 150-seat C919 that would compete with the Airbus and Boeing models and the 78-90-seat AR-J21 to serve regional routes. While more than 300 of the planes have been ordered, mainly by Chinese carriers, they both remain in development, with a C919 prototype yet to be built. Four ARJ21s have flown and have undergone testing in extreme conditions.

AVIC is also developing a turbofan engine to one day power the C919, although it was shown at the Beijing exhibition only in model form. The ARJ-21 is powered by engines from General Electric Co. While warning of the high entry costs, Mounir said it entirely understandable that China would want to take advantage of a booming market in an important industry.

He said competition will force Boeing and other industry leaders to stay on their toes.

“I worry about it to that extent, but also welcome it because it makes us build better planes,” —AP

BNP Paribas says ready for new Greek debt write-down PARIS: The head of BNP Paribas said yesterday the bank would accept a fresh write-down of Greek debt if all private investors do the same, but applying the July 21 euro-zone rescue plan was still the priority.

“I think that applying the July 21 plan remains the priority,” BNP Paribas chief executive officer Baudouin Prot told French radio of the second bailout for debt-stricken Greece agreed by leaders of the 17-nation euro-zone in July.

But “if there were to be a further effort by all private investors, for BNP Paribas, I would say we’re ready,” Prot said. Banks holding Greek debt in July collectively accepted an initial 21-percent cut in the amount Greece must repay on its debt as part of the euro-zone financial rescue package.

Under the deal, governments and the International Monetary Fund shelled out 109 billion euros ($157 billion at the time) and private bondholders contributed another 50 billion euros to 2014.

However, participating banks estimate that the total long-term cost to them will be much higher, around 135 billion euros to end-2020. The share values of major French banks, including BNP Paribas, have fallen sharply in recent weeks amid ongoing speculation about their exposure to the debt of fragile euro-zone nations because of fears of a default.

The banks have denied that they are

at risk, although in early trading Wednesday shares in BNP Paribas fell 5.38 percent, Societe Generale 2.71 percent and Credit Agricole 4.35 percent.

BNP Paribas’ exposure to Greek debt is estimated at around 3.5 billion euros.

French Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse also defended French banks, insisting in an interview yesterday that they do not need recapitalizing, after the European Commission changed tack and said such a move was necessary.

“French banks have no solvency or liquidity problem,” Pecresse told BFM TV channel. “French banks are solid.”

Pecresse rejected the idea of recapitalising French banks, as has been suggested by IMF head Christine Lagarde and echoed by the European Union Commission. “French banks don’t need further recapitalising. Since 2008 they’ve raised their funds by 50 billion euros,” Pecresse said.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Tuesday: “Unfortunately, with the worsening of the sovereign debt crisis, more banks will perhaps need to be recapitalized,” on top of the nine that failed stress-tests in July. The Financial Times reported this week that German industrial giant Siemens had transferred a large sum of money from a French bank to the European Central Bank, seeking a haven for its cash during the euro-zone debt crisis. —Reuters

LONDON: The Lloyd’s of London insurance market crashed to a first-half loss of 697 million pounds ($1 billion), hit by an unprecedented string of natural disasters led by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

The loss compares with a profit of 628 million pounds a year earlier, and reflects a total of 6.7 billion pounds in claims absorbed during the first half, making it the costliest six-month period in Lloyd’s 323-year history.

That included 2.7 billion pounds in catastrophe-related claims, more than 10 times Lloyd’s average disaster loss for the first half of the year.

Lloyd’s said it remained financially strong enough to cope with a potential further spate of big claims, with capital reserves

of 2.47 billion pounds at the end of June, up 10 percent from a year earlier. “We go forwards into the second half of the year as strong as we’ve ever been,” Lloyd’s finance director Luke Savage told Reuters.

The outcome for 2011 as a whole will depend on whether the June-to-November US hurricane season inflicts further losses on the industr y, and on how Lloyd’s investment portfolio performs as the euro zone sovereign debt crisis continues to unsettle financial markets, Savage said.

This year’s hurricane season has been the most active on record, but with the exception of Hurricane Irene, no major windstorm has hit the US mainland.

Many European and US insurers have reported steep losses

because of a run of natural disasters between January and May, which also included an earthquake in New Zealand, heavy flooding in Australia, and tornadoes in the United States. This year already ranks as the second most destructive on record for catastrophe losses after 2005, with the insurance industr y absorbing $70 billion in claims in the first six months alone, according to Swiss Re , the world’s No 2 reinsurer.

The industry had hoped that the catastrophe hit would force some players to retrench, easing competitive pressure and reversing a four-year decline in prices.

However, insurers now expect prices to be broadly flat, barring an increase of up to 15 percent for catastrophe-related business,

when customers renew their polices in January.

Lloyd’s, which traces its origins back to a 17th century London coffee house where merchants met to insure ships, had investment income of 548 million pounds in the first half, down for 597 million pounds a year earlier.

The market, made up of about 80 competing insurance and reinsurance syndicates, has 57 billion in assets allocated equally between cash, government and high-rated corporate bonds, Savage said.

Last month, Catlin , operator of the biggest Lloyd’s syndicate, reported a first-half loss of $201 million, while rivals Amlin and Hiscox unveiled deficits of 192.3 million pounds and 85.6 million pounds, respectively. —Reuters

Meat, bread prices soar in crisis-hit Belarus

BEIJING: A Chinese couple examines a model of the Airbus A380 Dreamliner at the China Aviation Expo in Beijing yesterday. —AFP

Airbus aims to dominate China aviation market BEIJING: Airbus aims to have more than half of the lucrative Chinese aviation market by the end of 2015, a senior executive said yesterday, as the European giant seeks to close in on rival Boeing.

The plane maker currently holds 46 percent of the booming Chinese sector-a smaller share than Boeing-but senior vice president Eric Chen said it was on target to overtake its American competitor.

“If you look at the number of firm orders for planes, I am more than confident we will soon reach more than 50 percent, it’s our target... before the end of 2015,” Chen told AFP at the China International Aviation Expo. China recorded 267 million air passenger trips in 2010, up 15.8 percent from the previous year.

According to figures published by the state-owned aeronautics giant China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) Wednesday, Chinese airlines will add 4,583 passenger aircraft to their fleets by 2030 — a boon for planemakers worldwide.

The number of air passengers in China has grown on average 15.3 percent annually over the past decade-around three times the world average for the same period, it said.

Airbus is in direct competition with Seattle-based Boeing, which announced two weeks ago it would look to maintain its current 51 to 52 percent share of the Chinese market.

However, the China-made C919 jetexpected to come into service in 2016 is set to provide extra competition for Boeing and Airbus in the medium-range

sector, which represents 70 percent of the market. Meanwhile, Chen said the delivery of Airbus’ first A380 to a Chinese airline-China Southern Airlines-would take place on October 15.

According to the Oriental Morning Post paper, the jumbo jet will make its inaugural commercial flight in China between Beijing and Guangzhou in the south on October 17, and will go between Beijing and Shanghai from October 27 to 29. It will then be used on an unspecified international route.

Chen also pointed to another longhaul plane-the A330. He said Airbus had already sold around 120 of these in China, and “before the end of 2015, we hope to sell up to 200 A330s, it’s our target”.

Wang Baixue, deputy chief engineer at AVIC’s aviation industry development research centre, said economic development, tourism and urbanization would “provide strong support for air transport in China” going forward.

He said that between 2011 and 2030, AVIC estimated revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) — a measure of the volume of passengers carried by airlines would grow 8.1 percent annually.

But Wang cautioned that the current development of China’s high-speed trains would have an impact on air traffic. “If the duration of the high-speed railway trip is under three hours, it will have an impact on air transport,” he said. “In total, that impact should be less than 10 percent. In other words, 10 percent of air passengers will choose to go by high-speed rail instead.” —AFP

MINSK: The price of bread and meat shot up by as much as 20 percent in Belarus yesterday after the country partially lifted artificial price caps on domestic products imposed in the wake of its economic downturn.

Belarus announced at the start of the week it was raising prices for bread and dairy by 10 percent and meat products by a fifth. A separate decision saw cigarettes become 50-percent more expensive overnight-a move especially painful and unpopular in a part of Eastern Europe with many smokers.

“These days, a trip to the store is like a trip to the museum,” said a retired school teacher who identified herself as Klavdiya Nikolayevna. “There is not that much I can afford,” she said before settling on some bones for her broth. Economists said President Alexander Lukashenko’s government was forced into the measure by a stalling economy in which businesses had been required by the state to sell their products at below cost. Lukashenko had kept tight reins on the economy throughout the Soviet era-a policy that depended heavily on strong trade with Russia and cheap energy supplies from its traditional ally.

It kept prices low on most staples and ensured the government’s popularity with voters who watched with disapproval at the growing gap between the rich and poor in neighboring countries. But the recent global economic downturn and Russia’s subsequent decision to limit its subsidies to Lukashenko’s unpredictable regime saw the economy begin to crumble at the start of the year.

The republic’s spending was overstretched further by a spending spree Lukashenko launched ahead of his controversial re-election in December 2010. This mix and a first of two forced currency easings in May led to a wave of unsanctioned rallies against Lukashenko that ended at the end of July following a tough police crackdown that put hundreds under temporary arrest.

The movement-based on the Internet revolutions that began sweeping the Arab world nearly a year agois now planning to stage its first protest in nearly two months yesterday evening. The Revolution Through the Social Network planned yesterday’s “peaceful walks” through the squares of the republic’s main cities before Belarus announced the higher prices. But the group refers to both the currency easing of more than 60 percent since May and the higher prices in banners its supporters post on websites. —AFP

MINSK: A man walks past a board displaying currency rates outside a bank in Minsk. The Belarusian currency plummeted in value last Wednesday after the government allowed a limited free float in a bid to ease the country’s spiraling financial crisis. —AP

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business

BOE set to pump more money into UK economy LONDON: The outlook for the British economy is deteriorating so quickly that the Bank of England yesterday signaled it was ready to pump in more money, potentially as soon as October.

Minutes from the bank’s September meeting showed most policymakers believed the stresses of the past month had strengthened the case for an “immediate” return to the policy of quantitative easing. A bold move in October would put the Bank ahead of the pack globally. The Federal Reserve also looks set to make a fresh effort to invigorate the faltering US recovery later, though only minor steps are expected.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that Europe and the United States could slip back into recession unless economic problems aren’t tackled quickly, and the IMF also slashed its growth forecasts for Britain.

Action to support the economy would provide some relief to the Conservative-led coalition after figures showed higher government spending and weak tax receipts drove the deficit

to a record high for a month of August.

Treasury minister Danny Alexander insisted that the government was sticking to its plans to erase the large budget deficit after reports that ministers were looking at investing an extra five billion pounds on capital projects to ward off fears the economy could fall back into recession.

With interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent, attention is focusing on whether the Bank of England will revive its program of asset purchases after spending 200 billion pounds in 2009-10, mainly on buying gilts, to help drive down borrowing costs for business.

The BoE policymakers also discussed other options to loosen policy if needed, including changing the maturity of the portfolio of assets held in the Asset Purchase Facility and cutting its 0.5 percent base rates.

However, none of these options appeared to be preferable to further asset purchases at the moment.

At the meeting, arch-dove Adam Posen remained the only one to vote

for an additional 50 billion pound in asset purchases. But the minutes showed that most members of the Monetary Policy Committee thought it was increasingly likely that more asset purchases would become warranted at some point.

“For most members, the decision of whether to embark on further monetary easing at this meeting was finely balanced since the weakness and stresses of the past month had significantly strengthened the case for an immediate resumption of asset purchases,” the minutes said.

“For some members, a continuation of the conditions seen over the past month would probably be sufficient to justify an expansion of the asset purchase program at a subsequent meeting.”

Sterling fell to an eight-month low against the dollar while gilts rose after the data.The minutes said that those voting for an unchanged policy in September had seen some merit in waiting to see how actions taken by overseas authorities would develop.

The Bank said earlier this week in its quarterly bulletin that the first round of asset purchases gave the economy a significant boost during the recession.

Since the September meeting, a slew of bad news from the economy, the ongoing euro zone debt crisis and rising tensions in financial markets have stoked fears that Britain could slip into recession again. Business Secretary Vince Cable, a member of the Liberal Democrat junior coalition partner, has backed calls for more quantitative easing to help the economy.

Economists said it was now a question of when, not if, the Bank would move. “The minutes of the September MPC meeting are appreciably more dovish, opening the door wide to more quantitative easing by the Bank of England and very possibly sooner rather than later,” said Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight. “Barring a marked improvement in the economy over the next few weeks (which is currently hard to see), we expect the MPC to approve a further 50 billion pounds

in quantitative easing during the fourth quarter,” he added.

“A move as soon as October is entirely possible, but we suspect November is more likely.” The Bank will publish its latest quarterly inflation report in November and changes to policy often come in the same month as these reports are produced. On Tuesday the International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecast for Britain to 1.1 percent for 2011 and 1.6 percent for next year.

External member Martin Weale, who only dropped his call for higher rates in August, and deputy governor Charles Bean have acknowledged the worsening outlook, and the government has left little doubt that it would like to see more QE. In addition, central banks have moved into action again globally.

Inflation remains a headache for the Bank. It is currently running at 4.5 percent, more than double its target, and the Bank itself says it is likely to top five percent before coming down next year. —Reuters

UBS meets in Singapore as trading scam rages Bank under pressure from shareholders

JAKRATA: A man walks past an electronic display showing Indonesian shares prices in Jakarta yesterday indicating a downward trend in early trading. Asian stocks were mixed in edgy trade early as dealers awaited the end of a US Federal Reserve meeting later, with most expecting new monetary easing measures to jumpstart the economy. — AFP

Sudan waives food tax, duties to fight inflation KHARTOUM: Sudan will temporarily waive taxes and custom duties on a range of basic food items to fight spiralling inflation, a government official said on Tuesday, after price rises triggered a rare call to boycott meat.

The African country has been hit by an economic crisis with annual inflation topping 21 percent in August and high unemployment, compounded by a longrunning US trade embargo. The Sudanese pound plunged to a new low last week as importers struggled to get dollars. The Sudanese Consumer Protection Society called for a boycott on meat this week to protest against rising food prices. Many butchers in the capital Khartoum have seen far fewer customers over the past few days.

To boost supplies and bring down prices the government will temporarily waive taxes and custom duties for 12 basic food items such as lentils, milk and cooking oil, Khartoum governor

Abdulrahman al-Khidir told reporters on Tuesday.

The government would also tighten supervision of markets, he added.

Boycott organizers have accused some merchants of overcharging for locallyproduced meat. Analysts say food inflation could stoke dissent among people already hit hard by unemployment, a devalued local currency, lack of foreign currency and US trade sanctions.

Sudan lost 75 percent of the country’s 500,000 barrels a day of oil production when South Sudan seceded in July after an independence vote agreed under a 2005 peace deal.

South Sudan will have to pay fees to use Sudan’s pipelines to get its oil to market. But Sudan is likely to earn less than the 50 percent share of southern oil revenues it received previously.

Falling oil revenues will worsen a dollar scarcity in the north in the next few months, analysts say. — Reuters

Singapore exchange rules out further takeover bids HONG KONG: Singapore’s stock exchange is not looking to takeover any of its competitors following its failed bid for Australia’s bourse earlier this year, its chief executive said yesterday.

Magnus Bocker, who has tried to make the Singapore stock market a finance powerhouse in Asia since becoming CEO in December 2009, said the company would focus on growth in its Southeast Asian neighborhood.

“The Singapore Exchange is not sitting here with a lot of money looking for the next deal, not at all,” said Bocker.

He said the wave of US and European stock market takeovers earlier this year was driven by pressure from shareholders to increase their return on investment by cutting costs.

But Asian stock exchanges have a lot more space to grow before they need to do the same, Bocker said.

Singapore’s takeover bid was not driven by cost cutting but by the opportunity for faster growth, he said. “I don’t see that there will be that many Asian mergers to create broader value to shareholders. We are many years before we are there,” Bocker said.

Australian officials rejected the Singapore stock exchange’s $8.3 billion takeover bid in April, saying it would not be in the nation’s interest.

It was one of a number of attempted stock market combinations this year. Deutsche Boerse AG is in the process of combining with NYSE

Euronext, which owns bourses in Paris, Lisbon, Brussels, Amsterdam and New York, to create the world’s biggest exchange operator. Nasdaq also tried to buy NYSE Euronext but dropped its attempt in mid-May. A group of financial institutions and pension funds is trying to buy TMX Group Inc., Canada’s largest exchange operator, after a failed bid to combine with the London Stock Exchange.

US and European exchange operators have been under intense pressure to join forces because technology has driven down the cost of trading to almost nothing - making the business of operating an exchange less profitable. Stocks have also become a smaller part of the trading business.

Exchanges are making more of their money from options and more complex derivatives. Charles Li, the chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, which operates the city’s stock exchange, also ruled out buying competitors.

“At this point, I don’t see us adding any value to anybody else. I don’t see anybody adding value by entering into any equity mergers, any transactions,” he said. Bocker and Li spoke at a panel discussion in Hong Kong.

Li said growth for the Hong Kong exchange would come from further loosening of restrictions on investors from mainland China, which would draw more big foreign companies to list. —AP

SINGAPORE: Swiss banking giant UBS began a meeting of its board in Singapore yesterday as it faces increasing pressure from shareholders after being hit by a $2.3 billion rogue-trading scandal.

UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel declined to take questions before going into the bank’s Singapore office for the meeting, which is expected to last for three days, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The Singapore meeting had long been scheduled and was being held in the run-up to the Singapore Grand Prix. UBS is a major sponsor of Formula One racing. On the eve of the meeting the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), UBS’ biggest shareholder, issued a rare public rebuke of the bank for lapses that led to the losses.

