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CR IP TI ON BS SU

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

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US warns on Iran, Al-Qaeda threat

Qatar’s Al-Attiya grabs bronze at shooting range

Power cut rocks India in World’s worst outages

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MPs boycott revived parliament amid crisis

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

Bombs kill 19, underlining Iraq chaos

www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 13, 1433 AH

Juwaihel arrested after offensive tweet

By B Izzak

Ramadan Kareem

KUWAIT: The 2009 National Assembly yesterday failed to hold its first session after it was revived by a landmark court order in June as 43 of the 49 elected MPs boycotted the session. Only speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi and five other MPs, four belonging to the National Action Bloc—Marzouk Al-Ghanem, Abdullah Al-Roumi, Adel Al-Saraawi and Aseel Al-Awadhi—and Salwa AlJassar showed up for the session along with several cabinet ministers.

After waiting for a few minutes, Khorafi adjourned the session until next week and did not wait for 30 more minutes in accordance with the internal charter, saying it is evident that there will be no quorum. The speaker also said that if the scheduled next week’s session fails to convene, he will refer the issue to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to take whatever measure necessary.

Although, Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and all the cabinet ministers, except the interior minister, arrived at the assembly building, only five of them came to the chamber. They immediately left the building after the session was adjourned. The session was boycotted by both opposition MPs who consider the revived assembly as illegitimate and pro-government MPs who are upset because the government plans to dissolve the assembly and call for polls.

The 2009 assembly was dissolved in December last year following youth-led protests and election was called in February. But the constitutional court on June 20 nullified the February polls, scrapping the 2012 assembly and reinstated the 2009 house.

Continued on Page 13

Victories in Ramadan

By Hassan T Bwambale

R

amadan is not a month of laziness, irresponsibility and non-accountability as many people perceive it to be. Those who fast should understand that by depriving the body they are actually enriching the soul. Therefore, fasting in the month of Ramadan should be viewed as a blessing and not a punishment.

Reading about the victories that took place during Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) golden era and the succeeding era of his rightly-guided companions as well as our rightly-guided ancestors, will give us an overview of the way the month of Ramadan has to be treated and the wide range of benefits that accrue to those who fast in it according to the way Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) prescribed for Muslims. The following are some of the victories that Muslims during the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and throughout the era of his rightly-guided companions and their followers were able to achieve in Ramadan: 1-On the seventh of Ramadan of the second year of Hijra (Emigration of Prophet Muhammad to Madinah), the Quraishi polytheists of Makkah assembled with the aim of attacking Muslims in Madinah with the malicious aim of uprooting Islam.

They numbered approximately one thousand warriors (infantry and cavalry men). Moreover, they were armed to the teeth. They possessed all the means of victory and were confident that they would easily vanquish the Muslim army.

As for Muslims, they numbered only three hundred and thirteen. However, a few of them had never been engaged in fighting before. The two sworn enemy armies confronted each other in the battle of Bader (the first decisive battle between Muslims and pagans/polytheists). God Almighty bestowed victory upon Muslims as explained in the following verse: “God surely succored you (Muslims) at [the battle of] Bader when you were a contemptible little force; then fear Allah; thus you may show your gratitude.”

(3: 123) 2- On the twentieth day of Ramadan of the eighth year of Hijra, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) completed the conquest of Makkah after a prolonged struggle in Madinah. He entered Makkah with his companions as a liberator after its inhabitants had driven him away. The sacred Ka’aba was thereof cleansed of idols.

3- In the month of Ramadan on the ninth year of Hijra, the tribe of Thaqeef (then among the sworn opponents and enemies of Prophet Muhammad) who inhabited the city of Ta’if (about 90 kilometers north of Makkah) embraced Islam in multitudes after being obstinate and strong opponents of Islam and sworn enemies of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

4- In the month of Ramadan, the fifteenth year of Hijra, Muslims vanquished the great army of Persia (Iran today), which was then one of the two main superpowers in the world - the other being the Roman Empire. The Muslims’ victory was epitomized in the battle of Qadisiyyah, under the commandership of Saad bin Abi Waqqa’a (one of the greatest companions of Prophet Muhammad). Eventually, the flag of Islam was proudly and confidently hoisted over the palace of Chosroe (Kisra).

5- On the twenty fifth day of Ramadan in the year six hundred and fifty eight after Hijra, the Mongol Continued on Page 13

Max 52º Min 36º High Tide 04:45 & 17:18 Low Tide 02:29 & 16:28

KUWAIT: A few Kuwait parliament members attend the first session at the National Assembly’s Abdullah Al-Salem Hall yesterday. (Inset) Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlSabah (center), information minister, Sheikh Mohammad AlAbdullah (right) and minister of planning and parliament affairs, Rola Dashti are pictured at the National Assembly in Kuwait City. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Travel industry gears up for Muslim tourist boom GCC tourists the biggest spenders SINGAPORE: An expected worldwide boom in Muslim tourism is reflected in the growing availability of amenities such as halal spas and airport prayer rooms, experts say. Thanks to their growing number and affluence, Muslims-especially from the oil-rich Middle East-are travelling like never before, and it is a trend that looks set to gather pace.

Spending by Muslim tourists, growing faster than the global rate, is forecast to reach $192 billion (156 billion euros) a year by 2020, up from $126 billion in 2011, according to a study by two companies specializing in the market. The study, made available to AFP, was conducted in 47 countries by Singapore-based halal travel specialist Continued on Page 13

Saudi judoka to fight with hijab LONDON: A female judo fighter from Saudi Arabia will be allowed to compete in the Olympics wearing a form of headscarf after a compromise was reached that respects the “cultural sensitivity” of the Muslim kingdom. Judo officials had previously said they would not let Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani compete in a headscarf because it was against the principles of the sport and raised safety concerns.

But an agreement was reached after several days of IOC-brokered talks between the International Judo Federation and the Saudi Olympic Committee that clears the way for her to compete Friday in the heavyweight division. “They have a solution that works for both parties, all parties involved,’” International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said. “The athlete will compete.” Saudi Arabia, which Continued on Page 13

Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim

40 Syrian policemen killed

JERUSALEM: Palestinian worshipers pray outside the Dome of the Rock at the AlAqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. — AP

ALEPPO: Syrian troops and rebels poured into commercial capital Aleppo yesterday as both sides battened down for the long haul after 40 police were killed on day four of a pivotal battle in the nearly 17-month conflict. A Damascus security source said the offensive which the army launched on

Saturday to recapture rebel-held areas of the city of some 2.7 million people now looked likely to drag on for “several weeks”. But even as the rebels boasted successes on the ground, exiled opposition leaders bickered over strategy, with an announcement by a Continued on Page 13

in the

news

Couple stoned to death

Morsi frees 17 Islamists

22 PKK militants killed

BAMAKO: An Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militant group in control of northern Mali stoned to death a married couple accused of engaging in extramarital affairs, the group’s spokesman said. The couple were publicly executed in the remote town of Aguelhok, near the vast West African nation’s northern border with Algeria, on Sunday, a spokesman for the Ansar Dine group said. “These two people were married and had extra-conjugal relations. Our men on the ground in Aguelhok applied sharia (Islamic law),” said Sanda Ould Bounama, reached by telephone on Monday.

“They both died right away and even asked for this application. We don’t have to answer to anyone over the application of sharia,” he said. Most people living in northern Mali have long practiced Islam, but frustrations with the strict form of sharia being imposed by Islamists have sparked several protests in recent months. Ansar Dine and well-armed allies, including Al-Qaeda splinter group MUJWA, have hijacked a separatist uprising by local Tuareg rebels and now control two-thirds of Mali’s desert north, territory that includes the regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

CAIRO: Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has freed a group of Islamists jailed for militancy during Hosni Mubarak’s era, a step seen as a gesture to hardliners who supported his presidential bid. A lawyer for 17 Islamists, many of them held since the 1990s, say they owe their release to a pardon issued by Morsi. At least three of the released Islamists had been condemned to death, said the lawyer Ibrahim Ali. Those released in recent days include members of Al-Gama’a Al-Islamiya, jailed during the group’s armed insurrection against the state in the 1990s, and Islamic Jihad, the movement behind the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat. The pardon underlines efforts by Egypt’s first Islamist president to satisfy some of the hardliners he courted with election promises to implement Islamic law. Morsi is facing calls from Islamists to secure the release of the remaining few dozen of their brethren who they believe are being kept behind bars by security forces resistant to the new president’s wishes.

ISTANBUL: Twenty-two Kurdish militants were killed during clashes in eastern Turkey over the last three days, CNN Turk television said on its website yesterday, adding to Ankara’s concerns over gains by Kurdish groups in neighboring Syria.

Fighting, including bombardment with helicopters and war planes, continued on the outskirts of the town of Semdinli, CNN Turk reported. Two Turkish soldiers were reported killed and 10 others wounded on Sunday during fighting that broke out in Hakkari province, near Turkey’s borders with Iraq and Iran, and hundreds of villagers have fled the fighting. The province is the scene of recurring fighting between Turkish forces and fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a separatist insurgency in the mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984 and which is regarded as a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and Turkey. Syrian opposition forces say President Bashar AlAssad’s forces last week quit areas further west on the Turkish-Syrian border, now reportedly controlled by members of a PKK-aligned Syrian Kurdish group.

LONDON: Canada’s Antoine Valois-Fortier (top) flips over Travis Stevens, of the United States, during the men’s 81-kg bronze medal match in judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics yesterday.

Fo r t i e r wo n t h e m at c h t o t a ke t h e b ro n ze medal. — AP (See Pages 18, 19, 20)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

local

Slow cooked lamb

INGREDIENTS For the vegetable tagine stock • 200 gr. Mix tagine powder • 80 gr. olive oil • 600 gr. Onions • 100 gr. Chop garlic • 200 gr..parsley finely chopped • 2 l. chicken stock • Salt Mix the onion, garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt and mix powder, in casserole. Roast for 5 minutes on high fire and add the chicken stock. Cook over medium heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Media celebrates Ramadan at Safir International Hotel KUWAIT: In a wonderful ambiance of Ramadan Nights with the famous oriental melodies and the genuine test of Ramadan special dishes, Safir international hotel invited the Journalists and heads of Kuwait Media on the annual Ramadan Ghabqa at the Pearl Tent.

The management team of the hotel was at the reception of the guests and wished all a pleasant night.

Attendees praised the unique Ramadan atmosphere and the proper organizing of the event that included a TV show by Al Sabah TV where they distributed valuable

prizes to attendees through an amusing competition which added a spirit of joy and happiness at the venue.

At the end of the event the hotel management headed by the General Manager Nabil Shashtari thanked all the guests and wished them all success and progress.

For the lamb • 1 kg. of lamb shoulder • 40 gr. of honey • Salt Season the lamb with salt and pepper, add honey, place all in vacuum bag, and add 200 ml. of vegetable tagine stock.

Cook in 70 degrees.

Mince the lamb, keep in the special mold and vacuum bag.

Keep in the fridge to serve.

For the demi tagine Reduce tagine stock into half in a very slow fire, pass the stock through a fine sieve.

For the garnish

• 125 gr. toast almonds flakes • 125 gr. raisins.

• 125 gr. Sugar • 200 ml. water Make almibar with the water and sugar. When it starts to boil, add the almonds and the raisins.

Turn off the fire and keep in the fridge to serve For the truffle mash potato

• 600 gr. Potato • 85 gr. Butter • 50 gr. Black truffle • Salt • White pepper Peel the potato and boil until tender, place in the termomix with the rest of ingredients until smooth texture.

For the dry fruits relish

• 30 gr. Almond toast • 30 gr. Dry peach • 30 gr. Toast pistachio • 20 gr. Dry raisins • 20 gr. Dry nuts All chop and mixed.

Serving guidelines Bake the lamb for a 20 m. 220 degrees, and dish with all toppings.

KUWAIT: The Ruby Tuesday Restaurant recently held a ghabqa for media at its premises on the Arabian Gulf Road. The ghabqa was attended by a large number of media people and other guests. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

local

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Journalists praise warm hospitality at ‘Palms Ramadan Nights’

KUWAIT: Members of the media were invited to the Palms Beach hotel and Spa for one of the unique heritage Ramadan Ghabqa nights and to celebrate the Palms Ramadan Nights, hosted by Rabie Al-Sokhon, the hotel general manager, to show his appreciation for the role the press has played in covering the hotel’s activities. The hotel administration was present to welcome the media representatives and their families in the palms tent, which was decorated with the special Andalusia along with its unique oriental atmosphere inside the Jawa ballroom.

The guests spoke of their admiration for the magic of the atmosphere created by the hotel, as they enjoyed the generous and rich buffet, serving the Ghabqa cuisine and desserts, in addition to the traditional Ramadan drinks. A special treat was the live-station

cooking corners that also provided live eastern band music.

Among the members of the hotel administration who were present was the Director of Sales and Marketing, Ahmed El Dackrouri, who noted that the valuable time spent with his guests was highly appreciated by the hotel and reflected this being one of their best Ramadan nights. Guests also had the chance to take home prizes, contributed by the hotel as well as sponsors such as KLM, Air France, Sama Dental, Sebamed and Beydoun.

The special night continued into the morning hours, when members of the press and their families thanked the hotel management and expressed their praise for the warm welcome extended to them and the elaborate arrangements prepared by the Palms Beach hotel and Spa.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

LOCAL In my view

Local Spotlight

How long will insults continue?

Send English Messages please

By Abdallah Bwair

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

local@kuwaittimes.net

M

T

he annulled 2012 assembly held no fewer than 26 sessions that avoided citizens’ issues, and those sessions did not elude to even discuss issues of national unity. MPs of Irada Square used only low language, and threaten every now and then to take to the streets or use civil disobedience to pressure the authority and get what they want. Such calls by some political and religious powers to go to Irada Square, with demands of political reforms on the surface, but inside it is otherwise, as described by some as “based on revenge,” and proven by the insulting words we heard from them. Insults became a notable attribute with those MPs against Kuwaiti symbols and figures. The last gathering at Irada Square witnessed the insult of the Mubarak progeny, so what do they want? Those will keep on fighting all names in the Mubarak family, particularly those with influence, unless they face a different response to their actions.

So, for how long will the insults to Kuwait’s symbols continue?

We hoped that the address would be political with goals... The address of reform leaders, not promoters of insults and attacks on the dignity of others.

There were insults against Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad AlSabah during the demonstration (we will not succumb), which was organized by parliamentary and political powers in Irada Square and used the language of swearing and insults against all those who differ with them in intellect or method, and regretfully some of those used foul language. This incident revealed the extent of grudges some have against people like Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad, who is considered one of the most notable pillars of the ruling family. We do not forget the major achievement he made at the National Guard when he was appointed deputy chairman of the National Guard, adding a new beacon that guides National Guard members. It is known that Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad prefers to work quietly, so many of Kuwait’s sincere people keep on asking: how much longer will these insults continue against Kuwait’s symbols who employed themselves for the service of our beloved Kuwait?

We ask the wise people not to join any demonstrations that violate the law and insult the dignity of others, because those MPs who went to Irada Square were tools of destruction and reform, as described by some people.

May Allah protect Kuwait from all evil under the leadership of our dear Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al-Sabah and the wise government.

kuwait digest

The boycotting option

By Waleed Al-Rujaib

B

oycotting parliamentary elections is a form of political protest against government procedures that are opposite of the public’s demands, or can be used as a mean to manipulate election results in one way or another.

Boycotting elections can result in true political effects, which happened in 1990 when an unconstitutional ‘National Council’ the government tried to force on the Kuwaiti people failed to gain strength or popularity after citizens responded with wide scale boycotting that left a great political impact. The council was ultimately canceled after the Liberation in 1991 and a new parliament was elected the following year. In Egypt, several democratic and left wing parties, in addition to large parts of the Egyptian people, boycotted the second round of the recent presidential elections, refusing to select between the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate and a former regime candidate. Despite the notable decrease in the number of voters, the boycotting failed to have a serious effect on the election process. Many politicians believe that boycotting doesn’t necessarily help the protesting parties, since it eventually isolates them while allowing the government to eliminate their opposition and secure their allies in the parliament. In Kuwait, the opposition and some

youth groups called for boycotting elections if the current electoral system is changed, but would this option realize the goals that the opposition hopes to achieve?

For that to happen, the boycotting needs to leave a clear political effect, such as causing an imbalance in the public voting force or foiling the entire elections process in one way or another.

The main question is, can boycotting achieve any results in light of the political chaos and flaws in the election regulations? Nominations in Kuwait are done individually; which enables the government to easily push allies, for example, or allow tribes and other social sectors to nominate representatives. With the lack of a political party system, as well as the absence of full popular support, will the opposition be able to achieve solid results from boycotting the elections; especially given the lack of cohesion among its members?

I am only looking for answers that lead us to true political and democratic reform which pushes Kuwait to become a country that adopts full democracy and enjoys freedom, dignity and social justice. I was hoping that the opposition would at least spread public awareness to gather more public support, which would help achieve fruitful results from boycotting the elections. — Al-Rai

OCI is the short form for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Kuwait. I need to explain that because MOCI has been sending an SMS in Arabic to all mobile users in Kuwait.

The news here is that these SMS messages were in Arabic, something which many non-Arabic speaking expatriates could not understand and created concerns about the content of these messages, as well as what and who is MOCI! I was in a beauty salon recently when one of the Philippine workers asked me to translate a text message that repeatedly came to her mobile. She could not figure out what it said or who was the sender! It was an SMS from MOCI asking the public for cooperation, and in case of any cheating or increase in prices they should call the hot line, which is 135, to report the incident to the department of consumer protection.

As soon as I told her about the content of the SMS she wanted more clarification, asking, “So if I went to a shop and I bought something that seemed very expensive, what would be the use of calling this hot line for MOCI? It would be too late because I already paid the money and they may not give me my money back.” That, I believe, is an intelligent inquiry.

Consumers care about cheap items and want to pay less and not go round in circles about the actual price and how much it was increased, especially here in Kuwait . All those inquires, even if they exist, will not be helpful for customers at the cash registers!

The idea from the MOCI is simple, possibly practical, but will not be successful if it is not sent in at least five languages, and not only in Arabic. I have received this SMS many times on my mobile, but did not think of how many languages were spoken and sent, until this lady came to me asking for help. In Kuwait, there are many people who don’t speak Arabic and would appreciate receiving such notes in English, at least.

So this number of 135 is yours for complaining, but does it say anything about the rights of consumer to get his or her money back in case he discovered he was cheated and called this number?

Maybe another SMS should be sent to calm those who might not call to avoid trouble, except this SMS should be in English and other languages.

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

If Bill Maher was Kuwaiti!

Distribution of constituencies

By Mohammed Al-Washihi

By Abdellatif Al-Duaij

I

s the current distribution of constituencies legal, constitutional or fair enough to make the National Alliance defend it so fiercely?

It seems that many political activists have not discovered the racism, backwardness and even the primitiveness of the boycott group. This group has not clearly agreed about anything, other than its wish to politically oust Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad. This group was supposed to disappear as its lone goal, but it seems that the euphoria of victory as one unit has brought its incoherent members together to create a “gelatinous” gathering that does not have color or taste, and it is trying to control the arena by force and at any price, even if such price is false promises and impossible slogans or lies in mid-day.

It also seems that there are those who did not realize the dangers of going after glittering slogans, or topics shrouded with patriotism and talk of progress that they are carrying now, and only now. The boycott group includes the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), whose secretary general tried to support the group in it is opportunist campaign against the alleged amendment of the electoral constituencies.

It should be noted here that this group cautions and warns against the amendment as it was made by the 2009 assembly, in which it does not have a majority, while at the same time is trying and calling for this amendment to become a priority in the next assembly, in which it expects to have a majority. Exactly like its stand towards “Anything but the constitution”, when the issue was brought up a few months ago. The backwardness groups started to speak out loudly, claiming adherence to Abdallah Al-Salem’s constitution, and warned against its amendment or altering it, just like it is doing today...when it did not have the majority, after the 2012 elections, it did not call for amending the constitution only, but it called up the entire political system - not for anything, but because it became a majority in the new assembly all of a sudden!

I am not among those who defend the current distribution of electoral constituencies, because it is of no importance and made by the authority to fulfill the dreams of Sheikh Saad to control the national assembly. And I am not seeking its amendment, because I had and still have a reservation about the entire national assembly, after the basic tampering by the authority, be it with freedoms, which is the first factor in the democratic activity, or with the voters lists, or with the illegal distribution of electoral constituencies, which the NDA is trying with the boycott group to preserve.

I will not be in support of a backward and opportunistic group like that of the boycott. So, it seems to me that the stand of the democratic forum in leaving the matter to the courts to determine the legality of the current distribution is the correct and less costly decision. — Al-Qabas

I

f only the sarcastic American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor, Bill Maher, was Kuwaiti or, at least, knew what’s going on in Kuwait and talked about it on his weekly TV show or on stage as he does on weekends! To those who do not know Maher, I’d like to say that he is a ‘cursed infidel’ who is always criticized by the both the Republicans and the Tea Party (the third party in the US that is known to be a very conservative American political movement that advocates strict adherence to the United States Constitution, and holds the slogan of ‘Genuine Pure Americans’).

He is also feared for his wide audience and popularity.

The Democrats, however, have been distancing themselves from him because of his sharp tongue and frankness that have so often embarrassed them, though the majority of Democrats like him. Despite his hate for them, Maher had described those who blew up the Two Manhattan Towers, the followers of Bin Laden, as brave on the grounds that it takes extreme bravery and daring to fly a plane into a tower. “We have to admit it”, he said).

I wonder how Maher would have commented on our local situations if he knew anything about them.

What would he have said about a people that held nobody accountable for the crisis of the invasion and occupation? What could he have said about a people that only sees the beach on maps after some tycoons took control of them?

What would he have said about a people who keeps silent about the government’s surrender and submission before telecommunication companies (who are in fact one company) who refuse free transfer of lines and deals with subscribers as though they were slaves? I wonder how Maher would laugh while commenting on how Internet Services Providers have been swindling citizens who ask for the government’s help and protection, only to find out that the government is part of the scheme! I can’t imagine how he would stand up on stage sharpening his tongue, which is already sharp, to handle the lawmakers’ bribery issue, especially as things are turned the other way round and those who uncovered the bribery are the ones being held accountable, not those who were bribed.

Maher does what he does and says what he says in a country where the majority of its people do not know the names of US lawmakers (both senators and congressmen); where five Miss USA contestants failed to know the name of the US Vice president, Joe Biden, although knowledge and education are integral parts of winning the competition.There is no wonder why Americans know nothing about either their domestic or foreign policy. They trust their politicians and know for sure that they deal with the people the way a chicken would handle its eggs, that is when it isolates itself, loses all friends and frees itself to incubate the eggs for 21 days; whereas our government is handling us like a tortoise would handle its own eggs. —Al-Jarida

5

Local

KUWAIT: Al-Husaini posing with some guests during the ceremony. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Book focuses on peaceful Arab revolutions, its roots Information about legendary personalities

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Arab Spring has inspired the Managing Director of Al-Anbaa Daily, Mohammed Al-Husaini, to publish a book entitled ‘On the Path of Arab Spring’.

The book launching ceremony took place on Sunday evening at the Afaq Bookshop in Shuwaikh and was attended by media staff and interested people. The book consists of 200 pages, which includes photos related to the events. The book focuses on the peaceful revolutions and its roots based on a study made by the author in 2007.

“When I connected what I wrote before in 2007 to the Arab Spring, I found it interesting to publish something for the readers to compare the events and revolutions.

The book is available in the Kuwaiti market beginning today, and will also be distributed in the Arab countries. I plan in the future to translate it into foreign languages to serve as a source for these events,” KUWAIT: Mohammed Al- Mohammed Al-Husaini Husaini signing his book told the Kuwait Times.

Al-Husaini also during the ceremony. said this book is not a purely academic study or a documentary, although it could be used as a source, as it includes many details about the peaceful revolutions in nations.

“The main reason for my book was to address the Arab reader and not the political experts, who were surprised by the revolutions that started in 2010 and are continuing till today, and who aim to read more about it in an easy, simple and clear way, while concentrating on the basic events,” he pointed out.

Many peaceful revolutions took place during the last century. “The world witnessed tens of protests and peaceful revolutions, and I have chosen some of them which I wrote about in this book, especially those that I felt were not mentioned much in the Arab sources, although they affected the development of the Arab Spring,” he explained.

The book starts with a general introduction about the Arab Spring and its results as an extension of similar movements around the world. The book highlights the fact that the West, and particularly the United States, knew that a change would take place in the Arab world. Thus they were not sure about the place and time, and so it all started in Tunisia.

The book is divided into two main sections. The first discusses in details the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. While the second section talks about the events that took place in France in 1968, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the changes that followed in Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, Romania, and the countries of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia, along with the yellow revolution in the Philippines and others.

Fur thermore, the book provides information about legendary personalities whose stories were used in strengthening the peaceful struggles, such as Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks. Also, the revolutions in 1848 in Europe when people protested against the regimes of dictators were also mentioned in the book.

At the end, Al-Husaini thanked those who supported him in finishing this book and in his career, especially the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Anba, Yousif AlMarzouq, for writing the introduction for his book.

Al-Qatami ‘symbol of true patriotism’ KUWAIT: Speaker of the National Assembly Jassem AlKhorafi yesterday praised the late former member of parliament Jassem Al-Qatami as a symbol of national action and true patriotism.

The speaker, speaking ahead of lifting yesterday’s regular session of the assembly, said, “I cannot lift the session without eulogizing a man of prominent status in the Kuwaiti society and a symbol of patriotic work.”

Al-Qatami, who passed away on June 29, was one of the most eminent figures of national action, a struggler for the citizen freedom and dignity. The late legislator had served in several parliaments of the country and had a tangible role in struggle for democracy and establishment of the National Constitution.

The speaker hailed the deceased who remained keen on safeguarding national interests even when he joined opposition ranks.

For her part, Rola Dashti, Minister of State for Planning Affairs and Development and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs, said the government shared the people and the family of the deceased somber sentiments for a man who had devoted his life for service of the homeland. He was an example of patriotic action and sacrifices; an example to be followed in national work for the youth. —KUNA

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

LOCAL

Kuwait ‘tolerant country’ to practice religious beliefs

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Hindus represent the majority of the more than one billion people in India. Although Kuwait Times failed to secure official statistics as to how many Hindus are represented in Kuwait, surely there are thousands of them. However, Hindu is not a welcome religion here, as compared to Christians and other religious denominations. Kuwait bars their religious practices here, as they found some of their rituals offensive to Islam and, so, they are instructed not to build temples for their religious worship.

On Monday the US State Department released their International Religious Freedom Report in which they classified Kuwait among the rows of countries to be classified as a ‘tolerant country’ for practicing religious beliefs. Although the report says there are minorities who are experiencing some discrimination on an individual level, it was neither systematic nor widespread.

The constitution calls for “absolute freedom” of belief and for freedom of religious practices, in accordance with established customs, provided that it does not conflict with public order or morals. Speaking with the Kuwait Times on the condition of anonymity, a follower of the Hindu religion said they might have no physical temple, but Hindus can practice and worship their gods privately. “We have lots of underground temples here,” admitted a Hindu follower. “ They are being run privately, because of the ban on Hindu practices, but we do worship our gods secretly. Temples can be in private villas and flats, and there are some in schools,” he added. “We are not being barred from doing that, thanks to the government for being so lenient and tolerant when it comes to that. For instance, we can celebrate diwali here openly, if you will come to the houses of Hindus during diwali you can see electric lights everywhere, and we are not being barred from displaying those, and we can sell sweets related to our festival, so we are happy in that regard,” the source added.

For Christians and the likes, they are free to practice their religious beliefs here. In fact, some Christian

Discrimination not widespread

denominations are requesting the Kuwaiti government to provide them with land to accommodate their growing number of members.

“As a Christian, I never experienced discrimination here. In fact, we are very happy that every Sunday or Friday we could come and visit our churches here to worship our God freely,” said a Christian believer, talking with this reporter. The US State Department claimed that popular protests in Bahrain during the ‘so called Arab spring’ and the subsequent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) intervention resulted in increased sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shiite in Kuwait during the year, and some members of the Shia community were subjected to harassment and threats of physical violence.

“Well, there are reports of such, but we are okay here, we are normal, just like the Sunnis, I don’t think we can mix religion in politics, but we are as free as anyone else here,” said Hussein, a member of the Shiite Islamic religion. The US report revealed that based on voting records and personal status documents, 70 percent of Kuwaiti citizens belong to the Sunni branch of Islam and the remaining 30 percent are Shiite. There are approximately 150-200 Christian citizens and a small number of Baha’i citizens. An estimated 150,000 noncitizen residents are Shiite. While some areas have relatively high concentrations of either Sunnis or Shiite, most areas are religiously well integrated.

The largely non-citizen Christian population is estimated to include more than 450,000 members. The government-recognized Christian communities include the Roman Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and the National Evangelical (Protestant) Church. Other recognized denominations include the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church (referred to in Arabic as the Roman Orthodox Church), the Greek Catholic (Melkite) Church, and the Anglican Church.

There are also many unrecognized Christian religious groups with smaller populations. There are an estimated 300,000 Hindus, 100,000 Buddhists, 10,000 Sikhs, and 400

KUWAIT: On the occasion of the National Day of his country, the Moroccan Ambassador Yahia Bennani held a reception on Monday to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the intronisation of King Mohammeed the Sixth at the Regency Hotel. It was attended by a number of diplomats and other dignitaries. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

18 in custody for begging KUWAIT: Vice crimes detectives transferred 18 beggars to authorities to be deported after arresting them while begging, as the police campaign to fight begging increases during Ramadan and religious events.

Farwaniya fight Farwaniya detectives are seeking an Egyptian expat who had a fight

with a compatriot, whose severe injuries caused him to be admitted to a hospital ICU in critical condition. A security source said the expats used sharp weapons while fighting. Police and ambulances rushed to the scene and found one of the fighters on the ground after being struck in the head, while the other had fled from the scene.

Paramedics took the injured man to the hospital for treatment.

Smuggling attempt Abdaly customs officers foiled an attempt by an Iraqi expat to smuggle 30kgs of hashish into the country hidden in the spare tire of his vehicle. A source said that customs officers became suspicious about the Iraqi expat and searched his car thoroughly, finding the drugs in his tire. The suspect and

drugs were sent to concerned authorities.

zation they belonged, causing the trio to flee with the box.

Juvenile stabbed A juvenile was stabbed in the back by three men in Al-Waha area, following a dispute which ended in violence. The three attacked the victim, then one of them stabbed him in the back before escaping, according to officials. A man took the juvenile to Jahra hospital where doctors operated on him.

Concerned authorities are investigating.

Murder threat A woman told police that her husband threatened to kill her with a machine gun. The incident took place in Hawally governorate.

When police went to the house they did not find the husband at home. Police are investigating.

Illegal charity Three Arab men placed a donation box near a mosque in Qurain area and wrote “donate for the Syrian people” on it. When worshipers were leaving the mosque, a man asked them to which organi-

Foreigner held Criminal detectives arrested a foreigner who allowed his flat to be used for gambling games.

Detectives obtained a warrant to enter the flat and found nine men gambling. The suspect said he runs the flat with an Arab expat, and that he rented the flat to host gambling games. Concerned authorities are investigating.

EQUATE extinguishes a limited fire KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Company said that it extinguished a limited fire yesterday. An EQUATE official said, “The fire, which resulted from a leak in part of a manufacturing unit, was contained and it was extinguished.”

The official affirmed, “The incident caused no injuries as the area was isolated immediately,” adding that production operations of other production units were not affected.

The official expressed utmost gratitude for the cooperation of the Fire Brigade with EQUATE’s team.

The official added, “As EQUATE affirms its absolute commitment to the safety and wellbeing of its employees and community members as a whole as well as its industrial operations; EQUATE would like to note that it is the only entity authorized to issue statements regarding this matter and all other issues relevant to its operations.”

Established in 1995, EQUATE is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Iranian killed in accident

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 60 year old Iranian expat was killed when he was struck by a car as he crossed the road between Dasma and Al-Daiya while on his way to Mansouriya. He died after striking his head, said officials. The medical examiner was called to the scene.

A car accident at Shuwaikh, Pepsi Street, resulted in a 44 year old suffering a head injury, as well as a broken nose.

He was transferred to Al-Sabah Hospital for treatment. Also at the scene, a 24 year old Egyptian complained that his right shoulder had been injured. He was treated at the site of the accident.

Fire broke out among tents located behind the Friday market. The fire was confined to a 1500 square meter area among tents being stored in old cottages. Shuwaikh fire center responded to the call, assisted by Mishref, Al-Ardiya fire centers. As they arrived, capital fire director Col Hamad Al-Hadlaq positioned the firemen around the fire, bringing it under control within one hour without injuries to fire personnel.

KUWAIT: Firefighters in action after fire broke out among tents located behind the Friday market yesterday.

Only one Pakistani expat, age 46 years, suffered slight burns on his right hand and was treated at the site, along with a 27 year old Kuwaiti man who suffered from smoke inhalation and was also

treated at the site.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. Officials said there were significant material losses, as many tents were destroyed.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

UN visits North Korea to see flood-damaged areas Page 12

Obama could be descended from African slave Page 9

BAGHDAD: Security forces gather at the scene of a car bomb explosion in a shopping area in Karradah, Baghdad, Iraq yesterday. Iraqi officials say twin car bombings within five minutes of each other have killed and wounded scores of people. —AP

Two car bombs kill at least 19 in Baghdad Latest in upsurge in attacks in Baghdad BAGHDAD: Two car bombs ripped into a busy intersection and a public square in Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 19 people a week after a wave of deadly bombings highlighted Iraq’s struggle with militant groups. Clouds of dark smoke rose above the centre of the capital where the bombs exploded just minutes apart, leaving dead and wounded lying in the street and slumped inside a damaged minibus, witnesses and police said.

Violence in Iraq has coincided with intensifying bloodshed in neighboring Syria, where Iraqi officials warn some Sunni Muslim insurgents are heading, and with calls by al Qaeda’s local Iraqi affiliate for a renewed campaign of attacks. Three young men in bloodstained T-shirts searched for a friend near the wreckage of one of yesterday’s blasts in Baghdad and women in traditional abaya gowns screamed out the name of a missing relative, a Reuters reporter at

the scene said. “We were in a patrol when we heard the first explosion. The second explosion hit another square, and we went to help... There was a minibus with six dead passengers inside it,” said Ahmed Hassan, a police officer. The explosions followed attacks and bombings in Baghdad and across the country on July 23 that killed more than 100 people in a coordinated surge of violence against mostly Shiite Muslim targets. An al Qaeda affiliate known as the Islamic

Divorces on the rise again in Iraq BAGHDAD: Divorces are on the rise in Iraq, official figures show, though the number of couples parting ways is still far lower than the latter years of Saddam Hussein’s rule, and marriages much higher. According to figures from Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, the number of divorces in Iraq has risen steadily since 2004. But marriages far outstrip divorces, while the opposite was true from 19952003. There were 28,690 divorces in 2004, 33,348 in 2005, 35,627 in 2006, 41,536 in 2007, 44,116 in 2008, and 61,466 in 2009. The next year saw a drop to 53,840 divorces, but the number for 2011 rose again to 59,515.

Human Rights Ministry spokesman Kamil al-Amin told AFP that “economic and social reasons... are behind the occurrence of divorce in Iraq.” And Samira al-Mussawi, a member of parliament’s human rights committee, echoed Amin’s views, saying that “the influence of this increase is bad and negative, and threatens the future of society and childhood in the country.” While divorce rates are on the rise, they are still significantly lower than during the last years of Saddam’s regime. In 1995, there were 121,294 divorces but only 33,161 marriages, while in 2003, the year Saddam was overthrown, the country saw 175,579 divorces and only 20,649 marriages.

In 2004, meanwhile, there were

262,554 marriages, compared with 28,690 divorces, and there were 230,470 marriages in 2011, compared with 59,515 divorces that year. Iraqis have suffered through three decades of turmoil that began when Saddam launched the 19801988 war with Iran, then invaded Kuwait in 1990 only to be forced out by an international coalition in 1991. The country was hit by crippling sanctions over the Kuwait invasion, which caused widespread privation that impacted Iraq’s people much more than its leadership.

And in 2003, Saddam was ousted in a US-led invasion that unleashed a wave of internecine violence in which tens of thousands of people were killed. Though the unrest has declined since its peak in 2006-2007, attacks remain common.

Despite the country’s vast oil wealth, Iraqis also suffer from unemployment and a shortage of housing, both of which can put strain on marriages. Lawyer Hakima Adhim said that “dozens of divorce cases and separations happen daily... during the last years.”

“There are economic factors, especially unemployment and other social factors,” she said, such as the husband seeking to marry a second wife, which is permitted by Islam but can lead the first wife to seek divorce. In Diyala province in central Iraq, which has seen a large number of attacks in recent weeks, there were

940 divorce cases in 2007, but 1,670 in 2010, according to officials in the region.

Judge Latif al-Tamimi, who works in the court in Baquba, the capital of Diyala, said that “most divorce cases are because of early marriage and the difficult economic circumstances.”

According to Mustafa Ibrahim, a social worker who has worked for eight years in the Karrada court in central Baghdad, “social and financial problems are the main reasons for the divorce in our society.” Ibrahim called on the government “to address unemployment and the housing crisis to reduce the escalating risk of divorce.” He noted that a 60-year-old man and woman recently divorced after the owner of their apartment asked them to leave, because they had no place to live together. “There was no problem between them except housing,” Ibrahim said.

Ruqaya Mahmud, head of the Women’s Department in the rights ministry, held the courts responsible for the increase in divorces, criticising the “weak court procedures” and the lack of social workers playing a role to stop early marriages. She also warned against the practice of going to clergy for marriage contracts outside the judiciary, as this “causes serious social problems including not being able to officially register children.”—AFP

State of Iraq claimed responsibility.

Violence has eased since sectarian killings reached their height in 20062007 when tens of thousands of Sunnis and Shiites were slain. But insurgents have carried out a major attack at least once a month since the last US troops left Iraq in December, nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Al Qaeda often targets Shi’ite pilgrims or religious sites in an attempt to stir

up sectarian tensions or to show that Iraq’s armed forces are unable to protect civilians. Last month was one of the bloodiest since the U.S. withdrawal, with at least 237 people killed and 603 wounded. Iraq’s violence often feeds into political tensions. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi’ite, is fending off attempts by Sunni and Kurdish rivals to vote him out of office, threatening to scuttle a fragile power-sharing agreement.—Reuters

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

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

Widow asks France for probe into Arafat death PARIS: Yasser Arafat’s widow asked a French court yesterday to launch a murder investigation into the death of the Palestinian leader, after a report suggested he was poisoned by a radioactive element before his death in a Paris military hospital in 2004.

Arafat was flown to France in October 2004 from his battered headquarters, where he had been effectively confined by Israel for more than two and a half years, after a sudden collapse in his health.

He died a month later. Arafat aides at the time quoted doctors as saying he had suffered a brain haemorrhage and lost the use of his vital organs one

by one. Allegations of foul play quickly surfaced after the doctors who treated him said they could not establish a precise cause of the illness that led to his death. The lawsuit filed by his widow Suha and their daughter Zahwa in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre, accused a person or persons unknown of premeditated murder.

Their complaint followed a statement by a Swiss institute that it had found surprisingly high levels of polonium-210 on Arafat’s clothing-the same substance used to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. A legal source told Reuters the Nanterre court would, in

the first instance, have to determine whether it had jurisdiction to examine whether a case of alleged poisoning that took place in another country could be legally investigated in France.

“Suha and Zahwa have complete faith in the French justice system,” Suha Arafat said in a statement released by her lawyer. “Suha and Zahwa Arafat do not, at this stage, advance any accusation against a specific party, be it a state, a group or an individual,” it added.

Many Arabs see Israel as the prime suspect behind the mysterious decline of the man who led Palestinians’ bid for a state through years of war and

peace. The Palestinian Authority has agreed to exhume Arafat’s body from a limestone mausoleum in Ramallah for an autopsy and Tunisia has called for a ministerial meeting of the Arab League to discuss his death. Earlier this month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat’s successor, met French President Francois Hollande and asked him to help form an international investigative group via the United Nations Security Council, Al Jazeera reported. Arafat was confined by Israel to his Ramallah compound in the wake of a Palestinian uprising and was already in poor health when he suddenly collapsed in October 2004.

Foreign doctors flocked to his bedside from Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan amid public assurances from Arafat’s aides over the next two weeks that he was suffering from no more than the flu.

But looking weak and thin - and telling aides “God willing, I will be back” - he was airlifted to a military hospital in France, where he slipped into a coma and died on Nov. 11.

French officials refused to state the cause of death, citing privacy laws.

Arafat’s nephew Nasser al-Kidwa said a 558-page medical report released by France had shown no trace of known poisons but that the cause of death remained a mystery. — Reuters

Panetta: Egypt’s leaders promise full democracy

SANAA: A police armoured personnel carrier is seen at a road block following clashes outside the Interior Ministry in Sanaa yesterday. —AFP

8 killed in clashes near Yemen Interior Ministry SANAA: Eight people were killed in fighting yesterday between Yemeni government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh who were trying to storm the Interior Ministry in the capital Sanaa, a medical source said. Many other people were wounded in what was some of the heaviest fighting in the capital since Saleh signed a deal to relinquish power last year after months of protests against his 33-year rule, the source said.

Security forces regained control of the situation, a government source said. A Reuters witness saw three armoured vehicles and soldiers guarding the entrance to the ministry. The showdown highlighted ongoing instability in Yemen five months after Saleh was replaced as president by his deputy under a plan designed to end the political upheaval that severely weakened government control over parts of the country.

Dozens of tribesmen exchanged fire with security forces during their second attempt at seizing the ministry in just three days, to demand jobs in the police force. The tribesmen say they were promised jobs in reward for siding with Saleh during the uprising that eventually unseated him. On Sunday, around 100 tribesmen occupied the ministry, vacating it on Monday after officials promised to heed their demands.

It was not clear whether those killed yesterday were tribesmen or government forces. The ministry storming is the latest challenge for President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is trying to restructure the armed forces and restore a semblance of normality to the impoverished country where Saleh’s shadow still looms large.

Tribal traditions are strong in Yemen, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, where chiefs who command thousands of fighters often pledge loyalty to one political leader or another.

Many tribal fighters sided with Saleh who was toppled by a popular uprising.

Tribesmen have fought alongside government troops in a U.S.-backed offensive against al Qaeda-linked militants that drove insurgents out of several towns in the south of the country last month.

Tribesmen were also behind the kidnapping of an Italian embassy security officer on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said. A Yemeni official said the governor of the oil-producing province of Maarib, where the Carabinieri officer is being held, was mediating with the abductors for his release. Disgruntled tribesmen often bomb oil and gas pipelines and kidnap foreigners as a way to press demands on authorities. The kidnapees are usually freed unharmed.— Reuters

Israel to end exemptions for ultra-Orthodox JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister instructed the military yesterday to start drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men like other Israelis - but it could take a while to implement. Ehud Barak appeared to be buying time on this politically explosive order by giving defense officials a month to craft a plan to put it into practice. Some ultraOrthodox activists vowed immediately after the decision that members of their community would go to jail rather than cut short their religious studies to serve, while others sounded skeptical that Barak would enforce the law. Defense officials say privately that the military is not prepared to immediately absorb tens of thousands of ultraOrthodox men.

Barak’s decree fills a legal vacuum on the status of the draft. The existing law exempting tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men from serving was due to expire at midnight. Israel’s Supreme Court had overturned that legislation in February, but it remained in effect as the government struggled to come up with a new formula on an issue that has generated tremendous resentment among Israel’s secular majority and modern Orthodox who do serve the compulsory three years.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unable to bridge the differences between his secular and ultra-religious coalition partners.

The political impasse, which shows no sign of approaching resolution, was on the verge of bringing down Netanyahu’s government just three months ago. Earlier this month, the issue cost him his largest coalition partner, the centrist Kadima party. In the meantime, parliament has gone

into recess until mid-October, putting efforts to formulate a new conscription law in limbo. Yerach Toker, an aide to ultra-Orthodox lawmaker Moshe Gafni, expressed confidence that Barak would take the ultra-Orthodox community’s needs into consideration, saying he had been sensitive to its concerns in the past.

“We hope he will act wisely,” Toker said. Shmuel Poppenheim, an ultraOrthodox Jewish activist, said draftage men would go to jail en masse to avoid serving in the military. “If they come in trucks to arrest an entire seminary, no problem,” Poppenheim said. “If there is no flexibility on (Barak’s) side, religious elders will sit together and declare war.”

Political commentator Hanan Crystal thought Barak’s move, if even partially implemented, could help Netanyahu should the draft deadlock force him to dissolve his government and call early elections. “Netanyahu lost ground with the public over the draft issue,” Crystal told Israel Radio.

“Netanyahu hopes Barak will be able to raise the number of ultra-Orthodox conscripts so it will be bigger come elections.”

The draft privileges date back to the 1940s, when Israel’s founders exempted 400 exemplary seminary students to help rebuild great schools of Jewish learning destroyed during the Holocaust. As the burgeoning ultraOrthodox community emerged as kingmakers in Israelis politics, the numbers of exemptions swelled, to the point that 60,000 ultra-Orthodox men of military age do not serve today.

Only 1,300 ultra-Orthodox agreed to be drafted this year. —AP

CAIRO: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said yesterday that Egypt’s new president and its military chief have reassured him they will steer the country to full democracy. “It’s clear that Egypt, following the revolution, is committed to putting into place a democratic government,” Panetta told reporters after meetings in Cairo with President Mohammed Morsi and Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi.

It was Panetta’s first encounter with Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate who assumed the presidency in June.

Panetta said it was clear to him that Morsi is “his own man.” But Panetta also offered praise to Tantawi, the country’s military leader. “Tantawi ‘s leadership, I believe, has been critical in overseeing a peaceful free and fair elections,” Panetta said, noting he was pleased with Tantawi’s stated commitment to full civilian rule.

Panetta said both Egyptian leaders told him they will continue their country’s cooperation with the United States in fighting the al-Qaida terrorist network. The defense chief arrived in Cairo yesterday seeking assurance that the country will remain a military partner at a time of political tumult in the Middle East and growing worr y about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Panetta’s visit comes on the heels of one by Secretary of State Hillary Rodman Clinton, who was the first member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet to meet with Morsi since his election.

Clinton said in Washington on

Endowment for International Peace, Clinton said Egypt was still grappling with the challenge of religious liberty as it seeks to establish a democracy after decades of dictatorship. In his talks yesterday, Panetta stressed

CAIRO: Egypt’s newly elected President Mohammed Morsi smiles as he meets with Bulgarian foreign minister, not pictured, in Cairo, Egypt yesterday. —AP Monday that the jury was out on US support for the completion of whether Egypt’s Islamist political a transition to civilian democratic parties will equally represent rule, and to gauge Morsi’s interest non-Muslims. She said the in maintaining longstanding US Obama administration’s future Egyptian military relations. relationship with Morsi and the Panetta was last in Cairo in Muslim Brotherhood party would October, after the fall of longdepend on how they respect the time autocrat President Hosni rights of Coptic Christians, Mubarak but prior to Morsi’s elecwomen and other minorities. tion. After his Cairo meetings Speaking to the Carnegie Panetta was headed to Israel for

Ahmadinejad calls sanctions ‘ridiculous’ TEHRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday slammed Western sanctions on Iran’s oil sector as a “ridiculous” move that seeks to deprive the world of energy resources at a time when demand is swelling. “It’s very funny.

