10th Jul

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

Morsi, judiciary in parliament tug of war

150 FILS NO: 15504 40 PAGES

Iran works to foil insurance embargo on oil

North Korean woman at Kim’s side sparks curiosity

Terry ‘racially abused Ferdinand after taunt’

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www.kuwaittimes.net

SHAABAN 20, 1433 AH

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Battle lines drawn as oppn revives ‘Monday Diwaniyas’ Juwaihel freed on bail • Lawyer urges halt to KAC flights

Max 46º Min 30º High Tide 04:45 & 16:11 Low Tide 10:16 & 22:16

By B Izzak conspiracy theories

Deportation is not the solution

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

T

here is nothing wrong with the government working to improve and enhance rules and regulations in the country. This is the usual way. Governments are there to make changes and provide guidance for civilized living. But what I cannot understand is when ministries suddenly wake up and set rules that target expats. According to their way of thinking, expats are always the problem.

If we think of solving the traffic problem, we hit on expats. If there is a lack of beds or medicines in our hospitals, or a shortage of doctors or nurses, the first thing that comes to our mind is to reduce the numbers of expats in Kuwait. If we haven’t paid our electricity bills, the first thing the Ministry of Electricity and Water will think of is punishing expats who have not paid their bills. If the Ministry of Commerce and Industry discovers fraud, the first thing that comes out of it is that expats are the wrongdoers. If some vendors have no license and are selling DVDs on the streets or in front of the co-ops in Salmiya, expats are the first to be blamed.

Now a new plan the government is studying is for a committee including the ministries of health, social affairs, the traffic department and the ministry of commerce to assess the traffic violations and fines and offer some new solutions to help reduce accidents in Kuwait.

I thought that for a change we will have strict rules for wrongdoers like in any other country, be it for crossing traffic lights, selling expired food, constructing buildings without licenses, speeding on the streets like hell, etc. Unfortunately, the new project targets expats alone. They want to study rule-breaking amongst expats as if we Kuwaitis do not break rules at all. As if these expensive cars that cross red lights belong to Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi sweepers, Jordanians, Egyptians, South Africans, French etc, etc - most of whose salaries cannot buy the tyre of a Carrera.

Rules should apply - equally - to all. Especially since we are a Muslim country and Islam recognizes no hierarchy based on nationality. There should be no ‘one rule for slaves and another rule for masters’.

We are all equal in front of the law. Even when we perform hajj we all stand together on the same mountain, wearing the same piece of cloth and at the same time. It won’t boost Kuwait to target expats only. We should target both - expats and citizens - and whoever breaks the rules should face the consequences. There is no Kuwaiti or nonKuwaiti when breaking the rules and killing people.

When you break the rules there is no nationality involved. Cheating, fraud and crime do not have a color, nationality or religion.

In all honesty, when we set out strict deportation regulations for administrative crimes against expats, we are encouraging our own kids to break the rules and give them a feeling of superiority. This will result in a lot of discrimination and prejudice. If we in Kuwait do not need expats, we should be candid about it. We should face people with proper rules and regulations and should not use excuses like bill-payments to send them home. We do not need to wait for them to delay the payment of an electricity bill or rent to get rid of them. I do not underestimate crossing the red light. I would like to clarify something: sometimes you are forced to cross the red light because the car behind you is driving like a Scud missile. There are people who recklessly cross the red light and this is different.

There are others who sometimes do it by mistake or are forced to do it.

I am still optimistic that this is only a study. I know that the Minister of Interior and his colleagues are more sophisticated and have a human touch and wisdom to apply such a ruthless apartheid policy which will tarnish the reputation of Kuwait.

KUWAIT: (From right) Veteran MP and speaker of the annulled 2012 National Assembly Ahmad Al-Saadoun, Osama Al-Menawer, Salem Al-Namlan, Ali Al-Deqbasi and Faisal Al-Yahya attend a gathering of the opposition at the diwaniya of Menawer in Farwaniya yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: The opposition “majority bloc” reiterated yesterday its total rejection to any change in the electoral law or allowing the revived 2009 National Assembly to meet under any pretext as it kick-started its “Monday Diwaniya” campaign for the forthcoming election, in an apparent revival of anti-government demonstrations in the late 1980s to protest the suspension of the 1985 National Assembly. Leader of the bloc and speaker of the annulled 2012 Assembly Ahmad Al-Saadoun earlier urged supporters on his Twitter account to attend the first gathering in large numbers to express their rejection of any “illegal practices”. Saadoun charged that some people who have never believed in democracy and the Assembly are attempting to undermine the election process and forge the will of the nation by changing the election system.

The issue, along with the possibility of the 2009 Assembly holding sessions, has infuriated the opposition, which insisted that it may resort to street protests in case the electoral system is changed. But even the opposition does not seem in total agreement on how to react if the government went ahead and amended the election system or the number of votes that a voter can cast after hawks within the majority called for boycotting the forthcoming Assembly elections. A group from the majority however believes that it is unwise to boycott the election because the opposition will be the main loser. Some MPs, like Mohammad Hayef for example, have called for contesting the election even if the number of constituencies was raised to 10 from five and the number of candidates voters can select is reduced from four to just two.

Continued on Page 13

Annan, Assad agree new approach DAMASCUS: International envoy Kofi Annan said he agreed with President Bashar Al-Assad yesterday on a new political “approach” to end Syria’s 16-month-old conflict that he would put to the rebels. Stepping up efforts to halt the carnage which monitors say has cost more than 17,000 lives, the UN-Arab League envoy then travelled on to Iran, Syria’s closest ally, in his quest to find a solution. “We discussed the need to end the violence and ways and means of doing so. We agreed an approach which I will share with the armed opposition,” Annan said after meeting Assad in Damascus.

The former UN chief said he had a “constructive” meeting with Assad, on his third such mission for talks on his six-point peace plan for Syria since his appointment in February. “I had constructive and candid talks with President Assad,” he told reporters.

Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad

Makdissi called the meeting “constructive and good”. Pro-government Al-Watan newspaper said the talks focused on the results of the Geneva meeting at the end of June of an international contact group on Syria. They discussed means “to implement the results of the meeting... on forming a transitional government in Syria that groups government and opposition representatives without mention of Assad’s departure”.

World powers in Geneva agreed a plan for a transition which did not make an explicit call for Assad to quit, although the West and the opposition made clear it saw no role for him in a unity government. Yesterday’s meetings came as at least 33 people were killed nationwide, the Syrian Obser vator y for Human Rights said, and a day after nearly 100 people died.

Continued on Page 13

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (right) meets UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan in the Syrian capital yesterday. — AFP

Saudi man dies after chase by vice police 2 Shiites killed in clashes

Shiite cleric and government critic Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr lies wounded in the back of a police car following his arrest on Sunday. — AFP

RIYADH: Saudi authorities arrested four members of the notorious religious police who allegedly caused the death of a man and the injury of his wife and two children in a car chase, local media reported yesterday. “Security ser vices arrested four members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and

Prevention of Vice after they were interrogated (on Sunday) over the chase that killed a man and injured his wife and two children in AlBaha” in the southwest, Okaz daily reported.

The men will be charged with “abusing power, chasing a man with his family while ignoring Continued on Page 13

in the

news

Iran FM visits UAE

Bahrain jails activist

Oman convicts four

ABU DHABI: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held talks yesterday with top Emirati officials on a surprise visit to the United Arab Emirates, the state news agency WAM reported. Salehi “discussed ways of enhancing bilateral relations” and “matters of bilateral interest” with Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansur bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, who also holds the presidential affairs portfolio, WAM said. Salehi’s surprise visit comes amid tense relations between Iran and the UAE over three disputed islands in the Gulf - Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb, with each country claiming ownership of the islands. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triggered the fury of the UAE when he visited Abu Musa, the largest of the three islands, in April to reinforce the Tehran’s claim. The head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards visited them in May.

DUBAI: A Bahraini court yesterday handed leading Shiite activist Nabil Rajab a three-month jail sentence after convicting him of posting tweets deemed insulting to Sunnis, one of his lawyer said. “Nabil Rajab has been sentenced to three months in prison,” in the Muharraq case, Mohammed Al-Jishi told AFP, adding that the defence would appeal the verdict.

The activist, head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), had been released on June 27, three weeks after he was arrested for tweeting insults against the predominantly Sunni population of the province of Muharraq, according to prosecutors.

After the court’s ruling, police took Rajab from his home in the Bani Jamra district west of Manama, said Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafda, a colleague from the BCHR. He said he was inside the home at the time.

DUBAI: An Omani writer and a poet were among four people convicted of defamation over comments against the country’s sultan and sentenced to jail sentences of up to one year, although they were freed pending bail and an appeal, their lawyer said. Oman, a Western-allied, small oil exporter that flanks a major crude shipping route out of the Gulf, has detained more than 30 people in the past few weeks over protests that erupted after strikes at petroleum plants over pay and pension issues. Author Hammoud Rashedi was sentenced to six months in prison for defamation and Ali Al-Muqbali, Mahmoud Al-Rawahi and poet Hamad Al-Kharusi to a year in jail each for violating information technology law as well, according to the state news agency ONA. Lawyer Yaqoub AlHarithi said Rawahi had also been charged with “incitement for gatherings”.

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir received at Seif Palace yesterday the outgoing Ambassador of Peru to Kuwait Amador Velasquez. The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah AlSabah.

KUWAIT: His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received at Seif Palace yesterday media personnel Jassem Mohammad Al-Shimmri. Al-Shimmri presented His Highness with a book documenting the first public grilling of a Prime Minister in Kuwait entitled ‘Al-Mubarak’s podium... Democracy that makes history’.

Sit-in demands bedoons be admitted to KU

By A Saleh KUWAIT: A group staged a sit-in yesterday in front of the registration office of Kuwait University (KU) demanding that bedoons students be admitted to KU colleges. Dr Ibtihal Al-Khateeb participated in the sit-in and said the group will continue to demonstrate until their demands are met. Kuwait University officials discussed the recommendations put forward by Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf, Education and Higher Education Minister on the possibility of admitting bedoon students. However, it was decided that as the number of available seats are only 400, the 158 students with 90 percent marks cannot be accepted. Sources said that it is possible to accept only 50 students, while the remaining students will be placed on waiting lists.

Kuwaiti economists who support the Muslim

Brotherhood will visit Egypt soon to assess Egypt’s needs in the form of projects and investments to support the economy and create job opportunities for Egyptians. Sources said this step will back Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi. The Kuwaiti delegation is part of other businessmen who owe their allegiance to the Brotherhood from various countries.

In another issue lawyer Ali Al-Ali filed a complaint on behalf of MP Saleh Ashour against those that slandered him and accused him of being involved in visa trading.

Al-Ali said that it appears as if Ashour’s political stand against foreigners that want to harm Kuwait resulted in his reputation being tarnished. Al-Ali categorically denied the accusations, adding that Ashour did not have any knowledge about it. He said that the case was closed five years ago, and problems arose with a company called (Al-Fulaij and Al-Sayyed), but the plans did

not materialize. Also, an Iraqi group renewed its demands for Iraq’s parliament to pass a legislation that bans dealing with Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port. The Free Iraqi Bloc spokesperson Alia Naseef said that the legislation should apply to both public and private sectors. She said 100 MPs signed the proposed law and was submitted to the assembly. Iraqi member of parliament Suzan Al-Saad said Kuwait’s suspension of the fourth stage of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port is not significant, adding that the port harms Iraqi ones.

She added that a fitting answer to Mubarak AlKabeer Port is the construction of the Al-Faw major port, which will generate revenues for the country and reduce unemployment. Al-Faw will not be negatively impacted by Mubarak Port because it is located strategically, in contrast to Mubarak Al-Kabeer port that affects Umm Qasr, Khour Al-Zubair and Mina Abdullah.

News

in brief

Ramadan timing announced KUWAIT: The Kuwait Scientific Club has released a press statement stating that the holy crescent will be sighted on July 19. Based on calculations, the month of Ramadan in Arab and Muslim countries will begin on July 20 and will last for a period of 30 days, with the last day falling on Aug 18.

Kuwait drug haul The Coast Guard has recovered large bags containing drugs from the sea. Four bags, each weighing 4kg were found. The Coast Guard, recently intercepted a boat in territorial waters loaded with large quantities of drugs.

Public transport for students, teachers A meeting will be held between representatives from the ministries of education and interior to discuss the possibility of using public transport for students and teachers starting next year, as a means to help reduce traffic congestion.—Al-Rai

Delay in announcing list of new govt employees

ISTANBUL: Kuwaiti students toured historical sites in the city of Istanbul yesterday.

Kuwaiti students visit historical sites in Istanbul ISTANBUL: A delegation of Kuwaiti students toured historical sites in the city of Istanbul under the sponsorship of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development’s (KFAED) (Be Outstanding) program. The students told KUNA that they visited historical significant monu-

ments in the city of Istanbul, namely the Hagia Sophia (Mosque), the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque), and the Topkapi Palace.

The students affirmed that their tour of various historical sites have increased their knowledge of Istanbul, noting that

the tour showcased significant contribution of Islam to world heritage. Dalal AlQabandi, Delegation Supervisor and Ministry of Education told KUNA that the students were very thrilled at the prospect of visiting Istanbul and learning from the history of this great city. She

also thanked KFAED for sponsoring the tour which helped expand the students’ knowledge. Al-Qabandi also lauded Turkish authorities for facilitating the visits to historical sites, affirming that they have done a tremendous job in preserving Islamic heritage. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Sources at the Civil Service Commission said that the delay in announcing the employment of a new group of candidates for government employment is due to leaders in the commission having received oral instructions to stop nominating employees for work due to the constitutional court’s verdict that voided the 2012 council membership and returned the 2009 council as the constitutional power, which is also to be dissolved.

Sources further said that after completing registration for employment for the 39th group, which started on 15 June and was completed on June 29, formalities were begun to announce a new group for employment. The commission, however, was told to wait until it received written instructions to continue hiring, or temporarily or permanently stop employment, as often occurs after a government has resigned and a new government is formed.

Sources also said that oral instructions were issued to commission leaders to temporarily stop employment.

Therefore, the commission is at a loss since their procedures are not being properly followed by only providing oral instructions, as they need official instructions to temporarily stop or announce names of employees who meet conditions for employment.

Ministerial sources said that the council of ministers did not issue a decision to stop employing those who want to work and have registered at the Civil Service Commission.

Technological advancement improves cancer treatment Cutting-edge telepathology equipment installed in Kuwait

KUWAIT: Emergency team at Capital Municipality carried a large inspection campaign on foodstuff outlets to ensure that they abide by health requirements.

Wholesale market and butcher shops in Shuwaikh were inspected in the presence of capital municipality director Faleh Al-Shimmary in cooperation with public relations department.

Exclusive offer from CBK to its premier banking customers KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait yet again offers its customers a unique opportunity. The bank has partnered up with the unique brand, Alviero Martini. From the period of July 10 to Sept 30 Premier Banking customers can exclusively enjoy a 35% discount at all Alviero Martini stores.

Premier Banking customers at CBK enjoy a new dimension of personalized banking services. With a new world of products and services, Commercial Bank of Kuwait brings to its Premier Banking customers exclusive offers and benefits specially tailored to

meet their expectations.

Alviero Martini is a renowned Italian brand, famous for their signature “map” design that has made its name across the world. Alviero Martini is found in 3 prime locations around Kuwait, the first 2 locations are located in Salmiya in Al Fanar mall and Al Thuraya Complex and a 3rd location in 360 mall.

CBK is proud to partner up with such an exceptional brand, and urges its customers to visit the stores and be part of a memorable shopping experience.

KUWAIT: The University Health Network (UHN) in partnership with the Kuwait Cancer Control Center (KCCC) and the support of Ministry of Health(MoH), have installed cutting-edge telepathology equipment in the KCCC laboratories.Telepathology is defined as the “practice of pathology at a distance using telecommunications technology to make it possible to transfer image-rich pathology data between distant locations for the purposes of diagnosis, education, and research.”

UHN is a leader in the field of telepathology.

The Chief Pathologist at the Kuwait Cancer Control Centre (KCCC), Dr Salah Al-Waheeb, was asked by a colleague from a nearby hospital to look at microscope slides of a tissue specimen from a citizen that he thought had a rare type of cancer.

Usually, when such situations arise, a biopsy is done to get a specimen from a mass found in the body. This specimen is then placed on microscopic slides to be reviewed by a pathologist to confirm the type of cancer and its changes of malignancy. Specialists will then be able to prescribe the correct treatment for diagnosed cancer.

Dr Salah Al-Waheeb looked at the microscope slides and requested that they be sent for review by his Canadian colleague, a specialist in pathology practicing at UHN in Toronto, Canada.

Ordinarily referring a case like this would mean that the microscope slides would have

to be shipped by priority courier, a process that can take at least three to four days in travelling only.

This time, all Dr Salah Al-Waheeb had to do was press a button on his computer, and high-quality digital images were transmitted to University Health Network in Toronto using a process that has advanced security features designed to protect patient privacy.

In Toronto, Dr Danny Ghazarian examined the digital images on his computer, and on Friday, in less than 24 hours after Dr Salah AlWaheeb had first received a request for consultation, he had the answer. This state-ofthe-art technology brought highly specialized pathological expertise to KCCC within 24 hours.

Dr Salah Al-Waheeb reports that this is an excellent example of how KCCC is greatly improving the quality and timeliness of service to their patients. Adil Khalfan, Regional Director, UHN Kuwait agrees, saying that with the introduction of this new technology, “KCCC has rapid access to expert opinion without the time delays and risks associated with shipping glass microscope slides.”

Khalfan added, “Activation of this system is a huge step forward in the provision of accurate diagnosis and treatment of patients at KCCC. The Ministry of Health(MoH) should be applauded for their efforts in providing stateof-the-art care, equipment, and systems of treatment to the people in Kuwait.”

KUWAIT: The new cutting-edge telepathology equipment which was installed in the KCCC laboratories.

The introduction of telepathology is just one of many benefits of the UHN and KCCC Partnership, enhancing joint learning between Kuwait pathologists and UHN Pathologists. It provides those living in Kuwait with access to world class pathology services without having to leave their family and friends. In addition, this technology reduces the wait time for results to be viewed. In the treatment of cancer, timely and accurate diagnosis is key to successful treatment and management of the disease.

local

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

MSAL regulation may allow workers to hold second job Plans to activate article 7 of the labor law

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Ahmed has been employed as a teacher in a government school in Kuwait for many years. But aside from his job as a teacher, he also accepted a part time job in a private firm. Now, Ahmed has two jobs, earning quite a good amount of money so he can send his children to better schools, save, have fun and enjoy life.

Based on the current law, working in two companies, rather than for one employer, is illegal. The state can impose penalties on companies accepting workers who are not under their sponsorship and, subsequently, deport workers.

However, these circumstances could now be avoided if the proposal made by the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to activate article 7 of the labor law allowing employees to work for more than one company is passed. The proposal is being studied by the assistant

undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and labor for Labor (MSAL) Jamal AL-Dawsary for possible adoption and implementation soon.

Al-Dawasary said that MSAL would issue a ministerial decree once proper regulations are written. MSAL is expected to enact the proposal due to its significance in providing needed workers for understaffed establishments after work permits were suspended.

Ahmed said once the new regulation is approved, he will be able to sleep well and work freely. Currently, workers from the ministry are being allowed to work in other companies as long as they receive approval from the ministry. “We are allowed to take on another job as long as we have permission, but I was warned not to get permission by my friend, as it could result in more complications.

So I worked with the private company without permission. I am aware that once MSAL discovers my second

job, I will be in trouble or even the company I am working for will be in trouble, too. If the proposal is approved, I will be able to work freely without fear or hesitation,” he said.

Taking two jobs in Kuwait is illegal, although many workers are doing this to improve their economic status and, because of the high cost of living and the salary of private companies, which is less than in the government sector. A human resource specialist who spoke with this reporter admits that reality on the ground says there are shortages of staff in almost all sectors because of many contributing factors. “The general attitude of employers and employees nowadays are changing because of the prevailing condition financially, and other related circumstances,” the human resource manager told Kuwait Times. In Kuwait, he said, many factors are contributing to the shortages of staff at many establishments due to the financial crisis,

Kuwaitization, and the fact that there are companies that cannot hire staff because of labor restrictions. “Those vacancies can be filled with locally hired laborers without having to bring any workers from abroad”, stressed Al-Dawsary. But he added that special regulations would have to be set to avoid manipulating the decision by companies that bring labor to Kuwait and then leave their workers to search for their own jobs in the local market. The decision would help achieve the state’s development plan that calls for protecting the population formula by hiring expatriate laborers who are already in Kuwait, instead of bringing in new workers. Al-Dawsary said MSAL ministry would be authorized to decide about related regulations, such as receiving the sponsor’s permission to work a part time job. He also noted that a meeting was held with KCCI to study the proposal and discuss suggestions for other regulations.

Household utensils, food exhibition opens in Mishref KUWAIT: The Deputy Minister of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) Mohammed AlKanderi opened a household items and food exhibition on Monday, organized by Kuwait International Fair Company. It will last till the 21st of this month at the International Fair Ground in Mishref.

Al-Kanderi said that this exhibition offers

consumers an opportunity to deal directly with production companies that offer much cheaper prices than those on the market.

He also added that par ticipation of national companies, Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Company, serves the interests of consumers that can find all the needed Ramadan supplies in one place at reason-

able prices. Exhibition Director Emad AlHaroun said that the event, launched 30 years ago, is attached to Ramadan, giving all the participating companies a chance to the show newest products in competitive atmosphere. He added that this year’s exhibition is unique because it gathers household and food products in one hall.—KUNA

KUWAIT: Mohammed Al-Kanderi and other dignitaries at the household items and food exhibition yesterday.

—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

News

in brief

New MoH plans discussed KUWAIT: The Health Ministry’s (MoH) Undersecretaries Council convened recently and discussed the ministry’s agenda. It was presided over by Minister Dr Ali Al-Obaidi.

The council agreed that the ministry’s goals should be set according to fixed strategies regardless of those in charge or their policies. The council also discussed impediments to the plan and if there was a need for modification to facilitate implementation within the frame of the state’s development plan. The meeting also discussed programs on geriatric care and other ambitious ones like increasing the number of ambulances and providing quality service.

Gulf Bank honors outstanding employees KUWAIT: Gulf Bank’s Learning and Development department was proud to recognize a number of employees recently for their outstanding customer service skills, at a special ceremony in Gulf Bank’s head office.

At the ceremony, Surour Alsamerai, General Manager, Human Resources and Aly Shalaby, General Manager, Consumer Banking, were delighted to recognize 58 Gulf Bank employees. In suppor t of the Gulf Bank customer promise to deliver the best and fastest service, 23 of these were praised for their outstanding customer service sk i l l s. I n a d d i t i on , a fur t her 13 received graduation certificates for completing the Senior Relationship Officer program, and 22 new employees received graduation certificates for completing the Induction program.

Commenting on the occasion, Alsamerai said: “On behalf of Gulf Bank, I congratulate all these employ-

ees for showing determination and commitment to develop themselves as they build their banking careers.

Gulf Bank is recognized for its commitment to training and we will continue to invest significantly in our employee development programs, to help build attractive and challenging career opportunities, and enable our employees to ser ve our customers more effectively.”

Gulf Bank has recently been awarde d t h e cove te d ‘ B e s t E m p l oye e Development Programme’ award for the second consecutive year by Banker Middle East, the region’s leading banking industry magazine. This recognition reinforces Gulf Bank’s dedication to employee development, with the Bank ’s Learning and Development department focused entirely on providing employees with a wide range of training opportunities to support professional growth and education.

KU receives 7,160 applications KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti University has received a total of 7,160 applications within two days. It will continue to receive applications till July 17, although the university has announced that only 7,090 seats are available.

Notably, the Minister of Education has announced that it will provide 29,895 seats in various higher education institutions.

Programmed blackouts for maintenance KUWAIT: With the aim of conducting maintenance work, the Ministry of Electricity and Water will carry out programmed temporary blackouts in Qurain, Adan, Qosour and Sabah Al-Salem areas for five hours every day, starting Monday to Thursday. On this regard, MEW insiders said that the power cuts are part of the ministry’s plan to conduct periodic maintenance operations in Mubarak AlKabeer power plant. The scheduled cuts will take place from six to 11 am to avoid blackouts during summer.

Kuwait-Turkey trade issues KUWAIT: Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas AlSaleh discussed with the Turkish ambassador to Kuwait Ahmet Alici means of furthering bilateral relations, particularly in economic and commercial terms, a statement by the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday. Among topics of discussion were improving the size of bilateral trade and that of investments as well, in addition to boosting efforts to create more contacts between the private sectors in both countries, said the statement. It added that such meetings as with the Turkish ambassador dovetail harmoniously with Kuwait’s ambitious plans to turn the country into a vital regional financial and commercial hub.

KUWAIT: The children of Interior Ministry personnel, including retired employees, PoWs(Prisoners of War) and martyrs paid a visit to Abdelaziz Hussein Cultural Center. They were received by Fatima AlTarkeet who guided the children on a tour.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

LOCAL In my view

The column

Bashar fighting his last battle

Towards an elected government

By Khaled Al-Dakheel

T

here is semi-unanimity that the Syrian regime is fighting its last battle. The paradox is that the regime is fighting this battle against its own people, which it is ruling in its name.

Social, economic and political figures confirm this.

But let us put all this aside and listen to the president himself. He is now admitting what he has been denying, ignoring or belittling before. In his address to his new government about two weeks ago, Bashar Assad said: “We are in a real state of war. This being the case, we should direct all our efforts and resources to win over this war.”

Before that, the president used to describe what was going on in Syria as not more than the work of some outlaws. However, the army with its tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft, snipers and militias fought the battle. The number of deaths reached tens of thousands. It is no longer possible to deny what is happening. The president finally admitted this, but his recognition came out incomplete and reversed. What is really going on in Syria is a popular revolution. The war the president is talking about is in fact a war being launched by the regime against its people.

In his interview with the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, the president said things he had been evading before. When he was asked about the Turkish fighter that had been shot down by his defenses, he said: “We are a country at war. When you do not know the identity of the fighter, you will assume it is a hostile warplane.” When he was asked if Syria was willing to assist Turkey in reducing the operations of the Kurdistan Labor Party, he answered: “If we want to assist you today we will not be able to do so. In order to assist or protect you I must first protect myself. Is it possible that I protect you while I have not wholly protected myself yet?”

The president and his regime are in need for protection, but from whom? From their very own people!

The war the president is talking about is a war against his own people. Figures reveal that the death toll has reached more than 16,000 in addition to the injured, captivated, the missing and the displaced. These people have not dropped on Syria from heaven. They are Syrian nationals with families, relatives, friends and supporters. Add to this a large chunk of the silent Syrians who do not approve of the bloody nature of the regime but are helpless and coerced. Does the president realize he is in war against his own people and against history, and that whoever fights history will definitely be a loser?

The Syrian president is not in a state of denial but in a state of arrogance, which is deep down defeated.