“GIC expressed disappointment and concern at the lapses and urged UBS to take firm action to restore confidence in the bank,” the cash-rich sovereign wealth fund said in a statement Tuesday.

“GIC sought details of how UBS is tightening the control environment and looks forward to the conclusions of on-going investigations.” It said however that “UBS’ fundamental strength as a well-capitalised bank with a strong private wealth management franchise remains unchanged.”

Swiss media repor ts said Gruebel is expected to seek a vote of confidence during the meeting.

UBS has not released any details of the board meeting, with a bank spokeswoman confirming only that it “will be held this week.” But Gruebel, in a separate town hallstyle meeting with employees on Tuesday, ruled out a sale of the bank’s investment banking division, Dow Jones Newswires

reported, quoting sources. His remarks are significant because Swiss politicians are putting pressure on UBS to scale down or even spin off its investment bank in the aftermath

SINGAPORE: A man tries out a Formula One race car simulator at the UBS headquarters lobby building where the board are meeting in Singapore yesterday. Swiss banking giant UBS is to decide in a board meeting whether to maintain support for chief executive Oswald Gruebel after a rogue trading case, a Swiss press report said. — AFP of the scandal. Gruebel told employees at yesterday’s closed, one-and-a-half hour meeting that UBS will retain its investment banking division and that it must be a part of its wealth management business, Dow Jones quoted one person who attended the gather-

Swiss bank ZKB probed

by US over tax evasion GENEVA: Swiss bank Zuercher Kantonalbank said yesterday that it is being investigated by US justice for helping American citizens to evade taxes, local media reported.

The bank told Swiss news wire ATS that it had been informed by regulator FINMA that it was the target of investigations. Just two weeks ago, Joerg Mueller-Ganz, a new member of the bank’s board, said he was confident that the bank would not be targetted by the US justice department.

But Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger said that the bank was one of several Swiss institutions targeted by US tax authorities. Others include Credit Suisse,

ing as saying. The CEO also said the bank was in a better capital position than it was two years ago.

UBS announced on September 15 that it

which has already confirmed that it was being probed, as well as Bank Wegelin and Julius Baer.

The United States has been putting pressure on Switzerland to ease its bank secrecy laws which Washington claims help to shield tax cheats.

In an of fe ns i ve a ga i ns t Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS in 2008 and 2009, US tax authorities managed to pr y 300 client names and a fine of $780 million (569 mill i on e uros ) f rom t he b a nk .

Dissatisfied, Washington then filed a second suit, which finally forced UBS to hand over data on 4,450 American clients. — AFP

PHILADELPHIA: Displayed are General Mills products including Fiber One cereal, Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers snack, and Nature Valley granola bars, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011, in Philadelphia. General Mills Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter net income fell 14 percent, but adjusted results beat Wall Street’s expectations as revenue climbed on higher prices, solid demand and new products. —AP

had lost $2 billion in unauthorized transactions by one of its traders, before upping the sum to $2.3 billion.

A London-based equities trader, Kweku Adoboli, 31, has been arrested and charged over the losses. — AFP

Australia’s Qantas faces further strikes SYDNEY: Australian airline Qantas could face more strike action within days, with ground staff again ready to stop work over deadlocked talks on pay and conditions, a union official said yesterday.

Qantas was Tuesday forced to delay or cancel 55 domestic flights after close to 4,000 baggage handlers, caterers and freight workers stopped for four hours at major airports around the country. Transport Workers Union ( T WU) national secretar y Tony Sheldon said meetings with Qantas in Sydney yesterday had again failed to resolve the issue and members would be deciding within days on what steps to take next.

“I can see that the potential is as early as next week that industrial action could be occurring,” Sheldon told reporters. He accused Qantas of having “an absolute lack of desire” to alter their position during the past five months of negotiations. “Quite clearly this has all the appearances of further industrial action,” he said. “It’s not action we’ve been looking forward to but it’s action that Qantas, obviously, ideologically wants to have.”

Qantas said it was committed to reaching an agreement and was willing to offer improved pay and conditions but the union’s demands for a 15 percent pay increase over three years were unreasonable.

“The union seems intent on holding Qantas to ransom and causing delays and disruptions to passengers,” a spokesman for the airline said. Ground staff are arguing for pay and pension increases in their new contracts as well as job security as Qantas undertakes an Asia-focused restructure which will see 1,000 airline staff sacked. Unions have accused Qantas, which last month doubled its annual net profit to Aus$250 million ($257 million), of preparing to outsource jobs to cheaper labor markets in Asia in a bid to improve its bottom line.

Pilots and engineers are engaged in similar contract talks with Qantas, with unions representing both groups engaged in low-level industrial action.

The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association have been staging one-hour scheduled stoppages for almost a month and have placed restrictions on the overtime their members work.

Tomorrow, engineers working in heavy maintenance facilities in Brisbane and Melbourne will strike for their full shift. — AFP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

TECHNOLOGY

Company hires adults with autism to try out software HIGHLAND PARK: The software testers at Aspiritech are a collection of characters. Katie Levin talks nonstop. Brian Tozzo hates driving. Jamie Specht is bothered by bright lights, vacuum cleaners and the feel of carpeting against her skin. Rider Hallenstein draws cartoons of himself as a DeLorean sports car. Rick Alexander finds it unnerving to sit near other people.

This is the unusual workforce of a US startup that specializes in finding software bugs by harnessing the talents of young adults with autism.

Traits that make great software testers - intense focus, comfort with repetition, memory for detail also happen to be characteristics of autism. People with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, have normal to high intelligence and often are highly skilled with computers. Aspiritech, a nonprofit in Highland Park, Illinois, nurtures these skills while forgiving the quirks that can make adults with autism unemployable: social awkwardness, poor eye contact, being easily overwhelmed. The company’s name plays on the words “Asperger’s,” “spirit” and “technology.” Clients, nine companies in Aspiritech’s first two years, have been pleased. “They exceeded my expectations,” said Dan Tedesco of Shelton, Conn.-based HandHold Adaptive, which took a chance on Aspiritech to test an iPhone application. “There is a

pride in their product you don’t usually see in this type of work.”

Aspiritech was founded by Moshe and Brenda Weitzberg after their son, Oran, now 32, was fired from a job bagging groceries. Oran was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome when he was 14. He now works at Aspiritech. “He went from failing at bagging groceries to being one of the best software testers on our team,” said Brenda Weitzberg. The Weitzbergs modeled Aspiritech on a successful Danish company called Specialisterne, or “the Specialists.”

Specialisterne also employs software testers with autism. Its satisfied clients include Oracle and Microsoft. Other companies in Belgium, Japan and Israel are either hiring or training adults with autism as software testers. This year, Aspiritech projects $120,000 in revenue, with 60 percent coming from donations and 40 percent from clients. The Weitzbergs hope to raise the client revenue to 50 percent next year. “There have been a couple of attempts in the US and Aspiritech is the one that’s making it,” said Scott Standifer of the University of Missouri’s Disability Policy and Studies office and the organizer of a national conference on adults with autism and employment. The exact unemployment rate for adults with autism is unknown, but it’s thought to be

high, Standifer said.

“We don’t know how many adults have autism and, because of that, we don’t know their rate of unemployment,” he said. “We do know from tracking adults just emerging from high school that they are having great difficulty finding jobs.” A 2009 US Department of Education survey found the employment rate for young adults with autism was on par with that for deaf-and-blind young adults, and well below the rate of those with blindness alone or learning disabilities or traumatic brain injuries, Standifer said. Since Asperger’s syndrome didn’t become a standard diagnosis until the early 1990s, many of Aspiritech’s software testers were adults when they first learned they were on the autism spectrum. They are pioneers, the first generation of adults with Asperger’s. Katie Levin, 35, was diagnosed in her late 20s with Asperger’s. As a child, she’d been labeled as mentally ill. “Asperger’s is not a mental illness,” she said. “I definitely feel like I identify with the Asperger’s community more than I did with the mental illness community.” She tests software and runs Aspiritech’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. Rick Alexander, 24, another tester, has a degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and completed an internship developing software for the city of

Chicago. “I have a lot of social anxiety. I don’t like meeting new people,” said Alexander, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome as a teenager. Like many of the other testers, he lives with his parents.

He’d rather be a software developer than a tester, he said. But selling himself in a job interview is “very difficult for me.” “When you’re a child, the school is very concerned with you, the state is very concerned with you,” Alexander said. Organizations help adults with autism, he said, but “you need to approach them and for somebody with Asperger’s syndrome, it’s very difficult to do the approaching.” Most research dollars have gone toward studying children with autism while adults have been neglected, said Molly Losh, an autism researcher at Northwestern University. “Our vocational structure really isn’t suited to funnel people with autism into the workforce,” Losh said.

Aspiritech “is a magnificent and innovative venture,” she said. Many businesses hire offshore companies to test software. Mike Mestemaker, director of engineering for Schaumburg, Ill.-based ISI Telemanagement Solutions, chose Aspiritech because it offered competitive rates but was based in the United States. “ They dove right in and worked very quickly,” Mestemaker said. “They were very detail-oriented people. They really got the job done.” —AP

Apple booms in China ‘We are just scratching the surface’

This screen shot shows Qwikster.com, a new website service available soon from Netflix. — AP

Netflix says it’s sorry, then creates uproar SAN FRANCISCO: The CEO of Netflix said he was sorry for mishandling a recent price increase that caused customers to cancel the service in droves.

But the apology was drowned out by a decision that angered subscribers all over again. The company will split into two services - one with an odd new name that offers the familiar discs in red envelopes and another for online streaming of TV shows and movies.

The DVD ser vice will be called Qwikster, a name that is supposed to signify a commitment to fast service but quickly became an object of ridicule Monday on the Internet. The streaming service will keep the Netflix name.

Netflix, which had 24.6 million US subscribers at the end of June and is the nation’s largest video subscription service, redefined home entertainment over the past decade with its DVDs by mail. Now it’s trying to prepare for the day when watching movies on a disc goes the way of driving to the video store to pick up a VHS tape. But lately, it has bungled the transition. The company has lost half its market value since July, when it announced that customers who wanted DVDs and streaming had to pay for them separately - and pay up to 60 percent more.

The decision to rebrand the bestknown part of Netflix’s business left some experts wondering whether CEO Reed Hastings is losing the touch that established him as an influential figure in technology and entertainment.

Others see the logic in trying to make sure Netflix keeps a thriving business as customers abandon DVDs and shift in greater numbers to beaming movies and TV shows into their living rooms over high-speed Internet connections.

It’s going to be a painful transition, as Hastings acknowledged as he cut loose the DVD service. “It’s hard for me to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary and best,” Hastings wrote on a Netflix blog. The CEO of the rechristened Qwikster service will be Andy Rendich, a longtime Netflix employee. Hastings found little sympathy among the more than 10,000 people who commented on the blog posting.

Most of them lambasted him for making life more difficult for about 12 million customers who get both streaming and DVD rentals. Those people will have to visit two websites to make requests and update their billing information. Other critics questioned the sincerity of his apology for

the recent price increase and ripped him for giving DVD rentals a different identity - and for the name Qwikster in particular. “It’s a really dumb name,” said Scott Devine of Burbank, California, who dropped the DVD service after the price increase was announced two months ago. “You would think they would choose something that at least had ‘flick” in the name.”

The split may seem like the natural next step to Hastings, but he appears tone deaf to subscribers, said John Tschohl, president of the Ser vice Quality Institute, a consulting service, and author of the book “Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service.”

“I don’t think Netflix is listening to its customers at all,” he said. “They have really blown it.” Columbia Business School marketing professor Brett Gordon thinks Hastings knows exactly what he’s doing by starting to bury the DVD business, even if Hastings didn’t say it in his blog post. By the end of this month, Netflix figures less than 10 percent of its expected 24 million customers in the US will subscribe to DVD-only plans. “They don’t want the Netflix brand to be damaged by the inevitable death of physical digital goods,” Gordon said.

Netflix was a Wall Street star until the jarring July 12 announcement about its prices. Its stock rose from about $50 at the beginning of 2009 to more than $300 in early July. Since backlash to the price increase, investors have grown disillusioned.

Netflix’s market value has plummeted 53 percent from its high, wiping out about $8 billion in stockholder wealth.

On Monday, the stock shed more than $11 to close at $143.75. The steepest declines have comes since Netflix warned it expected to have 600,000 fewer subscribers at the end of this month than at the end of June, by far the worst downturn in the company’s history.

Netflix’s stock has been hit so hard that it made Hastings’ apology seem like little more than damage control, Devine said. In his blog post, Hastings wrote that he “slid into arrogance based upon past success” when he decided to raise prices so dramatically.

He emphasized the higher prices were the right thing to do, but said he should have done more to explain them. Hastings said his biggest fear is that Netflix will be left behind by technological upheaval, like what happened to AOL when people switched from dial-up Internet to widely available broadband, or Borders when readers gravitated to the e-book. —AP

BEIJING: When the iPad2 went on sale in China, demand was so high at one Apple Store in Beijing’s Sanlitun Village on the first day that a crowd of customers broke through a glass door, leaving four injured. That is just a sign of the popularity Apple is enjoying in China. Even better for Apple, the country remains a huge potential growth market, especially as its devices like the iPhone and iPad have become ever more popular as a form of status symbol. The California-based company is planning a huge expansion, with a host of new stores. The ones that are already up and running, like the store in Sanlitun Village, are usually packed.

Sales for the greater China region (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) increased by a factor of six in the most recent quarter, to 3.8 billion dollars. Another sign of the company’s popularity is a rash of fake Apple Stores, none of which offer the same variety and range of products as the genuine stores. To date, there are four official stores in Beijing and Shanghai.

Two more are planned to open this year, in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“This has been a substantial opportunity

for Apple and I firmly believe that we are just scratching the sur face right now,” said Timothy Cook, who recently succeeded Steve Jobs at the helm of the world’s second-largest company by market value. He was widely quoted as saying the chances in China are “incredible.” Already, Chinese sales account for a tenth of the Cupertino-headquartered company’s global sales. The trend is upwards, since business is nowhere near as good at Apple Stores anywhere in the world as it is in China.

Besides the four official stores, a lot of merchants and electronics stores in China sell Apple products. The volume of these gray imports is hard to gauge. Some merchants are already advertising the iPhone 5, even though its release date has not officially been announced. The iPhone has achieved a kind of cult status among China’s 800 million mobile phone users, especially in richer cities.

Apple products are considered to be cool and signal a higher social status. And while fake Gucci or Louis Vitton handbags are routinely used, Chinese people show that they’ve made it with a genuine iPhone or iPad.

This is despite the fact that Apple sales were sluggish for a long time in China, partially because of restrictions on wireless products or ones with 3G reception. Prices skyrocketed as demand ratcheted up for illicit Apple imports from Hong Kong and the United States. The first Apple Store opened in China in 2008. Negotiations with mobile phone service providers also took a while. But now the iPad2 is set to come into stores, thanks to a cooperation contract with China Unicom. So far it has only been available as a gray import.

In Hong Kong, where Apple products are noticeably cheaper thanks to lower customs and taxes, sales used to be exclusively through individual merchants or via the company’s online store. But work began in June for the first Apple Store there, in the IFC Mall.

Work should be completed by the end of September. Once it opens, 40,000 visitors a day are expected - four times higher than the average to US stores. Unconfirmed media reports say that two more stores are also planned in Hong Kong. A third is also planned for Shanghai. Worldwide, Apple has 320 stores. — dpa

NSA opens to outsiders on cyber safety ORLANDO: Anthony Stramella, an official with the National Security Agency’s Threat Operations Center, is more aware than most of how information from computers, telephones and other devices can be tampered with or end up in the wrong hands. So when he bought a personal computer that he only uses for e-mail at home and saw it had a webcam, he promptly covered it with duct tape. And the cellphone he uses is a $15 model that can do only one thing-make phone calls. That prompted his daughters, with multiple apps on their phones, to tease that he was a “caveman.” But Stramella says he’s just fine: “I can live in that world, my kids can’t.”

In a sign of how Stramella’s world has changed, too, the NSA official-who says his father worked at NSA and would never tell him what his job was at the agencywas speaking openly at an NSA-sponsored cybersecurity conference in Florida. About 600 people from technology companies, the government and even the media attended. “I have not seen the (cyber) threat decline, I have seen it increase not only in numbers but in sophistication,” Stramella said. “The threat is huge, it’s real, and it’s growing.”

The NSA, which protects government networks from cyber attacks and conducts electronic eavesdropping to thwart national security threats, has a history of operating as an invisible member of the US intelligence community. An old joke was that NSA stood for No Such Agency or Never Say Anything, and for years there was not even a road sign marking its location. Employees routinely told friends and neighbors they worked for “the Department of Defense.” But that was before the world became technology driven. NSA, which in earlier years developed its computer needs almost exclusively in-house, finds it makes more sense now to reach out, sharing knowledge with the private sector which can improve upon it and develop applications that can help with security for both the government and the public.

“There is a conscious, strategic shift. There are people who are very uncomfortable with that, including people who work for us,” Tony Sager, chief operating officer for NSA’s Information Assurance Directorate, said in an interview. Sager, who has worked at NSA for almost 34 years, said he is a cheerleader for reaching outside of government. “We’re IT (information technology) geeks.

You get to meet all these brilliant people, be on the leading edge of technology, feel like you have a hand in improving it. It’s a very exciting place to be for the government.”

After a series of high-profile cyber intrusions this year into the International Monetary Fund, major defense contractors and other companies such as Google, cybersecurity increasingly is on the public’s radar.