They (the West) use oil as a political weapon against a country that is an oil producer itself,” Ahmadinejad said at the inauguration of a new fuel-making unit at a Tehran oil refinery. “This is among the most ridiculous behaviors.”

Iran’s leaders have repeatedly insisted the country can withstand the international sanctions imposed in efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. But the rash of defensive comments by Ahmadinejad and others - including warnings against local media reports on the sanctions fallout - suggest deepening worries about a sustained drop in vital oil revenue. The European Union - which once accounted for around 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports - stopped all contracts with Tehran on July 1.

Meanwhile, the US is pressuring Iran’s key Asian oil customers such as India and South Korea to look to the Gulf and other suppliers.

“The ones that need oil use what they need as a tool to pressure (others),” Ahmadinejad said, calling it “political warfare.” Iran relies on oil for some 80 percent of its foreign revenue. “It takes a lot of insolence to be like that,” he added in the speech broadcast on state TV. Ahmadinejad also urged for foreign investment in Iran’s oil and petrochemical industries, but many companies remain wary of running afoul with Washington over sanctions.

Ahmadinejad’s remarks came after Congress pressed ahead late Monday with a new package of sanctions on Iran, expanding financial penalties and targeting Tehran’s energy and shipping sectors in the hope that economic pressure will undercuts the countr y ’s suspec ted nuclear weapons program. Iran denies it seeks atomic weapons.

Also Monday, US Defense Secretar y Leon Panetta acknowledged that increasingly stiff international sanctions have yet to compel Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. But he argued that more pressure eventually would lead Iran to “do what’s right.”

In Tehran, Iran’s oil minister said there is no need for an additional OPEC meeting to discuss oil prices. A report by the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Rostam Ghasemi as saying the current price does not merit an extraordinary meeting of the oil-exporting cartel. Ghasemi said oil prices $100 per barrel seem “fair.” Benchmark crude was below $89 a barrel yesterday in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. — AP

talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A potential Israeli military attack on Iran’s nuclear sites was expected to be a major topic, but Panetta also planned to discuss with the Israelis the progress they are making on building an air defense system, known as the Iron Dome, which is designed to shoot down short-range rockets and artillery shells.

Asked about news reports in Israel that Panetta plans to share American plan for potential war with Iran when he meets with Israeli leaders Wednesday in Jerusalem, Panetta said that is a “wrong characterization” of what he will talk about. He said his talks in Jerusalem will be “more about what is the threat we are confronting” in Iran’s nuclear program and sharing intelligence information. Panetta arrived in Cairo from Tunisia, where he held talks with that North African country’s new Islamist leaders. He plans to end his trip with a stop Thursday in Jordan. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is seeking assurances from Egypt’s new Islamist government that the country will remain a military partner at a time of political tumult in the Middle East and growing worr y about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.— AP

3 African migrants stabbed in presumed Tel Aviv hate attack TEL AVIV: An attacker stabbed three Eritrean men in a south Tel Aviv video store yesterday in what police said they were initially treating as a racist attack.

“All three people that were stabbed were taken to hospital with light to moderate injuries,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. “A suspect who was in the video shop at the time fled the scene. Police are searching for him.”

He did not give a physical description of the suspect, adding that police were currently examining CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses. An eyewitness told an AFP photographer that the assailant was of Israeli appearance.

Rosenfeld said that while not ruling out other motives the main police avenue of investigation was that it was a hate crime. “That’s the main direction, as all three of them were stabbed,” he said. “If it had been just one of them stabbed it could have been an argument between

them.” Rising tensions over the growing number of illegal immigrants has turned violent in recent months with arson attacks on Africans in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In May an anti-immigrant protest in south Tel Aviv turned ugly, with demonstrators smashing African-run shops and property, chanting “Blacks out!” Israeli figures indicate there are some 60,000 Africans in the country illegally, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea. Most of them live in run-down neighbourhoods of south Tel Aviv.

On June 10, the immigration police began a mass roundup operation, which initially focused on South Sudanese nationals but which has been expanded to include those from the Ivory Coast. Since then, hundreds of Africans have been detained and around 900 flown back to Juba, capital of South Sudan. — AFP

TEL AVIV: An injured Ethiopian man lies on the ground as police inspect the scene after an Israeli man stabbed three refugees inside an Internet cafe and video store owned by Eritreans, in Tel Aviv’s Shapira neighborhood, yesterday.—AFP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

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

Obama could be descended from African slave

SALT LAKE CITY: A team of genealogists has found evidence that President Barack Obama could be a descendent of an African slave - but not through the lineage of his black father, the most likely route researchers had followed and exhausted. The link, genealogists with Ancestry.com said Monday, is, in fact, through an examination of his white mother’s family history.

“We were surprised and excited to make that connection,” said Joseph Shumway, a member of the Utahbased Ancestry.com team. Obama’s father was from Kenya and his mother was from Kansas. It had been generally assumed that the president had no slave ancestors because researchers couldn’t find it through the lineage of his father. However, no one had yet

performed any exhaustive research into the lineage of his white mother, who turns out to have a mixed-raced family history.

Ancestry.com now said the maternal line traces back to one of the first documented African slaves in the US. The company said Obama could be the 11th great-grandson of John Punch, an African slave in colonial Virginia. He is believed to have had children with a white woman, starting a family line that led generations later to Obama’s mother. The White House declined comment Monday. The Ancestry.com team used DNA analysis and marriage and property records to trace Obama’s maternal ancestry. The company says it can’t establish a definitive link because of gaps in family history. Researchers are missing a record

connecting Punch to a presumed son who by his early 20s owned 450 acres and grew tobacco in Virginia.

The records pick up when a grandson of Punch petitioned a court to marr y a white woman - and was turned down, presumably because the grandson appeared of mixed-raced heritage, said Elizabeth Shown Mills, a former president of the American Society of Genealogists. The Ancestry.com findings make for a tantalizing tale that wasn’t uncommon in early colonial Virginia, and the team probably got it right, Mills said. “They did the best job possible,” said Mills, who reviewed the findings at Ancestry.com’s request.

Ancestry.com said its team spent two years exploring Obama’s maternal line. The puzzle starts with Punch,

who is presumed to have arrived in Virginia around 1640 from west Africa, initially as an indentured servant obligated to work for years to pay for his passage. “He jumped the gun and took off,” Mills said. Punch was recaptured and made a slave for life. His punishment was tougher than white servants received for absconding, leading historians to call him the first African to be enslaved years before Virginia legalized slavery. Nothing is known about Punch’s presumed relationship with a white woman. But his landowner son is presumed to be John Bunch, either because the mixed-raced family changed its name or because records transcribed it incorrectly, Shumway said. Researchers were able to make a definitive connection between the successive Bunch family line and

Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995.

Researchers concluded John Bunch had to be the son of John Punch, Shumway said. “He’s in the right place at the right time, and he’s the right age,” he said, adding that to this day, Bunch family members who appear white share the DNA profile of people in west Africa.

Mills said she was not surprised by the slavery link that came through the lineage of Obama’s white mother.

“There are many Americans discovering they have African ancestry. It’s something that is whispered, not something families want the world to know,” she said. “This is what is so fascinating about American history. You see how people felt in the past, and how we think about it today.”— AP

Candidates look overseas for campaign money Elections may be most expensive in US history

BRASILIA: Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, left, Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Luis Almagro, second from left, Argentina’s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, second from right and Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro pose for pictures during a meeting ahead a Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) Extraordinary Summit in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday.—A-P

Romney praises Polish spirit, creativity in Warsaw

WARSAW: Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney said yesterday that Poland’s economy is a model of small government and free enterprise that other nations should emulate, an unspoken criticism of President Barack Obama’s policies in the wake of the worst recession in decades. Wrapping up an overseas trip, the former Massachusetts governor said that “rather than heeding the false promise” of a government-dominated economy, Poland sought to stimulate innovation, attract investment, expand trade and live within its means” after the Communist era.

Shortly before ending his stumblemarred trip, Romney sought to minimize any damage from comments in Israel that sparked strong criticism from Palestinian leaders, saying his words had been mischaracterized. In an interview with Fox News, he said he “did not speak about the Palestinian culture or the decisions made in their economy” when he told Jewish campaign donors that their own culture is part of the reason the Jewish state is more economically successful than areas where Palestinians live.

Romney also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw before flying home to the United States, and paid tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Poles who died in a World War II ghetto uprising against the Nazis. Both are traditional gestures for dignitaries visiting Poland. His speech seemed an attempt to link his overseas trip to the campaign at home. He said that in his talks on Monday, one unnamed Polish leader “shared with me an economic truth that has been lost on much of the world. ‘It is simple. You don’t borrow what you cannot pay back,’” said Romney, who frequently criticizes Obama at home for the growth of the US debt in the past four years.

“The world should pay close attention to the transformation of Poland’s economy,” Romney said. “A march toward economic liberty and smaller government has meant a march toward higher living standards, a strong military that defends liberty at home and abroad, and an important and growing role on the international stage.”

While holding up Poland as an economic example, Romney did not mention that the nation’s unemployment is measured at 12.4 percent. Unemployment in the United States is 8.2 percent.

Romney did not mention Obama by name during his speech, but he frequently accuses the president of failing to understand the importance of the private economy and favoring government solutions to the nation’s problems. Romney resumes his campaign at home with appearances Thursday in Colorado. His aides told reporters that despite any mistakes, the trip had been a success. Already, they were eager to turn the campaign focus back to the race against Obama. The campaign issued a statement from its headquarters in Boston noting that the announcement of Romney’s selection of a vice presidential running mate is getting closer. It unveiled an app for smartphones that it said would “serve as the campaign’s first official distribution channel” for the news.

Controversy accompanied the former Massachusetts governor in Poland as in previous stops in Britain and Israel, and comments he made earlier in the trip drew criticism from China. Xinhua News Agency said Romney’s “hawkish remarks” made in Jerusalem could worsen an already tense Mideast situation, or even re-ignite a war between Palestinians and Israelis. Earlier this week, he declared Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, even though US policy holds that the city’s designation is a matter for negotiations between the Jewish state and the Palestinians. He also sparked a charge of racism from Palestinians when he told donors that the strength of Israel’s economy was due in part to the country’s culture. At his first stop, in London, he drew criticism from British political leaders when he appeared to question whether the nation was fully prepared for the Olympic Games, now underway. The Republican presidential contender has been highly critical of China throughout his campaign, promising to challenge Beijing’s growing influence in East Asia and get tougher with the communist government on its human rights record.—AP

GDANSK: Republican presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney (R) and his wife Ann (L) hold the hands of former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa (C), during a meeting at Artus Court, in Gdansk.—AFP

WASHINGTON: In the hunt for campaign money, no distance is too far to travel, especially when the race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is tight and likely to stay that way into the fall. The Democratic president and his Republican challenger have been aggressively cour ting Americans living abroad at fundraisers held far beyond US shores. Such efforts serve the dual purpose of raising money to pay for what may be the most expensive election in US history, and galvanizing a largely untapped group of eligible voters.

The practice is legal and has been used for decades, said former Federal Election Commission Chairman David Mason. Obama has raised nearly $600,000 from Americans abroad while Romney has brought in about $325,000, according to campaign finance records analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics. Those figures don’t include sums raised overseas by both party committees or Romney’s take from a pair of fundraisers in London during his visit there last week.

The sums are just a fraction of the more than $300 million Obama has raised overall and the $155 million raised by Romney, but every penny counts in a race that is neck and neck, as recent polls have shown. One of Romney’s London fundraisers raised eyebrows because the guest list included executives from Barclays, which recently admitted that bank employees were involved in manipulating a key market index. US and British agencies fined the bank nearly half a billion dollars and Bob Diamond, who resigned as CEO, pulled out of the fundraiser. He had already given Romney’s campaign the maximum individual donation of $2,500.

A separate well of potential donors awaited Romney in Israel, the second stop on the former Massachusetts governor’s threecountr y tour. But there too Romney attracted some unwanted attention when his campaign announced it would break with its own precedent by barring repor ters from covering a fundraiser at a swanky Jerusalem hotel. A day later, his campaign reversed course and said reporters could cover Romney’s remarks to donors. An invitation for the Monday event put the minimum ticket price at $50,000 per couple - plus a copy of a US

passport. Romney advisers said the event was expected to raise more than $1 million.

Romney has vigorously courted Jewish and pro-Israel voters at home and in the Jewish state, hoping to capitalize on the perception by some that Obama hasn’t been supportive enough of the critical US ally. A delegation of Romney suppor ters, including former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer, recently went to Israel to register eligible US voters. Matthew Brooks, who heads the Republican Jewish Coalition and organized the trip, noted that those voters live in a dangerous region.

“Whoever is the president of the United States has a direct impact on their lives,” he said.

Showing deference to Israel also could help Romney shore up support from Sheldon Adelson, an American casino mogul who has pledged to spend more than $100 million to defeat Obama.

Adelson, who attended Romney’s Sunday speech in Jerusalem, is a staunch Israel suppor ter and finances a widely read, free newspaper there.

Early one May morning in Hong Kong, about 50 Americans squeezed into a conference room where Romney was beamed in by video teleconference for a fundraiser, said William Strong, an executive at Morgan Stanley who lives in Asia and helped organize the event. It was late in the evening for Romney in the US , but he spoke and took questions for about 45 minutes.

Obama too has overseas fundraisers taking place in his absence.

His surrogates have been seen at fundraisers in Shanghai, Paris and London. Next month, actor George Clooney will headline an Obama fundraiser in Geneva, Switzerland. Guests can attend for $1,000. A $5,000 donation includes a photo reception and a $30,000 contribution buys dinner for two.

Obama has raised at least $2 million through nine expatriates who appear on his most recent list of bundlers - supporters who group together contributions from friends and colleagues. Five Americans with addresses in the United Kingdom are on the list, plus two from France and one each from China and Switzerland.

Romney has not released a full list of his bundlers. US law bans foreigners from contributing to political campaigns, but

NEW YORK: President Barack Obama arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Monday in New York. —AP American citizens and green-card be reasonably traced, according holders can legally donate to a preliminary analysis from an regardless of where they live, upcoming report by Demos and subject to the $2,500-per-person the US Public Interest Research contribution limit that applies to Group. In addition to super PACs, those living stateside. nonprofit groups are also spendCampaigns, the parties and polit- ing heavily on the 2012 race, ical committees are expected to campaign finance experts said, review their donors and reject and those groups aren’t required to disclose their donors as long any ineligible contributions.

Election law exper ts have as their political activities stay warned that the proliferation of within certain limits.

“As long as there is secret super PACs has made it impossible to tell whether foreign cash is money sloshing around in our flowing to the campaigns. The national elections, the public foreign money ban also applies simply has no way of knowing to super PACs, but some of their if illegal foreign money is workmoney comes from vague corpo- ing its way into influencing our rate entities, obscuring the origi- presidential and congressional nal funding source. Two percent races,” said Fred Wertheimer of of the money super PACs raised D e m o c r a c y 2 1 , w h i c h a d vo this year came in the form of so- c a te s fo r c a m p a i gn f i n a n ce called “secret money” that can’t reform. — AP

WikiLeaks founder suffering: Assange mom QUITO: The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Monday after meeting with Ecuador’s foreign minister that she’s worried about her son’s health after nearly seven weeks’ confinement at the South American nation’s London embassy. “He is under a lot of stress and it’s been long-term stress now for nearly two years and in conditions which are similar to detention,” Christine Assange told The Associated Press. Her son took refuge in the embassy on June 19, requesting political asylum after exhausting all legal appeals to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about sexual misconduct allegations.

Julian Assange, who angered US officials by publishing secret US diplomatic cables and military documents, calls the accusations trumped up and says he fears Sweden will extradite him to the United States for trial.

Ecuadorean officials have said they will not announce a decision on the asylum request until after the London Olympic Games end in mid-August.

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his country is doing “everything possible to protect the life of Mr. Assange.” “For that reason we are engaged in conversation with the Swedish and government and also with Great Britain before speaking to the United States,” he added. Ecuadorean officials are seeking assurances that Sweden and Britain would not allow Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported last week, citing unnamed officials at the country’s London embassy.

Patino did not confirm that but echoed the concern expressed by Assange’s mother that the WikiLeaks founder would be mistreated if sent to the United States. “We have received very sensitive information about torture that Australian citizens have received at the (US ) Guantanamo base, American citizens, too, and of a possible trial that a grand jury in Virginia is preparing against Julian Assange,” he told reporters after meeting with her.

The reference was to terror suspects that the US has kept at Guantanamo and uncon-

firmed claims by Julian Assange’s supporters that US officials plan to indict him, as occurred with US serviceman Bradley Manning, who is accused of leaking documents to WikiLeaks. Patino said Ecuador’s ambassador in Sweden is requesting that Swedish prosecutors visit Julian Assange in the London embassy and question him there.

Christine Assange was asked by the AP if Ecuador would grant asylum to her son if it is unable to secure guarantees from Sweden and Britain that he will not be extradited to the United States. “I don’t know,” she said in an interview. She said she speaks to her son about every 10 days, and they don’t much discuss his day-to-day life. “We are also aware that our phones are being monitored and do not wish to talk about personal matters,” she said. Christine Assange said her son doesn’t get any natural sun light so she is arranging “for thinks like a sunlamp.” She said he has a treadmill to run on for exercise, and friends “turn the music on and encourage him to dance with them.”—AP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

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

Radical cleric fails in bid for release in UK LONDON: Two judges yesterday rejected the latest bid by radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada to be freed from detention in Britain, which has been trying to deport him for years.

Lord Justice Anthony Hughes said he and Judge Stephen Silber were “quite satisfied” that the cleric’s bid should be rejected. Lawyers for Abu Qatada said they would seek to appeal.

The UK has been trying for more than a decade to deport Abu Qatada, a Palestinian-Jordanian preacher

described in both Spanish and British courts as a leading al-Qaida figure in Europe and a threat to national security.

Both the British and Jordanian governments want Abu Qatada to stand trial on terror charges in Jordan, but he claims he will be tortured if he is deported there. Over the years, the cleric, who is also known as Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, has been detained in various ways, including being placed under house arrest.

He is currently being held in a highsecurity prison. His lawyers had applied to the British High Court for permission to seek judicial review and a writ of habeas corpus freeing the cleric while he fights deportation.

“There comes a point where detention is just too long, and this is the longest period of administrative detention, so far as we know, in modern English history,” his lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald , told the court yesterday. “It cannot be right, when we are already

at seven years - and when there is an inevitable likelihood this is going to go on for at least another year - for there to be continued detention.” In May, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission denied bail to Abu Qatada ahead of his deportation appeal in October. Robin Tam, a lawyer representing the Commission, said one court judgment had called Abu Qatada “a truly dangerous individual” who, if granted bail, might “abscond and go to ground.”

Britain’s Home Office has said it will “strongly resist” any attempt to overturn the decision to keep Abu Qatada locked up, calling the latest legal bid “the last desperate attempts of a man who has run out of options.” Abu Qatada has fought attempts to expel him from the UK since 2001. He has previously been convicted in absentia in Jordan of terrorist offenses related to two alleged bomb plots in 1999 and 2000, and he will face a retrial if deported from Britain. — AP

Ex-wife of paedophile set for early release Victims’ parents infuriated

KIBATI: A displaced Congolese woman from Rugari sits peeling potatoes at a small stall she has set up in the Kanyarucinya primary school in Kibati district on the outskirts of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.—AFP

Congo governor demands evaluation of rebel accord KINSHASA: The governor of Congo’s North Kivu province says the government must evaluate the March 2009 agreement that has sparked a rebellion in the country’s east. The March 23, 2009 peace deal paved the way for rebels to join the army. This year, hundreds of rebels defected from the armed forces in April with other renegade soldiers demanding stricter adherence to the accord. They regrouped as M23 rebels, the latest incarnation of a group of Congolese Tutsi rebels set up to fight the Rwandan Hutu rebels in Congo.

Julien Paluku Kahongya said Monday in a statement that an assessment of how the accord has been carried out is needed so that the people of Congo know the truth about the various phases in the agreement.

He says this would satisfy the president’s promise to approach the conflict on a political level. At UN Headquarters in New York, the UN Security Council received a briefing on the situation by videoconference from Roger Meece, the UN chief ’s special representative and

head of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

The council’s president, Colombian Ambassador Nestor Osorio, said after the closed session that “The situation is very unsettled, very worrisome. M23 has gained more and more control of the north part of Kivu. The government forces appear to be weakened. It is a real gloomy picture that we see in this region.” Asked whether M23 was getting outside support, Osorio said that “It appears to all of us, in accordance with the level of arms, the quality of arms, the capability of the M23, that some external help is being received.”

In July, the heads of state of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region-which includes Congo and Rwanda-supported the establishment of a neutral international force to fight the M23 group. The heads of state of that group are due to meet again in Kampala on Aug. 7-8 to discuss security situation in Congo and the proposed international force.— AP

Fake bomb triggers evacuation around US embassy in Oslo OSLO: The discovery of a suspected bomb triggered the evacuation of the area around the US embassy in downtown Oslo yesterday but it turned out to be a fake, police said. “A group of bomb disposal experts from the Oslo police district has removed the object and observed that it is an exercise bomb,” police said in a statement. “The car has been used for internal exercises at the embassy and the discovery of it can be connected to that,” it said.

Police said earlier that it resembled a bomb and was spotted in a vehicle near the embassy, which is across the street from the royal palace, a magnet for tourists.

The area was evacuated for about an hour and a half as police cars,

ambulances and firetrucks swarmed to the site, as well as bomb disposal experts.

The palace was not evacuated but halted entries, a spokesman told AFP, adding that no royals were in residence. Security was stepped up considerably in Norway after attacks last year by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik that claimed 77 lives.

On July 22, 2011, Breivik set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people, before going to Utoeya island, northwest of the capital, where he shot and killed another 69 people, mostly teenagers.

The US embassy plans to move soon to a site on the outskirts of Oslo for security reasons.— AFP

Russia blogger charged as Kremlin widens crackdown MOSCOW: Russian authorities charged Alexei Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, with theft yesterday, threatening him with a 10-year prison sentence as the Kremlin ramps up a crackdown on dissent. Navalny rejected the charges as “weird” and baseless. Navalny, a 36-year-old anti-corruption crusader and popular blogger, has played a key role in rallying Russia’s young Internet generation against Putin’s rule. Over the winter, the lawyer spearheaded a series of rallies in Moscow that drew up to 100,000 people to the streets ahead of the March vote that handed Putin a third presidential term.

The State Investigative Committee said yesterday that it suspects Navalny of organizing a scheme to steal assets from a state timber company totaling 16 million rubles (about half a million dollars). He was ordered not to leave Moscow as the committee pursues an investigation against him. In Russia, authorities file initial charges to open a criminal probe, long before reaching the trial stage. In any case, Navalny insisted to reporters, “ The charges are absolutely absurd.” Since Putin’s re-election, the Russian government has struck back at the opposition, arresting some activists and using legis-

lation to try curbing its activities. Parliament, controlled by Putin loyalists, passed a bill that raised fines 150-fold for people taking part in unsanctioned protests. Another bill passed this month requires non-governmental groups receiving funding from abroad and engaging in political activity to register as foreign agents. In one example of the tougher line on dissent, three Russian feminist rockers have gone on trial for performing a “punk prayer” against Putin in Moscow’s main cathedral. They face up to seven years in prison, and human rights groups have condemned the trial, calling the women prisoners of conscience.

The probe against Navalny focuses on events dating to 2009 when he served as an adviser to a provincial governor in the Kirov region. Investigators allege that he colluded with the head of a state timber company and a trader to rob it. A previous probe into similar allegations was closed earlier this year for lack of evidence. Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin recently chided a local investigator for closing that case. Under the renewed probe, investigators reworded the charges, which carry a heavier punishment compared to those dropped. —AP

BRUSSELS: The ex-wife of a notorious paedophile who aided her husband’s horrific abuse and killing of young girls - and who let two of the children starve to death - was approved yesterday for early release from prison, infuriating the victims’ parents and reopening a dark page in Belgian history.

Michelle Martin, 52, received a 30-year prison term in 2004 for not freeing girls her then-husband Marc Dutroux held captive behind a secret door in their decrepit, dirty basement in Marcinelle, 40 miles south of Brussels. Dutroux, 55, is serving a life term for kidnapping, torturing and abusing six girls in 1995 and 1996, four of whom he murdered. During those years, Dutroux also spent four months in jail for theft, leaving it to his wife to feed Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo, two eight-year-old girls imprisoned in the basement. Martin, herself a mother of three, let the girls starve to death.

Martin and Dutroux have been behind bars since they were arrested Aug 12, 1996. Under Belgian law, early release is possible after onethird of a sentence is served, including credit for time spent in pre-trial detention. And in Martin’s case, a Belgian convent has said it would take her in as part of the conditions of her release. But parents of the couple’s victims said they were shocked by the decision to release Martin early and accused the court of ignoring their feelings. The ruling “came out of the blue,” said Paul Marchal, whose 17-year-old daughter An, was drugged and killed in Dutroux’s dungeon. “I believed this would not happen,” Marchal said. “If Martin gets an early release, then who will they keep in prison?”

Jean Lambrecks, whose 19-year-old daughter, Eefje, also was killed by Dutroux, said he “was sure she would remain in prison, for she is as bad as Dutroux.” “She starved children to death,” Lambrecks said. “She knew they were in the cellar.” A court in the city of Mons granted

BRUSSELS: Photo shows the women’s prison Berkendael-Berkendaal in Brussels yesterday. From this prison Michelle Martin, the ex-wife and accomplice of notorious paedophile killer Marc Dutroux, will be released as her demand to be released was approved yesterday. She was sentenced to 30 years in jail, of which she has now served 16. —AFP Martin’s early release request - her fifth in eight years - after her lawyers found a place for her at the convent and convinced the court she would not become a repeat offender. She will likely not be released for another two weeks, leaving the prosecution time to appeal the ruling.

Martin is no longer “the woman who was incarcerated in 1996,” said her lawyer, Thierry Moreau. “She says her guilt will follow her to the grave.” Dutroux was a repeat offender whose first abuse conviction dated to 1986. For that initial conviction, he was sentenced to

almost 14 years in prison, but served only three. The girls held captive later in his basement ranged from 8 to 19 years old. The case revealed shocking lapses in law enforcement, notably two visits in 1995 by suspicious police who saw nothing awry in the basement and ignored a letter from Dutroux’s mother, who worried her son was abusing young girls.

Under the terms of her release, Martin will have to remain at the convent and be assigned a daily task. A plan to release her last year to a convent in France failed when the convent changed its mind following publicity.— AP

Security in focus as Clinton heads to Africa WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton departs this week on a trip that will take her both to Africa’s newest nation, South Sudan, and on a visit to the continent’s elder statesman, 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

While Clinton’s public focus will be on Africa’s democratic achievements and economic potential, the trip also underscores US security ties in the face of an array of growing threats-from Islamist extremists to narcotics cartels.

“The security threats are becoming much more visible and in some ways dangerous than they were before,” said Jennifer Cooke, the head of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “There are big global issues on the table, and the US does not have the kind of finances available to mount splashy new economic initiatives in Africa.”

Clinton’s trip-potentially her last as America’s top diplomat-begins yesterday in Senegal, and continues on to South Sudan, where she will be the most senior US official to visit since the country declared independence in July 2011.

Further stops include Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa, the State Department said.

Clinton is expected to highlight US programs on development, education and HIV/AIDS-long the backbone of US engagement with Africa-as well as US economic interest in a continent whose rich resources and enviable growth rates have drawn rival suitors including China and India. She will also likely emphasize projects for women and girls, one of her central themes in a job she says she will leave in January even if President Barack Obama is elected to a second term.

But Clinton’s visit is also part of a US push to broaden security partnerships with key countries such as Uganda and Kenya-ties that are growing fast despite sometimes serious US concerns over democratic governance.

Obama laid out his policy for Africa in a speech in Ghana in July 2009, saying the United States stood ready to help African nations as they work to improve governance, fight corruption and resolve regional conflicts. His speech led to widespread hopes on the continent that the first US president with African roots would follow through with new policies to help achieve those goals. But his administration has not launched major new initiatives such as the Clinton-era trade pact that granted tax breaks to African goods or President George W. Bush’s AIDS initiative of 2003, which committed billions of dollars to the fight against HIV/AIDS on the continent.

“Africans will always see Obama as one of our own, so we are reluctant to criticize,” said Mwangi

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks on the “State of International Religious Freedom” July 30, 2012 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.—AFP Kimenyi, a Kenyan academic and director of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution. “But it turns out our expectations for the president were a bit overrated and unrealistic.

He could have been more courageous and done more.” The White House last month released a policy paper on Africa, repeating its commitment to strengthening democracy and spurring economic growth but lacking a single signature project which could cement Obama’s Africa legacy.

Instead, attention has focused on AFRICOM, the unified US Africa Command that the Pentagon established in 2007. It is playing an increasingly important role as the United States pumps resources into training African militaries.

Washington has reacted with increasing alarm as militant groups such as Somalia’s al Shabaab, Nigeria’s Boko Haram and al Qaeda’s African wing based in the vast Sahel region open new fronts to advance Islamic extremism.

Concern over the Sahel has spiked since March when a coup in Mali opened the door to al Qaeda-linked Islamists in the north of the country, leading some analysts to say the lawless region could become an “African Afghanistan.” J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa program at the Atlantic Council, said Washington’s emphasis on security, coupled with the lack of new economic initiatives, had shifted the balance in US ties with Africa. “It is militarization by default,” Pham said.

“Part of the reason is the US interest in fighting al Qaeda, and part of it is because of the weakness

of our African partners which are unable to contain these threats themselves.”

The diverging US priorities in Africa will be on display when Clinton visits Uganda, frequently cited as both a strong security partner and a country where democratic gains are under threat.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s troops make up most of the African Union force attempting to stabilize Somalia and are now working with 100 US military advisers to track down fugitive warlord Joseph Kony, perhaps Africa’s most wanted man.

But opponents also criticize Museveni for what they say is his increasingly authoritarian rule, and the United States has joined other donor nations voicing concern over proposed tough new laws on homosexuality that have sparked an outcry among gay rights advocates.

The State Department said Clinton would use her visit “to encourage strengthening of democratic institutions and human rights, while also reinforcing Uganda as a key US partner in promoting regional security.”

Cooke of CSIS said Uganda was an example of the partnerships that the United States may be willing to maintain to advance broader security goals. “It recalls the Cold War where the big security threat trumped US support for democracy,” Cooke said. “We don’t have a lot of leverage with Uganda. They know we need them, and our lectures on good governance have not had any particular effect.” — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

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

Monster power cut blacks out half of India Over 600 million people effected

CHAMAN: In this Friday, July 6, 2012 photo, Pakistani driver, Ihsanullah, 45, speaks on his mobile phone on top of a truck carrying NATO Humvees at a terminal in the Pakistani-Afghan border, in Chaman, Pakistan. —AP

Taleban happy Pakistan reopened NATO supply line KANDAHAR: As the United States trumpeted its success in persuading Pakistan to end its seven-month blockade of supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, another group privately cheered its good fortune: the Taleban. One of the Afghan war’s great ironies is that both NATO and the Taleban rely on the convoys to fuel their operations - a recipe for seemingly endless conflict. The insurgents have earned millions of dollars from Afghan security firms that illegally paid them not to attack trucks making the perilous journey from Pakistan to coalition bases throughout Afghanistan a practice the US has tried to crack down on but admits likely still occurs.

Militants often target the convoys in Pakistan as well, but there have been far fewer reports of trucking companies paying off the insurgents, possibly because the route there is less vulnerable to attack. Pakistan’s decision to close its border to NATO supplies in November in retaliation for US airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops significantly reduced the flow of cash to militants operating in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where the convoys travel up from Pakistan, said Taleban commanders.

Pakistan reopened the supply route in early July after the US apologized for the deaths of the soldiers. “Stopping these supplies caused us real trouble,” a Taleban commander who leads about 60 insurgents in eastern Ghazni province told The Associated Press in an interview.

“Earnings dropped down pretty badly.

Therefore the rebellion was not as strong as we had planned.”

A second Taleban commander who controls several dozen fighters in southern Kandahar province said the money from security companies was a key source of financing for the insurgency, which uses it to pay fighters and buy weapons, ammunition and other supplies. “We are able to make money in bundles,” the commander told the AP by telephone. “Therefore, the NATO supply is very important for us.” Both commanders spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by NATO or Afghan forces, and neither would specify exactly how much money they make off the convoys.

The US military estimated last year that $360 million in US tax dollars ended up in the hands of the Taleban , criminals and power brokers with ties to both.

More than half the losses flowed through a $2.1 billion contract to truck huge amounts of food, water and fuel to American troops across Afghanistan. The military said only a small percentage of the $360 million was funneled to the Taleban and other insurgent groups. But even a small percentage would mean millions of dollars, and the militants, who rely on crude weaponry, require relatively little money to operate.

The military investigated one power broker who owned a private security company and was known to supply weapons to the Taleban. The power broker, who was not named, received payments from a trucking contractor doing business with the US Over more than two years, the power broker funneled $8.5 million to the owners of an unlicensed money exchange service used by insurgents. A congressional report in 2010 called “Warlord, Inc.” said trucking contractors pay tens of millions of dollars annually to local warlords across Afghanistan in exchange for guarding their supply convoys, some of which are suspected of paying off the Taleban .

The military instituted a new, roughly $1 billion trucking contract last September with a different set of companies that it claims has reduced the flow of money to insurgents by providing greater visibility of which subcontractors those firms hire, said Maj. Gen. Richard Longo, head of a US anti-corruption task force in Afghanistan. But it’s very difficult to cut off the illegal transfers completely, he said. “I think it would be naive on my part to suggest that no money is going to the enemy,” said Longo. “I think there is still money flowing to criminals, and I think that the nexus between criminals and the insurgency is there.”

Rep. John Tierney, the Democrat from Massachusetts who led the Warlord, Inc. report, said the new contract has resulted in some increased contractor oversight and accountability, but “the Department of Defense must take more aggressive steps to keep our military personnel safe and to protect taxpayer dollars from going to our enemies in Afghanistan.” The US pushed Pakistan hard to reopen the NATO supply line through the country because it had been forced to use a longer route that runs into northern Afghanistan through Central Asia and costs an additional $100 million per month. — AP

Millions lost in Afghanistan reconstruction: Watchdog WASHINGTON: Millions of dollars in US funds have been lost due to poor planning and workmanship in projects to help rebuild Afghanistan and billions more could be at risk, a US watchdog said Monday. The report by the special inspector general for Afghanistan, John Sopko, warned that handing over security to Afghan forces as the US withdraws its troops would also likely cause the costs of US-funded aid schemes to balloon.

“The United States risks wasting billions of dollars if US-funded development programs cannot be sustained, either by the Afghan government or by continued donor support,” said the report released on Monday. “As this report to Congress illustrates, a decade of struggle and bloodshed and more than $89 billion of US appropriations for Afghan reconstruction-has not cleared the landscape of serious problems,” Sopko wrote. He added that a “significant portion of the US government’s $400 million investment in large-scale infrastructure projects in fiscal year 2011 may be wasted, due to weaknesses in planning, coordination and execution.”

The report comes as NATO countries, led by the United States, have already started to withdraw the remaining 130,000 troops after more than 10 years of war, with all combat forces due to have left by the end of 2014. And it warns that handing over security to Afghan forces will likely incur greater costs at construction sites. Audits of various projects taking place across the country found significant construction problems and flaws. “ The US Army accepted contract construction that is so poor it prevents some multimillion-dollar border police bases from being used as intended,” the report noted.

Three police border posts in eastern

Nangarhar province were found to have major construction faults, including poorly-built guard towers, unconnected drains and badly-installed heating and ventilation systems. “These problems included the lack of a viable water supply, a poorly constructed septic system, and inadequate sewage,” the report said, adding nothing has been repaired as there is no effective quality assurance in place. The basement of one of the buildings was now being used as a chicken coop, it added. The analysis examines the Afghan Infrastructure Fund, which was authorized by Congress in 2010. Over the past two years, Congress has invested $800 million into the fund, and the State Department has committed about $1 billion of its funds to related infrastructure programs.

Following complaints about shoddy workmanship, there had been arrests and charges brought in both the United States and Afghanistan and more than $900,000 had been recovered. Several contracts were also withdrawn when poor contractors were uncovered, leading to the protection of some $50 million in contract funds. Two people had been convicted, one of theft and conspiracy. If US lawmakers approve a request from US President Barack Obama for new reconstruction funding, the United States will have provided nearly $100 billion since the 2002 US-led invasion to rebuilding Afghanistan. That is several times more than the $35 billion, in 2011 terms, invested in Europe after World War II, the report said. “Using that money effectively to improve security, governance, and socioeconomic development in Afghanistan poses tremendous challenges,” Sopko wrote. “In the face of serious uncertainties about project sustainability, the need for sharp and effective oversight grows more critical.” — AFP

NEW DELHI: A massive power failure hit India for the second day yesterday as three national grids collapsed, blacking out more than half the country in an unprecedented outage affecting over 600 million people. Hundreds of miners were trapped underground in the eastern state of West Bengal when the lifts failed, metro services were stopped temporarily in the capital and hundreds of trains were held up nationwide.

“The north, northeastern and the eastern grids are down but we are working and we will have them restored shortly,” Naresh Kumar, a spokesman at the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, told AFP. Federal Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters that the monster outage, which struck around 1:00 pm (0730 GMT) in the middle of the working day, was caused by states drawing power “beyond their permissible limits”.

There appeared to have been a domino effect, with the overloaded northern grid drawing too heavily on the eastern grid which in turn led the northeastern network to collapse. An area stretching from the western border with Pakistan to the far northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh next to China was affected, with the huge cities of New Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow suffering without supplies. “Half the country is without power. It’s a situation totally without precedent,” said Vivek Pandit, an energy expert at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Power was gradually flickering back in some areas several hours after the crisis struck and Power Grid Corp. chairman R. N. Nayak promised that the problems would be rectified by 7:00 pm (1330 GMT). “Our message to people is ‘they are in safe hands, we have been in the job for years’,” Nayak told reporters at a news conference during which he apologised for the disruption.

In New Delhi, the metro train system came to a standstill for a few hours and traffic lights went out, causing chaos for a second day after a failure on the northern grid on Monday which caused the worst outage in more than a decade. On the streets, people seethed over the lack of air conditioning, crashed computer systems and missed deliveries. “I had been waiting for a shipment of stock to arrive since morning and now I’m told it will be delayed

indefinitely,” said furious Delhi businessman Anshul Aggarwal.

“The stock was coming on a goods train which is now stuck in the middle of nowhere,” Aggar wal said. About 400 trains on the national rail network were hit, a railways spokesman told AFP, with all operations stopped in Uttar Pradesh, a state with a population of about 200 million people, bigger than Brazil’s. In Jaipur, capital of the western state of Rajasthan, renowned internationally

Mamata Banerjee told reporters that “hundreds” of miners had been trapped in mines operated by the government-owned Eastern Coalfields Ltd in Burdwan, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) northwest of Kolkata.

“All efforts are on to resume power supplies. You need power supplies to run the lifts in the underground mines,” she said, while declaring that state employees could go home for the day. Monday’s outage had seen the northern grid, which supplies nine states

NEW DELHI: Traffice crawls in Connaught Place in New Delhi yesterday as the traffic flow worsened in the afternoon after signals stopped functioning following a failure in the Northern Power Grid. —AFP as a jewellery centre, gem cutters and polish- including Delhi, collapse for six hours shortly ers were forced to put down their tools. after 2:00am. In total, 20 out of 29 states were “We have almost 200,000 workers engaged affected yesterday, according to an AFP calcuin the trade and most of them operate from lation. Shinde, the power minister, had called their houses. They don’t have power back up, Monday’s outage a “failure” but also boasted so it’s obviously a major problem,” said Vivek that India had been quick to restore power, Kala, a former president of Jaipur Jewellers unlike the United States which took days to Association. In the east, Kolkata went without restore electricity after a 2003 blackout on its power as did the surrounding state of West eastern seaboard. He and the rest of the govBengal as the eastern grid, which supplies five ernment woke up yesterday to a barrage of states, failed under the stress of over-demand. calls from business lobby groups for urgent “This is the worst power crisis in the region. reform of the power sector. “The increasing We were supplying power to the northern gap between electricity supply and demand grid and this power sharing has led to the col- has long been a matter of concern,” said lapse,” West Bengal Power Minister Manish Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Gupta told AFP. West Bengal Chief Minister Confederation of Indian Industry. — AFP

Nepal harvest rush threatens ‘Himalayan Viagra’ KATHMANDU: For decades a rare fungus valued as an aphrodisiac and dubbed “Himalayan Viagra” has been a source of income for poor villagers in Nepal’s remote Himalayan foothills. Men, women and children stream into high meadows every year to harvest the fungus called Yarsagumba, which grows from dead moth larvae. High quality specimens fetch thousands of dollars a kilo. But experts say the fungus, found only above 3,500 metres (11,480 feet), is under threat and yields are falling, threatening the livelihood of thousands of people who depend on it for up to 70 percent of their income.

“Over-harvesting, premature harvesting, destruction of the pastureland, and perhaps climate change are the major causes of decline,” said Uttam Babu Shrestha, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts. “If this continues it could become extinct soon.” Known as Yartsa gunbu in Tibet, meaning summer grass winter worm, the parasitic fungus kills and then grows on ghost moth larvae in the ground.

Although there is so scientific evidence, the small fungus is prized in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicines as a tonic to increase vigour.

During the annual May and June picking season thousands of Nepali villagers journey in mule and yak trains to high pastures to look for the tiny buds that protrude from the ground. Shrestha said villagers who collected several kilos of Yarsagumba 10 years ago now find only a few pieces roughly the size of a potato chip.

“This year has been the worst. Many collectors in Dolpa returned without any,” said Shrestha, referring to a region bordering Tibet. The area, where 50,000 people look for the fungus every year, accounts for more than half of Nepal’s annual harvest, which topped 1,170 kilos (2,577 pounds) last year. Chinese demand for the fungus is soaring.

Villagers received $6 for a piece of Yarsagumba about the size of a chili this year - twice the amount they received last year. In Kathmandu, high quality fungus sells for up to $31,000 a kilo, according to traders.

Commercial collection of the fungus began some 30 years ago. Nepali villager Tshewang Lama, who lived in a village bordering Tibet, saw how some Chinese army officials in the neighbouring Tibetan town of Taklakot took drops of Yarsagumba as tincture to increase immunity, cure tuberculosis, fatigue, paralysis and cancer. Lama used the fungus to cure his sleep disorder and other ailments and become one of the first gatherers.

Shrestha said abandoned trash, open defecation and trees cut for cooking and heating damaged the hills where the fungus grows. “If these are not checked in time the environmental cost will be bigger than its economic benefits,” he explained.

Officials said the government collected $132,000 from the export of the fungus in 2011, but analysts said the figures may be low because many villagers sell their crop directly in Tibet without reporting transactions. Filmmaker Dipendra Bhandari, who made the documentary “Journey to Yarsa” about the fungus harvest, said in several remote villages children accompany their parents during the picking season when schools are closed for two months. — Reuters

Pakistan, US sign troop supply deal ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States signed a deal regulating the shipment of American troop supplies to and from Afghanistan yesterday, prompting Washington to agree to release over $1 billion in frozen military aid. The developments represent the formal end to a crisis between the two countries that started in November when Pakistan closed its border to supplies meant for US and other NATO troops in Afghanistan in retaliation for American airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan reopened the route in early July after the US apologized for the deaths, which it said were an accident, but it took several more weeks for the two sides to finalize the new agreement.

The deal codifies a largely informal arrangement that has allowed the international coalition to truck supplies through Pakistan over the past decade.

Pakistan pushed for a written pact during months of negotiations, and it is expected to be extended to other NATO countries.

US Charge d’Affaires Richard Hoagland, who signed the agreement for the US , called it a “concrete very positive step.” “Of course it’s clear to our political leadership in both capitals ... that we have a number of other issues to work on,” said Hoagland at the signing ceremony at the Pakistani Ministry of Defense in Rawalpindi. The dispute over the supply route brought the already troubled US -Pakistan relationship close to the breaking point, complicating American efforts to wrap up the war in Afghanistan. Pakistan is seen as key to getting the Taleban back to reconciliation talks aimed at ending the 11-year Afghan war. The route through Pakistan

will be vital to the scheduled withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2014, one of the reasons the US finally agreed to Islamabad’s demand that it apologize for the deaths of the Pakistani soldiers.

The US had to compensate for the temporary closure by using a longer route into Afghanistan through Central Asia that cost an additional $100 million per month. The new agreement applies to US supplies that have not yet arrived in Pakistan, not the thousands of containers that have been stuck in the country for months and have slowly started moving across the border into Afghanistan. It also spells out the terms for the tens of thousands of containers that will be needed to pull US equipment and supplies out of Afghanistan. The deal would prohibit the US from shipping weapons by land through Pakistan - as demanded by the country’s parliament - unless intended for Afghan national security forces, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press.

Following the deaths of the 24 soldiers, the parliament had also demanded a ban on weapons shipped through Pakistani airspace to Afghanistan and an end to US drone attacks in Pakistan. But there is no indication that the US has complied with these conditions. Pakistan insisted on transit fees as high as $5,000 per truck during the negotiations to reopen the supply line but eventually agreed to the existing charge of $250 - although this figure is not clearly spelled out in the agreement. To sweeten the deal, the US agreed to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on Pakistan’s roads, which the government says have suffered significant damage from heavily loaded NATO trucks. — AP

RAWALPINDI: Deputy US ambassador in Islamabad, Richard Hoagland, (L) and head of Pakistani delegation Rear Admiral Farrukh Ahmed sign an agreement during a ceremony held in the Pakistan Defence Ministry in Rawalpindi yesterday. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

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

China calls US report on religion biased, ignorant BEIJING : China said yesterday that a US report describing repression of religion in China and elsewhere is a political tool based on groundless accusations that displays Washington’s arrogance and ignorance. The annual State Department report released Monday highlighted what it said was a lack of religious freedom in China as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. It said there had been “a marked deterioration during 2011 in

the government’s respect for and protection of religious freedom” in China, and that there was “severe” repression of religious freedom in Tibetan areas and the far western region of Xinjiang, home to a significant number of Muslims.

Tibetan areas of China have seen a surge in self-immolations since 2011, and the report said that tightened restrictions on Buddhist worship contributed to at least 12 of them last

year. The Chinese response came in a commentary published by the official Xinhua News Agency, which said the report was “continuing a notorious practice of blatantly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.”

“The annual report, largely based on unconfirmed media reports and groundless allegations from outlawed groups and organizations with ulterior motives, is nothing but a political tool used by the US government to exert

pressure on other countries, mostly deemed as its rivals,” it said. Xinhua said the US was imposing its own standard on religious policies regardless of historic or cultural differences, saying the report was “full of prejudice, arrogance and ignorance.”