He lost his internal security and came face to face with his people. He also lost his regional and international cover. Everyone is demanding him to leave. He is only supported by Putin, Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah. Ordinary people, before politicians, are speaking inside and outside Syria about the postAssad era. The rule his father had built in 1970 and he inherited in 2000 has reached its deadline, but the president does not want to recognize this. He may never realize this fact. Due to his attitudes and policies, Syria turned from a regional player to a playground in which others, including his friends and foes, play. This result did not come all of a sudden, but has accumulated over time to explode now. How did this happen?

The fact of the matter is that President Bashar Assad, Syria, and the entire region are paying the price of the inheritance got. He was made an inheritor in a seemingly democratic regime whose earlier roots (before the Baath Party) were popular. It had some elements of democracy in it. The regime he inherited was based on a small gang surrounded by a large number of security elements. The regime depended on its relationship with the people, making them fear it and fear each other as well. Such a regime would not have existed without two main factors: a complete internal grip at any cost and a regional and international cover.

The ideology the regime was using was not of his own making, but imported from outside; they were trading in the Palestinian cause, which after a while lost its vigor and credibility. The people discovered that the regime did not lead to anything but to poverty, corruption, repression and the loss of Palestine! Using the slogan of Palestine and the pretext of resistance was only a justification for the corruption and repression the rulers used to remain in power. For this reason, people inside went out of control. His supporters outside lost their appetite and the need to pay the price of covering for the crimes of the regime. How did matters reach this point?

We do not know if President Hafiz Assad in his last days, while he was preparing his son to succeed him, gave him the advice of a man who spent more than half his age in politics and in building a rule he knew would go to his son after him. At that time, Bashar was in his 30s and lacked any political experience. The legacy of rule is usually a heavy one, but how would it be if it were the kind he obtained from his father? It is obvious that Bashar has committed a number of fatal mistakes his father was keen to avoid during his 30 years of rule. Hafiz Al-Assad was keen to avoid them despite the historic events that took place during his rule, including Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem, Eygpt’s unilateral peace treaty with Israel, the complete boycott of relations between Baghdad and Damascus after Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979, the Iraq-Iran war that continued for many years, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the summer of 1990.

It was said that Hafiz Assad had a strategic sense, which enabled him to not be dragged into all these developments, but it is clear that his strategic sense was limited to his foreign relationships and did not extend to the internal affairs and balances. The father committed the sin of making his son an inheritor.

It is commonly believed that the idea of inheritance of rule first surfaced in 1983 following a violent conflict between President Hafiz and his brother Rifaat Assad, which almost led to a destructive civil war. The president was convinced that his brother Rifaat, who was the commander of the defense brigades, was planning to inherit him while he was still alive. British journalist Patrick Seal, who wrote a book about the differences between the two Assad brothers, did not indicate that Rifaat was plotting to inherit his brother.

Hafiz was, however, convinced that his brother was plotting to succeed him.

By Fouad Al-Obaid

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter: @Fouadalobaid

A

kuwait digest

Former ministers and former MPs

By Thaar Al Rashidi

T

he last government did not survive for more than four months, then last week, after its resignation, it became a government to only handle urgent matters. Within a few days a new government will be formed, which might be the shortest serving government in the history of Kuwait with regard to the period of power before its resignation, as it will file a non-cooperation letter whether the NA council is held or not, then a letter of dissolution for the 2009 council will be filed, which in turn will be the strangest council in the history of Kuwait.

Following this the government will resign and become a government to only run urgent matters as it awaits elections, which are expected in October, and then it will form a new government. This means that 2012 will witness four governments and three NA councils.

The first started on Jan 2 and was dissolved by the end of June and the 2009 council returned, which will be dissolved as soon as possible and then await a new council towards the end of October, 2012.

Since the current government is only handling urgent matters and as the ministers in the current government are mostly doing nothing, then my advice to leaders in all ministries is to ignore their ministers and not implement their decisions, especially those in violation of the law.

As all of them are simply ministers to run urgent matters only, and there is a great possibility that they will not return, which is the fate that half of the cur-

rent government ministers will face after October.

Since the government to be formed is a temporary one, I wish that His Highness the Prime Minister would appoint me a minister, even without a bag.

Especially because this story will take a couple of days and the government shall then file a dissolution letter and resign. Since I am sure that many candidates shall refuse a ministry so they do not become ministers with expiry dates limited to a short period, I offer myself and I apply for this post. At least I shall benefit from the title ex-minister, in addition to other privileges, and the very expensive “Besht”, and the KD 100,000 which is granted to every minister, and do not forget medical treatment abroad and whenever I like, even if it is for a normal stomach ache.

Of course, I think that the coming government shall be formed with all the same faces, except for two new faces. It will be the same old government and last until after October, which makes me wonder, why move in all these circles, or is it for only diverting the eyes of public?

If the NA council dissolution continues at the same pace, and a government is formed every two months at the same high rate, then I think by the year 2020 half of the Kuwaiti people will be ex-ministers and the other half ex-MPs. So if you want influence without authority in Kuwait, then join one of the fighting wings and you will have all the influence you want, but you will destroy your country. — Al-Anbaa

OP-ED

The state could sink like Titanic

By Thaar Al Rashidi

T

he so-called reform slogans can no longer fool anybody, especially those used by ‘popular MPs’ whose shouting has only resulted in serious setbacks for Kuwait and caused catastrophic consequences that threaten the entire system. Though some of those MPs are respectable, iconic figures, the paths they are taking deviated from their goals and created only negative impacts.

The latest of such sabotage practices involve the recent systematic criticism and slander of official establishments, namely the judiciary, through rejecting the constitutional court ruling nullifying the 2009 parliament, as questioning its validity and slamming it are all but a step towards undermining what our ancestors had built to help this country prosper and be generous with all its subjects and with no exceptions.

The positive side in this situation, however, is that some of those promoting this eventually changed their minds and realized its being unacceptable to the majority of citizens.

Reviewing the near past, we have to consider the reasons for the developmental and economic deterioration dominating the country.

We thought that objecting to certain projects was motivated by efforts to fight corruption and the waste of pubic funds by people we have always trusted and thought highly of. However, with a closer look we realized that they had been driven by a systematic scheme to destroy the country’s economy. This was evident in our main blood-life resource, the oil sector, where the Northern Oil Fields project, that has been halted for 15 years, was strongly rejected.

The same people did their best to fight the new oil refinery project and stop renewing the projects we already have. For years we have been standing still while the world

around us has been racing time to attract investments and develop businesses. They also rejected a partnership with Dow and the former government yielded to tier pressure in a most humiliating way, costing Kuwait a penalty of over $2 billion. They apparently do not care if the cost of projects multiply because of delays.

Nowadays, and despite warnings of possible blackouts if it wasn’t immediately executed, they are lurking to stop the Al-Zour power plant project. They also foiled projects to develop the island of Failaka and Boubyan. Jaber bridge was no exception.

They also passed very abusive laws concerning the state’s development plan. They sort of sabotaged future development with conditioning the foundation of shareholding companies for health insurance, low-cost housing, custom warehouses and KAC, which already suffers and is considered an example of Kuwaiti management that is full of contradictions.

They only focused on popularity without motivating investment, encouraging business or conducting sound economic feasibility plans. The best example of this contradiction is the Warba Islamic Bank that was founded upon parliamentary thoughts that knew nothing about rules of competition. The privatization law was already born dead because they filled it with articles that would kill or restrain any investor wishing to take part in developing this country. Despite being passed for over 3 years now, no projects have been approved ever since what happened when they passed the BOT law over 4 years ago, which was only utilized to restrain and defame whoever dares invest.

In addition, they marveled at killing the private sector, forgetting that development is only achievable though public and private sector partnerships, that the

only good job opportunities citizens are in the private sector, and that the private sector is our only hope to diversify our resources away from oil. Yet the private sector has been their prime enemy and the laws they passed, supposedly to protect employees’ rights, only doubled the costs that eventually affects consumers and, thus, refutes claims that they are defending the people’s rights.

At the same time, they kept pressing to increase expenditures, namely in payroll, and several successive governments also yielded to them by approving 7 increases and allowances, some of which were well-deserved while others only overburdened the state budget with figures that are consuming more oil revenues to the extent that the World Monetary Fund has warned of the consequences of such ‘free gifts’, noting that they would eventually lead to irreversible problems.

Nevertheless, and as if they were living on another planet, they are all silent now when oil processing dropped by 30 per cent in only a few months.

Going on with this will surely lead to a very steep downfall.

Things have become unbearable, while they only care about the number of votes they get, regardless of the country’s interests and future. They have no vision nor a proposed project to achieve prosperity and development.

Leaving those people to steer our ship will surely lead us to ‘seas of darkness’ where we might only wake up to the impact of running into an iceberg destroying our TITANIC......will they ever understand what this means?!

The answer is in the hands of the nation, namely voters who have grown more capable of determining who is worthy of their trust and who should be ousted if we are to have a better future! — Al-Qabas

s the Arab Spring revolts of the previous year start bearing their fruit in the form of newly established democracies, the impetus for change is growing across the Arab world. It was Tunisia that opened last year’s democratic ball by chasing notorious ex-President Ben Ali out of power.

Shortly afterwards, it was followed by massive demonstrations held at Tahrir Square which created confusion for a short period of time, that not only lead to the ousting of ex-Pharaoh Mubarak, but his much publicized trial in a court of law that saw him being sentenced recently -a first for the region.

The fate of the next country to have been hit by the democratic wave and despite many in-fightings, the recent parliamentary election are a tribute to a nation that suffered harshly under the crushing hand of the ex-tyrant that remained for years, a mere colonel. The fate of Ali Saleh of Yemen also lies in legal limbo, the injuries suffered last year as a failed assassination attempt was carried out against him. It is perhaps a mark; a little taste of the suffering inflicted by him to the people of Yemen.

Throughout the Arab world, there is a growing sense of anger. Collectively, people are tired of the status quo, which for years has been sold by autocratic regimes to the West as the only means to control the tumultuous part of the world. The Western media was fed fears that democracy would mean the establishment of Taliban-like states rather than Turkish AKP realities.

The people in this part of the world are more religious than their largely secular Western neighbors.

The realities of managing countries in the 21st century amid international law with globalization being the norm will ensure that countries remain ‘moderate,’ despite an initial heightened desire to profess a real -or imagined- Islamic heritage. In no way is the Middle East today a threat, nor do most countries in the region desire to become belligerent. The cost for conflict is too high a burden.

What most desire, and we have seen in the speech of recently elected Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi that though ‘Islamist’ - whatever the merit of such a word is - are now at the helm of power, the talk of an Islamic State - whatever this would translate into - are subdued to a civil state that guarantees the freedoms of all the citizens in whom the powers lie.

Turkey has recently become the model for many aspiring Islamists. What they see is a country that is asserting its Islamic heritage, and similarly working towards developing its economy and society at par with its Western counterparts. The sick man of Europe is sick no more! The success of the AKP is a source of inspiration that could become a blueprint of what a democratic Islamic region could look like.

At home, here in Kuwait, the merit of the ‘democratic’ system we have built over the past fifty-years has its high’s and low’s. Recently, the gridlock we are faced with is due to a battle of supremacy between an elected parliament, and an appointed government as well as a third covert party: a shadow government that could really pull the strings.

Today Kuwait is not a monarchy, nor is it a constitutional democracy in full; this lack of real democracy is starting to be thoroughly questioned by a growing majority of citizens. The recent decision by the Constitutional Court to nullify and render void the 2012 Parliament has come as a shock, and has exasperated the political arena.

Though legal and binding, the verdict timing has come in the eye rather prematurely. Suspiciously, the court ruled on the matter a few days following the suspension of Parliament for a period of one-month

by HH the Amir.

The protagonist - better known locally as the majority in the 2012 parliament. All are in the opposition - are now voicing clear demands that the center on the amendment of the 1962 constitution.

Examples of the proposed amendments would prevent Ministers - who are ex-officio MP’s - from voting in grilling motions. Furthermore, it is highly necessary today to establish an independent electoral commission, and demands are growing for pushing towards a single electoral district, along with legalizing political parties.

Most pressing, the notion of an elected government and the transformation of Kuwait into a constitutional Emirate whereby the head of state would be the Amir, paving the way nevertheless for the appointment of a prime minister that is not from the ruling family. Also, demands for senior cabinet post are an integral demand the ‘sovereign’ ministries Foreign Affairs, Defense and Interior - that historically were headed by a minister from the Al-Sabah would no longer need to be.

The next months will prove to be crucial for the political future of Kuwait. The probable election that will take place early in the fall will either once and for all, bring to an end the unbearable political bickering that has stopped many crucial development projects from being executed or will lead to even greater chaos.

The outcome of the election, and the way by which the current authorities will choose to interact with the potential parliament, will set the outcome of either a gradual transition into a more mature ‘democracy’ or a descent into even greater political fighting. Though unlike other Arab Spring revolts and uprising, the legal battle raging in Kuwait has so far been a peaceful one with civilized protest, and no political retribution. If the peaceful nature of events were to be fueled by a dangerous escalation, as has been the case in other Arab states, the consequences will be grave.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

local

Kuwait-US relations ‘very productive, meaningful’ US ambassador affirms closeness KUWAIT: The US Ambassador to Kuwait has affirmed constitutional traditions.”

On dealing with an Iranian Parliament-proposed closeness of relations between Washington and Kuwait noting that these solid ties are based on both common blocking of the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world’s interests and shared values, confirming dialogue with most strategic shipping channels - where Iran and its the Gulf State government that will continue regarding Gulf neighbors, including Kuwait, provide the world the case of two citizens held at Guantanamo Bay deten- with an estimated 20 percent its oil supply, the US tion camp. Matthew H Tueller described the relationship ambassador upheld the view that the international between the United States and Kuwait as “a very, very community were the sole determiners.

“Any statements from any party close one, based on shared values that threatens to close off the Strait and interests and a common view of of Hormuz - which is an international what our aspirations are for this water way - are really directed region and the world,” in addition to towards the international communibeing “very productive and meanty, as a whole,” he said. ingful to both sides.”

Iranian lawmakers were reported “It underscored for me, the very to have issued a draft law, aimed at closeness of our relationship and enforcing a block of the Strait of the many, many Kuwaitis who from Hormuz to vessels from countries the their time studying, travelling or that have imposed sanctions on visiting the US have fond memories Tehran, in response to renewed of celebrating the July 4 in their own Western sanctions on its oil exports. countries,” said Tueller in the inter“It would be incumbent on the view, on the occasion of the US July international community therefore 4th Independence Day. to respond to any threat against the The US continues to be a major Strait of Hormuz. So, the US, working trading partner and an advocate of within the UN context, I am conficultural programs for the youth in dent would be able to find broad Kuwait, said Tueller. He also Ambassador Matthew H Tueller support internationally, to counter described these trade relations as ‘important in the overall picture’ of friendly, diplomatic any threat to freedom of passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” he underlined. relations between both countries.

Asked if the US - a major importer of oil from Arab Kuwaiti exports, mainly crude, to the US in 2011 reached $7.8 billion while various forms of trade and Gulf states - planned to increase its military capacity in joint investments going in the opposite direction the Gulf to combat these threats, the ambassador said topped $2.7 billion, revealed embassy figures. In addi- that his country “will always seek to maintain in this tion to this vast economic cooperation, the US has host- region the appropriate presence in order to deter any ed ‘some very successful cultural events that have actor that would seek to threaten our interests.

“We, of course, have a long history of presence in the allowed us to reach out to young Kuwaitis,’ added the Gulf that has always been designed to promote security ambassador.

Earlier this year, the embassy hosted a music per- and stability in the region, to protect the interest of our formances by the jazz band CoCo York, Mike del Ferro friends and allies, to ensure that their freedom of naviand the Arab-American singer Kareem Salama, in addi- gation and movement (is not compromised) and that tion to workshops for higher education, journalism and no hostile power threatens this region.

“I’m very pleased over the very strong positive relaskateboarding, read an embassy statement.

The embassy has several activities planned for the tionship we have with our friends here in the region future, including a Ramadan youth event sponsored by with the member states of the GCC (Kuwait, Saudi the State Department, a sports event for women offer- Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman). We ing Access Microscholarship programs, seminars on will maintain a close dialogue with our partners, here in news literacy, the US elections and an international the region, about how to respond and deal with any threats to the interests of our friends and allies.” book exhibition.

The US ambassador similarly referred to international Tueller affirmed that Washington was keen on resuming talks over Kuwait’s Guantanamo Bay diplomacy, in efforts aimed at solving the Syrian bloody detainees. “We do continue to maintain very close conflict between the regime and its opposition, adding cooperation and regular exchanges with the Kuwaiti that military action was on the cards as a final option.

“I believe we are still making significant progress on government, which has regularly made known to us and has raised its concerns about the remaining two the diplomatic side and we certainly hope that the Kuwaiti detainees. And I foresee that will continue - that regime and others will hear this. We will be redoubling very close dialogue with Kuwaiti authorities on this our efforts in the Security Council to put in place a resoissue - because we understand the importance the issue lution that contains real consequence if the regime has to the Kuwaiti people and the Kuwaiti government,” does not begin to comply with the (six) points that Kofi Annan and all of those who participated in the (June 30) the ambassador said in the interview with KUNA. The talks will aim at repatriating both Fawzi Al-Odah meetings in Geneva agreed should be the objective of and Fayez Al-Kandari, held in the US jail for over a the international community.”

The meeting was attended by the Five Permanent decade, to follow suit with another 10 Kuwaitis, released with no charges after being held under the US extraju- Members of the UN Security Council and Germany, several Arab League member nations, headed by Kuwait, dicial detention law.

On his country’s 236th year since its declaration of and the UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi independence, he said,”It was very gratifying to me the Annan.

Furthermore, he described the meetings as “having many expressions of friendship I received from Kuwaitis, achieved some very significant diplomatic progress” on both citizens and government officials.”

The US ambassador hailed Kuwaiti politics as being a plan that complies with Annan’s six points, including ‘unique’ among its Gulf counterparts. He also praised “a transitional governmental authority with full governthe Constitution as being ‘highly respected by all ing rights, broad participation and (one that) will be Kuwaitis,’ stressing that the US supports “the Kuwaitis made up by mutual consent of all parties.”

By this, the agreement underlines “that there must who seek to support, advance and strengthen their be an authority that now replaces the Assad regime, which has shown by its actions over this past year that it is not willing to be part of an effort to bring about a resolution of this conflict and meet the demands of the Syrian people.”

He underlined that the internationally-proposed authority should “not be a consultative body,” and that it was “time now for the Assad regime to listen to the clear expression of the international community and to open the way for this transitional authority to take over.”

Whilst being somewhat overshadowed by the Syrian conflict, the ambassador said that the Palestinian-Israeli crisis “has not been forgotten” and that President Obama along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were still committed to getting the two sides to agree to resume direct negotiations.

The efforts include a visit by US special envoy David Hale a few weeks ago during which he met with senior Palestinian and Israeli officials. “Our objective will continue to be, to get a path for the resumption of direct negotiations,” he underlined.

Ambassador Tueller went on to hail ‘the significant developments’ in Egyptian politics after the election of their new President Mohamed Morsi, describing the country as “a close partner and friend of the United States.”

“We wish President Morsi well and we stand by - as many friends of Egypt do - to assist as Egypt makes its transition to a new democratic form of government,” he concluded. —KUNA

Municipality signs Hawally traffic management contract KUWAIT: Head of the Kuwaiti Municipality’s department of structural planning, Saad Al-Muhailb, announced yesterday the signing of the contract for the traffic management project of Hawally between the Municipality and Parsons Brinckerhoff, the international engineering and management firm, in partnership with Kuwait Technical Consulting Bureau - House Kuwait Technical Consulting.

Al-Muhailbi told Kuwait News Agency that the 15month project was the result of the economic boom and the approach of owners and investors to develop their property and create various large recreational, commercial and service projects, which led to increased pressure on the road network. “The project aims to study land-use, its changes and impacts on the road networks in the area, and develop solutions to raise the efficiency of primary, secondary and local networks along with the latter’s intersection,” he added. — KUNA

KUWAIT: One new highway project in Kuwait.

Kuwait signs 287 contracts and deals in first half of 2012 KUWAIT: A total of 287 contracts and agreements were hammered out in the first half of 2012, said a senior Ministry of Public Works official.

They mainly include contracts for the construction and maintainence of the headquarters of each of the Public Authority for Minor Affairs, Al-Messila Suburb and Jamal Abdelnasser Street, the ministry’s chief spokesman Humeid Boshehri said.

They also involve deals for building and maintaining highways and sewage networks in several Kuwaiti areas, he said. Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, Kuwait International Airport expansion and Mubarak AlKabeer Port are among the major projects in the country, Boshehri added. Between January and June

2012, several development projects were completed; mainly including the buildings of the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program, the State Executive Apparatus and Khitan Police Station, the official said. By means of execut-

Humeid Boshehri

ing all such vital projects, the Ministry of Public Works seeks to prove that it is a key and effective element in urban development in the country, he boasted.

The projects in question are primarily intended to serve governmental sectors and institutions such as security, health, educational, social, religious and sports facilities, Boshehri pointed out.

Meanwhile, the ministry, he maintained, is interested in holding news conferences occasionally with a view to covering all achievements and accomplishments made by its major sectors.

The ministry is further keen on promoting its key development projects and holding exhibitions at malls and centers nationwide, the official noted. — KUNA

KOC sets up smart system for running oil fields KUWAIT: The national teams of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) have innovated and employed a technical smart system to run oil fields, branded Kuwait project for integrated digital fields, said Dr Adel Al-Abbasi, KOC Manager of Research and Technology.

Dr Al-Abbasi, in an interview with ‘Alam AlMou’sassah’ magazine of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation(KPC), said that the innovated system is a new network for managing oil and gas traps, and would facilitate efforts for optimum utilization of underground reservoirs, efficiently and at a low cost.

The system will enable personnel to scan closely and accurately, the features of underground traps, help in

minimizing human-made errors and enhance output.

Ahmad Al-Jassmi, Head of the team for Research and Technology said that the venture comprises four projects, including, Al-Sabriyah field, gathering center and the West Kuwait project — currently under construction. The KOC is executing the mega venture in coordination with international partners, namely Halliburton, Shlumberger, Weatherford and Baker Hughes. The project serves the KPC’s strategy of hiking production of oil to four million barrels per day by 2030, Al-Jassmi affirmed. He also re -affirmed that the project is designed to enhance the efficiency of managing oil fields at low costs. — KUNA

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

LOCAL

Woman dies in escape attempt in Farwaniya Hunt on for four juveniles KUWAIT: An Asian woman was killed and another sustained serious injuries when they fell while trying to climb down from the balcony of a Farwaniya apartment where they were held captive, said security sources.

According to the injured woman’s testimony, she and her friend had agreed to ‘sexual services’ for three Arab expatriates for KD 50 each in the apartment. She added that after spending six hours with the men, they refused to pay and held them captive in the apartment, so the women climbed down the balcony using bed sheets as a rope. After receiving a description of the three men, police apprehended one of them, who was arrested while hiding at a relative’s home in Khaitan. A search is on for the other two.

Mysterious death Following up on the mysterious death of a Kuwaiti citizen in Cairo, who reportedly fell from the 25th floor of a Cairo hotel, the Charge d’affaires at Kuwait’s embassy to Cairo, Mesh’al Al-Saeed, said a Kuwaiti security delegation has arrived to perform a follow-up investigation into the young man’s death. He added that security forces in both countries were cooperating on the case. Also, Al-Saeed called for avoiding rumors that would affect both the investigation and the deceased’s family’s feelings. He urged all Kuwaitis travelling to Egypt to avoid carrying jewelry and large sums of cash, stay in well-known hotels, keep away from suspicious areas, avoid talking politics in public and to avoid rallies. In

addition, Al-Saeed urged property owners to register their properties with the Egyptian notary offices.

Rai mall fight Security officers from a Rai shopping mall and a citizen were arrested for fighting, said security sources. Case papers indicate that the security officers tried preventing a drunken man from entering the mall, since his girlfriend was indecently dressed.

Officials said the man then shouted and insulted the officers, which triggered a fight.

Officials added that as the officers beat the man, his friend also shouted insults at them.

They were all arrested and further investigations are in progress.

Shop robbed The manager of a Shuwaikh furniture showroom reported that unidentified robbers broke into the shop and stole over KD 2,000, said security sources.

Driver assaulted Farwaniya detectives are currently tracking down four juveniles who had assaulted a taxi driver and stolen his mobile phone along with KD 39, said security sources. The driver told police that he had driven one of the assailants from Shuwaikh to Qairowan, where he asked him to stop in a quiet spot. Three of his friends then joined him in stabbing the driver and stealing his mobile and money. A case was filed and further investigations have begun.

Marathon chase After a marathon chase through streets in Jahra, Jahra detectives arrested two robbers, a Saudi and a Bedouin, after they stole a safe, including cash and a cheque book, from a company in Shuwaikh, said security sources.

Dentist insulted A dentist at Doha polyclinic reported that one of the patients insulted him, said security sources. Case papers indicate that the woman wanted to jump the queue and see the doctor immediately, ignoring other patients in the waiting room. When the doctor refused to see her and asked her to take a number and wait in turn, she insulted the dentist. A case was filed.

Drunk expat A Bangladeshi was arrested in Jleeb while wandering the streets drunk and naked, said security sources. Case papers indicate that passersby reported seeing a drunken man covering himself with a piece of cloth and performing what was described as strange and funny acrobatic moves. They added that seeing people gather around him, the man removed the cloth and began waving it in the air while dancing and singing. His ‘audience’ started cheering and clapping until the police arrived and they all ran from the area, including the drunken man, vanishing in side streets and alleys.

Family dispute A family dispute escalated into a large fight

amongst two brothers, their children, wives and the brother of one of the wives, said security sources. Case papers indicate that when young cousins, who live in the same house in Mishref began fighting, the mother of one of the boys strongly criticized the others, angering the other mother. As the two mothers argued, their husbands were drawn into the conflict. One of the wives reportedly demanded that her husband choose between divorce and moving to another house. When he refused, she packed her bags and called her brother, who joined in the fight when he arrived. Hearing the noise, neighbors called the police and the entire family was referred to the Mishref police station.

Three in custody In attempts to have his ex-girlfriend engage in relations with him, a man began blackmailing her with photos he had of her and, fed up with his attempts, she finally ‘agreed’ and asked to meet him in a Salmiya parking place. Showing up for his date, the blackmailer found that she had asked a man described as an ‘incredible hulk-like’ guy to beat him, which he did until the three of them were arrested.

Gunshots heard A citizen reported hearing gun shots, said security sources, noting that on checking the report it was found to be a hoax.

Salesmen held Two Syrian salesmen were arrested at a Salmiya shopping mall due to their fighting over the right to use a space between their adjacent shops, said security sources.

Citizen injured A citizen was seriously injured when he was struck in the head by a butcher’s chopping knife, said security sources. Case papers indicate that the assailant had asked to meet the victim in Salmiya where they both fought, and soon the fight became more violent. The assailant was arrested and further investigations are still in progress.

Wallet stolen A citizen reported that someone had broken into his vehicle and stolen his wallet with KD 100 cash in it, said security sources. The man explained that he had left his vehicle in a mosque parking area and went to pray, and upon returning he found the vehicle windows smashed and his wallet missing. A case was filed and further investigations are in progress.