But some civil liberty watchers, who tend to be suspicious of anything to do with NSA, may not relish a greater public role for the intelligence agency, whose technological wizardry was given an Orwellian cast in the 1998 thriller “Enemy of the State.” “There is strong and universal respect for the technical expertise of NSA,” Sager said.

The cycle “gets hot and cold” when it comes to public perception, politics and other factors, but he said when he gives speeches the reception is overwhelmingly positive. —AP

LOS ANGELES: In this photograph taken by AP Images for LG Mobile, Hollywood & Highland Center visitors experience glasses-free 3D at the LG Thrill 4G 3D Gaming Event, on Tuesday, September 20, 2011. — AP

Apple to unveil iPhone 5 in October SAN FRANCISCO: Apple plans to unveil its next generation iPhone next month, technology blog AllThingsD said yesterday. AllThingsD cautioned that Apple could “change its plans anytime,” but said the present plan calls for Apple’s new chief executive Tim Cook to preside over the launch of the iPhone 5 on October 4.

Cook, 50, replaced Apple’s ailing cofounder Steve Jobs as chief executive of the Cupertino, California-based gadgetmaker last month. Citing “sources close to the situation,” the Dow Jones-owned AllThingsD said the iPhone 5 would go on sale within a few weeks after the announcement.

Jobs, 56, the Silicon Valley visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod, iPhone and iPad, stepped down as

Apple’s CEO on August 24. Jobs has presided over Apple’s splashy product launches in the past and AllThingsD said “the pressure will be on Cook to turn in a good performance.”

“What will be interesting to see, of course, is if Jobs himself will also make an appearance, which is something that is likely to be determined by his health, in a decision that will be made very close to the event,” it said. Jobs underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009. Apple released the iPhone 4 in June 2010 and sold 20.34 million of the devices last quarter. Apple shares have been trading at record highs this week and the stock was up 1.37 percent at $419.13 on Wall Street yesterday. — AFP

Online uproar over China’s dog-eating event BEIJING: The Chinese government has banned a traditional carnival in the east of the country in which dogs are eaten after being chopped up alive in the street following a public uproar that the festival was cruel, state media reported yesterday. The tradition in Qianxi in the wealthy coastal province of Zhejiang dates back 600 years to celebrate a local military victory and is normally held every October, the official Xinhua news agency said. “The ancient fair was replaced by a modern

commodity fair in the 1980s, but dogeating has been kept as a tradition,” it reported.

“However, vendors began to butcher dogs in public a few years ago to show their dog meat is fresh and safe, as a way to ease buyers’ worry that the meat may be refrigerator-preserved or even contaminated.” Pictures which circulated online via popular microblogging sites had such an impact that the government gave into demands the festival be banned, Xinhua said. —Reuters

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health & science Cutting-edge obesity and fat loss techniques at Instasculpt KUWAIT: Am I obese? Answering this question may give you the courage to take the first step. If you suffer from obesity, you are not alone. Obesity rates have sky-rocketed in recent years, to the point that healthcare experts are considering obesity as an epidemic.

Currently more the 300 million people worldwide are considered to be obese.

ing non-surgical treatments: Ultrasonic Lipolysis, wherein fat cells are targeted with high intensity focalized ultrasound waves up to 1.5cms

What is obesity and how does it impact the body?

Obesity is defined as an excess of fat storage; men with more than 25 percent of body fat and women with more than 30 percent of fat are considered as obese. Obesity is a chronic disease with serious consequences. Obesity enhances the risk of a number of health conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, osteoarthritis, cancer etc.

What are the general measures to treat obesity?

Treatment of obesity is a combination of fat loss with weight loss, which is best achieved by nutritious diet, lifestyle modifications and increased physical activity. The most common causes of obesity, in addition to genetic and medical reasons, are overeating and inactivity. It is important for people to improve their eating habits and adapt a nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle.

Does nutritious food and exercise help in losing fat?

By balancing the intake of healthy calories from nutritious food with a good amount of physical activity, most people can maintain a healthy body weight for life. To achieve fat loss one needs to undergo certain fat loss technologies.

Which are the recommended fat loss technologies?

In Manjiri’s Insta-sculpt clinic Fat loss can be best achieved with the follow-

below the skin causing the breakdown of fat cells and resulting in instant loss of 1 to 3 inches, depending on the body type.

Apart from Ultrasonic Lipolysis, there are other technologies like Endermology, Radio-frequency with Diode Laser and Mesotherapy for fat loss.

Endermology is indicated for fat flush out with opening of lymphatic drainage. In this technology a therapeutic massage is done to enhance lipomobilization and liquefaction of fat cells. This is mostly recommended for stubborn fat cells.

Radio-frequency with Diode Laser is for skin upliftment and tightening. The collagens under the skin are heated up to regain the tone and elasticity of skin.

Mesotherapy is a non-invasive electrophoretic technology for lipolysis and fat flush out. This technology is best suited in conditions like cellulite.

Earth to satellite: When will you hit - and where?

Chances of someone getting hit is 1 in 3,200 CAPE CANAVERAL: NASA scientists are doing their best to tell us where a plummeting six-ton satellite will fall later this week. It’s just that if they’re off a little bit, it could mean the difference between hitting Florida or landing on New York. Or, say, Iran or India. Pinpointing where and when hurtling space debris will strike is an imprecise science. For now, scientists predict the earliest it will hit is Thursday US time, the latest Saturday. The strike zone covers most of Earth.

Not that citizens need to take cover. The satellite will break into pieces, and NASA put the chances that somebody somewhere on Earth will get hurt at 1 in 3,200.

But any one person’s odds of being struck have been estimated at 1 in 21 trillion. As far as anyone knows, falling space debris has never injured anyone. Nor has significant property damage been reported. That’s because most of the planet is covered in water and there are vast regions of empty land.

If you do come across what you suspect is a satellite piece, NASA doesn’t want you to pick it up. The space agency says there are no toxic chemicals present, but there could be sharp edges.

Also, it’s government property. It’s against the law to keep it as a souvenir or sell it on eBay. NASA’s advice is to report it to the police.

The 20-year-old research satellite is expected to break into more than 100 pieces as it enters the atmosphere, most of it burning up. Twenty-six of the heaviest metal parts are expected to reach Earth, the biggest chunk weighing about 300 pounds. The debris could be scattered over an area about 500 miles long.

Jonathan McDowell, for one, isn’t worried. He is in the potential strike zone - along with most of the world’s 7 billion citizens.

McDowell is with the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.

“There’s stuff that’s heavy that falls out of the sky almost every year,”

McDowell says. So far this year, he noted, two massive Russian rocket stages have taken the plunge. As for the odds of the satellite hitting someone, “it’s a small chance. We take much bigger chances all the time in our lives,” McDowell says.

“So I’m not putting my tin helmet on or hiding under a rock.”

All told, 1,200 pounds of wreckage is expected to smack

Back when UARS, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, was launched to study the ozone layer in 1991, NASA didn’t always pay attention to the “what goes up must come down” rule.

Nowadays, satellites must be designed either to burn up on reentering the atmosphere or to have enough fuel to be steered into a watery grave or up into a

In this image provided by NASA this is the STS-48 onboard photo of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in the grasp of the RMS (Remote Manipulator System) during deployment, from the shuttle in September 1991. — AP down - the heaviest pieces made of titanium, stainless steel or beryllium. That represents just one-tenth the mass of the satellite, which stretches 35 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. The strike zone straddles all points between latitudes 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south. That’s as far north as Edmonton and Alberta, Canada, and Aberdeen, Scotland, and as far south as Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America. Every continent but Antarctica is in the crosshairs.

higher, long-term orbit. The International Space Station - the largest manmade structure ever to orbit the planet - is no exception. NASA has a plan to bring it down safely sometime after 2020.

Russia’s old Mir station came down over the Pacific, in a controlled re-entry, in 2001. But one of its predecessors, Salyut 7, fell uncontrolled through the atmosphere in 1991. The most recent uncontrolled return of a large NASA satellite was in 2002.

The most sensational case of

China ‘stem cell therapies’ offer heartbreak for many Inaya German Medical center offers expert eye treatment KUWAIT: Diabetes mellitus is affecting more and more people. In the Middle East, the prevalence of diabetes is almost three times higher than anywhere else in the world. Diabetes accounts for almost 15 percent of total blindness and for around 30 percent of total visual impairment in the Gulf region. People with diabetes mellitus do not feel the visionimpairing changes for a long time. It is not until the diabetes harms the centre of the retina (macula) or until a bleeding in the eye occurs that patients feel visual disorders such as distorted or blurred vision, blind spots or a total loss of the eyesight.

The early diagnosis of diabetic disorders together with a good blood-sugar regulation is the best precondition for optimal protection and preservation of the eyesight. Beside the clinical examination of the retina there is a modern diagnostic procedure called the OCT. The OCT is a non-invasive harmless procedure which only takes a few minutes. The OCT is used to see if there is any macula edema which causes reduced or loss of vision. With the OCT you can grade the severity of diabetic changes in the retina

and control the success of the treatment like intravitreal avastin or lucentis injection. The pictures show the OCT –image of a normal retina, a retina with the diabetic macula edema and after treatment with avastin.

A clinical examination combined with an OCT examination should be performed in any patient with diabetes mellitus once a year and in patients who are known to have diabetic changes in the retina every three month. The Inaya German Medical Center (IGMC) is proud to offer you the most modern diagnostic technology to examine your eyes and the retina for diabetic changes. Beside this we are honored that one of the leading ophthalmologists in the world specialized in retina, Prof Dr Chris Lohmann from the eye clinic of Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich in Germany is a visiting consultant in our medical team and will be with us the next time from September 29 until October 3, 2011.

His main focus during this upcoming next visit from him is to examine diabetic patients and to recommend treatment if necessary.

Toxic BPA turns up in kids’ soup cans WASHINGTON: Worrying levels of BPA, an industrial chemical with suspected links to cancer, lurk inside canned soups and pasta targeted at American children, the Breast Cancer Fund said yesterday. In a product testing report, the non-profit advocacy group-which focuses on environmental causes of cancer-said an average of 49 parts per billion of BPA, or bisphenol A, was detected in a dozen cans of food items tested.

“Every food sample tested positive for BPA,” with Campbell’s Disney Princess and Toy Story soups testing the highest,” said the group, which is pressing canned food producers to embrace alternatives to BPA. Best known as a hardening agent in plastic bottles, BPA is also widely used to line the inside of metal cans, but a raft of scientific studies have pointed to a possible link with cancer and other illnesses. Earlier this year, the European

Union banned the use of BPA in the manufacture of baby bottles. Its use in infant food containers is also restricted in Canada as well as 10 US states.”We’re concerned about BPA because it disrupts the body’s delicate hormonal system,” Gretchen Lee Salter, policy manager at the Breast Cancer Fund, told AFP by telephone from San Francisco. “There’s a toxic chemical in our canned foods marketed to children, and it doesn’t belong there.”

In its tests, the group found levels of BPA ranging from 148 ppb in a can of Campbell’s Disney Princess Cool Shapes shaped pasta with chicken and chicken broth to 10 ppb in a can of Campbell’s SpaghettiOs with meatballs. Earth’s Best, Annie’s Homegrown and Chef Boyardee products were also tested, with eight of the 12 cans found to have BPA levels in excess of the 49 ppb average. — AFP

HONG KONG: Chinese hotel manager Hong Chun had trouble using chopsticks after a minor stroke and sought treatment at a large Shanghai hospital where doctors injected what they said were donor stem cells into his spinal cord and buttocks, according to his father and cousin. Leaving hospital the next day, Hong, 27, fell so ill he had to be taken off the train and rushed to another hospital. But doctors were unable to save him and he was declared brain dead before dying a month later. Desperate for help, patients with incurable diseases are admitting themselves into hospitals in China for “stem cell therapies” but experts say such treatments are backed by little or no scientific evidence and are at best experimental.

Some of these cases involve large general hospitals where patients pay thousands, even tens of thousands, of dollars for treatments that are advertised online. Patients have come away with little or no improvement and a number have died, according to patients, doctors and relatives of patients who spoke to Reuters. Hong paid 30,000 yuan ($4,800) to the Chinese army’s 455 PLA Hospital in Shanghai for the treatment last year, according to hospital receipts seen by Reuters.

His father, Hong Gensho, travelled to Shanghai to seek an explanation. But hospital administrators told him his son didn’t die in their hospital, paid him 80,000 yuan and told him not to pursue the matter. “I am miserable, it’s like my son was worth only 80,000 yuan. It’s not about money. Our human rights, our place in this society, are not respected. I am devastated. If he hadn’t sought treatment, he would not have died,” said the elder Hong, 61. “I can’t get my son back, but people must know about these stem cell therapies and no one must be deceived.”

Lack of scientific evidence Experts have raised the alarm on patients turning up at clinics and hospitals in China, Mexico, India, Turkey, Russia and elsewhere for stem cell therapies that have not undergone clinical trials and which are not recognized as standard treatment. Patients often pay fees of $20,000 and more for such therapies after exhausting conventional treatments. “Stem cell tourism is regarded as ethically problematic because patients receive unproven

therapies from untrustworthy sources,” Dr David Resnik at the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Zubin Master at the University of Alberta in Canada wrote in a paper published in the journal European Molecular Biology Organisation.

Echoing the same concerns, Dr George Daley at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Harvard Medical School said he was swamped by enquiries from patients asking about therapies in China and Brazil for diseases from Alzheimer’s to spinal cord injuries.

“What I’m talking about are the less legitimate treatments that have not even undergone clinical trials but are directly marketed therapies... We really have no idea how to use stem cells for these treatments,” Daley told Reuters.

When contacted by Reuters, a director at the PLA 455 Hospital, who declined to be identified, said: “There are always good and bad outcomes. No therapy can guarantee success to everyone...

Besides, you don’t have a better alternative.

“As for patients dying, all deaths must be investigated. What caused the death? If our treatment caused the death, the patient (relatives) can seek redress. If it is a death caused by old age and sickness, then there is nothing I can say.” China’s Ministry of Health did not respond to questions from Reuters on stem cell therapies being offered in the country.

Victims are those facing death Suffering from late-stage liver cirrhosis caused by a lifelong hepatitis B virus infection, Fan Hongkun was led to believe her body would spontaneously grow a healthy liver once stem cells were transplanted.

“We saw the therapy advertised online and talked to the doctor over the phone. He said stem cells were like seeds, after being planted on a liver, they grow, divide and spread and finally form a healthy liver,” said Fan’s son, Zhou Junjie. Fan, 63, was so convinced, she admitted herself into Beijing Militar y General Hospital, whose website still carries information on the stem cell therapies it offers. “My mother said the PLA (Chinese army) doesn’t lie. That’s why she trusted them,” said Zhou. Doctors there took her off the drug lamivudine for four weeks to “prepare her for the stem cell therapy”. — Reuters

all was Skylab, the early U.S. space station whose impending demise three decades ago alarmed people around the world and touched off a guessing game as to where it might land. It plummeted harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and onto remote parts of Australia in July 1979. The $740 million UARS was decommissioned in 2005, after NASA lowered its orbit with the little remaining fuel on board. NASA didn’t want to keep it up longer than necessary, for fear of a collision or an exploding fuel tank, either of which would have left a lot of space litter. Predicting where the satellite will strike is a little like predicting the weather several days out, says NASA orbital debris scientist Mark Matney.

Experts expect to have a good idea by Thursday of when and where UARS might fall, Matney says. They won’t be able to pinpoint the exact time, but they should be able to narrow it to a few hours. Given the spacecraft’s orbital speed of 17,500 mph, or 5 miles per second, a prediction that is off by just a few minutes could mean a 1,000-mile error. It probably won’t be clear where it fell until afterward, Matney says. If it happens in darkness, it should be visible.

“If someone is lucky enough to be near the re-entry at nighttime, they’ll get quite a show,” says Matney, who works at Johnson Space Center in Houston, also in the potential strike zone. Space junk in general is on the rise, much of it destroyed or broken satellites and chunks of used rockets. More than 20,000 manmade objects at least 4 inches in diameter are being tracked in orbit. It’s mostly a threat to astronauts in space, rather than people on Earth. In June, the six residents of the International Space Station took shelter in their docked Soyuz lifeboats because of passing debris. The unidentified object came within 1,100 feet of the complex, the closest call yet. — AP

Preemies could die earlier as adults NEW YORK: Health problems are common among premature babies, who are more likely to die than their fullterm peers during the first few years of life-and they may also face slightly increased death rates as young adults, a study said. “This is an entirely new finding,” said Casey Crump of Stanford University, whose findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Even people born just a couple of weeks early had an increased risk of mortality.” Previously, preemies were believed to go on to have normal death rates once they have survived their early years.

Crump, though, said the results, based on Swedish data, should not cause undue alarm. “The absolute mortality was still less than one per 1,000 people per year, so it’s very low,” he added. His team studied a group of nearly 675,000 Swedes born between 1973 and 1979.

They found that children born before 37 weeks of pregnancy were much more likely to die before age five than others. That link disappeared in late childhood and adolescence, but then re-emerged in early adulthood-from 18 to 36 years. The health problems linked to earlier death included heart disease, diabetes and asthma. “It appears that some of these causes have a long period of development,” Crump said. — Reuters

ZACANGO: In this photo, a lion yawns in a public zoo that houses animals captured from drug traffickers, pets smugglers and circuses without permits for their animals in Mexico. As federal authorities target a growing number of gang leaders in Mexico’s fiveyear-long drug war, many of their pets are being driven from their gilded cages and ending up in more modest housing in the country’s zoos. — AP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

H E A LT H

Encouraging exercise may help teens quit smoking NEW YORK: Encouraging teenage smokers not only to quit, but to get physically active, may boost their odds of truly managing to kick the habit, a study said. Some research in adults has suggested that exercise may help smokers quit, perhaps by easing withdrawal symptoms or taking the edge off cigarette cravings. The study, reported in the journal Pediatrics, looked at the effects of adding exercise advice to a teen-focused smoking cessation program. “Not on Tobacco” (NOT) is the American Lung Association’s quit program geared specifically for high school students. It’s available in public schools across the United States, and studies have found that the average quit rate is about 21 percent.