It said religious freedoms were protected under China’s constitution, saying only a few from banned “cults” and illegal “extremist religious organizations” aimed at splitting apart the

country were punished. Xinhua said the self-immolations were politically motivated, and part of a “scheme” by supporters of the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, whom China accuses of trying to separate Tibet from China.

The State Department said the Chinese government harassed, arrested or sentenced to prison a number of people for activities reported to be related to their religious practice. —AP

UN visits North Korea to see flood-damaged areas 60,000 left homeless

MIYAGI: Media microphones surround International Atomic Energy Agency group head Sujit Samaddar, center, and other experts in yellow vests, during their inspection of the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture, northeastern Japan yesterday. —AP

Japan pro-bomb voices grow louder amid nuke debate TOKYO: A contentious debate over nuclear power in Japan is also bringing another question out of the shadows: Should Japan keep open the possibility of making nuclear weapons - even if only as an option? It may seem surprising in the only country ever devastated by atomic bombs, particularly as it marks the 67th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki three days later. The Japanese government officially renounces nuclear weapons, and the vast majority of citizens oppose them.

But as Japan weighs whether to phase out nuclear power, some conservatives, including some influential politicians and thinkers, are becoming more vocal about their belief that Japan should have at least the ability to make nuclear weapons. The two issues are intertwined because nuclear plants can develop the technology and produce the fuel needed for weaponry, as highlighted by concerns that nuclear power programs in Iran and North Korea are masking bomb development.

“Having nuclear plants shows to other nations that Japan can make nuclear weapons,” former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, now an opposition lawmaker, told The Associated Press. Ishiba stressed that Japan isn’t about to make nuclear weapons. But, he said, with nearby North Korea suspected of working on them, Japan needs to assert itself and say it can also make them but is choosing not to. Such views make opponents of nuclear weapons nervous.

“A group is starting to take a stand to assert the significance of nuclear plants as military technology, a view that had been submerged below the surface until now,” says “Fukushima Project,” a book by several experts with anti-nuclear leanings. Adding to their jitters, parliament amended the 1955 Atomic Energy Basic Law in June, adding “national security” to people’s health and wealth as reasons for Japan’s use of the technology. “ The recognition that both nuclear issues must be addressed is heightening in Japan,” said Hitoshi Yoshioka, professor of social and cultural studies at Kyushu University. The link between the two is “becoming increasingly clear.”

Yoshioka sits on a government panel investigating the nuclear disaster spawned by the March 11 tsunami last year. The subsequent meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant have called into question the future of nuclear power in Japan, in turn raising concern among some bomb advocates. Most proponents don’t say, at least not publicly, that Japan should have nuclear weapons. Rather, they argue that just the ability to make them acts as a deterrent and gives Japan more diplomatic clout.

The issue dates back to the 1960s.

Historical documents released in the past two years show that the idea of a nuclear-armed Japan was long talked about behind-the -scenes, despite repeated denials by the government. The papers were obtained by Japanese public broadcaster NHK in 2010 and more recently by The Associated Press under a public records request. In a once-classified 1966 document, the government outlined how the threat of China going nuclear made it necessary for Japan to consider it too, though it concluded that the US nuclear umbrella made doing so unnecessary at the time.

In meeting minutes from 1964, 1966 and 1967, Japanese officials weigh the pros and cons of signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which would mean foregoing the nuclear option.

Japan signed the treaty in 1970. The government denials continued, even after former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone wrote in his 2004 memoirs that, as defense chief, he had ordered a secret study of Japan’s nuclear arms capability in 1970. The study concluded it would take five years to develop nuclear weapons, but Nakasone said he decided they weren’t needed, again because of US protection. In 2010, the Democratic Party of Japan, after breaking the Liberal Democratic Party’s half-century grip on power, reversed past denials and acknowledged the discussions had taken place. Given the secretive past, former diplomat Tetsuya Endo and others are suspicious about the June amendment adding “national security” to the atomic energy law. Backers of the amendment say it refers to protecting nuclear plants from terrorists. — AP

Vietnam blogger’s mom self-immolates before trial HANOI: The mother of a prominent Vietnamese blogger has died after setting herself on fire ahead of her daughter’s trial next week, police said yesterday.

An officer in the southern province of Bac Lieu said 64-year-old Dang Thi Kim Lieng died Monday afternoon on the way to the hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after setting herself on fire that morning near her home.

The officer declined to give his name, saying he was not authorized to speak with the press. State media did not report the death yesterday. The death “points to some very, very serious concerns about the kind of harassment” that relatives of dissidents face in Vietnam, said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for Human Rights Watch. Lieng’s daughter, Ta Phong Tan, is a former police officer who wrote Cong ly va su that (Justice and Truth), a blog that addressed social justice issues. She was arrested last September on charges of conducting propaganda against the state.

Lawyer Ha Huy Son said yesterday that Tan and two other bloggers are sched-

uled to be put on trial Aug. 7. All three belong to the outlawed Free Journalists Club and stand accused of posting and writing hundreds of articles that “distorted and opposed” the communist government. If convicted, the three face up to 20 years in prison. The other bloggers are Nguyen Van Hai, known as Dieu Cay, and Phan Thanh Hai, known as Anhbasg. They were arrested in 2008 and 2010, respectively, on the same charges as Tan, and in addition they stand accused of attending a nonviolence training course aimed at overthrowing the government.

Although Nguyen Van Hai finished serving a 30-month sentence for tax evasion in October 2010, he has not been released. On a visit to Hanoi this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton mentioned the Free Journalists Club while saying she remains concerned about a lack of online freedom and the jailing of Vietnamese journalists, bloggers, lawyers and dissidents for peaceful expression. Vietnam is a one-party state that does not tolerate challenges to its authority. — AP

ANJU: UN staff visited storm-pounded areas of North Korea yesterday, after heavy rain submerged buildings and rice paddies, cut off power and forced people to climb onto rooftops for safety. North Korea-based United Nations staff was visiting hard-hit South Phyongan and Kangwon provinces to see what help the UN team in the country might provide, said Christopher de Bono, UNICEF’s chief of communications for East Asia and the Pacific. He had no other details.

Francis Markus, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross East Asia, said in Beijing that his fact-finding teams in North Korea are reporting that drinking water, food and shelter are critically needed.

“Drinking water is a critical issue with the water systems having been taken out of action, and there’s obviously a danger of water-borne diseases if things are not done to improve the situation,” he said.

The rain Sunday and Monday followed downpours earlier this month that killed nearly 90 people and left more than 60,000 homeless. The rain hit the capital, Pyongyang, and other regions, with western coastal areas reporting heavy damage.

Coming on the heels of a severe drought, the flooding is renewing food worries about a country that already struggles to feed its people. Two-thirds of North Korea’s 24 million people face chronic food shortages, the United Nations said last month while asking donors for $198 million in humanitarian aid for the country.

In Anju city in South Phyongan, the Chongchon River flooded Monday, cutting communication lines and submerging homes, rice paddies and other fields, said Kim Kwang Dok, vice chairman of the Anju City People’s Committee. He told The Associated Press that the disaster was the worst in the city’s history.

North Korea’s official media reported yesterday that premier Choe Yong Rim visited flooded towns and discussed ways to help recovery efforts, including planting more

trees to prevent erosion, which contributes to flooding. Helicopters and airplanes flew to various areas to rescue flood victims, state media said. Casualties from the latest rains

been a gradual deterioration,” he said. North Korea does not produce enough food to feed its people, and relies on limited purchases of food as well as outside donations to make up

ONCHON: In this July 30, 2012 photo, a bridge supporting railway lines is destroyed after heavy rain in Onchon County, North Korea. The rain Sunday and Monday followed downpours earlier this month that killed nearly 90 people and left more than 60,000 homeless, officials said. —AP were not immediately reported. Earlier this year, North Korea mobilized soldiers and workers to pour buckets of water on parched fields, irrigate farms and repair wells as what officials described as the worst dry spell in a century gripped parts of both North and South Korea.

Markus said North Korean communities’ ability to cope with natural disasters is “stretched to the limit.” “The humanitarian situation has not really shown any clear signs of improvement over recent years. In fact, there’s

Driller admits lapses in New Zealand mine disaster WELLINGTON: An Australian drilling company has pleaded guilty to three health-and-safety violations in connection with a 2010 coal mine disaster in New Zealand that killed 29 miners. VLI Drilling pleaded guilty yesterday in a New Zealand court to charges that it failed to keep its workers safe at the Pike River coal mine. The company faces a maximum fine of 750,000 New Zealand dollars ($607,000). VLI, a contractor at the mine, employed three of the men who died. Several criminal charges also are pending against the main mine operator, Pike River Coal Ltd., which employed the rest of the victims.

Bernie Monk, father of a Pike River Coal Ltd. employee killed in the disaster and a spokesman for all of the victims’ families, said that VLI has been able to walk away without facing any meaningful consequences. “For me it’s only a slap on the wrist,” Monk said. “It’s very hard to defend.” The men died after a series of methane-fueled explosions. The Labour Department said in a statement of facts about the case that it’s not known if VLI’s drill rig was running at the time of the first explosion.

However, the department says VLI’s methane detector on the rig was faulty and needed replacing, and hadn’t been inspected as required.

Brett Lynch, the chief executive of parent company Valley Longwall International, emphasized in a statement that the charges didn’t relate to the explosion itself. He said he regretted VLI not having in place proper procedures to ensure inspections were carried out.” We regard the safety and wellbeing of our people as an absolute priority,” Lynch said. He said the company had provided “ongoing financial and practical support,” to the families of the three dead miners, adding it would be inappropriate to disclose details.

Meanwhile, Pike River Coal Ltd. elected yesterday not to contest nine health and safety charges. A court is scheduled in October to determine the bankrupt company’s culpability. Pike River’s former chief executive Peter Whittall also faces 12 criminal charges, which he’s vowed to fight. At a government inquiry into the disaster, experts testified that the mine didn’t have adequate escape routes or ventilation, and that Pike River Coal was cutting corners due to financial pressure. The inquiry is scheduled to issue its findings in September.

But Monk, whose 23-year-old son Michael died in the accident, said the failure to date by New Zealand authorities to hold anybody accountable in a meaningful way or to implement better safety procedures has him deeply frustrated. He said he and other victims’ relatives will continue to push for both legal and mine safety reforms. “We’ve had to fight every inch of the way to be heard,” he said.

Monk said the families would consider civil litigation once the government inquiry concluded. — AP

the shortfall. It also suffered a famine in the mid- and late 1990s, the FAO and World Food Program said in a special report late last year.

North Korea criticized US sanctions yesterday as causing its economic problems. But, the Foreign Ministry’s statement said officials will continue building up the economy by relying on an arms industry that allows for its nuclear deterrent to be reinforced.

International talks meant to rid North Korea of its nuclear arms program have been stalled since late 2008. —AP

Wind, rain from offshore storm batter Philippines MANILA: Fierce wind and heavy rain from a slow-moving, offshore typhoon battered the Philippines again yesterday, killing at least 10 people, displacing 145,000 others and briefly scaring authorities when it veered onto a direct path toward the archipelago. Typhoon Saola later shifted to blow away from the Philippines after lashing Manila and twothirds of the nation since Sunday. “The typhoon was making a U-turn for three hours and that gave us a scare,” said Benito Ramos, who heads the country’s disaster-response agency. “But we’re still keeping a close watch.”

Saola, which has sustained winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour and gusts of 150 kph (93 mph), was blocked by a high-pressure area that forced its slight veer to the west, according to Manila’s weather bureau. One of the victims was a 64-year-old woman who was hit by a landslide early yesterday after she climbed on her roof to fix a leak while rain pounded the northern moun-

tain town of Itogon, officials said. Most others drowned or were hit by falling trees or debris. Coast guard, police and villagers were searching for four fishermen who have been missing in Mindoro Occidental province south of Manila.

The wild weather whipped up by Saola was compounded by a separate storm that lashed Manila late Sunday and early Monday. It flooded low-lying areas and pushed two empty barges into the Tondo slum, destroying dozens of huts. Residents had already evacuated the area because of the storm and were spared injury. Ramos said 145,000 people have fled from their homes into government evacuation centers and houses of relatives. Authorities had to release water from two major dams in the north because of the heavy rains dumped by the typhoon, which has a massive 700kilometer (435-mile) wide rain band.

Saola is the seventh of 20 typhoons and storms expected to batter the Philippines this year. — AP

BULACAN: A Filipino boy plays along a flooded street in Obando town, Bulacan province, north of Manila, Philippines yesterday. Typhoon Saola dumped torrents of rain as it swept past the Philippines, killing at least seven people and displacing more than 20,000 others. —AP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

NEWS

LONDON: Supporters of the British team celebrate during the Jumping Phase of the Eventing competition of the 2012 London Olympics at the Equestrian venue in Greenwich Park yesterday. Britain took the team silver medal in the competition. (Inset) Mark Todd of New Zealand competes in the London 2012 Olympic Games individual jumping of eventing competition. — AFP

US warns on Iran, Al-Qaeda threat WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda is on a “path of decline” after many of its top leaders were killed, but its affiliates are a rising threat in vulnerable regions, the US State Department warned in a report yesterday. In its Country Reports on Terrorism 2011, the department branded Iran “the world’s leading sponsor of terrorist activity” providing funds and support “for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East.”

Both Iran and Al-Qaeda are helping to foment unrest by spreading “violent extremist ideology and rhetoric” in some of the world’s most restive regions, the report to Congress maintained. Hailing the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid on his Pakistani compound in May 2011, the report noted he had “remained deeply involved in directing (the group’s) operations and setting its strategy.”“The loss of bin Laden and these other key operatives puts the network on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse,” it said.

But, while the core group of Al-Qaeda may have been weakened over the past year, “we have seen the rise of affiliat-

ed groups around the world.” Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was “a particularly serious threat” having gained territory in southern Yemen, and “was exploiting unrest in that country to advance plots against regional and Western interests,” the report said. The group’s north African branch, known as AQIM, “historically the weakest of the affiliates, saw its coffers filled in 2011 with kidnapping ransoms-a practice that other terrorist groups are also using to considerable advantage.”

Al-Qaeda affiliates were also at work in Iraq, capitalizing on the withdrawal of US forces from there, despite suffering recent leadership losses. The Iraqi branch was “resilient” and “believed to be extending its reach into Syria and seeking to exploit the popular uprising against the dictatorship of Bashar Al-Assad.” The report also highlighted concerns about Boko Haram militants in Nigeria, said to have Al-Qaeda ties, and about Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula where “a number of loosely knit militant groups have formed... with some claiming ties and allegiance to Al-Qaeda.” — AFP

Victories in Ramadan Continued from Page 1 and Tartar barbarians engaged in a fierce battle with a Muslim army under the leadership of Saifud-Deen Qutuz. Muslims walked away with a well deserved victory in the battle of Ein Ja’lout. The Tartars and Mongols were finally defeated in humiliation.

6Also in Ramadan, a Muslim army fought a decisive defensive battle under the commandership of Sultan Al-Naser bin Mohammed Qalawoun against the barbaric Tartars and defeated them beyond any doubt.

CATALYST OF VICTORIES It is very clear that God, the Omniscient, accustomed Muslims since the duty of fasting was prescribed upon them, that if they behaved sincerely with devotion, He would grant them decisive victories beyond imagination. If a Muslim fights against his desires and strives to curb them in that he succeeds in defeating his instincts sincerely by the intention of pleasing God, it would be then logical that he would vanquish his enemy by the will of God. Fighting against one’s, desires and whims is harder than engaging in a battle against an inveterate enemy; thus the importance of Ramadan. It should be noted that Islam does not neglect man’s desires and instincts. God Almighty has prescribed licit ways of satisfying one’s desires and instincts.

One has to fight against himself in the process of avoiding satisfying his instincts in a way that is contrary to the Islamic teachings. Thus Muslims get trained to be patient in all its aspects in Ramadan. God says: “... if there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred. If they are a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of the unbelievers: for these are a people without understanding.” (8:65).

God created humans for a purpose. He loves them and all the laws He has prescribed for them are for their benefit if they only knew. It’s sad that many of them are ignorant of this fact. Fasting should not be viewed as punishment but rather as a blessing from God. After reading some of the victories that Muslims achieved in Ramadan, it becomes clear that fasting should not be an excuse for people to be lazy, tardy, shabby, irresponsible, unpunctual, etc, otherwise, their fasting will be like an empty shell without a kernel. God says: “...but to fast is best for you, if you only knew.” (2: 184). It is worth mentioning that all the battles Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) engaged in with his companions were defensive and not offensive. God says in what can be translated as: “Fight in the way of God those who fight against you but do not transgress. Indeed, God does not like transgressors.” (2: 190) - Courtesy, AWARE Center

TRAVEL INDUSTRY GEARS UP FOR MUSLIM...

Continued from Page 1 Crescentrating, along with DinarStandard, a US-based firm that tracks the Muslim lifestyle market.

Crescentrating chief executive Fazal Bahardeen said Muslim-majority states such as Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia were already favourite destinations, but nonIslamic countries are now “taking a serious look” at Muslim holidaymakers. Malaysia, the leading destination according to the findings, attracts Muslim visitors even during the ongoing fasting month of Ramadan.

Mohammed Ali Alali, 23, a petroleum engineering student from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, went there on honeymoon with his bride, a 20-year-old medical student.

“It’s not that far from Saudi Arabia, and it’s less expensive to travel here rather than Europe. It’s also an Islamic country, so that helps in many ways, like to find a mosque and Arabic food,” he said after breaking fast at an Arabic restaurant in the capital Kuala Lumpur. The availability of halal food tops the list of Muslim travellers’ requirements, according to the survey.

Destinations such as Thailand and Australia, especially the Gold Coast, are already taking into account these travelers’ needs in their services and facilities, Fazal said.

That includes prayer rooms at airports and hotels, halal restaurants and even spas adapted to religious requirements.

“Why not try Gold Coast for a cooler Ramadan this year?” proposes the tourism website of Australia’s Queensland state. “With a long history of welcoming Middle Eastern visitors and a large resident community, facilities for Muslims in Gold Coast, Australia, keep getting better every year.”

The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a March report that meeting the needs of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims is fuelling business opportunities in a range of sectors. “From food and Islamic finance, the industry is spreading its wings into pharmaceuticals, fashion and tourism, among many other areas,” it said, noting that more than half of the world’s Muslim population is aged 24 or younger, many of them well educated.

Thailand is hungrily eyeing the Muslim travel boom. Its tourism authority —- which has an office in Dubai-is promoting halal spas for Muslim tourists, who require strict privacy for male and female clients. It also organized a month-long festival of Thai cuisine in the United Arab Emirates from June 8 to July 7. Crescentrating’s study ranked Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport the most Islamfriendly airport in a non-Muslim country. And it found that tourists from the Gulf-Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE-are the sector’s biggest spenders. Gulf countries accounted for 37 percent of Muslim tourist spending in 2011 even though they represent a mere three percent of the global Muslim population. — AFP

MPs boycott revived parliament amid...

Continued from Page 1 But even after Khorafi refers the issue to the Amir next week, it remains unclear when the decision will be issued to dissolve the National Assembly and call for fresh polls.

The issue remains linked to a potential government decision on the electoral constituency and voting systems amid rife speculation that the most likely scenario now is to refer the two systems to the constitutional court for a ruling on whether the two systems are in line with the constitution. The government is expected to take a final decision on the matter next week after its legal committee meets later this week to make its recommendations.

If the government refers the electoral law to the constitutional court, the 2009 assembly will not be dissolved

until after the court issues its ruling. The opposition has warned the government that if the electoral law was amended, it will boycott the forthcoming election. It has launched a signature campaign on a petition making the threat and also calling for the government to quickly dissolve the 2009 assembly and call for fresh polls.

In another development, the controversial member of the 2012 assembly Mohammad Al-Juwaihel was rounded up by police yesterday after he made a highly offensive tweet against the Mutairi tribe, one of the largest in the country. The Amiri Diwan strongly condemned Juwaihel and his actions and vowed it will apply the law against him for threatening social unity.

Opposition MPs, especially those from the tribe, strongly condemned Juwaihel and called for taking legal actions against him and held the interior minister responsible for applying the law against him.

40 Syrian policemen killed Continued from Page 1 prominent dissident that he had been tasked with forming a government in exile drawing strong criticism from the main opposition bloc. “The army and the terrorist groups have both sent reinforcements for a decisive battle that should last several weeks,” the Damascus security source said.

The rebels sent in backup from neighboring Turkey, after they seized a strategic checkpoint just outside Aleppo, giving them a vital resupply route between their rear-bases over the border and the strategic prize of the country’s main northern city. “The Syrian army is surrounding rebel districts, and is bombing them, but it is going to take its time before it launches its assault on each neighborhood,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday’s fighting in Aleppo was the fiercest so far in a contest that state media had billed as the “mother of all battles” in the struggle to defend President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime against the “terrorists”. “Hundreds of rebels attacked the police stations in Salhin and Bab Al-Nayrab (neighborhoods) and at least 40 policemen were killed during the fighting, which lasted for hours,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Rebels also launched pre-dawn attacks with rocket-propelled grenades against a military court, an air force intelligence headquarters and a branch of Assad’s Baath Party, the Britain-based watchdog said. The troubled UN observer mission in Syria, that had been deployed to monitor a putative ceasefire, said the army was using helicopters, tanks and artillery in its assault on the rebel fighters who seized large swathes of the city in an offensive launched on July 20.

It appealed to both sides to protect civilians as the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that 200,000 people had fled the Aleppo area amid “continuous raging violence” over the weekend. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said some 7,000 people had taken refuge in the city’s university dormitories and

more were camped out in 32 schools, each housing 250350 people. In total, the figures indicate between 15,000 and 18,200 people in these centers alone, said UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

Rebels on Monday seized the strategic Anadan checkpoint, some five kilometers northwest of Aleppo, securing a direct route to the Turkish border. “During the next few hours, the impact of rebel control over this checkpoint will be proven by the amount of supplies brought to Aleppo,” the Observatory chief said. The watchdog reported renewed fighting yesterday in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, where it said more than 300 people had been killed in violence over the past month, most of them civilians. It said 70 percent of the city’s residents had fled and estimated that 500,000 of the 1.6 million inhabitants of the surrounding province, which hosts Syria’s main oil fields, had been displaced.

‘Hasty decision’-Veteran dissident Haytham Al-Maleh told reporters he had been tasked with forming a government in exile based in Cairo, an announcement that the main opposition Syrian National Council described as premature. “I have been tasked with leading a transitional government,” Maleh said, adding that he would begin consultations “with the opposition inside and outside” the country. Maleh, a conservative Muslim, said he was named by a Syrian coalition of “independents with no political affiliation”.

When Assad falls, “we don’t want to find ourselves in a political or administrative vacuum,” said the 81-year-old human rights activist who has twice served time in the Assad regime’s jails. But SNC chief Abdel Basset Sayda chief described Maleh’s move as a “hasty decision.” “We wish it had not happened,” he said. “It actually weakens the opposition.” There have been other attempts by the Syrian opposition to prepare for a post-Assad future but none have achieved a consensus among the rival factions. Arab and Western governments that sympathize with the uprising against the Assad regime have repeatedly expressed frustration at the failure of the opposition to present a united front — AFP

Saudi judoka to fight with hijab Continued from Page 1 had never sent women athletes to the Olympics before, brought its two first female Olympians to London on condition they adhere to the kingdom’s conservative Islamic traditions, including wearing a headscarf.

Shahrkhani’s participation was thrown into doubt last week when judo officials said a headscarf could be dangerous because of chokeholds and aggressive grabbing techniques. Without giving precise details, Adams said the headscarf agreement is in line with Asian judo rules and is “safety compliant but allows for cultural sensitivity.’” “In Asia, judo is a common practice so they asked for something that would be compliant with that, and the judo federations have reached a compromise that both are happy with,” he said.

Asian judo federations have previously allowed Muslim women to wear the headscarf, known as a hijab, during major competitions. Headscarves are allowed in

taekwondo, but taekwondo fighters also wear a headguard, which covers the headscarf. Shahrkhani may be the first judoka to fight at the Olympics who does not hold a black belt in judo, a Japanese martial art. She did not qualify for her Olympic spot like most of the other judo fighters. The IOC extended a special invitation for her to compete as part of negotiations to bring Saudi women to the Olympics for the first time. The other Saudi female athlete to compete in London is 19-yearold Sarah Attar, a California-based 800-meter runner.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei had been the only three countries that had never fielded female Olympians in their teams. With all three now including women, these are the first Olympics in which every competing nation - 205 - is represented by female competitors. “Our aim is that we want to have women from all national Olympic committees competing in the games,” Adams said. “Clearly one of those that is new is Saudi. We want to make sure we give a maximum chance for women from every NOC to take part in the games.” — AP

14

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

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Issues

China’s advantages counteract rising pay

By Boris Cambreleng

R

apid wage increases are threatening China’s competitiveness, but improved productivity and other advantages mean it will continue to attract investors, analysts say. Labor costs in China would match those of the United States within four years, catching up with euro-zone countries in five years and with Japan in seven, the French bank Natixis forecast in a study last month.

China “will soon no longer be a competitive place for production given the strong rise in the cost of production”, the bank said.

It is a view backed by the respected Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which said in a study last August that by around 2015 manufacturing in some parts of the United States would be “just as economical as manufacturing in China”. Examples of major manufacturers leaving China aboundBCG said US technology giant NCR has moved its manufacture of ATMs to a factory in Columbus, Georgia, that will employ 870 workers as of 2014.

Adidas announced recently that it would close its only directly owned factory in China, becoming the latest major brand to shift its manufacturing to cheaper countries, though it maintains a network of 300 Chinese contractors. Chinese workers making athletic shoes are paid at least 2,000 yuan (258 euros; 313 dollars) a month, while their Adidas colleagues in Cambodia only earn the equivalent of 107 euros, the German company said. Underlining the trend, the salaries of Chinese urban-dwellers rose 13 percent in the first half of 2012 compared with the same period last year, the government said in mid-July. Migrant workers, who are among the lowest-paid in the country, saw raises of 14.9 percent for an average of 2,200 yuan a month.

The most significant wage hikes in 2010 and 2011 often came following strikes at Japanese companies such as Toyota and Honda and a wave of suicides at the factories of the Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn. Natixis said the increases could spur manufacturers to relocate to South and Southeast Asia, where labor costs are much lower, and could also benefit countries such as Egypt and Morocco, or even European ones like Romania and Bulgaria. However, not all economists believe China will lose its manufacturing edge, thanks in part to improvements in productivity.

“Most of the increase in wages has been offset by strong productivity growth,” said Louis Kuijs, project director at the Fung Global Institute, a research body that specializes in Asian economies.

Worker productivity has increased at a faster rate than wages in the southern Pearl River Delta, the heart of China’s vast manufacturing industry, according to 200 companies surveyed early this year by Standard Chartered Bank. “China’s share of the world’s low-end exports has started to fall after years of rapid rises in wages, land costs and appreciation of renminbi (the currency),” said Wang Qinwei, a China economist at Capital Economics.

“But this has been offset by a growing market share in high-end products.” Capital Economics said in a research note published in March: “China’s export sector overall appears no less competitive now than a few years ago. “Average margins in light industry have increased over the past three years thanks to rapid productivity growth.” China’s coastal areas offered an effective business environment that would continue to draw investors, as would lower costs in inland provinces, said Alistair Thornton, China economist at IHS Global Insight.

These advantages could limit a shift in manufacturing to lower-paying countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia.

“Guangdong and other coastal provinces have a superb advantage over most of Southeast Asia and South Asia in their efficient supply chains, strong economies of scale and reliable business environment,” Thornton said. “The manufacturing that does leave coastal China is not only looking to Southeast Asia and now Eastern Europe, but also inland China, where land and wages and energy are cheaper.”— AFP

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

Loan cost divide highlights euro-zone’s problems

By Terhi Kinnunen and Tracy Rucinski

S

aara Merritt is excited. She and her husband have sold their house in a Helsinki suburb and taken out a cheap mortgage to buy a new, more spacious property back in her provincial hometown. At the other end of the euro-zone, Daniel Ballestero is desperate. He has tried for months to sell his apartment on the depressed outskirts of Madrid but found no buyer. If anyone can get a mortgage to buy the property, the loan will probably cost twice as much as Saara Merritt’s.

Their stories reveal a paradox bedevilling the euro-zone economy. People in the relatively prosperous northern nations can usually borrow easily and cheaply, while fellow Europeans in the troubled southern nations are paying much higher interest rates, if they can get credit at all. “I used an inheritance from my father to buy the flat. Now that money is gone and I still owe more than it’s worth,” said Ballestero, 50, who needs the money as he lost his job selling musical instruments.

Ballestero is among an army of Spaniards who bought property during a boom which collapsed in 2008, saddling them with debts they can hardly repay and dragging down the entire economy. By contrast, 33-year-old Merritt arranged a relatively straightforward move to Lappeenranta, a Finnish frontier town which is prospering nicely from trade with neighboring Russia.

“The (mortgage) negotiations were very easy, they were very willing to lend money,” she said, sitting under an apple tree in her new garden. “(Interest rates) are so low at the moment.”

Her Australian husband Shannon found an IT job locally, while Saara stays at home to look after their two young children, and she now lives closer to her elderly parents.

Lappeenranta, a lake-side town of 72,000 people, makes a pleasant home for the Merritts who also spent some time in Australia after selling their Helsinki home a year ago.

Its old town dotted with picturesque wooden buildings is packed with visitors from St Petersburg who come for tax free shopping and the restaurants. Healthy economic growth in Russia, fuelled by energy exports and rising wages, is helping Lappeenranta to prosper.

NO COMMON CONSUMER RATES Finns and Spaniards have shared a common currency for more than a decade, and yet the euro-zone is failing to achieve anything like a common set of interest rates for consumers in its 17 member nations, thanks to the debt crisis. Borrowing costs are now arguably too low in the northern members of the eurozone, and much too high in the south. The European Central Bank has set a single benchmark interest rate for euro-zone financial markets since 1999, but the system of transmitting this to the borrowing costs of citizens and businesses has broken down.

For instance, a typical Spanish family has to pay almost 300 euros a month more on a 250,000 euro, 25-year mortgage than its Finnish counterpart. In theory, central banks should engineer lower interest rates for struggling economies and higher ones for buoyant economies. Precisely the opposite is happening in the euro-zone. Spanish lenders charge twice as much in interest on home loans as their Finnish counterparts: in May, the average rate for a Spanish mortgage was 4.32 percent, compared with 2.03 percent in Finland.

Spain desperately needs cheap credit. It is stuck in its second recession of the past few years, unemployment is the highest in the euro-zone at a record 24.6 percent, and speculation is growing that the government may have to take a bailout from the European Union and IMF. By contrast, the Finnish economy is growing, unemployment is less than a third of Spain’s at 7.4 percent and Helsinki is a funder of EU bailouts rather than a recipient.

Life is tough for countries on the euro-zone periphery such as Spain and Italy as well as those that have been forced into government bailouts: Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus. “At this stage the crisis is self-fulfilling,” G+ Economics’ Lena Komileva said in a note to clients. “Peripheral market isolation has become chronic.” “This is the very antithesis of a monetary union,” she added. “Euro breakup over the next two years has become a realistic risk.”

The ECB is worried about the divergence of borrowing costs that is happening even though most mortgages are tied to the same reference rate, the 12-month Euribor. This is the rate at which euro-zone banks lend one-year funds to each other. In the last year, mortgage rates in Finland have fallen in line with Euribor, but have climbed in Spain. In boom times, Spanish mortgage costs were only slightly above Finland’s.

When the market functions well, the ECB nudges Euribor up and down through its policy rate changes and market operations. Since the sovereign debt crisis erupted, many banks have become reluctant to risk lending to their peers in the euro-zone’s most troubled nations. Southern banks are also charging more to make up for losses on bad loans, which have rocketed in countries such as Spain due to the combined effects of recession and the property crash.

Unable to borrow commercially, many banks including most of Spain’s have been forced to turn to the ECB for funding.

However, they have to put up collateral to borrow, and often all they have is assets whose credit rating has fallen sharply

during the crisis, such as Spanish government bonds.

UNACCEPTABLE SITUATION Overall, the cost of funds that banks raise for lending activity such as mortgages is influenced more by the financial state of their home governments than by ECB policy. “The interest rate charged to individual banks depends on the funding costs of the sovereign and not on the rates set by the central bank,” ECB Governing Council member Christian Noyer said. “This means that the monetary policy transmission does not work,” he added, describing the situation as unacceptable. Unacceptable or not, the problem persists even though the ECB has loosened its collateral requirements to help banks in the peripheral nations.

And it’s not only about the cost, but also the availability of credit. Sometimes people in countries like Spain cannot find loans at any affordable price, and this is widening the gap between the euro-zone’s northern and southern economies.

“The price effect is not the only negative element. We also have a quantity effect, so it’s a double problem,” Unicredit economist Marco Valli said. “(It is) obviously undermining monetary policy transmission, amplifying the differences in growth. This complicates trying to keep everything together, when forces are pushing in different directions.”

The problem is helping to deepen the Spanish property crash and the misery of people like Daniel Ballestero. Like many Spanish borrowers, he is in negative equity: he owes more on the attic flat than its current value as prices have dropped about 30 percent from their peak at the end of 2007. Six years ago he paid 234,000 euros ($282,800) for the property in the Madrid satellite town of Colmenarejo. First Ballestero lived in it, but later he moved back in with his mother to save money and rent out the flat.

However, the rent didn’t cover his mortgage payments and when he lost his job, he put the flat on the market. Now his bank estimates it is worth 145,000 euros, less than the 170,000 he owes on it. His mother recently died, meaning his current home will also have to be put up for sale eventually so that his siblings can take their share of the inheritance. Ballestero, who lives with his partner and a newborn baby, nevertheless admits that others suffer more. “There are a lot of people who are worse off than I am,” he said.

CORPORATE PROBLEM The problem also applies to corporate loans, which had been cheaper in Spain than in Finland in late 2006, before the credit crisis appeared. Now Spaniards pay 1.5 percentage points more, and firms in Greece, Portugal and Italy face yet higher charges. It is also almost impossible for Spanish customers to switch to northern European lenders, despite a push for eurozone financial integration. Banks are loathe to lend for house buying outside their home base as they lack the means to judge the value of the property used to secure the loan.

Analysts say more pain is to come, as Spanish property prices are unlikely to have reached their bottom. “The adjustment is

anything but done and will weigh on the business cycle and banking sector solvency for several more years,” Deutsche Bank analysts Thomas Mayer and Jochen Moebert said, adding that they see the Spanish real property market as still roughly 25 percent overvalued.

NORTHERN BUBBLE? While high rates are stifling the southern property markets, worries are growing that the low rates in the north might encourage a Spanish-style boom and bust. Since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007, housing prices have risen most in Finland, Austria and Germany among the euro-zone nations. In those countries, cheap money has allayed consumer jitters and the latest data show the Finnish economy is the fastest growing in the euro-zone, with Germany not far behind.

The Bundesbank has warned of a potential housing bubble in Germany after prices rose 5.5 percent last year in the biggest cities. However, analysts said it is difficult to say the rises there are unsustainable. “Historically seen, only every other boom ended in a real property bubble,” Mayer and Moebert said, forecasting prices will continue to rise, especially in the big cities.

The Finnish central bank is not yet worried. “The house price increase relative to economic fundamentals cannot be considered excessive,” Bank of Finland economist Jarkko Kivisto said in a research paper.

SOME SMALL RELIEF To ease the rate divergence, the ECB has tried buying government bonds to the tune of 210 billion euros, pushing 1 trillion in 3-year funds into the market and cutting interest rates, but things have only got worse. Analysts said the most likely ECB measure to help the periphery is to cut its main policy rate already at record low 0.75 percent - but the impact would be limited. “Lowering the policy rate further would bring some small relief, but would certainly not be the long-term solution that would change the picture for good,” Unicredit’s Valli said.

Speculation has also grown that the ECB will resume bond buying, following comments last week from President Mario Draghi that it was ready to do, within its mandate, whatever it takes to preserve the euro. In the end, the debt crisis can be solved only if governments regain the trust of bond markets, and this may take a long time. To alleviate the situation in the meantime, large-scale bond purchases would be the best way to go, analysts said.

For the ECB to buy bonds, it would have to see deflationary pressures and then do quantitative easing - basically print money. But even this could be seen as succumbing to pressure from euro-zone governments, and letting them off the hook in tackling their budget deficits is the last thing it wants to do. “It’s not easy to solve the transmission problem because it’s also a political game,” Unicredit’s Valli said. “We are confident that policymakers including the ECB will do everything which is in their possibilities to keep the euro-zone together, but the ECB is really looking for signs that governments are stepping up their efforts.”—Reuters

When government kills

W

hether or not it succeeds in court, a lawsuit challenging the killings of Al-Qaeda figure Anwar Awlaki and two other US citizens clearly lays out the problems with the Obama administration’s policy of “targeted killings” of suspected terrorists even outside the battle zone of Afghanistan.

Allowing the president of the United States to act as judge, jury and executioner for suspected terrorists, including US citizens, on the basis of secret evidence is impossible to reconcile with the Constitution’s guarantee that a life will not be taken without due process of law.

Under the law, the government must obtain a court order if it seeks to target a US citizen for electronic surveillance, yet there is no comparable judicial review of a decision to kill a citizen. No court is even able to review the general policies for such assassinations. (Awlaki’s family failed in 2010 to persuade a court to enjoin the government from killing him.)

The suit filed this month by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights seeks an after-the-fact determination that the killings of Awlaki, an associate named Samir Khan and Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman, were not legal. The elder Awlaki and Khan were killed in a drone strike in Yemen in September; Abdulrahman Awlaki was the apparently unintended victim of a strike two weeks later. Although it ended some of the Bush administration’s abuses in the war against AlQaeda, the Obama administration has jealously guarded what it sees as its executive prerogative when it comes to targeted killings.

There is congressional oversight of the program, but Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr has rejected any role for the judiciary. In a speech in March, Holder distinguished between “due process” to which Americans targeted for killing are entitled and “judicial process.”

In the same speech, Holder insisted that targeted killings would take place only when there was “an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States” and when capturing the suspect was “not feasible.” But Holder defined “imminently” broadly to include action that would head off “future attacks.”

Ideally, this lawsuit would result in a thorough examination of the legality of targeted killings (without the administration hiding behind the “state secrets” privilege, as it has done in the past). But it’s doubtful whether the plaintiffs will succeed in their effort to collect damages from Secretary of Defense Leon E Panetta and other officials. Twice in recent years, in lawsuits against former Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Supreme Cour t has rebuffed attempts to hold officials personally liable for abuses related to the war against terrorism.

But if the United States is going to continue down the troubling road of state-sponsored assassination, Congress should, at the very least, require that a court play some role, as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court does with the electronic surveillance of suspected foreign terrorists. Even minimal judicial oversight might make the president and his advisors think twice about whether an American citizen poses such an “imminent” danger that he must be executed without a trial.—MCT

15 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

The rarefied world of dressage comes to town LONDON: The tall elegant figure of William Fox-Pitt, ramrod straight in the saddle and resplendent in black top hat and tails, a bit like a coffin bearer at an East End gangster’s funeral cortege, enters the arena on Lionheart.

You can almost hear the silence as 20,000 spectators follow the stadium announcer’s urgings for total hush - not a crisp is crunched, not a ringtone sounds, not a programme page is rustled.

Elevatoresque middle-of-the road music wafts gently from the speakers dotted around the ring and the quintessentially English Fox-Pitt embarks on his fourminute routine.

Every graceful step, every move, every flick of the reins, is followed by the beady eyes of men and women - the judges - hunched over their notebooks, pens at the ready, holed up in log cabins at various points around the ring.

This is the rarified world of dressage, which emerges from its four-

year hibernation since the last Olympics to mixed reviews.

The dressage cognoscenti will tell you dressage is equine ballet, Joe Public may have a rather less flattering verdict of this most disciplined of Olympic disciplines.

“It’s not everyone’s cup of tea,” admitted one fan, Ann Whitecroft, in attendance at Greenwich Park this week. “Some people do find it mysterious and boring, what I love about it and what most people would point to is the partnership between horse and rider.

“It’s not shown on television in this country,” she added. “But in Holland and Germany in particular a major dressage competition is like Royal Ascot.”

Indeed the Dutch were in shock in 2010 when Totilas — the dressage equivalent of Lionel Messi and who is so popular he has his own Facebook page — was sold to Germany for 10 million euros.

Dressage made its Olympic bow in 1912, but its origins are as

ancient as the Saxon ruins underneath Greenwich Park, if not older, with historian and horse trainer Xenophon, who used to hang around with Socrates back in ancient Greece, credited with bringing it into the world.

“It’s developed along the way,” explains Whitecroft, “by cavalry officers who used it as a means to create an obedient and responsive horse.”

Originally only commissioned officers were allowed to compete, with the rules enabling civilians to join in the fun being relaxed in 1952.

Dressage riders and their often fabulously expensive conveyances are assessed on various points including how the horse and rider perform at different paces and different speed within those paces.

Judges want to see the horse moving fluidly in straight lines and circles, as well as sideways, diagonally and in situ.

Horses must show they can

move in ‘collection’ where the horse is moving with higher elevation of back and legs, and ‘extension’ where the horse is reaching further with its legs while still carrying its neck and back in an elevated frame.

Scores are based on the accuracy and brilliance of each required movement. For New Zealand rider Louisa Hill, the dressage test here was something of an ordeal.

“My horse (Antonello) wasn’t very keen on the (decorative) sentry guards and cannons - I think he thought they were going to fire at him any minute.

“You go in that arena and there’s so many things for the horse to look at and they have to concentrate 100 percent on you, it’s very difficult.

“They’re animals that are scared of everything, if they see something they want to run. He’s very quick at running the other way and doing a u-turn before I even know it.”—AFP

LONDON: Britain’s William Fox-Pitt competes in the Cross Country phase of the Eventing competition of the 2012 London Olympics.—AFP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

sp orts Barca not to rush Villa

Almunia to join Watford

Cahill ready for NY phase

MADRID: Barcelona striker David Villa is recovering well from a broken leg but the club will not rush him back into action before he is ready, captain Carles Puyol said yesterday.

Villa, Spain’s all-time leading scorer who joined Barca from Valencia two years ago, broke his left leg competing in the Club World Cup in December and has not played since. The 30-yearold missed Spain’s triumphant Euro 2012 campaign and has yet to be declared fully fit despite taking part in pre-season training with his club team mates. “He seems in good shape, full of desire, hope and intensity,” Puyol, who has himself just returned to training after knee surgery, told a news conference. “What happens is that with such a long-term injury the most important thing is not to rush,” he added. Puyol, who was 34 in April, was also asked about his Barca future given that his contract expires at the end of this season. The defender said he had held talks with sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta about an extension. —Reuters

LONDON: Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has joined English Championship side Watford, his former club Arsenal said yesterday. Almunia is one of seven new signings made by manager Gianfranco Zola and joins the London club on a one-year deal.

“Former Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has signed for Watford,” the Premier League club confirmed on its website (www.arsenal.com).

“The 35-year-old was released by the club this summer but will be training next door to his former team-mates in London Colney after agreeing a one-year deal with the Championship (second division) side.” Almunia played 175 games for Arsenal including a substitute appearance in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona, but lost the jersey to Pole Wojciech Szczesny.

Watford were recently taken over by the Pozzo family who own Italian Serie A club Udinese and Spanish La Liga club Granada.

Other new arrivals include QPR defender Fitz Hall and several loan acquisitions from the fellow Pozzo family stable of clubs.

Almen Abdi, Matej Vydra and Steve Leo Beleck joined from Udinese on-loan as have Granada pair Daniel Pudil and Ikechi Anya. —Reuters

NEW YORK: Tim Cahill says a homecoming to play in the Australian A league wasn’t in the cards, but he does plan to suit up for Australia in the 2014 World Cup. Cahill, who was introduced as the newest member of the New York Red Bulls at a news conference on Monday, said at this point in his career he decided to try Major League Soccer (MLS) because it “would have been a step backwards” to return to his native Australia.

“And that’s no disrespect. It is basically I want to still play at a high level,” said Cahill.

“There is still a World Cup for me to play in and qualify for the Australian team.

“I didn’t speak to any A level clubs and it was never in my plans.” The 32-year-old Cahill said Monday he is ready to launch the New York phase of his career after signing with the Red Bulls last week. Cahill, who joins international stars Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, decided to leave Everton FC in the English Premier League after eight seasons of being the club’s most popular player. — AFP

MLB results/standings Baltimore 5, NY Yankees 4; LA Angels 15, Texas 8; Atlanta 8, Miami 2; San Diego 11, Cincinnati 5; Boston 7, Detroit 3; Chicago Cubs 14, Pittsburgh 4; Milwaukee 8, Houston 7; Minnesota 7, Chicago White Sox 6; Oakland 4, Tampa Bay 3 (15 innings); Arizona 7, LA Dodgers 2; Seattle 4, Toronto 1; NY Mets 8, San Francisco 7 (10 innings).

American League Eastern Division W L PCT GB NY Yankees 60 42 .588 Baltimore 54 49 .524 6.5 Tampa Bay 53 50 .515 7.5 Boston 52 51 .505 8.5 Toronto 51 51 .500 9 Central Division White Sox 55 47 .539 Detroit 54 49 .524 1.5 Cleveland 50 52 .490 5 Minnesota 44 58 .431 11 Kansas City 41 60 .406 13.5 Western Division Texas 59 42 .584 Oakland 56 46 .549 3.5 LA Angels 56 47 .544 4 Seattle 48 57 .457 13

National League EASTERN DIVISION Washington 61 40 .604 Atlanta 58 44 .569 3.5 NY Mets 50 53 .485 12 Miami 47 55 .461 14.5 Philadelphia 45 57 .441 16.5 Central Division Cincinnati 61 41 .598 Pittsburgh 58 44 .569 3 St. Louis 54 48 .529 7 Milwaukee 46 56 .451 15 Chicago Cubs 43 58 .426 17.5 Houston 35 69 .337 27 Western Division San Francisco 55 47 .539 LA Dodgers 56 48 .538 Arizona 52 51 .505 3.5 San Diego 44 60 .423 12 Colorado 37 63 .370 17

D’backs and Braves advance LOS ANGELES: Chris Johnson hit a grand slam in his first game with Arizona and Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run shot in the first inning and that was enough for the Diamondbacks to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 72 in the National League on Monday.

Johnson, acquired Sunday in a trade with Houston, started at third base and gave the D-backs a 7-0 lead with his second career slam. I t followed a two- out intentional walk to Miguel Montero, who has a strong record against Dodgers pitcher Aaron Harang, who gave up all seven Arizona runs.

Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill (9-9) allowed one run over six innings, helping Arizona close within 3-1/2 games of Los Angeles and San Francisco atop the NL West.

Braves 8, Marlins 2 In Atalnta, Jason Heyward homered and scored three runs as Atlanta snapped a curious string of 16 straight losses on Mondays, including 12 this season, by beating Miami.