Bedoon assaulted A bedoon reported that three unidentified people had assaulted him following an argument at a Fahaheel market, said security sources. The man, who had received medical treatment for his injuries at Adan hospital, stressed that he had not known his assailants.

AL-Anjeri to launch forum on tourism in Kuwait KUWAIT: General manager of the Leaders Group Investment and Development Company (LGID), Nabila Al-Anjeri announced that a forum will be held entitled ‘Tourism in Kuwait, Facts and Aspirations’ in November.

She added that local, GCC and international participants will discuss strategic touristic projects and sustainable development in view of GCC states’ experiences.

The forum is part of LGID’s strategic plan to pay due attention to tourism, that already began in tourism-focused activities like an exhibition for hotel and catering equipment. She also stressed that the company will sign new memos of cooper- Nabila Al-Anjeri ation with international companies and groups that specialize in tourism and related fields, apart from earlier ones signed with the British ‘Salon Consultancy’ and ‘Hospitality Services.’

Al-Anjeri stressed that, in view of a shift in tourism destinations, local and regional economic developments pointed at the need to give due care to this sector. She also underscored the significance of making use of others’ GCC experiences on the role of tourism in fixing economic deficiencies, taking into consideration that on January 12, 13, 2004, Kuwait had organized the ‘GCC Tourism and Development Forum’ held under the patronage of the prime minister and HH Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, with the participation of all GCC and international tourism officials in addition to the World Tourism Organization(WTO). As assistant undersecretary of Information Ministry, Al-Anjeri presided over Kuwait’s delegation at that time when Kuwait focused on enacting the role of tourism in attracting various investments to diversify sources of income.

Peru looks forward to Kuwaiti participation in Lima summit KUWAIT: Deputy Foreign Minister of Peru Jose Beraun Aranibar has said that his country is pinning high hopes on Kuwait’s participation in the summit of Arab and Latin American countries due to be held in the Peruvian capital Lima late October.

Aranibar, speaking at a news conference held late on Monday, said the political-economic summit would group representatives of 36 states including 22 countries and 14 Latin American nations. At the political level, it will be an opportunity for Latin American countries to demonstrate their stances toward regional issues, he said. He expressed deep gratitude to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the government and people for their warm welcome and hospitality, as well as ensuring success of his mission in the country. He confirmed that his mission was partly aimed at delivering a message from his president to HH the Amir for participating in the summit and hold talks on the prospects of strengthening the bilateral relations at the diplomatic, economic and media levels.

Aranibar affirmed significance of the accord his delegation had signed with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) for cooperation for exchange of news and training, saying that the agreement will contribute toward boosting the ties and help in shedding light on issues in Peru, Kuwait and the Gulf region.

His delegation also signed an accord for exempting diplomats from both countries from visa entry permits and a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for both countries’ foreign ministers to conduct regular consultations.

The delegation also visited headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Public Investment Authority, with the aim of inviting businessmen to take part in the economic forum, due to be held on sidelines of the upcoming summit for promoting investment opportunities in Kuwait and Peru.

The deputy premier praised the level of the bilateral ties, also indicating that a deal was reached with a local private company to import some natural herbs from Peru for treating diabetes and another for organizing tourist trips to his country. He also revealed efforts to enable Peruvian students study and learn Arabic in Kuwait. He affirmed that the situation was generally normal and indicated at his government efforts against drugs. Regarding regional issues, he affirmed support for the Palestinian cause. —KUNA

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

Morsi and judiciary in parliament tug of war

Pakistan shuns physicist linked to ‘God particle’ Page 11

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Syrian troops participate in a live fire exercise in an undisclosed location in Syria. In a show of force, Syria began large-scale military exercises Sunday to simulate defending the country against outside “aggression.” — AP

I don’t fear Gaddafi, Mubarak fate: Assad US, Saudi, Qatar, Turkey slammed as ‘terror sponsors’ DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad says he does not fear that he might share the fate of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, killed after capture, or Hosni Mubarak, the toppled Egyptian president sentenced to life imprisonment. In an interview with Germany’s ARD network aired on Sunday, Assad accused the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of backing “terrorists” trying to topple his government, and said he was still in power because he had the support of his people.

Assad said that most of the victims of the 16-month-old uprising were supporters of the government. “From the list that we have, from the names that we have, the highest percentage are people who are killed by gangs, different kinds of gangs ... If you talk about the sup-

porters of the government - the victims from the security and the army - are more than the civilians.” Activists, who keep lists of names and dates of death, and Western governments say more than 15,000 people have been killed by forces loyal to the government, the great majority of them people who opposed the regime and their innocent families.

Asked if he feared that he might share the fate of Gaddafi, who was killed shortly after his capture, Assad said: “Describing what happened to Al Gaddafi, this is savage, this is crime. Whatever he did, whatever he was, nobody in the world can accept what happened, to kill somebody like this.” “What happened to Mubarak is different. It’s a trial. Any citizen, when he watches a trial on TV - he

would think that he won’t to be in that position. The answer is: Don’t do like him. Don’t do like him,” the 46-year-old leader said. “But to be scared, you have to compare. Do we have something in common? It’s a completely different situation ... You cannot compare. You cannot feel scared - maybe feel sorry or a pity whatever.”

READY TO TALK Assad yesterday held talks in Damascus with UN special envoy Kofi Annan, whose peace plan for Syria appears moribund, in part because Assad’s government says the rebels who took up arms after peaceful protest was crushed are foreign-backed “terrorists” who do not represent popular discontent. “It shouldn’t

fail. It is a very good plan,” Assad said. “The main obstacle (is) that many countries don’t want (it) to succeed. So they offer political support and they still send armaments and send money to terrorists in Syria. They want it to fail in this way.”

Assad repeated that he is “ready to talk to anyone” about a political solution to the crisis.

“If I don’t have a support in the public, how could I stay in this position? United States is against me, the West is against me, many regional powers and countries and the people against me, so, how could I stay in this position? The answer is, I still have a public support. How much, what the percentage is - this is not the question, I don’t have numbers now.”

He described the Syrian rebel army as “a mix-

Election observers give thumbs-up to Libya poll TRIPOLI: International observers declared Libya’s landmark national assembly election a success yesterday, concluding that violent incidents and anti-vote protests in the restive east failed to stop Libyans from turning out in large numbers. The United Nations, United States and other Western backers of last year’s uprising that ended the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi have already given good marks to what was the North African state’s first free national election in six decades.

“It is remarkable that nearly all Libyans cast their ballot free from fear or intimidation,” Alexander Graf Lambsdorff of the European Union Assessment Team told a news conference.

“These incidents do not put into question the national integrity of the elections as a whole,” he said, alluding to cases of thefts and burnings of ballot boxes and protests by demonstrators seeking more autonomy for the east of the country. Two people were reported killed in the unrest. The EU team toured half a dozen major cities including the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, the fount of the uprising, but did not go to the desert south, where security remains precarious because of tribal clashes.

The US-based Carter Center said its 45-strong observation team was also absent from the south and acknowledged that its operation for Saturday’s election had been somewhat limited.

“Eleven months after the building on a new nation, there are bound to be spoilers ... Libyans determined to continue with the voting process is what gives us hope for the future,” said John Stremlau, Carter Center vice-president of peace programs. Nearly 1.8 million of 2.8 million registered voters cast their ballots, a turnout of around 65 percent, authorities said.

Official results were to be published district

by district later. Local media have suggested that a party bloc led by wartime prime minister Mahmoud Jibril is leading Islamic groups such as the political wing of Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood.

However it could be premature to suggest that outcome in itself breaks with a trend towards Islamic parties gaining power in other Arab Spring countries including Egypt and Tunisia.

The Western-educated Jibril rejects the labels of secular and liberal and says sharia (Islamic law) is one of the principles of the alliance. On Sunday he offered to form a grand coalition with all political forces in Libya.

Moreover, parties have only been allotted 80 out of 200 seats in an assembly whose task is to name a prime minister and cabinet before readying parliamentary elections in 2013 on the basis of a yet-to-be-drafted constitution. The remaining 120 seats will go to independent candidates. “We have no way of knowing yet how they will align themselves,” said Hanan Salah of Human Rights Watch, noting that justice sector reform, women’s rights and freedom of expression would be litmus tests of the next leadership’s real stance.

Reaction to Jibril’s coalition call was cautiously positive. “The door is open to dialogue now for all Libyans,” Ali Rhouma El-Sibai, head of the hardline Islamic Al-Assala Group, told Reuters.

“But no agreement is possible until we know what is on the table. We cannot compromise our principles.” No comment was available from the Justice and Construction Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Watan, an group led by former rebel militia leader Abdel Hakim Belhadj, said it was studying the call.

In Benghazi, moderate independent candidate Younis Fanoush welcomed the call. “It is the right time for it - it is not beyond the realm of

ture, an amalgam of Al-Qaeda, other extremists, not necessarily Al-Qaeda, and outlaws who escaped the police for years, mainly smuggling drugs from Europe to the Gulf area and others who were sentenced in different sentences. So it’s a mixture of different things”.

Some were not politically motivated, he said. “They were paid the money, sometimes on the threat and sometimes for certain illusions and delusions. So, not all of them are terrorists.” Assad said the United States must bear responsibility for “terrorist” actions. “As long as you offer any kind of support to terrorists, you are a partner. Whether you send them armaments or money or public support, political support in the United Nations, anywhere. Any kind of support, this is implication.”— Reuters

Israeli spies ‘behind Iran assassinations’

TRIPOLI: Nuri Al-Abbar, head of Libya’s electoral commission, holds a press conference in Tripoli. — AFP possibility,” he said. UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon hailed the “peaceful, democratic spirit” of the vote and US President Barack Obama said he looked forward to working with a new Libyan leadership. However the storming of four voting centers by protesters in Benghazi, cradle of last year ’s uprising, underlined that eastern demands ranging from greater political representation for the region to regional autonomy will not go away.

Local gunmen, demonstrating their grip on the eastern oil terminals from which the bulk of Libya’s oil exports flow, blocked three main ports a day before the vote. The National Oil Corporation confirmed on Sunday that activities were back to normal after a 48-hour stoppage.

Many easterners are furious that their region, one of three in Libya, was only allotted 60 seats in the new assembly compared to 102 for the western region that includes Tripoli. Analysts say one of Libya’s priorities is to address the eastern grievances in the drafting of a new constitution, even if a shift to full-blown federalism is unlikely.-—Reuters

WASHINGTON: A new book claims Israel’s spy agency dispatched assassins into Iran, as part of a campaign to sabotage the country’s disputed nuclear program. Israeli operatives have killed at least four Iranian nuclear scientists, including targeting them with operatives on motorcycles, an assassination technique used by the Israeli spy service, the Mossad, according to authors Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman in their book to be published July 9, “Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel’s Secret Wars”.

The Mossad agents “excel at accurate shooting at any speed and staying steady to shoot and to place exquisitely shaped sticky bombs” and consider it their hallmark, Raviv said Friday during an interview with both authors. The hits are part of a series of regular missions deep inside Iran, intended to keep Tehran from developing weapons and following through with threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map.

The US and Israel accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Iran has long blamed the scientists’ killings on Israel, which has remained silent on the matter, but media reports speculated Israel had contracted killers to do the job. “They don’t farm out a mission that is that sensitive,” so sensitive that Israel’s prime minister has to sign off on it personally, Raviv said. “They might use dissidents for assistance or logistics but not the hit itself. The

methodology and training and use of motorcycles is all out of the Mossad playbook. They wouldn’t trust anybody else to do it.”

The Mossad operatives enter and exit Iran through a “multitude” of routes, using a series of safe houses once inside the country that predate the 1979 Islamic revolution, the authors said. In Friday’s interview, co-author Melman said Israel believes the campaign successfully disrupted Iran’s nuclear program not only by taking out key scientists but also dissuading other up-and coming scholars from joining the program. Raviv is a CBS News correspondent, and Melman is a wellknown Israeli commentator and intelligence and military affairs correspondent for Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper.

Israel has told the Obama administration that it expects American military power to “obliterate” Iran’s nuclear program, the authors said. If the US does not act, Israel has threatened to attack Iran’s nuclear sites on its own.

The US prefers the carrot-and-stick approach of talks aimed at convincing I ran to stick to a peaceful nuclear regime, combined with increasingly harsh economic sanctions to punish Iran as it improves its current program.

The two nations have cooperated on the harassment campaign, including par tnering on c yber programs like Stuxnet, malware credited with damaging the control panel on centrifuges in Iran’s nuclear plant.—AP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

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

Abu Ghazi, the grave digger of Qusayr QUSAYR: Abu Ghazi dips his sponge in a bucket of ice water, closes the eyes of the young man lying motionless on a stretcher and recites verses from the holy Quran before gently cleaning the bloodied face. Qusayr, a rebel stronghold near the central Syrian city of Homs, has been under constant bombardment for months and has paid a heavy price for backing the revolt against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

At least once a day, retired officer Abu Ghazi conducts the same ritual. “It depends on the intensity of the bombardment, the ferocity of the fighting and the will of God,” he says. An old freezer room where he once kept fruit and vegetables has been transformed into a makeshift morgue. “Children, women, men, the elderly and Free Syrian Army soldiers have all passed through here,” he says. “But mostly young children who died in shelling on their homes. And most are civilians who have never even held a weapon.

“I fought for my country, I bled for my country, I killed for my country and now my country humiliates and persecutes me. Bashar Al-Assad has dishonored all Syrians,” Abu Ghazi lamented.

“I’m too old to fight so I’m the grave digger-the job that nobody wants to do because we see things nobody would want to see. This is my way of contributing to the defeat of Assad,” he says. Outside the “morgue,” the family of 24-year-old Ghaith waits to recover his body and begin their vigil. “I lost my three sons and husband. What more does the revolution want from me?” his mother Fatima asks as she sits on a plastic chair beside her daughter, now an only child. “He was an incredible person. He loved football and he never touched a weapon because he believed that violence is not a solution,” Rifai, a Qusayr rebel, said as he stooped to kiss the forehead of the man who was his friend.

Fatima does the same. Her tears flood the face of her son before sever-

TV defends showing gunman siege tapes PARIS: French television channel TF1 defended yesterday a decision to air recordings of Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah negotiating with police that sparked fury among his victims’ families and prompted an official probe. The audio extracts of Merah, who killed seven people in March including three Jewish children, contained “very important information” that warranted broadcast, TF1’s news director Catherine Nayl said. The extracts, broadcast Sunday, revealed how police negotiated with the gunman during a 32-hour siege at an apartment in Toulouse, southwest France, where they had cornered him after his killings, she said.

“We did this with a perfect awareness of its news value,” she said. “I think this document proves that, right up to the end of the raid, the negotiators were trying to detain Mohamed Merah and to detain him alive.” She said the recordings also showed that Merah “in cold blood and with absolute determination ... had created a character for himself.” “All this information, which is new information in the Merah case, seemed important to us to broadcast,” she said. “We are journalists, our job is to inform.” In the extracts, run on TF1’s early evening news program, the 23year-old Al-Qaeda-inspired gunman could be heard defying the police and declaring he was not afraid to die.

Merah was eventually killed in a shootout as a crack police unit tried to storm his apartment. “I know that there’s a chance you could kill me, that’s a risk I’m taking,” he said. “So there we are-know that you are up against a man who is not afraid of death.” Interior Minister Manuel Valls condemned the decision to run the extracts, and lawyers for relatives of the victims said the families were “outraged” by the move and would file complaints.

Valls’ predecessor, Glaude Gueant, who was minister during the killings and siege, said: “ This broadcast reawakens the considerable pain that

the entire country felt, a real trauma.”

Jean Tamalet, a lawyer for the brother of a soldier killed by Merah, said “one can only wonder” about the source of the leaked recordings when police and security services were the only ones known to have them. The interior ministry said a criminal investigation had been opened into the leak of the tapes and the broadcast. The head of France’s CSA broadcasting authority, Michel Boyon, said he was “profoundly shocked” by the airing of the recordings and that the agency “would not hesitate” to impose penalties on broadcasters.

“It is not acceptable to mock the families’ suffering in this way,” he told Europe 1 radio. The CSA said it would interview TF1 bosses today as well as managers from rolling news channels BFM-TV and iTele which re-broadcast the recordings. TF1 had removed the recording from its website but it remained available on the Internet, including on video-sharing website YouTube. The head of CRIF, the representative body of Jewish groups in France, also said Monday that the victims’ families were right to be furious at hearing the recordings. “I find the families’ reactions justified. Hearing this killer swagger is unbearable for the families,” Richard Prasquier said.

Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian descent, shocked France when he killed three soldiers and four Jewish people between March 11 and 19.

Merah filmed his killings, and in March the pan-Arab television channel AlJazeera received a copy of the videos on a USB memor y key at its Paris bureau. The channel decided not to run the footage and the main French television networks also said they would not run the material if it became available. The case highlighted shortcomings in France’s counter-terrorism operations, with authorities criticized for not taking Merah as a serious threat even though he was known to have met with extremist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.— AFP

Israeli panel recommends legalizing settler outposts JERUSALEM: A government-appointed committee proposed yesterday granting official status to dozens of unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank and challenged the world view that Israeli settlement there is illegal. The non-binding legal opinion, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought, could be used by the right-wing leader to address criticism at home and abroad of his declared plans to build more homes for Jews on land Palestinians want for a state. Three months ago, his governing coalition drew Palestinian and international condemnation when it retroactively legalized three West Bank outposts built without official sanction.

But the panel, chaired by a former Israeli Supreme Court justice who has written pro-settlement opinions from the bench, reaffirmed Israel’s long-held view that the West Bank is not occupied territory and settling Jews there is legal. The opinion, yet to be formally accepted by the government, flew in the face of the World Court ruling that all settlements are illegal because of their location on occupied land. The Israeli committee disputed that ruling, arguing Israel’s control of the West Bank does not constitute occupation as no country was sovereign over the territory when it was captured from Jordan in a 1967 war.

“Therefore, according to international law, Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered to be illegal,” it said, using the Biblical names for the West Bank. Jordan captured the West Bank, which had been part of British-mandated Palestine, in the

1948 Arab-Israeli war and annexed it in a move that never won international recognition. Israel has built some 120 settlements in the West Bank. Dozens of unauthorized outposts, which past Israeli governments had pledged to remove, have also gone up in the territory.

Palestinians say the enclaves will deny them a viable and contiguous state, a view that has won wide international support. Addressing the issue of unsanctioned settlement outposts, the committee echoed a 2005 government report in determining they had been established “with the knowledge, encouragement and tacit agreement of the most senior political level”. But unlike the 2005 document, which said quiet government support and funding for unauthorized settlements were illegal, the new report recommended expanding them.

The time had come, it said, to complete formal “planning and zoning procedures” and set the “municipal jurisdiction” of each outpost, taking into consideration their growing populations. “Pending completion of those proceedings and examination of the possibility of granting valid building permits, the state is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders,” the panel said. Yariv Oppenheimer of the antisettlement group Peace Now said the panel had “delivered the goods” for the Israeli right.

“The legal world is a wonderful one, just choose a position and you will always be able to find a legal expert who can defend it,” he said on Army Radio. “The committee has forgotten that there are 2.5 million stateless Palestinians under Israeli military rule.”—Reuters

al men take his corpse back to the family home. As many as 200 people gather outside the door to pay a final tribute. “At the beginning of the revolution there were thousands of people to accompany the final procession of the victims. Now they are fewer and fewer. Many have left the city and others are afraid,” says Abdel Hakim, the local imam. “Soon there will be more to join him in death,” he adds. Women throw rice and rose petals as the funeral procession passes. Abu Ghazi will himself bury the young man, just as he has done 200 times before over the past nine months. Inside his notebook, the grave digger carefully records the names of each victim and the date of his or her burial. “ The municipal cemeter y is no longer enough. We had to open two new cemeteries, just for the martyrs of the revolution,” he says. “One day we buried 16 people, all women and children. A real massacre. Probably the most difficult day of my life.”— AFP

QUSAYR: A handout image shows the body of a Syrian man who was allegedly killed by government forces at a field hospital in Qusayr, near Homs. — AFP

Egypt’s Morsi, judiciary in parliament tug of war Morsi’s decision triggers ‘political earthquake’ CAIRO: Egypt’s top court yesterday rejected a decree by President Mohamed Morsi to reinstate the parliament it ruled invalid, setting the president on a collision course with the judiciary and the military that enforced the ruling. “All the rulings and decisions of the Supreme Constitutional Court are final and not subject to appeal... and are binding for all state institutions,” the court said in a statement.

This came after Morsi decided to order back the Islamist-led lower house of parliament a month after the court found certain articles in the law on parliamentary elections to be invalid, annulling the house.

The powerful Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which was running the country after Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising last year, had dissolved parliament based on the ruling. The court’s move could spark a confrontation between Morsi, who stepped down from the Brotherhood when he was sworn in last month, and the SCAF as well as the judiciary.

However, the court stressed that it was “not a part of any political conflict... but the limit of its sacred duty is the protection of the texts of the constitution.” Its statement came hours after parliament speaker Saad Al-Katatni invited the lower house to convene at 2:00 pm today, following the presidential decision.

It was not clear how the court’s ruling would be enforced. Morsi’s decree also stipulates the organization of new parliamentary elections two months after the approval by referendum of the country’s new constitution and the adoption of a new law regulating parliament. The presidential decision has also heightened tensions with the military, although both Morsi and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi who heads the SCAF appeared together at a military cadet graduation ceremony yesterday.

Morsi’s decision caused a “political earthquake,” some media reported yesterday, sparking a flurry of meetings including by the SCAF and the Constitutional Court.

“Morsi says to SCAF: Checkmate,”

CAIRO: An Egyptian military officer salutes President Mohammed Morsi (third from right) as he sits with Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri (center) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi (fourth right) Army Chief of Staff Gen Sami Anan (second right) and the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayyib, right, at a graduation ceremony at a military base east of Cairo yesterday. — AP read the headline of the independent daily Al-Watan, as Al-Tahrir, another daily, declared “Morsi defeats SCAF.” His move also angered some secular parties, which had slammed the Muslim Brotherhood’s monopolization of power since the start of the uprising. “In any decent and democratic country, a president cannot disrespect the judiciary,” said Rifaat AlSaid, the head of the leftist AlTagammu party.

“Whether Morsi likes it or not, he must respect the judiciary’s decisions,” he told state television. Said said a march to parliament would be organized later, and stressed that “several parties will boycott parliament’s sessions.” The military dissolved parliament last month after Egypt’s top court made its controversial ruling, a day before the second round of the presidential poll that saw Morsi become Egypt’s first democratically elected head of state. The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi

stood down after his election, at the time described the move as a “soft coup,” accusing the military of seeking to monopolize power and demanding a referendum.

The Supreme Constitutional Court had said certain articles in the law governing parliamentary elections were invalid, annulling the Islamist-led house. It also ruled as unconstitutional the political isolation law, which sought to bar senior members of Mubarak’s regime and top members of his now-dissolved party from running for public office for 10 years.

Morsi beat Mubarak’s last premier Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential election. The SCAF issued a constitutional declaration granting the military sweeping powers, and in the absence of a parliament-in which nearly half of the seats were won by the Muslim Brotherhood and another quarter by hardline Salafists-it assumed legislative power. SCAF’s document, which rendered the presidency toothless,

caused outrage among those calling for the military to return to their barracks. Instead of being sworn in before parliament, the 60-year-old Morsi took the oath on June 30 before the constitutional court. US President Barack Obama will meet Morsi at the UN General Assembly in New York in September, an official in Washington told AFP on Sunday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is to visit Cairo on July 14, has congratulated Morsi on his election but cautioned that his victory was just a first step towards true democracy. Despite Morsi’s Islamist background, the confirmation of his election brought relief to Obama’s administration, which feared that the military would not accept his victory and provoke new chaos in Egypt. Morsi put Washington further at ease by pledging to be a leader for all Egypt, where around 10 percent of the population is Christian, and to honor Cairo’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel.— AFP

S Sudan shrugs off gloom to celebrate year of freedom JUBA: Dancing and singing, South Sudanese yesterday put aside dire warnings over the stability and economic viability of their fledgling nation, the world’s newest, to celebrate its first year of independence.

Celebrations began at midnight as crowds took to the streets of the capital Juba, with people crammed into cars driving around the city and honking horns to mark the first anniversary since separating from former civil war foes Sudan.

“It is a good day because it is the first birthday of my country,” said Rachel Adau, a nurse, who arrived soon after dawn to secure a place at the official ceremony, held at the mausoleum of the late rebel leader John Garang. “Today is the day we celebrate when the people came out from the Arabs and liberated themselves,” said Michael Kenyi Benjamin, a student, as a dancing man dressed as a white dove of peace raised cheers from the flagwaving crowd. Grossly impoverished South Sudan has spent the past year wracked by border wars with the rump state of Sudan, as well as internal violence and the shutdown of its vital oil production

in a bitter dispute with Khartoum.

Vice President Riek Machar has admitted to failing to meet his people’s expectations because of “the unforeseen difficulties we got ourselves into.” The early euphoria of

where even the most basic infrastructure, such as roads, electricity and water distribution networks, is lacking. “For our people, we tell them to be patient....and to work hard to build the nation,” James

JUBA: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (center) observes a military parade at the country’s anniversary celebrations, at the John Garang mausoleum in Juba yesterday. —AP independence on July 9, 2011, has since given way to a harsh reality.

While massive steps forward have been made, South Sudan remains one of the world’s poorest countries,

Hoth, chief of staff of the South’s army, said as large crowds gathered.

“Everyone must work for the development of this country.”

United Nations chief Ban Ki-

moon and African Union commission chairman Jean Ping are expected to attend a military parade and official speeches, expected to begin later than scheduled. No senior Sudanese officials are expected to attend, according to an official program, in a sharp contrast to last year, when Sudanese President Omar alBashir was greeted warmly as he witnessed the end of a unified Sudan. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Sunday that Bashir had turned down his invitation to attend. Tension remains high with Khartoum after heavy border fighting in March and April along oil-rich disputed frontier regions, and officials held out collection boxes at the ceremony to raise funds for frontline troops. “We have lost many of our comrades and today we are thinking of them,” added Hoth, recalling both those who died in the decades of civil war with Khartoum, as well as clashes earlier this year. Other guests include former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating slow-moving AU-led talks between Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the leaders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.—AFP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

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

Congolese flee to Uganda with sense of deja vu

BUSANZA: Congolese refugees wait in Busanza border town for a Ugandan police truck to ferry them to a refugee centre. — AFP

Nigerian senator killed at mass burial JOS: A Nigerian senator and several other people were killed on Sunday when gunmen attacked a mass burial for 63 victims of violence the previous day in ethnically mixed Plateau state, a government official said. Saturday’s clashes between security forces and armed Fulani herdsmen erupted after the military said they intervened when fighting broke out between Fulani migrants and indigenous tribes in the Barkin Ladi district in Plateau. A spokesman for the Fulani said the military opened fire on them because the government favors indigenous tribes. Plateau state government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Sunday in Barkin Ladi and three other government zones.

The Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed several suicide bomb attacks this year on churches in Jos, the Plateau capital, prompting a Christian backlash against Muslims. There was no sign Boko Haram was involved in this weekend’s fighting. Plateau is in the “Middle Belt”, where the largely Christian south meets the mostly Muslim north. It has for years been a tinderbox of ethnic and religious rivalries over fertile land and power between local people and migrants from other areas. Senator Gyang Dantong of the ruling People’s Democratic Party and a state lawmaker were among several people shot dead while attending the burial, officials said, adding that they had no details on how many people were

killed. Burials were also under way in other parts of the state and the final death toll is likely to be higher. “ Tragedy.

Serving Senator died following Fulani attack on mourners at a mass burial of 63 victims of a Fulani attack on over 9 villages the previous day,” said Istifanus Gyang, security adviser to the Plateau state governor. Tit-for-tat killings between religious and ethnic groups have run on for several days in Plateau in the past. In January 2010, more than 300 people were killed and in November 2008 over 700 were killed in a week of fighting. President Goodluck Jonathan sacked his defense minister and national security adviser last month, saying the country needed “new tactics” to fight “terrorism”. He gave few details.

A statement from the presidency on Sunday said the death of Dantong was “cruel and regrettable” and that security agencies had been ordered to track down his killers. Security experts believe Boko Haram’s attacks on churches in central and northern Nigeria are an attempt to provoke a wider religious conflict inside Africa’s biggest oil producer. But much of the violence in Jos is a result of long-running ethnic tensions and local political power struggles, and is not instigated by Boko Haram. Boko Haram has killed hundreds this year in its insurgency against Jonathan’s government. The sect wants to carve out an Islamic state in the north of Africa’s most populous nation.— Reuters

PARIS: French President Francois Hollande (right) gives a speech at the beginning of a social conference with unions and employers yesterday at the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of France (CESE) headquarters in Paris. — AFP

France’s president set for stormy cross-channel trip LONDON: French President Francois Hollande makes his first official visit to London today with splits over City regulation, the Euro crisis and high-income taxation set to dominate talks with David Cameron. Despite the pair’s ideological differences-the British prime minister did not want to meet with Hollande during his election-campaign visit in February-it is expected the two men will work together on more consensual issues. The leaders are scheduled to hold a meeting and a working lunch today followed by a joint press conference. Conservative Cameron and Socialist Hollande held their first bilateral meeting before the G8 summit in Washington in May. “I did not meet David Cameron before the election, so I am especially pleased to meet him afterwards,” said Hollande at the time.

Today’s discussions will focus on “a broad spectrum of topics”, according to a brief statement released by Cameron’s Downing Street office. Paris said the focus would be on the “the Franco-British partnership”, highlighting bilateral cooperation on defense and energy and on international issues such as Syria, Iran and Mali. But Cameron’s controversial promise made last month to “roll out the red carpet” for any French tax exiles, will not be on the agenda. The French leader shrugged off the comments as “of no importance”. Taxation in France, however, is also being closely scrutinized by the British government on another point: a proposed hike in the levy on foreign-owned second homes.

According to the Daily Telegraph, this measure could affect “some 200,000 British second-home owners in France”, and London would be willing to “challenge any proposal which breaches European single market laws and anti-discrimination rules.” European

issues are also likely to elicit a difference of opinion. Cameron continues to urge members of the euro-zone-of which Britain is not a part-to take action to resolve the economic crisis that is severely affecting his country’s economy. But under heavy pressure from the Eurosceptic wing of his party, he recently called for “less Europe”, and has not ruled out a referendum on whether Britain should redefine its relationship with Brussels.

He also refused to back the European Pact on fiscal discipline, which he fears may compromise the City of London’s position as Europe’s leading financial center, and has regularly voiced his fierce opposition to a financial transactions tax desired by Paris. Last November, he speculated in front of Britain’s parliament whether the French would accept “a tax on cheese.” Hollande responded in May by suggesting that “the British have been particularly shy about the issues of financial regulation, and attentive only to the interests of the City”. He also deplored London’s “relative indifference” to the fate of the euro area.

“Europe is not a cash till and less still a selfservice restaurant,” he quipped in an apparent dig at Cameron.

In contrast, the British leader appeared to distance himself from attacks on Hollande by the conservative press by insisting there was “no contradiction between austerity and growth”, a position advocated by the French president. He also pointed out that Hollande’s timetable for balancing the budget was tighter than Britain’s. During his one-day visit, Hollande will also meet members of the sizeable and influential French community in London. With a French population estimated at around 350,000, the British capital is sometimes called “the sixth French city.”— AFP

BUSANZA: Her baby son strapped to her back, Sifa Mapendo gestures wearily at the few belongings her family was able to grab before they ran from their home in DR Congo in the wake of fierce clashes. “We heard the shooting and then the people were running, even the government soldiers were running, and so we ran too,” Mapendo, 21 said. “There were many people injured but we managed to get away quickly, even though it meant we had to leave almost everything behind.”

Mapendo is among the latest wave of people forced to flee fierce fighting between soldiers of the Democratic Republic of Congo army and rebel troops.

In recent days renegade soldiers from the M23 rebel groupwho deserted from the national army this year-have seized a series of key towns from government forces close to the border with Uganda in eastern Congo.

After walking for two days with her husband and four small children, Mapendo finally reached the safety of the remote border town of Busanza in Uganda. As she waited for a police truck to ferry her and around 40 other refugees to the nearest camp,

she worried about the future.

“We want them to stop fighting so we can go home, but what can we do? We can just stay in Uganda and wait,” she said. The Nyakabande refugee transit camp, some 15 kilometers from the border, has mushroomed in size in the past few weeks-row upon row of white UN tents now housing over 13,000 refugees from nearby Congo.

Since the rebellion flared earlier this year over 30,000 Congolese have registered as refugees in Uganda, while thousands more are yet to be officially listed, government officials said.

For many of those now flocking across the border, the terrified trek to seek refuge in Uganda is nothing new. Alice Katendo, a mother of six, already spent two years as a refugee in Uganda after she fled a 2008 armed rebellion by the rebel National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) - many of whose members now make up the current M23 rebels. She was told it was safe to return to eastern Congo, but after little more than a year back home has been forced to flee once again. “Last time we were here for a long

time,” Katendo said. “I hope now it will only be a few months but it is impossible to know.”

While the rebels say they have established order in the towns they hold and some inhabitants cross over from Uganda during the day time to look for food, many at the camp say they are still too frightened to go home. “If you go back then you are just seeking problems,” said Fidel Prince, 18, another refugee. “ The war is going on and you could be shot either by rebels or government troops.”

However, while eastern Congo is once again plunged into chaos, officials on the Ugandan side say that they have learnt from the previous experience.

But the speed and size of the refugee influx this time round has still stretched resources, and officials fear that if the rebels push on the situation will get worse. “It is like history repeating itself-we have experience from the last time but now the rate of refugee arrivals is higher and the situation is more difficult,” said Ahmed Doka, the local Ugandan district commissioner.

And it is not just civilians who have sought refuge in Uganda.

Sprawled around a tree trunk on the lawn of the local Ugandan army barracks in Kisoro, the closest town to the border, elite troops from a Congolese commando unit sleep or smoke cigarettes. They were among roughly 600 Congolese soldiers who abandoned heavy weapons and equipment and fled across the border into Uganda when the rebels stormed the border town of Bunagana on Thursday.

“In military tactics we often call that a tactical withdrawal,” said Petit Petit Tamata, a company commander in the Belgiantrained 322nd battalion. “Our company was faced by an enemy that was superior we withdrew to protect our capacity,” he said, adding that two of the company’s soldiers were killed as they battled the rebels for half a day.

But as he waits to be moved with his troops to another camp further from the conflict area, Tamata says his defeated troops are keen to return to the fray.

“We are here for now and waiting to hear from our government but we are set on going back to Congo... we are ready to start fighting again.”— AFP

Russia mourns as questions mount Familiar whispers surround Russia flood disaster MOSCOW: The flash Russian flood that killed at least 171 in their sleep has sparked a slew of rumors that the authorities were playing down its scale in a new sign of a breakdown of trust with the public. Russians have become grimly accustomed to their summers being shadowed by disasters under the rule of Vladimir Putinincluding the horrific summer 2010 forest fires and or Kursk nuclear submarine sinking of August 2000.

The catastrophic flooding came just days ahead of the first anniversary of the sinking of the Russian cruise ship Bulgaria on the Volga River that claimed 122 lives. All these disasters were characterized by an extreme initial unwillingness by officials to part with information in the initial stages of the crisis. This usually sparked seemingly inevitable rumors of an even greater crisis. “The problem is that the authorities have never properly informed the public about catastrophes and always issue information in small doses,” Russia Journal editor Alexander Morozov said in reference to a Sovietera practice to keep the public safe from bad news.

The tradition goes back to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of April 1986. It then took the Soviet Union three days to publish a report on its official news agency TASS that any accident had even taken place. Wild rumors have accompanied torrential downpours in southern Krymsk of a much higher death toll and even a

decision to flood the village to spare a much bigger population centre further down the dangerously swollen Neberdzhai River. None of the deadly tragedies in Putin’s 12 years as both president and prime minister saw him stumble as badly as when the heavily-armed Kursk submarine went down in 2000 with 118 seamen on board.

Putin stayed on vacation while the tragedy unfolded and refused early offers of foreign help. The nation’s first glimpse of Putin-tanned and sporting a summer shirt-came three days later when all the lives seemed clearly lost. “It sank,” the KGB-spy famously deadpanned when pressed about sinking by CNN’s Larry King that October. Putin has since been at pains to respond more fittingly to the many emergencies and disasters that followed. But mistrust still crept into state claims of being caught unawares by a Siberian dam collapse that killed 75 in August 2009. Some local media said officials knew the hydroelectric plant was in trouble for a least a decade.

The summer 2010 drought and flash fires saw entire populations of central Russia scramble for any news about what may be burning where and why. And the floods in the little village of Krymsk and surrounding locales this weekend sparked immediate rumors of the authorities forcefully pumping water out of a reservoir to keep the strategic port city of Novorossiysk safe. That concern was eventually

channeled into general discontent about a lack of early warnings for the mostly elderly population that suffered and reliance on technology the authorities should have known would not work in a storm.

Officials sent out warnings on television after the region had lost electricity. Many of their mobile phone messages also could not be delivered either properly or in full-a fact that left some officials red-faced Monday. “Some initial information suggest that our warning system did not work at the required level,” Investigative Committee deputy Yelena Leonenko was quoted as saying by the state’s RIA Novosti news agency. “But this is only our initial information.

We cannot be sure yet.” Amid the recriminations, the head of the Krymsk district and local mayor were sacked by the regional governor yesterday.

Even media with longstanding Kremlin connections have been unusually scathing. “The tragedy of Krymsk was a perfect demonstration of what slovenliness and hoping against hope brings about,” the Izvestia daily remarked yesterday. Some analysts said this may come as a warning to Putin-already bruised by protests that greeted his plans to return to the Kremlin this winter. “The authorities had enough money to build themselves mansions but not the resources to lead water away flooding Krymsk,” said sociologist and opposition movement supporter Dmitry Oreshkin. “Now, even when Putin says the truth, the people doubt him.”— AFP

Court ruling may decide Romania president fate Western powers say rule of law threatened BUCHAREST: The fate of Romania’s president hangs in the balance as the Constitutional Court rules on whether his rivals who run the government can change the rules of a referendum which will decide whether he will be impeached. The ruling Social Liberal Union (USL) of Prime Minister Victor Ponta suspended President Traian Basescu on Friday saying he had overstepped his powers. An impeachment referendum will take place on July 29. The government wants to change how many votes are needed to impeach Basescu, from a majority of the whole electorate to a majority of those who actually vote - which could determine the result. The dispute between Ponta’s leftist alliance and his right-wing rival Basescu has raised international concerns about respect for the law and the constitution in the European Union’s second-poorest country, which is in recession. The political chaos has raised doubts over Romania’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid deal, sent the leu currency plunging and pushed borrowing costs higher.

The leu fell a further 0.5 percent on Monday, again trading close to an all-time low. The court will also rule on whether Basescu’s suspension was legal and on a law to cut some of the court’s powers after parliament ruled the court could not block some of its decisions. “The court will meet today from 2pm (1100 GMT) to discuss the constitutional court law, the presidential suspension (and) the referendum law,” said cour t official Daiana

Anton said. “We expect a verdict today.”

The government had a long list of reasons for suspending Basescu, including what it said was his attempt to pressure judges and breach the constitution. Basescu said the charges against him were political and an attempt by Ponta to take control of the judiciary.

Romania’s president is in charge of the country’s foreign policy and nominates the prime minister. He was able to influence the previous government’s austerity policies because of his close links to the centre -right Democrat-Liberal Party, which led that government.

Analysts say the cour t will almost certainly back Basescu’s suspension because it was done according to protocol. But the referendum rule change - passed just weeks before the impeachment vote - may be rejected.

However, in a further complication, Ponta’s government has also passed an emergency decree backing its referendum rule law. So even if the court rejects the law change, it may not be able to overturn the decree - certain to add to international accusations the government is dispensing with the judiciary.

The Council of Europe has

Romanian president Traian Basescu

already asked constitutional experts to examine the suspension of the president after Germany and the United States criticized the action, saying it threatened the rule of law. “The long-term damage to Romania’s image as a democracy has been already done.

So, the leu will remain under pressure for the rest of the year,” said a Bucharest foreign exchange dealer.

Romania’s politics - unstable at the best of times - have been in chaos for months and Ponta is the third prime minister this year, after protests against austerity and corruption toppled his predecessors.

Ponta’s USL backtracked on a plan to replace Constitutional Court judges after international criticism, but is now issuing emergency decrees that take immediate effect before the court can rule on them.

Impeaching Basescu would mean Romania would have to elect a new president in the autumn as well as holding a parliamentary election, which will stall policies and raise expenditure as it tries to keep the 5 billion euro ($6.15 billion) IMF-led aid deal on track. The USL is favorite to win a parliamentar y election in the autumn, though there have been no opinion polls in the past month. If Basescu is impeached, the party would also probably win the presidency. The government denies it is endangering the rule of law and says it is sticking to the deal with the IMF, which wants Bucharest to overhaul energy prices and the outdated health system and to sell inefficient state assets. —Reuters

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

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

Feared Al-Qaeda offshoot neutralized TIZI OUZOU: It’s being hailed as a key success in the fight against Al-Qaeda: a determined Algerian clampdown that has pulled the teeth from one of the terror network’s deadliest offshoots and could be a model for elsewhere.

Six years after joining the Osama bin Laden franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - known by its acronym AQIM - appears to have been neutralized in the nation where it originated and made its name, officials and exper ts say, corralled into a remote mountain area and reduced to occasional pinprick shootings against soldiers.

Most experts agree there remain just a few hundred combatants holed up in Algeria’s Kabylie mountains. The once-feared terror force appears further than ever from its goal of creating an Islamic state in Algeria. Its failure is even more striking compared to the success of AQIM’s southern offshoot, which recently allied itself with rebel Tuaregs in northern Mali and appears on the brink of establishing a hardline Islamic state in the little-governed wastelands of the Sahel region.

Without the Algerian military to contend with, the southern offshoot has flourished in an empty lawless region of smugglers in the Sahara desert and nearby Sahel, much the way other AlQaeda franchises took root in the hinterlands of Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan.

The original northern network, however, has been pushed out of nearly all areas of Algeria where it once operated freely. Now, it is confined to a mountainous region about the size of

West Virginia, Western officials say.

Violence and especially kidnappings remain a persistent problem in the Kabylie region, but the Algerian AQIM hasn’t mounted a successful operation against Algiers in the past five years even though the mountains are less than a two-hour drive from the capital.

AQIM’s collapse is particularly notable given its blood-soaked history.

The group jumped to the forefront of the terror scene with a series of high-profile attacks after joining AlQaeda, including suicide bombings on UN headquarters in Algeria that killed more than 40 people. It has its roots in a decades-long battle with Algerian security forces that killed a staggering 200,000 and left indelible scars on this oil-rich nation. The success of Algeria’s counter-terror campaign provides insights into how Al-Qaeda can be beaten if faced with a well-organized and focused foe: With limited US help, Algeria has thrown millions of dollars and the full weight of its security apparatus into eradicating AQIM on its soil.

“Al-Qaeda as it stands right now has been knocked down to something that’s much more like a criminal threat,” Henry Ensher, the US ambassador to Algiers said referring to AQIM’s original northern group. “Their capabilities are much, much less and that’s because the Algerians fought an effective counterinsurgency campaign and essentially destroyed their capabilities as a guerrilla organization.” What is left of the group is hidden in rugged mountain terrain among people who loathe AQIM and the central government in equal measure. The Algerian group’s

last hideout is ironically in an area where historically it has had the least support.

High above the clear blue waters of the Takhoukht reservoir, along a winding road in the Kabylie mountains, locals park their cars, open their trucks and settle down for sunset beers. The

majority Arabs. But their hostility to the government means they do nothing to help authorities root out AQIM. “No one supports the militants, but no one informs on them because you are confronted by an authority you reject,” explained local journalist Samir Leslous, who has close contacts with

KABYLIE: Photo shows the bridge over the Takhoukht reservoir in Algeria’s rugged Kabylie region where police and Al-Qaeda militants recently engage in a shootout killing six extremists. — AP last remnants of Al-Qaeda’s Algerian branch also lurk around here, and in fact six of them were gunned down

by Algerian soldiers last month at this very spot. But judging by the evening leisure of the local Berbers - an indigenous ethnic group separate from the Arabs who dominate Algeria’s government - they aren’t winning many converts.

The Berbers of the Kabylie have traditionally been fierce opponents of the Islamists and are known for a more secular outlook in general than Algeria’s

Algerian security officials and has covered the conflict for years. “There is also the way security forces operate, you get interrogated by them, so people are caught between the hammer and the anvil.” Al-Qaeda is also careful not to attack the local civilians, for fear of further antagonizing their reluctant hosts and jeopardizing their last refuge. So people feel free to crack a beer on the roadside. AQIM’s mountain hideout increasingly seems like a cage.

“They are rather isolated without much possibility for action in Algeria,” said

Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a former French magistrate specializing in counter-terrorism. “ The sanctuary of AQIM remains the Kabylie, but it’s very reduced because of the actions of the armed forces and intelligence services.”

AQIM grew out of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, the last surviving group of Islamist insurgents that battled the Algerian government for more than a decade after a military coup canceled elections in 1992 that an Islamist party was poised to win.

Vigorous counter-terrorism operations by government forces as well as amnesties extended to former militants had left the Islamist rebels much diminished by the early 2000s. Many fled to the deep south and the unpatrolled lands on the borders with Mali and Mauritania.

The extremists received a shot in the arm in 2006 when Al-Qaeda No 2 Ayman Al-Zawahri recognized it as part of the network and tasked it with bringing the fight to France - opening a new front during the height of the US campaign in Iraq. Together with AlQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, it was part of the aggressive new branches in the terror network aimed at the US and its allies.

The Algerian Al-Qaeda made its mark with a series of high profile suicide car bombings inside the capital Algiers in 2007, including the December UN headquarters bombings and twin attacks in April on the prime minister’s office that together killed 74 people, which suggested a major new terror force had entered the fray in North Africa. — AP

Socialite Denise Rich dumps US passport New York penthouse up for sale for $65 million

NEW YORK: (Left to right) City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former City Comptroller Bill Thompson and US Rep Carolyn B Maloney (D-NY) attend a news conference on the steps of City Hall to criticize presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney yesterday. — AFP

Democrats bombarding Romney with offshore tax haven attacks WASHINGTON: Top Democrats have launched a coordinated assault on Mitt Romney’s use of offshore tax havens, demanding that he release more tax returns in order to explain himself to the American people. Robert Gibbs, a senior campaign adviser to President Barack Obama, delivered the pithiest barb on CNN Sunday, saying: “This is a guy whose slogan is ‘believe in America’ when it should be ‘business in Bermuda.”

Over on “Fox News Sunday,” Democratic Party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said: “Americans need to ask themselves, why does an American businessman need a Swiss bank account and secretive investments like that?” Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, senior Senator Dick Durbin and other Obama campaign aides also lashed out to portray Romney as a “secretive” businessman who was hiding much of his money offshore to avoid the taxman.

The Republican presidential hopeful’s wealth, estimated to be around $250 million, has repeatedly emerged as an issue during the campaign as Obama tries to paint him as out of touch with ordinary Americans before the November vote.

Romney’s tax rate has been a particular bone of contention, as have questions about the manner in which he acquired his fortune at the helm of the Bostonbased investment firm he founded, Bain Capital.

Under pressure from Republican primary opponents, he reluctantly released his return for 2010 and an estimate of his taxes for 2011 in January, but has yet to do the same for previous years, including for when he worked at Bain. Blistering attack ads accusing Romney of shipping US jobs overseas and breaking up companies for profit during his time at Bain are credited with giving Obama an edge in crucial rust belt swing states Pennsylvania and Ohio. A Vanity Fair report less than a week ago shifted the focus back onto Romney ’s millions tucked away in Switzerland and in offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

Obama aides and senior Democrats took to the Sunday morning talk shows en masse to criticize Romney on that issue, hoping to reframe the campaign after a week in which more damaging jobs numbers hurt the president’s chances. “I’d really like to see Mitt Romney release more than one year of tax records because there’s been disturb-

ing reports recently that he’s got a secretive Bermuda corporation that no one knows anything about, investments in the Caymans, (some) kind of Swiss bank account,” Wasserman Schultz said. Vanity Fair reported on a corporation established in the 1990s in Bermuda and holdings in the Cayman Islands.

“Did he put his money there to avoid paying US taxes? We don’t know, because he won’t follow precedent and release his tax returns,” Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, says in a new online video.

“Mitt Romney could be the first president in history to stash millions offshore but so far he has failed to answer simple questions that might explain why, and he refuses to release the documents that might answer those questions.” The video also took Romney to task over the Bermudan corporation, asking why he transferred ownership to a blind trust in his wife’s name the day before being sworn in as governor of Massachusetts.

“What taxes would Romney have paid if his money was invested here in America?” it asks.

Romney has amassed vast wealth since founding Bain Capital in 1984, and he consistently says his successful business experience is what puts him in better position than Obama for turning around the sluggish US economy. Much of Romney’s fortune lies well hidden in a network of opaque offshore investments including some $30 million in the Cayman Islands, Vanity Fair reported last Tuesday. Romney continues to have personal interests in at least 12 of the 138 funds organized by Bain in the Caymans, where such investments are hidden behind confidentiality disclaimers, making an assessment of his true wealth virtually impossible, the magazine said.

He also holds a Swiss bank accountwith $3 million in it, according to 2010 tax returns-and other interests in tax havens such as Bermuda, Vanity Fair said in its August issue. The Romney campaign hit back at the video and the new attacks, with spokeswoman Andrea Saul saying in a statement: “The Obama campaign’s latest unfounded character assault on Mitt Romney is unseemly and disgusting. “Mitt Romney had a successful career in the private sector, pays every dime of taxes he owes, has given generously to charitable organizations, and served numerous causes greater than himself,” it said. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Denise Rich, the wealthy socialite and former wife of pardoned billionaire trader Marc Rich, has given up her US citizenship - and, with it, much of her US tax bill.

Rich, 68, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and glossy figure in Democratic and European royalty circles, renounced her American passport in November, according to her lawyer.

Her maiden name, Denise Eisenberg, appeared in the Federal Register on April 30 in a quarterly list of Americans who renounced their US citizenship and permanent residents who handed in their green cards.

By dumping her US passport, Rich likely will save tens of millions of dollars or more in US taxes over the long haul, tax lawyers say.

Rich, who wrote songs recorded by Aretha Franklin, Mary J Blige and Jessica Simpson, is the latest bold-faced name to join a wave of wealthy people renouncing their American citizenship. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin gave up his US passport to become a citizen of Singapore, an offshore tax haven, before the company’s initial public offering in May. Nearly 1,800 citizens and permanent residents, a record since data was first compiled in 1998, expatriated last year, according to government figures. Rich, who was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, has Austrian citizenship through her deceased father, said Michael Heidt, a lawyer in Hollywood, Florida, who represented her in a recent lawsuit. He said Rich had dumped her US passport “so that she can be closer to her family and to Peter Cervinka, her long-time partner.” Rich’s

two daughters live in London; Cervinka, a wealthy property developer, is an Austrian national. Rich plans to make London her main residence and does not intend to acquire other passports, Heidt said.

MARC RICH’s PARDON Rich’s ex-husband, commodities trader Marc Rich, fled the United States in 1983 when indicted on charges of tax evasion, fraud, racketeering and illegal trading of oil with Iran. They divorced in 1996. Marc Rich received a presidential pardon in 2001 on President Bill Clinton’s last day in office.

Federal prosecutors and Congress investigated the pardon, and in 2002 a House of Representatives committee concluded Denise Rich had swayed the action through donations to the Clinton library and campaign.

Dubbed “Lady Gatsby” by Yachting magazine, Rich owns multiple properties, including a mansion in Aspen, Colorado. She is a frequent habitue of Cannes, Monte Carlo and St Tropez with celebrities and singers aboard her 157-foot yacht, Lady Joy. Rich will escape future US taxes but possibly not all current ones. In 2008, Congress imposed an expatriation tax on persons with a net worth of more than $2 million who dump their US citizenship or permanent residency. Under the law, those people owe an “exit tax” on their worldwide property, computed at a fair market value the day before they leave. But tax lawyers say the tax can be reduced or avoided by structuring asset holdings through foreign annuities.

While Austria, like the United States, gener-

ally taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, it has generous tax breaks for citizens who spend half the year abroad. In January, Rich put her 5th Avenue penthouse in New York on the market for $65 million, according to the listing agent, The Corcoran Group. New York property records show Rich acquired a 100 percent stake in the apartment, described

by Corcoran as “the epitome of luxury and grandeur,” for $200,000 in 2006. Bonnie Evans, the Corcoran broker for the property, declined to discuss details.

COOK ISLANDS TRUST The recent lawsuit against Rich was filed on behalf of Lee Goldberg, the former protector of a Cook Islands trust of which Rich is a beneficiary, in February. The case was dismissed in April, court records show. The Cook Islands, a South Pacific tax haven, offers Swiss-style secrecy for wealthy investors. The lawsuit accused Rich and Richard Kilstock, a British real estate entrepreneur who is married to Rich’s daughter Daniella, of “transferring, moving or secreting trust assets, in violation of the trust’s guidelines and without the knowledge or permission of Goldberg.” Rich and Kilstock denied the charges and accused Goldberg of altering trust documents, court filings show. Both Goldberg and his attorney, Donald Thomas, declined to discuss the case. Rich recently dismissed Goldberg, one of her long-time lawyers, as protector of the trust. Heidt, who also represents Kilstock in the case, declined to discuss the lawsuit. Kilstock did not return calls requesting comment. — Reuters

Campaign donations by text? Not so fast WASHINGTON: Wireless carriers are balking at US regulators’ move to allow political donations by text message, a plan that could reshape the nation’s campaign finance system by giving cell-phone users the ability to make instant contributions. The proposal to allow text contributions - which has been backed by the campaigns of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney - was approved last month by the Federal Election Commission.

It also has the support of fundraisers and campaign finance reform groups, which told the FEC that text donations would help “empower” those who can give only a few dollars to campaigns. This year’s campaign season has been marked by sixand seven-figure contributions from wealthy donors to groups known as “Super PACs,” or political action committees, which have no limits on donations and spending. But the wireless carriers who would oversee the donations-by-text service including the four US giants Sprint Nextel Corp, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA - have yet to get on board with the plan.