In the state of West Virginia, where the study was done, smoking rates are high, while exercise rates are low, said lead researcher Kimberly Horn, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown. “We felt like (exercise) might be important for these kids, and that the effects of NOT could be boosted,” Horn told Reuters Health. To study the question, Horn’s team randomly assigned 19 high schools to offer either the standard cessation program, the program plus exercise advice or a “brief intervention” in which teen smokers had one session with a program facilitator.

In all, 233 students took part in one of the three programs. The standard NOT program offers 10 weekly small-group sessions, in which a facilitator helps teens figure out why they smoke and find ways to kick the habit. Teens in the exercise-added version also got advice on exercise, and a pedome-

ter, to keep track of their daily activity levels.

After six months, the study found, the NOTplus-exercise group had the highest selfreported quit rate, at 31 percent. That compared with 21 percent in the standard program and just under 16 percent in the briefintervention group.

When Horn’s team looked more closely at the data, the added exercise seemed to help only boys. Among boys in that version of the program, 37 percent had quit by the sixmonth mark, versus only about 18 percent in the standard program. Girls’ quit rates, however, were similar in both groups-at 26 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

The reasons for the gender gap were not clear, Horn said. “We’re a little puzzled by it,” she added. In general, it’s known that girls’ exercise levels “plummet “in the teen years, whereas boys are more likely to stay active to some degree, Horn said. The study did not actually measure the students’ exercise levels, so it’s not clear how changes in physical activity correlate with quitting success.

Future studies will look at whether the program really did boost activity levels, and whether the type of exercise matters to quitting smoking.

What’s encouraging, Horn said, is that the exercise portion is easy to add to an existing NOT program. The hope is that even after they quit smoking, the teens will keep exercising and gain those extra health benefits as well. “It’s just a modest amount of encouragement (to exercise) from the facilitator. And we found that even that small ‘dose’ might have very important effects.” — Reuters

Mobile phones have become our lovers LOS ANGELES: People are having an increasingly intimate relationship with their smartphones, according to a new study by Ipsos/OTX on mobile consumers presented at TheWrap’s media leadership conference, TheGrill. If computers are our sages and televisions are our jesters, Ipsos OTX President Bruce Friend said iPhones and Androids are our lovers. “It’s almost always turned on. It never leaves you. You have an intimate relationship with it,” Friend said. The intensity of the attraction has helped smart phones reach a critical mass. Currently, 47 percent of 4,000 people surveyed by the research marketing firm have a smartphone.

By the end of 2012, that number should rise to 70 percent. That’s critical for entertainment companies, because users are increasingly using their phones to play video games and watch shows.

Indeed, smartphone users spend 30 percent more on media and entertainment content than their peers.

Eighty-seven percent of smartphone users spend 13 minutes a day connecting to social networking sites, 55 percent use their mobile devices to spend 2 minutes a day reading about entertainment and news, and 71 percent spend 12 minutes a day playing games. Pity poor pornography. Three percent of users spend only

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New Life

about a minute a day accessing adult entertainment. It’s also a crucial platform for drumming up viewership and interest in movies and television. Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed said they would switch channels to watch a program if they got a recommendation from a friend. Eighty-two percent said they would look up more information about the program.

But smartphones’ dominance may be waning. Though tablets currently only have roughly 20 to 25 percent penetration, Friend expects that number to quickly increase. “The tablet is rapidly becoming a companion or even a competitor to the smartphone,” Friend said.

“Tablets reduce smartphone as entertainment devices. The tablet will take the place of that,” he added.

Tablets, Friend said, are quickly replacing the laptop as the mobile device users favor to take with them, to access email on the run, and to stream content on the go. Whether on iPhone or iPad, the importance of apps cannot be overstated for content makers. For instance, 80 percent of users are accessing Facebook via its app versus 72 percent through its website and Youtube fans access 44 percent via the app versus 22 percent through the website. — Reuters

SOLO: In this photo released by the Centre for Orangutan Protection, Tori, a five-year-old male orangutan, smokes at the Taru Jurug Zoo in Indonesia. A wildlife activist said, unlike Malaysia, zoo officials in Indonesia are taking no steps to help smoking orangutans kick the habit. Visitors to the zoo have been giving cigarettes to the red apes for years. — AP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

NECK to host preschoolers’ motivation program

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t. Johns Mar Thomas Church, Kuwait, is set to hold a brief pre-school Motivation Program (Ezhuthiniruthu Sisrusha) for children about to begin school or nursery for the first time. All children in these categories and their parents and guardians are invited and cordially welcomed to participate in the special service, which will be held on September 23 at 10:00 AM in the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait’s (NECK) church and parish hall. Certificates will be given to all the children attending the program.

Those who are interested in taking part in the event are kindly requested to contact the Vicar on 65563486, the Convener on 66742985 or the Secretary on 66546705.

Announcements Balamurali to perform for VOICE music As part of its Youth Wing’s first anniversary, VOICE Kuwait will hold a classical music evening on Friday, Sept 23 at United Indian School, Abbassiya. Renowned musician Prof Ayamkuti Mani will present a vocal program accompanied by distinguished violinist Karunagappally S Balamurali, Arun Arunapuram on mridangam, Aranmula Harilal on ghatam and Manoj Mavelikkara on morsing. Karunagappally S Balamurali, a violinist for 25 years and music director for several TV serials and music albums is new in Kuwait and Friday’s performance is his maiden presentation in Kuwait, as the launch of his musical career in Kuwait. Viswakarma Organisation for Ideal Career & Education (VOICE) invites all music lovers to this program. For details, please contact: PG Binu 97964375; Balamurali 99584182 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.

Pazhayidom to supervise NSS Ona-Sadya Master of the Kitchen, Pazhayidom Mohanan Namboothiri, will be supervising NSS Kuwaitís Ona-Sadhya this year. More than 2000 people are expected to attend the OnaSadhya (grand onam feast) and program to mark NSS Kuwaitís Onam Celebration 2011, the harvest festival of Kerala at Indian Community School, Khaitan on Sep 23, 2011.

NSS Kuwait Ona-Sadhya coupons are already under circulation and the committee has requested all the guests to collect the OnaSadhya coupons in advance to avoid last minute disappointment. For more details please contact : Abbasiya / Hasawi : 67064679 / 99466829; Fahaleel / Mangaf : 66120051 / 66059471; Abuhalifa / Mehboula : 94067350 / 99504851; Salmiya / Sharq : 65595479 / 99722317; Rigai / Farwaniya : 97601637 / 99570668

Arpan Onam tomorrow Arpan Kuwait will celebrate Onam, Kerala’s harvest festival, on September 23 at the Indian Community School, Salmiya (Senior Girls) from 10 am onwards. Various cultural programs have been scheduled to make the celebration a success. Traditional attractions like athappookkalam, mohiniyattom, kaikottikali, folk songs, dance and songs and skits will be presented by Arpan members.

A program committee headed by K Mahadevan is overseeing the preparations.

The celebration will come to an end with a sumptuous ‘Onasadya.’

NAFO Onam celebration NAFO Kuwait to celebrate Onam on September 30, 2011 at the Indian Community School (Senior for Girls) auditorium Salmiya. Cultural activities such as dance,skit, nadan pattukal, vallapattukal etc will be held which will be followed by the traditional onasadhya. All NAFO members are requested to make this program a grand success by participating in various activities.

Please register your name at Contacts@nafoglobal.com.said the convener of the program Rajasekaran Nair. For details please contact Nandakumar 99559416, Udayakumar 66464577 or Rajasekharan Nair 97824780.

TKS hosts musical extravaganza

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elugu Kala Samithi(TKS) organized “Vardhamana Ghandrava Gaana Lahari”, a grand vocal musical extravaganza on September 16, 2011 evening at Cambridge School, Mangaf with upcoming singers of Andhra Pradesh Pavan Kumar, Sai Shilpa, Master Sai Deva Harsha and Sahiti. These four singers are very well known in the music world for their talents by winning awards in prominent Telugu TV vocal talent shows. Indian Ambassador to Kuwait Satish C Mehta graced the occasion as Chief Guest. The program started with lighting up the lamp by Indian Ambassador, Program Sponsor Rishi

Kumar Reddy, President and General Secretary of TKS followed by a Ganapathi Prardhana Maha Ganapatim by Pavan.

TKS had democratic elections recently.

The newly elected Executive Committee for 2011-2012 was introduced to the Ambassador Satish Mehta. TKS President Trimurtulu in his inauguration speech has expressed his gratitude on behalf of TKS for the Indian Embassy support and the services rendered to the Telugu community. He also requested the members to register their details online at Indian Embassy web site www.indembkwt.org.

TKS President announced the Advisory, Sports, Welfare sub committees and

Creative discussion Steve Sabella will give a followup discussion to discuss his life and work. The talk includes a screening of a 10-minute documentary film among other videos, and will deal with the idea of constructed identities, imagined cities and hyper-realities on September 28th and September 29th between 7pm-9pm at Life Center (Industrial Shuwaikh,

Block 2, Street 28, Top floor).

‘Mother’s Day’ Theater Xavier-Manuel productions presents a super hit theater of this season from Goa titled “Mother’s Day.” It will be a Konkani drama dedicated to all mothers with loads of comedy, solos, duets, trios, etc. and all new songs! The event is on September 30th at 3:30pm at

K’S PATH WEEKLY ADOPTION

Program co-ordinators. Felicitations were done to the four singers and the accompanying musicians by the ambassador.

The program started with the famous song Vinudu Vinudu from Lavakusha sung by the junior singers Sai Dev Harsha and Sahiti. With so many old and new, classical and fast beats, and with the excellent music support by the local musicians, the program was very successful and it enthralled the audience including children. Most of the songs were from famous musical Telugu films.

The show had the climax song Siva Shankari sung by Pavan and got a standing ovation by the audience. This beauti-

Kuwait Medical Association Hall (Beside Blood Bank, near Mubarak Hospital, Jabriya).

Kuwait Little League Baseball Nights Kuwait Little League Baseball will be holding its Registration Nights at our fields inside the Hunting and Equestrian Club. If you have not yet registered online

via our website Q8LL.org, and would like to be part of baseball for this year, please do so before Thursday. Please print the registration confirmation email and bring it to the registration. We look forward to a very active baseball season! This will be on Thursday September 22nd and Friday September 23rd between 6pm 9pm.

YMCA Onasangamom YMCA Kuwait is conducting Onam Sangamom & Arts nite on Thursday 29th September at 6.30pm at Indian Community Senior Girls School Salmiya. The programs include Comedy Skit “Pravasa Charitham Onnam Bhagam”, Vanchipattu, Thiruvathirakali, Maveli, Chendamelam, Ganamela etc.

OnaSadhya is also arranged for the attendees. For Onasadhya please take the coupon before the program. For details please contact.97542985, 99498369, 99046751, 99607230.

YMCA membership YMCA Kuwait is conducting membership campaign from 1st September to 31st November, 2011. Persons who wish to become a members of YMCA Kuwait and person who would like to contribute their time, efforts and services for the society and humanitarian causes may pl contact: 97542985, 99498369, 99046751, 99607230, 55120208.

Nelson the DSH Nelson is a friendly and independent six-year-old Domestic Short Haired (DSH) male. Nelson likes having his own space and will observe all that surrounds him with his handsome eyes. He likes to play but is most happy lounging at high vantage points. Nelson will go well in a family with children aged over 10. To adopt Nelson, contact K’S PATH at (+965) 6700 1622 or visit the website www.kspath.org

ful program has come to an end with a medley based on the “Sapta Swaras” Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni. At the end of the program TKS and its members observed a one minute silence in memory of G Haraprasad, ex Vice President and founder member of TKS, who passed away recently. TKS expressed their gratitude to their main sponsor of the event Rishi Jaideep Estates Private Limited. The program was supported by many well-wishers of TKS. Committee thanked all the well-wishers for their support in making the program a grand success. General Secretary Ramana Murthy presented the vote of thanks.

BrainBang Calling all students aged 11 and above, Support Group for Accelerated learning Under the umbrella of FOCC (Friends of CRY Club, Kuwait), BRAINBANG invites you to join us in our fortnightly Friday Class from 11.45 am to

13.45 pm in Salmiya starting October 7th for the next 6 months.

Successfully running for the seventh consecutive year.

Areas of development are : lMemory tools to Understand and Learn Better lTools and Techniques to empower your mind lActivity, fun, games and worksheet based assignments lPractical Experiments lMind Gymnastics lApplication of Learning Techniques to conventional study. Register before October 5th 2011. Limited seats.

Register early to avoid disappointment.

Website: www.focckwt.org E-Mail: brainbang@focckwt.org Phone no: 25660835/25618471/97677820 Inter School recitation competition The Don Bosco Past Pupils Association (DBPPA) will organize on 25th November 2011 (Friday) the Annual Inter School Choral Recitation Competition. The competition is one of the programmes popular among the school students and parents alike among. The large Indian community and will be held at the IEAS premises, Salmiya. Await for more details.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Konkani drama

Embassy

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uwait Goan Association (KGA) after presenting popular Konkani tiatrs ‘Ghor Bandlem ghorabo Modlo’ and ‘Tujea Moga Passot’, now all set to present Tragedy King Mario Menezes most popular Konkani drama “Hatachim Panch Bottam” in Kuwait on Friday, 18th November 2011 with full troupe.

Await for more details or email: kgakuwait@gmail.com

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.

Free Arabic courses provided by IPC

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ake your opportunity to learn and improve your Arabic skills. The women section of Islam Presentation Committee will be conducting FREE Arabic Language Course in Basic & Advance Level for non-Arab LADIES commencing on September 30, 2011.

Islamic subjects and Quran classes are also offered in different languages. Classes are offered only once a week.

Register now! For more information: Rawdah-22512257-97290278; Salmiya25733263-97533263; Khaitan-2473013799285459; Mangaf-23723002; Jahra-2455883067720696.

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

Study in Canada Fair 2011

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rganized by the Embassy of Canada, the sixth annual Middle East Education Initiative (MEEI) will be visiting Kuwait from Oct 1 to 4, 2011.

Representatives of 20 leading Canadian universities and colleges will be available to meet students, parents, teachers and guidance counsellors to present the advantages of studying in Canada. On Sunday, Oct 2, 2011 a Study in Canada exhibition will be held at the Marina Hotel, Salmiya from 6-9:00 pm for potential students and their parents to attend. The Canadian institutions will also be visiting local schools to speak to interested students about opportunities to study in Canada.

Merit scholarship

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ulu Koota Kuwait is pleased to announce its Merit Cum Means Scholarship Award to be awarded during Tulu Parba which will be held on 4th November 2011 in American International School Auditorium, Maidan Hawally.

Tulu Koota Kuwait firmly believes in the great value of education and is strongly committed to helping needy students to achieve their educational goals.

Application accepted from minimum one year valid members children studying either in State of Kuwait or in India, scoring high grades at X and XII standard Board Examination held during Academic year 20102011. Contact Tulukoota Kuwait Welfare officer Suresh Shyam Rao on 65976789 or email: shyamson@yahoo.com to submit the copies of marks sheet & proof of income with the application. Candidates obtaining high grades but not eligible for merit cum means scholarship shall be honored with Merit Certificate and Medal. For further information please contact: Harish Bhandary Tel. 50264416

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St Peters conducts pre-school program

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uwait St Peters Marthoma Parish conducted Ezhuthinurthu Susroosha (preschool motivation program) on September 4, 2011 at 7 pm in the Marthoma Hall Abbasiya, Kuwait.

Parents brought their tiny-tots to the church for a blessed beginning of the children’s academic endeavor. Rev Chacko Thomas, the parish vicar blessed these children, by making them write the alphabets, on a tray of rice grains. The program started with songs by parish choir. Parish Secretary Aby P Sam welcomed the gathering and the program convener, Alex P Ommen extended the vote of thanks.

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EMBASSY OF JAPAN The Embassy of Japan in the State of Kuwait announces that it will be closed to the public today, September 19, 2011 on the occasion of respect of the Aged Day. The Embassy will reopen again on Tuesday, September 20. Official working hours in the embassy are from Sunday to Thursday, from 08:00 am to 04:00 pm. 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

Congratulations!

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ongratulations to Rajesh K and Bijina K who got married in Guruvayur, Kerala on August 24, 2011. Hereís wishing the couple an eternity of happiness, bliss and many beautiful children! Best wishes from family, friends, well-wishers, and colleagues.

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Writer’s Forum meeting

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he ‘Bawabat Al-Masreyeen’ (Egyptians Gate) blog in Kuwait launched a course in operating the photoshop program which deals with editing pictures and prepare designs. There was also a contest for the picture of the most beautiful child among Egyptian community children in Kuwait. The contest began yesterday and will continue until Wednesday, September 28, and results will be announced on Thursday, September 29.

It is worth mentioning that the gate began dealing with the communityís problems two weeks ago, as it presents them to concerned officials, and the most important problem is that of Egypt Air so far. The gate met with the Director of Egypt Air in Kuwait to find a quick solution for the problem. http://www.facebook.com/egykwt

he words showered in the atmosphere once again when the members of Writers’ Forum Kuwait met at Salmiya residence of Mrs Shahjahan Jaffery, the president of the Forum on the evening of 9th Sept.