Star ting pitcher Tommy Hanson (12-5) was the only Atlanta player or coach who did not wear high socks in an apparent attempt to end the Monday curse. He gave up one run in five innings. The Braves, coming off a three -game sweep of the Phillies, have won six straight to move a season-best 14 games over .500, trailing first-placed Washington by 31/2 games in the National League East. Miami starter Mark Buehrle (9-10) gave up six runs in 4 1-3 innings.

Padres 11, Reds 5 In Cincinnati, Will Venable drove in four runs as San Diego

ended Cincinnati’s 10-game winning streak. Padres star ter Edinson Volquez (7-7) got the win and Yonder Alonso tied a team record with three doubles as former Reds haunted their old team. Cincinnati starter Mike Leake (4-7) retired just five batters in his shor test star t. The Reds walked a season-high 11.

Rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco was ejected for arguing ball-andstrike calls. He poked at the plate umpire’s chest protector and bumped him before leaving.

Mets 8, Giants 7 In San Francisco, Scott Hairston hit his second homer of

eighth as the Mets scored four times for a 6-4 lead, only for the hosts to tie it with a pair of doubles in the bottom of the ninth.

After Hairston’s solo homer in the 10th the Mets scored again on an error. The Giants got a run in their half before Mets closer Manny Acosta ended it, earning his first save. Santiago Casilla (45) took the loss. Josh Edgin (1-0) got his first major league victory.

Cubs 14, Pirates 4 In Chicago, Anthony Rizzo and Darwin Barney hit three-run homers to power Chicago to its highest-scoring game of the season, trouncing Pittsburgh.

their past 13 home games.

Chicago star ter Justin Germano (1-1) gave up two runs over five innings for his first win since 2007, when he was with San Diego.

Brewers 8, Astros 7 In Milwaukee, Cody Ransom’s homer capped a four-run burst in the eighth inning and Milwaukee held off Houston. The Brewers dismissed bullpen coach Stan Kyles before the game, then watched their shaky relievers barely preserve this victory.

Milwaukee scored four times in the seventh for a 4-3 edge, but the Astros tied it in the eighth

LOS ANGELES: The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chris Johnson connects on a grand slam home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning. —AP the game, connecting in the 10th inning to send New York past reeling San Francisco.

The Giants have lost five in a row, all at home. They lead the NL West by one percentage point over the Dodgers. Hairston hit a two -run homer in the

Rizzo’s shot off Erik Bedard (512) keyed a nine-run fifth inning, Chicago’s biggest burst of the year. Rizzo leads all NL rookies with a .330 average, eight homers and 20 RBIs since being recalled from the minors last week. The Cubs have won 11 of

against Livan Hernandez (4-1).

Ransom’s three-run shot gave the Brewers an 8-4 lead in the bottom half before Houston rallied for three runs in the ninth.

John Axford got J.D. Martinez to ground out with runners at the corners to end the game. —AP

ARLINGTON: Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Kendrys Morales (8) follows through on a grand slam during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers. —AP

Angels romp past Rangers ARLINGTON: Los Angeles’ Kendrys Morales homered from both sides of the plate during a nine-run sixth inning, capping the burst with a grand slam that sent the Angels romping past the Texas Rangers 15-8 in Monday ’s clash of American League West contenders.

Morales became the third switch-hitter in major league history to homer as a lefty and righty in the same inning. Carlos Baerga did it for Cleveland in 1993 and Mark Bellhorn of the Chicago Cubs in 2002. The Angels won the opener of the four-game series and closed within four games of AL West-leading Texas.

Orioles 5, Yankees 4 In New York, Nick Markakis drove in two runs as Baltimore edged New York.

Orioles rookie starter Miguel Gonzalez (3-2) cruised through 6 2-3 innings, giving up just four hits before he was chased by consecutive homers.

Ichiro Suzuki had a chance to tie it for the Yankees with two runners on in the ninth against Orioles closer Jim Johnson, but grounded into a fielder’s choice.

Johnson earned his 31st save of the season. New York starter Freddy Garcia (4-5) tied a season worst by allowing nine hits in six innings.

Athletics 4, Rays 3 In Oakland, Jemile Weeks hit a sacrifice fly in the 15th inning that gave Oakland a marathon win over Tampa Bay. Weeks was 0 for 7 when he came up against the Rays’ five-man infield.

He lofted a fly ball and Brandon Inge easily beat the throw home. It was the A’s major league-leading 12th walkoff win this season.

Red Sox 7, Tigers 3 In Boston, Dustin Pedroia hit a tiebreaking homer and drove in three runs to lead Boston to its third straight win. The Red Sox opened a 10-game homestand - their longest of the season.

Boston starter Clay Buchholz (9-3) allowed two earned runs in eight innings, improving to 5-1 with a 2.43 ERA in his past eight starts. Tigers starter Max Scherzer (10-6) gave up five runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Twins 7, White Sox 6 In Minneapolis, Jamey Caroll’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning lifted Minnesota over Chicago and to its fourth straight win.

Danny Valencia led off the ninth with a single off reliever Brett Myers (0-1). A.J. Pierzynski’s throw to first after fielding a bunt sailed into right field, allowing each runner to move up.

Carroll followed with a fly ball to right, allowing Alexi Casilla to slide in with the winning run ahead of Alex Rios’ throw.

Mariners 4, Blue Jays 1 In Seattle, Hisashi Iwakuma struck out a career-high 13, steering Seattle past Toronto and to its fifth straight win.

Iwakuma (2-2) struck out Rajai Davis three straight times after allowing Davis’ leadoff homer. Iwakuma’s 13 strikeouts broke the Mariners’ rookie record of 12 previously shared by Mark Langston, Randy Johnson and Freddy Garcia.

Iwakuma threw eight innings.

Michael Saunders and Kyle Seager had two hits apiece for the Mariners.

Toronto starter Ricky Romero (8-8) lost his seventh consecutive start, giving up eight hits over six innings. —AP

Al-Roudhan soccer tourney KUWAIT: The 11th day of the indoor football tournament of the late Abdullah Mushaire Al-Roudhan ended in Balagha defeating Al Humaizi team 1-0. Also late Ahmad Al Roumi team outclassed Bobyan 3-1, and Bu K halifa team blanked Al

Tadamon 2-0. In one of very exciting games, Balagha team with its local stars overcame Al Humaizi team which included players from Italy.

The star of the game was Balagha goalkeeper Mohammed Thaib who received the

best player award for making some tremendous saves. The stars of Balagha were Musharie Al Shimmary, Fawaz Al Shimmary and Salah Farhan. Balagha will compete in the second stage after equal points with Al Humaizi, Al Roumi and Bobyan.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

sp orts

London a long way off for Champions League hopefuls PARIS: The London Olympics have barely begun, but qualifying for next May’s Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium is already underway, and some major names enter the fray this midweek. Former European champions Celtic and Feyenoord are in action in the third qualifying round, along with distinguished names such as Dynamo Kyiv, Panathinaikos and Anderlecht.

There are effectively two separate qualifying stages for the Champions League these days, with domestic champions kept together and clubs who failed to win their national titles facing off against each other.

For the non-champions, the possibility of a play-off round tie against Malaga, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Udinese, Lille, Spartak Moscow or Braga awaits.

As Scottish title-holders, Celtic’s path should be smoother as they look to reach the group stages for the first time since 2008.

Neil Lennon’s side will come up against HJK Helsinki of Finland, who hammered KR Reykjavik of Iceland 9-1 in the second qualifying round.

Scottish football needs a lift after what has been a tumultuous summer overshadowed by the dramatic fall from grace of Celtic’s Old Firm rivals Rangers.

However, Lennon will be taking nothing for granted against HJK, who are already more than halfway through their domestic season. “Having watched Helsinki last week I know it’s going to be a really hard game,” he told Scottish media after watching his side draw 1-1 in a friendly with Inter Milan on

Saturday.

“They have a bit of pace in their team, particularly in wide areas. They are fit players who all know their way around the pitch.

“They will be difficult to beat and hard to break down. The onus will be on us to score but we will have to be patient. “We’re in good condition now and the football is starting to look better.

I think we’re ready.” With Rangers banished from European competition, Scotland’s other Champions League spot has been taken by Motherwell, who will start as rank outsiders against Greek giants Panathinaikos.

Runners-up in the European Cup in 1971, Pana are not the force they once were, with the collapse of the Greek economy having a major impact on foot-

ball too.

They are also barely into their preseason, but they remain favourites to win the tie, and Motherwell will need a positive result at their Fir Park home on Tuesday if they are to stand any chance of progressing. “We won’t be naive, but we will have a go,” says Motherwell manager Stuart McCall.

Just a month after hosting the Euro 2012 final, Ukraine’s capital hosts a battle between two of the continent’s most famous club sides as Dynamo Kyiv face Feyenoord.

Feyenoord have been revived under the management of Ronald Koeman, who left his mark on the European Cup by scoring Barcelona’s winner in the 1992 final against Sampdoria at Wembley.

“It’s a tough draw. Dynamo Kyiv were not my preference,” said Koeman after the draw was made. “They have a couple of new players, including some players who were also at the Euros for Ukraine.

“They are a team with experience in Europe and a team that is always competing for a place in the Champions League.” Basel, who eliminated Manchester United in the group stage last season, have been drawn against Norwegian side Molde, now coached by United’s 1999 Champions League final hero Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Belgian champions Anderlecht are up against Ekranas of Lithuania, Turkey’s Fenerbahce take on Vaslui of Romania, and FC Copenhagen, who reached the last 16 two seasons ago, will face onetime finalists Club Brugge.—AFP

Kohli powers India to ODI series win

Wim Koevermans

India to adopt Spanish soccer blueprint MUMBAI: India should learn from world champions Spain and develop a style woven around short passes than aerial balls to lift their soccer standard, new coach Wim Koevermans told Reuters.

While passion for soccer is intact in the cricket-mad country of 1.2 billion people, the Indian national team, ranked 163, languish near the bottom of the FIFA world standings.

Koevermans, part of the Dutch squad that won the 1988 European championship, was entrusted with the challenging job of making an improvement.

“I am in a completely different culture.

You need to know how to get the message across, how to work with the players and with the backroom staff,” Koevermans, 52, said in an interview.

“That’s an interesting challenge for me but one I am looking forward to.” The world’s second most populous nation has a rich soccer history of its own but Indians wonder every four years why they fail to get close to the World Cup. The towering Dutchman, who travelled to Oman to watch the India juniors play in the AFC under-22 championships and watched some videos of the senior team’s matches before taking charge, was not disappointed. “I have a very positive impression. I think we can try and implement a different style of play that suits the players,” said Koevermans, who took over as India’s coach in July. “The players are most important in the choice you make on how to play.

“If you ask them to play like Spain that will

be something stupid because the Indian players are not the Spanish players.”

But there was still something that the coach felt the Indian players could learn from their Spanish counterparts. “It’s very interesting to see what Spain did over the past 40 years and how they developed their strategy and their style of play,” he said. “They play in a style that suits their players and gives them courage.”

Koevermans felt that long aerial passes do not suit the Indian players due to their lack of height.

“From what I have seen is that keeping the ball on the ground for as long as possible will suit our players,” he said. “When the ball is up in the air, we have small players and we always lose possession.

“That is something we have to change in order to try and create more chances to win the game.” India, where cricket dominates all other sports, could take a leaf out of neighbours China in boosting the profile of soccer in the country, Koevermans said.

China’s rich soccer club owners have managed to entice players like former Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, helping inspire the country’s young footballers and improve standards.

“It makes football more attractive. It shows China are on the way up,” he said. “I remember when (Japan’s) J-League started, they took famous players and coaches from across the world and now they are on their own. “Japan started 20 years ago and China is starting now. So I believe India will also be on that line.”—Reuters

COLOMBO: Virat Kohli cracked a centur y and par t-timer Manoj Tiwar y bagged four wickets as India posted a comfortable sixwicket win over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international yesterday.

Kohli, who also scored a hundred in the opening game, made a 119-ball 128 not out as India surpassed Sri Lanka’s total of 251-8 with more than seven overs to spare for an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Tiwary earlier played a key role in restricting Sri Lanka in the daynight match in Colombo, taking four wickets with his leg-spin in his first game of the series.

Kohli, who hit one six and 12 fours, completed his 13th one-day century with an aggressive shot when he pulled fast bowler Lasith Malinga for a boundary.

India were under pressure at 109-4 before Kohli and Suresh Raina (58 not out) added 146 runs to steer their team home.

Raina, dropped on 19 by skipper Mahela Jayawardene in the slips off debutant paceman Nuwan Pradeep, hit one six and four boundaries in his 51-ball knock.

Opener Upul Tharanga (51), Lahiru Thirimanne (47) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (42) were the main scorers for Sri Lanka, who were 152-2 in the 32nd over.

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets and par t-time spinner Virender Sehwag one. Sri Lanka made an impressive start after electing to bat, with Tharanga and Dilshan adding 91 for the opening wicket.

Fast bowler Ashok Dinda broke the stand when he removed Dilshan, who was caught behind after cracking seven fours in his 48-ball knock.

Tharanga, who pulled Dinda for the first six of the match, fell soon after completing his half-century, stumped by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ashwin. He also hit four boundaries in his 73-ball knock. Dinesh Chandimal (28) and Thirimanne put on 50 for the third wicket before Tiwary struck in his opening over, having Chandimal caught by Irfan Pathan at square-

COLOMBO: India’s batsman Virat Kohli (right) bats as Sri Lanka’s wicket keeper Dinesh Chandimal (left) watches during the fourth one-day international cricket match.—AP leg. Off-spinner Sehwag got a big wicket when he had Jayawardene caught behind for three to reduce Sri Lanka to 155-4.

out and what we had with Atletico Madrid, Rennes and Udinese was basically a Champions League group by any other name.

“We proved we were better than the results against Braga, Utrecht and Sion had suggested. “Now we’ve got the crowd as a 12th man on Wednesday. That can help us over our first hurdle.”

Neil Lennon’s side have struggled in preseason, having won only one of six friendly games and scoring just three times. But Mulgrew insists Celtic can take encouragement from a 1-1 draw with Italian giants Inter Milan at the weekend.

“I’m not reading too much into the friendlies but the way we played against Inter was the best since pre-season started and all we’ve needed has been games to get us to the stage where we’re ready for HJK,” the defender said.

“I don’t buy into the theory that we’re at a disadvantage because the Finns are halfway through their season and we’ve still to play a competitive match. “We’ll prove we’re up for it by matching the other side for enthusiasm and ambition.

“You play every game, particularly one as important as HJK, as you see it and we won’t be thinking about recent results.”

Manager Lennon has injury worries for the match against the Finnish champions, who beat Iceland’s KR Reykjavik 9-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round.

Strikers Anthony Stokes and Kris Commons are both struggling with badly twisted ankles after picking up injuries in Saturday’s match against Inter. However, Kelvin Wilson, James Forrest, Beram Kayal and Scott Brown should be fit for the match.—AFP

of injured Kumar Sangakkara and Isuru Udana. India replaced legspinner Rahul Sharma with Tiwary.—AFP

SCOREBOARD COLOMBO: Complete scoreboard of the fourth one-day international between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo yesterday: Sri Lanka: U. Tharanga st Dhoni b Ashwin 51 T. Dilshan c Dhoni b Dinda 42 L. Thirimanne b Ashwin 47 D. Chandimal c Pathan b Tiwary 28 M. Jayawardene c Dhoni b Sehwag 3 A. Mathews c Kohli b Tiwary 14 J. Mendis b Tiwary 17 T. Perera c Raina b Tiwary 2 R. Herath not out 17 L. Malinga not out 15 Extras (lb2, w13) 15 Total (for eight wickets; 50 overs) 251 Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Dilshan), 2-102 (Tharanga), 3152 (Chandimal), 4-155 (Jayawardene), 5-190 (Mathews), 6-213 (Mendis), 7218 (Perera), 8-219 (Thirimanne).

Bowling: Zaheer 6-0-36-0 (w3), Pathan 6-0-27-0 (w1), Dinda 6-0-28-1 (w2), Kohli 2-0-7-0, Sehwag 8-1-38-1

(w1), Ashwin 10-0-46-2, Tiwary 10-1-61-4 (w6), Sharma 2-0-6-0.

India: G. Gambhir b Malinga 0 V. Sehwag c sub (S. Senanayake) b Mathews 34 V. Kohli not out 128 R. Sharma b Pradeep 4 M. Tiwary lbw b Mendis 21 S. Raina not out 58 Extras (lb2, nb2, w6) 10 Total (for four wickets; 42.2 overs) 255 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Gambhir), 2-52 (Sehwag), 3-60 (Sharma), 4-109 (Tiwary).

Bowling: Malinga 8-1-41-1 (w2), Perera 6-0-51-0 (w3), Mathews 6-1-18-1, Pradeep 8-0-52-1 (nb2, w1), Herath 7-0-44-0, Mendis 6-0-37-1, Dilshan 1.20-10-0.

Result: India win by six wickets

SA targeting knockout blow against England

Celtic desperate to reap CL rewards

GLASGOW: Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew says the demise of rivals Rangers means it is more important than ever that the club qualify for the Champions League group stages.

The Hoops player and his teammates are preparing for a crunch tie against HJK Helsinki in the third qualifying round at Parkhead today as they bid to make the money-spinning group stages of the competition for the first time since 2008.

Twice in recent years the Parkhead club have crashed out of the Champions League at the qualifying stage after coming unstuck against Arsenal and Braga while also losing out on a spot in the Europa League to Utrecht and Sion.

The Swiss outfit’s rule-breaking did hand them a Europa League reprieve last year but failure so early in Europe is costly to the club.

And Mulgrew knows that the price of failure against Finnish champions HJK would be even more severe this yearbecause there will be no Old Firm money to fall back on.

With Rangers banished from the SPL after the club was demoted to the third division when it couldn’t be saved from liquidation, entry into Europe’s elite tournament and the millions that go with it are vital as Celtic bid to make up for the loss in attendance money caused by the absence of their fiercest rivals. “ The season will look a whole lot brighter if we can get to the Champions League proper,” Scotland international Mulgrew admitted.

“We’ve realised we’re capable of playing at that level. “We got back into the Europa League last season after Sion were kicked

Sri Lanka made two changes from the side that lost the last match by five wickets, bringing in Thirimanne and Pradeep in place

LONDON: England’s Stuart Broad bowls to South Africa’s Hashim Amla in this file photo. —AP

LEEDS: South Africa will dethrone England as the top-ranked test side if they beat the hosts at Headingley in the second Test starting tomorrow when the tourists’ bowling coach Allan Donald says his side will try to land a knockout blow.

“There’s no way we are going to sit back and wait for things to happen,” Donald said. “We know what’s coming our way and we know England will throw everything at us. We take nothing for granted. We’ve won a test match but we haven’t won the series.”

Donald’s determination was echoed by wicketkeeper AB de Villiers.

“We know they are going to come out harder,” de Villiers said. “We sometimes put too much emphasis on it, it’s a matter of just going out and playing the same kind of cricket that we played in the first test match.” England spinner Graeme Swann acknowledged his side’s poor recent form.

“I can’t deny the fact that since we’ve been No. 1 we’ve got a dismal record,” he said. “Whether that goes hand in hand with being No. 1 I don’t really know, you need someone more qualified with the workings of the human mind.

“We’re not doing anything differently,” Swann added. “Perhaps that’s it, perhaps we’re not evolving quickly enough. Perhaps teams are hunting us down more, seeing us as a real threat now rather than maybe underestimating us before, I don’t know.”

The Proteas beat England by an innings and 12 runs in the first test at The Oval last week to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Given the epic

scale of the tourists’ win- South Africa’s ascension might look like a foregone conclusion.

Yet one of the most revealing moments in the match came when South Africa captain Graeme Smith spoke about his 131 at the end of day three, an innings that lasted 367 balls.

It might have looked easy to the casual observer, but Smith looked more like a man who had just finished an ironman triathlon than a cricketer, pointing out that Swann had continually spun the ball past his bat.

The word “attrition” was repeatedly used and Hashim Amla spoke in similar terms after his 311 not out on day four, describing his approach as “scrapping for a run”.

South Africa’s top order provided some of the most impressive batting seen in England in years, its quality only enhanced by the standard of the bowling attack Amla, Smith and Jacques Kallis - who made 182 not out had to face.

Donald said it was a performance “you may never see again” and while it might seem absurd to say that a team that spent 13 hours in the field and took just two wickets bowled well, it was the batting that caused England’s downfall.

The walls at The Oval are plastered with platitudes and above the entrance to the indoor training facilities is a quote from the Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky: “I miss 100 percent of the shots I don’t take.” This is perhaps the worst possible thing to put into the mind of a batsman trying to save a test match.—AP

18 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Little Pacquiao comes up big at Olympic boxing

LONDON: Little Pacquiao came up big for the Philippines in the Olympic boxing tournament. Light flyweight Mark Barriga easily handled Italy’s Manuel Cappai in the opening bout for the only Filipino boxer in London, earning a 17-7 victory yesterday.

Barriga’s one-sided win was an encouraging result for a strong boxing nation with little recent history of amateur success. The 19-year-old Barriga trained in Manny Pacquiao’s camp to prepare for the Olympics, earning the nickname “Little

Pacquiao” in the Filipino press. The 1.57 meter slugger’s potent punching power suggests he was taking notes from the beloved Filipino congressman. He repeatedly tagged Cappai with athletic shots while showing impressive movement. Although five of the nine Olympic medals ever won by the Philippines were achieved in boxing, most of the best young Filipino fighters these days jump straight to the pros including Pacquiao, who turned pro shortly after his 17th birthday.

Two Cuban boxers also advanced during the afternoon session at ExCel, and Indian light flyweight Devendro Singh Laishram

recorded the quickest stoppage of the tournament. U.S. Marine Sgt. Jamel Herring lost his opening light welterweight bout to Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Yeleussinov.

Laishram was far too much for Honduras’ Bayron Molina, delivering multiple unblocked head shots before the referee stepped in with 36 seconds left. Laishram’s victory was impressive in a sport that nearly always goes to decisions.

Four years after winning its first Olympic boxing medal, India sent seven men and longtime women’s star Mary Kom to London with cautiously optimistic hopes of another boxing breakthrough.

“He wasn’t a very good boxer, and I knew that,” Laishram said. “I had sized him up. The coming rounds are going to be more difficult.” Cuban light flyweight Yosbany Veitia trounced Australia’s Billy Ward 26-4 in the session’s opening bout, and Cuban light welterweight Roniel Iglesias was similarly impressive in a 20-9 win over Colombia’s Cesar Villarraga. Herring’s 19-9 loss dropped the 12-member American team to 4-2, but three US fighters will be in the ring today.

French light flyweight Jeremy Beccu bitterly protested the judging in his 18-17 loss to Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov. Beccu put on a strong performance that would have

won him the fight handily under professional scoring rules, but the amateur game is decided by punches landed in a complicated computerized scoring system.

“I knew I had to fight against the judges also, alas,” Beccu said. “It’s really unfair. I should have won. Nobody can convince me otherwise.”

Complaints about the judging have been down sharply so far in London after two weeks of seemingly nonstop whining in Beijing, although the sniping may rise again when the top-seeded fighters in each weight category begin hitting the ring today and beyond. — AP

US sweeps Germany in Olympic men’s prelims

LONDON: Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Andy Roddick of the United States at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. — AP

Djokovic drubs Roddick in 2nd round at Olympics

WIMBLEDON: Andy Roddick sprinted forward to scoop up a ball near the net, then backpedaled for another shot, leaping, stretching and swinging in one desperate motion.

He hit the ball into a camera bay. So it went yesterday for Roddick, outclassed

by Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Olympics at Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-1.

“I hit the ball fine,” Roddick said. “He was just too good from the baseline. He was seeing it like a basketball.” Djokovic also praised his performance. “It was a perfect match in every sense,” the Serb said. Even so, the drubbing was a dismal result for Roddick, whose declining fortunes in recent months have left him fending off questions about retirement.

Playing under the Centre Court roof, Djokovic closed out the victory with consecutive aces. Roddick then quickly left the court where he lost three Wimbledon finals, and was noncommittal about the possibility he won’t be back. “It’s not close to my mind right now,” said Roddick, 29. “That’s not something that I’m going to talk about.” Like Djokovic, Venus Williams charged into the third round. She won 15 of 16 points when she reached the net and beat Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-1, 6-3.

Back on her favorite stage - Centre Court Williams dominated with her aggressiveness, which is what makes her so dangerous on grass.

Of the points she has won through two rounds, nearly one-third have come when she moved forward. Williams is also serving well and ripping returns. She broke Wozniak six times in eight games. “Every day I’m just concentrating on trying to bring my best tennis out,” Williams said.

“And honestly, if there’s a time to do it, it’s now.”

Williams won her most recent tournament title 21/2 years ago, and she took a long layoff after

being diagnosed in 2011 with an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue. But at 32, she seems rejuvenated by the chance at a record fourth gold medal in Olympic tennis.

“Much improvement in the last few weeks,” US coach Mary Joe Fernandez said. “And this is where she feels at home. It’s great to be back on the grass.” Williams has won five of her seven major titles at the All England Club, most recently in 2008. Her opponent Wednesday will be No. 7 Angelique Kerber of Germany, who beat Timea Babos of Hungary 6-1, 6-1. Maria Sharapova hit 10 aces under the roof and beat Laura Robson of Britain, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Sharapova, seeded No. 3, will next play No. 15 Sabine Lisicki of Germany. British hopeful Andy Murray, seeded No. 3, advanced by beating Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-2, 6-4. Nieminen won cheers for his scrappy play, including a tumble into the first row in pursuit of a shot.

Also scrappy but more successful was threetime Olympian Lleyton Hewitt, the Wimbledon champion 10 years ago. He beat No. 13 Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 7-5.

Djokovic-Roddick stirred considerable anticipation as second-round matches go, and the crowd was near capacity when they took the court, with both players wearing red, white and blue. For the first time in the tournament, even the Royal Box was almost full.

Roddick started well enough, holding his first two service games, but from there the match quickly slipped away. His big serve was negated as a weapon against the game’s best returner, and in baseline rallies Roddick was no match for Djokovic, who deployed his extensive arsenal of slices, drop shots and rocket-like groundstrokes.

Djokovic won seven consecutive games during one stretch, and 12 of the final 13. He finished with 14 aces, lost only 10 points in eight service games and had just six unforced errors. —AP

LONDON: Clay Stanley scored 16 points as the US men’s volleyball team won its second straight match in preliminary pool play at the London Olympics with a three-set victory over Germany yesterday.

Matt Anderson added 15 points in the 25-23, 2516, 25-20 win for the defending Olympic champions. The Germans were led by Georg Grozer with 12.

The US held Germany at bay for most over the first set, but the Germans went ahead 22-21 when Donald Suxho’s return caromed out. The Americans quickly regained the lead and scored the final three points, capped by Matt Anderson’s kill.

Germany kept up in the second set until Reid Priddy’s ace put the US up 14-10. Anderson stretched the lead to 20-14 with another ace, clocked at more than 73 mph, and Priddy’s kill finished it. The US rode the momentum through the third set, taking the match on Grozer’s serve into the net.

The United States opened preliminary pool play with a three-set sweep of Serbia on Sunday. The men’s and the women’s volleyball teams play on alternating days at London’s Earls Court.

The US went undefeated at the Beijing Games and beat favorite Brazil in an emotionally charged final. That team was coached by Hugh McCutcheon, whose father-in-law was stabbed to death at a Chinese tourist site just before the opening ceremony.

McCutcheon took over the US women’s team following Beijing, and Alan Knipe took a leave of absence as coach of Long Beach State to lead the men.

The US is currently ranked No. 5 by volleyball’s governing body. The team is in a difficult pool in London, joining top-ranked Brazil, perennial powerhouse Russia, Serbia, Germany and Tunisia. In the other pool are Italy, Poland, Argentina, Bulgaria, Australia and host Britain.

The top four teams from each group in the preliminary round will advance to the quarterfinals, and the gold medal match in London is set for Aug. 12. The Americans are not considered among the favorites in London despite a silver-medal finish in the recent FIVB World League tournament and solid outings against Serbia and Germany. Top-ranked Brazil has struggled of late, and the team failed to make the semifinals in the recent FIVB World League for the first time since 1998. The Brazilians, who swept Tunisia in the Olympic tournament’s opening match, face No. 2 Russia in a late match yesterday at Earls Court.

Germany, ranked 13th in the world, hired coach Vital Heynen in February and didn’t qualify for an Olympic berth until one of the last-chance tournaments in June. The Germans finished ninth in Beijing.

Earlier in the day, Bulgaria surprised Poland 3-1.

Tsvetan Sokolov had 28 points, including four aces, in ninth-ranked Bulgaria’s 25-22, 29-27, 13-25, 2523 win to go up 2-0 in pool play. It was the first real upset on the men’s side.

Zbigniew Bartman had 21 points for No. 3 Poland, which dropped to 1-1 in the pool after

LONDON: United States’ Matthew Anderson (left) spikes the ball over Germany’s Gyorgy Grozer during a men’s preliminary volleyball match. — AP defeating Italy 3-1 in the opener.

Earls Court was filled with red-clad Team Poland fans and festooned with hundreds of Polish flags, many inscribed with the names of different cities.

The fans were quieted when Bulgaria took the first two sets. But Poland rebounded in a big way to dominate the third and deny Bulgaria the sweep.

Bulgaria held off Poland in the final set, winning the mach on Viktor Yosifov’s kill. “Today you have seen a different Bulgaria” Sokolov said.

The Polish players appeared frustrated throughout the match. Poland has been on the upswing since hiring accomplished Italian coach Andrea Anastasi early last year. Team Polska won the recent World League, beating top-ranked Brazil three times in the early round and again in the finals.

After the match yesterday Anastasi put his hands on his hips and shook his head. Poland, which won the Olympic gold medal in 1976, finished fifth in Beijing.

The Bulgarian team came to London in disarray.

After the team earned an Olympic berth at a qualification tournament in Sofia, the coach and a top player suddenly resigned to protest their country’s leadership of the sport.

Coach Radostin Stoychev and spiker Matey Kaziyski have called for the resignation of Bulgarian federation chief Dancho Lazarov.

“I am really proud that in this moment of chaos, with coaches coming and going, we’re showing our character. This is something which fits very well to the nature and spirit of Bulgarian people” team captain Vladimir Nikolov said.

Bulgaria was also involved in controversy in Beijing, when team captain Plamen Konstantinov suddenly went home for a drug test, spurring rumors about possible doping. He missed three matches. In other matches yesterday, Serbia defeated Tunisia 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 20-25, 25-18), and Italy downed Argentina 3-1 (25-17-21-25 25-17 25-21). — AP

Dane keeps lead in Finn class

CARDIFF: Japan’s Kyoko Yano (right) is tackled by South Africa’s Kylie Louw, during the women’s Group F soccer match at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. — AP

South Africa hold Japan

CARDIFF: World champion Japan drew 0-0 with South Africa yesterday in Olympic women’s football, a result its coach said he was playing for to avoid having to travel to Scotland for the quarterfinals of the competition. The result means Japan finished second in Group F and will play either hosts Britain or Brazil in Cardiff on Friday. If it had won the match, it would have faced the United States, the top-ranked team in the world, or France in Glasgow, also on Friday.

Japan’s coach, Norio Sasaki, said he made tactical substitutions in the second half and gave the players instructions to keep possession rather than trying to attack, based on how the other match in Group F was going. In that match, Canada drew 2-2 with Sweden, meaning Sweden topped the group. “It was a different way of playing compared to the usual game, but the players were on the same page as me,” Sasaki said

through a translator. He said introduced one striker, Yuki Ogimi, late in the match, so that “we could take one goal back” if South Africa - which lost its first two games - managed to score.

“I feel sorry we couldn’t show a respectable game, but it’s my responsibility, not the players, why the game was like that,” he said. “It was important for us not to move to Glasgow.”

Having already secured a quarterfinal spot, Sasaki began the match with just four regular starters. In the 18th minute, Japan captain Kouze Ando had a good chance, but sent a header wide.

The team appeared to show more bite after veteran attacking midfielder Nahomi Kawasumi was brought in the second half. Ando had another chance to score just past the hour mark but missed the target from close range. Minutes later, Asuna Tanaka headed over the bar from a decent position. Having beaten the United States last year in Germany to win the World Cup, Japan is now seeking to win its first Olympic medal in three consecutive attempts. —AP

WEYMOUTH: Ben Ainslie is going to have to quickly figure out a way to finish ahead of Denmark’s Jonas HoeghChristensen if he’s going to win the Finn class gold medal and become the most successful Olympic sailor ever. So far, all Ainslie has seen of the Dane is the stern of his boat.

Hoegh-Christensen continued his amazing run at the London Olympics, finishing first and second in yesterday’s two races on the cold, gloomy English Channel for a 10-point lead over Ainslie after six races. Ainslie had finishes of 4-3 in the 24boat fleet. Hoegh-Christensen is sailing so well that he was able to post the second-place finish despite a bad start. He thought he was over the line early and began turning back, but then noticed there was no individual recall flag flying on the committee boat, so he turned back onto the course. By then, he was in last place.

In the day’s first race, he had a great start and led at every turning mark to win by 23 seconds over Zach Railey of the United States, the 2008 silver medalist who had his best finish. It was the third time in the first five races the Dane won wire-to-wire. Ainslie is trying to win his fourth straight gold medal and fifth games medal overall. If he wins gold, he’ll supplant HoeghChristensen’s countryman, Paul Elvstrom, as the greatest sailor in Olympic history. Elvstrom won four straight gold medals from 1948-60.

But Ainslie has yet to finish ahead of HoeghChristensen, who quit sailing for three years after failing to medal in Beijing. He’s on a leave of absence from his job with concert promoter Live Nation. Railey finished eighth in the second race and is 12th overall. After 10 races, the top 10

LONDON: Ben Ainslie of Great Britain sails on Finn Men’s dinghy class during the race 3 at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP sailors advance to the medals race. Ireland’s Annalise Murphy continued her surreal run in the Laser Radial, winning her fourth straight race.

In the 49er skiff, Australian favorites Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen finished 2-4 to jump into the lead. They managed the fourth-place finish despite capsizing. Outteridge, who missed out on a podium finish in Beijing when he capsized in the medals race, is skipper of Team Korea in the America’s Cup World Series.

In the venerable Star class, defending gold medalists Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson of

Britain finished 1-2 to hold a four-point lead over Brazilian rivals Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada after six of 10 races. Scheidt and Prada went 2-1 on Tuesday to jump from fourth to second overall.

The Brazilians beat the British by eight seconds in Race 6. On Sunday, the Brazilians prevailed in a photo finish against Percy and Simpson. Four years ago, Percy and Simpson beat Scheidt and Bruno for the gold medal.

In the Laser, Australian Tom Slingsby of America’s Cup champion Oracle Racing went 2-6 to remain in the lead. — AP

19 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Croatia gets disputed victory over Spain

LONDON: Croatia earned a disputed men’s water polo win yesterday after officials did not allow what would have been a Spanish equalizer on a last-gasp shot, while Montenegro dealt defending champion Hungary its second consecutive loss of the London Games. With his back to the goal, Spain’s Ivan Perez Vargas whipped off a shot just before the horn that appeared to cross the line and level the game at 8-8. The line judge called it a goal,

Vargas said. “I feel frustrated because it’s a decision that is a big prejudice against us, and it’s not fair. It’s really sad to know that in the 21st century they’re not using the technology to check this.”

Spain coach Rafael Aguilar Morillo ran around the pool to appeal to Margeta, pointing at the jumbo screen in the venue that was showing replays of the shot. As he pleaded for the referee to change his decision, the crowd of some 5,000 at the water polo venue chanted “goal, goal” and “Espana, Espana.”

LONDON: Vladimir Gojkovic, bottom, of Montenegro swims as Denes Varga of Hungary defends during a preliminary men’s water polo match at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP but match referee Boris Margeta of Slovenia overruled him, giving Croatia the 8-7 victory.

Spain has appealed the decision to the FINA technical committee. “I was close by and I saw that it was a goal. I even celebrated it, and I could see on the TV that it was a goal,” Perez

“He should have consulted the line judge, who actually said that it was a goal,” Aguilar Morillo said. “But he didn’t. In the Olympic Games, the judges are only there to see that line, and in this case the line judge wasn’t even consulted.”

If the win stands, Croatia will have four points from two matches, and sit atop Group A, with Spain two points behind. Italy, the 2011 world champions, moved into second place in the group with three points after earning a 7-7 draw against Greece. Australia, meanwhile, is even with Spain following its victory against winless Kazakhstan. In Group B, Montenegro goalkeeper Milos Scepanovic denied Denes Varga’s closerange shot as the buzzer sounded to preserve the team’s win over Hungary in a tight, physical contest between two medal contenders.

The Hungarians also dropped their opening match to gold medal-favorite Serbia, which was the country’s first loss in men’s water polo since the 2000 Sydney Games - a streak of 17 matches.

For Montenegro, which holds legitimate medal hopes in London, Tuesday’s win provided a boost following the team’s 8-7 loss to the United States in their Olympic opener.

“It was a really bad day against the Americans, and today we showed that we’re a true team and that’s the most important thing, that we won against Hungary, a very good team,” said Montenegro’s Drasko Brugljan. “It’s very important to win our first game, and this performance is the recipe for our next matches.”

With the victory, Montenegro earned two points in a tight Group B. Later Tuesday, Serbia plays Britain, and the United States takes on Romania in the group’s other two matches.

Hungary, meanwhile, has no points from its opening two games, and sits at the bottom of the group. Still, Tamas Kasas, who is appearing in his fifth Olympics, took heart from the team’s performance against Montenegro.

“We lost again, but the difference was enormous between the first game and the second game,” the Hungary veteran defender said. “In the first one, our heart we left in the hotel, in the village, and this time we were all there and we played like a really good team. We made many mistakes but I see many positive things today in this loss. So I think we are on the right road.”

The 12-team field in London is broken down into two groups of six for the preliminary stage, and the top four teams from each group advance to the knockout round.—AP

Campbell, lightweight four offer Brits new gold hope

WINDSOR: Before the Olympic regatta began, British Rowing’s long list of gold-medal contenders likely wouldn’t have included single sculler Alan Campbell and its lightweight men’s four crew.

However, after their strong performances in overcast, rainy conditions at Dorney Lake yesterday, those pre-competition forecasts may need to be revisited.

Campbell upstaged a number of world and Olympic champions, including New Zealand great Mahe Drysdale and favorite Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic, to qualify fastest from the quarterfinals of the highly competitive single sculls. “I feel in very good form, but I’ve got to keep a lid on it,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to get too overexcited or anything else and when it comes to the final, the gloves are off and we’ll go out fighting.” The host nation then posted the quickest semifinals time in the lightweight four, winning the first heat ahead of Switzerland and seeing Olympic champion Denmark cross the line four seconds slower in winning the second heat.

“It would have been nice to race the Danes and gauge how they’re going. We will only race them once here, but we only need to beat them once,” Chris Bartley of the British four said.

The displays continued Britain’s dominance of the regatta. When four days of finals start on Wednesday, the Olympic hosts are favored to win three women’s events and have decent gold-medal hopes in the heavyweight four and the lightweight double sculls among the men’s squad. There are 14 disciplines in total.

A gloomy day in Windsor, west of London, began with another slow row by Niger sculler Hamadou Djibo Issaka, who had spectators in the packed grandstands on their feet as they urged him on to a finishing time of 9 minutes, 7.99 seconds in a lower qualification single sculls race. That was more than two minutes slower than some of the quarterfinal times.

And it ended with disappointment for the defending champions in the men’s double sculls, as David Crawshay and Scott Brennan of Australia failed to reach the final after finishing

LONDON: 9 of 15 medal events yesterday.

Nation G China 10 United States 7 France 4 South Korea 3 North Korea 3 Kazakhstan 3 Italy 2 Germany 2 Russia 2 Japan 1 Australia 1 Romania 1 Brazil 1 Hungary 1 Netherlands 1 Ukraine 1 Georgia 1 Lithuania 1 Slovenia 1 South Africa 1

S 6 7 1 2 0 0 4 3 2 4 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

B 3 5 4 2 1 0 2 1 4 7 1 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0

Tot 19 19 9 7 4 3 8 6 8 12 4 4 3 3 2 3 1 1 1 1

Britain Colombia Mexico Cuba Denmark Poland Sweden Taiwan Thailand Canada Slovakia Azerbaijan Belgium India Indonesia Moldova Mongolia New Zealand Norway Qatar Serbia Uzbekistan

DIVING Men Synchronized 10m Platform GOLD-China (Cao Yuan, Zhang Yanquan).

SILVER - Mexico (Ivan Garcia Navarro, German Sanchez Sanchez).

BRONZE - United States (David Boudia, Nicholas Mccrory).

GYMNASTICS Men Team GOLD - China (Chen Yibing; Feng Zhe; Guo Weiyang; Zhang Chenglong; Zou Kai).

SILVER - Japan (Ryohei Kato; Kazuhito Tanaka; Yusuke Tanaka; Kohei Uchimura; Koji Yamamuro).

BRONZE - Britain (Sam Oldham; Daniel Purvis; Louis Smith; Kristian Thomas; Max Whitlock).

JUDO Men 73Kg GOLD - Mansur Isaev, Russia.

SILVER - Riki Nakaya, Japan.

BRONZE - Nyam-Ochir Sainjargal, Mongolia.

BRONZE - Ugo Legrand, France.

fifth in their six-boat first semi. Argentines Ariel Suarez and Cristian Rosso won the heat, with double world champion New Zealand and Italy also progressing.

Slovenia, the silver-medalist from the 2004 Olympics in Athens, held on to win the second semifinal from Lithuania. Britain also went through. In the women’s single sculls, Kim Crow of Australia proved she has the energy to compete in two disciplines at the London Games by qualifying quickest in the quarterfinals - a day after reaching the final of the double sculls.

Crow is the only competitor doubling up on Dorney Lake but she looked like she had plenty in reserve in posting 7:34.29 in the first quarter, more than a second quicker than nearest rival Miroslava Knapkova of the Czech Republic, the world champion who won the next race.

“In some ways it’s the halfway point because I’ve done three races, but in other ways it’s just the beginning because the really tough races

are still to come,” Crow said.

Six-time world champion Ekaterina Karsten a 40-year-old Belarusian looking to medal at a sixth straight Olympic Games - qualified for the semifinals but finished behind Fie Udby Erichsen of Denmark in the final quarterfinal.

Campbell’s time of 6:52.10 in the first single sculls quarterfinal was more than a second quicker than 2010 world champion Synek’s, and nearly three seconds faster than Drysdale, the five-time world champion who is bidding to complete his illustrious resume with an Olympic gold.

“I did what I needed to,” Drysdale said.

“Today was not the best row ever (but) the quarterfinals are a tricky stage. You don’t want to do too much, the semi is tomorrow.”

Reigning two-time champion Olaf Tufte of Norway squeezed into the semis by placing third in the last quarterfinal, just 0.59 seconds ahead of fast-finishing Dane Henrik Stephansen.—AP

2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

4 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Monday’s Olympic Medalists

FENCING Women Individual Epee GOLD - Yana Shemyakina, Ukraine.

SILVER - Britta Heidemann, Germany.

BRONZE - Sun Yujie, China.

LONDON: Great Britain’s Alan Campbell gestures to fans in the stands after winning a men’s rowing single sculls quarterfinal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Women 57Kg GOLD - Kaori Matsumoto, Japan.

SILVER - Corina Caprioriu, Romania.

BRONZE - Marti Malloy, United States.

BRONZE - Automne Pavia, France.

SHOOTING Men10m Air Rifle GOLD - Alin George Moldoveanu, Romania.

SILVER - Niccolo Campriani, Italy.

BRONZE - Gagan Narang, India.

SWIMMING Men 200 Freestyle GOLD - Yannick Agnel, France.

SILVER - Park Taehwan, South Korea.

SILVER - Sun Yang, China.

100 Backstroke GOLD - Matthew Grevers, United States.

SILVER - Nick Thoman, United States.

BRONZE - Ryosuke Irie, Japan.

Women100 Breaststroke GOLD - Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania.

SILVER - Rebecca Soni, United States.

BRONZE - Satomi Suzuki, Japan.

100 Backstroke GOLD_ - Missy Franklin, United States.

SILVER - Emily Seebohm, Australia.

BRONZE - Aya Terakawa, Japan.

WEIGHTLIFTING Men 62Kg GOLD - Un Guk Kim, North Korea.

SILVER - Oscar Albeiro Figueroa Mosquera, Colombia.

BRONZE - Irawan Eko Yuli, Indonesia.

Women 58Kg GOLD -Li Xueying, China.

SILVER - Pimsiri Sirikaew, Thailand.

BRONZE - Yuliya Kalina, Ukraine.

Kim gains Olympic revenge LONDON: South Korean Kim Jae-Bum gained revenge for his defeat four years ago by claiming gold in the Olympic judo men’s under81kg category yesterday.

In so doing he reversed his loss to Germany’s Ole Bischof in the Beijing final to complete his set of gold medals following two world championships and six Asian titles.

Sixth seed Ivan Nifontov of Russia claimed a bronze medal with a dominant victory over Japan’s fifth seed Takahiro Nakai. And 22year-old Canadian Antoine Valois-Fortier claimed the second bronze, beating

American Travis Stevens by a yuko.

Kim was emotional at the end, having finally landed the medal his recent domination of the division has more than warranted.

His silver in Beijing was followed by a bronze at the World Championships in Rotterdam in 2009 and then the next two world titles in Tokyo and Paris.

Yet he came into the Games as the world number two behind Brazil’s Leandro Guilheiro, the man he beat in the Paris final last August. In the final he was simply too fast and dynamic for Bischof, scoring two minimum yuko points with dropping shoulder throws (seoi-nage).—AFP

Maneza wins women’s 63kg gold

LONDON: Maiya Maneza of Kazakhstan competes during the women’s 63-kg weightlifting competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics.—AP

LONDON: Maiya Maneza secured Kazakhstan’s second gold medal of the London Olympics after patiently biding her time before producing a massive clean and jerk to win the women’s under 63kg class yesterday.

Maneza, the reigning Asiad champion, recorded a combined total of 245kg, a new Olympic record, in front of a raucous sell-out crowd at the ExCel Arena.

It did not quite match the performance of teammate Zulfiya Chinshanlo, who set a world record in the clean and jerk as she powered to gold in the women’s 53kg class on Sunday, but was ample reward for the central Asian country’s rise to prominence in women’s weightlifting, so often dominated by China. Maneza-who was born

in Kyrgyzstan and spent her formative years in China before moving to Kazakhstan in 2007 and acquiring Kazakh citizenship-snatched 110kg to go into the clean and jerk in second spot 2kg behind world champion Svetlana Tsarukaeva of Russia.

“I moved to China when I was little and spent 10 years there,” Maneza said in Russian after the event, refusing to speak Mandarin. “But I did not train in China.”

Any thoughts of the clean and jerk deciding the eventual winner were put to bed early after Tsarukaeva paid badly for two botched efforts.

The Russian bailed out with a disappointing best of just 125kg for a total of 237kg. “Second place is definitely not first place,” Tsarukaeva said.

“But I suffered an injury to my meniscus (knee) that prevented from me going 100 percent all out.