The carriers - who account for about 90 percent of the more than 330 million wireless subscriptions in the United States - are worried about an array of liability and regulatory issues they could face in handling contributions to presidential and congressional candidates. The carriers are asking the FEC for more guidance on how they should implement a donations-by-text program, according to four industry sources. One sticking point is that the carriers want to make sure they will not be held liable for determining donors’ eligibility to contribute to a campaign, industry sources said. That means ruling out that a donor is a corporation, foreign citizen or underaged American who is not allowed to contribute, or whether the donor has met various limits for donations to a campaign. — Reuters

WASHINGTON: Children play at a fountain at the Yards Park in Washington, DC. A record heat wave has been in the area for more than a week. — AFP

Temperatures across US cool slightly but still hot PHILADELPHIA: The heat that blanketed much of the US will begin easing up this week as temperatures approach normal from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Camp Springs, Md, said Sunday night that a cold front through the South and the Mid-Atlantic will bring thunderstorms and showers. It “will break the heat wave we’ve had,” he said, dropping temperatures there to a more normal range of mid- to upper-80s. The Southeast and Tennessee Valley will be in the low 90s, “still fairly warm,” Orrison said, but not as hot as it has been.

The Midwest can expect cooler weather, as well, with temperatures in the 80s. The cooler air began sweeping southward Sunday in the eastern half of

the country, bringing down some temperatures by 15 or more degrees from Saturday’s highs, which topped 100 in cities including Philadelphia, Washington, St Louis, Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky. The heat of the past several days has been blamed for at least 46 deaths across the country. In Chicago, the Cook County medical examiner’s office determined Sunday that eight more people died from heat-related causes, adding to the 10 deaths previously confirmed Saturday. The deaths included a 100-year-old woman, 65-yearold woman, a 53-year-old man, a 46year-old woman and an unidentified man believed to be about 30 years old.

In Tennessee, the third heat-related death of the year was a 62-year-old woman found dead in her home. — AP

11

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

international

Attacked Maldives blogger flees ‘Islamist’ threat NEW DELHI: The Maldives’ bestknown blogger, who nearly died in an attack outside his home last month, has blamed resurgent Islamists for the assault and fled the country. Ismail Rasheed, known locally as the blogger “Hilath,” was on his way home from prayers on the evening of June 4 when three men grabbed him from behind and one of them stabbed him in the throat.

The 37-year-old former journalist with leading daily Haveeru, who had upset the Indian Ocean nation’s increasingly influential religious hardliners, slumped in a pool of blood outside his front door in the capital Male.

Rushed to hospital, he remained in intensive care for days where doctors brought him back from the brink. His tracheabut not a vital artery-had been sliced clean through. “I was attacked because I advocate secularism. The Islamists want Maldives to remain a 100-percent Islamic country,” he said in an interview conducted via Twitter and email in the past few weeks.

The free-speech advocate has been literally silenced. He was unable to talk in person or over

the telephone because doctors have advised him not to speak while his throat heals.

Fearful for his future safety, Rasheed has since fled the country and is considering seeking political asylum. “The Maldives is not safe for me anymore,” he said, declining to disclose his present whereabouts. His attempted murder, he is convinced, was linked to the political and social changes sweeping the Indian Ocean island nation, a “paradise” holiday destination of turquoise waters and coral-fringed beaches.

The country’s first democratically elected president, the Westerneducated former political prisoner Mohamed Nasheed, was ousted in February after a mutiny by police and army officers which he and his supporters view as a coup.

Former vice president Mohamed Waheed was quickly installed as head of state, sparking protests which continue to this day as well as a wave of political violence. Visiting touristscelebrities and well-heeled honeymooners who head for secluded luxury hotels on outlying islands-are blissfully unaware.

They are kept deliberately out of the cramped capital of Male and other populated areas. One consequence of the change in power has been an increased role for the ultra-conservative Adhaalath

The party has two ministers in Waheed’s administration.

Adhaalath regularly accused Nasheed during his time in office of having links to Jews and Christians and it helped spur

MALE: Maldivian journalist and blogger Ismail Rasheed recovers in a hospital bed after being attacked in Male, the capital of the Maldives. —AFP Party, whose supporters follow a strict brand of Wahhabi Islam from the Gulf that has grown steadily in recent decades.

protests against him in the months leading to his ousting.

“Ever since the Islamic extremists got affiliated with Waheed, free-

dom of speech has deteriorated,” explained Rasheed, a distant relative of Nasheed and a follower of Sufi Islam, a more mystical and moderate form of the religion.

The idea of his blog was “to criticise Islamic extremists and Gayoom,” he said referring to former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who ruled the country for three decades until the first free elections in 2008.

Even during Nasheed’s time, Rasheed received death threats, was arrested and had his website closed down by the Islamic affairs ministry. Last December, his skull was fractured by thugs during a rally for religious tolerance.

Human Resources and Youth Minister Mohamed Shareef condemned the stabbing in an interview with AFP shortly afterwards, but he also implied that Rasheed should have known he had become a target. “We are not a secular country. When you talk about religion there will always be a few people who do not agree,” he said.

The Maldives, despite the welcome given to hedonistic tourists from the West, is an Islamic republic where openly practicing

another religion is illegal under its Sharia law, as is drinking alcohol and adultery. President Waheed’s office insists that the attack on Rasheed was gangrelated. “It had nothing to do with religious extremism or his work as a journalist,” presidential spokesman Masood Imad said by telephone. “He is a member of a gang and had been attacked by rival gang members in the past too. It is unfair to blame this attack on anything else,” Imad said.

Rasheed says police have identified the “Islamic extremists” responsible for slitting his throat”they came to show me their photos”-but no arrests have been made. Former president Nasheed, who continues to campaign for early elections in the Maldives, is adamant that his flight from the country is emblematic of the worrying restrictions on free-speech. “It is very much under threat now. Of course Hilath had views that the vast majority of Maldivians couldn’t digest, but that is not the issue. Everyone should be able to express their views,” he said. —AFP

6 US troops slain Afghan police hunt woman’s executioners

Nobel Prize laureate Professor Abdus Salam

Pakistan shuns physicist linked to ‘God particle’ ISLAMABAD: The pioneering work of Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate, helped lead to the apparent discovery of the subatomic “God particle” last week. But the late physicist is no hero at home, where his name has been stricken from school textbooks. Praise within Pakistan for Salam, who also guided the early stages of the country’s nuclear program, faded decades ago as Muslim fundamentalists gained power. He belonged to the Ahmadi sect, which has been persecuted by the government and targeted by Taleban militants who view its members as heretics.

Their plight - along with that of Pakistan’s other religious minorities, such as Shiite Muslims, Christians and Hindus - has deepened in recent years as hardline interpretations of Islam have gained ground and militants have stepped up attacks against groups they oppose. Most Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims. Salam, a child prodigy born in 1926 in what was to become Pakistan after the partition of British-controlled India, won more than a dozen international prizes and honors. In 1979, he was co-winner of the Nobel Prize for his work on the so-called Standard Model of particle physics, which theorizes how fundamental forces govern the overall dynamics of the universe. He died in 1996.

Salam and Steven Weinberg, with whom he shared the Nobel Prize, independently predicted the existence of a subatomic particle now called the Higgs boson, named after a British physicist who theorized that it endowed other particles with mass, said Pervez Hoodbhoy, a Pakistani physicist who once worked with Salam. It is also known as the “God particle” because its existence is vitally important toward understanding the early evolution of the universe.

Physicists in Switzerland stoked worldwide excitement Wednesday when they announced they have all but proven the particle’s existence. This was done using the world’s largest atom smasher at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, near Geneva. “This would be a great vindication of Salam’s work and the Standard Model as a whole,” said Khurshid Hasanain, chairman of the physics department at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Salam wielded significant influence in Pakistan as the chief scientific adviser to the president, helping to set up the country’s space agency and institute for nuclear science and technology. Salam also assisted in the early stages of Pakistan’s effort to build a nuclear bomb, which it eventually tested in 1998.

Salam’s life, along with the fate of the 3 million other Ahmadis in Pakistan, drastically changed in 1974 when parliament amended the constitution to declare that members of the sect were not considered Muslims under Pakistani law.

Ahmadis believe their spiritual leader, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who died in

1908, was a prophet of God - a position rejected by the government in response to a mass movement led by Pakistan’s major Islamic parties. Islam considers Muhammad (PBUH) the last prophet and those who subsequently declared themselves prophets as heretics. All Pakistani passport applicants must sign a section saying the Ahmadi faith’s founder was an “impostor” and his followers are “non-Muslims.”

Ahmadis are prevented by law in Pakistan from “posing as Muslims,” declaring their faith publicly, calling their places of worship mosques or performing the Muslim call to prayer. They can be punished with prison and even death.

Salam resigned from his government post in protest following the 1974 constitutional amendment and eventually moved to Europe to pursue his work. In Italy, he created a center for theoretical physics to help physicists from the developing world.

Although Pakistan’s then-president, Gen Zia ul-Haq, presented Salam with Pakistan’s highest civilian honor after he won the Nobel Prize, the general response in the country was muted. The physicist was celebrated more enthusiastically by other nations, including Pakistan’s archenemy, India. Despite his achievements, Salam’s name appears in few textbooks and is rarely mentioned by Pakistani leaders or the media.

By contrast, fellow Pakistani physicist A Q Khan, who played a key role in developing the country’s nuclear bomb and later confessed to spreading nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, is considered a national hero. Khan is a Muslim.

Officials at Quaid-i-Azam University had to cancel plans for Salam to lecture about his Nobel winning theory when Islamist student activists threatened to break the physicist’s legs, said his colleague Hoodbhoy. “The way he has been treated is such a tragedy,” said Hoodbhoy. “He went from someone who was revered in Pakistan, a national celebrity, to someone who could not set foot in Pakistan. If he came, he would be insulted and could be hurt or even killed.”

The president who honored Salam would later go on to intensify persecution of Ahmadis, for whom life in Pakistan has grown even more precarious. Taleban militants attacked two mosques packed with Ahmadis in Lahore in 2010, killing at least 80 people. “Many Ahmadis have received letters from fundamentalists since the 2010 attacks threatening to target them again, and the government isn’t doing anything,” said Qamar Suleiman, a spokesman for the Ahmadi community. For Salam, not even death saved him from being targeted.

Hoodbhoy said his body was returned to Pakistan in 1996 after he died in Oxford, England, and was buried under a gravestone that read “First Muslim Nobel Laureate.” A local magistrate ordered that the word “Muslim” be erased. —AP

woman, separately said the 22year-old woman, named as Najiba, was married to a member of the hardline Islamist Taleban and was accused of adultery with a Taleban commander. “Within one hour they decided that she was guilty and sentenced her to death. They shot her in front of villagers in her village, Qol,” she said.

KABUL: The Taleban yesterday claimed responsibility for a roadside bombing that they said killed six American troops in a volatile part of eastern Afghanistan.

Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement the blast struck the US troops in their armored vehicle around 8 pm Sunday in Wardak province, just south of Kabul. Coalition and Afghan forces are trying to secure areas of Wardak that insurgents use as gateway into the Afghan capital where they stage high-profile attacks on Afghan government and NATO targets. NATO would not disclose the nationalities of the service members killed, but Wardak provincial police chief Gen Abdul Qayum Baqizoi said they were American.

He said that after the Americans were killed in Jalrez district, a coalition airstrike killed a local Taleban commander and wounded three insurgents. Also in the east, authorities said gunmen assassinated a chief prosecutor in Ghazni province yesterday morning as he drove to work. Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy provincial governor, said Sahar Gul was shot twice - once in the head and once in the chest. The Taleban routinely target Afghan government officials to weaken support for President Hamid Karzai’s administration.

Sunday was a particularly deadly day in Afghanistan. Roadside bombs and militant attacks killed the six American soldiers, as well as 19 Afghan civilians and seven Afghan policemen.

security forces track and capture the men involved in what he called “an atrocity of unspeakable cruelty”. The brutal shooting of the lone woman before a cheering mob of men is shown in graphic detail in a video of the event in a village in Parwan province some 100 kilometers north of the capital Kabul.

“We have sent a police force to

WOMAN EXECUTED A manhunt was under way for Taleban militants who publicly executed a woman accused of adultery, Afghan authorities said, as outrage mounted after a video of the cold-blooded killing surfaced.

President Hamid Karzai called the killing “disgusting and unforgivable” and ordered security forces to spare no effort in arresting and punishing those responsible. The commander of NATO’s 130,000 troops in Afghanistan, General John Allen, offered to help local

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE: An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Capt Bruce A MacFarlane at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, MacFarlane, 46, of Oviedo, Fla died in Kandahar, Afghanistan. —AP

KANDAHAR: Afghans remove dead and wounded bodies at the site of a suicide attack in Kandahar yesterday. —AFP

the area,” Parwan provincial governor Basir Salangi said, adding that the government had no permanent presence in the valley. “ They are searching for the Taleban who are responsible but the Taleban, including the killer, have fled to the mountains.”

Roshna Khalid, Salangi’s spokes-

Public executions of alleged adulterers were common when the Taleban regime was in power from 1996 until 2001, when they were ousted by a US-led invasion for harboring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. The Taleban have since waged an insurgency against the

Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai. Karzai said Afghanistan’s suffering people were not expecting a repeat of such incidents after the fall of the Taleban regime. “Murdering a woman who did not even have a voice for defending herself is a sign of cowardness and such a crime is unforgivable in Islam and the country’s laws,” he said.

The video also drew international condemnation, with British Foreign Secretary William Hague saying he was “shocked and disgusted” by the execution. “Such deplorable actions underline the vital need for better protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan,” he said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, before the video surfaced, made a powerful plea Sunday for the rights of women in Afghanistan, amid fears that recent gains for women are under threat as NATO troops prepare to leave in 2014. Clinton, who was addressing a world conference in Tokyo on Afghanistan’s future, said: “The United States believes strongly that no nation can achieve peace, stability and economic growth if half the population is not empowered.”

The video opens with the woman, wrapped in a grey shawl, sitting at the edge of a ditch in a village surrounded by dozens of men, some perched on rooftops for a better view. As she sits with her back to the crowd a bearded man is seen reading verses from the Koran condemning adultery, before saying: “We cannot forgive her, God tells us to finish her.” The video then shows a man in white being handed an AK-47 rifle.

Some local repor ts said the shooter was the woman’s husband but Khalid, the governor’s spokeswoman said that he was a relative of the victim’s husband.

The executioner approaches to within a couple of meters of the woman, says “Allahu akhbar ” (God is great), and fires a total of 13 shots as the crowd cheers wildly, shouting “Long live Islam”, “Long live mujahideen (holy warriors)”. —Agencies

West Africa losing patience with Mali interim leadership OUAGADOUGOU: West African leaders are growing increasingly impatient with Mali’s slow progress in ending a political crisis that has seen Islamist fighters seize more than half its territory. Bearing the brunt of their frustration is Cheick Modibo Diarra, Mali’s interim prime minister who heads a transitional government meant to be restoring the country’s territorial integrity and overseeing the return to civilian rule after a March 22 coup. At a conference in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou on Saturday, six national leaders from the Economic Community of West African States said Diarra must create a “unity government” by July 31 that can provide a clear timeline to exit the crisis.

If not, ECOWAS would no longer recognize the government of Mali and the country would be suspended from sub-regional groups. “What the heads of state are doing is accusing Diarra of not respecting the handover agreement” reached on April 6 between ECOWAS and the coup leaders for a broader government, a source close to the talks said.

“They’ve asked Diarra to open the government, but

until now it hasn’t been done,” the source said.

Political parties, civil society and armed factions in the north have refused to recognize the interim government, hampering efforts to negotiate with Islamist fighters.

Diarra himself was absent from the talks and Mali’s other leader, interim President Dioncounda Traore has been in Paris since late May for treatment following a serious assault inside the presidential compound in the capital Bamako.

According to an African diplomat, Diarra has a problem of legitimacy with the Malian political class because he “quickly surrounded himself with those close to the former dictator Moussa Traore”, in power from 1968-1991, and also because of his complex relations with coup leaders. “In the evening, he is close to them, but in the morning he keeps his distance,” the diplomat said.

Diarra, who was a world-renowned astrophysicist before turning to politics, also has his supporters. An advisor said Diarra’s fans appreciated him refusing to be at the beck and call of ECOWAS. He’s

“a proud man, let’s not forget that,” the advisor said. But Ally Coulibaly, Ivory Coast’s minister of African integration, whose country currently heads ECOWAS, said the transitional government “urgently” needs to be strengthened.

Malian soldiers justified their coup by saying they were too poorly equipped to fight the northern rebels, but the move left the country split in two, with Tuareg and Islamist fighters quickly seizing on the political disarray to capture the country’s vast north. The renegade soldiers agreed under intense regional and international pressure to hand power back to a civilian administration but have retained considerable influence. The UN Security Council in a resolution Thursday expressed “deep concern” at the presence of AlQaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters, who have been blamed for kidnappings and attacks in several countries. But the council held back from giving a UN mandate to any West African force that could help Mali’s interim government take back the territory. —AFP

12

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

international

Suu Kyi makes parliamentary debut NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi made her historic parliamentary debut yesterday, marking a new phase in her near quarter century struggle to bring democracy to her army-dominated homeland. Suu Kyi, whose unswerving campaigning saw her locked up for years by the former junta and earned her a Nobel Peace Prize, appeared calm as she arrived to take her seat as an elected politician for the first time in the capital Naypyidaw. “I will try my best for the country,” she said.

The democracy champion’s first taste of public office comes at an uncertain time for Myanmar after recent communal violence and a series of student arrests cast a shadow over

promising changes in the former pariah state. But it also comes amid expectations that several senior hardliners are to be replaced by reformists in an imminent cabinet reshuffle that would mark the first major change of personnel in the top echelons of government since it replaced junta rule last year.

Suu Kyi will join fellow members of her National League for Democracy (NLD), as both the party and its iconic leader transform from dissident outsiders to mainstream political players in the wake of landmark April byelections. The 67-year-old, one of the NLD’s 37 Lower house members of parliament, postponed her debut in the fledgling legislature last week to recover from a grueling

European tour and visit her constituency. Fellow Lower house NLD MP May Win Myint said she

her,” she said.

Parliament is still dominated by the military and its political

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (center) arrives at the lower house parliament building to attend the parliament session yesterday. —AFP was “excited” about Suu Kyi’s arrival. “We are ready to support

allies, but even military men appeared pleased to see the

veteran activist, despite NLD plans to ease them out of the legislature by scrapping a constitutional provision granting them a quarter of seats. “It’s good that she arrived today, we all welcome her,” said Brigadier General Wai Lin. MPs have a number of pressing issues on the table for discussion during the current session, which began last Wednesday.

Communal violence in June between ethnic Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya, which left dozens dead and tens of thousands homeless, is on the agenda, with an ongoing state of emergency requiring parliamentary approval.

A new foreign investment law aimed at resuscitating the country’s moribund economy is

also in the pipeline. Suu Kyi on Tuesday pledged her party will join “the legislative concert” and push for greater transparency once inside parliament. The party’s involvement in mainstream politics comes as a result of sweeping changes by a new regime, including the release of hundreds of political prisoners, liberalizing sections of the nation’s battered economy and tentative ceasefires with several major armed ethnic rebel groups. But the government came under fire from other activists last week after authorities in the country on Friday briefly detained around 20 student leaders ahead of the 50th anniversary of a brutal suppression of a student protests. They were freed late Saturday. —AFP

Violence, threats rise as Malaysia election nears Political rallies marred by trouble, threats KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian ruling party politician suggests that an electoral reform activist should be hanged. Mock funeral rites are held outside the home of an opposition state leader. Eggs and rocks rain down on a political rally. Malaysia is no stranger to political mud-slinging and scandal. But a ratcheting-up of inflammatory language and violence - much of it directed at the political opposition - has shocked even seasoned observers as the country heads for its most contentious and closest election by next April. “I worry that the election will be the dirtiest. All indications also point to the most violent,” said Lim Guan Eng, the ethnic Chinese chief minister of Penang state and a leading figure in Malaysia’s opposition. Members of Perkasa, a group that champions ethnic Malay rights and has links to the ruling party, placed a flower gar-

A source in the dominant United Malays National Organization (UMNO) said that recent internal polling showed the coalition faced an uphill battle to win back its two-thirds share and was even at risk of losing its simple majority. The polls showed the coalition risked losing more states and faced a closer than expected race in southern Johor state - long an UMNO bastion due to waning support from ethnic Chinese. “That will be a slap in the face. So this is why there is a delay in the elections,” said the senior UMNO source.

Polls by the independent Merdeka Centre show that while Prime Minister Najib Razak enjoys strong approval ratings around 65 percent, his coalition is much less popular - polling at around 48 percent. Najib has put off calling the election, which must be held by next April, showing his apparent wavering confidence

KLANG: Matrang Suhaili (center), deputy director-general of Malaysian customs and officials display seized drugs at the Customs headquarters in the port city of Klang yesterday. Malaysian customs officers have made the country’s biggest drug bust so far this year, seizing almost 3,000 Erimin 5 pills worth 58.28 million ringgit ($18.4 million). —AFP land around a photo of Lim outside his home in May, a funeral ritual that his supporters said was akin to a death threat. The rising political temperature coincides with signs that Malaysia’s ruling coalition, in power since independence in 1957, will struggle to improve on its poor electoral performance in 2008. That showing, which deprived the Barisan Nasional coalition of a two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time, handed five state governments to the opposition and led to the ouster of then Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

in improving on 2008’s performance. “UMNO knows their hold on power is not a given,” said Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. “Perhaps for the first time since 1969, there’s a chance change may actually happen so you would expect more desperate moves.” The Southeast Asian country was traumatized by race riots in 1969 following strong election gains by ethnic Chinese. The troubles gave birth to its current system of economic privileges for majority ethnic Malays over Chinese and Indian minorities.

The opposition filed a police report against UMNO lawmaker Mohamad Aziz after he asked in parliament last month whether leading electoral reform campaigner Ambiga Sreenevasan should be hanged for treason. The lawmaker retracted his remark two days, but was not censored by the party leadership.

Sreenevasan, a recipient of an International Woman of Courage award from the United States, says she has received death threats. She has hired a bodyguard and installed security cameras around her Kuala Lumpur home. The ethnic Indian has faced calls for her Malaysian citizenship to be revoked and even been labelled the “anti-Christ” by the right-wing Perkasa group. “The hate speech has been relentless,” said Sreenevasan. “The leadership could have made a difference but they don’t bother. I’m very disappointed.”

After Sreenevasan led thousands of protesters through Kuala Lumpur in April to demand electoral reforms, dozens of former soldiers and market traders camped outside her house to protest what they said was a loss of earnings from the demonstration. Some performed daily “exercises” that involved pointing their buttocks toward her house as they bent over.

Those close to Najib describe him as gentleman who has no taste for gutter politics. But the opposition says his failure to speak out more firmly against incidents of violence and intimidation has encouraged extremists. After the “hanging” comment in parliament, he reminded coalition MPs not to make statements that hurt the feelings of other races or other component parties within the coalition.

Asked on Thursday about the allegations of political intimidation, Malaysia’s Home Minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, told reporters: “It is very real.

This year we are living in a very politically charged climate.” The opposition’s Lim, who spent 18 months from 1986 detained under the now-repealed Internal Security Act and another year in prison for sedition, said the policy had gone beyond “tacit approval.” “The acts are supported and condoned by Barisan Nasional,” said Lim, who has complained of several other acts of physical intimidation against him in recent months.

Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition’s leader who was jailed for six years on sodomy and graft charges he says were trumped-up, blamed UMNO for an incident in February when a group of youths threw stones at his car in Johor state. His daughter, opposition MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, said a rally in her constituency in May was attacked by men throwing rocks, water bottles and eggs, resulting in several injuries. It was one of several opposition rallies that have been disrupted, sometimes violently, in recent months. It is unclear who was behind the attacks, but opposition leaders complain the police have failed to arrest perpetrators or quickly respond to the violence. —Reuters

Mystery woman with North Korea’s Kim stirs speculation SEOUL: A mystery woman pictured accompanying North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-Un to recent events has prompted speculation in Seoul about whether she is his partner or his younger sister. The North’s state television Sunday aired footage of the woman joining Jong-Un as he paid tribute to his late grandfather Kim Il-Sung on the anniversary of his death in 1994. Top officials including ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-Nam and army chief Ri Yong-Ho accompanied the leader to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace, where the embalmed body of the nation’s first president lies in state.

The TV footage showed the woman, apparently in her twenties or thirties, walking next to the leader. She bowed with him before a portrait of Kim Il-Sung. The short-haired woman, clad in a black suit, was also pictured sitting next to JongUn at a concert by a state orchestra on Friday.

Some South Korea media reports suggested she was Kim’s younger sister Yo-Jong, who is believed to have studied in Switzerland along with him in the 1990s. Others suggested she may be Kim’s wife or lover. Seoul’s intelligence agency and unification ministry, in charge of cross-border affairs, declined to comment. The speculation highlighted the degree of secrecy in the North about the private lives of its rulers. Jong-Un took power after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il last December but the outside world does not even know his exact age. An unidentified woman pictured standing behind Jong-Un during mourning for his late father last December was identified by some

sources as the new leader’s younger sister.

JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said the woman pictured in recent days may be Hyon Song-Wol, a famous state singer rumored to be the leader’s lover.

It said she disappeared from public view in 2006 but was seen on TV again in March, apparently late in pregnancy. “Hyon was a friend of Kim since they were teenagers and there is a rumor among the North’s elites that she was his lover,” it

quoted an unidentified Seoul intelligence official as saying. But Yang Moo-Jin of Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies said there was “little chance” the mystery woman was Kim’s partner, given that the country’s past first ladies have rarely made public appearances with leaders.

“She could be Yo-Jong or perhaps a daughter of one of the mistresses of the late Kim Jong-Il... so that Jong-Un can publicly showcase the solidarity in the ruling family,” Yang said. —AFP

PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center right) and a woman clap with others as they watch a performance by North Koreaís new Moranbong band on July 6, 2012. —AP

CHIUPENG: A Hawk ground-to-air missile is launched during a live-fire military missile drill at a military base in Chiupeng, in Taiwan’s southern Pingtung county yesterday. —AFP

2 missiles miss targets in Taiwan military drill CHIUPENG MILITARY BASE: Two of 26 missiles missed their targets when Taiwan’s military carried out a live-fire exercise yesterday, but officers in charge said they were happy with the result.

More than 2,300 soldiers were mobilized in the drill held in Chiupeng, a tightlyguarded missile base facing the Pacific Ocean in Pingtung county in the island’s south. The two missiles that missed their targets were a Hsiungfeng II (Brave Wind II) - an improved version of the Hsiungfeng ship-to-ship missile-and a Tien Chien I (Sky Sword I) surface-to-air missile, both of which were locally developed and manufactured.