The meeting was presided over

by Mrs Gobind Rani Seth, a Hindi poetess while the Chief Guest was Milind Chaubal, a noted Marathi writer.

The evening started with welcome address by S. Qamar Minto; General Secretary of forum. In the first session the General Secretary presented the plans for next three months which were discussed in details by the members.

In the second session the story writers presented their short stories including Mrs Humera Roshi in English, Mrs Shahjahan Jaffery, Mrs Maimuna Ali Chougle, Dr Waseem Siddiqul & Dr M.U. Beg in Urdu and in the last the Milind Chaubal, who has planned to return to his homeland for good, presented his Hindi article wherein he beautifully described his future plan after reaching back home. These short stories were discussed and very

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India will remain closed on the following dates during the month of October 2011. October 2, 2011 (Sunday) - Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday; October 6, 2011 (Thursday) - Dussehra; and October 26, 2011 (Wednesday) - Diwali. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF KENYA

T ‘Most Beautiful Egyptian Child’ Contest begins

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

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

Effective January 15, 2011, the only Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application form that will be accepted by CIC is the Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form.

The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to request all Kenyans resident in or training through Kuwait to register with the Embassy. We are updating our database. This information is necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in person or register through our website www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located in: Surra Area - Block 6 - Street 9 Villa 3 Tel: 25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316. 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

much appreciated by all those present including Umesh Sharma, Ve. P. Mathiyazhgan, Ali Chougle, Afroz Alam, Dr S.K. Sethi, Sayeed Nazar Kadpavi, Mrs Tajwer Sultana, Nasim, Masood Hassass and Sunil Sonsi Milind Chaubal; the chief guest, while appreciating the presentation of all writers, congratulated all the members of presenting

beautiful series of words in shape of prose. The meeting concluded with a word of appreciation by Mrs Gobind Rani Sethi; the President of meeting for continuous efforts of the Forum for promoting all the Indian languages all the members conveyed their heartiest thanks to Mrs Shahjahan Jaffery for hospitality extended towards them.

EMBASSY OF PERU Embassy of Peru in Kuwait has the honor to announce the opening of its office soon in Sharq area, Ahmed Al-Jaber street, Al-Arabiya Tower, 6th Floor, Kuwait City.

Moreover, please be notified that there will be “Peru Expo-Tour, Trade & Invest” and the working hours will be from 09:00 till 14:00 (SundayThursday). You are cordially invited to visit us in order to know why Peru should be your new touristic destination and your best business partner.

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Years

00:45 Untamed & Uncut 01:40 Shark Attack File 3 02:35 Monster Bug Wars 03:30 I’m Alive 04:25 Cats 101 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 Cats 101 11:00 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 E-Vets: The Interns 12:20 Wildlife SOS International 12:50 New Breed Vets With Steve Irwin 13:45 Crocodile Hunter 14:40 Shark Attack File 3 15:30 Escape To Chimp Eden 16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Crocodile Hunter 17:25 Must Love Cats 18:20 Breed All About It 18:45 Crocodile Hunter 19:40 Echo And The Elephants Of Amboseli 20:10 Dogs 101 21:05 Into The Shark Bite 22:00 Big Five Challenge 22:55 I Shouldn’t Be Alive 23:50 Return To The Wild

00:00 01:05 01:50 02:40 03:30 04:00 04:30 04:50 05:05 05:25 05:40 05:45 05:50 06:10 06:25 06:45 07:00 07:20 07:35 07:55 08:10 08:15 08:20 08:40 08:55 09:15 09:30 09:35 09:40 10:40 11:25 12:15 12:45 13:15 14:10 15:40 16:30 17:15 17:45 18:15 19:10 20:00 20:45 21:15 21:45 22:35 23:35

Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Casualty Full Circle With Michael Palin Doctors Last Of The Summer Wine Balamory The Roly Mo Show Me Too Jackanory Junior Poetry Pie Poetry Pie Balamory The Roly Mo Show Me Too Jackanory Junior Balamory The Roly Mo Show Me Too Jackanory Junior Poetry Pie Poetry Pie Balamory The Roly Mo Show Me Too Jackanory Junior Poetry Pie Poetry Pie Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Lark Rise To Candleford Doctors Eastenders Casualty Last Of The Summer Wine Lark Rise To Candleford The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Lark Rise To Candleford The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Coast True Dare Kiss

00:20 The Naked Chef 00:50 Come Dine With Me 01:40 What Not To Wear 02:30 Come Dine With Me 03:25 Coastal Kitchen 03:50 The Naked Chef 04:15 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad

04:40 James Martin’s Brittany 05:05 Holmes On Homes 05:55 Antiques Roadshow 06:45 Cash In The Attic USA 07:10 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:40 Come Dine With Me 08:30 Coastal Kitchen 08:55 The Naked Chef 09:25 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 09:50 James Martin’s Brittany 10:15 Holmes On Homes 11:00 Antiques Roadshow 11:55 Come Dine With Me 12:45 Daily Cooks Challenge 14:40 Bargain Hunt 15:25 Antiques Roadshow 16:20 Antiques Roadshow 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 18:25 Coastal Kitchen 18:50 The Naked Chef 19:20 James Martin’s Brittany 19:45 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:10 Come Dine With Me 23:05 Masterchef Australia

00:00 BBC World News 00:30 World Business Report 00:45 Sport Today 01:00 BBC World News America 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 BBC World News 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 Newsday 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:30 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 14:30 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 BBC World News America 23:30 Hardtalk

00:20 00:45 01:10 01:35 02:00 02:25

Droopy: Master Detective The Flintstones Johnny Bravo Duck Dodgers King Arthur’s Disasters The Scooby Doo Show

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

TV PROGRAMS 02:50 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:35 05:00 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:35 09:00 09:25 09:50 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:30 11:55 12:05 12:20 12:45 13:10 13:35 14:00 14:25 14:50 15:15 15:35 16:00 16:20 Doo 16:45 17:10 17:35 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:15 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:55 23:05 23:30 23:55

Popeye Classics Tom & Jerry Popeye The Jetsons The Flintstones Looney Tunes Pink Panther & Pals Scooby Doo Where Are You! New Yogi Bear Show The Garfield Show The Addams Family Popeye Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes The Scooby Doo Show Wacky Races The Garfield Show Dastardly And Muttley The Flintstones Tom & Jerry Pink Panther and Pals Puppy In My Pocket New Yogi Bear Show The Scooby Doo Show The Garfield Show Tom & Jerry Top Cat Popeye The Jetsons Duck Dodgers Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Tom & Jerry The Perils of Penelope Pitstop Droopy: Master Detective Wacky Races Scooby-Doo and ScrappyDastardly And Muttley The Flintstones Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show Pink Panther and Pals Puppy In My Pocket New Yogi Bear Show Looney Tunes Tom & Jerry Top Cat The Scooby Doo Show Wacky Races Dastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Johnny Bravo Dexters Laboratory The Garfield Show Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Perils of Penelope Pitstop

00:05 Robotboy - Elements 00:30 Squirrel Boy 00:55 George Of The Jungle 01:20 Cramp Twins 01:45 Chop Socky Chooks 02:10 Best Ed 02:35 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 03:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 03:25 Generator Rex 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Flapjack 04:40 Chowder 05:05 The Powerpuff Girls 05:30 Ed, Edd n Eddy 05:55 Cow & Chicken 06:20 Squirrel Boy 06:45 I Am Weasel 07:00 Eliot Kid 07:25 Angelo Rules 07:50 Best Ed 08:15 Flapjack 08:40 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 09:05 Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 09:30 Courage The Cowardly Dog 09:31 Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 09:40 Courage The Cowardly Dog 09:55 Cow & Chicken 10:20 I Am Weasel 10:35 Adventure Time 11:00 Ben 10 11:25 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 11:50 The Secret Saturdays 12:15 Samurai Jack 12:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 13:05 Codename: Kids Next Door 13:30 Skunk Fu! 13:50 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 14:15 Flapjack

14:40 Ed, Edd n Eddy 15:05 Camp Lazlo 15:30 Chowder 15:55 Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 16:25 Cow & Chicken 16:50 Courage The Cowardly Dog 17:15 I Am Weasel 17:40 Adventure Time 18:05 Codename: Kids Next Door 18:30 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 18:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 19:20 Generator Rex 19:45 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 20:10 Hero 108 20:35 Bakugan: New Vestroia 21:00 Total Drama Island 21:25 Adventure Time 21:50 Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 22:00 Ben 10 22:25 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 22:50 The Secret Saturdays 23:15 Samurai Jack 23:40 Megas Xlr

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 Call 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00

Backstory World Sport The Situation Room World Report World Business Today Piers Morgan Tonight Anderson Cooper 360 World Sport Talk Asia World Report Backstory World Report World Report World Sport Ireport For CNN World Business Today American Morning: Wake-Up Mainsail World One Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk The Brief World Sport Prism International Desk Mainsail Quest Means Business Piers Morgan Tonight Connect The World

00:15 Flying Wild Alaska 01:10 Extreme Fishing With Robson Green 02:05 Dirty Jobs 03:00 Ultimate Survival 03:55 Wheeler Dealers 04:20 Mythbusters 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How Stuff’s Made 06:05 Dirty Jobs 07:00 Wheeler Dealers 07:25 Fifth Gear 07:50 Flying Wild Alaska 08:45 How Do They Do It? 09:10 Mythbusters 10:05 Cake Boss 10:30 Border Security 10:55 Auction Hunters 11:25 Dual Survival 12:20 Ultimate Survival 13:15 Ultimate Survival 14:10 Extreme Fishing With Robson Green 15:05 Sons Of Guns 15:30 Cash Cab Us 16:00 Wheeler Dealers 16:25 Fifth Gear 16:55 Mythbusters 17:50 Flying Wild Alaska 18:45 Cake Boss 19:10 Border Security 19:40 Auction Hunters 20:05 How Stuff’s Made 20:35 How Do They Do It? 21:00 Cash Cab Us 21:30 Texas Drug Wars 22:25 Ultimate Survival 23:20 Kidnap And Rescue

00:05 Smash Lab 00:55 Superships 01:45 Extreme Bodies 02:35 Killer Outbreaks 03:25 Thunder Races 04:15 How Does That Work?

04:45 Superships 05:40 One Step Beyond 06:10 Engineered 07:00 Thunder Races 07:55 Cosmic Collisions 08:50 The Gadget Show 09:40 Smash Lab 10:35 Brainiac 11:30 Sci-Fi Science 11:55 How Does That Work?

12:25 Extreme Bodies 13:15 Killer Outbreaks 14:05 One Step Beyond 14:30 Stunt Junkies 14:55 Superships 15:45 Weird Connections 16:10 Thunder Races 17:00 How Techies Changed the World 17:50 Sci-Fi Science 18:15 The Gadget Show 18:40 Prototype This 19:30 Bang Goes the Theory 20:20 Smash Lab 21:10 The Gadget Show 22:00 Prototype This 22:50 Bang Goes the Theory 23:40 The Gadget Show

DIARY OF THE DEAD ON OSN ACTION HD

00:00 00:25 01:15 02:00 02:50 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:00 06:20 06:45 07:05 07:30 07:55

Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Stitch Replacements Emperor’s New School Stitch Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Emperor’s New School Suite Life On Deck Phineas And Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie

08:20 08:35 09:00 09:10 09:20 09:30 09:40 10:05 Cody 10:35 10:50 11:15 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:45 13:10 13:30 13:55 14:20 14:55 15:20 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:45 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:35

Fish Hooks Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jungle Junction The Hive Handy Manny Imagination Movers The Suite Life Of Zack And Phineas And Ferb Good Luck Charlie Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Sonny With A Chance Good Luck Charlie Hannah Montana Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Phineas And Ferb Fish Hooks Shake It Up Jake & Blake Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Shake It Up Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Jake & Blake Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Suite Life On Deck Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Jonas Los Angeles

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Then And Now 01:25 Young, Beautiful & Vanished 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Fashion Police 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 13:35 Extreme Close-Up 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:35 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 15:30 THS 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Fashion Police 17:55 E! News 18:55 E!es 19:55 Giuliana & Bill 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 Fashion Police 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami

00:30 01:20 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 13:15 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00

Ghost Lab A Haunting Dr G: Medical Examiner Amsterdam Vice Ghost Lab Diagnosis: Unknown Murder Shift Forensic Detectives Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Diagnosis: Unknown Ghost Lab FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn I Was Murdered I Was Murdered Diagnosis: Unknown Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Ghost Lab FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Diagnosis: Unknown Street Patrol On The Case With Paula Zahn I Was Murdered Cuff Me If You Can Fugitive Strike Force Dr G: Medical Examiner

Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Eccentric Uk First Ascent Endurance Traveller Departures Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Eccentric Uk First Ascent Endurance Traveller Departures Departures Extreme Tourist Afghanistan David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue: Bali Travel Madness City Chase Rome Adventure Wanted Ultimate Traveller Reverse Exploration David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue: Bali Travel Madness City Chase Rome Adventure Wanted Ultimate Traveller

00:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 01:00 Eccentric Uk 01:00 Stay Hungry 01:30 Eccentric Uk 02:00 First Ascent 02:40 Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia 03:00 Endurance Traveller 04:00 Departures 04:30 Dying To Dance 05:00 Departures 05:55 Dream Lover 06:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 07:00 Eccentric Uk 07:35 Sibling Rivalry 08:00 First Ascent 08:30 First Ascent 09:00 Endurance Traveller 09:00 Seven Hours To Judgement

ME AND ORSON WELLES ON OSN CINEMA 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:05 12:20 13:00 13:30 13:55 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:15 18:00 18:55 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 20:30 21:00 22:00 22:00 23:00 23:35

Departures Love Bites Departures Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Mgm’s Big Screen One Summer Love David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Bondi Rescue A Green Journey Bondi Rescue: Bali Travel Madness City Chase Rome Hornet’s Nest Adventure Wanted Ultimate Traveller Across 110th Street Reverse Exploration Chance Of A Lifetime David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue: Bali Breakheart Pass Travel Madness City Chase Rome Adventure Wanted California Casanova Ultimate Traveller Border, The

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 PG15 18:00 20:00 22:00

Halloween 2-18 8 Mile-PG15 Splinter-18 The Fan-PG15 Echelon Conspiracy-PG15 Hardwired-PG15 From Paris With Love-PG15 Echelon Conspiracy-PG15 G.I. Joe: The Rise Of CobraFrom Paris With Love-PG15 Blood And Bone-18 Diary Of The Dead-18

01:00 Mr. Nice-18 03:15 Beyond A Reasonable DoubtPG15 05:15 Planet 51-PG 07:00 Hurricane Season-PG15 09:00 Planet 51-PG 11:00 Hurricane Season-PG15 13:00 Parlez-Moi De LA Pluie-PG15 15:00 Me And Orson Welles-PG 17:15 My Son, My Son, What Have You Done?-PG15 19:00 5 Dollars A Day-PG15 21:00 The Social Network-PG15 23:15 The Limits Of Control-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Sarah Silverman Program 02:00 Louie 02:30 The Big C 03:00 Friends 03:30 Friends 04:00 Dharma And Greg 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 Dharma And Greg 08:30 Friends 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 Dharma And Greg 13:00 Friends 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 Friends 18:30 Friends 19:00 Outsourced 19:30 Community 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report

22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30

Funny Or Die Presents The Big C Sarah Silverman Program Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00

Supernatural Drop Dead Diva Warehouse 13 One Tree Hill Good Morning America Persons Unknown Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View Supernatural Warehouse 13 Live Good Morning America One Tree Hill The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Turn Back Your Body Clock Bones The X Factor (US) Treme Persons Unknown

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00

The Event Game Of Thrones Supernatural Supernatural Warehouse 13 Alias The Event Two And A Half Men Coronation Street Off The Map Warehouse 13 Supernatural Supernatural Two And A Half Men Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Off The Map The Event Two And A Half Men Two And A Half Men The Ellen DeGeneres Show Off The Map Bones The X Factor (US) Treme No Ordinary Family

01:15 Killshot-18 03:00 Case 39-18 05:00 Battlestar Galactica: The Plan-18 07:00 Star Runners-PG15 09:00 Courage Under Fire-PG15 11:00 Independence Day-PG15 13:30 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course-PG15 15:30 Courage Under Fire-PG15 17:30 Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant-PG15 19:30 Freight-PG15 21:00 Mirrors 2-18 23:00 Lake Placid 3-18

00:00 Mr. Baseball-PG 02:00 Return To Sleepaway CampPG15 04:00 Garfield-PG 06:00 The Bounty Hunter-PG15 08:00 Dead Men Don’t Wear PlaidPG 10:00 Black Sheep-PG15 12:00 Coming & Going-PG15 14:00 One Fine Day-PG15 16:00 Mr. Baseball-PG 18:00 The Prince And Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon-PG15 20:00 Black Dynamite-18 22:00 American Pie 7: The Book Of Love-18

01:00 Mary Reilly-PG15 03:00 Mary, Queen Of Scots-PG15 05:15 Romeo + Juliet-PG15 07:15 Make It Funky!-PG15 09:15 Maneater: Part I-PG15 11:00 Return To Rajapur-PG15 12:45 By The People: The Election Of Barack Obama-PG15 15:00 The Dust Factory-PG15 17:00 Maneater: Part II-PG15 18:45 The Blind Side-PG15 21:00 Boogie Nights-18 23:45 Cape Fear-PG15

00:00 02:15 03:15 04:15 04:30 06:30 07:00 08:15 10:30 11:00 12:30 13:00 15:00 19:00 20:00 14 22:00 23:00