“Just two days I couldn’t walk and had to take painkillers to compete today,” she added.

Maneza, 26, was home and dry if she nailed her first clean and jerk and the Kazakh did not disappoint, sending a large number of fans wild after she easily hoisted an Olympic record-equalling 135kg at the first time of asking.

Ever the showwoman, Maneza immediately upped the weight to 144kg, but failed to raise the barbell. “I probably could take 144kg, 135kg was a weak result,” Maneza said, adding she took Kazakh nationality because she wanted “to be part of the country”.

Canada’s Christine Girard went one better than her fourth place in the Beijing Olympics to claim bronze with a total of 236kg (103, 133). “After Beijing, it made me believe that Canadian women could get a medal,” she said.—AFP

Dane keeps lead in Finn class

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

18 LONDON: China’s Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao compete in the women’s synchronized 10m platform final. (Inset) Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao pose with their gold medals. — AFP

China makes it 3-for-3 in diving LONDON: While Chen Ruolin chatted with the media after yet another Chinese gold medal in diving, Wang Hao held a recorder next to her partner’s cheek. Yep, they’re the perfect team - in and out of the water.

With stunning precision and dazzling athleticism, Chen and Wang led China to its third diving gold of the London Olympics, this one off the big tower in women’s 10-meter synchronized diving yesterday.

The 19-year-olds - they were born just two weeks apart - found themselves tied for second after the first round behind the British team, giving the home crowd a brief thrill. But this one was never in doubt. No one could keep up with the Chinese.

Chen and Wang earned at least 8.5 from the judges on each of their five dives, and even picked up a perfect 10 in the final round for synchroniza-

tion on a back 21/2 somersault with 11/2 twists.

They hurled themselves off the 33-foot-tall tower and sliced through the water side by side, leaving barely a ripple as they disappeared beneath the surface. China won going away with 368.40 points, making the country three-for-three at the London Olympics - nearly halfway to its goal of sweeping the eight diving events.

“They can make mistakes,” said Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito, who teamed with Roseline Filion to take the bronze. “We try to say we can win the gold. But they’re amazing divers.”

The only mistake came when the Chinese marks for the final round were posted. The announcer initially said “5.5, 6.0” - then stopped as the crowd gasped. She corrected herself and gave out the expected glittering numbers that secured the gold.

That was about the only stumble involving the winners. “I felt nervous when I saw others competing,” Chen said through an interpreter, “but when I was on the platform, I didn’t feel that nervous. I

think I was very calm. I just performed as I trained.”

Which leaves everyone else performing for silver.

Chen defended her Olympic title in platform synchro by following up the win she had at the Beijing Games with a different partner. She is also the defending Olympic champion and heavy favorite in the individual platform event.

The Chinese bowed and smiled when they saw their scores, but they clearly knew this one was in the bag. The bigger celebrations broke out in the Mexican and Canadian camps when they realized their teams had earned spots on the medal podium.

“I expected the gold medal,” Wang said. “That’s why I was so calm during the medal ceremony.”

She’s teamed with Chen for two years - not a bad way to make your Olympic debut.

“I just told her, ‘Don’t be too nervous,’” Chen said.

“But I think having moderate amounts of stress has its advantages.”

Mexico’s Paola Espinosa and 15-year-old

Alejandra Orozco took the silver with 343.32, sticking with their country’s strategy of using dives with a higher degree of difficulty. It paid off a day earlier in synchro platform for the men, who also won silver behind the Chinese.

“This was a great competition for us,” Espinosa said. “We’re very happy with the results. Our expectation for the day was to be among the medalists, and we made it.”

Filion and Benfeito finished with 337.62, improving on their seventh-place finish in Beijing and giving the Canadians their second diving bronze of these games. The country also finished third in women’s springboard synchro.

“We gave it all we had and we came away with a bronze medal,” Benfeito said. “We’re pretty happy with that.” Filion said the duo felt good about its chances after an “amazing” morning practice. They were calm and confident they could pull out a medal, if not necessarily a gold.

“We were ready,” Filion said. “We talked to each

Dominant US surge to women’s team gold

Attiya of Qatar earns bronze in shooting LONDON: Nasser AlAttiya is going to have to start thinking up some new goals. The two he had have been scratched off the list.

Winning the Dakar Rally, the world’s toughest motor race?

Did that last year. Winning an Olympic medal? Did that yesterday.

It took five Olympics and three finals but al-Attiya finally achieved his greatest ambition in sports when he won the bronze in the skeet at the Royal Artillery Barracks. Knowing all about his humble character and undying passion, it seemed like every shooter, coach, referee and even venue staff wanted to hug the 41-year-old from Qatar.

“This is a really fantastic day for me,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this medal for a long time, 20 years. I have everything in my home except an Olympic medal. It means so much.”

Of course, ending the wait wasn’t easy. After two days of qualifying he made the six-man final in fourth place, two behind Vincent Hancock, the American who broke his own Olympic qualifying record. There was no catching Hancock, who didn’t miss in the final and extended his own total Olympic record.

Anders Golding of Denmark missed only once and claimed the silver.

But Al-Attiya and Valeriy Shomin, the 2010 world champion from Russia competing on his 41st birthday, were still tied

after the final, having missed six clay targets out of 150.

Al-Attiya, whose first Olympics were in Atlanta, reached the finals in Sydney and Athens, where he lost a bronzemedal shootoff to Juan Miguel Rodriguez of Cuba 10-9, a painful result he has finally banished. This time, they didn’t go that long. Shomin missed first, on his sixth shot.

“I remembered Athens, so I said, ‘OK, I’ll do my best to finish third.’ I believed in myself. For the last 10 days I worked very, very hard and I felt good on this range.

When I reached the final, I said to myself, ‘This is a great day for me.’”

And a great day for Qatar, which has only competed at the Olympics since 1984. Al-Attiya won the country’s third ever medal. The others were bronze, too, for 1,500-meter runner Mohammed Suleiman in 1992, and weightlifter Said Saif Asaad in 2000.

“Qatar, she has given me everything,” Al-Attiya said. “It’s important to me to return something to Qatar.” Qatar’s greatest sportsman has been doing that for years. He made his World Rally Championship debut in 2004, and won his first stage in his second race. He was the 2006 production car world rally champion in 2006, and last December won his seventh Middle East Rally title.

But the highlight of his driving career was winning the Dakar in 2011, as the first Arab champion. The year before he lost by two minutes in the closest Dakar

ever.

He returned last January with a new team and car and won two stages, but persistent engine troubles, and a call from home to enter the Asian shooting championships in Doha, made him retire from the rally in Chile while he was far off the pace. If he had been leading, he said, he would have stayed.

A week later, feeling no pressure because of the lack of expectations, he won the Asian title and became only the fourth skeet shooter to score a perfect 150. That earned him an Olympic spot.

How has he managed to be good at both driving and shooting? “Very hard work,” he said. “It’s like school. If you don’t have good exams you will fail. It’s not easy. I’ve spent 20 years in both sports at a very high level, but if you were to ask me about some place in Qatar, I wouldn’t know because I’ve spent most of my time outside the country.”

He estimated he spends six-seven months away from his wife and child. He broke his rally contract to concentrate on shooting this year. He’s competed in only five of the seven WRC races, and was 10th in the standings.

“When I’m at home I normally shoot 500 cartridges a day, so I train five or six hours every day,” he said. “I go to rallies to relax.” This won’t be his last Olympics, he said, which must mean he has a new goal. “I don’t know, but always I do my best,” he said. “And the first thing is to enjoy it.”—AP

other and said, ‘There’s nothing more we could have done, either here or at home. We’re prepared.

We did everything we could.’”

The United States, which won medals in the first two synchronized events, failed to qualify a team in women’s 10-meter synchro. This is the only diving event the Americans will miss at the London Games. They hope to resume their medal-winning ways with Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen competing in men’s 3-meter springboard synchro on Wednesday.

The US - and everyone else, for that matter - will have to come up with a huge effort to snatch away a diving gold from China.

The powerhouse nation is trying to become the first to sweep the events since the program was doubled from four to eight at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The Chinese nearly pulled it off in Beijing, winning seven golds before Australia’s Matthew Mitcham scored an upset in men’s 10-meter platform on the final night.—AP

LONDON: Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiya celebrates winning the bronze medal in men’s skeet, during the victory ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics. —AP

LONDON: The United States won the Olympic women’s team gymnastics final yesterday to claim their first gold medal in the event since the ‘Magnificent Seven’ triumphed at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Russia, runners-up to the US at last year’s World Championships, finished second, with European champions Romania pipping 2008 Olympic champions China to the bronze medal.

The United States had dominated in qualifying on Sunday but unlike their male counterparts, who finished a disappointing fifth in Monday’s men’s final, they reproduced the same high performance level when it mattered. “We didn’t really pay too much attention to the score,” said US team member Jordyn Wieber, the reigning world champion.

“We just knew we had a really important job to do and that we just had to do what we’d been practising. After the floor, we were just really happy that we’d performed so well.”

Victory was particularly sweet for Wieber, who lost out on a place in the individual all-around final to team-mate Alexandra Raisman but played a key role in Tuesday’s triumph.

The Americans’ winning score of 183.596 points was even more handsome than their qualifying tally and gave them a comfortable advantage of 5.066 points over the Russians, some of whom were reduced to tears.

“At the beginning they were tears of disappointment, but the second tears were tears of joy (at winning the silver medal),” explained Russia’s Aliya Mustafina, the 2010 world champion.

Great Britain were unable to repeat the success the bronze medal-winning men’s team enjoyed on Monday and finished in sixth place behind Canada, with Italy seventh and Japan last. The US team had set the tone in both podium training and qualifying with assured performances on the vault, and once again they asserted their authority with three superb Amanar vaults in the first rotation. Two days on from her individual qualifying heartache, Wieber led the way with a vault that earned her a score of 15.933, before Gabrielle Douglas (15.966) and McKayla Maroney (16.233) followed suit to give the US an ideal start.—AFP

India keeps rates on hold, outlook bleak Page 23

US consumer spending flat, income up 0.5% Page 24

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Unemployment on the rise in Germany

Saudis, Venezuela gain from Iranian oil woes Page 22

Page 25

FRANKFURT: A sunflower placed by Occupy protesters stands in a pot in front of the headquarter of the European Central Bank as a bee flies by in Frankfurt yesterday. —AP

Monti sees light in euro tunnel Hollande says Italy, Spain need reward for efforts ROME/FRANKFURT: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said yesterday that Europe was starting to see light at the end of the tunnel of the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis, belying a welter of deteriorating economic data. As eurozone unemployment hit a euro-era high and Spanish data showed capital fleeing its banks and retail sales falling again, Monti’s optimism was at odds with sentiment in markets, which are losing hope of swift intervention by the European Central Bank to address the region’s problems.

Monti has campaigned for concerted action by the euro zone’s rescue funds and the ECB to bring down ruinous borrowing costs that threaten to force Spain and Italy, the currency bloc’s third and fourth largest economies, out of credit markets. “It is a tunnel but ... some light is appearing at the end of the tunnel. We and the rest of Europe are approaching the end of the tunnel,” the Italian leader told RAI public radio before flying to Paris to meet French President Francois Hollande. Monti said decisions taken at last month’s EU summit were starting to bear fruit. “We are now seeing the results both in the willingness of European institutions as well as from the governments of individual countries, including Germany,” he said.

ECB President Mario Draghi said last week the central bank would do whatever it takes within its mandate to preserve the euro, raising investors’ expectations of a resumption of a long-sus-

pended government bond-buying program. However, there has been no public sign that Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy and main paymaster, sees the need for urgent action. “Today will probably be a quiet last day of the month. Everybody is waiting for Thursday to see if Draghi can deliver,” said Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager at Hampstead Capital, which manages $500 million of assets. “He’d better pull a big rabbit out of his hat.”

But central bank sources cautioned against expecting dramatic action at the monthly meeting of the ECB’s policysetting Governing Council, saying bold moves could be at least five weeks away because other elements must first fall into place. They said Spain would first have to formally request a euro zone assistance program, which it has so far resisted doing, and euro zone governments would have to agree to use their rescue funds to buy bonds in tandem with the ECB. Monti, who will also visit Finland and Spain, said he hoped his meeting with Hollande would accelerate moves to strengthen the euro and spur growth.

He also said he was confident Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy would be able to tackle the country’s problems.

The scale of Rajoy’s challenge was highlighted on Tuesday when figures showed that capital flight from Spain accelerated in May, the month when Madrid was forced to nationalise the fourth biggest lender, Bankia, and

before euro zone countries agreed to help bail out Spanish banks.

Net outflows, excluding central bank operations, rose to euro 41.3 billion in May from euro26.6 billion in April, the Bank of Spain said. Capital outflows in the first five months of this year totalled euro163.2 billion - equivalent to about 16 percent of economic output. The same period last year saw a net inflow of euro14.6 billion. Spanish retail sales fell by 5.2 percent year-on-year on a calendar-adjusted basis in June, separate data showed, marking a 24th straight month of declines. Spain also holds the region’s highest unemployment rate in the bloc at 24.8 percent. Eurostat, the EU statistics office, said another 123,000 people were out of work in the euro zone in June, putting the overall unemployment rate at 11.2 percent of the working population, a new euro-era high. Near-bankrupt Greece meanwhile reported that it is fast running out of cash as it awaits the next instalment of aid from international lenders. Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said that in the absence of 3.2 billion euros needed to repay an ECB bond on Aug. 20, Athens would lack the money to pay everyday public expenses ranging from police and other public service wages to pensions and welfare benefits.

“Cash reserves are almost zero,” he told state NET television. “it is risk to say until when (they will last) ... but we are certainly on the brink.”

Speaking to reporters in London on

Monday evening, Hollande voiced support for Monti’s campaign to persuade euro zone leaders and institutions to act to reduce Italian and Spanish borrowing costs. “European solidarity is of course about laying down discipline, but it’s also about allowing countries that made hard choices to be rewarded with lower interest rates,” Hollande said during a visit to the Olympic Games. “That’s what Mr Monti will repeat to me, and I will give him my support.”

The French leader said courageous leaders such as Monti could only retain public confidence if they were able to show that sacrifices were rewarded by the markets. “If countries undertake austerity measures and still have very high interest rates, how can they win the trust of their people?” he said. Monti spoke by telephone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is holidaying in northern Italy, during the weekend. Berlin agreed in principle at an EU summit in June that the euro zone rescue funds could buy bonds of countries that risk losing access to capital markets, but was angered when Monti said such support would not entail any stricter economic conditions or international monitoring.

There has also been renewed pressure from France, Italy and some central bankers to give the euro zone’s future permanent rescue fund a banking licence so it can borrow money from the central bank to fight bond market contagion. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said

PARIS: France’s President Francois Hollande (left) welcomes Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti before a working lunch at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris yesterday. — AFP supporters of the idea were gaining ground in the euro zone, but central bank sources told Reuters a legal opinion commissioned by the ECB had concluded such a move would breach an EU treaty ban on monetary financing of governments. Germany and its central bank, the Bundesbank, have rejected the idea. But a euro zone official told Reuters last week that Berlin may be softening its opposition.

Safe-haven German government bonds rallied yesterday and a fall in Italian and Spanish yields halted as scepticism over the prospect of bold

Ahmadinejad slams ‘ridiculous’ sanctions Iran central bank starts sanctions cell

TEHRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday slammed Western sanctions on Iran’s oil sector as a “ridiculous” move that seeks to deprive the world of energy resources at a time when demand is swelling. “It’s very funny. They (the West) use oil as a political weapon against a country that is an oil producer itself,” Ahmadinejad said at the inauguration of a new fuel-making unit at a Tehran oil refinery. “This is among the most ridiculous behaviors.”

Iran’s leaders have repeatedly insisted the country can withstand the international sanctions imposed in efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. But the rash of defensive comments by Ahmadinejad and others including warnings against local media reports on the sanctions fallout - suggest deepening worries about a sustained drop in vital oil revenue. The European Union - which once

accounted for around 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports - stopped all contracts with Tehran on July 1. Meanwhile, the US is pressuring Iran’s key Asian oil customers such as India and South Korea to look to the Gulf and other suppliers.

“The ones that need oil use what they need as a tool to pressure (others),” Ahmadinejad said, calling it “political warfare”. Iran relies on oil for some 80 percent of its foreign revenue.

“It takes a lot of insolence to be like that,” he added in the speech broadcast on state TV. Ahmadinejad also urged for foreign investment in Iran’s oil and petrochemical industries, but many companies remain wary of running afoul with Washington over sanctions.

Ahmadinejad’s remarks came after Congress pressed ahead late Monday with a new package of sanctions on Iran, expanding

financial penalties and targeting Tehran’s energy and shipping sectors in the hope that economic pressure will undercuts the country’s suspected nuclear weapons program. Iran denies it seeks atomic weapons. Also Monday, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged that increasingly stiff international sanctions have yet to compel Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. But he argued that more pressure eventually would lead Iran to “do what’s right”.

Meanwhile, Iran’s central bank has established a special cell to fight back against Western economic sanctions that the institution’s chief described as “no less than military war”, the official IRNA news agency reported yesterday. “We have established a headquarters in the central bank, which meets on a daily basis” and whose task is “to manage the sanc-

tions”, central bank chief Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted as saying. “In times of sanctions, we need to carry out asymmetrical economic warfare, which we have begun ... or else we would face difficulties and obstacles,” he said.

He did not provide any details on the cell or its strategies. Bahmani added that “all of our banks and the Central Bank are currently under sanctions, but we are doing our work”.

In Tehran, Iran’s oil minister said there is no need for an additional OPEC meeting to discuss oil prices. A report by the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Rostam Ghasemi as saying the current price does not merit an extraordinary meeting of the oil-exporting cartel. Ghasemi said oil prices $100 per barrel seem “fair.” Benchmark crude was below $89 a barrel yesterday in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.— Agencies

ECB action set in. Investors remain concerned about Spain’s ability to fund itself because of a prolonged recession, the cost of cleaning up its banks and worries over the finances of its autonomous regions. In Italy’s case, market support for Monti’s economic reforms and fiscal discipline is tempered by political uncertainty over the way forward after a general election next year, when his technocratic government’s term expires. Some investors see the risk of a comeback by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as a tunnel at the end of the light. — Reuters

NBK gets nod for Boubyan stake buy KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said yesterday it had agreed to pay KD 121.65 million ($431.2 million) for an 11.05 percent stake in Boubyan Bank, a purchase which takes its ownership to 58.34 percent. The bank, Kuwait’s largest by market value, has now received regulatory approval from the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority for the purchase, it said in a bourse filing. NBK opted for the smaller stake after failing to secure enough backing for a full takeover of the Kuwait-based Islamic lender during a tender offer for shares which expired on July 22. —Reuters

22

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

BUSINESS

Bank Nizwa to attract Omani funds held abroad CAIRO: Oman’s Bank Nizwa, the sultanate’s first Islamic bank, plans to attract some of the funds held abroad at other Gulf Islamic banks in order to grow during its first year of operations, its chief executive said. “The amount of Omani money deposited in Islamic banks in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, is about 3.5 to 5 billion rials ($9.1 billion to $12.9 billion),” Jamil Al Jaroudi told Reuters in a telephone interview this week. “Bank Nizwa aims to attract a share of these funds,” he said, but declined to predict the market share

that it could capture. “Currently there is no precedent in Oman”.

The money has been held in Islamic banks across the region partly because of the country’s refusal to develop an Islamic finance industry, while other Gulf states have ramped up their efforts in the sector during recent years. The Omani central bank reversed that stance last year, granting licences to Bank Nizwa and Al Izz International Bank to offer sharia-compliant banking services, which follow religious guidelines such as a ban on interest and gambling. Legislation

covering takaful (Islamic insurance) and sukuk (Islamic fixed income securities) in Oman is expected to be finalised by the end of the third quarter of this year, officials told Reuters.

Jaroudi expects Bank Nizwa to open its doors by the end of the third quarter of 2012, focusing on the retail sector as well as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. The lender raised 60 million rials ($155.8 million) in an initial public offer of 40 percent of its shares. The bank plans initially to build its presence at home, opening three branches at first with a further

five planned for the first year of operations. There are no plans to expand overseas, Jaroudi said. “In the beginning we want to walk before we run.”

Bank Nizwa faces a market where banking services have low take-up compared with the rest of the Gulf; Jaroudi said the penetration of banking services in Oman was roughly half the level seen in the Arab world as a whole. He attributed this partly to reservations that Omanis had in dealing with conventional banks. The bank’s attention is now focused on product development, after the bank

elected its board and approved its articles of association at a meeting on Saturday, he said.

Those products will be plain-vanilla in nature, Jaroudi said, declining to give details. Priority will be given to tradable instruments that can help the bank manage its own short-term liquidity needs, he added. In order to do this properly, the bank will need to interact with other Islamic banks and conventional banks’ Islamic windows in Oman, he said. “We want competition to create a common Islamic secondary market.” — Reuters

FAL Oil creditors to reject debt deal ABU DHABI/SINGAPORE: Creditors of Middle East trader FAL Oil are expected to reject a proposal to restructure about $700 million of its debt along with additional loans to keep operations going, two sources familiar with the deal said.

Financial institutions involved in the discussions of the debt restructuring are not keen to inject fresh funding into the oil trader, which at one point was one of the biggest privately run Middle East trading firms. “Although nothing has officially come in writing we have been informed that the banks, in principle, are rejecting the proposal,” a source told Reuters.

FAL Oil had previously presented a medium-term plan to its creditors that included a standstill agreement for the existing $700 million debt owed, and a request for fresh funds totalling $620 million to keep business operations going.

Filing for bankruptcy is not an option for any of the parties involved, at least one source said, with creditors expected to gain just 20 cents to the dollar on the outstanding debt. “If they do, no one wins, the payout doesn’t make sense, it would be better for the creditors to keep working towards an agreement that would benefit everyone,” the source said.

Existing federal bankruptcy laws remain untested in UAE courts as distressed companies prefer to settle creditor claims privately because the existing legislation is opaque and complex, as seen during the Dubai debt crisis of 2009-2010. The source said the company

NYALA, Sudan: Smoke billows from burning tyres as Sudanese demonstrators protest against rising prices near the main market of the capital of South Darfur yesterday. The protesters in the troubled region stoned government offices during a major protest over rising prices, a witness said, in the country’s latest Arab Spring-style demonstration. — AFP

Saudis, Venezuela gain from Iranian oil woes China’s Iranian imports fall by quarter, Japan by a third SINGAPORE: The sanctions reducing Iran’s oil exports have played in the favour of major producers such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela which now export about 21 percent more crude to Asia’s biggest buyers compared to a year ago. Iran’s exports to China, Japan, South Korea and India have fallen by a third in the first six months of the year as EU and US sanctions made it difficult to pay for the crude and find insurance cover for tankers. The United States is also finalizing even tougher sanctions to restrict Iran’s oil revenues.

As Iran’s oil sales declined, the world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, Russia and other OPEC producers Venezuela and Angola ramped up their sales to Asia’s top oil consumers, where refiners can pick and choose from a variety of supplies in a market flush with crude. Asia is the region where oil demand is growing, as the US economy teeters on recession and Europe tries to stem its financial crisis. “We have seen that refiners have successfully replaced Iranian crude with other crudes,” said Sushant Gupta, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “There is no pressure from the supply side.”

Western powers are trying to force Iran to abandon a nuclear program they believe is

designed for building weapons. Tehran says it needs the technology to generate electricity.

Japan, South Korea and India all cut imports from Iran to gain a waiver from the US sanctions which threaten to cut off institutions dealing with Iran from the US financial system. China was also awarded a waiver after cutting its imports from Iran due to a dispute over contract terms earlier this year. The EU ban on insuring any Iranian oil shipments also hindered China’s imports from Iran.

In the first half of the year, Saudi Arabia boosted sales to the top four Asian buyers by 15 percent year-on-year to 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd). During the same period, Venezuela’s year-on-year exports also jumped 42 percent to 596,000 bpd, followed by a 36 percent year-on-year increase in shipments from Russia to 682,000 bpd. Volumes from Angola have risen 24 percent year-on-year in the first six months to 994,000 bpd and 26 percent from Kuwait to 938,000 bpd.

China, Asia’s top oil consumer and the world’s second largest, appeared to favour Russian crude in its purchases during the first six months of the year. China cut Iranian imports by 20.5 percent during that period to 429,873 bpd, and Chinese data showed it replaced that amount, as well as an addition-

al 11 percent, by imports from Saudi Arabia, Angola and Russia. Russian imports recorded the biggest increase of 44 percent over the same period a year earlier, followed by Angola’s 35 percent and Saudi Arabia’s 16 percent.

Japan’s purchases from Iran for the first six months fell 33.4 percent from a year earlier to 227,573 bpd, with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Oman and Kuwait filling in the gap. The 17 percent fall in purchases by South Korea from Iran was filled up by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

Only India, Asia’s third-largest oil consumer, has posted an increase in Iranian imports.

Shipments in the first six months have risen 3.9 percent as India stepped up purchases ahead of the EU sanctions, which took effect on July 1. Some industry analysts believe Iran’s exports to Asia may not fall further as all four buyers find ways around the sanctions while keeping import volumes low to keep on qualifying for the US waiver.

Japan has agreed to provide sovereign guarantees to vessels owned by its shipping companies to transport Iranian oil, while China and India are asking Iran to ship the crude on its own tankers and taking on the risk. South Korea has said that it may resume imports from Iran soon. — Reuters

was willing to put more assets into the system and possibly seek a moratorium on the existing debt owed, if the creditors fail to agree on a standstill agreement. FAL Oil’s creditors include Standard Chartered Bank, which is heading the steering committee, along with Barclays Capital and Saudi Arabia’s SAMBA Financial.

The UAE banks who are involved include Emirates NBD , Commercial Bank of Dubai, MashreqBank , National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and First Gulf Bank.

KPMG is the financial advisor for FAL Oil and PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PwC) is advising the banks. FAL Oil used to be one of the largest fuel oil players in the Middle East, but has struggled to keep its business operations in full swing due to a lack of funds.

A payment dispute with the Sharjah government last year has put FAL’s debt problems in the spotlight. The company was forced to cut its fuel oil and bunkering business in the UAE by as much as 60 percent. The company also shut its trading operations in Singapore and London. Washington sanctioned the independent energy trader earlier this year for its role in supplying gasoline into Iran. In October last year FAL Oil was barred by the Pakistan State Oil Company (PSO), which said it had failed to meet its contractual agreements and this resulted in a disruption to supplies of fuel oil. — Reuters

UNB Q2 profit up 9.7% DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s Union National Bank reported a 9.7-percent rise in quarterly profit yesterday, beating analysts’ expectations, thanks to a steep decline in provisions and higher net interest income. The lender, jointly owned by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, said it had net profit of 459.6 million dirhams ($125.1 million) in the second quarter to June 30, up from 418.9 million dirhams in the prior-year period. Analysts forecast average profit of 426.75 million dirhams, in a Reuters poll.

The bank’s net attributable profit for the quarter was also up 9.7 percent to 455.7

million dirhams, from 415.3 million dirhams a year-ago.

Lower provisioning helped improve second-quarter profits with impairments down 20.5 percent to 120.1 million dirhams versus 151.0 million dirhams a year ago. First-half net profit stood at 934.4 million dirhams, up 6.3 percent on the 878.7 million dirhams made in 2011. “The results for the second quarter and first half of the year have continued to show a consistent improvement over the corresponding period last year,” Mohammad Nasr Abdeen, chief executive of UNB, said in a statement. — Reuters

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 Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4390000 .3430000 .2850000 .2780000 .2920000 .0040000 .0020000 .0762440 .7428190 .3860000 .0720000 .7282020 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2810000 GB Pound/KD .4411700 Euro .3451940 Swiss francs .2874390 Canadian dollars .2796850 Danish Kroner .0464060 Swedish Kroner .0408440 Australian dlr .2942070 Hong Kong dlr .0362310 Singapore dlr .2252140 Japanese yen .0035850 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0765350 Bahraini dinars .7456550 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0749530 Omani riyals .7301550 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit

3.553 5.072 3.053 2.141 3.173 220.090 36.173 3.425 6.439 8.876 89.338

.2840000 .4500000 .3520000 .2980000 .2860000 .3000000 .0070000 .0035000 .0770100 .7502840 .4060000 .0780000 .7355200 .0510000 .2831000 .4444670 .3477740 .2895870 .2817760 .0467530 .0411490 .2964060 .0365020 .2268970 .0036120 .0051360 .0021550 .0030020 .0034770 .0771070 .7512270 .4004240 .0755130 .7356110 .0067990

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 74.883 77.158 729.380 745.850 76.464

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 48.250 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.466 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.309 Tunisian Dinar 176.65 Jordanian Dinar 396.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.884 Syrian Lier 4.899 Morocco Dirham 32.64 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.700 Euro 354.52 Sterling Pound 441.820 Canadian dollar 274.79 Turkish lire 152.400 Swiss Franc 295.01 US Dollar Buying 279.500 GOLD 293.000 148.000 75.250

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria

SELL CASH

300.400 750.620 3.710 285.600 554.300 46.000 46.600 167.800 47.370 350.600 37.090 5.310 0.032 0.161 0.237 3.700 399.980 0.191 91.710 44.000 4.340 232.400 1.828

46.600 733.150 3.080 6.970 78.070 75.360 227.950 36.440 2.688 447.800 42.700 292.000 4.400 9.270 198.263 76.960 282.600 1.360

10 Tola

GOLD 1,719.380

Sterling Pound US Dollar

732.970 2.990 6.750 77.640 75.360 227.950 36.440 2.140 445.800 290.500 4.400 9.140 76.860 282.200

COUNTRY

SELL DRAFT

298.900 750.620 3.447 284.100

227.900 46.467 349.100 36.940 5.075 0.031

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar 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

Currency

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 445.800 282.200

SELL DRAFT

300.17 285.53 294.05 350.98 281.80 447.47 3.67 3.449 5.082 2.140 3.191 2.983 76.79 750.34 46.47 401.47 733.41 77.82 75.36

SELL CASH

299.00 285.00 293.00 350.00 283.00 450.00 3.63 3.580 5.300 2.350 3.650 3.150 77.45 750.00 47.80 399.00 736.00 78.00 75.80

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 399.940 0.190 91.710 3.200 230.900

Rate for Transfer

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

Selling Rate

282.150 285.710 444.395 346.725

Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

288.635 746.985 76.795 77.445 75.205 397.730 46.459 2.139 5.063 2.980 3.448 6.739 692.115 4.600 9.025 4.375 3.255 89.740

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

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

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars

282.200 2.983 5.097 2.150 3.452 6.765 76.935 75.355 749.410 46.525 448.800 2.990 3.195 1.550 352.500 286.800

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

*Rates are subject to change

282.150 349.000 445.550 284.010 3.650 5.070 46.495 2.141 3.442 6.750 2.985 750.100 76.750 75.250

23

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

BUSINESS

Paris Ritz closes for euro 140m facelift PARIS: The Paris Ritz closes today for a two-year face-lift to bring the city’s best known luxury hotel into the 21st century and keep its mega-rich clientele coming back in an ever more competitive market.

The renovation comes after the five-star hotel, which neighbours the famed jewellers of Paris’ Place Vendome but has not had a refit since 1979, failed to win France’s coveted “palace” designation marking a top luxury destination.

Owned by Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed, it was once the hotel of choice of Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway, and the place where princess Diana and Al Fayed’s son, Dodi, dined in 1997 before their fatal car crash. The euro 140-million ($170-million) refurbishment will last until mid 2014, equipping the Ritz with a new garden restaurant and fitting out its 160 rooms with “the latest technology”. All the bedrooms will be redecorated but a Ritz spokeswoman said they would stay traditional in style, in its trademark tones of pink, almond green, yellow and sky blue.

For industry insiders, it was high time for the facelift. “It was a waste to see a hotel with such a location, with such a history, in a state like this,” said Vanguelis Panayotis, head of development at the MKG Group hospitality consultancy. “To justify this kind of price, you really have to offer quality on a par with the competition.” From cables hanging down in full view from its flat screen televisions, to ageing elevators and dumbwaiters, the Ritz spokeswoman admitted the hotel has some sprucing up to do to match the competition.

Like the rest of the luxury industry, the high-end hotel sector is booming thanks to demand from emerging markets, while Paris has also seen US clients flood back to take advantage of a weaker euro. Two stateof-the-art Asian luxury hotels opened in the French capital in 2010, the Shangri-La and the Mandarin Oriental, raising the stakes for historic players like the Ritz. Another established Paris hotel, the nearby Crillon, is closing for renovations in the autumn.

The Bristol and Meurice hotels have

already had facelifts, the Plaza-Athenee is working on an extension, and the Royal Monceau underwent a full refurbishment

under its new Qatari ownership from 2008 to 2010. Founded in 1898 by Cesar Ritz and the chef Auguste Escoffier, the Ritz is home

PARIS: Hotel Ritz is seen on the Place Vendome on Monday. —AFP

to L’Espadon restaurant, holder of two Michelin stars, and the Ritz-Escoffier cooking school. For closing night yesterday, chef Michel Roth has put on a special Ä240 menu with foie gras, blue lobster in raspberry vinaigrette with caviar and the Ritz’s signature peach melba among the delicacies on the cards.

Likewise, the hotel was virtually booked out for Monday night, mostly to regulars, for prices ranging from Ä850 to Ä10,000 for the Coco Chanel suite. The Ritz’s 460 employees have all been promised their jobs back after the renovation. In the meantime, 320 have taken up a generous severance package offered by the hotel. Star chef Roth will keep working for the Ritz as an ambassador, promoting it to rich clients in Asia and around the world, and the hotel hopes much his team will return once the hotel reopens. “Many of the kitchen staff have found other employment, but most have said they want to come back to the Ritz. It’s a very close-knit team,” said the hotel spokeswoman. —AFP

India keeps rates on hold, outlook bleak Central bank warns about country’s deficits

TOKYO: Cyclists cross a road yesterday. Japan’s unemployment rate edged down in June while households loosened their purse strings, offering a glimmer of hope for the nation’s fragile economy. —AFP

Japan jobless rate down TOKYO: Japan’s unemployment rate edged down in June while households loosened their purse strings, offering a glimmer of hope for the nation’s fragile economy. But the positive data was tempered by figures on Monday that showed factory output turned down unexpectedly last month, stoking concerns that turmoil overseas is increasingly hurting the world’s third-largest economy.

Yesterday, official data showed the nation’s unemployment rate hit 4.3 percent last month, down from 4.4 percent in May and beating market forecasts that Japan’s jobless rate would remain unchanged, Dow Jones Newswires said.

Separate data from the internal affairs ministry showed Japanese households boosted spending last month. “Japan’s job market continued to improve in line with a gradual recovery of the nation’s entire economy,” said Naoko Ogata, a senior economist at Japan Research Institute. The job market improvement was partly due to growing demand for jobs in northeastern Japan, where reconstruction was in full swing following last year’s quake-tsunami disaster, analysts said. Average household spending in June came in at 269,810 yen ($3,450), up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, but lower than the 2.9 percent rise forecast by economists.

“All in all, the Japanese economy is still on course to recovery, led by

improvement in domestic consumption,” Ogata said. “But an end to auto incentives later this year may dampen consumers’ sentiment,” she added, referring to temporary government subsidies for eco-friendly cars. Ogata also said a strong yen was a negative for Japan’s economy as it makes exporters products pricier overseas while shrinking the value of firms’ foreign earnings.

Many Japanese firms have blamed weaker quarterly earnings on huge foreign-exchange losses. On Monday, data showed Japan’s factory output was down 0.1 percent in June, well short of market expectations for a 1.6 percent rise. The output decline came amid growing fears about the fiscal situation in Europe - a major market for Japanese products and the strong yen hurting demand.

Japanese industry is also facing major challenges after the country shut down its nuclear reactors in the wake of last year’s atomic crisis, with industrial users being asked to make deep cuts in energy consumption.

All 50 of Japan’s nuclear power stations were switched off after the March 11 tsunami, which swamped reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and sent them into meltdown. Despite widespread anti-nuclear sentiment the government later approved a plan to restart two reactors, which have now come online. —AFP

Singapore’s GIC alters asset mix SINGAPORE: Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC yesterday said its longterm returns held steady in the year to March but it had changed its investment mix amid fears of greater volatility ahead. In an annual repor t, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation said it reduced its exposure in developed markets, cut its holdings in equities and bonds, and star ted building up cash holdings for future opportunities. Its assets earned a 3.9 percent real rate of return on a 20-year annualised basis, the same as in the previous financial year, GIC said.

GIC cited the European debt saga and anaemic US economy as the key risks. “Investment returns are likely to be low until the global economy returns to balanced and sustainable growth,” said Ng Kok Song, GIC’s group chief investment officer. “ The emerging economies led by China will have higher and more robust growth but are not yet of a sufficient scale to offset anaemic growth in the developed economies.”

GIC, which manages Singapore’s vast financial reserves, does not give an absolute figure for its annual performance, saying it always invests with a

long-term horizon in mind. But it says it manages “well over US$100 billion” in funds. The latest available data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the central bank, put the country’s foreign reser ves at $243 billion in June.

According to the US-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, GIC is the eighth largest state investment fund in the world with $247.5 billion under management. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is the largest with assets of $627 billion.

Song Seng Wun, a regional economist with CIMB Research, expects GIC to continue with its conservative policies.

“After all, higher return can only come with higher risks and sovereign wealth funds, being what they are, do not take risky bets,” Song told AFP. “All we can say is that with the last few years being so volatile, and last year being no exception, it will be commendable if they can continue to maintain the nearly four (percent) annualised real rate of return.” GIC said the Americas region including the US accounted for 42 percent of its overall portfolio, which was the same in the previous year, but its exposure to Europe has been cut to 26 percent from 28 percent. —AFP

MUMBAI: India’s central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged yesterday as predicted, but delivered bleak forecasts for the slowing economy and warned about the country ’s deficits. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate, at which it lends to commercial banks, would remain at 8.0 percent because of the risks of higher inflation. “In the current circumstances, lowering policy rates will only aggravate inflationary impulses without necessarily stimulating growth,” said RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao in a release after yesterday’s decision.

India’s Sensex index was up 0.54 percent to 17,236.14 at 0945 GMT, erasing intra-day losses.

The move to hold interest rates had been widely expected by economists after the bank hinted in a report released late Monday that it was unable to cut them further because of inflationary pressures. India’s once-booming economy grew just 5.3 percent between January and March, its slowest annual quarterly expansion in nine years, and the bank revealed gloomy predictions for the near-term. It slashed its GDP growth forecast for this financial year to April 2013 from 7.3 percent to 6.5 percent, while predicting that inflation at the end of the year would be 7.0 percent instead of 6.5 percent as previously forecast. “India is clearly an outlier - even though our growth is slowing in line with the rest of the world, our inflation continues to be high,” Subbarao told a news conference.

Wholesale inflation stands at 7.25 percent - far above the bank’s comfort level of five to six percent - while the consumer price index, which covers a small-

er band of goods, is at 10.02 percent. The government’s chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu described the RBI’s decision as the “right move” and said he expected inflation to fall below 7 percent in September. Indranil Pan, chief economist with private Kotak Mahindra bank, said the RBI’s policy maintained a “hawk-

account, largely caused by its large import bill, and its fiscal deficit, caused by government overspending. “Failure to narrow twin deficits with appropriate policy actions threatens both macroeconomic stability and growth,” he said.

In a move to stimulate growth, the bank cut its statutory liquidity

sures, despite calls from business leaders to stimulate the economy.

A weak monsoon, in which the rains have been more than 20 percent lower than normal so far, has stoked the bank’s inflation worries because of the potential impact on food prices if crops fail.

India’s projected growth remains enviable by Western standards

JAMMU, India: An Indian laborer carries a bag full of potatoes at a warehouse yesterday. —AP ish overtone” and “remains skewed towards containing inflation at all costs”.

While other central banks around the globe have been easing interest rates to revive their troubled economies, the RBI has said that economic reforms are needed first in order to remove chronic bottlenecks in the economy. Subbarao also warned about the deficit in India’s current

ratio for commercial banks by 100 basis points to 23 percent yesterday. This reduces the amount of short-term liquid assets that banks have to hold in reserves and should help to boost the credit available to businesses. The bank lowered rates in April to kickstart growth - its first such move in three years. But it has since kept monetary policy steady, citing inflationary pres-

but it is too slow to fulfil government pledges of significant poverty reduction and to create enough jobs for a soaring young workforce in the country of 1.2 billion. The RBI on Monday said the economy was at a “critical juncture” and it encouraged “policy actions to encourage investment”, which would include removing constraints on foreign direct investment. —AFP

Philippines gets 4 bids for S China Sea oil, gas blocks MANILA: The Philippines accepted yesterday four bids for three oil and gas exploration blocks in the South China Sea, including two prospects in waters claimed by China, a weak turnout for the last phase of the country’s biggest petroleum exploration tender. Only six firms showed up for the bidding out of the 38 domestic and foreign firms prequalified early this year. In all, 20 firms, most of them domestic, participated in the auction of rights to explore 15 sites around the Southeast Asian country. Energy officials were quick to play down the South China Sea territorial dispute as a reason for the poor turnout.

“We don’t think the tension in the West Philippine Sea area had a negative impact on our efforts,” Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug told reporters. Foreign exploration firms that were prequalified, including Nido Petroleum Ltd of Australia, Spanish energy company Repsol, French gas and power firm GDF Suez, Italy’s Eni, and Shell Philippines Exploration BV did not show up. “As to the reason why the big players did not submit a bid, we are not aware of that.

Presumably, among other factors, it’s perhaps their own appreciation of the data that is available,” Layug said. “Depending on their own assessment of the data, that’s when they consider submitting a bid. We’re very happy with the turnout,” he said.

The Department of Energy auctioned rights to explore on areas 3, 4 and 5, with the first two near the Reed Bank in the South China Sea. The contracts are for the last of 15 sites it tendered this

year. It accepted the sole bid for area 3 from unlisted domestic firm Helios Petroleum and Gas Corp. “The number of prequalification is not meaningful. Most prequalifiers register to get data from the Department of Energy for future reference,” Vincent Perez, a former Philippine energy minister, told Reuters. Helios also submitted a bid for area 4 along with a consortium composed of state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp , Philex Petroleum Corp and PetroEnergy Resources Corp. Also accepted was the sole bid for Area 5 off the southwestern Palawan province from the group of The Philodrill Corp and Pitkin Petroleum Ltd, which is partly owned by Philex Petroleum.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia also claim parts of it. Layug said the three areas were the “most prospective” of the 15 exploration blocks offered this year to investors.

The three sites off the southwestern island province of Palawan are near the Malampaya and Sampaguita natural gas discoveries. Malampaya is the country’s biggest source of natural gas.

Owned by a consortium led by Shell Philippines Exploration BV, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Malampaya produces more than 2,700 megawatts, or 30 percent of the power requirements of the main Luzon island.

On the other hand, Sampaguita, a discovery of London-listed Forum Energy Plc and majority owned by Philex Petroleum, was at the scene of an incident last year in which Chinese navy ships

threatened to ram a Philex survey ship, sparking renewed tension between the Philippines and China. Philex has said it had discussed a possible tie-up with Chinese offshore oil producer CNOOC in Sampaguita, although no agreement has been reached. “Insofar as we’re concerned, we are a Philippine company and we will abide by Philippine laws,” Philex Chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters on Monday.

A partnership between Philex and CNOOC on the Sampaguita project, which was estimated in a 2006 study to hold up to 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or more than five times initial estimates, may help defuse tension. The dispute could become Asia’s biggest military flashpoint as China’s sovereignty claim has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines, with the three countries racing to tap possibly huge oil reserves. “All the areas we have offered are well within the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas),” Layug told Reuters on Monday. “Thus, the Philippines exercises exclusive sovereign rights and authority to explore and exploit resources within these areas to the exclusion of other countries. There is no doubt and dispute about such rights.”

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said last week the first of 15 service contracts would be awarded “within the next 60 days”. “As far as we’re concerned, we are bidding something within the Republic of the Philippines so we have the right to do that,” he said. —Reuters

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business

GM signs Man United deal day after booting exec DETROIT: The ouster of General Motors Co’s global marketing chief is related to a hugely expensive sponsorship deal with England’s Manchester United football club for which GM is paying twice as much as the team’s previous automotive sponsor. On Monday, GM, the biggest US automaker, announced its Chevrolet brand would sponsor the hugely popular club’s shirts for the next seven years. The deal is worth $60 million to $70 million a year and includes a $100 million activation fee that brings the total value to as much as $600 million, said a person with knowledge of the contract who asked not to be identified.

By comparison, insurance broker Aon Plc pays about $31 million a year for the current jersey sponsorship, which runs through the 2013-2014 season. GM did not disclose financial terms of its agreement, which was announced the day after the Detroit company said it was removing its global marketing chief Joel Ewanick because he “failed to meet the expectations that the company has for its employees.” Sources told Reuters Ewanick didn’t properly report financial details about the jersey deal. Another source said the wording of the affected deal terms was changed before the deal was made public on Monday.

The persons requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss contract details.

GM, which spent almost $4.5 billion on advertising last year, announced another sponsorship deal with Manchester United in May. GM said then it wanted to tap in to Manchester United’s estimated 659 million fans around the world to boost the image of the automaker’s Chevy brand, especially in Asia. GM last week also said it signed a four-year auto sponsorship deal with Manchester United rival Liverpool.

While GM would not discuss Ewanick’s departure, some industry officials said a deal as big as the Manchester United sponsorship agreements would have been signed by multiple executives. They also raised the possibility that GM simply wanted to dump Ewanick as the automaker’s U.S. market share has declined by nearly 2 points in the first half of 2012 compared with the year before to 18.1 percent. “Joel was good for shaking up the staid GM marketing function and he made a real positive difference in just two years, but this episode, whatever it turns out to be, has tarnished his reputation overnight,” said Peter DeLorenzo, Editor-in-chief of auto website

Autoextremist.com. However, sources said GM was committed to Ewanick’s efforts to shake up the automaker’s image. Ewanick, 52, was named vice president and head of GM’s US marketing in May 2010, about seven months before the automaker’s blockbuster initial public offering in November of that year. Brought in by former GM chairman Ed Whitacre, former vice chairman Robert Lutz and current North American chief Mark Reuss, the high-energy Ewanick was given free rein to shake up GM’s marketing, which had been perceived as stale.

The first major effort under his watch was the “Chevy Runs Deep” campaign that launched at the start of the Major League Baseball’s World Series in 2010. Critics say the campaign has failed to connect well with consumers.

When he was promoted to global marketing chief in December 2010, Ewanick said the move was intended to give marketing a seat at the executive conference table and a say in planning and budgeting for new GM vehicles.

Ewanick, who was credited with helping drive Hyundai Motor Co’s fast growth in the US market, steered GM back to sponsorship of high-profile events like the Super Bowl.

In May, he announced GM would pull its paid ads from Facebook days before the highly anticipated initial public stock offering for the social networking website, and said GM would not advertise on CBS during the 2013 Super Bowl because they were both overpriced. Ewanick also led GM’s effort to drive down the ad fees paid to broadcast TV networks during the advanced selling season that ended in June, said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media. The big four US TV networks garnered single-digit increases from advertisers. With his aggressive cost-cutting and a hyper personality some found off-putting, Ewanick clearly made enemies. One former GM executive, who asked not to be identified, received an email about the marketing chief’s ouster with the subject line “Ding Dong, the witch is dead.”

GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson previously said the automaker needed to focus more on marketing. The “Chevy Runs Deep” campaign, which features the voice of actor Tim Allen, has aimed to focus buyers on the positive association many Americans had with GM before the long decline that culminated in its bankruptcy and $50 billion bailout by the Obama administration in 2009. In April 2010, GM’s Whitacre ordered the ouster of Campbell-

Ewald, which had handled advertising for Chevy for over 90 years in favor of San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, which is owned by Omnicom Group Inc and best-known for the “Got Milk?” ad campaign.

Goodby worked with Ewanick at Hyundai.

Campbell-Ewald created some of the most memorable

advertising campaigns in US auto history for Chevrolet, including the “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet” ads of the 1970s and “See the USA in your Chevrolet” in the 1950s. Industry officials said agencies that were cut may see Ewanick’s ouster as a chance to get back in the door with GM. — Reuters

Manchester Utd sets IPO terms NEW YORK: English football team Manchester United set the terms for its US initial public offering on Monday saying it will offer 16.67 million shares at between $16 and $20 each, which values the club at $3.3 billion at the top of the range. Manchester United has been struggling with a hefty debt burden ever since being acquired by the family of Floridabased businessman Malcolm Glazer and his family in 2005. The club and the Glazers each will be selling half the IPO shares in an offering that will raise as much as $333 million. The club’s proceeds from the IPO will be used to reduce its debt. The Glazers will remain in a dominant position after the offering with 89.8 percent of the Combined class A and B shares.

The IPO may be a tough sell in the United States given the lack of US publicly traded sports teams to compare Manchester United against and given that many Americans don’t regard soccer as a top sport.

The company’s latest financials may also give investors pause. Revenue for the fiscal year 2012 is expected to £315 million to £320 million ($495 million to $503 million), down 3 to 5 percent from the previous year, the company said in its S-1. Operating expenses also increased 4 to 5 percent as a result of a jump in player and staff compensation.

Shares are highly priced based on earnings of a range of 21 million to 23 million pounds in the year just ended. This makes the price to earnings ratio based on both A and B shares at a very steep 95 times. “It could be challenging to justify such strong multiples for a company that needs to spend a lot of money to generate success,” Ken Perkins, an analyst with Morningstar said. “Even if their performance is

good their price may be a bit high.” The details of the sale were announced just as it was revealed that the club had signed a 7-year sponsorship deal with General Motors Co to have the Chevrolet brand on their shirts starting in 2014. The deal is worth roughly $600 million, Reuters reported. The club had filed to raise up to $100 million in its IPO of Class A stock earlier this month.

Manchester’s United will kick off a two-week investor road show today, with stops expected in the United States, Europe and Asia, according to a source familiar with the company’s plans who was not authorized to speak publicly about them. The road show stops will be done concurrently, with two separate management teams covering different geographies. One will be responsible for meeting with investors in the United States and the other with investors in Europe and Asia. Pricing is expected on Aug 9. The team chose to list in the United States after scrapping listings in Singapore and Hong Kong.

It had originally looked to raise as much as $1 billion in Singapore.

“I’m a little concerned that the offering couldn’t be done initially and now all of a sudden it has a heartbeat,” said David Menlow, president of IPO Financial which tracks IPOs. “The mentality with sports teams is that people like owning a piece as a trophy investment, but will it live up to expectations?” The Glazers also own the US football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They will retain control after the sale because their Class B shares will have 10 times the voting power of average investors’ Class A shares.— Reuters

US consumer spending flat, income up 0.5% Savings rate rises to highest level in a year WASHINGTON: Americans spent no more in June than they did in May, even though their income grew at the fastest pace in three months. The Commerce Department said yesterday that consumer spending was flat in June after declining 0.1 percent in May. Income rose 0.5 percent. And wages, the largest component of income, also increased 0.5 percent, the biggest gain since March. The jump in income went straight to savings. The savings rate rose to 4.4 percent in June, the highest level in a year.

Weak consumer spending was the main reason the economy grew at an annual pace of just 1.5 percent in the April-June quarter. That’s slower than the 2 percent growth rate in the January-March quarter this year.

Consumer spending drives roughly 70 percent of growth. Consumers cut back on spending this spring, reflecting rising uncertainty about the economy and jobs. In June, they spent slightly more on services. But they cut back on autos and other long-lasting manufactured goods. They also spent less on non-durable goods, such as clothing, food and gasoline - although some of that may reflect lower gas prices.

Economists don’t expect growth to accelerate much in the second half of the year. Europe’s financial woes and a US budget crisis are likely to weigh on business and consumer confidence. And job growth is expected

to stay weak. Annual growth of 2 percent generally adds only about 90,000 jobs a month, according to economists. That’s not enough to drive down the unemployment rate, which is stuck at 8.2 percent. Healthier growth of 4 percent or more is needed to reduce unemployment significantly.

The government will release the July jobs report on Friday. Economists forecast that employers added 100,000 jobs. That would be only slightly better than the 75,000 a month from April through June and still down from a healthy 226,000 average in the first three months of the year. Without more jobs, income growth is likely to remain sub-par and consumers are likely to remain cautious about spending. Sluggish economic growth could compel the Federal Reserve to announce further efforts to bolster the economy.

Still, many private economists believe the Fed will wait until their Sept. 12-13 meeting. That would allow the Fed more time to review the July and August jobs reports before taking new steps. Economists had hoped that falling gas prices would give consumers more money to spend elsewhere and boost growth in the second half of the year. But gas prices have stopped falling and have even started to rise in recent weeks. And this summer’s severe drought is expected to push food prices up toward the end of the year.— AP

PEMBROKE PINES, Florida: In this July 12, 2012 photo, a shopper looks at shoes on sale at the Pembroke Gardens living center. Americans spent no more in June than they did in May, even though their income grew at the fastest pace in three months. — AP

Venezuela on increasingly isolationist course CARACAS: Even though it joined the South American trading bloc Mercosur as a full member yesterday, Venezuela has been moving in an isolationist direction in areas like human rights and foreign investment, analysts say.

Venezuela “talks a lot about regional integration, all the while isolating itself,” said Juan Francisco Contreras, an expert on international relations.

President Hugo Chavez will be in Brasilia for Venezuela’s admission as full member to the bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

Paraguay was suspended after the ouster of its president.

But last week he threatened to pull Venezuela out of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for criticizing his government’s “inhumane treatment” of a political opponent. The next day the country official-

ly withdrew from the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes rather than face lawsuits there over its nationalization of international oil company assets.

Some 20 lawsuits against the government were pending before the arbitration body.

“The government has sought to withdraw Venezuela from international agencies that put it in an awkward position,” said Contreras, adding that the losers will be Venezuelans seeking protection of their rights, or foreign investment. “Chavez wants to change international institutions - as he did Venezuela’s and those that rule against the state or take up the complaints of his opponents or foreign companies, he sees as a straightjacket,” said Maria Teresa Romero, a professor at the Central University of Venezuela.

Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro

insisted Thursday that Venezuela would remain in the Organization of American States, even though it was dropping out of its human rights bodies. But dropping the human rights bodies may lead to its exclusion from the OAS, further isolating Venezuela internationally. Cuba is the only state in the western hemisphere that is not a member of the OAS. “In order to leave the Court of Human Rights, it is enough to renounce the American Convention on Human Rights,” said Romero. “But to leave the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, it is necessary to leave the OAS,” she explained. “The problem is that in either case the government will be violating the constitution adopted in 1999, at the beginning of Chavez’s first mandate, which recognizes all the treaties on human rights,” she added.—AFP

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business

Europe’s top banks feel pain from debt crisis FRANKFURT: Europe’s biggest banks yesterday took massive hits on their second-quarter profits as the eurozone debt crisis slices into earnings and adds to the pressure to boost their capital defences. In Germany, the country’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank said its bottom-line profit was slashed nearly in half in the period from April to June. In neighbouring Switzerland, giant UBS blamed a 58percent slump in second-quarter net profit on lower trading and services revenues while operating costs rose. In Spain, the country’s second biggest bank, BBVA, said its earnings slumped due to a drastic rise in provisions, ordered by the government to cover its exposure to the beleaguered realestate market. And in Austria, the number one lender Erste Bank, a specialist in Eastern Europe, saw its second-quarter net profit tumble 46 per-

cent owing to problems in Hungary and Romania.

Banks earn a big chunk of their profits from their dealings on financial markets where they have not only sustained losses from falling asset prices, but are also feeling the pain from a downturn in investor activity, said Deutsche Bank’s new co-chief executives Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen.

“The European sovereign debt crisis continues to weigh on investor confidence and client activity across the bank,” the two said. Deutsche’s performance in the April-June period “was impacted by a volatile environment” and net profit fell to euro661 million ($811 million) in the three months to June from euro1.2 billion a year earlier.

Revenues were down 6.0 percent at euro8.0 billion.

The drop in profits is fuelling concern whether Deutsche Bank can meet

the EU’s more stringent capital requirements without issuing new shares to raise additional funds. But the group insisted that its core Tier 1 capital ratio - a key measure of financial health - stood at 10.2 percent at the end of the second quarter, up from 10 percent three months earlier and above the 9.0-percent minimum required by regulators. Jain and Fitschen were later scheduled to reveal their strategy for steering the banking giant safely through the financial storms, with observers predicting the measures would include job cuts, notably in investment banking.

In Zurich, UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said his group was determined to “consolidate its position as the best capitalised bank,” topping the 9.0 percent Core Tier 1 capital ratio requirement by the end of this year.

Banking regulators have tightened capital ratio requirements in an effort to prevent any repeat of the risky practices which contributed to the 2008 global financial crisis. Ermotti was cautious on the outlook for UBS, noting the eurozone debt crisis, US debt levels and geopolitical tensions which will “continue to influence client confidence ... and third quarter activity.”

In Spain, BBVA’s net profit slumped 57.5 percent to euro505 million in the three months to June, much worse than analysts’ already pessimistic forecasts.

Madrid has ordered Spanish banks to clean up their balance sheets once and for all to ease market pressure that has also driven up the government’s cost of borrowing to a level near where other eurozone countries were forced to seek international aid. The total amount of new provisions expected to be taken by Spanish banks has been estimated at

more than euro80 billion and BBVA said it had set aside euro1.43 billion in provisions, about a third of the euro4.64 billion which the bank needs to meet the government’s new regulations.

The Spanish government, faced with preventing a potential string of bank insolvencies, has requested an up to euro100-billion rescue for its financial sector from eurozone partners. In Austria, Erste Bank said it had to take a provision of some euro200 million on its Romanian business after losses at the unit soared to euro140.5 million from euro2.3 million in the second quarter 2011.

For the first half of the year, Erste Bank said net profit fell 13 percent from a year earlier to euro453.6 million but would have been euro350 million if exceptional financial gains were excluded. Erste said its Core Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 9.9 percent. — AFP

Unemployment on the rise in Germany Economic skies darken

MADRID: Government employees demonstrate against the Spanish government’s latest austerity measures yesterday. — AFP

Capital fleeing Spain as budget gap jumps

MADRID: Capital flight from Spain gathered pace in May and the central government deficit rose further above target in June, taking the country two steps closer to the full-scale bailout it is desperate to avoid.

Outflows rose to euro41.3 billion ($50.6 billion) as the government’s rescue of one its biggest banks hit already fragile investor confidence and triggered a plea for European aid worth up to euro100 billion for the country’s lenders. In all, euro163 billion - or around 16 percent of economic output - left Spain between January and May, with domestic banks sending money abroad, foreign lenders pulling out cash and mostly non-resident investors dumping domestic assets.

Over the last 11 months, funds equivalent to 26 percent of GDP exited the country, yesterday’s data from the Bank of Spain showed. Spain’s struggling economy, which is expected to remain in recession well into next year, is at the centre of the euro zone debt crisis, and rising refinancing costs risk shutting the country out of international debt markets. Domestic demand has stalled since the crisis started four years ago, hitting a service sector that accounts for around 70 percent of the economy, while sky-high unemployment rates have further eroded consumer confidence.

Retail sales fell by 5.2 percent year-onyear on a calendar-adjusted basis in June, separate data showed yesterday, marking a 24th straight month of declines. “These figures are proof that the Spanish economy continues in recession and a drop in retail sales could indicate a GDP contraction of around 2 percent this year,” economist at Madrid broker M&G Valores Nicolas Lopez said. “For the moment there’s no sign this is going to change in the medium term.” With tax revenues falling sharply as the recession

deepens, Spain reported a deficit of 4 percent of GDP on its central government accounts in the first half of the year, above a goal of 3.5 percent set for the whole of 2012. That target could be eased as Spain decides later in the year how to use an extra 1 percent cushion granted by the European Union in July when the country’s deficit target was widened to 6.3 percent for 2012 from 5.3 percent initially.

The government announced a new Ä65billion austerity package in July, two months after stepping in to prop up major lender Bankia. In June, it requested help from Europe to recapitalise its banks, battered by the collapse of a decade-long real estate bubble in 2008. But the initiatives failed to calm investors for more than a few days, and yesterday’s gloomy numbers will do nothing to ease pressure on the bond yields that Spain needs keep from rising to avert a full-fledged bailout.

The premium investors pay to buy Spanish over German debt was around 532 basis points yesterday, far below last week’s euro-era highs on hopes the European Central Bank will announce stimulus measures, helping to bring Spanish and Italian borrowing costs down.Yesterday’s data showed Spanish and non-domestic banks moved euro31.9 billion out of the country in May. The headline figure compared with total outflows of euro26.6 billion in April and a peak of euro66 billion in March. Plummeting domestic demand was reflected in May current account numbers also published on Tuesday by the central bank and showing a deficit of euro754 million, narrowing sharply from euro3.4 billion in the same month of 2011. The gap shrank on a lower trade deficit and a lower primary income deficit - the difference between money paid abroad and money received. — Reuters

Gold sales, slowdown curb Turkey trade gap ISTANBUL: Turkey’s trade deficit narrowed more than expected in June mainly due to gold exports to Iran, a dip in oil prices and a slowdown in the economy, data showed yesterday, indicating an improvement in the country’s troublesome current account gap.

The trade deficit fell to $7.18 billion in June from $10.26 billion a year earlier, the Turkish Statistics Institute said, lower than a forecast deficit of $8 billion in a Reuters poll. Turkish gold exports to Iran stood at $1.3 billion in June, bringing the total gold exports so far in 2012 to $4.4 billion.

The Turkish Statistics Institute said there were no findings suggesting gold exports to Iran were used as a tool for oil and gas payments, rejecting media speculation to that effect.

Most of the gold export payments were made in cash, it said. Turkey, which imported around 200,000 barrels a day of Iranian crude in 2011, sharply reduced shipments earlier this year to win a waiver from US sanctions that allows it to continue purchasing Iranian crude through the second half of 2012. Turkey also imports gas from Iran. “Improvement in the foreign

trade deficit continued in June thanks to gold expor ts to Iran, declining petroleum price and a slowdown in the economy,” said Ozgur Altug, chief economist at BGC Partners. Previously, gold sector officials said Iranians were turning to gold for savings and possibly trade as Western sanctions tighten to force Iran to curb its nuclear program. Iran was the biggest single destination for Turkish exports in June.

Turkish exports to Iran increased 471.2 percent to $1.6 billion from a year earlier. Turkey’s total June exports rose 16.9 percent to $13.27 billion and impor ts decreased 5.4 percent to $20.44 billion.

“When we look at the data excluding gold, we see that the annual increase in exports stands at 4 percent while the annual decline in imports rises to 10 percent,” said Gizem Oztok Altinsac, an economist at Garanti Securities. “The data shows a small current account deficit in June at around $3.7 billion and the annual current account deficit would narrow to $63-64 billion,” Altinsac said. Turkey’s trade deficit in the first half of the year narrowed 21 percent to $42.79 billion. —Reuters

FRANKFURT: Unemployment in Germany rose in July as the eurozone debt crisis increasingly casts a pall over Europe’s biggest economy, official data showed yesterday. Headline unemployment rose sharply, with the total number of people out of work up by 66,800 in July from June to stand at 2.88 million, according to the Federal Labour Agency, responsible for compiling the monthly data. The headline jobless rate, which measures the proportion of people registered as unemployed against the working population as a whole, rose to 6.8 percent in July from 6.6 percent in June.

Unemployment tends to rise in the summer as school-leavers sign on the dole and companies close for the holidays but even adjusted for such seasonal factors, unemployment is on the rise in Germany, according to data published separately by the German central bank or Bundesbank. The seasonally adjusted jobless total rose by 7,000 to 2.89 million in July. It was the fourth consecutive monthly increase and brought the total to its highest level since Dec 2011.

The adjusted jobless rate was unchanged at 6.8 percent, the Bundesbank calculated.

Labour agency chief Frank-Juergen Weise, presenting the monthly jobless at a regular news conference in Nuremberg, said the rise in unemployment in July was “primarily due to seasonal factors”. Nevertheless, “the risks for the German economy are on the increase,” he cautioned. “ The underlying trend on the labour market remains positive but there are signs of weakening,” Weise added.

Earlier, other data showed a fall in retail sales in Germany for the third month in a row in June. This could prove worrying since it has been largely strong domestic demand as reflected in robust household spending and historically low unemployment - that has made Europe’s top economy largely immune to the worst of the crisis.

But Economy Minister Philipp Roesler insisted that Germany was not on the skids yet. “The economy is feeling the headwind”

from the crisis and “the economic risks are bigger than they were at the start of the year.

But our robust domestic economy and excellent competitive position means we continue to see moderate growth for Germany in the second half of the year,” Roesler said.

ING Belgium economist Carsten Brzeski said that with high levels of employment, slowing inflation and recent wage increases, “the labour market should continue to be

times are coming to an end,” Brzeski said.

Newedge Strategy analyst Annalisa Piazza agreed. “Signs of the first effects of deteriorating economic conditions are starting to emerge,” she said. “Indeed, business surveys show more caution in hiring plans as companies need to face the effects of falling demand in the coming months.” Natixis economist Constantin Wirschke said that despite the emerging slowdown, “we expect

BERLIN: German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen addresses a press conference yesterday. — AFP ‘the’ crucial driver of domestic demand this the labour market to remain fairly stable for year. “To some extent, the labour market has the rest of 2012 and pick up again in a more been Germany’s active immunisation against favourable environment in 2013.”

Christian Schulz at Berenberg Bank said the ongoing eurozone crisis. However, signs that this immunisation is fading away are that while the euro crisis was having a “dampening effect on the economy and hard to miss,” the analyst said.

Businesses are downscaling recruitment making companies more cautious about hirplans and employment expectations in the ing ... the healthy labour market should cushmanufacturing industry have dropped to the ion the impact of the crisis on German lowest level since April 2010. “All in all, the growth over the next few months”. If the German labour market is clearly losing European Central Bank and eurozone leaders momentum. Given the high level of employ- “successfully bring the market panic back ment, there is no need to panic. However, under control, employment in Germany can indications are increasing that light-hearted continue to grow,” Schulz said. — AFP

Deutsche Bank axes 1,900 jobs

FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest lender, said on Tuesday that it would slash 1,900 jobs, mainly outside Germany, as the eurozone crisis cut second quarter profits nearly in half. The bank also acknowledged for the first time that a small number of its employees - but no executive board member - had been involved in the Libor interest-rate rigging scandal that has rocked the financial world. In view of the current difficult environment, Deutsche Bank said it would “reduce headcount predominantly outside of Germany by approximately 1,900 positions.” Of those, 1,500 would be axed in its corporate banking and securities division, the group said in a statement.

These measures were expected to contribute savings of approximately euro350 million ($431 million) of an overall costcutting target of euro3.0 billion, the statement said. The news sent Deutsche Bank shares soaring on the Frankfurt stock exchange, where they were showing a gain of 2.39 percent at euro25.44 in a slightly firmer market. Earlier, Deutsche Bank had announced that its net profit fell to euro661 million in the April-June period from euro1.2 billion a year earlier and revenues declined 6.0 percent to euro8.0 billion.

The group’s performance “was impacted by a volatile environment. The European sovereign debt crisis continues to weigh on investor confidence and client

activity across the bank,” said cochief executives Juergen Fitschen and Anshu Jain. The net profit figure was lower than a provisional estimate of euro700 million

which had already disappointed analysts when it was released last week. The fall in profits is fuelling concern whether Deutsche Bank can meet the EU’s more stringent

FRANKFURT: The two towers of the headquarters of German bank Deutsche Bank are seen in this April 7, 2011 file photo. — AFP

capital requirements without issuing new shares to raise additional funds. But the bank said it had “always maintained, and currently maintains, capital ratios which are comfortably above all regulatory thresholds and plans to continue to do so.”

Deutsche Bank said its core Tier 1 capital ratio - a key measure of financial health -stood at 10.2 percent at the end of the second quarter, up from 10 percent three months earlier and above the 9.0percent minimum required by regulators. The firm said it would only seek a capital increase as last resort. “The bank further aims to continue to grow this ratio through the rest of 2013 and beyond. The bank aims to apply all capital levers at its disposal before considering raising equity from investors,” Deutsche Bank said.

In a letter to staff, Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board chief Paul Achleitner also confirmed for the first time that an internal investigation has been launched into the Libor affair. “As per the current status of investigations, we can say that no current or former member of the management board had any inappropriate involvement,” Achleitner wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. “It has also found that a limited number of employees, acting on their own initiative, engaged in conduct that falls short of the bank’s standards, and action has been taken accordingly.” — AFP

26

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

BUSINESS

Zain signs cooperation agreement with PCCW Group set to benefit from int’l telecom infrastructure services KUWAIT: Zain Group, the leading telecommunications provider in the Middle East and North Africa, announced the signing of a strategic partnership with PCCW Global, the Hong Kong-based provider of voice and data solutions in order to cooperate in the development and offer of international telecommunications services. Zain Group is operational in eight markets across the Middle East and North Africa This agreement will allow its operating companies to offer a wide range of integrated communications solutions. The services will be based on the latest Ethernet, IP, fiber, and satellite transmission technologies and will offer practical solutions to networking services and international communications.

The partnership is also expected to boost the development of Zain Group’s cloud computing services across its Middle East footprint, further enabling the company to forge new alliances with global partners so as to provide a dynamic platform for

cloud-based international data services. The services from the partnership between Zain and PCCW Global are expected to become available in the fourth quarter of this year. This partner-

Group’s CEO stated: “This agreement allows us to benefit of the extensive technical experience and know-how of one of the world’s leading telecommunications infrastructure providers.

Nabil bin Salamah ship will provide the modern infrastructure for the transfer of data and information efficiently and with high quality.

Nabeel Bin Salamah, Zain

Zain customers will experience the impact of even more innovative communications services.” Bin Salamah continued: “The agreement with PCCW Global will ulti-

mately extend to our operations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and South Sudan; and shall add a new dimension to our integrated communications offerings, allowing our operations to focus more of their resources to their core business. Moreover, this network will also provide unparalleled services to other ISP’s service provides and operations in the region.”

According to Bin Salamah, this move confirms Zain’s serious commitments to provide an enhanced portfolio of services as well as enriching its value added services and technological innovations. In addition to partnering with leading technology providers in order to exceed customers’ expectations. Zain’s agreement with PCCW ties into the company’s strategy, which focuses on strategic network improvement and access to data. The partnership adds to the deal with NeuString for its OptiPrizer predictive analytics software, and with iPass for Zain customer access to a global Wi-Fi roaming service.

Offer for KOC employees

by Ali Alghanim & Sons KUWAIT: To continue providing BMW & MINI customers with the best offers and services in the market, Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the exclusive importer of BMW Group vehicles in Kuwait, has launched an exclusive offer for Kuwait Oil Company employees on all BMW & MINI models.

Having kicked off beginning of July; Kuwait Oil Company employees buying a new BMW or MINI will receive free warranty for up to five years or 150,000 km (whichever comes first) and a four-year free servicing package, valid up to 84,000 km. In addition, all registration costs will be organised and covered by Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, giving customers a convenient and hassle-free start to their BMW or MINI ownership.

In addition and due to the importance of staying connected to digital world Ali Alghanim & Sons are offering a free iPhone 4S. As Kuwait Oil Company employees travel a lot in their cars, Ali Alghanim & Sons decided to decrease their travel expenses by offering 4,000 litres of fuel.

Yousef Al-Qatami, General Manager of

Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive said; “This special promotion illustrates the value that Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive places on special market segments and their different needs. At Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive we continuously try to offer different benefits to suit the special needs of the different market segments including those of the Kuwait Oil Company employees.”

“We also understand that luxury vehicles are an important lifestyle choice in Kuwait. With this campaign, we are trying to make it easier for Kuwait Oil Company employees to own a BMW or a MINI, and therefore we are offering a wide choice of models with a variety of benefits. This promotional campaign supports our long term strategy to ensure customers receive top quality and care at every stage of the ownership experience,” added Al-Qatami.

The campaign covers all BMW & MINI vehicles, including BMW’s flagship model, the BMW 7 Series, BMW 5 Series and the BMW X3 and X5, as well as the newly launched 6th generation BMW 3 Series and the MINI Roadster.

Nissan reports Q1

profit of ¥120.7bn Ambassador of China visits Geely showroom KUWAIT: Kuwait Automotive Imports Co WLL (Al Shaya & Al Sagar), recently had the grand launch of GEELY cars, which has since become the new sensation in budget cars in Kuwait.

KAICO had honor of the visit of Cui Jianchun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Kuwait, at the new Geely showroom in Al Rai recently. Cui was accompanied by Cao Jianying - Cultural Attache and First Secretary of People’s Republic of China to Kuwait, and was welcomed by Ashish Tandon - General Manager KAICO, Rexzcy Williams - Geely Brand Manager, and Zhana Yordanova - Asst Marketing Manager, along with the Geely team.

His Excellency had a look around at the 3 new impressive models of Geely cars - EC7, EC8 and LC Panda, displayed in the showroom and expressed his delight and firm belief that future would be for Chinese cars and Chinese products after the substantial development in the automotive industry in China. Tandon Manager shared with Cui that all Geely models available in Kuwait had been rigorously tested in harsh, peak summer conditions in Kuwait & Saudi Arabia and that Geely cars meet the toughest safety standards of the Euro NCAP crash test.

Geely Holding Group completed the full ownership of Volvo Car Corporation from Ford

Motor Company in August 2010. Ford bought the Swedish Volvo car business in 1999. So Geely has adopted the Swedish as well as the US car technologies into its own cars. Geely Holding Group has also acquired DSI - the second largest automatic transmission company in Australia. The group has collaboration with Johnson Controls - US & Dayee - South Korea for spare parts. With six car assembly & powertrain manufacturing plants all over China, 900 dealers, 1000 service outlets and over 19,000 employees in China, the company is planning to sell about 2 million units by the year 2015, with a 5.8 percent market share in China.

Wataniya Telecom appoints new CEO

Dr Bassam Hannoun

KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom National Mobile Telecommunications Company has announced that Dr Bassam Hannoun has been appointed as CEO for Wataniya Telecom and will commence in his new role soon.

Eng Abdulaziz Fakhroo resumes his role as Deputy CEO of Wataniya Telecom. The Board is grateful for his management throughout this transitional period. Hannoun was most recently the CEO of Wataniya Mobile Palestine, where he was responsible for the successful IPO and growth of operations. Previously he was CEO of

Jordan’s leading WiMAX operator, witribe Jordan, a subsidiary of the Qtel Group. In addition to over twenty years industry experience in Europe and the Middle East, Dr Hannoun has a PhD in telecommunications engineering and holds a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on strategic marketing.

Wataniya Chairman Sheikh Abdullah nin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani said: “Dr Hannoun’s knowledge and loyalty to the Wataniya Group is strong and deep. In Palestine, he and his team have tak-

en our business from a start-up to a real market challenger, delivering world-class service to customers in an incredibly challenging environment. The Wataniya board is entrusting an internal, proven leader to head Wataniya Kuwait’s team.”

Bassam said: “I feel privileged to be selected to lead Wataniya’s strong team just as it has made superlative customer experience the center of its strategy. I’m sure we will all be very busy in the months to come with improved services and offers for our customers.”

Jazeera Airways announces record Q2 and H1 earnings KUWAIT: In a webcast attended by local and international analysts, award winning Jazeera Airways Group yesterday announced a record net profit of KD 2.6 million for Q2 2012, making the quarter the company’s eighth straight quarter of profitability since Q3 2010.

Q2’ 2012 Financial Highlights: ● Q2’12 Revenue: KD15.6 million, up 11.8 percent from Q2’11’s KD14 million ● Q2’12 Operating profit: KD4.2 million, up 49.2 percent from Q2’11’s KD2.8 million ● Q2’12 Net profit: KD2.6 million, up 23.5 percent from Q2’11’s KD2.1 million ● Q2’12 Average yield: up 19.4 percent from Q2’11 H1’ 2012 Financial Highlights: ● H1’12 Revenue: KD28.3 million, up 11.8 percent from H1’11’s KD25.3 million ● H1’12 Operating profit: KD6.4 million, up 39.9 percent from H1’11’s KD4.6 million ● H1’12 Net profit: KD3.8 million, up 21.6 percent from H1’11’s KD3.3 million ● H1’12 Average yield: up 18.4 percent from H1’11

The results reflect the ongoing success of the Group’s Strategic Master Plan (STAMP). STAMP is a business plan for the years 2012 to 2014 and follows the success of the Group’s Turn-Around Plan (TAP) that brought the company back to profitability and was in effect from Q2 2010 to end of 2011. Jazeera Airways Group Chairman Marwan Boodai said, “Our strong financial performance clearly demonstrates

rest of the year remain unchanged, as it expects a seasonal increase in demand in the third quarter, and a mild fourth quarter to close the year. Operationally, Jazeera Airways’ OTP for the second quarter was 94.21 percent, as measured by the US-based global OTP tracker FlightStats, who also placed the airline among the top ten on-time performers worldwide for the same period. Previously, FlightStats had

the agility of the company’s business model, which continues to perform despite ongoing political turmoil in our region. Our outlook for the second half continues to be positive in-line with Kuwait’s economy, which continues to witness higher incomes despite international and regional economic pressures.” The Group’s forecasts for the

also ranked Jazeera Airways as the leading airline in OTP in the Middle East in Q1 2012 and in all of 2011 as well. Established in 2005, Jazeera Airways Group is a Kuwait Stock Exchange-listed with a fleet of 12 fully owned Airbus A320s, distributed between its airline business, Jazeera Airways, and its fully owned leasing-arm Sahaab Aircraft

Leasing. Sahaab has assets placed with Virgin America, SriLankan Airlines and Jazeera Airways.

The airline operates a two-class cabin comprising of a Business Class and an Economy Class.

Jazeera Airways’ Business Class offering includes a separate cabin for passengers, exclusive check-in counters, Business lounge access at airports, in-flight ‡ la carte menu, and 60 kilograms in free baggage allowance. The airline’s Economy Class offers travelers free baggage allowance of 40 kilograms, free onboard meals with a changing menu every month, and yearround value fares.

Jazeera Airways is based in Kuwait and operates a network comprising high-demand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Damascus, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assuit, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Al Najaf. Jazeera Airways is an IATAmember airline and operates one of the youngest Airbus A320 fleets across the Middle East and North Africa.

DUBAI: Nissan Motor Co Ltd has announced an operating profit of 120.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, ending March 31, 2013. Compared with the first quarter of 2011, operating profit declined 20 percent due to the worsening foreign exchange impact of an abnormally strong yen, along with higher one-time selling costs, particularly in North America, linked to our product renewal cycle.

The general pricing environment was also less favorable than in the prior year period, during which vehicle prices were distorted by supply constraints caused by the March 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Nissan sold a total of 1,210,000 vehicles globally in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, up 14.6 percent compared with the same period in 2011. Global market share increased by 0.4 percentage points to 5.9 percent. “Nissan has delivered a respectable performance in the first quarter despite challenging macro-economic conditions,” said Nissan President and CEO, Carlos Ghosn. “Our innovative models remain in high demand, with further exciting

vehicles due for launch. Against that background, we remain on track to achieve our fullyear forecasts.” Net revenue increased 2.6 percent to 2.1364 trillion yen ($26.64 billion), while ordinary profit came to 111.5 billion yen ($1.39 billion) and net income totaled 72.3 billion yen ($900 million). In the April-to-June period, Nissan continued to execute on its Power 88 mid-term business plan, designed to enhance its product portfolio and strengthen the group’s brand and sales presence around the world. As part of that plan, two new models were launched during the quarter including the Nissan Altima in the US and the Nissan NV350 Caravan in Japan. The pace and volume of new product launches is set to accelerate over the coming quarters, renewing major model lines across the Nissan, Infiniti and Venucia brands.

Separately, Nissan improved its brand visibility with the launch of “WHAT IF_”, a global multimedia campaign focused on travel hubs and digital outlets. Further product launches and brand initiatives are expected to enhance sales over the remainder of the fiscal year.

BEC holds raffle draw KUWAIT: BEC exchange held the first ever raffle draw for its BECOnline customers on 16th July 2012. The draw was held for all transactions conducted during the period from 4th April 2012 to 3rd July 2012. The winner of the first prize of a Lenovo ThinkPad, which was of a very good professional configuration, was won by S Murugaiyan. The winner of the second prize, which was the highly popular iPad III, was Abbas Ali Abbasi The prizes were distributed to the win-

ners at the main office of the company on 25th July 2012. E D Titus congratulated the winners who could not believe their luck.

This was the first ever raffle for online customers by any exchange company not just in Kuwait, but also in the Middle East.

BEC Exchange thus continues as a leader and path breaker in remittance and money exchange business and is appreciated by the customers and correspondents for its unparalleled service levels that bring comfort to the remitting public.

Free suspension check for Mercedes-Benz car owners KUWAIT: Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Company, the Authorized General Distributor of Mercedes-Benz is conducting a free suspension check campaign till the 31st of Aug 2012 at all of its Service Centers in Kuwait. In order to best satisfy customer requirements, Mercedes-Benz offers tailormade suspension technology not just for every model series but for each individual model. The premium aspiration of Mercedes-Benz is also reflected in the number of different suspension variants on offer.

The suspensions are furthermore tuned differently from market to market: the setup is more comfortable for the USA, for example, and sportier for Europe & Middle East. In addition to this, customers also have an extensive customization program at their disposal.

Finally, there is the option of the many

Mercedes-AMG performance components for enhancing the Mercedes-Benz models with racing technology. Mercedes-Benz vehicle owners are welcome to bring in their cars for a thorough check of their suspension system per formed by Mercedes-Benz trained specialists free of charge.

Mercedes-Benz customers who avail of this service will get a 30 percent discount on parts related to the suspension of the vehicle depending on the model of the vehicle serviced. “We are very pleased to offer this service to our customers during the holy month of Ramadan. Our customers can enjoy a free suspension check and also benefit from upto 30 percent discount on related spare parts” said Ralph Geyer, Service Manager, Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co.

27

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

China plans to land first moon probe next year One of the finest in the world

How makers of phones and tablets are faring NEW YORK: Makers of mobile devices have begun releasing their earnings reports for the latest quarter. Many companies including Nokia and Research in Motion have been struggling to compete with Apple and manufacturers of devices running Google’s Android software.

Here’s a look at earnings and other reports from selected companies in the industry. * July 10: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. asks disgruntled investors at a shareholders meeting for patience as it develops new devices to rival the iPhone and Android smartphones. The company reiterates a warning that the next several quarters will be challenging. It also expects to report another operating loss in the current quarter, which ends Sept. 1, as the company cuts prices to sell its older BlackBerry models. ● July 19: Nokia Corp. says its net loss nearly quadrupled in the second quarter on sagging sales of smartphones, which fell 39 percent from a year ago to 10.2 million. The company’s stock jumped, however, as sales of low-end phones buoyed revenue and shipments of the new Lumia phones, which run on Windows software and will replace the older smartphone models, were not as bad as feared. In North America, sales of the Lumia phones offset declines in traditional Symbian devices.

Google Inc., which completed its purchase of Motorola Mobility during the quarter, says it saw strengths in North America with Verizon Wireless, driven by the Razr Maxx device. But it says international sales of basic cellphones and mid-

tier smartphones declined. Google reiterates that 1 million new Android devices from various phone makers are being activated each day, with more than 400 million activated worldwide. ● July 24: Apple Inc. says it sold 26 million iPhones, 28 percent more than a year ago. It also sold 17 million iPads, an 84 percent increase and a quarterly record.

But average selling prices for both products were down. ● July 25: LG Electronics reports a lower quarterly profit as its mobile phone division sank to a loss. Basic handset sales declined while expenses to promote its new smartphones went up. The company says profitability at the mobile communication business will not be too bad for the rest of the year with new high-end mobile device launches due in North America and Japan. But it stops short of guiding investors on when the company can fully turn around its mobile business ● July 27: Samsung Electronics Co. reports another record-high quarterly profit as customers flocked to Galaxy smartphones. Samsung benefited as rivals including Apple had yet to release new models. The performance in mobile phones helped offset a slowdown in other consumer electronics businesses such as televisions.

IDC reports that Samsung has extended its lead over Apple in smartphones.

Samsung had a market share of 33 percent in the second quarter, up from 17 percent a year ago. Apple’s fell slightly to 17 percent, from 19 percent a year ago.

The drop is typical several months after the release of a new iPhone model. —AP

The video being used to capture the Olympics is 16 times the quality of HD TV

The next generation of HD television LONDON: The London Olympics has just showcased the world’s first live broadcast of the latest viewing technology - super hi vision, with pictures 16 times as sharp as HDTV and multi-channel surround-sound.

Ever since the first Olympic radio transmissions from Paris in 1924, broadcasters have used the Games to demonstrate the latest next-generation technology. The 1948 London Games were the first to be televised in people’s homes. The 1964 Games in Tokyo pioneered colour TV. And in 1984 the Los Angeles Games were the first to be broadcast in High Definition, which eventually reached UK homes more than 20 years later. Back in 1948, the BBC’s head of television outside broadcasts showed viewers on-screen how it was done.

“Here at the Empire Pool are the cameras set up to watch the aquatic events and the boxing,” he said. “The cameras are extremely complicated and use miniature valves developed for radar and other secret purposes during the war.” The BBC is broadcasting more than 2,500 hours of high definition television during the Olympics Now, 64 years later, Olympic swimmers in London are again being televised using the latest technology.

Super hi vision, developed by the Japanese broadcaster NHK, provides ultra high definition pictures - 16 times as sharp as high definition images, which themselves are four times as clear as standard TV pictures. The sound is much better too.

HD surround-sound uses 5.1 channels and is very impressive. Super hi vision uses 22.2.

I joined 120 viewers who had booked to see the system’s first live broadcast, on a special 300-inch, cinema-size screen at the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London.

The morning’s swimming heats from

the Olympic Aquatic Centre were also transmitted to viewing theatres in the BBC’s Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow, the National Media Museum in Bradford and venues in Tokyo, Fukushima and Washington DC. Tim Plyming, who leads the BBC’s Olympic trials of the system, says they are building on the history of innovation at the event. “The scale of the Olympics is a great testing bed,” he explains.

“Most of the big leaps in technology that we’ve known - from black and white to colour and from standard definition to high definition, and now to ultra high definition - have all had their home at the Olympic Games.” Super Hi-Vision video equipment was developed and supplied

by Japanese broadcaster NHK Plyming says the picture is so clear it is like looking through a glass wall into the stadium or aquatic centre. Other broadcasters claim it is a truly immersive experience that feels just like being there. Some licence payers have questioned whether it is a good use of the BBC’s budget.

“Spending money and resources on super hi vision just for prestige is a disgrace at a time when the BBC is cutting back,” commented one on the BBC website. But others disagreed. “If it wasn’t for the visionaries in broadcasting and video technology we would still be watching 405 line black and white television,” declared one correspondent. So what did my fellow viewers make of it? Quite simply, they were bowled over. “The sound was fantastic and the picture was amazing, so clear” said one London woman.

“Amazing,” agreed another: “You really do feel like you’re in the stadium, in the atmosphere.” A French man told me he had been in the Aquatic Centre on Saturday and the comparison was very good. “You seem to be there,” he said.

BEIJING: China has said it will land an exploratory craft on the moon for the first time next year, as part of an ambitious space programme that includes a long-term plan to put a man on the moon. China’s third lunar probe will blast off in the second half of 2013 and attempt to land and transmit back a survey of the moon’s surface, state television reported yesterday.

If it succeeds, experts said it would be the first craft to land on the moon as part of a mission-as opposed to performing a controlled crash landing at the end of one-since the Soviet space programme achieved the feat in the 1970s.

“They (China) want a space programme that can be considered one of the finest in the world,” said Morris Jones, an independent space analyst based in Sydney, Australia.

“If you want to be world leader in space, then you have to do missions like this.” The landing planned for next year would be China’s first on the lunar surface and mark a new milestone in its space development. It is part of a project to orbit, land on and return from the moon, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rising global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

The Asian superpower has been ramping up its manned activities as the United States, long the leader in the field, has scaled back some of its programmes, such as retiring its iconic space shuttle fleet. In its last white paper on space, China said it was working towards landing a man on the moon-a feat so far only achieved by the United States, most recently in 1972 — although it did not give a time frame.

It has spent about 39 billion

yuan ($6.1 billion) on its manned space programme since it began 20 years ago, state media have said. Most recently, a 13-day voyage of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft became China’s longest-ever space mission and was notable for including the nation’s first woman astronaut among its

that programme came in 1999 with the launch of the unmanned Shenzhou-1 craft. Two years later, Shenzhou-2 lifted off carrying small animals, and in 2003, China sent its first man into space. Since then, it has completed a space walk in 2008 and an unmanned docking between a module and

project was proceeding smoothly.

“I think it’s well within China’s capability and budget,” Chen Lan, an independent space analyst, told AFP of next year’s planned mission. He said, however, that the third stage that calls for landing and then returning from the moon would require further tech-

BEIJING: This file photo of the giant screen at the Jiuquan Space Centre shows Chinese astronauts Liu Wang, Jing Haipeng and Liu Yang in the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft as it prepares to link with the Tiangong-1 module just over a week into a manned space mission which includes China’s first female astronaut, following an automatic docking, on June 24, 2012. China will next year attempt to land an exploratory craft on the moon for the first time, state media reported, in the latest project in the country’s ambitious space programme. —AP three-member crew.

The crew also achieved China’s first manual docking with an orbital module, the Tiangong-1, a highly complex manoeuvre first conducted by the Americans in the 1960s and essential to building a permanent manned space station.

The first key achievement in

Televisions on brink of switching to Internet LONDON: The switch to digital television is not yet complete, but UK households could be forced to adjust their sets again with a parliamentary inquiry now forecasting a second wave of switchover, this time from the airwaves to the internet. The government should draw up plans to have every channel, including those from the BBC, broadcast over the internet, freeing up the spectrum for other uses such as mobile phones, the House of Lords suggested on Tuesday. “Eventually the case for transferring the carriage of broadcast content, including public service broadcasting, from spectrum to the internet altogether will become overwhelming,” the Lords communications committee said in its report on internet infrastructure.

The recommendation comes months after most of the country’s 26m television households retuned their sets from analogue to digital, with two regions - the north-east and Northern Ireland - due to complete the process in October. Digital switchover increased the number of terrestrial channels from five to 50, but the internet can transmit an unlimited amount of content, at a lower cost.

However, Britain will need a better broadband network to cope with future technologies, the committee concluded after a wide-ranging, six-month investigation. It raises the alarm over the way Britain’s network is being built, describing government strategy as “flawed” and liable to widen the digital divide between those communities with fast internet access and those living in broadband blackspots. “If broadcast services move to be delivered via the internet,” said committee chair Lord Inglewood, “then key moments in national life such as the Olympics could be inaccessible to communities lacking a better communications infrastructure.” BT, TalkTalk, Sky and Virgin Media are moving rapidly to connect more television sets to the internet, so that they can offer video on demand as well as conventional TV channels. TalkTalk’s YouView box, unveiled last week, offers internet access to libraries of TV series and films for viewing on demand, as well as conventional channels broadcast over the internet rather than through an aerial. BT this summer spent £738m on acquiring Premier League football rights to boost its own internet TV service, BT Vision. The committee says the airwaves are better suited to mobile, and their use for TV could be considered “wasteful”. It says the date for a second switchover could be some years away, but recommends that the government, regulators and the industry start planning now.

“People will perhaps feel fed up, but going from analogue to digital may not be the whole journey,” said Inglewood. “Now we are finding we may go from digital to internet.” A broadband connection could become a universal right, he said, as and when all channels including public service broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV are delivered over the web.

However, services including YouView require a connection of at least 3 megabits per second. With an estimated 14% of UK homes unable to get even 2Mbps, according to telecoms watchdog Ofcom, swaths of the population could be left out of the next phase of the TV revolution.

Government targets promise only that everyone will be able to get 2Mbps by 2015, with 90% getting 24Mbps.

“The government’s strategy lacks just that - strategy,” said Inglewood. “The complex issues involved were not thought through from first principles and it is far from clear that the government’s policy will deliver the broadband infrastructure we need - for profound social and economic reasons - for the decades to come.” —Reuters

rocket last year.

Next year’s planned lunar probe launch will follow the Chang’e 1 in 2007 and Chang’e 2 in 2010, both named for the Chinese goddess of the moon. Xinhua quoted the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense as saying the

nical progress in launch capability.

Chen said he envisions a timeframe of 2015-2016 for China to be ready to carry out that mission.

But he did not see a manned mission to the moon as China’s nearterm objective. “It’s not a technical decision,” he said. “It’s a political decision.” —AFP

Jury picked in blockbuster Apple-Samsung case SAN JOSE, California: A 10-member jury was chosen Monday to hear the Silicon Valley blockbuster trial with Apple and Samsung battling over patent infringement for hot-selling smartphones and tablet computers.

The jury includes one unemployed man, a homemaker and a mechanical engineer, but many with technical backgrounds were disqualified. There are three women and seven men, and four said they were foreignborn.

One of those stricken from the panel was an Apple employee. A Google employee-a user interface designer-was kept on until the final selection, despite Apple’s lawyers objections. But they used one of their “strikes” in the end to kick him off.

Opening arguments were set for Tuesday in the case-the biggest patent case in recent memory, with potentially billions of dollars at stake.

The case began with a pool of 70 people in the courtroom, who faced questions about whether they or their friends or family work for Apple, Samsung, Google, or Motorola.

Google is not directly involved in the case but its Android operating system is used on Samsung devices and will figure prominently in the case.

Google recently acquired Motorola Mobility, another maker of mobile devices.

Before proceedings began, a line packed with dozens of people stretched far outside the federal courthouse in San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. With the courtroom at capacity, some journalists were required to sit in an overflow room to watch pre-trial motions and jury selection by video.

US District Judge Lucy Koh, who presided over selection of a 10-member panel, told potential jurors: “If you are selected as a juror this will be an interesting case.”