Twenty-four other missiles, launched from aircraft, vessels and ground batteries, destroyed their targets in the drill, which was presided over by General Lin Chen-yi, chief of staff of the island’s armed forces. “General Lin is satisfied with the outcome of the maneuver,” a military officer told reporters. Previous drills have been less successful. In an

embarrassing flop in 2011 six out of 19 missiles missed their targets or failed to explode during a live-fire missile test attended by the press. Monday’s maneuver is likely to have been watched carefully by China’s People’s Liberation Army, which currently has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island, according to estimates by Taiwanese experts.

Tensions between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have eased markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang par ty was elected the island’s president in 2008 on a platform of beefing up trade and tourism links.

Never theless, China still refuses to renounce the use of force against Taiwan should it declare formal independence, even though the island has governed itself since the end of a civil war in 1949.

The lingering threats have prompted Taiwanese authorities to stockpile thousands of missiles, which it has either purchased from the United States or manufactured itself. —AFP

ASEAN pushed on S China Sea code PHNOM PENH: Southeast Asian nations should give top priority to easing tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea, Cambodia’s premier said Monday, as he stressed the importance of regional stability.

As foreign ministers met in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Hun Sen said hammering out a code of conduct with China in the disputed waters was a chief goal for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Tension over competing claims in the South China Sea promises to be the hot button issue of the meetings, particularly later in the week when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chinese counterpart are among regional participants for the securityfocused ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

In his opening address Hun Sen urged delegates to “give emphasis” to working towards a code of conduct in the sea, which will provide guidelines to resolving disputes over a web of conflicting territorial claims involving several member nations. He said ASEAN should show that it can be a “driving force for the promotion of dialogue and cooperation” on political and security issues.

“Maintaining regional peace and security is indispensable for ASEAN prosperity,” said the Cambodian leader, whose country currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the bloc.

Tensions have risen recently in the sea, with both Vietnam and the Philippines accusing Beijing of aggressive behavior.

Manila is leading a push for ASEAN to unite to persuade China to accept a code of conduct but Beijing has preferred an approach that would deal with the claimants individually. Senior diplomats attending the meetings in Cambodia said ASEAN was still wrangling over how to approach the issue with-

out offending China, the world’s second biggest economy and a major trade partner for many Southeast Asian states. One diplomat, who asked not to be named, said ASEAN has yet to reach consensus on whether to mention the recent standoff between Chinese and Philippine ships in the disputed Scarborough Shoal in a joint communique.

Another statement, to be issued at the end of the wider ARF meeting, is expected to refer to the South China Sea issue in general terms, another diplomat said. China claims essentially all of the South China Sea, home to vital shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits. Taiwan and ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia also have claims in the waters. China recently angered Vietnam by inviting bids for exploration of oil blocks in contested waters, sparking protests in Hanoi. US Secretary of State Clinton on Sunday urged “progress” on the code of conduct in the sea.

The strategic rivalry between Washington and Beijing is expected to loom large over the summit, following the recent expansion of US military relations with the Philippines and Vietnam. But observers predict Clinton will be eager to downplay any friction with China and may be less outspoken on the maritime dispute than in the past. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam-a grouping of nearly 600 million people from disparate economic and political systems. The bloc has often been dismissed as a talking shop but it has assumed new strategic importance in light of Washington’s foreign policy “pivot” to Asia and the economic rise of China in recent years. —AFP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

NEWS

In a handout photo taken on Sunday, US Actress Maggie Q swims with an endangered whale shark off Cancun, Mexico. As an ambassador for international conservation group WildAid, Maggie Q is in Cancun to publicize the plight of sharks threatened by demand for shark fin soup in the same week that China announced a ban on shark fin from all official banquets. — AFP

Straggling bull skewers runners in Pamplona PAMPLONA, Spain: A straggling half-tonne fighting bull skewered two Britons and an American yesterday as it turned its horns on panicked runners in Spain’s Pamplona bull run. The bull lagged behind in the pack of six huge bulls and six steers that tore through the northern city’s slippery cobbled streets, surrounded by crowds of thrillseekers dressed in white with red neck scarves. As the beasts thundered from a holding pen to the Pamplona arena, the 550-kg black bull, called Fugado (Escapee), hung back and confronted the crowd.

Some people tried to keep it at bay with long sticks, but the bull stopped and then charged into a crowd of runners cowering by wooden barriers on the side of the road, its horns lowered. “My God,” a man watching the scene could be heard crying out. The bull repeatedly stopped and turned back to challenge people behind it, before finally being coaxed to finish the run, a centrepiece of the annual San Fermin festival.

Fugado skewered three runners with its horns, none seriously: a 20-year-old Briton in the right leg; a 29-year-old Briton in the left leg and a 39-year-old American in the right

knee, regional health authorities said. Another four people were injured: a 38-year-old American bruised his knee and ankle; a 30-year-old Spaniard dislocated his shoulder; and two 32-year-old Spaniards hurt their ankles. The bulls took three minutes and 37 seconds to cover the 850-m course.

“As I was running at one point I thought I would dive under the barriers because I thought this isn’t looking so good,” said Jeannie Mark, a 41-year-old Canadian and one of the few women taking part. “There were a lot of people around me and pushing me and I thought I might get in a bad situation here. Then I decided to keep going,” said Mark, who works as a teacher in China. “You have to make quick decisions during the run.”

Last year 20,500 people joined the festival’s eight daily bull runs, with nearly half of them coming from abroad, mostly the United States, Australia and Britain. Many people confess to being lured to the alochol-soaked festival by Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel featuring the bull running, “The Sun Also Rises”. Three years ago a bull gored a 27-yearold Spaniard to death, piercing his neck, heart and lungs with its horns in front of hordes of tourists. — AFP

Annan, Assad agree new approach Continued from Page 1 The army pounded besieged rebel-held areas of Homs, monitors said, as Qusayr also came under a morning bombardment.

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) slammed Annan’s decision to meet Assad, saying thousands of people have been killed despite an April ceasefire that is a key point of the envoy’s plan.

Annan, whose military observers in Syria have been grounded because of escalating violence, admitted in remarks published by French newspaper Le Monde ahead of his Damascus trip that his peace blueprint has so far foundered. He also expressed frustration that while Moscow and Iran are mentioned by some as stumbling blocks to peace, “little is said about other countries which send arms, money, and have a presence on the ground.”

Later yesterday Annan few to Tehran for talks with Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top security official, and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said the envoy would discuss Syria in light of the Geneva meeting “and to see how we can work together to help settle the situation in Syria”.

Annan has said Tehran has a key role to play in efforts to end the bloodshed. Iran was not invited to the Geneva talks, despite Annan’s wishes, because of US and EU objections.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused the United States and its allies of opposing Assad’s regime with the goal of dominating the Middle East and propping up Israel. On Sunday US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned time was running out to save Syria from a “catastrophic assault”. “It should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime their days are numbered,” Clinton said.

Meanwhile British Foreign Secretary William Hague called for a “strong commitment” from Russia to support Annan’s peace plan, and again insisted that Assad must quit.

“We now want to see Kofi Annan’s plan fully implemented - we believe there can be no future for Syria with Assad in power and there must be a Syrian-led political process,” Hague said yesterday. Earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin said Syria needed dialogue between the regime and opposition, rather than foreign intervention, to ensure a

lasting peace.

Putin spoke after prominent Syrian opposition leader and intellectual Michel Kilo met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

The Observatory, a Britain-based monitoring group, estimates that 5,898 people have been killed since the Annan-brokered April truce.

Yesterday at least 18 civilians, 11 regime troops and four rebels were killed across Syria, the Observatory said. Monitors and activists said the army pounded besieged rebel-held districts of the central city of Homs, and Qusayr.

Troops have pounded Qusayr continuously for three months and attacked in the early morning to “terrorise” people and cause maximum casualties as civilians are out and about, an activist identifying himself as Hussein said. An AFP correspondent saw several members of one family being treated for wounds, including a 13-year-old boy, his T-shirt soaked in blood, after a shell exploded 10 m away.

“We were on our way to my mother-in-law’s house when the bombs began to fall. We tried to run but a bomb exploded right in front of us,” said the boy’s father, who was also wounded. — AFP

Saudi man dies after chase by vice police Continued from Page 1

PAMPLONA: A reveler is tossed by a bull in the bull ring at the end of third running of the bulls at the San Fermin fiestas in northern Spain yesterday. — AP

Battle lines drawn as oppn revives ‘Monday...

Continued from Page 1 The opposition is expected to take a firm decision on the issue within the coming days or may be after the 2009 Assembly is dissolved, which is expected to take place by the end of July or early August. Fresh elections must be held within 60 days of dissolving the Assembly, according to the constitution.

In another development, controversial member in the 2012 Assembly Mohammad Al-Juwaihel was released by the appeals court yesterday on a KD 1,000 bail as the court set July 30 a date for issuing a verdict. Juwaihel was last month sentenced to two years in jail by the lower court for defaming former MP Dhaifallah Buramia during a television program about two years ago. Police arrested Juwaihel and jailed him on June 26. He has been serving his term since then. But the judge yesterday accepted a plea by his lawyer to free him on bail until the new verdict is issued.

Separately, a Kuwaiti lawyer yesterday filed an urgent lawsuit urging the court to suspend all flights of Kuwait Airways Corp (KAC) on grounds of deteriorating safety conditions. Hawra Al-Habeeb called in her lawsuit for the court to appoint a team of experts who should carefully examine

KAC’s ageing fleet to establish if it is fit to operate. “The malfunctions at Kuwait Airways planes pose a serious danger to passengers’ lives while the government has failed to take any measure,” Habeeb said in a statement after filing the suit. The court has not set a date for the case but is expected to do so in the coming days.

The lawsuit comes just a day after communications minister and KAC chairman Salem Al-Othaina announced that the government has decided to ground between three to five aircraft for frequent mechanical problems. The minister also said that the government will consider grounding more aircraft as a precaution to safeguard the lives of passengers. The new moves come after a Kuwaiti plane on a flight from Kuwait to Jeddah last Wednesday escaped disaster after one of its engines exploded while a second broke down. The plane made an emergency landing at Madinah airport. Kuwait has delayed plans to privatise the loss-making carrier and decided instead to restructure the airline after private buyers offered a low price. Kuwait Airways has posted a loss in all but one of the past 21 years, amounting to more than $2.7 billion. Losses are covered by the state because the carrier is entirely government-owned.

instructions given to members of the committee completely banning chases,” the daily quoted a religious police official as saying.

The feared religious police sometimes use unmarked cars to chase those they suspect of violating Islamic sharia law, such as unmarried couples. The English-language Saudi Gazette reported that the family was approached by a member of the committee “who complained their car stereo was on loudly”. The victim, identified by local media as 34-year-old Abdulrahman AlGhamidi, then left with his family following an argument with the policeman who chased them, it said. “The man’s wife, who was five months pregnant, sustained severe contusions and abrasions and doctors say her right hand may be amputated,” said the daily. “The couple’s son was in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit while their four-year-old daughter was in stable condition.”

The governor of Al-Baha, Prince Mashari bin Saud bin Abdul Aziz said he was “appalled at the manner” in which the religious police acted and that an committee had been instructed to investigate the incident, state news agency SPA reported. “All those linked to the accident have been arrested and are being interrogated... those responsible will be punished,” and such incidents will not happen again, he said, according to the SPA. Relatively moderate Sheikh Abdullatiff Abdel Aziz AlSheikh, appointed in January as the new chief of the religious police, has raised hopes that a more lenient force will ease draconian social constraints in the Islamic country. Sheikh was quoted in the local Al-Watan newspaper commenting on the incident. “I have expressed my sadness and regret to the (Al-Baha governor) and we hope that he will forward the case to the appropriate department for investigation.” Two weeks into his post, Sheikh banned volunteers from serving in the commission which enforces the kingdom’s strict Islamic rules. And in April he went further, prohibiting the religious police from “harassing people” and threatening “decisive measures against violators”. The religious police prevent women from driving, require them to be covered from head to foot in black, ban public entertainment and force all businesses, from supermarkets to

petrol stations, to close for prayers five times a day.

Separately, two Shiites were killed in overnight clashes with police in the eastern Saudi province of Qatif following the arrest of a prominent Shiite cleric and government critic, activists said yesterday. Akhbar Shakuri and Mohammed Filfel died and a dozen other protesters were wounded during the clashes that erupted when police opened fire to disperse a demonstration against the arrest of Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr, said the activists. The violence occurred in Riyadh Street, the main artery of Qatif city, they said.

The interior ministry described Nimr as an “instigator of sedition” as it announced that he was arrested at AlAwamiya in Eastern Province on Sunday, after being wounded in the leg while putting up resistance. He was transferred to hospital and was due to be interrogated, ministry spokesman Mansur Turki said, cited by the official SPA news agency. “In the aftermath of the arrest ... a limited number of people have assembled in the town of Awamiya,” the interior ministry statement said. “Gun shots have been overheard in random areas of the town. However, there was no security confrontation whatsoever.”

Across the causeway that links Saudi Arabia with its island neighbour Bahrain, leading Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq released a statement offering condolences to the families of the “martyrs” and calling for Nimr’s release. Activists from the Eastern Province posted pictures on the Internet of a grey-bearded man they identified as Nimr inside a vehicle. He was covered with what appeared to be a blood-stained white blanket.

The new deaths bring to nine the number of people killed in clashes between Saudi authorities and protesters in the Shiite-populated region. Nimr is considered one of the main advocates of demonstrations that first took place in Feb 2011 after an outbreak of violence between Shiite pilgrims and religious police in the holy city of Madinah. The protests escalated after the kingdom led a force of Gulf troops into Bahrain to help crush a month-long Shiite-led uprising against the country’s Sunni monarchy. Most of Saudi Arabia’s estimated two million Shiites live in the east, where the vast majority of the OPEC kingpin’s huge oil reserves lie. Saudi Shiites complain of marginalisation in the kingdom. — Agencies

14

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

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Issues

Compromise in US Congress very unlikely

By David Espo epublicans and Democrats in Congress who congratulated themselves for passing relatively routine legislation before July 4 are returning to the Capitol for a summer stocked with political show votes and no serious role for bipartisanship. Any thought of compromise on major issues - taxes, spending, deficit control or immigration among them - will have to wait until after the election or the new year. So, too, with a farm bill. It cleared the Senate on a bipartisan vote and is now at risk for becoming sidetracked in the House in the run-up to this summer’s presidential nominating conventions and the Nov 6 election. To pass the legislation, “I’ve got to work with my leadership. I’ve got to work with my members. I’ve got to work with the minority (Democrats). I’ve got to work with my friends in the Senate. I’m having a lot of fun,” Rep Frank Lucas, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, told reporters with more than a trace of sarcasm several days ago.

In the interim, the House Republican leadership intends to force a vote this coming week on a repeal of President Barack Obama’s health care law, recently upheld by the Supreme Court in a ruling that said the law imposes a tax on anyone who fails to purchase insurance.

Also in the pipeline is a measure to stop major new federal regulations from taking effect until joblessness recedes nationally, possibly to 6 percent from the current 8.2 percent. Another item on the Republican to-do list for July is a measure to extend all of the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year, including the reductions on wealthier income earners. Obama is pushing to extend the cuts for households making less than $250,000 a year.

Senate Democrats are not without their own July agenda, beginning with a business tax cut that is set for a test vote today. They also want to end existing tax breaks for the costs businesses incur in moving jobs overseas.

This measure dovetails nicely with Obama’s attempts to cast Romney as a champion outsourcer of jobs during his career as a businessman. In addition, they may set up a vote on legislation to require disclosure for individuals making high-dollar contributions to political organizations that spend millions on campaign commercials.

Whatever the merits of these proposals, Republican and Democratic aides say there is no expectation any of them will pass this summer. Instead, they say, each is designed to make lawmakers on the other side of the political aisle choose between a popular position on the one hand and political orthodoxy within their own party on the other. By their own count, House Republicans have voted more than 30 times to repeal, defund or erode the healthcare overhaul that stands as Obama’s signature domestic achievement yet fares poorly in public opinion polling. “The law I passed is here to stay,” the president said late last week, brushing aside the latest Republican assault.

But if anything, Republicans are more eager than ever to hold a vote to repeal it, following a majority opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts that said the law was constitutional because it imposes a tax - not a penalty on anyone who refuses to purchase insurance. The vote will take place in the midst of a $9 million television advertising campaign by the conservative Americans for Prosperity. The commercial includes a video of Obama saying the law “is absolutely not a tax increase.” Referring to the court’s ruling, the announcer rebuts him, saying, “Now we know that’s not true,” and the ad calls for repeal of the legislation.

On tax cuts, Obama and Republicans compromised once, and they may again - after the election. But for now, the president has pledged he won’t agree to another renewal of the reductions on individuals earning over $200,000 or couples making more than $250,000 a year.

The dispute is one of the main issues to be presented to voters this fall. It’s a showdown Republicans are eager to have. “Working families and small business should not be saddled with the uncertainty of a looming tax increase as they attempt to invest and grow for the remainder of the year,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor wrote this spring in a memo to the rank and file.

More disclosure for political contributions generally enjoys public support in the polls, but Republican outside groups, more than Democratic ones, are awash in large donations from anonymous donors. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, calls the Democratic legislation a threat to the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech. — AP

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Syria crisis shows limits of Turkish power

By Alistair Lyon urkey’s bark seems worse than its bite. Ask the Syrians, who shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet on June 22 and got away with it. Turkish leaders shrilled up their rhetoric. They sent anti-aircraft missiles to the border and repeatedly scrambled F-16 fighters when Syrian helicopters flew too close. Ankara won supportive noises from its NATO allies. But that was it. Ask the Israelis, who killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship in 2010, and got away with it. Turkey threatened to send its navy to protect future flotillas to Gaza, but never followed through.

The danger for Turkey is that its truculence, whether over the Mavi Marmara ship incident with Israel or over the loss of its F-4 off the Syrian coast, begins to look toothless. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has likened Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s crackdown on his opponents in the past 16 months to the practices of Nazi Germany - only to be accused in turn of being implicated in the bloodshed. “With his desire from the beginning to interfere in our internal affairs, unfortunately ... (Erdogan) has made Turkey a party to all the bloody acts in Syria,” Assad told Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper last week.

“Turkey has given all kinds of logistical support to the terrorists killing our people.”

After Erdogan announced that Turkey had toughened its rules of engagement on the Syrian border, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, accused him of playing poker with national interests. “Whatever the prime minister said at the time of the Mavi Marmara incident, he said the same thing today. If you bluff, you lose your deterrence internationally,” Kilicdaroglu said. So far, neither Turkey nor Syria seems eager for a confrontation, although the pricklier Turkish military posture raises the danger of an accidental one along a border that winds 900 km from the Mediterranean to the Tigris river.

Turkey is a serious regional power with a powerful military and an economy far more dynamic than any

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comparable nation in the Middle East, where many envy its combination of newfound prosperity and democracy under a party with Islamist roots that finally tamed the generals who for decades called the shots. A simplistic image of Turkey, perhaps, but one whose appeal resonated in the Middle East when Erdogan reached out to a region long seen by Turks as more problematic than promising, with a policy breezily dubbed “zero problems” with neighbours.

For much of the past decade, it worked well. Turkey maintained its strong alliance with Israel, while avoiding friction with Iran and cultivating new friendships with old foes such as Syria and the Kurds in Iraq, smoothing out tensions with trade, construction and development aid. Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad became personal friends. It began to unravel when Israel assaulted the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in Dec 2008, drawing acid criticism from Turkish leaders who until then had worked hard to broker a peace deal between Israel and Syria over the occupied Golan Heights.

When unrest in Arab police states spread to Syria in March 2011, Turkey urged Assad to defuse protests with genuine reform. Instead, he tried to crush them with ferocious violence. Turkish leaders, feeling betrayed by Assad’s spurning of their advice, turned decisively against him in September. But Assad, defying their predictions that he would go the same way as other Arab autocrats challenged by their people in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, is still clinging to power.

Turkey embraced the Syrian opposition and gave sanctuary to the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) as well as to Syrian refugees, even talking of setting up some kind of buffer zone inside Syria if that desperate human inflow turned into a flood. But Ankara cautioned that it would do nothing militarily without NATO or backing from the UN Security Council, which has been paralysed on Syria

by Russian and Chinese vetoes. That means its practical options are limited, particularly since it is still struggling with its own Kurdish insurgency in the southeast that has festered for nearly 30 years, costing about 40,000 lives, including an estimated 500 in the past year. Some worry

that Erdogan, who stalked off a Davos stage he was sharing with Shimon Peres in 2009 saying the Israeli president knew “how to kill”, is prone to add pique to the more conventional foreign policy mix of pragmatism and principle. “Turkey could have pursued a more cautious, measured policy toward Syria,” said Lale Kemal, Ankara bureau chief of Turkey’s Taraf daily. “Outspoken Turkish policy has provoked the Assad regime. Turkey made the mistake of thinking Assad will go soon.” She argued that Turkey should not have flown jets near an “irrational” country like Syria in the throes of a civil war. “Syria has demonstrated to Turkey by downing the jet that ‘Look, we have the power, we can shoot down your aircraft. You are a NATO member, but we also have big firepower’.”

Former Turkish Foreign Minister Ilter Turkmen said his country had been unwise to swing so fast from being Assad’s chum to his most virulent critic, dismissing the idea that support for Syrian rebels might pay off for Turkey later. “I don’t think countries are ever grateful,” he said, predicting that any future post-Assad government would be extremely nationalistic, perhaps reviving problems with Turkey, whose Hatay province has long been claimed by Syria. “We have been prisoners of our own rhetoric,” Turkmen said, adding that any unilateral Turkish military intervention in Syria would be folly. “You can get in, but how do you get out?”

For much of its modern history, Turkey has avoided foreign entanglements, intervening unilaterally only in Cyprus in 1974, while standing ready to join UN-backed peacekeeping missions in trouble spots around the world, from Somalia to Afghanistan. Turkey remains widely admired in the Middle East, but the excitement at Erdogan’s tough talk against Israel that made him so popular in the Arab world a couple of years ago has cooled. And for all their military might and economic muscle, the Turks now find themselves with almost no leverage in Damascus. “They can sell stuff. Lots of Middle Eastern people have Turkish goods in their homes,” said International Crisis Group analyst Hugh Pope. “But their ability to project power into those dysfunctional states in the Middle East is very small.” —Reuters

Iran works to foil insurance embargo on oil

By Laurent Maillard

ran has come up with several methods to foil the European insurance embargo on ships loaded with its crude, a sanction which may harm its vital exports as much as the EU oil embargo itself. Strengthening its sanctions aimed at pressuring Tehran to renounce a controversial nuclear program, the European Union on July 1 implemented a total embargo on the purchase of Iranian oil. The 27-member bloc also decided to prohibit insurers and reinsurers in Europe, who control 90 percent of marine insurance in the world, from covering any ship carrying Iranian crude.

The decision has prompted Tehran’s non-European customers, particularly in Asia which absorbs 70 percent of Iranian crude, to look for improvised alternatives to maintain deliveries. The International Energy Agency estimates the new sanctions could lower Iranian exports by as much as 40 percent. Japan passed a law allowing the state to act as a substitute for European insurance firms in reinsuring tankers which are loaded with Iranian crude, up to $7.6 billion.

But other major customers have not followed suit, forcing Tehran to devise its own alternatives. China and India, two major buyers, have accepted an Iranian offer to transport the crude with its own fleet under all-Iranian

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insurance. South Korea, which suspended imports on July 1, has not ruled out joining the offer. But this solution faces several obstacles, apart from transportation price disputes which have broken out with China, according to diplomatic sources.

National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), with 40 tankers of 100,000 to 300,000 tons, does

not have the long-distance capacity for more than 2 million barrels (300,000 tons) a day in exports by pre-sanctions Iran, a European expert said. Morever, a number of these vessels were being used in June to store Iranian offshore crude that Tehran has not been able to sell because of the sanctions, according to industry specialists.

Iran has announced plans to quickly expand its onshore storage capacity, which has been saturated, including by subcontracting to private firms. Tehran has also ordered 12 new supertankers from China and should receive the first in December. “But these solutions do not solve the problem in the short term,” said an expert who believes the

An oil tanker is seen off the port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on July 2, 2012.— AFP

European ban on tanker insurance “currently has as much impact” on Iranian exports as the EU ban on crude itself.

Iranian insurance companies now provide insurance for the NITC ships and have also offered to cover foreign tankers. “But these firms are not capitalised to that level and the Iranian state does not seem so far to have formally committed itself to support them were a disaster to strike that could run into billions of dollars,” said a Western analyst. “And they may also have trouble with payments as the Iranian banking system is already under international sanctions,” said the analyst posted in Tehran.

In another attempt to evade sanctions, the NITC has tried to disguise some of its ships by changing their names, the company ownership and country of registration, according to the experts. A US congressman accused Tanzania last week of having reflagged six Iranian tankers, provoking a probe by the Tanzanian government. Iranian authorities also announced in May that 20 percent of oil exports, previously monopolised by the national company NIOC, could be entrusted to private exporters.

This could ease the flow of oil through small operations which avoid Western sanctions. “It is easier to insure small shipments than supertankers carrying 300,000 tons of crude,” the European expert said. — AFP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

sp orts Park Ji-sung joins QPR

Charity from the grave

LONDON: Queens Park Rangers signed South Korea midfielder Park Ji-sung from Manchester United on a two-year contract yesterday.

The 31-year-old Park, who won the 2008 Champions League and four Premier League titles with United, said he “couldn’t resist the plans” put forward to him by QPR manager Mark Hughes and club chairman Toney Fernandes. Park was speaking at a news conference alongside Hughes and Fernandes to announce his arrival.

“I know QPR want to improve and I want to help them reach the next level,” said Park. “There were other offers but money is not important.”

Hughes took charge of QPR in January and oversaw the side maintaining its Premier League status on the final day of last season. He believes Park’s arrival is a signal of intent from the London side to progress. “It is a significant signing for the club and shows where we want to go,” Hughes said. “This is a real coup for QPR. Ji is a player of great energy and technical ability. I can’t wait to get working with him.” Park becomes Rangers’ sixth offseason signing and the second from Manchester United, following the arrival of Brazilian defender Fabio Da Silva on a seasonlong loan deal. England goalkeeper Robert Green and New Zealand defender Ryan Nelsen are among the other new signings. —AP

LONDON: A bet placed nearly a decade ago by a tennis aficionado has won a British charity more than 100,000 pounds ($155,100) after tennis legend Roger Federer secured his seventh Wimbledon win. Nicholas Newlife, an unknown punter from the British region of Oxfordshire, placed a 1,500-pound bet on odds of 66/1 with bookmaker William Hill in 2003, just after the Swiss champion won Wimbledon in his first Grand Slam victory.

When Newlife died in 2009, he left all his belongings, including several betting slips, to anti-poverty charity Oxfam. “Nick Newlife was a keen gambler on sports, and in particular a great tennis fan ... but sadly did not live to see Roger land perhaps the most spectacular bet we have ever taken on tennis,” said William Hill spokesperson Graham Sharpe.

Federer beat Briton Andy Murray on Sunday to win a recordequalling seventh Wimbledon singles title. The payout of 101,840 pounds ($157,900) is the first of its kind in 40 years, Sharpe told Reuters yesterday. The charity said the money could feed 10,000 families in famine-hit West Africa for an entire month.