Rugby World Cup UFC 135 Countdown Trans World Sports RWC Highlights WWE Smackdown Powerboats UIM Class One Trans World Sports Rugby World Cup LIVE RWC Studio Show LIVE Rugby World Cup LIVE RWC Studio Show Rugby World Cup LIVE European PGA Tour WWE NXT The Ultimate Fighter Season UFC 135 Countdown Rugby World Cup

00:15 RWC Highlights 01:00 Premier League Snooker 02:30 Spirit of Yachting 03:00 Golfing World 04:00 Rugby Union Currie Cup 06:00 Five Beach Volley Ball 06:30 European Tour Weekly 07:00 RWC Highlights 07:15 Mobil 1 The Grid 07:45 Trans World Sport 08:45 Golfing World 09:45 Total Rugby 10:15 RWC Highlights 10:30 Live RWC Matchday 11:00 Live Rugby World Cup 12:30 Live RWC Matchday 13:00 Trans World Sport 14:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 14:30 World Hockey 15:00 Rugby World Cup 17:00 Futbol Mundial 17:30 RWC Highlights 17:45 Beach Volley Ball 18:15 Total Rugby 18:45 RWC Matchday 19:15 Rugby World Cup 21:00 RWC Matchday 21:30 Live Premier League Snooker 23:30 RWC Highlights 23:45 NRL Full Time

00:15 Futbol Mundial 00:45 RWC Highlights 01:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 02:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 02:30 Scottish Premier League 04:30 RWC Highlights 04:45 FEI Equestrian World 05:15 Spirit of Yachting 05:45 PGA European Tour Highlights 06:45 RWC Highlights 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Super League 10:00 European Tour Weekly 10:30 World Hockey 11:00 AFL Highlights 12:00 The Challenge Series Golf 12:30 European Challenge Tour Highlights 13:30 Golfing World 14:30 Euro Tour Weekly 15:00 Live PGA European Tour 19:00 RWC Highlights 19:15 Total Rugby 19:45 Trans World Sport 20:45 NRL Full Time 21:15 RWC Highlights 21:30 Live RFL Championship 23:30 PGA European Tour

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00

UFC 135 Countdown Intercontinental Le Mans Cup V8 Supercars Championship Speedway FIM World WWE Tough Enough UFC 135 Countdown UFC Unleashed WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline WWE Tough Enough Speedway FIM World WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottomline V8 Supercars Championship Powerboats F1 Championship Speedway Intercontinental Le Mans Cup WWE Vintage Collection WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC 135 Countdown UFC Fight Night 25

Classifieds THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

ACCOMMODATION Accommodation available in Abbassiya two bedroom furnished flat, bachelor accommodation KD 35, from Oct 1st. Contact: 99162583. (C 3641) 22-9-2011 Sharing accommodation in Mahboula near McDonald in sea side, 2 bedroom flat, 2 bathroom central A/C, looking for executive bachelor or couple. Contact: 66216713. (C 3631) Room for rent in Farwaniya for small family or working ladies, available starting 01-10-2011 with small Indian family.

Call: 99051353, 97823565.

(C 3633) One room available in two bedroom flat behind Crowne Plaza near Dar AlQuran, for Pakistani and Indian bachelor. Please contact: 50129393 / 66490857.

(C 3634) 19-09-2011 Single room with separate bathroom available in 3 bedroom 3 bathroom deluxe C-AC flat with small Muslim family in Hawally Tunis street, near Sadique roundabout, behind Commercial Bank, for single executive or decent couple or 2 working ladies.

Contact: 97794619.

(C 3626) 15-9-2011

CHANGE OF NAME I, Kannanaikkel Devassy Joy, holder of Indian Passport No. E2157210 issued at Kuwait, hereby change my name as Joy Davis. (C 3642) 22-9-2011 I have change my surname from my old surname Mithu Habibullah Ismail to my new Surname Mitha Habibullah Ismail. I am holding Indian Passport No. Z026492 (C 3636) 20-9-2011

I, VADAKKE VEEDU DAMODARAN VINODAN holding Indian Passport No: Z1846634 has changed my name to VADAKKE VEEDU DAMODARAN VINOD as on 19-9-2011. (C 3632) 19-9-2011

LOST

FOR SALE Brand new Nissan Altima 2011 for sale, will offer good discount, car still in showroom.

Contact: 66947732. (C 3635) 20-9-2011

Policy No. 633001847 for Mehmood Ul Hassan Chohan issued by State Life Insurance has been lost, if anybody found please contact: 22452208-9. (C 3643) 22-9-2011

SITUATION WANTED Fresh dynamic Mechanical Engineer with immaculate English language skills looking for opportunities, in engineering, media or related fields. Transferable residence.

Phone: 67078742. (C 3639) 21-9-2011

No: 15217

Oracle ERP Specialist (Project Lead, Apps DBA, Techno-Functional), 15+ years exp in IT (6+ yrs in Ebs R11/R12, 3 full cycle implementation) Oracle Certified, Indian, Transferable residence. (M) 99316737.

(C 3637) 20-9-2011

SITUATION VACANT A Kuwaiti family wants an Indian driver. Tel: 97949776.

(C 3638) 21-9-2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JZR JZR THY ETH UAE DHX ETD MSR FDB GFA QTR THY JZR FCX JZR JZR KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC IRA KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY ETD GFA MEA JZR KNE MSR MSC JZR SYR KAC MSR UAL SHY RJA MSR FDB OMA JZR SWT QTR KAC SVA KAC

Flt 205 267 772 620 853 370 305 614 67 211 138 770 503 201 269 555 412 157 1541 206 382 605 302 53 332 352 284 362 855 132 125 301 213 404 165 789 623 9621 561 341 672 610 982 4125 640 621 57 645 357 93 140 562 500 546

Arrival Flights on Thursday 22/9/2011 Route DAMASCUS BEIRUT ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA ISTANBUL LUXOR DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA MANILA/BANGKOK LONDON CAIRO ISLAMABAD DELHI ISFAHAN MUMBAI DUBAI TRIVANDRUM COCHIN DHAKA COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT DUBAI JEDDAH SOHAG ASSIUT SOHAG DAMASCUS/DEIREZZOR DUBAI CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES ANTALYA AMMAN ASSIUT DUBAI MUSCAT MASHAD DUBAI/KANDAHAR DOHA AMMAN JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA

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

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

788 745 257 134 535 118 403 303 857 154 215 510 777 327 239 127 3553 63 177 227 9623 104 502 542 618 786 614 674 774 458 572 617 61 647 179 402 178 618 372 445 859 217 136 981 981 135 606 513 185 612 636 389 539 43 205

JEDDAH JEDDAH BEIRUT DOHA CAIRO NEW YORK COLOMBO/DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI ISTANBUL BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH TUNIS/DUBAI AMMAN SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA DUBAI DUBAI COLOMBO/DUBAI SOHAG LONDON BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SINGAPORE/ABU DHABI MUMBAI AHWAZ DUBAI MUSCAT DUBAI BEIRUT GENEVA/FRANKFURT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN CHENNAI/AHMEDABAD BAHRAIN LUXOR SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT KOZHIKODE/MANGALORE CAIRO DHAKA LAHORE

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

Airlines AXB JZR DLH AIC KLM PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR THY JZR JZR GFA KAC JZR BAW IRA FDB JZR KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC UAE ABY KAC QTR ETD GFA KAC MEA JZR KAC KNE JZR KAC MSR MSC KAC JZR SYR MSR SHY RJA FDB MSR UAL

Departure Flights on Thursday 22/9/2011 Flt Route 394 737 1540 CAIRO 637 FRANKFURT 976 GOA/CHENNAI 447 AMSTERDAM 216 KARACHI 773 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 615 CAIRO 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 560 SOHAG 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 356 MASHAD 156 LONDON 606 MASHAD 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 153 ISTANBUL 787 JEDDAH 671 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 561 AMMAN 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 101 LONDON/NEW YORK 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 165 ROME/PARIS 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 541 CAIRO 790 JEDDAH 238 AMMAN 501 BEIRUT 624 SOHAG 9622 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 342 DEIREZZOR/DAMASCUS 611 CAIRO 4126 ANTALYA 641 AMMAN 58 DUBAI 622 ASSIUT 982 BAHRAIN

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

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

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

646 673 746 617 178 505 512 773 141 613 538 82 304 404 135 858 216 328 128 184 266 3554 511 64 228 134 9624 283 361 571 62 616 331 351 648 403 188 457 619 543 373 445 860 218 102 137 301 205 502 554 607 240 981 411 415 613

MUSCAT DUBAI JEDDAH DOHA DUBAI JEDDAH SHARM EL SHEIKH RIYADH DOHA BAHRAIN CAIRO BAGHDAD ABU DHABI DUBAI/COLOMBO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN TUNIS SHARJAH DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA RIYADH DUBAI DUBAI/COLOMBO BAHRAIN ASSIUT DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI AHWAZ TRIVANDRUM COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT DUBAI ABU DHABI/SINGAPORE ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN/AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD LUXOR ALEXANDRIA LUXOR AMMAN WASHINGTON DC DULLES BANGKOK/MANILA KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA CAIRO

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

34

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

stars CROSSWORD 446

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) You may find yourself coordinating events and communicating with new people this day. Your company may have decided to open another store in another area of town or some such scenario. You could be chosen to make sure everything runs smoothly. It looks as though there are requests for your services that are not included in your job identification. You might put your request in for additional pay before the action begins. Using your mind to negotiate obstacles and dilemmas is a great talent. You tend to radiate success. This afternoon is a time of concentration and working through any professional matters. You can demonstrate great understanding and sensitivity to your friends at this time. You may enjoy dinner away from the home this evening.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Your instinctive orientation at this time is in taking care of business. You may take some risks today, even if you appear a bit unconventional. You will prosper through new insights, inventions and an independent point of view. Breakthroughs in your career could open up during this time, making it possible for you to solve problems and reach new levels of accomplishment.

Improved solutions, insights and approaches make this a time not to be ignored. A dental checkup can be very positive this week. There is an instinctive urge to learn about better nutrition and better health at many levels. You may want to join a health spa so that there is some regular exercise in your life. Diet, exercise and work somehow mean more to you now.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A flexible container with a single opening.

4. Any of various spiny trees or shrubs of the genus Acacia.

10. Electronic warfare undertaken under direct control of an operational commander to locate sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition.

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

14. Covered with dense cottony hairs or hairlike filaments.

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

16. A specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee.

18. A detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work.

19. United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters.

20. The civil and religious leader of a Muslim state.

22. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

24. An associate degree in nursing.

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

27. (old-fashioned) At or from or to a great distance.

30. Considerate and solicitous care.

33. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

35. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

36. A member of the Caddo people of NE Texas.

37. Having been read.

39. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

41. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

42. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

44. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

45. United States designer noted for an innovative series of chairs (1907-1978).

48. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

49. Wool of the alpaca.

50. Take off a hook.

54. Occurring at or forming an end or termination.

57. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

58. Having the head uncovered.

61. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

62. Remaining after all deductions.

63. Evergreen Indian shrub with vivid yellow flowers whose bark is used in tanning.

65. Japanese ornamental tree with fragrant white or pink blossoms and small yellow fruits.

66. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

67. A member of an agricultural people of southern India.

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

DOWN 1. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

2. The ninth month of the Hindu calendar.

3. A correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence).

4. A city in northwestern Syria.

5. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

6. The part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands.

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

8. To say or state again.

9. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States.

10. Moth having nonfunctional mouthparts as adults.

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

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

17. A public act of violence by an unruly mob.

21. Relating to the blood vessels or blood.

23. Small European freshwater fish with a slender bluish-green body.

26. West Indian tree having racemes of fragrant white flowers and yielding a durable timber and resinous juice.

28. A blank leaf in the front of back of a book.

29. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

31. A small island.

32. Deciduous or evergreen shrubs and shrubby trees of temperate and subtropical North America, South Africa, eastern Asia and northeastern Australia.

34. Any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species.

38. Panel forming the lower part of an interior wall when it is finished differently from the rest.

40. A large crater caused by the violent explosion of a volcano that collapses into a depression.

43. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

46. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

47. The capital of Bahrain.

48. Someone who is morally reprehensible.

51. A condition requiring relief.

52. The emotion of hate.

53. (Polynesian) An alcoholic drink made from the aromatic roots of the kava shrub.

55. In bed.

56. Set down according to a plan.

59. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

60. 10 grams.

64. Informal terms for a mother.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You may be tempted to only focus on what you dislike today.

However, you can be more fully empowered by using this time to embrace your strengths. If at work, keep a journal of date, time, event, problem and how you helped to create a good or successful outcome. If you are put in difficult situations that seem to have no ending, it may be time for a good compromise or a future change. You should be experiencing rewards for your hard work soon. There is the possibility of new visions or sudden insights into your plans—perhaps a reassessment. Breakthroughs and insights into future plans will become clearer as time moves along. Parents and friends as well as a career advisor may be quite helpful. Move to music this evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Ambitious schemes and the pursuit of success and status take on a high priority. This brings a focus on the practical, the successful, the realistic—whatever it takes to get you ahead in the long run. The meek may inherit the earth, but the clever one will collect the rent. Ambition and achievement are qualities you hold in special regard now. You look for ways to get ahead and perhaps combine business and pleasure. Seeing both sides of an issue and figuring out resolutions to opposing views take on more importance in your life. Intense focus on your career can find you mercilessly cutting back and getting down to the bare essentials regarding the path or direction you are taking with your life. You enjoy the climb as well as the rewards.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You are disciplined regarding your career. Lock in those practical skills of yours into a routine and make them good habits.

Your mind and decision-making abilities should be at a peak. You may be called on for your organizational and management skills. You are an aggressive prime mover, a starter—able to get things moving. Although you are not always hot on the follow-up, you will be able to tackle tasks that require real discipline. This evening is a good time for surrounding yourself with friends and young people and for having a good time. You appreciate your particular situation and enjoy support from those around you. You and a loved one can relax this evening—perhaps after a long and enjoyable bicycle ride.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You could be in the limelight, particularly with superiors or in relation to your work. You may find that you enjoy your job more than usual. There is much mental busywork now. A good time, when your efforts really pay off and things seem to run smoothly. Now you have the opportunity for sustained work that allows you to coordinate and organize like never before. There is time to clean off your desk and complete any uncompleted tasks before the end of this workday. Cultivate and collect positive images of successful situations as well as relaxed settings—use these to ease tensions. A heightened interest in health and diet, as well as an urge to get things organized into a rational system, agrees with this.

Music will lift your spirits tonight.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Some days are just difficult to maneuver around. It could be hard to figure out the right move. You may feel frustrated as to where you are headed in life just now. Someone older or in an authoritative position may disapprove of your decisions just now—it may be a bit hard to think. Thinking long-term, however, you will be able to come up with just the right technique, step, method or frame of words to create some positive reaction when it comes to pleasing the customer and the supervisor. An upswing in sales or in stock can be the result of some internal change that requires many people to cooperate. You will be pleased with the results of your efforts this day. The pleasures of music can calm the beast in all of us. Enjoy music this evening.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You like to work with words and ideas and have a natural appreciation for anything that is literary or artistic. Your sense of discernment when it comes to matters of literary and intellectual taste is refined. You could write poetry or prose and put a very high value on the written word. You enjoy good conversations and may be skilled at speaking and communicating. The lunch hour today could bring some fun conversations your way. This afternoon you may have to be careful not to disturb others with your urge to talk—you will do well in matters that concern proofing and editing. Expect a more confident, outgoing attitude, for you have brought to close a time of inward examination and learning. There is a growing sense of direction and self-worth.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) There could be change in the air with regard to your working situation. You may want to be open to the new ideas of others. This may mean moving in a different direction within the same company for which you work or taking a class to brush up on some technical skills.

You are driven when it comes to fulfilling your ambitions and carving out a career. There is no lack of energy or drive here; nothing can stand in your way.

Lots of energy goes into making the right moves. Most of your co-workers will find you outgoing, enthusiastic and diplomatic. Friends, group projects and community concerns could play key roles that effect your career direction.

Relaxation can be found in your own backyard.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Everything points to your taking the initiative today. Interest and success in a career requires activity; whether it is physical, mental or emotional—you need to be moving! Work and career should be a primary focus during this time. There is an opportunity to make good decisions—clear choice is yours.

You are at your most practical and what happens with the remainder of this week may have a lasting effect on your life direction. Patterns, habits and new ideas will be forming. You love to tinker around and might enjoy a hobby that involves some sort of design or mechanics. After work, this hobby may be the only thing on your mind.

Setting a timer that will give you time for this hobby will also remind you to stop and enjoy some time with your family.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You may have to repeat or clarify instructions several times this day, particularly to one individual. Write to-do lists for yourself and check all paperwork, including contracts. You may feel left out or passed over just now. Your own requirements may appear to separate you from where the rest of the gang is headed. You may miss the interaction that comes with being social but work demands a temporary time of intense focus. This afternoon you draw emotional sustenance and a sense of security from friends and social involvement. There are plenty of things to grab your attention and your spirits are lifted when a young person opens up to you. Keep track of expenditures by updating your checkbook this evening.

Budgeting is favorable.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

There is extra charm and charisma in the way you come across to others today. When faced with difficult situations or difficult people, you can be exceptionally creative. Speaking in front of a group, you may speak very convincingly. You communicate with great enthusiasm. Your words just flow out and are followed by an emotional impact that brings your point or your ideas home to your listeners. Things are happening in your career and your future may strengthen now depending upon your drive to achieve, which is strong and works in your favor.