Asked what they knew about the case, several potential jurors admitted reading the recently published biography of Steve Jobs, the Apple chief who died last year. In the book, Jobs calls Google’s Android software a “stolen product.”

However, the jurors all said it would not affect their judgment in the case, and none were dismissed on that basis. Apple is seeking more than $2.5 billion in a case accusing the South Korean firm of infringing on designs and other patents from the iPhone and iPad maker.

Samsung counters that Apple infringed on its patents for wireless communication, so the jury will sort out the competing claims. This is one of several cases in courts around the world involving the two big electronics giants in the hottest part of the

tech sector, tablet computers and smartphones. While the results so far have been mixed in courts in Europe and Australia, Samsung is clearly on the defensive in the US case.

Koh, who will preside in the jury case, has issued two temporary injunctions against US sales of Samsung’s 10-inch Galaxy tablet and the Galaxy Nexus smartphone developed with Google. In one bit of positive news for Samsung, a US appeals court extended the stay on the Nexus phone, which allows sales to continue while the case proceeds but has no impact on the trial.

But Samsung was hurt by a ruling last week that failed to retain key evidence in the case by allowing emails to be destroyed after learning of the lawsuit.

That will mean Judge Koh can issue an “adverse inference” instruction to the jury. R. Polk Wagner, a professor of patent law at the University of Pennsylvania, said the case is probably the biggest patent trial since the 1980s case involving photo giants Polaroid and Kodak, and is important because of its size and ability to set precedent. “I see this as the first in what I expect to be many cases involving smartphone technology,” he told AFP. “It remains to be seen what the impact will be even if Apple wins. Typically the patents are relatively easy to design around. So if Samsung loses a couple of rounds they may still be able to make their phones.”

Samsung could face big risks: If Apple wins, it would automatically get a permanent injunction on sales of Samsung devices. And if Samsung makes only minor changes, Apple could ask for the Korean firm to be held in contempt.

The case has huge financial implications for both firms and the burgeoning industry for mobile devices. A survey by research firm IDC showed Samsung shipped 50.2 million smartphones globally in the April-June period, while Apple sold 26 million iPhones. IDC said Samsung held 32.6 percent of the market to 16.9 percent for Apple. Samsung is the leading maker of smartphones using Google’s Android operating system, which has become the most popular platform despite complaints from Apple that it has infringed on its patents. Both sides are employing some of Silicon Valley’s top legal talent to argue their case. Apple has hired Michael Jacobs, the Morrison Foerster lawyer who led Oracle’s hard-fought, but ultimately unsuccessful, patent lawsuit against Google earlier this year.

Samsung’s legal defense is being led by lawyers from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Hedges, who have won several patent victories for its partner Google in recent years. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

Researchers use ‘toy’ robot to gain insight into autistic children

What science can’t yet treat: HIV’s impact on minorities, poor WASHINGTON: For all the strides made against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, science and medicine alone can’t end an epidemic that affects vulnerable populations disproportionately: minorities, young people, poor people and those who lack access to health care. The International AIDS Conference taking place this week in Washington brims with hope about breakthroughs in treatment and care that allow people with HIV to live longer and healthier lives. Researchers talk optimistically about a vaccine and a cure.

But because of persistent social, cultural and economic barriers, the most at-risk groups don’t receive enough of the treatment and support necessary to save their own lives and prevent the spread of the virus, health providers and community organizations say.

“The science of HIV and treatment is coming along, and everyone is excited,” said Yvette Calderon, the adult urgent-care director at Jacobi Medical Center in New York. “We forget there’s a real-life implementation that has to occur.”

What 30 years ago was a disease that primarily affected white gay men now has a significant effect on far more populations, including gay and bisexual black and Latino men and heterosexual black women. And while HIV was, and still is, considered a big-city problem, it affects impoverished rural communities at an alarming rate, especially in the Deep South.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, blacks are eight times more likely to contract HIV than whites are. Black women are 15 times more likely to become infected than white women. Black youths are 10 times more at risk for HIV than their white counterparts are.

Latinos don’t fare that much better. The nation’s fastest-growing and largest minority population-at 16 percent-is infected with HIV at a rate three times that of whites.

Unlike 30 years ago, HIV no longer means near-certain death. But the groups that are the most likely to be infected with HIV are the least likely to get treatment. They’re the least likely to have health insurance. And they’re the most likely to die of AIDS complications.

“No one should have to die of HIV anymore,” said Janet Weinberg, the chief operating officer of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a New York-based advocacy group that was founded in the earliest days of the epidemic. “But we’re not going to be able to get to that point in silence.” Sometimes the barriers are cultural. Traditional, conservative families and communities may be reluctant to have frank conversations about uncomfortable subjects, especially when it comes to young people. “It’s hard to talk about sex and sexuality, especially in churches,” said Shavon ArlineBradley, the director of health programs for the NAACP. The nation’s oldest civil rights organization spent three years developing an AIDS manual for churches, the heart of social life for many African-Americans.

The effort doesn’t attempt to change what pastors preach about same-sex relationships or sex outside of marriage, Arline-Bradley said.

Rather, it aims to help them address an epidemic that affects their congregations and reframes the fight against HIV as a fight for social justice.

She said the message was getting across. “We talked to over 255 pastors before we started,” she said. “We came to them exactly where they were.”

It’s also challenging for health providers to communicate information about HIV to fastgrowing immigrant populations, particularly Hispanics in the rural Southeast. “The system is not really prepared to deal with this population,” said Leandro Mena, an associate professor of clinical infectious diseases at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. “Health department clinics don’t have translators.”

Mena, who is fluent in Spanish, said he gave his cellphone number to Spanish-speaking patients. Calderon said the medical community must do a more effective job of talking to minorities about their risk for HIV and explaining how the health care system worked. “It’s so complex,” she said. “You need a navigator. Nothing is straightforward.”

Arline-Bradley said physicians should think about HIV the same way as other conditions that affected minorities, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Black women and teens, for example, may vastly underestimate their risk of infection. “You should not have to ask for an HIV test,” she said. “It should be part of routine care.”

Other barriers are social. Gay youths, especially minorities, aren’t always accepted by their families and communities. This can drive them into social isolation and situations-such as unprotected sex or drug use-that put them at greater risk for contracting HIV. The highest rates of HIV infection are among young black men who have sex with other men. “Reaching to this group may be a little bit different,” Weinberg said. “Certainly the message that attracts a 50year-old man to test (for HIV) isn’t what’s going to reach a 14-year-old boy.”

Mena said it was important for teens to have information about protecting themselves from HIV, whether that came from their parents or from schools. “These children need information in order to make the right choices affecting their health,” he said. “Parents need to understand and learn about human behavior and have ageappropriate conversations with children.”

Among those who have HIV, the stigma around the virus may make them reluctant to act. “Stigma does discourage testing and stigma does discourage treatment,” said Steve Morin, the director of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. “So trying to simultaneously work on reducing stigma while you’re also encouraging people to test is important.”

Another barrier is poverty. Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be uninsured or to rely on government programs such as Medicaid.

They may lack transportation to medical providers that can treat HIV, especially in rural areas. “It’s the magnitude of the problem that’s incomprehensible,” said Mena, who’s visited some of the poorest communities in Mississippi, where some homes lack running water.

In theory, the 2010 federal health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, would extend health coverage to vulnerable populations through Medicaid. About one in five people living with HIV already are enrolled in the state-federal program, but about one in four are uninsured.

One of the law’s goals is to expand Medicaid coverage for those whose incomes are up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or about $30,600 a year for a family of four. But some states with high HIV rates, such as Texas and Florida, may decide not to participate. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld most of the new law but allowed states to opt out of the Medicaid provision.

Guillermo Chacon, the president of the Latino Commission on AIDS in New York, which has launched a bilingual HIV-education campaign, said that with many states facing fiscal constraints, HIV advocates had a tough challenge. “We’d like to see more culturally relevant initiatives,” he said. “It’s a lot to ask-states, especially, with the economy.”

HIV’s disproportionate reach: Hispanics: 20 percent of new HIV infections, 16 percent of U.S. population Blacks: 44 percent of new HIV infections, 12 percent of U.S. population Whites: 32 percent of new HIV infections, 65 percent of U.S. population Women: 23 percent of new HIV infections, 51 percent of U.S. population Men who have sex with men: 61 percent of new HIV infections White men who have sex with men: 39 percent of new infections Black men who have sex with men: 37 percent of new infections Latino men who have sex with men: 20 percent of new infections Young people (13-29): 39 percent of new HIV infections Seniors (over 50): 15 percent of new HIV infections 1.1 million: Number of people living with HIV in U.S. 56,000: Number of new U.S. infections each year 510,000: Number of blacks living with HIV in U.S. 220,000: Number of Latinos living with HIV in U.S. 280,000: Number of women living with HIV in U.S. 213,000: Number of Medicaid recipients living with HIV 16 percent of Americans are uninsured 25 percent of Americans living with HIV are uninsured 1 in 5 people who have HIV don’t know it.

—MCT

TEXAS: Anthony Arceri stood in front of Zeno, a friendly, child-size robot that was ready to play. “What is your favorite food?” Zeno asked Anthony, a 7-year-old decked out in a black outfit covered with sensors.

“Chocolate milk and french fries,” Anthony responded.”I love chocolate milk,” Zeno said.When Zeno raised his arm, so did Anthony.

When Zeno rubbed his stomach, so did Anthony. While the interaction between Anthony and the robot _ which stands about 2 feet tall, can move its arms and has lifelike facial expressions _ may seem like just high-tech fun, researchers hope it holds the key to early diagnosis and treatment of autism.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, the Dallas Autism Treatment Center, Texas Instruments and Hanson Robotics are collaborating on a one-year project that is funded in part by a $100,000 grant from the Texas Medical Research Collaborative.

Nicoleta Bugnariu, associate professor at the health science center and a physical therapist/neuroscientist, said it is important to diagnose autism during motor skill development, which precedes language development. Autism spectrum disorders are not often diagnosed until a child is speaking.”If we can look at a marker prior to language development, then we can diagnose children earlier and intervene earlier,” Bugnariu said.

TEXAS: Anthony Arceri works with Nicoleta Bugnariu, right, associate professor at the University at North Texas Health Science Center and a physical therapist/neuroscientist, during his autism testing at UNT Center for Biohealth.

Pamela Rainville, Anthony’s mother, said she hopes the research will give doctors and other professionals additional information that will not only help teach her son how to interact but also provide him and others with life skills.

“We just hope that by doing this research, that it will help someone else,” Rainville said. Dan Popa, an associate professor of electrical engineering at UTA and the lead investigator, has been involved in

robotic research for 20 years. He said the trend is for robots to be used outside the lab.Robots help people who have difficulty moving and teach children how to interact.

Since Zeno is a social robot, responding to verbal commands and gestures, autistic children seeit as a toy and won’t be threatened, he said. “Autistic children are very drawn to this robot. It’s easier for them to respond to this robot as opposed to an adult.”

Carolyn Garver, who is director of the Dallas Autism Treatment Center and is recruiting participants for the study, said the data collected from the robot and virtual-reality games will give doctors and others involved information that is sometimes difficult for humans to discern, such as ways of moving the body or eyes. She said there are no biological methods for determining autism.

Four children have signed up, but researchers hope to have 10. As the testing continued, Anthony hopped onto a treadmill with a 180-degree cur ved screen.

Researchers used several scenarios, such as a shooting gallery, that measured Anthony’s movements as he shot at rubber ducks. Another scenario showed a path going through woods leading to a house.

Anthony had to shoo away birds by moving his arms as he walked on the treadmill.

Rainville said that autism differs from one child to the next and that working with Zeno is not the answer for everyone. But she has visited the health science center twice and will come back in about four months. She said her son likes the interaction with technology and wants to have a treadmill with a TV at home. “I wouldn’t do this (participate in the project) if he didn’t enjoy it. He likes trying new things,” Rainville said. “I want to make sure that Anthony succeeds in life when I can’t be there to help him.”—MCT

TEXAS: (Left) Anthony Arceri, 7, interacts with Zeno at UNT Center for Biohealth in Fort Worth. (Right) UTA’s Zeno is a twofoot tall robot that has facial expressions, can walk and can gesture with two hands. —MCT photos

Teen athletes in overdrive find bodies can’t keep up MINNEAPOLIS: Thinking back to the summer his shoulder shut down, Scott Elsass now can easily understand why. The Eden Prairie, Minn., tennis player chuckled as he explained how he hit balls several hours, every day, for six straight weeks.

Worn out, at age 16. The repetitive motion of hitting serves over and over during his sophomore summer led to a shoulder injury that required nearly a year of healing. A nationally ranked player at age 14, he limped through the remainder of his high school career this spring and battled back to the state tournament finals in June.

“All that stuff was from overuse,” Elsass said. “The summer I injured my shoulder, I had played 41 out of 42 days in a row. I had five tournaments in that stretch.” It’s a familiar, grueling physical toll to young athletes swept up in a sports culture that’s demanding specialization and year-round commitment at earlier-than-ever ages. As their training intensifies, injuries rooted in repetitive motion or overtaxed bodies are on the rise-and putting them at risk for longer-term problems as they grow older, according to local surgeons, sports medicine clinicians and several recently released national studies.

Dr. Daniel D. Buss, founder of Sports and Orthopaedic Specialists, based in the Twin Cities, said he operates on a teenager at least once a week. “Kids are doing more at younger ages. It’s not unusual to see a fifth- or sixth-grader get hurt,” said Buss, who specializes in shoulder and elbow disorders and is a team physician of the Minnesota Twins. “Kids are trying to do more complicated things for their skeletal maturity.”

Time on the tennis court is a constant issue for Minneapolis Washburn boys’ junior varsity coach Erik Telleen. His young teens can’t get enough, but Telleen knows the consequences of too much. Sore elbows, shoulders and knees can lead to nagging injuries in the latter part of high school careerssomething the JV coach experienced himself.

“Ninth grade is about when you start to see kids experience some soreness in elbows,” Telleen said.

“A lot of my guys want to stay after practice and hit for hours and hours, and that is when you get injuries from overusage. These guys want to make it to the next level, so they’re out hitting every night, and that’s when I do have concerns.”

Over-commitment doesn’t always mean success, though. Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center athletic trainer Dan Christoffer said it can often produce the opposite result. “If they start developing injuries in youth ball, by the time they get to high school they’re not going to be effective at all and will have chronic ... injuries,” Christoffer said. “It is becoming a lot more of an issue. A lot of these kids are singling out one sport.”

Lying helpless on an operating table, Morgan Stippel saw her athletic career come to an end. The fourth knee surgery of the Stillwater High student’s

life revealed another tear in the right anterior cruciate ligament. The operation and anesthesia, once again, took a toll on the 18 year old. She smiled at her mom in the recovery room and began describing a nightmare she had during surgery.

The mother’s heart broke as her daughter, who played basketball, softball and volleyball since childhood, said she dreamed that the doctor found an ACL tear during the procedure intended to fix a torn meniscus.

“She said ‘No, that was real,’” Stippel, now 19, recounted her mom saying. The news only got worse. After Stippel learned she would need a fifth surgery and fourth ACL replacement (two in each knee), several doctors recommended she no longer play competitive sports.

“It felt like somebody had died. That’s how upset I was about it,” she said. “You go from running around your whole life, getting to the field on time, going to the gym, doing your workouts, lifting weights, and all the sudden you just have nothing.” Stippel, the first freshman to make the Stillwater varsity basketball team, pursued the sport year-round. But her first ACL tear sidelined her the next summer and haunted her through

MINNESOTA: Morgan Stippel, 19, a multi-sport athlete has had five knee surgeries over the past five years.

Here, she poses for a portrait at her home in Woodbury.—MCT

high school. The injury, Stippel believes, undoubtedly resulted from overuse.

“When you play year-round, those muscles never get a chance to rest and some doctors say that can lead to the injuries,” said Stippel’s dad, Roger, who’s spent five years searching for answers. “If we keep using the same muscles and joints and tendons, we don’t give them a chance to rejuvenate themselves.”

Stippel never played a full season of high school basketball and missed all of her senior season. But she said playing athletics was worth it. “I know likely at some point I’m going to need a knee replacement,” she said after limping through the hall at her alma mater, still fresh off her fifth surgery. “If I look back on it, I would tell myself to (rest). Based on my experience, I wouldn’t play one sport year-round.

Try to take a break.” Now a coach of youth basketball and softball players, she’s pained when she sees them wearing knee, elbow and ankle sleeves and braces.

Buss’ staff regularly patrols the Web for medical news and studies, good and bad. After a recent study by the Journal of Athletic Training said that nearly 30 percent of all injuries are from overuse, the staff cringed when it stumbled upon news of a high school pitcher who threw more than 200 pitches in one game. “It’s disappointing in that you know how these kids get hurt,” Buss said.

Last month at the Mall of America, Mayo’s Healthy Living Clinic held a throwing camp to teach athletes how to avoid injury and improve throwing mechanics. The clinic also offers weekly opportunities for injury assessments and exercise training. “Right now, youth sports is so big that we have to ... focus on prevention,” said Chad Eickhoff, Mayo Clinic’s supervisor of athletic trainer services.

“How can we have those kids prevent overuse injuries and also injuries that cause problems when older in life?” Buss’ staff follows the same principles and avoids surgery at all costs. They believe the right mechanics and correct strength training provide the body with necessary tools to handle regular use. “Overuse is an issue because there is just not enough time for them to rest.” Eickhoff said.

“Another part of the problem is not doing enough preventative exercises.” Throwing and “overhead” sports-baseball, softball, volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, tennis-lend themselves to more repetitive motion injuries, studies show.

For Elsass, that meant readjusting his shoulder for hitting serves and resting. The adjustments have earned him a chance to play for the University of Nebraska’s tennis team. But he wonders how much better he could have been if he had not overused. “If I had to redo USTA stuff, I’d wait a year or two to get really intense about it. Since I was 10 or 11, I’ve been playing tournaments and competing,” Elsass said. —MCT

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Computer game aims to zap teen depression AUCKLAND: Long viewed as a contributing factor in teenage isolation, computer games are now being used to treat adolescent depression in an innovative New Zealand program. Rather than simply encouraging players to engage in mindless destruction, the SPARX video game attempts to teach teenagers how to deal with depression using a psychological approach known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Just as importantly, its creators set out to make the game exciting for those teenagers who are often reluctant to seek counseling and bored by wellmeaning advice on how to cope with depression.

The result is a role-playing fantasy game, where teenagers adopt a warrior avatar and get to blast negative thoughts with fireballs while trying to save the world from sinking into a mire of pessimism and despair.

Project leader Sally Merry, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Auckland

University, said the unconventional approach had proved popular with teenagers, allowing them to address their issues in privacy and at their own pace. “You can deal with mental health problems in a way that doesn’t have to be deadly serious,” she said. “The therapy doesn’t have to be depressing in and of itself. We’re aiming to make it fun.”

International studies consistently show New Zealand has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the developed world and Merry said she was keen to make treatment for depression more accessible. “The problem of depression in young people is an international one, it’s common and mostly untreated,” she said.

Merry said 75-80 percent of adolescents who suffered depression received no help at all, leading to potential problems such as poor school grades, social isolation and a negative outlook. “Often young people can be feeling low and not really realize what it is,” she said.

AUCKLAND: Metia Interactive managing director Maru Nihoniho works on the innovative SPARX video game in Wellington on June 8, 2012.—AFP photos

“They just know that they’re feeling ‘blah’ and accept that as something they have to put up with. SPARX and cognitive behavioural therapy show them we don’t have to accept that.”

‘Entertainment value’ The game has seven levels, each lasting 35-40 minutes-the same as a counseling session-and is aimed at 13- to 17year-olds, the age range when adolescent depression generally kicks in. It introduces players to a guide, or mentor, who helps them through the levels, each of which has a lesson embedded in it teaching skills such as anger management, conflict resolution and breathing relaxation exercises. As the game progresses, the online world depicted in it becomes brighter and less forbidding.

Metia Interactive managing director Maru Nihoniho said the challenge was making the game compelling for teenagers, so they could play it without actually realizing they were learning anything. “We had to look at the learning objectives and still design it to be a game,” she said. “That meant keeping the entertainment value, such as interactive 3D environments, puzzles and quests that you’d find in commercial games.”

To do that, they relied on feedback from test groups of teenagers over a 14month development period, including elements that adolescents wanted while tempering their requests for blood-andgore and shoot-em-ups.

“We knew we couldn’t have shooting because of the nature of the game,” she said. “So instead of having your character going around shooting or killing with machine guns or bombs, we gave the avatar a staff so they could shoot lighting bolts to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. It was about compromise.”

Seeking help ‘less daunting’ A clinical trial, the results of which were published in the British Medical Journal earlier this year, found the game was as effective as traditional face-toface counseling in helping adolescents cope with mild to moderate depression.

AUCKLAND: Metia Interactive video game artist Michael Vandermeer works on the innovative SPARX video game in Wellington on June 8, 2012.

Merry said the game, which won an innovation prize at the UN’s World Summit Awards, had generated interest in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia, as well as non-English speaking countries looking to translate it.

Its release details are still being finalized but Merry said she would like to make it available through schools, doctors and youth centers as an easily accessible resource for teenagers struggling with depression. Other options include releasing it on the Internet so it can be played on iPad and Android tablets, as well as developing specialized versions, such as “Rainbow SPARX” for gay youths.

The clinical trial found SPARX helped reduce mild to moderate depression as effectively as traditional counselling, meaning it could potentially be used as

an alternative to face-to-face therapy, particularly in rural areas or settings where mental health services are not available. Merry said that even for those youths whom SPARX may not be suitable for, such as those with severe depression or mental illness, the game could make them feel that going to seek help was less daunting.

“It’s not going to fix everyone,” she said. “But for those it doesn’t help, some may be more receptive and interested in getting counselling.” “I’m very aware that, as a psychiatrist, when young people come to see me they sometimes enjoy chatting and so on, but it’s not necessarily what they want to do most with their time. “I’m trying to find a way of doing things that is much more engaging.”—AFP

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

WHAT’S ON

International Advertising Association (IAA) and Crowne Plaza Hotel host their Annual Ghabqa

T

he International Advertising Association (IAA) and Crowne Plaza Hotel hosted a ‘joint venture’ annual ghabqa on Wednesday 25th July 2012 in the all new and luxurious Al-Baraka Grand Ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Kuwait. The event was attended by the Vice Chairman of Crowne Plaza, Mr. Emad Bukhamseen, along with VIP officials, ambassadors, advertising agencies, public relations companies, consultancy firms and market researchers. This event coincided with the 30-year anniversary of the Crowne Plaza Kuwait.

The General Manager of Crowne Plaza, Mr. Rami Haykal, welcomed over 600 guests attending the event and wished them all a blessed Ramadan Kareem. Mr. Haykal also pointed out some of the

major achievements of the Crowne Plaza such as the recent unveiling of the Al-Baraka Grand Ballroom – currently standing as the largest 5 star ballroom in Kuwait. He also highlighted that the hotels one-of-a-kind SPA Aquatonic had recently received the prestigious internationally acclaimed Award for Best SPA Design for Middle East and Africa.

The President of the IAA Kuwait Chapter Mr. Waleed Kanafani extended his wishes to everybody, especially Kuwait’s advertising agencies and other companies working in the same field. He shared news about IAA activities over the last six months and highlighted that the IAA Kuwait Chapter had attended and participated in the Cannes Lions Festival for

Waleed Kanafani, Emad Bukhamseen, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Roni Attala and Mechail Barakat

Ramy Haykal Crowne Plaza General Manager

Creativity; a worldwide reputed event, gathering the top companies in this industry from all over the world. This news was great for the developing advertising sector in Kuwait as 3 young Kuwaitis were selected to present their creativity through the IAA at the festival. Mr. Nasser Almejbel, who represented the team in Cannes went on the stage during the ghabga to share the team’s experience and their pride in representing the Kuwait Chapter in Cannes. He also thanked the sponsors who are also members of IAA -Kuwait Chapter.

The evening was held in the unique and luxurious settings of the latest addition to the Crowne Plaza family, the Al-Baraka Grand Ballroom which was created specifically to accommodate events of

$EG $O 5DKPDQ $O $O\DQ +DQL .DIDÂż and Emad Bukhamseen

Management and staff of Crowne Plaza Hotel

the highest caliber; from regional conferences to private weddings. The wonderful ghabga buffet was catered by the world renowned FAUCHON Paris – the name itself synonymous with gourmet luxury, which will set your event apart from the rest. Interactive games and prizes were carried out throughout the night arranged by Adnan Saad and Marwan Farah. A generous Charity Raffle draw was also amongst the highlights of the event.

The event was sponsored by MEC Kuwait, Kuwait Times, Al-Anbaa, Al-Rai, Mindshare, Media City, Al Yaqza magazine, Etihad Airways and Fiesta. Other prizes offered by Crowne Plaza, Osraty magazine, Jasim Al-Wazzan, Mias Al Ghanim, Royal Beauty, Aldawliya.

Adel Al Hashash with the Managment of Crowne Plaza and IAA

Waleed Kanafani President of IAA

31

WHAT’S ON

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Marwan Farah of IAA

Adnan Saad, Ziyad Majdoob, Nasreen

Naser Almejbel of IAA

Adnan Saad, Ahmed Al-Ajouz and Ziyad Majdoob

Algerian Ambassador and Adnan Saad

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

03:00 03:30 04:25 05:20 05:45 06:10 07:00 07:25 08:15 08:40 09:10 10:05 11:00 11:25 11:55 12:50 13:15 13:45 14:40 15:30 16:00 16:30 16:55 17:25 18:20 19:15 19:40 20:10 20:35 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50

Rescue Vet World Wild Vet Monster Bug Wars Living With The Wolfman Animal Battlegrounds Wild Animal Orphans Baboons With Bill Bailey Corwin’s Quest Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Breed All About It Growing Up...

Monster Bug Wars Wildlife SOS Gorilla School Animal Cops Houston Rescue Vet Rescue Vet Animal Precinct Monster Bug Wars Baboons With Bill Bailey Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Natural Born Hunters Natural Born Hunters Trophy Cats Dogs 101: Specials Wildlife SOS Gorilla School Living With The Wolfman Animal Battlegrounds Monster Bug Wars Wildest Latin America Speed Of Life Animal Cops Houston

03:20 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 03:45 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 04:35 James Martin’s Favourite Feasts 05:00 MasterChef 05:25 MasterChef 05:50 Living In The Sun 06:35 Rachel’s Favourite Food For Living 07:00 MasterChef Australia 08:35 Holmes On Homes 10:05 Bargain Hunt 10:50 Antiques Roadshow 11:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:20 10 Years Younger 13:10 What Not To Wear 14:50 Bargain Hunt 15:35 Antiques Roadshow 16:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 18:30 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 18:55 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 19:45 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:10 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:00 05:25 05:50 06:00 06:15 06:30 06:55 07:20 07:45 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 Doo 10:55 11:15 11:40 12:00 12:15

Dexter’s Laboratory Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes The Scooby Doo Show Johnny Bravo The Flintstones The Jetsons Wacky Races The Garfield Show Tom & Jerry Kids Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Ha Ha Hairies A Pup Named Scooby-Doo The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Pink Panther And Pals The Scooby Doo Show Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDastardly And Muttley The Flintstones Wacky Races Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes

12:40 12:55 13:20 13:35 14:00 14:50 15:15 Doo 15:40 16:00 16:15 16:40 17:05 17:30 17:55 18:10 18:35 19:00 19:15 19:40 19:55 20:20 20:35 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:40 23:05 23:20 23:45

Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Puppy In My Pocket Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Dexter’s Laboratory Johnny Bravo Pink Panther And Pals Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Popeye The Jetsons Duck Dodgers

03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 The Marvelous Misadventures...

06:25 Casper’s Scare School 07:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:15 Adventure Time 07:40 Johnny Test 08:05 Grim Adventures Of...

08:55 Courage The Cowardly Dog 09:45 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:10 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 10:35 Powerpuff Girls 11:25 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 12:15 Ed, Edd n Eddy 13:05 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 13:30 Sym-Bionic Titan 13:55 Foster’s Home For...

14:20 Foster’s Home For...

14:45 Angelo Rules 15:35 Powerpuff Girls 16:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 16:40 Johnny Test 17:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 17:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 17:55 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 18:20 Batman Brave And The Bold 18:45 Young Justice 19:10 Hero 108 19:35 Ben 10 20:00 Ben 10 20:25 Courage The Cowardly Dog 21:15 Grim Adventures Of...

22:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 22:50 Ben 10 23:15 Ben 10 23:40 Chowder

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00

Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business The Situation Room World Sport World’s Untold Stories World Report World Sport Inside Africa World Business Today Amanpour Inside The Middle East World One Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk Global Exchange World Sport Inside The Middle East International Desk

21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

03:25 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 14:35 15:05 16:00 16:55 17:20 18:15 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

Wreckreation Nation Squeamish Squeamish How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Swamp Loggers American Chopper Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Border Security Auction Kings How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Stan Lee’s Superhumans Mythbusters Mythbusters Border Security Auction Kings Ultimate Survival American Chopper Fifth Gear Extreme Loggers Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Border Security Auction Kings The Gadget Show Stan Lee’s Superhumans Mythbusters Mythbusters

03:05 The Gadget Show 03:35 Junkyard Mega-Wars 04:25 Tank On The Moon 05:15 Engineered 06:05 2012 Apocalypse 07:00 Junk Men 07:25 Junk Men 07:50 Head Rush 07:53 Bang Goes The Theory 08:20 Sci-Fi Science 08:50 Smash Lab 09:40 Punkin Chunkin 2010 10:30 How The Universe Works 15:35 The Gadget Show 16:00 Head Rush 16:03 Bang Goes The Theory 16:30 Sci-Fi Science 17:00 Extreme Bodies 17:50 Smash Lab 18:40 Stephen Hawking’s Universe 19:30 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 20:20 Meteorite Men 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 22:50 Meteorite Men 23:40 Smash Lab

DISNEY CHANNEL 03:05 Emperor’s New School 03:30 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:55 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 04:20 Replacements 04:45 Replacements 05:10 Fairly Odd Parents 05:35 Fairly Odd Parents 06:00 Fish Hooks 06:15 Recess 06:40 So Random 07:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 07:30 Good Luck Charlie 07:55 Shake It Up 08:20 Phineas And Ferb 08:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:10 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:25 Handy Manny 09:35 The Hive 09:45 Mouk 10:00 Recess 10:25 So Random 10:50 Hannah Montana Forever 11:15 Fish Hooks 11:26 Fish Hooks 11:40 Jake & Blake 12:05 Sonny With A Chance 12:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 12:55 Phineas And Ferb

13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 18:25 18:50 19:15 19:40 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:30 22:55 23:20 23:45

03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 THS 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 10:15 40 (More) Crimes Of Fashion 12:05 E! News 13:05 Khloe And Lamar 13:35 Khloe And Lamar 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 THS 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 17:25 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 17:55 E! News 18:55 THS 19:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 20:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

03:00 Meat & Potatoes 03:25 Meat & Potatoes 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Outrageous Food 04:40 Unwrapped 05:05 Unique Eats 05:30 Chopped 06:10 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 06:35 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 07:00 Food Network Challenge 07:50 Unique Sweets 08:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 08:40 Paula’s Best Dishes 09:05 Cooking For Real 09:30 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 09:55 Food (Ography) 10:45 Unwrapped 11:10 Unique Eats 11:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 12:00 Chopped 12:50 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 13:15 Cooking For Real 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Mexican Made Easy 14:30 Unique Sweets 14:55 Paula’s Best Dishes 15:20 Unwrapped 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Cooking For Real 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 17:50 Unique Eats 18:15 Food (Ography) 19:05 Unique Sweets 19:30 Food Network Challenge 20:20 Chopped 21:10 Unique Sweets 21:35 Unique Sweets 22:00 Unique Eats 22:25 Unique Eats 22:50 Unwrapped 23:15 Unwrapped 23:40 Meat & Potatoes

03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 Jones 11:10 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 Jones 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 Jones 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

BLACK FOREST ON OSN CINEMA

Timon And Pumbaa Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Phineas And Ferb Jessie A.N.T. Farm 16 Wishes Wizards Of Waverly Place Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie So Random Suite Life On Deck Jonas Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Kim Possible

03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00

Extreme Forensics Ghost Lab Dead Tenants Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Street Patrol Street Patrol Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Australian Families Of Crime American Greed Dr G: Medical Examiner

Naked Lentil Naked Lentil Dive Detectives Perilous Journeys Nomads Travel Madness Travel Madness David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway Naked Lentil Naked Lentil Dive Detectives Perilous Journeys Nomads Travel Madness Travel Madness David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway One Man & His Campervan David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1

15:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 16:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 17:00 Deadliest Journeys 2 17:30 The Best Job In The World 18:00 Nomads 19:00 Perilous Journeys 20:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 20:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:00 Danger Beach 22:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 23:00 Bondi Rescue 23:30 Bondi Rescue

OSN ACTION HD 04:00 Resident Evil 4: Afterlife-18 06:00 Kingdom Of Heaven-PG15 08:30 Arctic Predator-PG15 10:00 Riddles Of The Sphinx-PG15 12:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 14:00 Arctic Predator-PG15 16:00 The Reunion-PG15 18:00 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen-PG15 20:00 30 Days Of Night: Dark Days 22:00 Full Metal Jacket-18

03:00 Africa United-PG15 05:00 St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend Of Fritton’s Gold-PG15 07:00 Ice Age-FAM 09:00 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 11:00 Africa United-PG15 13:00 Uncorked-PG15 15:00 Red-PG15 17:00 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 19:00 The Eagle-PG15 21:00 Black Forest-PG15 23:00 Broken Embraces-18

03:00 2 Broke Girls 03:30 Perfect Couples 04:00 Weird Science 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Weird Science 06:00 Friends 06:30 Dharma And Greg 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Weird Science 08:30 2 Broke Girls 09:00 Weird Science 09:30 The Cleveland Show 10:00 Happy Endings 10:30 Dharma And Greg 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Friends 13:00 Weird Science 13:30 Dharma And Greg 14:00 Perfect Couples 14:30 Happy Endings 15:00 The Cleveland Show 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 2 Broke Girls 18:30 Community 19:00 Parks And Recreation

03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00

White Collar Warehouse 13 Good Morning America Century City Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Warehouse 13 The View

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

White Collar Royal Pains Revenge Cold Case Emmerdale Coronation Street Smallville The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar House Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville Hawthorne

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 PG15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Resident Evil 4: Afterlife-18 Men In Black II-PG Ip Man-PG15 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 Men In Black II-PG True Justice: Urban WarfareDangerous Flowers-PG15 Age Of The Dragons-PG15 Double Impact-18 The Craigslist Killer-PG15 Walled In-PG15

04:00 Labor Pains-PG15 06:00 A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song-PG15 08:00 Cool Runnings-PG15 10:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 12:00 Nothing Like The HolidaysPG15 14:00 Little Secrets-PG 16:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 18:00 The Lonely Guy-PG15 20:00 Happy Gilmore-PG15 22:00 Tank Girl-PG15

03:00 Lorenzo’s Oil-PG15 05:15 The Social Network-PG15 07:15 Sunny And The ElephantPG15 09:00 My Afternoons With Margueritte-PG15 11:00 The Sting II-PG 13:00 The Greatest-PG15 15:00 My Afternoons With Margueritte-PG15 17:00 Private-PG15 18:45 Dead Poets Society-PG15 21:00 Dance With Me-PG 23:15 Thelma And Louise-PG15

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES ON OSN MOVIES HD

03:30 05:30 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Henry’s Crime-PG15 Call Of The Wild-PG15 Monte Carlo-PG15 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 Last Holiday-PG15 At Risk-PG15 Bound By A Secret-PG15 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 Hemingway & Gellhorn-PG15 Black Forest-PG15 Predators-18

04:00 Zorro’s Secrets-PG 06:00 Despicable Me-FAM 08:00 D’fenders-PG 10:00 The Three Bears: The Amazing Adventurers-FAM 12:00 Zorro’s Secrets-PG 14:15 Tom And Jerry & The Wizard Of Oz-FAM 16:00 Emperor’s Secret-PG 18:00 The Three Bears: The Amazing Adventurers-FAM 20:00 Blue Elephant 2-FAM 22:00 Tom And Jerry & The Wizard Of Oz-FAM 23:45 Emperor’s Secret-PG

03:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 04:00 Trans World Sport 05:00 NRL Premiership 07:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 08:00 NRL Premiership 10:00 Super Rugby Highlights 11:00 Olympic Men’s Canoe 11:55 Live Olympic Swimming 15:10 Olympic Basketball OR Women’s Volleyball 16:55 Live Olympic Men’s Diving 18:10 Live Olympic Sailing 18:50 Live Olympic Men’s Football 21:25 Live Olympic Swimming

03:00 Super League 05:00 Super Rugby Highlights 06:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 07:00 Darts World Match Play 09:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 11:25 Live Olympic Rowing 15:25 Live Olympic Men’s Canoe 18:25 Live Olympic Men’s Gymnastics 21:20 Olympic Sailing 21:55 Live Olympic Beach Volleyball

03:00 Futbol Mundial 03:30 Darts World Match Play 05:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Senior European Tour Highlights 09:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 09:30 European Challenge Golf Highlights 10:00 NRL Full Time 10:55 Live Olympic Beach Volleyball 14:00 Live Olympic Tennis 22:25 Live Olympic Men’s Boxing

03:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 04:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 05:00 UFC Unleashed 07:00 WWE Vintage Collection 08:00 WWE NXT 08:45 V8 Supercars Highlights 09:45 Mobil 1 The Grid 10:20 Live Olympic Men’s Hockey 14:20 Live Olympic Sailing 16:20 Live Olympic Men’s Football 23:50 Olympic Basketball OR Women’s Volleyball OR Beach Volleyball

03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00

American Restoration Pawn Stars Ancient Aliens Britain At War Ax Men

07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Ancient Aliens Britain At War Pawn Stars Ax Men American Pickers American Restoration Pawn Stars Britain At War Ancient Aliens American Pickers American Restoration Pawn Stars Britain At War Ancient Aliens Pawn Stars Ax Men Lock N’ Load Top Shot

03:20 04:15 06:05 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:55 11:55 12:50 13:20 13:50 14:45 16:35 18:25 20:20 21:15 22:10 23:05

How Do I Look?

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Clean House Videofashion News Videofashion Daily Open House Videofashion News How Do I Look?

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Clean House Videofashion News Mel B: It’s A Scary World Clean House: New York How Do I Look?

Clean House Big Rich Texas How Do I Look?

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Fashion Police Wicked Fit

13:40 Speargun Hunter 14:30 Ford’s Fishing Frontier 15:45 Madfin Shark Series 16:35 Legends Of Rod & Reel 17:00 Speargun Hunter 18:15 Ford’s Fishing Frontier 19:30 Madfin Shark Series 20:20 Legends Of Rod & Reel 20:45 Speargun Hunter 22:00 Roll With It 22:25 Roll With It 23:15 Adventure Guides - Fishing Edition

06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:20 Pokemon: Black And White 06:45 Rated A For Awesome 07:10 Kickin It 07:35 Phineas And Ferb 08:00 Phineas And Ferb 08:25 Pair Of Kings 08:50 Kick Buttowski 09:15 Zeke & Luther 09:40 I’m In The Band 10:05 Phineas And Ferb 10:30 Kid vs Kat 10:55 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 11:20 Aaron Stone 11:45 Rekkit Rabbit 12:10 American Dragon 12:35 Kick Buttowski 13:00 Phineas And Ferb 13:10 Phineas And Ferb 13:25 I’m In The Band 13:45 Kid vs Kat 14:10 Pair Of Kings 14:35 Zeke & Luther 15:00 Fort Boyard - Ultimate Challenge 15:25 Rekkit Rabbit 15:50 Rated A For Awesome 16:15 Kickin It 16:40 Pair Of Kings 17:05 Zeke & Luther 17:30 Scaredy Squirrel 18:00 Iron Man Armored Adventures 18:25 Phineas And Ferb 19:15 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 19:40 Pair Of Kings 20:05 Zeke & Luther 20:30 Zeke & Luther 20:55 Mr. Young 21:20 Aaron Stone 21:45 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 22:10 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Kid vs Kat

03:05 Jungle Junction 03:20 Little Einsteins 03:40 Special Agent Oso 04:10 Lazytown 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Lazytown 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 The Hive 08:20 Handy Manny 08:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 08:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:05 The Hive 09:15 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:20 Mouk 09:35 Mouk 09:45 The Hive 09:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:20 Lazytown 10:45 Art Attack 11:10 Imagination Movers 11:35 Lazytown 12:00 The Hive 12:10 Handy Manny 12:25 Jungle Junction 12:40 Imagination Movers 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Special Agent Oso 13:30 Lazytown 13:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:20 The Hive 14:30 Handy Manny 14:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 15:00 Mouk 15:15 The Hive 15:25 Handy Manny 15:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 15:55 Imagination Movers 16:20 Lazytown 16:45 Art Attack 17:10 Handy Manny 17:25 Handy Manny 17:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:10 Little Einsteins 18:35 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 19:00 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 19:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:25 101 Dalmatians 19:40 Mouk 19:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:20 The Hive 20:30 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:35 A Poem Is...

20:40 Animated Stories 20:45 Mouk 21:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:25 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:40 Special Agent Oso 21:55 Little Einsteins 22:20 Timmy Time 22:30 Jungle Junction 22:45 Handy Manny 22:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:20 Special Agent Oso 23:35 Special Agent Oso 23:50 Lazytown

03:00 Excalibur’s Deer City USA 04:15 Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures 05:30 Adventure Guides - Fishing Edition 07:00 Roll With It 08:15 Adventure Guides - Fishing Edition 09:30 Roll With It 10:45 Ford’s Fishing Frontier 12:00 Madfin Shark Series 12:50 Legends Of Rod & Reel 13:15 Speargun Hunter

03:40 Elvis On Tour-PG 05:15 Penelope-FAM 07:00 Ada-PG 08:45 Clash By Night-PG 10:30 The Day They Robbed The Bank Of...-FAM 11:55 The Letter-FAM 13:30 Ziegfeld Follies-FAM 15:15 Tribute To A Bad Man-PG 16:50 Travels With My Aunt-PG 18:35 The Swan-FAM 20:20 Casablanca-FAM 22:00 What’s Up, Doc?-FAM 23:35 Dark Of The Sun

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 1/8/2012 Flt Route

Time

QTR JZR RJA GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR QTR KAC DHX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC JZR QTR KAC KAC KAC AFR KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA UAE MEA MSR IRM JZR KNE MSR RJA QTR KAC SVA KAC KAC QTR JZR KAC IYE ETD JZR UAE UAL SVA GFA JZR BAB JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC KNE KAC MSR RBG UAE KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA BBC ALK KLM UAE JZR ETD QTR AIC FDB GFA UAL JZR DLH MSR THY

148 267 642 211 853 305 67 612 138 544 170 503 412 157 206 382 555 6130 284 302 352 6702 344 362 855 125 132 55 603 301 213 871 404 606 5066 775 470 610 640 140 790 500 788 546 134 535 538 824 303 787 857 982 510 215 177 436 777 127 542 786 166 472 1734 620 3553 4987 774 1792 618 674 1736 572 102 393 61 647 402 146 221 43 229 417 859 135 307 136 975 59 217 981 239 636 614 772

0:20 0:50 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 3:10 3:20 3:25 4:10 5:00 6:05 6:15 6:30 7:15 7:30 7:35 7:45 7:45 7:50 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:25 9:30 10:00 10:45 10:55 11:10 11:55 12:05 13:20 13:30 13:40 14:25 14:25 14:30 15:00 15:05 15:15 16:00 16:10 16:35 16:35 16:45 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:15 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:10 19:20 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:35 19:35 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:20 21:35 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40

DOHA BEIRUT AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI CAIRO DOHA CAIRO BAHRAIN LUXOR MANILA LONDON ISLAMABAD DELHI ALEXANDRIA DOHA DHAKA MUMBAI COCHIN TOULOUSE CHENNAI COLOMBO DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA DUBAI SHIRAZ ABU DHABI BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT LUXOR MASHAD JEDDAH JEDDAH CAIRO AMMAN DOHA MEDINAH JEDDAH JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA DOHA CAIRO SOHAG SANAA ABU DHABI RIYADH DUBAI WASHINGTON DC DULLES RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN JEDDAH SHARJAH CAIRO JEDDAH PARIS JEDDAH JEDDAH ASSIUT ALEXANDRIA AL MAKTOUM INTERNATI RIYADH JEDDAH DOHA DUBAI JEDDAH MUMBAI NEW YORK KOZHIKODE DUBAI MUSCAT BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN DHAKA COLOMBO AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DOHA CHENNAI DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN AMMAN FRANKFURT CAIRO ISTANBUL

Airlines AIC UAL DLH JZR PIA THY UAE FDB ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA GFA KAC BAW KAC KAC ABY JZR QTR AFR KAC UAE KAC QTR FDB KAC ETD IRA GFA KAC JZR MEA MSR UAE KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR IRM KAC KNE MSR RJA KAC KAC SVA KAC QTR ETD JZR IYE QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY UAL SVA JZR KNE BAB RBG MSR KAC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC UAE OMA MEA KAC GFA DHX ALK KLM ETD KAC UAE QTR KAC KAC QTR AXB FDB GFA KAC JZR

Depature Flights on Wednesday 1/8/2012 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 554 ALEXANDRIA 206 LAHORE 773 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 774 JEDDAH 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 175 FRANKFURT 117 NEW YORK 126 SHARJAH 534 CAIRO 6131 DOHA 6702 DUBAI 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 789 MADINAH 133 DOHA 56 DUBAI 537 SOHAG 302 ABU DHABI 602 SHIRAZ 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 776 JEDDAH 405 BEIRUT 619 ASSIUT 872 DUBAI 103 LONDON 1733 JEDDAH 785 JEDDAH 1735 JEDDAH 786 RIYADH 176 DUBAI 5065 MASHHAD 1791 JEDDAH 471 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 641 AMMAN 672 DUBAI 617 DOHA 503 MADINAH 773 RIYADH 135 DOHA 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 824 SANAA 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 266 BEIRUT 473 JEDDAH 439 BAHRAIN 3554 ALEXANDRIA 621 ALEXANDRIA 283 DHAKA 361 COLOMBO 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 331 TRIVANDRUM 351 KOCHI 4988 AL MAKTOUM 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 417 DAMMAM 308 ABU DHABI 381 DELHI 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 147 DOHA 394 KOCHI 60 DUBAI 218 BAHRAIN 415 KUALA LUMPUR 528 ASSIUT

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:30 1:25 2:15 3:45 3:50 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:40 6:50 7:05 8:10 8:25 8:55 9:05 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:30 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:05 10:05 10:15 10:25 10:45 11:30 11:50 11:55 12:10 12:20 12:30 12:40 13:10 13:15 13:15 13:20 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:30 14:35 15:05 15:45 15:45 15:55 16:15 17:20 17:30 17:35 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:35 19:35 19:45 19:55 20:15 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:50 21:05 21:10 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:50 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

POLICE STATION

Al-Madena Police Station 22434064 Al-Murqab Police Station 22435865 Al-Daiya Police Station

22544200

Al-Fayha’a Police Station 22547133

ACCOMMODATION One big room for couple or bachelor, Filipino only near Gulf Mart Far waniya.