“All of Oxfam have been cheering Federer’s progress for the past couple of weeks. The real hero, though, must be Mr Newlife, for his generous gift and his tremendous sporting acumen,” said Andrew Barton, a marketing head at Oxfam.

Among Newlife’s bequests to Oxfam was another betting slip which netted the charity 16,750 pounds in 2009, when Federer won his 14th Grand Slam. —Reuters

Abbasi, Butt in Pakistan’s Olympic hockey squad ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation recalled forwards Shakil Abbasi and Rehan Butt into its squad for the London Olympics yesterday.

Both players were fined last month for participating in World Hockey Series in India, an event that field hockey’s world governing body refused to sanction.

Midfielder Waseem Ahmad, who was also fined for his participation in the renegade tournament, made the Olympic squad as well. Pakistan was once recognized as powerhouse in field hockey but only finished eighth at Beijing, its worst ever Olympic placing. Pakistan won gold at the 1960, 1968 and 1984 Olympics in hockey. The PHF fired Michel van den Heuvel as coach in March for violating the federation’s code of conduct, but it was the Dutchmen who guided Pakistan to an automatic Olympic place by winning gold at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Since then, Akhtar Rasool took over the team.

In the absence of Abbasi, Butt and Waseem, Pakistan finished last at the recent seven-team Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia. Pakistan is in Group A at the Olympics with Australia, Britain, Spain, Argentina and South Africa.

Squad Imran Shah, Imran Butt, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Abbas (captain), Syed Kashif Shah, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Rizwan Junior, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Mohammad Tousiq, Waseem Ahmed, Mohammad Waqas, Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Shakeel Abbasi, Rehan Butt, Mohammad Rizwan Senior, Muhammad Umar Bhutta. —AP

Rays rally to defeat Indians

PITTSBURGH: Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen watches his second two-run home run of the game leave the park during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants. —AP

Pirates stay hot, Giants fall PITTSBURGH: Andrew McCutchen hit two home runs and Neil Walker had five hits as the Pittsburgh Pirates routed the San Francisco Giants 13-2 on Sunday. The National League Central-leading Pirates have won six of seven and 10 of 12 games.

They are 34-19 since May 12 for the best record in the majors over that stretch.

Casey McGehee went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for Pittsburgh (48-37), which is 11 games over .500 for the first time since 1992 and in first place at the break for the first time since 1997. A.J. Burnett (102) pitched effectively into the seventh to win his ninth consecutive decision. Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (3-10) failed to get out of the fourth inning for the second consecutive start and was charged with six runs and seven hits. Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run homer for San Francisco, which has lost five of six and seven of nine.

Braves 4, Phillies 3 At Philadelphia, Brian McCann homered for the fourth consecutive game and Dan Uggla hit a tworun shot to lead Atlanta to a three-game series sweep. McCann hit a grand slam on Friday and a solo shot on Saturday. He then hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh inning against Raul Valdes (2-2) in the series finale.

The five-time NL East champion Phillies stumbled into the All-Star break. They have lost 10 of 11 and are 13 games under .500 (37-50).

Jason Pridie homered, doubled and had three RBIs as a last-minute replacement for Shane Victorino. The Phillies did not say why Victorino was scratched after the badly slumping outfielder was scheduled to hit seventh.

Cubs 7, Mets 0 At New York, Ryan Dempster extended his scoreless streak to 27 innings in his first start in three weeks, and Starlin Castro hit a three-run homer as Chicago blanked New York.

Dempster (4-3) was activated from the disabled list, then pitched five innings of four-hit ball.

It was his first outing since June 15, when he experienced tightness in a back muscle. His lengthy string of zeros is the Cubs’ best for a starter since Ken Holtzman went 27 innings in 1971. Geovany Soto hit a two-run single in Chicago’s four-run first.

Cardinals 5, Marlins 4 At St. Louis, Rafael Furcal hit a two-run single off Heath Bell with two out in the ninth inning, capping a three-run rally and lifting St. Louis over Florida. Pinch-hitter Austin Kearns put the Marlins up 4-2 with a three-run homer in the seventh. It was the sixth blown save in 25 chances for Bell (25), who signed with Miami over the winter.

Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs (2-1) struck out Donovan Solano with the bases loaded to end the ninth.

Rockies 4, Nationals 3 At Washington, Jordan Pacheco doubled and scored the tiebreaking run off a ninth-inning wild pitch by Tyler Clippard, giving Colorado a comeback victory over Washington.

The NL East-leading Nationals took a 3-1 lead into the eighth, but a meltdown by their usually reliable bullpen cost them a chance to hit the AllStar break with their best record since the team moved to Washington in 2005.

Colorado’s rally was fueled by Eric Young’s first homer of the season and a pair of wild pitches. Ian Desmond homered and Adam LaRoche had two hits and scored a run for the Nationals. Clippard (23) got the loss.

D’backs 7, Dodgers 1 At Phoenix, Trevor Bauer scattered two hits over six scoreless innings, leading Arizona over Los Angeles. Paul Goldschmidt homered, doubled and drove in a career-high four runs for the Diamondbacks, who won the final three games of the four-game set to move within four games of the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Bauer (1-1) struck out six, walked one and retired the final 12 batters he faced. Patrick Corbin pitched the final three innings for his first career save. Chris Capuano (9-4) allowed a season-high five runs over five innings for the Dodgers, who remained a half-game ahead of the Giants heading into the All-Star break..

Brewers 5, Astros 3 At Houston, Corey Hart drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the 10th inning, and Rickie Weeks’ third hit added an insurance run for Milwaukee. Nyjer Morgan walked to start the 10th and Fernando Rodriguez (1-8) intentionally walked Ryan Braun before a wild pitch moved the pair over. Rodriguez walked Aramis Ramirez to load the bases and Hart’s full-count grounder put Milwaukee on top. Weeks, who homered in the second, then singled in Braun.

CLEVELAND: All-Star Chris Perez blew his first save since opening day as the Tampa Bay Rays scored three runs in the ninth inning to beat the Cleveland Indians 7-6 Sunday.

Will Rhymes hit a solo homer with one out and Carlos Pena added a RBI triple after Elliot Johnson singled to tie it at 6 off Perez (0-2), who had converted 25 straight saves since giving up a lead April 5. Ben Zobrist then singled home Pena with the goahead run before Perez got two strikeouts to end the inning.

Fellow All-Star Fernando Rodney worked the bottom half for his 25th save in 26 chances. Joel Peralta (1-3) gave up a solo homer to Choo Shin-soo in the eighth.

Angels 6, Orioles 0 At Anaheim, California, Brad Mills pitched five innings of three-hit ball in a spot start for the injured Dan Haren after getting called up from the minors, as the Angels got home runs from Albert Pujols, Erick Aybar, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo in a victory over Baltimore.

Mills (1-0) threw 88 pitches on three day’s rest in his Angels

Reddick’s drive to left-center field that gave the A’s their eighth walk-off win of the season and second this series.

Jordan Norberto (2-1) pitched a scoreless 13th for the win. He worked around a two-out double to Michael Saunders on a fly ball to right center that Coco Crisp and Brandon Moss lost in the sun and a flock of seagulls that hovered over the field in the extra innings.

Tigers 7, Royals 1 At Detroit, Delmon Young homered for the fourth consecutive game, Prince Fielder hit a three-run shot, and Jhonny Peralta homered and drove in three runs as the Tigers beat Kansas City to complete a sweep of the three-game weekend series.

The power display backed Max Scherzer (8-5), who allowed a run and five hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out seven.

It was the Tigers’ season-high fifth-straight win and put them two games over .500 - heading into the All-Star break - for the first time since April 25 (10-8).

Salvador Perez homered for Kansas City.

CLEVELAND: Tampa Bay Rays’ Carlos Pena (bottom) slides into third with an RBI-triple as the throw eludes Cleveland Indians third baseman Jack Hannahan in the ninth inning. —AP debut with six strikeouts and no walks. Rookie Chen Wei-yin (7-5) lost his fourth straight start after winning his previous three outings.

Athletics 2, Mariners 1 At Oakland, California, Josh Reddick hit a game-ending RBI double in the 13th inning to send Oakland into the All-Star break with a .500 record.

Jemile Weeks led off the 13th with a single off Oliver Perez (0-2) and then raced around the bases to score on

Yankees 7, Red Sox 3 At Boston, Ivan Nova struck out 10 and Andruw Jones hit his fourth homer in three games as surging New York went into the All-Star break with a win over Boston.

The Yankees took three of four at Fenway Park and boosted their record to a major league-best 5233. They hold the biggest division lead in baseball at seven games over Baltimore.

Boston (43-43) dropped its sixth game in the last seven and fell into a last-place tie in the divi-

Western Division 52 34 48 38 43 43 36 51

.605 .558 4 .500 9 .414 16.5

Western Division LA Dodgers 47 40 San Francisco 46 40 Arizona 42 43 San Diego 34 53 Colorado 33 52

.540 .535 .494 .391 .388

.5 4 13 13

game, hit a liner into the left-center field gap that bounced against the wall while his teammates stormed out the dugout to celebrate the team’s second consecutive 4-3 extra-inning victory.

Scott Feldman (3-6), the eighth Rangers pitcher, worked the last two innings. Alex Burnett (2-2) took the loss. Along with extra innings in the last game before the All-Star break, there was a 46-minute delay in the fourth inning that started with a lightning bolt and a loud clap of thunder. —AP

Bret Lee, Watson injured

MLB results/standings

Texas LA Angels Oakland Seattle

Rangers 4, Twins 3 At Arlington, Texas, Ian Kinsler hit a winning RBI single with one out in the 13th inning as AL Westleading Texas beat Minnesota after tying the game with three unearned runs in the ninth.

Texas had the bases loaded when Kinsler, one of eight Texas players headed to the All-Star

Blue Jays 11, White Sox 9 At Chicago, Colby Rasmus hit one of four Blue Jays homers and had three RBIs to help Toronto end the White Sox’s five-game winning streak.

The first-place White Sox go to the All-Star break with a 47-38 record and a three-game lead in the American League Central.

Chicago manager Robin Ventura was ejected in the top of the ninth after charging to the plate to heatedly argue a ball and strike call with home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn.

Reds 4, Padres 2 At San Diego, All-Star Jay Bruce and Ryan Ludwick hit consecutive home runs, leading Cincinnati over San Diego. Bruce and Ludwick connected two pitches apart in the fourth inning to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead. Johnny Cueto (10-5) allowed two runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Reds. Sam LeCure, Sean Marshall, and Aroldis Chapman combined for 3 1-3 innings of hitless relief, with Chapman earning his 11th save.

The Reds hit seven home runs in winning the final three of the four-game series. Cincinnati finished 6-5 on its longest road trip of the season. Cameron Maybin made an outstanding catch in center field to rob Joey Votto of a possible homer. —AP

Tampa Bay 7, Cleveland 6; Detroit 7, Kansas City 1; Chicago Cubs 7, NY Mets 0; Colorado 4, Washington 3; Atlanta 4, Philadelphia 3; Pittsburgh 13, San Francisco 2; Milwaukee 5, Houston 3 (10 innings); Toronto 11, Chicago White Sox 9; St. Louis 5, Miami 4; LA Angels 6, Baltimore 0; Cincinnati 4, San Diego 2; Oakland 2, Seattle 1 (13 innings); Arizona 7, LA Dodgers 1; Texas 4, Minnesota 3 (13 innings); NY Yankees 7, Boston 3.

American League National League Eastern Division Eastern Division W L PCT GB Washington 49 34 .590 NY Yankees 52 33 .612 Atlanta 46 39 .541 4 Baltimore 45 40 .529 7 NY Mets 46 40 .535 4.5 Tampa Bay 45 41 .523 7.5 Miami 41 44 .482 9 Boston 43 43 .500 9.5 Philadelphia 37 50 .425 14 Toronto 43 43 .500 9.5 Central Division Central Division Pittsburgh 48 37 .565 Chicago White Sox 47 38 .553 Cincinnati 47 38 .553 1 Cleveland 44 41 .518 3 St. Louis 46 40 .535 2.5 Detroit 44 42 .512 3.5 Milwaukee 40 45 .471 8 Kansas City 37 47 .440 9.5 Chicago Cubs 33 52 .388 15 Houston 33 53 .384 15.5 Minnesota 36 49 .424 11

sion with the Toronto Blue Jays, 91/2 games off the pace.

PALLEKELE: A Pakistani cricket fan holds an umbrella as it rains during the second day of the third cricket Test match against Sri Lanka. —AP

Rain washes out Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test PALLEKELE: Bad weather washed out the entire second day’s play in the third and final Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Pallekele yesterday.

The entire field at the Pallekele International Stadium was covered as incessant rain since early morning, the heaviest in the region in the last two months, kept the players indoors.

Umpires Steve Davis and Simon Taufel waited till 3:00 pm (0930 GMT) before they abandoned play for the day when the weather showed no signs of clearing.

Light rain has been forecast for the remaining three days. The match is evenly poised after

an enthralling opening day’s cricket on Sunday when Pakistan reduced Sri Lanka to 44-3 after being shot out for 226 in their first innings.

The interruption gave Pakistani wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal time to recover from a hairline fracture in his left hand after he was hit by a rising ball from fast bowler Dilhara Fernando on the first day.

Akmal, who retired hurt on 10 but later returned to make 24, did not take the field in Sri Lanka’s first innings where Taufeeq Umar kept wickets. Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0, having won the first Test in Galle by 209 runs. The second Test in Colombo was drawn. —AFP

MANCHESTER: Australia’s Brett Lee and Shane Watson both had their tour of England cut short by calf problems yesterday as they were ruled out of Tuesday’s fifth one-day international at Old Trafford.

The duo, who suffered their injuries while bowling during a crushing eight-wicket defeat at Chester-le-Street on Saturday that gave England a series-clinching 3-0 lead in the fivematch contest, are now due to fly home to Australia later yesterday.

Australia team doctor John Orchard said in a statement: “Shane Watson and Brett Lee have calf strains-Shane to the left and Brett to the right calf-sustained during the fourth ODI against England at Durham.

“This is the opposite calf to the injury Shane had last (Australian) summer. Because both players will miss the final game, they are flying back to Sydney for MRI scans and further treatment. “At this stage, they are anticipated to be available for consideration for selection for the ICC World Twenty20 (in Sri Lanka starting in September), with scan results and response to treatment to determine whether they will be available for consideration for selection for the coming series against Pakistan in the UAE (United Arab Emirates).”

Lee, who went off two balls into his second spell on Saturday, and Watson, who managed just the one over, joined teenage paceman Pat Cummins (side strain) in returning home early from the tour, while left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson did not play at Chester-le-Street because of soreness in his right foot. —AFP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

sp orts

Iraqi Olympians aim for medals, unity BAGHDAD: They may specialise in different disciplines but all of Iraq’s representatives to the 2012 London Olympics know all too well the struggle of training in a country which is dangerous and still rebuilding. Iraq’s Olympic team heads to Britain hoping to secure medals, an achievement which could help solidify what remains a fragile national identity.

But poor infrastructure and difficulties in training mean their chances, pitted against better-equipped and better-trained athletes, look slim.

“Weapons and ammunition are all outdated-all of our equipment is old compared to other countries, Arab and European,” said Noor Aamer Jassim, who will be competing in air pistol shooting. But the 18year-old is still hopeful. “Sport is my life,” said the shy, headscarf-wearing youth who dreams of one day working full-time in the field. “I feel very proud to participate in the Olympics in London. I hope to win a medal, to see my country’s flag raised.”

The small team is comprised of two runners, a swimmer, an archer, a shooter, a boxer, a weightlifter and a wrestler. Jassim is one of eight athletes-five men and three women-the youngest of whom is just

15 years old, heading to the Games which kick off in London on July 27. Iraq has historically fared poorly at the Olympics. Its sole medal came during the 1960 Rome Games when Abdul Wahid Aziz won a bronze in men’s lightweight weightlifting.

The lack of success over the past decade has been put down to the dangerous security situation and poor sporting infrastructure that mean athletes often have to train abroad or on make-shift sites.

Their nutrition and exercise programmes pale in comparison to more developed sporting nations.

“We have at times experienced difficult situations when it comes to training,” admitted Adnan Taess who runs the 800 metres. “Training requires a good atmosphere and a stable situation.”

“For now, we have to leave the country so that we can train properly,” the 32-year-old said.

Swimmer Mohanad Ahmed, 15, competing in the 100-metre butterfly, said most pools in Iraq fall short of international standards. It’s “very important for a swimmer to train in an Olympic-size pool, at a proper temperature,” he said.

And in addition to the decades of conflict and

sanctions that have plagued Iraq, athletes must also deal with scorching summer temperatures which regularly top 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

“Iraqi sport is still in need of better infrastructure,” admitted Raad Hammoodi al-Dulaimi, president of Iraq’s Olympic Committee and a legendary goalkeeper of the national team.

“But this is no excuse to not proceed with developing sport-the government has made lots of efforts to build sites. “Our goal is not about the results: we hope to win, but our sports programme is still in its infancy. We must support all types of sport.” Dulaimi also hopes Iraq’s Olympians will help heal divisions in a society torn by a brutal sectarian war in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion that left tens of thousands dead and divided neighborhoods and communities. “Sport unites the people of Iraq; this is not the case with politicians,” he said.

He cited the example of Iraq’s footballing triumph in the 2007 Asian Cup, when the national team sparked jubilation at home, even at a time when the country was in the thick of its intercom-

munal bloodshed. “When Iraq won the Asian Cup in 2007, the whole world saw that sport brought together politicians who were divided,” Dulaimi said.

“Sport carries a message of peace and sets a good example when it comes to politics.”

Though the security situation nationwide has improved, attacks remain common and the government and parliament have been deadlocked for months due to a political row that has once again raised sectarian tensions. Britain’s outgoing ambassador to Iraq, Michael Aron, who hosted Iraq’s Olympic team in May as they applied for their travel documents, noted he would “support the British team but I will watch all ... Iraqi athletes very closely.”

His only regret, he said after briefly playing football with Dulaimi on a sports pitch at the British embassy in Baghdad, was that Iraq’s national football team would not be taking part in the Games.

The team was disqualified for the Olympics after it allowed a barred player to participate in a match.

But still Aron said the eight-member team’s involvement in the London Games was a sign that “Iraq is moving forwards.” — AFP

Nigeria snatch final London berth

Steve Hooker

Zen and the art of mental maintenance SYDNEY: Australia’s Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker qualified for the London Games in a disused railway depot, where a select guest-list mingled to thudding electro beats under strobe lights. It was a deliberate attempt to avoid the public scrutiny which has followed his tumble from form, after a knee injury triggered the kind of psychological crisis elite athletes dread.

“The confidence I require to stand at the end of the runway and then charge down, land my pole and soar almost six metres into the air has left me for the time being,” Hooker admitted in February.

“Sometimes I run in and I don’t take off. It’s as simple as that.” Hooker has faced down his mental demons, clearing an Olympic qualifying 5.72 metres in the specially sanctioned, invite-only event at his personal training centre, with just 150 people present.

But his battles provide an extreme example of the importance of an athlete’s mental state-which, according to experts, will often be the difference between winning and losing at the London Games.

“Many years ago psychology was the sort of thing you did when you had a problem. It’s now part of an athlete’s weaponry,” said Matt Favier, director of the government-funded Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

“It’s less of identifying a problem and it’s about how you maximise your performance potential.” Australia’s Olympians will be offered a clinical psychologist in the team’s mobile recovery centre for the first time in London, where they can debrief and come for relaxation and other stress-management techniques during competition.

Some athletes will have counselling or learn breathing or sleeping techniques, others will simply listen to music or practice positive visualisations of their disciplines.

Shona Halson, head of the AIS performance recovery programme, says mental recovery is being recognised as “just as important” as physical repair at major events.

Sports psychologist Paul Penna has accompanied Australia to two Olympics and three Commonwealth Games and he says it’s a ruthless experience, as only a handful of athletes and one team will typically succeed-leaving the others to grapple with their disappointment.

The Olympics is the world’s premier sporting event and Penna said it brought out “the best in some people and the worst in others

and that’s just because of the pressure”.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they believe that it’s life-defining,” Penna told AFP. “It’s about that media expectation, it’s about the exposure, it’s about the sacrifice.”

Penna said his own approach had shifted significantly in the past decade, from minimising pressure to teaching an athlete to embrace the moment and use the enormity of the event to their advantage.

“They’re not going to call the Olympics off just because you’re having a bad day,” he said.

Hooker’s team-mate Brendan Cole knows what it’s like to have a bad year. Cole, who has missed squad call-ups, says it’s a huge psychological challenge to deal with the rejection “and come back stronger and better”.

The 400-metre hurdler meditates every day to keep his mind clear, and he says he runs his best races when he’s “not really thinking about anything in particular; it’s more just capturing a feeling of the body”.

Cole says even now, mental preparation is often under-rated. “A lot of athletes, and coaches as well probably, don’t respect the power of the mind and how it really does have an impact on what we do, and what we don’t do ultimately,” he said.

“Leading into a competition as big and as important as the Olympic Games your mind can play tricks on you and it’s a lot of pressure.

“I think dealing with that pressure is something that you need to practice it’s not necessarily being crazy or not being crazy, but it’s just another part of your training.”

According to Penna, it’s vital for athletes to step back from the pressure that comes with representing their nation. “As soon as you think like that you’re going to fail. It’s teaching people the routines and the strategies to completely switch off,” he said.

“The best athletes in the world work really hard to simplify it-’there’s my job, it’s just like going to work’,” Penna added.

And, the psychologist said, the public should remember that Olympic athletes such as Hooker are simply ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

“I think it’s important that athletes be seen for who they are; normal people have breakdowns, normal people don’t always make good role models,” Penna said.

“And I think making athletes accountable, making the rest of the public aware of what it’s like to be an athlete, is actually really important.”— AFP

CARACAS: Nigeria will make their Olympic basketball debut in London after beating the Dominican Republic 8873 in the decisive qualifier on Sunday. Having arrived in Venezuela as complete underdogs in the 12-team tournament offering three London berths, Nigeria completed their memorable campaign with a resounding victory over the Dominicans - another surprise package.

Apart from the west African nation, who stunned former European champions Greece to reach the last four, Russia and Lithuania have also booked their London berths from this qualifier on Saturday.

The trio will join United States, Argentina, Spain, France, Tunisia, Brazil, Australia and China who had qualified earlier alongside hosts Great Britain. Nigeria forward Ike Diogu capped an outstanding individual tournament with 25 points and 10 rebounds, confining his Dominican counterpart Al Horford of NBA’s Atlanta Hawks to just 12 points and shooting only five of 11 from the field.

With the Dominicans cutting the deficit to just two points at the end of the third quarter, Diogu nailed 10 successive points in the closing stages to send his team mates and a small band of Nigerian supporters into raptures.

“If you are a big-time player you have to relish those moments and that’s what I did, having decided to carry my team at crunch time,” Diogu told the world basketball governing body’s (FIBA) television in a courtside interview.

Forward Derrick Obasohan added: “We had the toughest schedule in the tournament but nothing was going to stop us tonight because we were on a mission.” — Reuters

India’s ‘Magnificent Mary’ eyes gold PUNE: The Indian heat is searing in the gym when the power goes out. A physio hurries over with an emergency lamp and boxing star MC Mary Kom resumes battering the punchbag.

It’s hardly an ideal training session for an Olympic hopeful, but then glory never came easily for Kom. From her beginnings as a poor farmers’ daughter in a remote and troubled corner of India, “Magnificent Mary” has fought her way up to become five-times world boxing champion.

The mum-of-two is now tipped as one of her country’s best bets for gold at London 2012 — a position few could envisage when she

vide a path out of poverty if she made it big.

“So I left studying and focused on training,” she said. “I did everything in athletics: running, discus, javelin, so many. I can do everything.”

When she heard that women’s boxing would be included in the Manipur state championships in 2000, she took to the ring and won the tournament just four months later.

She tried to keep her new activity quiet from her parents, but when her victory was revealed in the local newspaper, her sceptical father summoned her for a talk.

“He was worried about me getting injured and that he couldn’t support me financially.

But finally I convinced him, and at the last

India’s boxing queen Mary Kom began learning to box.

“People were discouraging me, saying in India there are not women boxers. That was my first challenge. I took the challenge, I had to prove myself,” she told AFP in Pune, the western Indian city where she is currently training.

Kom-full name Mangte Chungneijang Merykom-was born 29 years ago in the northeastern state of Manipur, the eldest of four to parents who struggled to support their family through working on the fields. Growing up with a love of action movies, Jackie Chan and her hero Muhammad Ali, the young Kom realised that her passion for sport could pro-

moment he accepted,” she said.

Her determination paid off, propelling Kom to a string of international boxing titles, national honours and financial rewards to help her family.

Along the way she found time to set up a boxing academy, get married and have twin boys, who are now aged four and looked after by her husband back home in Manipur while she trains. Despite her obvious drive and talent, Kom said sponsorship deals were a long time coming and the lack of support sometimes upset her.

“I don’t know if it’s because we don’t look

B’desh set to hail Caesar at Olympics DHAKA: Syque Caesar hopes to come, see and conquer his rivals at the London Olympics, but even if he finishes outside the medals the US-born gymnast is proud to be blazing a trail for Bangladesh at the Games.

The 21-year old gymnast from the University of Michigan learned in April that he had been selected to compete in London after receiving an email from the Bangladesh Olympic Association.

“My university team mates, coaches, and friends in the United States were absolutely excited and proud of me when they heard that I was going to go to the Olympics,” Caesar told Reuters in a recent interview. “Like 90 percent of all gymnasts, it has always been my biggest dream to go to the Olympics, and I’m very excited to finally have the opportunity to make the dream a reality.”

Born and raised in the United States, Caesar has never lived in Bangladesh but has close family ties to the South Asian country.

Caesar’s mother Rezina and father Quazi grew up in Dhaka and moved to the United States in the 1980s.

Quazi was the first baby born by caesarean section at Dhaka Medical College and changed his name from Chanchal to Caesar. A talented soccer player, he encouraged Syque to try different sports.

“I was just walking in the mall with my dad when we came across a flyer for gymnastics classes,” Caesar said. “He asked me if I wanted to try it, and I said sure. I was six-years-old at the time and I’ve never looked back.

“I was a very hyperactive child growing up and gymnastics was a great way to use all that energy in productive way.”

VENEZUELA: Dominican Republic’s Yack Martinez ( left) and Nigeria’s Ikechuwu Diogu look at the ball during a third place basketball game of the Olympic qualifier in Caracas. — AP

As his gymnastics career flourished, Caesar represented Bangladesh at the Central South Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in December 2011 in Dhaka and was an instant hit.

After finishing third in the all-around and floor exercise events, and second in vault, he finally struck gold in parallel bars - the first international gymnastics gold for Bangladesh.

Caesar will now represent Bangladesh at the Olympics thanks to a Tripartite Commission Invitation place, and will become the country’s first gymnast at a Games.

Previously Bangladesh had representatives in athletics, swimming and shooting.

“I study the sport basically everyday and I try to stay up to date on the absolute latest gymnastics information that is released every week,” he said.—Reuters

Syque Caesar

like Indians,” she said of people from her home state, who live near the Myanmar border and whose facial features are often mistaken for Chinese or Southeast Asian.