This is a good time to get ahead in your work or personal life. This evening your desires are strong and you will want to enjoy yourself. Romance is possible. There is a basic drive to appreciate and taste life.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 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

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

lifestyle G O S S I P

Sizemore arrested, held briefly in LA ctor Tom Sizemore spent several hours behind bars in Los Angeles on Tuesday for apparently missing a court date last month, police and judicial officials said. The “Saving Private Ryan” actor, is trying to make a comeback from drug addiction with a role in TV show “Hawaii FiveO”, was arrested by police during a drug-related investigation. Although no drugs were found, police found Sizemore had an outstanding warrant against him, which officials said was issued when he failed to turn up for a court date in August relat-

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ing to a 2009 arrest for battery. Sizemore, 49, has spent years in an out of courts on drug related charges and appeared on T V show “Celebrity Rehab” in 2010 to try and beat his habit. He is set to appear in the new season of detective series “Hawaii 5-O” as the internal affairs chief of Hawaii’s police department. Sizemore was released on $26,000 bail early on Tuesday morning, police said.

He told celebrity website TMZ that the arrest warrant was a mistake caused by a clerical error over community service hours imposed in the 2009 case.

Jessie J lost favorite

he ‘Price Tag’ hitmaker was performing to a star-studded crowd in London, and though her heavily-strapped broken foot meant her movements on stage were minimized, the singer still managed to lose a ring as she gesticulated wildly during her performance. She tweeted: “Does any of the heartbeats that watched last night have my ring? It’s my fav :( It came off and I know it fell near you. Please let me know if you do. (sic)” Jessie dressed for the show in a figure-hugging purple cat suit and matching wig, with her bust foot in a sparkly cast, and when she took to the stage for the launch of the BlackBerry 7 collection and music-sharing service BBM Music at Sketch, she joked that her tight outfit would spark more medical rumors.

She said: “This outfit is so tight I’m gonna have pregnancy rumors after this. I have a rice belly!” The 23-year-old singer performed an energetic set for the crowd, which included cast members from reality TV show ‘The Only Way Is Essex’, Topshop boss Sir Philip Green and his daughter Chloe, Ellie Goulding, Paloma Faith and McFly bassist Dougie Poynter, but was annoyed by revelers who continued to talk during her performance. She said: “I’m going to make a shout-out to all the people that didn’t know who I am and came here to try and get a free phone. “ Thanks for talking through my songs. You make me want to write a better album that you will buy and like.” For more information on the BlackBerry 7 collection and BBM Music, visit uk.blackberry.com.

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Bello joins Haiti advisory panel

piece of jewelry

Pitt

reveals hotel escape with Jolie

Crow to write music for Broadway

heryl Crow will compose the music and lyrics for new Broadway show ‘Diner’. The ‘All I Wanna Do’ hitmaker has announced plans to work on the musical adaptation of the 1982 movie with Academy Award winning screenwriter Barry Levinson, who wrote the original script and Tony Award-winning director-and-choreographer Kathleen Marshall. She said: “I was already a huge fan of ‘Diner’ when Barry first approached me about writing a score for a theatrical re-telling of his film. I knew exactly who these men and women were and I feverishly began writing.

Writing the score for ‘Diner’ has been the most challenging and fulfilling experience of my career. I have always been a devotee and student of musical theatre, and I am very excited to be making this journey with Barry and Kathleen.” The original film starring Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Tim Daly, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser and Mickey Rourke - followed six high school friends, who had reached their 20s, as they reunited before the wedding of one of their group. The musical will arrive on Broadway next year.

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ctress Maria Bello says she has been invited to join a Haiti advisory panel that is to help develop the quake-damaged country’s economy. The star of NBC’s new crime drama “Prime Suspect” will join a board of 30-plus leaders, executives and philanthropists. They include an adviser to Haitian President Michel Martelly, former US President Bill Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus.

Bello plans to focus on projects that help women and girls in Haiti as the country tries to recover from last year’s earthquake. She has worked in Haiti the past three years with various aid groups, most of which concern women and health issues. The announcement was made Tuesday.

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Bullock and Reynolds rumored to wed

andra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are reportedly planning a secret wedding. The 47year-old actress and the ‘Change-Up’ star - who split from Scarlett Johansson after two years of marriage in December 2010 - are believed to have recently vacationed in Wyoming, and while on vacation the pair discussed the idea of marriage after the actor bonded with her 20-month-old son Louis. A source told America’s Star magazine: “Ryan told her he was ready to tie the knot whenever she wants.

And after seeing how quickly she’s bonded with baby Louis, she decided she’s ready to pull the trigger, too. “So they started discussing the logistics of pulling off a low-key, barefoot wedding that would reflect their laid-back lifestyle.” Scarlett - who was briefly linked to Sean Penn following her divorce from Ryan - is reported to be happy for the pair. A source said: “Since Scarlett likes and respects Sandra so much, it doesn’t bother her that she’s with Ryan now.”

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rad Pitt and Angelina Jolie escape to hotels when they want to spend time together. The superstar couple raise six children together - Maddox, 10, Pax, seven, Zahara, six, Shiloh, five, and three-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - and the ‘Moneyball’ actor admits the chaos of their household can sometimes be too much. Referring to the 1975 movie set in a mental institution, he told TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres: “Did you ever see the movie ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’? That’s morning time in our house. “We find our time. We carve out Mommy, Daddy time. It’s called a hotel. You got to get out of this house. You got to leave.”Angelina recently revealed she can never have a bath in peace because the kids are always bothering her but insists she copes well with having such limited time alone. She said: “You try to take a bath alone and everybody comes in. “You just give it up. I’ve shocked myself because I’m somebody that likes to be on my own. But I’m surprised how much I’m very happy to be surrounded by everybody in my family. “It’s alright. I feel that comfort.”

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Clooney secretly filmed Wood dancing eorge Clooney secretly filmed Evan Rachel Wood dancing to Justin Bieber.

The 24-year-old actress didn’t know her moves were being recorded by the Hollywood heartthrob but she insists she doesn’t take herself seriously and won’t worry too much if her ‘Ides of March’ co-star carries out his threat to make his footage of her public. She told E!: “He did film me when I didn’t think anybody was watching me dancing to Justin Bieber.

And he said he was going to put it on the DVD, so I’m waiting to see. “You know, you can’t take yourself seriously all the time. You have to have fun, man.” George is known for his love of practical jokes and Evan admitted before they started work on ‘Ides of March’ she was looking forward to meeting him because of his notorious sense of humor. She previously said: “I’m excited for the practical jokes. Bring it on!” Don Cheadle recently recalled a prank George played on his good friend Brad Pitt when they were working on ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. He explained: “He put a bumper stick on Brad Pitt’s car that Brad couldn’t see, reading, ‘Honk if you love! Clooney is 11 years old.”

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Penn, Polanski stars of Zurich Film Festival ean Penn and Roman Polanski are the stars of this year’s Zurich Film Festival. Polanski will accept the festival’s lifetime achievement award that he was unable to pick up two years ago after being arrested at Zurich airport. After months of imprisonment and house arrest, the PolishFrench director successfully avoided extradition to the United States on charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He has been able to travel unhindered to Switzerland since. Penn is to receive the festival’s Golden Icon Award for his lifetime achievement as an actor, director and producer. American actor Laurence Fishburne is among the feature films judges. The seventh installment of this festival begins in Switzerland’s biggest city today and runs through Oct 2. —Bang Showbiz

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Lost

Hitchcockgoesclassic to Hollywood This file handout image received on August 3, 2011 from the New Zealand Film Archive shows a still from what is thought to be a lost film made in 1923

by British master director Alfred Hitchcock. —AFP

T Review

Preservationist Lynne Reed working on the nitrate print of British director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1923 feature “The White Shadow” at a studio in Wellington.—AFP

he earliest known film from British director Alfred Hitchcock screens in Los Angeles this week for the first time in more than 80 years — but it would have been lost to history if not for an eccentric hoarder half a world away in New Zealand. The only known print of the 1923 feature “The White Shadow” lay in a garden shed in the North Island town of Hastings for decades, alongside hundreds of other films from the silent era. The collection was assembled by Jack Murtagh, a cinema projectionist who New Zealand Film Archive chief Frank Stark described as a “magpie”, unable to throw away the prints that passed through his hands.

Murtagh died in 1989 but his hoarding instinct has left a rich legacy for film buffs, including shorts, newsreels and features from the early days of Hollywood that were bequeathed to the film archive.

Researchers last year found the only surviving copy of a 1927 comedy called “Upstream” by American director John Ford — who went on to make “Stagecoach”, The Grapes of Wrath” and “The Searchers”.

They struck gold again this year, uncovering the first three reels of Hitchcock’s “The White Shadow”, the melodramatic story of two sisters, one angelic and the other a smoking, dancing rebel seduced by the Paris nightlife. Hitchcock, who died in 1980, wrote the film?s scenario, designed its sets, edited the footage, and was assistant to the British film director Graham Cutts, who bristled with professional jealousy toward the gifted upstart.

Stark said it was widely-regarded as Hitchcock’s film, making “ The White Shadow” and “Upstream” priceless opportunities for scholars to examine the fledgling efforts of two iconic filmmakers. “They were

both jumping off points for hugely important figures in world cinema,” he said.

“Even blindfolded, (scholars) would still perceive an extra quality and dimension to these films. “Here are outstanding examples of some genre-bending work in the very earliest days of production-line studio film making.”

Asked how such cinematic treasures wound up sitting in a New Zealand shed, 11,000 kilometres (6,800 miles) from Hollywood, Stark said there was a simple explanation. He said in the early days of cinema, a limited number of prints were sent from Hollywood for overseas distribution and geographically isolated New Zealand was the final stop on the world circuit. “When films reached here, they were deemed to be at the end of their distribution life,” Stark said. “No one had an archival impulse in those days. The assumption was that these were ephemeral... they were of no value to anyone.”

The standing order from the studios was to throw away the prints, Stark said, because it was not worth shipping them back to America. He said that fortunately Murtagh and a handful of other film enthusiasts disobeyed, preferring instead to squirrel the reels away.

The archive was also lucky that the climate in Hastings is dry and mild, helping preserve the nitrate in the prints, a notoriously unstable substance that is highly flammable and degrades over time. The three surviving reels of “The White Shadow” were warped and cracked when they were found, but in good enough condition for Peter Jackson’s Park Road studio in

Wellington to make a new print on modern film stock.

Park Road archive preservationist Lynne Reed, who said one of her fondest movie memories was being terrified during the infamous shower scene in Hitchcock’s “Psycho” (1960), helped create the print.

She said Hitchcock’s talent shone through as she worked on the film frame-by-frame.

“I realised what a genius he was at an early stage,” she said. “This was probably last screened in about 1930 and here we are 80-odd years later working on it. So it’s a huge privilege.”

Stark said most of Murtagh’s films came from America and had been largely examined by researchers in recent years, but there was another cache of European films from other collectors and could also contain lost masterpieces. “There’s hundreds of titles, we don’t have any idea what’s in there yet,” he said. “There’s every chance, extrapolating from the American experience, that there will be films that will be here and nowhere else.”

Stark said Hollywood was fascinated when Ford’s “Upsteam” screened there last year and he expected the same reaction when the new print of “The White Shadow” debuted at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters in Los Angeles on September 22.

He said Murtagh would have loved the attention his garden shed collection was receiving in the home of cinema. “He was a projectionist, he loved Hollywood, he’d be thrilled he had made such an impact on Hollywood because Hollywood had such an impact on him,” he said.—AFP

‘SupeHeavy’ moves like Jagger with good reason

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ow you feel about Mick Jagger’s new “band,” SuperHeavy, will depend on how much natural fondness you have not just for Mick but for mutts.

Supergroups don’t get any more mongrel-like. ExEurythmic Dave Stewart assembled the team, which also includes soul belter Joss Stone, reggae toaster Damian Marley, and Indian film composer AR Rahman. “Pick one from categories A, B, C, D and E” was the operative motif; it’s more chemistry experiment than organic hybrid, to be sure.

Cynics will suppose that a combination platter like this has an obligation to be quintuply good to live up to the participants’ combined reps. That’s not going to happen, but if non-stop genre-crossing just for the sake of it sounds like your idea of a good time-and why shouldn’t it? — “SuperHeavy” is a light feast of good fun.

Jagger and Stone have a strong musical rapport, the four-decade age difference notwithstanding. Jagger has a history of success interacting with female singers-think Merry Clayton on “Gimme Shelter,” on forward through live and recorded pairings with everyone from Tina Turner to Sheryl Crow to Christina Aguilera-and, as an album-length foil, Stone knows just when to support or overpower him. You might think of “SuperHeavy” as a duets album that just happens to be interrupted on a regular basis by Marley’s spoken-word interpolations. Of course, Jagger has a rich history with reggae, too, so there’s a certain nostalgic inevitability to hearing him interact with Bob Marley’s kid instead of Jimmy Cliff.

The clear standout is “Energy,” which lives up to its name with an insanely propulsive synth riff, motormouthed Marley rant, and instantly catchy Jagger/Stone chorus. (Presumably that’s Mick doing the terrific harmonica solo, too.) If “Energy” had been the advance single, instead of the laconic reggae exercise “Miracle Worker,” the album would almost certainly have more advance buzz. Among the reggae numbers, “Beautiful People” is a bigger winner than “Miracle Worker,” with Stone cooing sweetly alongside Jagger, instead of trying to out-wail him, on the record’s most gorgeous hook.

Less successful: The opening number, with the ultraeponymous title of “SuperHeavy,” has Marley giving a sort of mission statement for the group, as if he were introducing the Avengers or some other superhero collective.

When Stone sings they’re going to “take no prisoners/You’ve got no choice/And it’s none of your business,” it comes off as a little too proud for an outfit that really doesn’t seem to have any designs on touring, much less world domination. And when the otherwise invisible Rahman enters the song’s fray with some wordless murmuring, you sense the token effort to randomly squeeze him in.

These are the pluses and minuses of a democratic collaboration with multiple front-people: It’s like the weather, in that if you don’t like what any one participant is doing at any given time, wait a few seconds and it’ll change. The variety’s nice, even if sometimes you wish a song would settle in longer with one singer or another.

Jagger does get one song-length lead vocal, and a good one, on the ballad “Never Gonna Change,” which not coincidentally is the album’s only truly Stonesy and/or acoustically based track. Given how rarely Rolling Stones albums come along-and how predictable they can be when they do-it’s a kick just to hear him engaged in playtime with someone besides his old mates after all these years. “SuperHeavy” is hardly an album for the ages, but in the moment, it beats being resigned to Maroon 5’s tribute track for our Mick-move needs. —AP

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, Spanish actress Elena Anaya and Spanish actor Antonio Banderas pose during a photocall of the film ‘The skin I live in’ in central Rome yesterday. —AFP

Review

Nothing special about ‘Killer Elite’ H

ead butts would seem to hurt, right? That’s clearly the point of them, but it would seem to be just as painful to be the butter as the buttee.

In “Killer Elite,” this is probably the most primal method of attack on display, but even the noisy intensity and frequency of the skull bashings - and pistol whippings and gut punches - don’t register as anything beyond generic action-picture violence. The fact that director and co-writer Gary McKendry has shot all these brawls with the usual shaky cam and cut them in quick, choppy fashion only adds to how forgettable the film is.

And you’d think that any movie starring Robert De Niro, Clive Owen and Jason Statham would be one you’d want to remember. “Killer Elite” allows them to show off some of the presence and personality that made these men major movie stars, but ultimately they’re just cogs in a cliched revenge tale. Statham stars as Danny, the typical special-ops, killing-machine-for-hire Statham tends to play. At the film’s start in 1979, he and his mentor, Hunter (De Niro), are lying in wait for their target in an industrial section of Mexico. The assignment goes horribly wrong and Danny swears - swears! - this is it for him, the last one, he’s done. But we all know how these things turn out: There has to be that tried- and-true One Last Job. Otherwise, there would be no movie.

A year later, Hunter has been abducted by a dying sheikh and is being held in Oman. Danny must flee the pastoral idyll of the rural Australian valley where he’s ensconced himself with his beautiful girlfriend (Yvonne Strahovski) to perform the duty that will ensure Hunter’s freedom.

Danny is ordered to kill the men responsible for the deaths of the sheikh’s three sons, but he has to get videotaped con-

fessions from all three, and he has to make their deaths look like accidents. No problem: Danny amasses the obligatory rag-tag team of rogues and is on his way.

But they have to infiltrate the British Secret Air Service to get the job, which draws the attention of a shadowy protective society known as The Feather Men. (“Killer Elite” is based on a book called “The Feather Men,” which supposedly was based on a true stor y, by Ranulph Fiennes, who appears as a character later on.) This makes Danny the target of the

secret group’s main enforcer, a former SAS solider himself named Spike (Owen), and the usual shootouts and car chases ensue.

Even with the cheesy mustache and one bad eye that are meant to signify that this man has lived a hard, dangerous life, it’s impossible to disguise Owen’s intense good looks and charisma. At the same time, “Killer Elite” doesn’t take advantage of Owen’s capacity for depth; he is driven, maybe a little tormented as evidenced by the glass coffee table he smashes, and that’s about it.

In this film image released by Open Road Films, Robert De Niro, left, and Jason Statham are shown in a scene from “KillerElite.” —AP

When Statham and Owen finally meet in the showdown you’ve been waiting for, it’s rendered in such dizzying, adrenalized style that it’s hard to tell who’s doing what to whom. Additionally, McKendry favors a steely gray color scheme that, in theory, is meant to reflect the cold-heartedness of these characters and their world, but actually just smothers everything in a bland sameness. One important yet obscured scene takes place in the snow, at night, in the middle of nowhere.