Contact: 99418396.

1-8-2012 Sharing accommodation available for bachelor in Farwaniya near Finger Print Office. Contact: 60375424/

97220725 (C 4092) 31-7-2012

FOR SALE Nissan Pathfinder model 2006, silver color, mileage 104000 km, new tyres and battery, non-accident, price KD 3,600/-. Contact: 99949612. (C 4091) 29-7-2012

Al-Qadissiya Police Station22515277 Al-Nugra Police Station

22616662

Ministry of Interior

Al-Salmiya Police Station 25714406 Al-Dasma Police Station 22530801

112

website: www.moi.gov.kw Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:39 11:54 15:30 18:40 20:06

GOVERNMENT WEB SITES Kuwait Parliament www.majlesalommah.net

The Public Institution for Social Security www.pifss.gov.kw

Ministry of Interior www.moi.gov.kw

Public Authority of Industry www.pai.gov.kw

Public Authority for Civil Information www.paci.gov.kw

Prisoners of War Committee www.pows.org.kw

Kuwait News Agency www.kuna.net.kw

Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.gov.kw

Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair www.islam.gov.kw

Kuwait Municipality www.municipality.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Oil) www.moo.gov.kw

Kuwait Electronic Government www.e.gov.kw

Ministry of Energy (Electricity and Water) www.energy.govt.kw

Ministry of Finance www.mof.gov.kw

Public Authority for Housing Welfare www.housing.gov.kw

Ministry of Commerce and Industry www.moci.gov.kw

Ministry of Justice www.moj.gov.kw

Ministry of Education www.moe.edu.kw

Ministry of Communications www.moc.kw

Ministry of Information www.moinfo.gov.kw

Supreme Council for Planning and Development www.scpd.gov.kw

Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation www.awqaf.org

34

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 754

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19)

CALVIN & HOBBES

Something which has been lost or hidden may come to light now. Secrets, long-buried feelings and desires, or skeletons in the closet could be revealed. This is also a time when you can easily go to extremes. You become deeply involved in, and even somewhat obsessive about, whatever you are doing. Driving yourself beyond your limits can be destructive now. Socializing and a little quality time with your romantic interest is exactly what you need at the moment. A night on the town with close friends will do wonders for your spirit. A quiet, late night frolic with your lover should send both your energy levels soaring as well.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) If you follow well-marked roads your trip will be shorter and you won’t get lost. Stick to the tried and true and don’t experiment for the moment. You’ll find support from elements that might otherwise pull away. Don’t rock the boat and the boat will get you where you want to go. Traditional wisdom supports you, believe in it. You may feel inclined to speak to others about your innermost feelings, your past, and other personal subjects, things that builds closeness and trust in your relationships. You are also a sympathetic listener, drawing out others’ feelings and personal experiences.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A drug combination found in some over-the-counter headache remedies (Aspirin and Phenacetin and Caffeine).

4. A square dance figure.

10. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

13. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

14. Render capable or able for some task.

15. A slight amount or degree of difference.

16. Of deserts of northern Africa and southern Asia.

18. Lower in esteem.

19. A Kwa language spoken in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

20. United States writer (born in Poland) who wrote in Yiddish (1880-1957).

22. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy.

23. An alloy of copper and zinc (and sometimes arsenic) used to imitate gold in cheap jewelry and for gilding.

27. A public promotion of some product or service.

29. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of the Old World.

34. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

36. Capital of Swaziland.

38. Indian sitar player who popularized classical Indian music in the West (born in 1920).

42. A port city in southwestern Turkey on the Gulf of Antalya.

43. A long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur.

44. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

45. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

46. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

48. A hard brittle gray polyvalent metallic element that resembles iron but is not magnetic.

49. God of wealth and love.

51. Clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing.

54. Make less active or intense.

58. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

59. The capital and largest city of Ghana with a deep-water port.

62. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

63. The former capital and 2nd largest city of Brazil.

64. Australasian kingfishers.

66. A dark-skinned member of a race of people living in Australia when Europeans arrived.

67. A bachelor's degree in naval science.

68. A port city in southwestern Iran.

69. Related by blood.

DOWN 1. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

2. Of a period of maximal use or demand or activity.

3. A unit of weight for precious stones = 200 mg.

4. (of champagne) Moderately dry.

5. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

6. A deep bow.

7. A hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red blood cells their characteristic color.

8. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

9. Not only so, but.

10. A state in the western United States.

11. An independent group of closely related Chadic languages spoken in the area between the Biu-Mandara and East Chadic languages.

12. Chief port of Yemen.

17. Small buffalo of the Celebes having small straight horns.

21. A fraudulent business scheme.

24. 1/1000 gram.

25. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

26. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

28. The longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code.

30. A member of an agricultural people of southern India.

31. The basic unit of money in Western Samoa.

32. A town in north central Oklahoma.

33. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

35. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

37. A small cake leavened with yeast.

39. Acute ulceration of the mucous membranes of the mouth or genitals.

40. A Dravidian language spoken in southern India.

41. (Old Testament) Wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau.

42. A hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red blood cells their characteristic color.

47. An inflammatory swelling or sore.

48. Any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse.

50. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

52. (Greek mythology) God of love.

53. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

55. Any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses.

56. A sock with a separation for the big toe.

57. Very dark black.

60. Having any of numerous bright or strong colors reminiscent of the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies.

61. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

65. In operation or operational.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You could be hypersensitive and emotionally vulnerable to others today. You’re likely to absorb energy like a sponge which could result in some sort of unpleasant feelings. It is best to avoid those tensions with negative or unhappy people by not associating with them. If you see someone negative moving towards you on the horizon, turn around and walk in the opposite direction. It’s going to be a busy day for you as you’ll want to communicate and get in touch with those closest to your heart. Numerous phone calls, emails, networking, errands, or discussions bring you into contact with others. This is a good time to brainstorm with others, share ideas and long term goals.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) A great day to take the initiative or to begin a project that you have been considering. Go for it today, don’t just think about it! If you tend to be a relaxed, easygoing person, you will simply feel more energy and drive than usual. If not then be careful you don’t get too wound up. Getting noticed and getting the job done may not seem to go hand in hand, as personal issues interfere with other obligations. Personal and partner issues will be the main focus for most of the day. Try to get as much resolved in this area without destroying it out of frustration.

NON SEQUITUR

Leo (July 23-August 22) Your long-range goals, life direction, or career aims come into focus now. You gain can clarity or a stronger sense of purpose, which energizes your efforts to get ahead or move toward what you really want. Recognition or support from your superiors or others who are in a position to assist you is likely now, especially if you take some initiative. The general energy today is, let’s say, overcast but not unpleasant. Take advantage of the relatively stable but cool emotional environment to mend fences, solidify old friendships, and give someone a pat on the back. A little praise is probably sufficient for those around you, as going overboard looks more like sucking up than really being sincere.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Today is an ideal day to confront any unresolved personal problems you may have. If you can’t see a viable solution to your troubles, solicit the advice of a trusted friend. Remedies may prove to be hard to come by, but if you stick with it you’ll come up with one in the end. Giving and receiving appreciation, love, and happiness come into your life now. You are moved to express your affections more openly than usual. You also want to be surrounded with beauty and harmonious people. It’s a great day to sit back and enjoy what and who makes you happy.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

A challenging situation is going to arise that will cause you to guard yourself, and you’ll be so caught up in defending your position, you’ll fail to see the feelings of others. When you realize it, you’ll feel embarrassed. Though you are unusually energetic, it is hard for you to get anything done today. You tend to fly off the handle and to scatter your energy. You are happiest now when you do something creative and daring, which doesn’t involve trying to cooperate or conform to others’ wishes and needs.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Something that’s been building up cannot be ignored for much longer - so make a point of sitting down and discussing the item with your nearest and dearest. Some urgent accounting needs to take place if you want your budget to meet your high expectations. Your spirits are high at this time, and you feel optimistic, self-confident, generous, and just outright happy. You greet life with a fresh attitude, and it is easy for your to forget the mistakes of the past and envision bright new adventures for growth and fulfillment.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You want to do what you want today. Fortunately you are able find ways to be yourself and even be a little “crazy” without offending or upsetting others. Take advantage of any unusual offers or opportunities from others, who knows it could lead you to “the one” or even reinforce what you have if you’re with someone special already.

Refinement and relationships are the issues to emotional satisfaction for you now. Harmony and beauty are deeply satisfying to you on both an emotional and spiritual level. And the lack of them can be emotionally unsettling. Close personal ties to other people are a focal point for your feelings, intimate relationships and other partnerships could be a what it’s about.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Don’t do too much dreaming just now. It would be very easy for you to get carried away with some fancy or another.

Your feelings are not in sync with your imagination. You may be hard to satisfy. Knowing who you want and moving on to win their affection is the opportunity of the day, and who you fall in love or even very like with now may be just the chance you’ve been waiting for. Sharing goals and deciding to mutually go for it will be the best of all possible worlds for everybody, with a minimum of conflict resulting later.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Love, passion, idealism and self-interest? How do you balance these four aspects of your life today and please all parties involved in the equation? Love and passion may fall short of your idea of the ideal and in the process you’ll feel as though you’re not being nurtured in the way you want. Don’t settle for less than what you think you’re worth in relationships. Make your value known. Ideas for rearranging and tightening up issues at home can save you the headache of repeating old problems. Home is where the heart is only when you put your head into heart into it, so brainstorm some new approaches and operating rules that can make life more comfortable for all.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

The keys to getting your way likely lie in your ability to strongly project your own personality in such a way that it overpowers others. This can make you the dominant, alpha player in your surrounds, but you may pay the price of resentment by others who feel pushed out of the way. A shift in moods and attitudes occurs at this time that will continue to affect you deeply for a few days. You may be emotionally sensitive now, but often it is difficult for you to clearly express what you are feeling. Try not to take things that are said or done too seriously as you may be hurt more than any one intends for you to be.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

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

Kaizen center

25716707

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

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

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

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

Hawally

ST TAT TE OF K KUW WAIT A

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIA V AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PA ARTMENT

WWW.MET.GOV V.KW .

Veery hot h with south westerly changing to light variable wind, with speed of 08 - 30 km/h

BY Y NIGHT:

Relatively hot with variable wind changing to light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of 08 - 30 km/h No Current Warnings arnin a

WA ARNING

48 °C

38 °C

22451082

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

49 °C

33 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WA AISEEB

47 °C

34 °C

Sharq

22465401

WAFRA A

50 °C

32 °C

Salmiya

25746401

SALMI

50 °C

32 °C

Jabriya

25316254

ABDAL LY

49 °C

33 °C

JAL ALIY YA AH

49 °C

34 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

49 °C

32 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

43 °C

38 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

43 °C

35 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YA AN

47 °C

32 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

ST TATION T

DA AT TE

WEA AT THER

Weednesday

01/08

West Jahra

24772608

Thursday

South Jahra

24775066

Friday

North Jahra

24775992

Saturday

North Jleeb

24311795

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

31/07/2012 0000 UTC

Temperatures DA AY

24575755

Al-Omariya

SFC. CHART

4 DA AY YS FORECAST

New Jahra

24892674

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

very hot

49 °C

34 °C

N-NW

15 - 40 km/h

02/08

very hot + raising dust

47 °C

35 °C

NW-N

20 - 45 km/h

03/08

very hot + raising dust

47 °C

35 °C

N-NW

20 - 45 km/h

04/08

very hot + raising dust

48 °C

35 °C

NW

25 - 50 km/h

RA AYER Y TIMES PRA

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WA AIT AIRPORT

Fajr

03:39

MAX. Temp.

50 °C

Sunrise

05:08

MIN. Temp.

30 °C

Zuhr

11:54

MAX. RH

28 %

Asr

15:30

MIN. RH

Sunset

18:41

MAX. Wind i

Isha

20:07

TOT TA AL L RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

04 % SE 25 km/h 00 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

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. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Salem soso

22618787 General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

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

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

BY Y DA AY:

KUW WA AIT CITY

Firdous

Al-Shohada’a

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours

MIN. REC.

24884079

2627 - 2630 Ext.: 262

22418714

Fax: 24348714

MAX. EXP P.

Al-Ardhiya

PHONE

Al-Madena

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

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)

25655535

Dentists Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Neurologists Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

Endocrinologist Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Pitbull gets bear spray during Alaska visit

Keith postpones

iami rapper Pitbull can now say he’s safe from bears in Alaska. Pitbull received a care package Monday from Walmart during his visit to Kodiak, complete with bear repellent spray and bear bells used by hikers to make noise, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported. The bear spray had special meaning to about 250 people who attended the Pitbull appearance at the Coast Guard base in Kodiak. The rapper had tweeted he heard the local Walmart sold the spray. In a marketing deal, Pitbull - whose real name is Armando Christian Perez - agreed to visit the Walmart that got the most likes on its Facebook page. Kodiak was the easy winner, thanks to David Thorpe, a Boston writer who thought it would be funny to send Pitbull to the most remote Walmart possible.

Thorpe also was in Kodiak Monday and met the rapper. Pitbull was a sport, receiving a key to the city from Kodiak Mayor Pat Branson, who donned shades to mimic the dapper rapper’s look. Pitbull tweeted a picture of him holding a child onstage alongside Alutiiq (UH’-loo-tic) dancers and said, “Thank U Kodiak ... I am honored, truly.” The rapper, known as “Mr. Worldwide,” told the audience he would put Kodiak into a future song. Following the appearance at the Coast Guard base, he met employees of the Walmart.

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concert date after surgery urgery has briefly sidelined country star Toby Keith. Keith has had his gallbladder removed and was forced to reschedule his show Thursday at Fort McCoy in Sparta, Wis. That concert date has been rescheduled to Aug. 30. A Monday news release says the 51year-old Oklahoma native will resume his “Live in Overdrive” tour Friday at the WE Fest in Detroit Lakes, Minn. Keith’s spokeswoman says he is doing fine after the outpatient procedure. While Keith won’t be able to make the Aug. 2 show at Fort McCoy, Gretchen Wilson and others will continue with the concert.

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Kirk and Anne Douglas give $20

‘Real Housewives’ star Maloof and husband split

million to Hollywood non-profit ilm legend Kirk Douglas and his wife, Anne, will donate $20 million to the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s capital campaign, the Hollywood non-profit said Monday. The gift will come from the Douglas Foundation, and part of the donation will be used to expand Harry’s Haven, the MPTF’s Alzheimer’s unit, and to sustain dementia care at the organization’s Woodland Hills campus. That unit, along with the nonprofit’s hospital and long-term care facilities were once pegged to be closed until a grassroots campaign involving patients and their families created a public relations firestorm that persuaded the MPTF’s leadership to drop its original plan and keep those facilities open. In January, the MPTF bowed to pressure and announced it would begin accepting new residents for the first time since it announced plans to close the facility in 2009. “When Anne and I were deciding how much to give to MPTF this year, we looked again at the wide range of services the Fund provides,” Kirk Douglas said in a statement.

“Then we doubled our pledge!” “You know, I believe that giving to others is selfish, because the giver gets so much pleasure from it,” he added. “I hope Anne and I inspire many more selfish acts of this kind, especially from the younger generation of entertainment professionals.” The Douglas Foundation gift is the latest high-profile contribution to the MPTF’s $350 million, three-year fundraising drive. Two weeks ago, News Corp. announced it will donate $20 million to the charity and last month media mogul Barry Diller donated $30 million to the campaign. Diller, a billionaire and the former chairman of Fox and Paramount Pictures, currently heads the internet company, IAC/InterActiveCorp. Among the major figures in the entertainment industry who have contributed to MPTF’s capital campaign are construction and entertainment magnate Steve Bing, “Hangover” director Todd Phillips, producer Joe Roth, George Clooney, media and music entrepreneur David Geffen and Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg. In addition to providing long-term care, the MPTF offers a range of charitable programs, such as financial assistance for rent, mortgage, food and extraordinary healthcare crises to counseling and health care support for uninsured members of the entertainment community.

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he Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Adrienne Maloof might not be a housewife much longer. Maloof’s husband, plastic surgeon Dr. Paul Nassif, filed for separation from the reality TV personality on Monday, according to court papers obtained by TheWrap. The papers, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, cite irreconcilable differences as the reason for the separation. Nassif and businesswoman Maloof have been married since May 2002. They have three sons: Gavin, 9, and six-year-old twins Christian and Collin. The papers make note of a prenuptial agreement. (Maloof is one of the owners of Maloof Companies, whose holdings include the Palms Casino and Resort in Las Vegas and the Sacramento Kings basketball team.) Separate and community property held by the couple will be determined in an amended petition.

According to the filing, Nassif is asking that the court not be allowed to award spousal support to Maloof. A representative for Maloof has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. Season 3 of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” will premiere in September.

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Crow granted temporary restraining order judge has granted Sheryl Crow a temporary restraining order against a man who is accused of threatening to shoot the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter. The order requires Phillip Gordon Sparks, 45, to stay 100 yards away and not attempt to contact Crow, her family or any of her workers. She wrote in a sworn statement that she is fearful of Sparks because he has claimed in profane online tirades that she has stolen money from him and broken into his house. She also states Sparks recently went to the offices of an entertainment union and told a worker that he was going to “just shoot” her. A worker at the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists wrote in declaration accompanying Crow’s filing that she spoke with Sparks on July 16 and he made the threat against Crow. He also threatened to shoot film executive Harvey Weinstein because he believed they were filming him and stole millions from him, the worker stated. The temporary order was granted July 24 and first reported Monday by celebrity website TMZ. A hearing on a three-year protective order is scheduled for Aug. 14 in Santa Monica, Calif.

Attempts to contact Sparks were unsuccessful. Crow, 50, has won nine Grammy Awards and has two sons, ages 5 and 2.

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Spears loves ‘The X Factor’ ritney Spears thinks ‘The X Factor’ has been “really good” for her. The 30-year-old singer has joined the judging panel of the show alongside Demi Lovato, Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid and is enjoying using her pop experience to help the aspiring contestants. She said: “I think this show has been really good for me to do because I’ve been able to help this talent come in and achieve their dream. “I can relate to them on a central level because I started out at such a young age. “I know the foundation and the depth of what you go through into achieving your dream and doing this. So being able to do this has been, if anything, a great experience for me.

“I really feel like being able to be on a show, where you can give back and help people achieve their dream, is just really interesting to me. It’s really different from anything I’ve ever done.” Britney - who has been described as “mean” by show chief Simon - insists her criticisms of the contestants are a result of her being a “very honest” person. She told Britain’s OK! magazine: “It’s kind of just based on who I am and my personality in everyday life. I’m just a very honest person.”

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Brand honored to do community service ussell Brand will be “honored” to do community service. The British funnyman - who last week was ordered to undertake 20 hours of community service and pay $500 in court fees for throwing a photographer’s iPhone through a window in March - thinks his sentence is not a punishment as it gives him a chance to help people in need. He said: “I don’t know what their format of community service is, but community service, that doesn’t seem like a punishment. That seems like a duty. “We are our community. Service is an honour. I’ll be happy to do it.” However, the ‘Arthur’ star - whose divorce from Katy Perry was finalised earlier this month - admitted he doesn’t yet know what his community service will involve. He said: “What will I be doing? I don’t know. Tidying up or something probably.” Russell previously joked that his actions with the phone were in tribute to late Apple founder CEO Steve Jobs. Speaking shortly after the incident, he said: “Since Steve Jobs died I cannot bear to see anyone use an iPhone irreverently, what I did was a tribute to his memory.” —Agencies

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Deyn’s family shocked by wedding gyness Deyn’s family were “totally shocked” to hear she had got married. The British model wed actor Giovanni Ribisi in June after a whirlwind romance, and their nuptials even took her relatives by surprise because they did not know any plans were being made. A source said: “Even her family didn’t have a clue. Only her sister Emily was let in on the secret right at the last minute. It was a total shock. There’s no denying Agyness being married is all very new to her family. She has always been very close to them. They’re all hoping they can meet up soon.” Even the couple themselves are surprised at the speed at which they have wed, and they are now settling into their lives together and getting to know more about each other. The source added to Grazia magazine: “It was a really whirlwind romance and having tied the knot and moved in together, Agyness has realised they don’t actually know all that much about each other. They have been talking long into the night about their lives and loves and are all learning all sorts about each other. “They seem to have cut the outside world out in order to do so.”

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37

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

In this 1953 publicity photo provided by Running Press, Marilyn Monroe is shown on set in the film, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”

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M o v i e s

Dwight Bowers, Curator of Division of Culture and the Arts, holds gloves that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe in the vaults at the Smithsonian’s American History Museum on July 27, 2012 in Washington. —AFP photos

In this March 25, 1991 file photo, Madonna performs “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” from the film “Dick Tracy” during the 63rd Annual Academy Awards show at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles. —AP

Fifty years on, everyone still wants a piece of Marilyn he first thing you notice when you see Marilyn Monroe’s full-length gloves in the storeroom of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History is how small her hands were. “They’re one of a number of pairs she had,” says curator Dwight Bowers, gently lifting them out of the beige steel cabinet they share with Christopher Reeves’ Superman costume and the 10-gallon hat that J.R. wore in “Dallas.” “They’re white kid. They’re very tiny and petite. And they show the decorousness of the 1950s,” he explained. “There’s a stain of ink on the left one ... perhaps it came from giving an autograph to someone.”

Donated by a private collector, the gloves make up the entire Marilyn Monroe collection at the publicly-funded Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest network of museums and, in principle, repository of all things Americana. Bowers, who plans to include the gloves in an forthcoming Smithsonian exhibition on American popular culture, said it’s “logical” for the museum to hold more Monroe memorabilia. “But

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Hollywood material and Hollywood celebrities are big business in the auction world,” he told AFP in the windowless storeroom that’s packed floor to ceiling with show-business artifacts from vaudeville to today.

“Private collectors are part of our competition-and private collectors have a much bigger budget than we have.” Fifty years after her death, demand for anything related to Hollywood’s original blonde bombshell-from the dresses she wore to the magazine covers she graced-is stronger than ever. And it’s more global as well. Many choice items can be seen at the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles, where a handful of private collectors have pooled their most prized Monroe objects for a summer-long public exhibition.

It’s a wide-ranging show, from the mortgage paperwork on Monroe’s house to neverbefore-seen photographs and a host of garments like the black silk crepe dress she wore on her honeymoon with baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. “It had been in storage for 35 years,” Hollywood Museum founder Donelle Dadigan

said. “When we received it, you knew who it belonged to, because the Chanel Number Five perfume still lingered... It was almost magical.”

The bulk of Monroe’s personal belongings went on the auction block at Christie’s in New York in October 1999 at a historic two-day estate sale that raked in $13.4 million.

“They literally had everything from pots and pans to her brassieres,” recalled Clark Kidder, a collector of Monroe-related magazines in Wisconsin and author of a 2001 guide to Monroe memorabilia who attended the sale. The most expensive item then was a diamond-studded platinum eternity band, a gift from DiMaggio, her second husband, that Christie’s experts had estimated at $50,000 tops. It sold for $772,000 and it’s likely worth much more today.

Monroe’s baby grand piano went, too, for $662,500, along with everything else from a pair of bikinis and a set of gym equipment to her driver’s license as well as the gloves that eventually wound up in the Smithsonian. Such prices today would be considered bargains,

due in part to the globalization of the memorabilia market and an influx of cash-rich and reclusive Asian and Gulf collectors for whom price is no object.

“Some of the top prices for Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, in the seven figures, you may end up finding in China, in Japan, in the Middle East ... it’s just extraordinary,” Dadigan told AFP in a telephone interview. Last year, in Macau, Los Angeles auctioneers Julien’s sold a gown that Monroe wore in the movie “River of No Return” for $516,600 and a signed nude from her “red velvet” session with photographer Tom Kelly for $16,250.

Earlier in 2011, the billowing dress that Monroe wore over that famously breezy subway grating in “The Seven-Year Itch” sold for a staggering $4.6 million-plus commission-in Los Angeles. The seller was the actress Debbie Reynolds, who at 79 had no more room for her collection of 35,000 Hollywood movie costumes. The buyer, as is so often the case at auctions, opted for discretion and bid by telephone. “A lot of these high-profile pieces,

when they come up for auction, are going to the Asian countries,” Los Angeles collector Scott Fortner, whose own Monroe objects are part of the Hollywood Museum exhibition, told AFP. “I find it disappointing that some of these pieces literally just disappear and we have no idea where they go,” added Fortner, who has catalogued his entire collection-from a feather boa to make-up and eye drops-online. Fortner sees himself not so much as a collector than as a custodian of the memory of a timeless motion picture icon. He’s especially proud of one item in his possession-Monroe’s humble Brownie snapshot camera. “I have always found that piece very, very intriguing,” he said.

“It’s the childhood camera of one of the most photographed women, if not the most photographed woman, in the world. There’s an interesting bit of irony there.” —AFP

Garcia Bernal feels Chile’s pain in latest film ael Garcia Bernal, best known for his role as a young Ernesto “Che” Guevara in “The Motorcycle Diaries,” says his latest film has taught him a great deal about the pain that Chileans suffered during a long dictatorship. The Mexican actor

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maids to cooks and miners - to sell them the idea that positive change could end the regime.

The publicity stunt worked when the strongman, who once compared himself to the best Roman emperors, was ousted with 55 percent of people

Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal speaks during the screening of Chilean movimaker Pablo Larain’s film “NO” in Santiago, on July 30, 2012. —AFP stars in “No,” which revisits a publicity campaign that helped oust Gen. Augusto Pinochet from power after 16 years of his brutal regime. Garcia Bernal plays Rene Saavedra, an advertising hotshot, drawn into a 1988 referendum TV campaign who tries to persuade people to vote “No” to eight more years of Pinochet. His character uses adverts that feature catchy jingles, a rainbow graphic and dancing Chileans - from cowboys and house-

voting “no.” Pinochet’s removal paved the way for the country’s return to democracy and more than two decades of economic prosperity.

Garcia Bernal said he grew up with a group of Latin American exiles but didn’t fully understand their suffering until he shot the film about the referendum in Chile. “This made me realize the profound pain caused by the dictatorship and it hit me hard,” he told The Associated Press ahead of the

film’s premiere in Santiago on Monday. “The director wanted to make a movie about the history of what went on in 1988, as well as an introspection and reflection on democracy.”

Chile remains highly divided over Pinochet’s rule. Even the mere mention of his name makes many Chileans cringe with the memories of him shutting down Congress, outlawing political parties and sending thousands of dissidents into exile, while his police tortured and killed thousands more.

But to his loyalists, Pinochet remains a fatherly figure who oversaw Chile’s growth into economic prosperity and kept it from becoming a socialist state. Chile’s government estimates that 3,095 people were killed during Pinochet’s rule. “Before this campaign no one dared to talk, so when they were finally given a chance, the kneejerk reaction could have been let’s tell the world about everything that’s wrong with Pinochet - his countless atrocities and about those who have died. But the minds behind the campaign said ‘no,’ let’s use another way,” Pablo Larrain, the film’s director told the AP. “They said- the way to oust Pinochet is to show something positive about what would come next, to tell people: ‘the happiness is coming,’ and that was the turning point. The dictatorship was dumbfounded, they didn’t know how to react and a very original campaign came from this that finally defeated Pinochet.”—AFP

Former ‘Idol’ Kimberley Locke wants judge’s chair imberley Locke wants to fill that vacant judge’s chair on American Idol. The season 2 finalist feels having a former contestant on the show can bring renewed interest to the popular TV singing competition. “I would love to sit in that chair and, you know, give some advice from the contestant’s standpoint because I’ve been on that stage and I know what it’s like,” Locke said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.

But don’t consider her a pushover.

Locke says she’ll be brutally honest about each performance and “give it with no fluff.” “When you’re a contestant on that show you do need that hard truth sometimes,” Locke says, anticipating her critical tone would fall somewhere between the styles of two former judges. “I’m not quite as

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nice as Paula (Abdul). Paula’s super, super nice but I don’t think I’m quite as mean as Simon (Cowell) either.” The empty judges’ chairs came after Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez decided not to come back for another sea-

son. Last week, Mariah Carey confirmed she would join the show’s 12th season. Other names mentioned to fill the missing spot include Nick Jonas, Pharrell Williams and Charlie Sheen.

Regardless of if Locke were to get the call, she loves the idea of former contestants coming back to judge.

Adam Lambert has also been vocal about his willingness to be a judge on “Idol.” Since finishing behind Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken at the end of the show’s second season, Locke embarked on a solo career, releasing two albums on Curb Records. Locke recently started her own label, IAM Entertainment. Her first single, “Finally Free” came out yesterday. She plans to release another single this year and a full album early next year. —AP

OSN brings the OSN Play now on the iPad SN viewers across the region can now access premium Arabic and English entertainment and live sport on-the-go with the launch of OSN Play on a brand new device, the iPad. OSN Play’s iPad service adds to the state-of-the-art and innovative viewing experiences already offered by the broadcaster.

Introduced in March this year, OSN Play is the region’s first online TV platform, providing customers with added value, convenience and enjoyment from their OSN subscription. The launch of OSN Play on the iPad reaffirms OSN’s position as the region’s leading broadcaster by putting online content streaming at the forefront of its digital offering and allowing viewers to enjoy the TV they love outside their homes.

David Butorac, CEO of OSN said: “Focusing on the future and adding to the OSN viewing experience, our key objective is not only to showcase our premium content offering but to bring versatility to viewers by adapting the latest content on different platforms at no extra charge. We are widening our offering to continue supplying our customers with a premium service that matches their lifestyle and puts viewers in charge of their entertainment.”

Emad Morcos, Vice President, Strategic & Business Development at OSN added: “OSN Play has been a great success with thousands of our subscribers registering to the service and enjoying their favourite TV on additional devices.

I’m proud that we are the first in the region to introduce digital viewing on the extremely popular

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iPad device, giving our viewers access to premium content anytime, anywhere.”

OSN Play is absolutely free for OSN subscribers. All they need to do is register on OSN’s website (www.osn.com) and download the free OSN Play application from Apple’s iTunes. Once registered, iPad owners can access OSN Play

more convenience especially during Ramadan. OSN brings a breadth of content during the holy month with new and exclusive Arabic programming which is available on OSN Play to watch on multiple devices including the newly launched iPad. OSN Play offers hundreds of hours of premium content avail-

and enjoy hundreds of hours of on demand content including the biggest movies, the latest series, sports, news and more in the palm of their hands. The timing couldn’t be better, with the biggest sporting event of the year, the London 2012 Olympics Games in full swing.

In addition to 9 Sports TV channels, fans can experience OSN’s unprecedented coverage of the Games via OSN Play’s 10 dedicated live streaming channels ensuring that viewers won’t miss a second of the action.

With recent research revealing that 38 percent of viewers would like to watch movies and their favourite shows on their tablet or iPad, OSN Play via iPad means

able for online viewing for OSN subscribers, with both an English and Arabic online interface. OSN’s exclusive deals with major studios including Warner Brothers, Fox and Disney guarantees viewers a lineup of the biggest and best movies and series from Hollywood and beyond. Viewers now have more control over when and how they watch their preferred shows either on TV, the computer or laptop or now on the iPad. a Group Limited; a company registered in DIFC and is owned by Mawarid Group and KIPCO.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

lifestyle

In honor of the big games in London, gather some good sports for competitions, kudos and cupcakes

By Stephanie Callahan, FamilyFun magazine

Photos by David Roth, FamilyFun magazine

To make the ring garland, trim and paint the rims of paper plates.

Cut open every other loop to make a chain, taping the cuts closed with tape. Add string for hanging.

Every athlete deserves a moment of glory. To make it happen, set up a simple awards podium (we used sturdy milk crates) and hand out homemade gold, silver and bronze medals. We made ours by painting the underside of a paper dessert plate with metallic paint, then gluing glitter around the rim and in a laurel pattern on the center. We added a smiley face with black glitter glue and stapled on a loop of ribbon.

Tip: When awarding the medals, pass around kazoos and have everyone join in a rousing rendition of the national anthem.

Slide an empty rectangular tissue box onto a belt by cutting slits into the box’s short sides. For the best game, remove one panel of the plastic film that covers the opening and insert seven Ping-Pong balls.

Wearing the belt with the box at the back, each player has 30 seconds to try to make the balls bounce out of the box by shaking her body. The player gets a point for each ball that exits the box.

Testers tip: To mix it up a bit, buy a few blue or green balls or color some with markers. Award double points for a green ball landed in a cup and triple points for a blue.

Divide players into teams of two. Start a one-minute timer.

Pairs must get a shower cap onto one teammate’s head and cover the cap with shaving cream. Then the capless teammate, standing behind a tape or rope line a few feet away, tries to throw cheese puffs into the shaving cream. The team gets a point for every puff still on the cap when the minute is up.

Set plastic party cups half filled with water in three to five rows. Label the cups for scoring, with cups placed closest to the kids worth one point, and those farther away worth more. Set out a bucket of Ping-Pong balls. Each player gets 30 seconds to throw as many balls as possible into the cups. The player finishing with the highest score wins.

Sweeten the victory with these easy treats. Simply prepare a batch of your favorite cupcakes, ice them, then top them with a design of candy-coated chocolates, as shown. For a world-class finish, print our toppers (find them at familyfunmag. com), tape them to toothpicks, then insert one in each cupcake.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

lifestyle T R A V E L

Only 3 days in Barcelona?

Yes, it can be done

By Kari Howard

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n retrospect, traveling 6,000 miles to see a band does seem a bit ... crazy. And maybe buying concert tickets for two nights in a row and then flying out at dawn the next day wasn’t the best idea. And, yes, it might have been unwise to spend only three (well, 2) days in beauty-crammed Barcelona, where even the sidewalks are works of art. But it wasn’t just any band, and it wasn’t just any trip for my sister, Alison, and me. It was our favorite band, a British group called the Stone Roses, and they were launching their first concert tour in 16 years.

By chance, we had gone to what turned out to be their last U.S. show in San Francisco, before it all ended in tears. So seeing their first official show after reuniting had certain symmetry to it. And maybe even more than that, it proved we weren’t so ancient and spontaneityfree that we couldn’t make a spur-of-the-moment decision to just ... go.

clutching a plastic bag emblazoned with the words “Disco 100.” At one point, he pulled out a record (not a CD _ be still my heart!), as if he couldn’t wait until he got home to see it. It was Gustavo Dudamel conducting Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3.

Only my poor Spanish prevented me from telling him that I was from Los Angeles and that I had just seen my first Dudamel concert. I knew then that the musical stars were aligned. But a lot of things were aligned on this magical trip, starting with pilgrimages to two buildings by the most rock ‘n’ roll architect of all time, Antoni Gaudi, who unleashed his wild genius all over Barcelona.

We knew with our impossible schedule that we couldn’t see all, or even many, of the buildings. So we started, right after we landed, at his still-unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia church. At last report, construction may be finished in about 15 years, but the Sisyphean nature of the task, at 130 years and counting, adds to its wonderful eccentricity. My canny sister had The Church of the Sacred Heart in the background stands in the background of the vintage carousel of the Tibadabo amusement park in Spain. —MCT photos

I had a sentimental connection to the band too.

Every single road trip my late husband and I took had started with the band’s self-titled first album queued up on the CD player (ranked the best British album of all time in a London newspaper poll _ yes, topping the Beatles and the Rolling Stones). The opening chords to the first song, “I Wanna Be Adored,” always make me think of him.

So it was particularly special when the first song the Stone Roses played at the Razzmatazz club in a postindustrial part of Barcelona, following a frenzy-inducing recording of the Supremes’ “Stoned Love” to introduce them, was “I Wanna Be Adored.” I think every one of the 2,000 people at the show sang along, not only to lyrics but to guitar riffs too (including, no doubt, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, the band’s most famous fan, who later told the BBC that the show made him “feel great again”). The crowd was so vocal that we couldn’t even hear singer Ian Brown for most of the show, but it didn’t matter. We were living a bit of British pop history.

I had known the night was going to be special on the ride over on Barcelona’s rider-friendly subway. (Tip: Get the T-10 ticket and save money and time.) Sitting next to me, a gray-haired man in a business suit was

bought our tickets to Sagrada Familia online; she knew we didn’t have time to stand in lines on this trip. So we walked right in. On the outside, it’s a bit like a traditional cathedral — but one with wax dripping all over it, like a wine bottle that’s been used as a candlestick holder. As a whole, it reminds me a bit of the French description jolie laide — pretty-ugly, used for unconventional beauties.

Close up, you can see millions of fever-dream details in the exterior: a frieze with roosters, a cluster of rodents huddling around a post, a large turtle holding up a pillar. I stood staring at the doors alone for a good five minutes. Massive, with every inch filled with words of praise to God in stunning 3-D carving. I loved how certain words were highlighted in gold, such as the repeated “Jesus Jesus” and “Gracies” (Catalan for thank you).

Inside, it was just as mind-blowing. We had timed it beautifully, and the setting sun made the stained glass glow like one of those old-fashioned kaleidoscope toys.

At the peak of one spire, light poured in from a circular skylight, as if transmitting the rays of a higher being. We walked back to our apartment, in the architecturally astonishing Eixample (pronounced ay-shamplah)

neighborhood, stopping by the Mercat de la Concepcio, one of the lovely old food markets of Barcelona and a lot less touristy than the famed Boqueria market. We bought several kilos of produce for the next three dinners and headed home. We had chosen the apartment, rented through a stylish outfit called Destination BCN, for two reasons: It had a stunning roof terrace, with views of the old town to the south and the mountains to the north, and it was just a block from Gaudi’s Casa Mila apartment building. Once again intent on avoiding lines, we headed out first thing one day to Casa Mila, an undulating building that is organic architecture with a capital O. I could have spent hours on the roof, with its chimneys out of a “Star Wars” set and its spectacular view of Sagrada Familia.

But time was the one thing we didn’t have — except for a quick stop at the gift shop, which is the place to get stylish souvenirs.

I wanted to do something a little offbeat on this trip, so we headed one morning, by subway, bus and, finally, a charming old funicular, to the retro Tibidabo amusement park on a mountain overlooking Barcelona. It even has had its Hollywood moment, in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

You haven’t lived until you’ve taken a ride in a bright red 84-year-old plane suspended from a somewhat antique-looking rod and flown a few circuits high above the city. (A mist came in while we were there, but on a clear day you can see to the Mediterranean.)

We kept the retro vibe going with lunch in the village-y Gracia neighborhood below, at the pop-art dream called Flash Flash. It’s a ‘70s institution serving up classic Spanish tortillas, surrounded by mod photos of the model wife of the owner. Everything is in black and white (including the waiters’ clothes), with the red salt shakers and the red kitchen door the only splashes of color.

But we didn’t forget the more distant past and spent one of our mornings walking the tiny back streets of the old Gotico and Born districts. We snapped up souvenirs at the legendary espadrille maker La Manual Arpargatera, where a (newly trendy) basic espadrille sets you back only 10 euros, or a little more than $12, and at the foodie destination Formatgeria la Seu, where a lovely Scottish woman sells local cheeses. But there was no time for dallying. We had another show to get to. At the second concert, we felt like the Stone Roses’ cool crowd, comparing the audience and nodding to one another when the band sang a song that was different from the previous night’s set. We had met some sweet newlyweds the night before who had returned from their honeymoon in Cape Verde off West Africa, dropped their bags at home in northern England and flown straight to Barcelona for the show. The second night’s crowd seemed just as committed, starting up

A big crowd takes part in a performance by the Stone Roses at Razzmatazz club in Barcelona, Spain.

with Roses-related football chants before the concert began.

My adrenaline level had dropped several notches from the first night, and the band seemed more relaxed too, less jittery at the start, sure that it was indeed adored. After the show, our ears still muffled from standing a few feet from an enormous speaker, we sat on the terrace of our apartment having a last glass of very nice Spanish Priorat wine. We watched stars disappear behind clouds and the twinkling lights of a city that was very much alive, and we agreed that it had all been worth it. —MCT

The Avio, a vintage airplane ride at the Tibadabo amusement park soars with the Church of the Sacred Heart in the background in Barcelona.

Fifty years on, everyone still wants a piece of Marilyn

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Egyptians crowd at Al-Hussein historical site under decoration marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, late Monday. — AP

In southern Iraq, WWI heritage decays L

ooking at the spray paint on the cross and the rusting scooter seat in the weeds, it is hard to argue with the local landowner who laments, “Iraq is not like Egypt-here, nobody gives a damn about our heritage.” In this town in south Iraq, home to two cemeteries-one for British and Indian soldiers, the other for Turkish veterans-who died in World War I, much of the remnants of bygone eras and rulers have been left crumbling. “When I was a boy, I often went to play in the cemetery,” recalls Mithaq Jabbar Abdullah, now 34. “There were roses, it was like a garden.”

“But starting from the embargo against Iraq in the 1990s, everything began to go wrong,” says Abdullah, a private generator operator who makes a living from Iraq’s chronic electricity shortfall. “And today,” he says, before his voice trails off with a sigh. The cemetery is accessed from one of Kut’s main roads, but one must step over countless iron bars and shards of glass and metal. Nearby, Abdullah’s electricity generator roars, filling in the gaps between Kut’s frequent power cuts, providing a soundtrack that makes quiet commemoration difficult.

As relations between Iraq and Britain worsened following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of neighbouring Kuwait in 1990, fewer and fewer visitors passed through the site. “The state of the cemetery has gone hand-in-hand with the state of relations between Iraq and Britain,” says Mussana Hassan Mehdi, a schoolteacher and local historian. “During the time of Iraq’s monarchy, it was very well maintained. Then Iraq became a republic (in 1958). ... From then on, it steadily worsened until (the US-led invasion of ) 2003.”

“After the fall of Saddam Hussein, the government was virtually non-existent. And today, the local residents use the cemetery as a

An Iraqi man in the dilapidated headquarters of the British army command under Sir Charles Townshend, built some 150-years-ago during the period of the Ottoman Empire, in the city of Kut. —AFP photos

A view of the dilapidated headquarters of the British army command under Sir Charles Townshend.

garbage dump,” Mehdi laments. Now, the names of those buried as a result of the 1915-16 Ottoman siege of Kut are no longer visible, covered in dirt, and many headstones are obscured by vegetation. After scraping away some of the dried mud, the memorial to one soldier, Corporal Horace Edward Hawkett, becomes visible: He “did his duty (and) is ever in our thoughts.”

It reads: “Corporal H.E. Hawkett. Oxford & Bucks. Light Infantry. 20th December 1915. Age 23.” But to find the names of all the 420 British and Indian soldiers who fell while under the command of Major General Charles Townshend,

which the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is able to carry out at its cemeteries and memorials there,” said Matt Morris, a CWGC spokesman, in an email to AFP. Earlier this year, the CWGC signed a contract to clear the cemetery and replace the front wall and fence, and Morris said the organization “was awaiting details of how that contract has been progressing.”

Moscow exhibition probes Chagall’s Russian roots

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nce banned as “bourgeois”, the work of painter Marc Chagall is enjoying a revival in the ex-Soviet Union with a new exhibition delving into the influence folk art and his Russian Jewish roots had on his work.

“Visitors often ask why Chagall’s animals are blue, yellow or pink, why the bride is flying over the rooftops and the man has two faces. They will now understand where Chagall drew (his images) from,” said curator Ekaterina Selezneva.

To emphasize the importance of these influences, the exhibition People visit “The Origins of the Master’s Creative at Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery fea- Language” exhibition of Marc Chagall’s works at tures a popular Russian engraving the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. — AFP on wood, a carpet and icon as well as a Jewish spice-cake mould and seven-branched menorah chandelier. Born Commissioner in Vitebsk, but a conflict with Moishe Segal in 1887 to a poor Jewish family the fellow painter and colleague Kazimir outside Vitebsk in modern Belarus, Chagall Malevich led to his resignation in 1920. Chagall never forgot his life in the Jewish pale-the area left Vitebsk and within two years emigrated to to which Catherine II confined the jews of her France. The exhibition, which runs until empire in the 18th century-and recalls images September 30, “must help people to underof Vitebsk in each painting. When the 1917 stand the mystery of Chagall” who always Russian Revolution abolished anti-Semitic laws, looked to popular art in his search for a distincChagall was appointed Fine Arts tive figurative language, said Selezneva. —AFP

one must search the website of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which is concerned with around 23,000 similar sites in 150 countries. It offers details of the five-month battle during which the troops had to resort to “eating cats, dogs, donkeys and mules” to survive, according to Mehdi. The CWGC blames the security situation in Iraq after Saddam’s fall in 2003 the country was engulfed in bloodshed and, while violence is dramatically lower than in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common-for the cemetery’s lapse into disrepair.

“The current security situation in Iraq continues to place severe limitations on the work

Proud Turks The grave for Turkish soldiers who died, however, stands in stark contrast to the British one.

That cemetery, which lies just outside Kut, bears

the words “ Turkish Martyrs-The Nation Is Grateful” in Turkish at the entrance, on what appears to be a regularly polished metal plate.

The memorial grass is neatly clipped and free of weeds, and the Turkish flag flutters in the wind.

Ahmed Hashim Anbar and his uncle together receive around $300 a month to care for the cemetery full-time, paid for by the Turkish government.

“The only visitors we see here are Turks,” Anbar says. “Usually these are people from the Turkish embassy, who come for ceremonies.

They are very proud of their history. They take care of their heritage.” —AFP

Pure Gold Jewellers launches Ramadan pendants

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ward winning jewellery retailer Pure Gold Jewellers welcomes the holy month of Ramadan with exquisitely crafted limited edition pendants in Mother of Pearl, diamonds, silver and gold. In addition, the company has a unique offer of free 20 pointer diamond solitaire upon purchase of KD 299 worth of diamond jewellery available at guaranteed low price.

There is also a charity initiative on Pure Gold Jewellers Facebook page during Ramadan whereby for every new ‘Like’ the company receives on its Facebook page, a donation of USD 2.75 will be made to Red Crescent Society. For the first time, Pure Gold Jewellers has launched a Mother of Pearl diamond pendant this year for Ramadan. The beautiful drop shaped pendant has the name ‘Allah’ carved on it in Arabic, reminding one of the many blessings of the Creator.

The three carat Mother of Pearl in the pendant is shielded in gold and encrusted with 15 cents diamonds, adding brilliance and definition. The carefully crafted pendant comes with a gold chain and is priced at KD 99. Pure Gold Jewellers has also launched special edition pendants in its Pure Silver and Pure Sparkle range at a price of KD 35 and KD 65 respectively. All pendants have the name

Pure Diamonds Mother of Pearl pendant

Pure Silver Ramadan pendant

‘Allah’ engraved on them and come with a chain.

According to Karim Merchant, CEO & MD of Pure Gold Jewellers, “Every year we welcome Ramadan with great anticipation and in a spirit of charity. In celebration of the Holy month, we have launched meaningful Islamic pendants that remind one of the many blessings of Ramadan. Our free gift of solitaire this month is a unique offer that speaks of our

Pure Sparkle Ramadan pendant

appreciation for our customers’ loyalty.”

“Charity is one of the main pillars of Ramadan and this year we are donating a certain amount to charity for any new likes we receive on our Facebook fan page. This also allows our customers to actively participate in the charity campaign,” added Merchant. All pendants are available from Pure Gold Jewellers outlets in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.