Statham, like the film itself, is muscular and efficient. But he seems awfully comfortable playing this kind of part by now, and he has such a brash, intriguing presence, he makes you wonder what else he’d be capable of doing if he stretched and challenged himself. De Niro stays locked up for big chunks of the movie but when we do see him, he radiates the ease and comfort of a man who has nothing to prove. And he gets to fire a machine gun, which is probably a lot of fun when you’re pushing 70, and might make “Killer Elite” more memorable for him than it will be for the audience. “Killer Elite,” an Open Road release, is rated R for strong violence, language, and some sexuality/nudity. Running time: 116 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: G - General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 - Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13.

Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R - Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 - No one under 17 admitted.—AP

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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lifestyle F a s h i o n

A customer points at a handbag at the Milan Station shop in Hong Kong. — AFP photos

A potential customer looks through the window.

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resenting luxurious cocktail dresses, white tuxedo jackets and Asian prints at his fashion show, British designer Julien Macdonald says he has a certain market in sightChina.“We’re all in a recession but China isn’t, China is booming,” Macdonald told Reuters after his spring/summer 2012 show at London Fashion Week. “The new money is in China, every designer in the world wants to break into China and to the Orient.” Sales of designer goods in China have surged in recent years with the rising spending power of a new class of consumers and their desire to buy into the luxury sector.

The world’s biggest luxury market within five years has become a second home for brands such Hermes , Prada and Tiffany & Co that tap Chinese appetite for sports cars, luxury handbags and diamonds.

And British designers have taken note.

“There’s quite a boom in the world of fashion and I believe that is mostly because of China,” designer Vivienne Westwood told Reuters after her Red label fashion show. “At the moment, we’re all benefiting from this big interest in China.” Asked if she was courting Chinese buyers, she said: “No, they’re courting me, they’ve come to us.” At London Fashion Week, which ended yesterday, Chinese buyers have been seen taking their seats at catwalk shows.

China’s consumption of luxury goods is forecast to grow 18 percent annually to about $27.5 billion by 2015, from about $12.2 billion in 2010, according to consultancy McKinsey. “About five years ago, everybody was saying it was Russia, and then Russia, India and now it’s Russia, India, China,” British designer Paul Smith said. “We do really well in Hong Kong. Next year we’ll have one (store) in Beijing, one in Shanghai then hopefully over the next few years, about 20 in the next four years. But it’s early days still yet, I’m still very cautious.”

Cultural challenges China’s market can be tough to crack, with some cultural challenges to win customer hearts

A customer browses for handbags.

Byron Yiu, Chairman of Milan Station, talks during an interview in one of his shops in Hong Kong. for certain types of products still evident.

Counterfeits cost luxury groups hundreds of millions of euros in lost sales every year and imitations are becoming increasingly refined and sophisticated. While the number of high-net worth individuals in China is set to continue to rise steadily, the bulk of the country’s population cannot afford upmarket Western brands.

Harold Tillman, chairman of the British Fashion Council, said he was taking a group of designers to Hong Kong next month to show their products. “Next year I’m taking them to Beijing and Shanghai. So we are working on getting the audience,” he told Reuters. While Chinese consumers may be designer “hungry ... we don’t have to rush, we’ve got to do it carefully,” he added.

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Models present outfits by designer Amanda Wakeley at the BFC tent in Somerset House, London, during London Fashion week. — AP

Investors flocked to the flotation of Prada in Hong Kong and luxury goods maker Salvatore Ferragamo in Milan in June, encouraged by their growing exposure to the higher-margin retail business in Asia Prada this week posted a 74 percent rise in first-half profit, boosted by strong demand for its products in Asia.

“To go launch a brand in China, you have to have a lot of face time,” said designer Alice Temperley, whose dresses have been worn by Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.

“The Chinese will only buy something if they feel they can understand the brand’s heritage.”—Reuters

yron Yiu once eked out a living by hawking sunglasses at a Hong Kong street stall, but has made his fortune by turning traditional shopping habits around and re-selling rich women’s luxury handbags. Yiu’s Milan Station retail chain, the first of its kind in the fashion conscious city, buys trendy bags-luxury tote or shoulder bags to evening clutch-from the ladies who lunch in Hong Kong’s upscale neighbourhoods.

Locally known as “tai tais”, the small and often thrifty demographic, rarely seen without Prada, Chanel or Gucci on their arm, provides the retailer with a steady flow of bags which are later authenticated by Yiu’s team. “Hong Kong ladies are smart and money savvy. Unlike jewellery, the value of handbags will depreciate when they are no longer trendy,” said Yiu. “It has become a culture in Hong Kong, the ladies will sell the old bag when they get a new one. We are depending on this very small group of “tai tais” to sell us the handbags they want to get rid of, and they are the main supply source to other ladies”.

The idea not only turned traditional shopping habits on their ear and made Yiu a rich man himself, but the company set a record for the most popular initial public offering in the Asian financial hub’s history earlier this year. Investors were abuzz with excitement when the firm, little known outside Hong Kong, went to market in May with an initial public offering oversubscribed a whopping 2,180 times.

The share sale smashed a 2006 record and outshone high-end handbag maker Prada, which made its own lacklustre Hong Kong debut around the same time.”We thought we would do well but it was beyond our expectations that the response was so overwhelming,” said Yiu, surrounded by bags sporting names including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermes.

From a humble start-up a decade

ago with a 100-square-foot (9-squaremetre) shop, the pioneering retailer now has 14 outlets, with an eye to further expanding to meet mainland China’s booming demand for luxury goods. While most customers hope for a big discount, sometimes as much as 30 percent off a bag’s retail price, certain limited edition bags are actually pricier as used collector items, such as the prized Hermes Birkin.

“Ten years ago, there was no such business. People would buy, use and keep the bags at home. When they are no longer trendy, they became trash,” said Yiu.” We became popular very quick,” added the 42-year-old.The company said its share of the proceeds from the float, which saw about 25 percent of the firm sold off for a total of HK$271 million ($35 million), will help it launch 24 new stores in several Chinese cities over three years.

The retailer currently has two stores in Beijing and one each in Shanghai and Macau, a gambling hub about an hour by ferry from Hong Kong, with planned new locations including the booming interior metropolis of Chengdu and the southern city of Guangzhou. “China is like an unexplored oil field,” said Yiu, smiling confidently.

“The market is huge, and they have a culture of gift-giving. Some people may not necessarily like the handbags they received so they prefer to trade in the handbags for hard cash.”China is expected to become the world’s largest luxury goods market by 2020, accounting for a whopping 44 percent of worldwide sales, according to a report by brokerage firm CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

Yiu said Milan Station is also aiming to tap the European and US markets with an online sales strategy that would see bags traded on auction giant eBay.” These are places where we don’t have plan to open stores in the short term so this is our new strategy, and it is

A shop assistant arranges handbags on a display.

a way for us to test the waters online,” he said.

And while few industries are recession proof, Yiu said the current stock market turmoil and uncertainty about the global economy may not be such bad things for the retailer.”When the economy is not good, people are selling more bags and we actually get some very rare items during the economic hard times,” he said. “We are like the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-people come in, buy and sell their bags. People would still want to buy the hottest item,” he said. — AFP

Models present outfits by designer Osman at the BFC tent in Somerset House, London.

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ilan Fashion Week kicked off yesterday with celebrity-filled parties and dazzling displays as top brands look to sales in emerging markets to overcome a slump in Italy from Europe’s debt crisis. Seventy-three fashion houses are taking to the catwalks with their spring-summer 2012 collections this year and several leading names including Gucci are opening new hi-tech stores in Italy’s main fashion hub. But industry leaders say the sector faces a period of uncertainty.

“We have to respond with vigour and optimism to the situation of uncertainty that characterizes the current economic juncture,” said Mario Boselli, head of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, which organizes the event.” The problem of Italy and of Europe as a whole is growth and since countries that are growing are now those that are far away, our maximum attention will be on promoting Made in Italy exports to the whole world,” he said.

“The month of August was as bad as the one that came before that terrible September 2008”-the start of the global financial crisis, he said. The Italian fashion sector had been banking on eight-percent growth this year but investor pressure has forced the forecast down to four percent-still a major improvement on the drop of 15 percent seen in 2009. The show opened its doors with Gucci and Rocco Barocco yesterday, followed by Prada and D&G today, Versace and Moschino tomorrow, Jil Sander on Saturday, Missoni on Sunday and Roberto Cavalli and Giorgio Armani on Monday.

A series of boutique openings in the city started off on Tuesday with an inauguration party attended by Naomi Campbell for tyre maker Pirelli-famous for its nude calendars-which is now launching itself into fashion. Despite the glitzy openings and the buzz of fashion week, the main brands make no secret of the fact that they are mainly looking abroad for growth.

“This first half has been fantastic for our labels with foreign sales rising 30 or 40 percent, particularly in Asia, in Kazakhstan and in Russia,” said one participant, Gaetano Marzotto, head of the textile group Marzotto.

Exports of Italian women’s fashion were up 17.4 percent between January and May compared to the same period last year. While France and Germany remain the top export markets, Russia has now become the third largest buyer.

“In Italy, where consumption has lowered, sales have been supported by tourists. In the Milan fashion quarter, where the most prestigious brands are concentrated, 60 percent of purchases were by foreigners,” Marzotto said. He still noted a slowdown however in the past two months in sales even to foreign buyers “due to uncertainties linked to Europe’s debt and a lack of clarity from the (Italian) government, which undermines consumer confidence.”

Prada is one label that has made a successful switch to emerging markets.

The company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in June and announced a 74.2-percent jump in first-half profits this year, due mainly to Asian buyers. Prada’s sales in the Asia-Pacific region except Japan were up 35.4 percent by far its sharpest rise in the world-and the group said that by 2013 it aims to have 550 stores worldwide, with around half of them in Asia.

Others like Missoni-with its “Missoni for Target” range for the US supermarket chain Target-have launched themselves into cutprice ventures and many have taken to the Internet with online boutiques to lure foreign buyers.

Giuseppe Angiolini, head of the association of Italian fashion buyers, said: “We can no longer think about fashion developing in Italy. In terms of sales, we are no longer number one. Our market has reached its ceiling.”—AFP

Models display creations as part of RoccoBarocco Spring-Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection yesterday during the Milan Women’s Fashion Week.— AFP

Models display creations as part of Kristina Ti SpringSummer 2012 readyto-wear collection.

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Lost Hitchcock classic goes to Hollywood

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

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File photo shows a barber tends to a customer at the Jaya Hair Cutting Saloon barbershop.

File photo shows barbers look on from the Barbearia Nova barbershop, opposite the Caffee Bhonsle hotel near the National Theatre in Panaji, Goa.—AFP photos

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axman Arondekar, from the Indian resort state of Goa, has got to a point in life where he knows what he wants from a haircut. Younger men can keep the latest trendy styles and swanky unisex salons, the 70-year-old says. For him, nothing beats a short back and sides and conversation with like-minded customers at the local “barbearia”.

“I know the barbers and they also know what kind of haircut I want,” the retired civil servant told AFP in the state capital, Panaji. “There is a sense of friendship.

“They are also cheap, as some of the new salons are charging more than 100 rupees ($2.2) for a cut. That’s an expensive proposition that no middle-class person can afford.”

Goa’s “barbearias” date back to Portuguese times and have become as much of a tourist attraction in the state as historic churches, imposing ramparts and the other vestiges of

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450 years of colonial rule.

But where they were once found in abundance in the bustling side streets of Panaji, the traditional hair-cutting salons are now becoming as thin on the ground as hairs on the head of a balding man. Only a handful of barbearias remain and are readily identifiable by names like “Indiana”, “Real” or “Nova Sucursal”, the old world feel of their fixtures and fittings, and the barbers in their traditional white uniforms. At the Barbearia Indiana, overlooking the murky Mandovi river, the same Japanese-made barber’s chairs are still being used as when Vithal Kawthankar first started working there more than 30 years ago.

Tourist web sites and message boards frequently vaunt the quality of the haircutting experience in Goa, with one traveller calling it an “indispensable part” of a visit to the state.

Wet shaves using a cut-throat razor for as little

27-inch tall (69 cm) college student whose hobbies include dancing and cheerleading is the world’s shortest woman, Guinness World Records said on Tuesday. Bridgette Jordan, 22, and her younger brother Brad, who measures 38 inches (98 cm) tall, were also named the “shortest living siblings” by the record-keeper.

as 10 rupees, haircuts from just 20 to 30 rupees as well as the old equipment and locations in protected colonial-era heritage buildings are all cited as big draws. “We get a lot of foreigners coming in for a haircut,” said Kawthankar. “They like the unique feel of the place and its sense of history.”The Barbearia Indiana has been a fixture in Panaji for the last 80 years but how long it and other places like it will remain is unclear.

The oldest barbearia in the state capital, Barbearia Central, burnt down two decades ago and has never been rebuilt. Datta Sakhalkar, who owns the Barbearia Real and is now in his late 80s, remembers that customers were charged just 0.25 rupees for a shave and 1.5 rupees for a haircut when he started in the business nearly 70 years ago. His salon is like a museum, with the same water pumps and five chairs still in use. The scissors, combs and mir-

Brad Jordan, 20, enjoys karate, gymnastics, basketball and performing magic tricks. The siblings, who attend Kaskasia College in central Illinois, were both born with Majewski osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II. “I believe that everyone should be confident in themselves,” Bridgette said in a statement.

Previously, the shortest living woman was Elif Kocaman of Kadirli, Turkey, who is 28.5 inches (72 cm) tall. The record for shortest woman who ever lived was Pauline Musters, of the Netherlands, who measured 24 inches (61 cm) when she died from pneumonia at age 19 in 1895. Jordan’s record may not stand for long as 2-foot-tall (70 cm) Jyoti Amge in India turns 18 in December when she would qualify as the world’s shortest woman, a Guinness spokesman said. — Reuters

rors, too, are all originals. The only modern-day addition is a television mounted on a stand.

Like most of the barbearias, the shop is closed on Saturdays as it is considered an unlucky day for a haircut. Competition and social changes have left Goa’s barbearias struggling. Ramesh Chalwadi was one of many hair stylists who came to Goa from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in the 1980s in search of work. Now he owns two salons in Panaji, both called “Dilkhush”. These newer, airconditioned barbers’ shops, with music and stylists in the latest fashions and with trendy haircuts, are a sign of the growing preference for style over functionality. “We thought we wouldn’t be able to get the customers... but we managed, as we started offering massages and also facials, which weren’t offered by the barbearias,” said Chalwadi.

“Now, most of of the barbers in Panaji are

from Andhra and many of them are related to one other.” For modern men in Goa, as increasingly in the rest of India, it’s no longer enough just to have a neat haircut like their fathers or grandfathers. Now, it’s all about the complete package. “The newer salons are better as they offer facilities like massages,” said Mayabhushan Nagvekar, who works in the media in Goa. “Men, too, want to look better now, so they can get facials which aren’t offered in barbearias,” he added. The barbearias as a result have become a tourist novelty or a habit that older folk find hard to break. “Business has certainly gone down,” admitted Kawthankar. “ We used to have queues stretching out of the door. But now we have to wait.” — AFP

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anks failing and states overwhelmed by debt-not the panicked headlines of newspapers around the globe today but events dating back to Renaissance Florence, the financial capital of its day. “Money and Beauty”, an exhibition in the Tuscan capital running until January 22, narrates the birth of the modern banking system and the roots of our economy during one of the most fertile artistic periods in Europe. Featuring works by masters such as Botticelli and Hans Memling, the show in the Strozzi Palace looks back to Renaissance Florence for a key to present problems, from market risks to conflicts between economic and spiritual values.

“In the 14th century, the three major banks in Florence went bankrupt when the king of England was unable to pay his debts. England defaulted and there you are: these banks collapsed,” exhibition organizer Tim Parks told AFP. “So there is a connection with today, but the connection that most interests me is the way the church tried to ban any loans with interest,” he said.

“They thought that to use obscure financial instruments was against God’s plans for us and could only bring social chaos,” he added. To illustrate his point, Parks points to Dutch painter Marinus Van Reymerswaele’s “The Moneychanger and His Wife”. “You see two completely ordinary people who have become obsessed by money... like a couple so obsessed with their mortgage payments they’re not having sex anymore!”

“There was a time when this obsession with money seemed new and strange, unlike today,” the British writer said with a wry smile. Divided into eight sections, the exhibition explains the eco-

Visitors look at “The Money Changer and his Wife” by German painter Ludwing Von Langenmantel as part of the exhibition “Money and Beauty, bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities”. — AFP nomic mechanisms which led Florence to become a leader in commercial transactions and finance the artistic treasures of the Renaissance with their resulting wealth.”Florence was central in the European system after the launching of the first gold Floren in 1252,” said art historian Ludovica Sebregondi.

“A number of banking terms today come from the Italian” such as bank, banker, profit and capital, she said. “At that time, Italian was the language of the banking world, a bit like English is today.” Italian bankers were often patrons of the arts-such as Benedetto di Pigello Portinari, who immortalized himself in a sumptuous portrait by Memling.

And the 100 or so works present in the collection-by Botticelli to Fra Angelico, Piero del Pollaiolo, Luca della Robbia and Andrea del Verrocchiopay witness to the fact with an abundance of references to the world of

finance. This emphasis on money over spiritual aspects was not to everyone’s taste. “There was a conflict in Florence between emblematic figures such as Lorenzo the Magnificent,” who came from a family of bankers, “and Savonarola,” a powerful friar who preached against immoral art, Sebregondi said. Visitors to the exhibition, who receive a token symbolically worth 1,000 Florens to invest as they please during their visit, will have to decide whose side they are on.”Money and Beauty. Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities,” runs at the Strozzi Palace until January 22, 2012.—AFP