Tiny Manipur is home to 2.7 million people and is one of India’s “Seven Sisters”, an isolated group of states surrounded by five other countries and attached to the rest of India by a thin bridge of land north of Bangladesh.

Insurgent violence has for decades been part of daily life in the region, home to numerous rebel groups whose demands range from autonomy to secession, and whose rival agendas often erupt into bloody clashes.

Kom, who lost her father-in-law to rebel gunmen, has become a hero and a rare ray of hope in Manipur, where she set up her academy to give underprivileged girls and boys the chance to follow her into the ring.

“The youngsters came to me and asked for training and I couldn’t say no,” she said. “Most of them are very poor.” She now hopes to make her home state even prouder.

To compete at the London Games, where women’s boxing is a full Olympic medal event for the first time, Kom scraped through qualifying at the world championships held in China in May. The 157 centimetre (5 feet 2 inches) fighter has had to switch up from 48kg to the 51kg category, the lightest of three groupings in London, and started training with taller, heavier males to help her adjust.

She won this year’s Asian Championships at 51kg. But in China, Kom lost in the quarterfinals to Britain’s Nicola Adams, and only gained entry to the Olympics when other results went her way.

However her British coach Charles Atkinson, who has trained a succession of Thai world champion boxers, believes Kom-his first female trainee-will be tough to beat in London. “To me she’s a fighter, with a fighting heart greater than some guys I have handled,” he said.

As she edges towards her Olympic dream, Kom’s drive to be as good as the guys seems to keep her at the top of her game, in a country where “most of the women are looked down on,” she said. “If the men can do it, why can’t the women do it? That’s my main challenge.” — AFP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

sp orts

F1 sees a pattern emerging after the mud and rain LONDON: After a wet and muddy British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone, Formula One could see some sort of a pattern emerging in a season that has so far stood out for unpredictability.

Ferrari and Red Bull like the look of it but for McLaren, and their world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, it is not a pretty sight.

The long-suffering but loyal 125,000-strong crowd on Sunday saw Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso start on pole position and Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber take the chequered flag and winner’s champagne.

At the previous race in Valencia it had been a Red Bull on pole, this time with double world champion Sebastian Vettel at the wheel, while Alonso went on to triumph in front of

his home Spanish fans. Alonso and Webber are now the only two drivers to have won twice in the nine races so far this year and Silverstone’s rainsoaked track handed both their teams their biggest points haul of the season from a single race.

The Spaniard has 129 points to Webber’s 116 with Vettel the only other driver with a three figure tally on 100. With three races in quick succession this month - Germany and Hungary are on back-to-back weekends - there is the danger that by the time the teams head into the August break the championship has gone from being wide open to a two-team tussle at the front.

McLaren tumbled from second to fourth overall with Hamilton now 37 points adrift of Alonso and behind

both Red Bull drivers.

“A pattern is sort of starting to emerge but that could be thrown out of the window quite easily at the next race,” said ever-cautious Red Bull principal Christian Horner. “I think it’s far too early to write off anybody in this championship.”

That said, Red Bull and Ferrari have been consistent. Alonso has now finished his last 21 races in the points while Webber has suffered only one retirement in the past 12 months and finished in the top four in seven of nine this season.

“I’m ver y proud of the Ferrari recovery in the last few weeks and now we have been fighting for the victory in the last three or four grands prix,” said Alonso after Sunday’s race.

“So we’re heading in the right direc-

tion.” Ferrari, celebrating a first pole since 2010 and four th-placed Brazilian Felipe Massa’s best result since that year, appear to be hitting their stride after a sluggish start to the season.

Red Bull, who had both their drivers on the podium together for the first time this year, have also figured out how to make their car go faster.

“Obviously we got some confidence with our car in Valencia. I think that before then, we’d been finding our way with the new regulations, but I think we understood a little bit more about the RB8 in Valencia, and that has been an on-going process here,” declared Webber.

McLaren, winners of the seasonopener in Australia with Button, are finding the Pirelli tyres hard to fath-

om. Hamilton won in Germany last year and Button in Hungary and team principal Mar tin Whitmarsh was hopeful that upgrades would help the team get back into contention.

“Sometimes you learn more from these weekends than the successful ones,” he told reporters. “I’m not seriously worried. worry doesn’t make your car go quicker,” added Whitmarsh. “There’s no magic, you’ve got to work on developing the car and understanding the conditions.

“It is very tricky to go from being so strong in the first stint on one set of prime (tyres)...and about 15 minutes later you put them on again and they feel different.

They respond differently yet you set the same pressures and temperatures.” —Reuters

Hunter-Reay wins in Toronto

BULGARIA: Players and staff of Poland’s national volleyball team celebrate after winning their Volleyball World League gold medal match against the US in Sofia. —AFP

Poland win maiden World League title SOFIA: Poland clinched their maiden World League title after a straight sets win over Olympic champions the United States in the final of the competition at the Armeets Arena on Sunday.

“I’m really happy,” Poland’s Italian coach Andrea Anastasi told a news conference after his men earned the $1 million cash prize. “It is the first gold medal for Poland in the World League and for me as a coach and this is important.”

Although Poland comfortably won the first set 25-17, the U.S. - trying to win the competition for a second time after their triumph in 2008 - fought back in the second.

A series of spikes and blocks by Zbigniew Bartman and Bartosz Kurek, however, helped the Poles winning 2624. Kurek then engineered the emphatic 25-20 win in the third set with some spectacular points. Poland, who won the bronze medal on home soil last year, reached their first final after a hardfought win over world champions Brazil and victories in straight sets against Cuba and Bulgaria.

Towering 2.05-metre Kurek was voted the tournament’s MVP, Bartman, scorer of 16 points in the final, took the tournament’s best spiker award while team captain Marcin Mozdzonek got the prize for

best blocker. “It is a historical moment for all of us,” said Mozdzonek. “We won against one of the best teams in the world and I hope we will continue playing this way at the Olympics.”

The U.S. got some consolation when captain Clayton Stanley, part of the 2008 Olympic team, was named best server.

Bulgaria’s Todor Alexiev took the best receiver and best scorer awards.

Cuba, a young team made up of home-based players, grabbed third place after beating Bulgaria 25-18 19-25 25-23 23-25 15-12 in a wildly fluctuating encounter, which lasted more than two hours.

Cuba, 1998 winners, took the bronze medal for a third time. “It was a hard tournament for us as we have five very young players in the team,” said Cuba coach Orlando Samuels.

Most of the players who took part in the World League’s final tournament are expected to shine at the London Games with the US, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany and Brazil qualified for the Olympic tournament.

The 12-team competition in London will start on July 29 with hosts Britain participating in volleyball at the Olympics for the first time - playing Bulgaria in the opening match. —Reuters

Silver Stars stop Liberty NEWARK: Jia Perkins scored 24 points, Becky Hammon had 23 and Sophia Young added 21 as the San Antonio Silver Stars beat the New York Liberty 94-81 Sunday for their seventh straight victory.

Danielle Adams added 10 points for San Antonio (11-5), which has won nine of 10. The Silver Stars shot 55 percent from the field (38 for 69), including 38 percent (11 for 29) on 3-pointers.

Essence Carson scored 25 points to lead New York (6-10), and Cappie Pondexter had 23. Leilani Mitchell and Nicole Powell added 12 points each.

Storm 83, Mercury 68 At Seattle, Sue Bird scored 31 points as Seattle earned a win over Phoenix.

Camille Little added 18 and Ewelina Kobryn scored 10 for the Storm (8-9).

DeWanna Bonner led Phoenix (4-13) with 12 points and Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 11. Bird’s run began in the first quarter when she scored 13 points on 5of-5 shooting, outscoring Phoenix 13-12.

Sparks 79, Dream 63 At Los Angeles, Kristi Toliver scored 19 points and Candace Parker had 14 points and 12 rebounds as Los Angeles defeated Atlanta.

The Sparks (13-6) improved to 9-1 at home in their last home game before the Olympic break. They also snapped a six-game losing streak against the Dream and got even for their biggest loss of the season, a 33-point win by Atlanta on June 15. Sancho Lyttle led the Dream (8-9) with 17 points and Aneika Henry had 13.

Shock 78, Mystics 62 At Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ivory Latta had 18 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as Tulsa used a strong second half for a win over Washington.

The 62 points were the fewest scored by a Shock opponent this season. Leading 43-40 with 3:30 left in the third quarter, Tulsa (3-13) finished the period on a 14-8 run to match its biggest lead of the game at 57-48.

Riquana Williams opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 60-48 and Washington (3-12) would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game. Temeka Johnson had 17 points for the Shock and Glory Johnson added 16. —AP

Jia Perkins in action in this file photo

TORONTO: Flat oval, banked oval or street course, the Midwest or Canada: Ryan HunterReay is proving he can dominate anywhere on the IndyCar circuit.

Hunter-Reay became the first Americanborn driver in six years to win three straight IndyCar races, taking the Honda Indy Toronto under caution Sunday. In the process, he took over the series points lead and, with five races left, finds himself in position to become the first American to win the title since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006.

“Three in a row, I don’t know what to think about this,” Hunter-Reay said. “We just need to really enjoy it. It’s nice to have realized that we’re in this position. And this is what I’ve always wanted. But now we have to take hold of it and go get it done.”

Starting from the sixth position, HunterReay took the lead for good on the 57th lap.

He then managed to avoid a series of pileups following a restart on the 82nd lap of the 85lap race.

The trouble began when Sebastien Bourdais was sent into the wall by Charlie Kimball on Turn 1. A few seconds later, Dario Franchitti, Ryan Briscoe, Simon Pagenaud, Ed Carpenter and Marco Andretti became entangled in two crashes on Turn 3.

Hunter-Reay made it through the first turn, just beating Kimball to the corner and holding him off before the yellow flags came out.

Kimball was second, followed by Mike Conway. “That’s Toronto,” Hunter-Reay said.

“Turn 3 is mayhem corner.”

Hunter-Reay’s had success in Toronto, having finished third in each of the past two seasons on the narrow, twisting 1.75-mile street course. And he also has the advantage of having Andretti Autosport team owner, Michael Andretti, who holds the course record with seven wins. “What can I say, I love Toronto,” Andretti said.

As for the roll his driver’s on, Andretti said: “I think he’s a real factor in the championship.

He’s really strong on these types of tracks as well. He doesn’t have a weakness when he’s driving.”

Coming off wins at Milwaukee and Iowa, Hunter-Reay joined the late Dan Wheldon among Andretti drives to win three straight races. Hunter-Reay is the first American to win three straight since AJ Allmendinger in 2006, whose third victory also came in Toronto.

And Hunter-Reay continued his surge up the standings, moving 34 points ahead of Will Power, who finished 15th, and 46 ahead of Helio Castroneves, who moved into third place after a sixth-place finish.

The winning streak also means three consecutive victories for Chevy engines, which leads the manufacturers’ points race. Chevy

has won seven races, with Honda winning the other three.

Kimball and Conway enjoyed careerbest finishes after starting in the middle of the pack.

After starting 13th, Kimball got lucky being in the pits when the first of three cautions came up. And he had enough gas and good enough tires to make a run at the end, jumping into second place by passing Tony Kanaan and Simon Pagenaud.

Kimball, however, couldn’t beat HunterReay to the first turn on the restart. And he had more worries, finding himself in the middle of Conway and Bourdais attempting to squeeze through a turn that was made more slippery because crews didn’t have time to

the fuel hose couldn’t reach. Power ran into trouble on the 56th lap and finished 15th. He had contact with Josef Newgarden on the course, and it was enough to damage his front wing, which eventually fell off and slashed his left tire.

That forced Power back into the pits. Power then pitted again five laps later to have his new front wing adjusted. “Just a tough break,” said Power, who’s also won three in a row this season. “It’s going to be a tight finish with five races to go.”

Hometown favorite James Hinchcliffe finished 22nd after his engine failed. He had been running fourth 28 laps in. Hinchcliffe had no luck with his engines this week. He qualified ninth, but an unapproved engine

TORONTO: Ryan Hunter-Reay celebrates after winning the IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto auto race. —AP sweep up the rubber on the track.

“I think everybody was in a bit of a tight spot there because they didn’t sweep,” Kimball said. “Mike steamed up on the inside of me. I didn’t think there was room.” Bourdais saw things differently.

“Too many idiots, that’s for sure,” Bourdais said, before focusing his displeasure on Kimball. “He shouldn’t be standing on that podium, he doesn’t deserve it.” There was plenty of disappointment to go around.

Franchitti, the defending champion and pole winner, continued to struggle. The Scot finished 17th, in part because of a dreadful first pit stop in which he stopped too far from the wall. That cost him extra time as a crew member had to move his car closer because

change on Friday forced him to start 19th.

“We had a mechanical issue and started losing power in the engine, and it’s too bad,” said Hinchcliffe, who grew up outside of Toronto. “It’s a heartache to go out early here.”

Scott Dixon’s run of engine troubles continued. He was the first driver out of the race when his engine failed seven laps in.

That was a big blow in several ways for Dixon, who entered third in the points standings. He also entered the week having used up all five of his approved engines for the season. His next change will be unapproved, forcing an automatic 10-spot penalty in the grid in his next race. The series takes a week off and will stay in Canada for its next race in Edmonton on July 22. —AP

‘Integrity’ still rules with avid fan base PHILADELPHIA: Chris Mazur is as competitive a professional athlete as any. After flubbing an easy pass, he kicks a trash can with pro-level gusto.

But the Connecticut Constitution defensive handler’s best play against the Philadelphia Spinners on a recent Sunday is not one of the team-leading five goals he throws. It is the point he gives the other side when his Ultimate team is slightly behind.

Ultimate is a fast-paced field sport played with flying discs. The object is to score points by catching passes in the opponent’s endzone. Players can only advance the disc by throwing and catching it, and contact is not allowed.

Possession of the disc changes when a pass is not completed.

Data from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association shows Ultimate has nearly 5 million players in the United States, about the same number as gymnastics, and far more than field hockey, lacrosse or Rugby, which have less than 2 million each.

Ardor for the amateur sport may have something to do with the USA Ultimate rule book. The preface states that players must abide by the Spirit of the Game (known informally as the “spirit rule”), a guide to fair play considered to be sacrosanct: “Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic

joy of play.” Also intrinsic to the spirit rule is the enforcement of all the game’s rules by the players themselves, even though the practice is not spelled out as a rule proper. Despite an avid fan base - its players-Ultimate has not had many independent spectators. At the USA Ultimate club championships, most people watching are players who didn’t make it to the finals.

“There are still too many Tom Crawfords out there who are big sports fans that just don’t even know that Ultimate is highly entertaining,” says Tom Crawford, the chief executive officer of USA Ultimate. He has a rare perspective among its top brass: He was introduced to the sport as a spectator. Taking up the challenge of the small audience, this spring the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) launched the sport’s first serious professional league, beginning its inaugural season with eight teams. Eight more cities, including New York, Boston and Washington, are expected to be up and running next year, and franchises in 12 of 32 cities targeted for 2014 have been sold.

These aggressive expansion plans are based on making the game more of a spectacle and less of a drag: The league decided that having players call their own fouls slowed the game to a crawl.

It introduced referees.

The AUDL understood that

such a radical move could alienate the amateur world, and so it introduced an “integrity rule” as a nod to the spirit rule. The practice allows a player to overturn a referee’s call if it is considered inappropriate and does not benefit that player’s team.

The adaptation comes with a risk-possibly jeopardizing one of the most endearing qualities of the sport: giving new players the sense that fair play is only achieved by enforcing their own rules. “I think that ‘spirit of the game’ is really the best branding tool that could be used to promote Ultimate, especially in the business of sport today where athletes seem to no longer be held to a higher standard,” Robert Rauch, the president of the WFDF, wrote in an email, adding that the spirit rule is a standard that remains the Olympic ideal. At Franklin Field, the oldest football stadium in the country, dancers lead cheers and punch pompoms. The Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance has drummed up spectators for the AUDL game between the Spinners and the Constitution. Afterward, fans line up along the field rail and highfive players from both teams as they exit the field.

Overall, Philadelphia draws the biggest crowds in the league, followed by the Indianapolis Alleycats and Connecticut. (The Alleycats are captained by Brodie Smith, whose videos of disc trick

shots are a viral phenomenon.)

But the crowd for the Sunday game against Connecticut is only about half the 1,700 fans that showed up for Philly ’s home opener.

Privately, AUDL owners are concerned about the novelty of a re-fangled sport wearing off. But the AUDL’s expansion plans may pose a bigger threat. On Thursday, the Constitution announced it was suspending operations. At issue is a dispute over creating teams in the bigcity markets of Boston and New York City, two critical sources of players and fans for the team.

The timing of the dispute couldn’t be worse for a young league with big plans. Connecticut had earned a respectable berth in the playoffs, scheduled for July 28.

The Championship, slated for Aug. 11, is booked for the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

Of about a dozen children at the June 9 game between the Constitution and the Rampage, 11-year-old Grady is alone in professing a desire to be a professional Ultimate player when he grows up. But even Grady would rather not have referees. “It’s better when the players are in charge,” he says. AUDL players say referees keep the game moving at a pace unlike anything Ultimate has ever seen, though they admit the rules covering judgment calls could stand some refinement. — Reuters

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

S P ORT S

Brits endure more Wimbledon heartache LONDON: After 76 years of national pain, British tennis fans will have to wallow in disappointment for at least another 12 months after enduring torrential rain and a hail storm of Swiss bullets that ended Andy Murray’s Wimbledon hopes on Sunday.

A day that started with dreams of a great British millstone being erased from the record books ended as a rain-soaked nightmare with sodden fans trudging away having seen Roger Federer blast his way to another title.

National fervour had gripped the country since Murray beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday to set up a mouth-watering final, with stories circulating of Centre Court tickets changing hands for more than 10,000 pounds ($15,500).

Sixteen grand slam titles ensured the Swiss started as favourite, but it seemed nobody wanted to miss the chance of seeing Murray become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936.

Some had travelled from the far end of the country and even queued and camped

over the weekend just to get into the grounds to watch Murray’s bid on a big screen.

They crammed on to the sloping patch of earth named “Henman Hill”, after it’s namesake Tim’s Wimbledon exploits a decade ago, but it would have been more aptly named “Heaving Hill” as not a single patch of grass was left uncovered just before the match started.

Their dedication had been pushed to the limits as sheeting rain greeted their arrival, but there was still a bubbling sense of optimism that Murray could overcome the odds. “If we cheer loud enough, he might just do it,” said Paul Hansford who had arrived in the queue five hours before the gates opened. For others there was a sense of destiny.

“It’s the London Olympics, the Queen’s Jubilee, this is our year,” said Sabina Auckburally, who had travelled with her mother from Gatwick and Southampton and arrived as dawn was breaking at the All England Club. Ironically the first person

in the queue for ground passes was a Federer fan from Toronto, who had been waiting in line since before Murray’s semifinal had even finished.

Scarlett Li was there to see “the King go back to where he rightfully belongs”. The great and the good were also keen to muscle in on the occasion as British Prime Minister David Cameron joined Prince William’s wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, in the royal box, along with former England soccer captain David Beckham.

Inside Centre Court grey skies and squally showers had given way to a piercing sun when the umpire called time on the warm-up and Murray strode out to receive serve.

A deathly hush among the Union Jack clad fans was followed by a murmur as two solid Murray backhands tested the Swiss while a Federer error handed the first point to Murray, causing the crowd to erupt.

A deafening roar followed the ace that brought up Murray’s first set points and when Federer banged his next return

straight into the turf the crowd exploded again as their hero clenched his fist in celebration. That was as good as it got for those inside the stadium and the desperate hordes on the hill. There was an oppressive tension in the groans and murmurs that greeted the Briton’s every error and as the match wore on and Federer got on top those began to multiply.

The Swiss clinched the second set with a backhand volley and Centre Court was reduced to polite applause. Then the rain came down in sheets. Outside, many scampered for cover while the brave toughed it out first physically and then emotionally as Federer returned to court under the roof with his A-game firing.

Rhythmic claps and cheers of “Andy, Andy” reverberated around as Murray sat on his seat and Federer prepared to serve for the match; even the Prime Minister joined in.

Then Murray sent a forehand wide and Federer collapsed to the turf to receive the ovation he deserved having equalled Pete

Sampras’s record of seven Wimbledon titles and crushed British dreams. Murray had been carrying the weight of a nation on his shoulders and choked on his words as he tried to address the crowd.

“I’m going to try this and it’s not going to be easy,” he quivered, trying not to look at his girlfriend Kim Sears who had also broken down in tears.

As fans trudged away from the rainsodden slope there was appreciation for the effort along with muted disappointment in the result.

“I’m gutted, he played some really good tennis but Federer is just a champion,” said Valerie Hinds, who was wearing a Union Jack rain coat.

“We have been through the sun and the rain, but there was proper British spirit today,” her mother Carolyn Mason replied, wearing a matching patriot outfit.

“He’ll be back next year,” she added, when it will be 77 years since Fred Perry delighted a nation as the last British man to win the title.—Reuters

Champ Federer eyes golden finale to glittering summer

Britain’s Jenson Button driving a McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 car takes corner in this file photo.

Button baffled by missing speed LONDON: Jenson Button will be looking for answers when McLaren’s top technical brains meet today to try and find out why their car has become so slow.

The Woking team had a deeply disappointing British Grand Prix at Silverstone with Lewis Hamilton, a winner in Canada only last month, finishing eighth and Button 10th.

Button, the 2009 world champion and winner of the season-opening race in Australia, is now a hefty 79 points adrift of Ferrari’s championship leader Fernando Alonso with 11 races remaining.

Hamilton is 37 points off the Spaniard’s pace. “We don’t have the pace of the top three teams. At the moment we are racing the Williams, the Sauber and the Force India,” Button said candidly. “That’s where we are at the moment and, personally, I don’t feel they had the best weekend...I feel that if the Williams and Sauber had a good day, they would have beaten us. So we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Button, who has never stood on his home grand prix podium in 13 attempts and who qualified 16th in a rainsoaked qualifying, said the team had got their strategy right and the pitstops - so troublesome this season - were perfect.

A notably smooth driver, Button has struggled to get crucial heat into the tricky Pirelli tyres but the 32-year-old felt there

was much more to it than that.

“We just didn’t have the pace,” he told Reuters. “The balance doesn’t feel too bad, on high speed corners the car is reasonable, on low speed it’s not fantastic but not bad.

“So when you see a car come past you like you’re just stood still it’s a surprise...I don’t know where we are missing out, I don’t know how so many teams can be getting it right and we can’t.”

McLaren have now slipped from second to fourth in the constructors’ championship, behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus a shock for a team who have finished the last seven seasons in the top three.

Hamilton, the 2008 champion who has yet to agree a contract extension after this year, said on Sunday he feared his title hopes could disappear unless the team picked up the pace.

The next grand prix is at Hockenheim in Germany, on July 22, which Hamilton won last year and where McLaren should have a good upgrade package. Immediately after that comes Hungary, which Button won in 2011.

“We’ve got to improve,” said Button.

“We’ve got a technical meeting on Tuesday which is going to be quite a sombre meeting but we’re going to be quite aggressive, everyone in the meeting, about trying to improve this car.”—Reuters

LONDON: A seventh Challenge Cup secured, Roger Federer was ready for a week’s holiday yesterday before returning to London to complete what he hopes will be a unique Wimbledon-Olympic double triumph at the All England Club.

The moment London were awarded the Games seven years ago, Federer tapped the dates into his electronic phone diary knowing that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to win two golden prizes in the space of four weeks at the home of lawn tennis.

Little did the then five-times grand slam champion know that come July 2012, he would have won a record 17 majors, been on top of the world rankings for a record 286 weeks and passed so many landmarks that he could open a Roger Federer library chronicling his never-ending list of achievements.

There remains, however, one missing volume.

The book labelled “Roger Federer’s journey to Olympic singles glory” has yet to be finished as the Swiss maestro has three attempts at writing that memoir but abandoned it each time due to the absence of a fairytale ending.

“I do believe my situation has that little star next to it. Now the Olympic gold is a dream for me,” a refreshed and alert Federer told a small group of reporters yesterday despite getting only a couple of hours’ sleep after beating Andy Murray to win a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title.

“I am now the Wimbledon champion that gives me even more confidence coming to the Olympics. Maybe in some ways it takes the pressure off the Olympics because I already did win at Wimbledon this year so that’s a good thing.

“Of course there is a lot of hype around me playing at the Olympics this year round. I believe I can handle the pressure but the Olympics is a different animal because you only do get an opportunity every four years.

“You hope to get the right draw, you hope to play the right matches, the right points at the right times. To win Olympic gold things need to all fall into place nicely.”

So far his three Olympic experiences comprise meeting his wife Mirka at Sydney 2000, carrying the Swiss flag for the first time in the opening ceremony in Athens 2004 and winning a doubles gold medal with Stanislas Wawrinka in Beijing 2008.

All good memories, but as he is reminded so

Choi clinches US Women’s Open WISCONSIN: South Korea’s Choi Na-yeon survived a tumul- me,” Choi said. “And 14 years later I’m here right now, and I tuous four-hole stretch after the turn to win her first major title made it. My dreams have come true. It’s an amazing day.”

Germany’s Sandra Gal signed off with a 74 to end up alone by four shots at the US Women’s Open in Kohler, Wisconsin on Sunday. A commanding six strokes ahead of the chasing pack in third place at one over, her first top-10 in a major champiovernight, Choi triple-bogeyed the 10th and did well to salvage onship. Shanshan Feng, the first player from mainland China to pars at the 12th and 13th before regaining momentum to close win a major title with victory at last month’s LPGA Championship, closed with a 71 to share fourth place at two with a one-over-par 73 at Blackwolf Run. The 24-year-old birdied the 15th and 16th in dazzling sun- over with South Korea’s Lee Il-hee (70) and Italy’s Giulia Sergas shine and shrugged off a bogey at the last for a seven-under (72). In pursuit of her sixth victory on the LPGA Tour, Choi made total of 281, finishing four ahead of her fellow Korean and play- a stumbling start to the final round with a bogey on the opening hole but she maintained her advaning partner Amy Yang (71). World tage after Yang also faltered there. number five Choi embraced her cadBoth players birdied the par-four die in delight before being showfourth before Yang picked up another ered in champagne by her compatrishot at the ninth to trim Choi’s lead to ots after becoming the sixth Korean five. Choi, who reached the turn in to win the US Women’s Open, and even-par 36, made a complete hash of the fifth in the last eight years. the par-five 10th where she lost her After being presented with the ball after a wayward drive and went on champion’s medal and the glittering to record a nervy triple-bogey for her US Women’s Open trophy, Choi was lead to be cut to just two. asked greenside how she had recovHowever, she responded with a ered from her triple-bogey at the ‘bounce-back’ birdie at the 11th after 10th. hitting a superb approach to five feet “I tried to forget it from there,” she to stretch her cushion to three strokes. replied with a smile. “And then I had Choi did remarkably well to save a really good (birdie) bounce back par at the 12th, sinking a 20-footer on 11. “I also had a really good save after her approach had ended up in for par on 12 so I got some momenthick grass to the left of the green. tum from 11 and 12 and that’s how I The Korean again flirted with diskept it going until the 18th hole.”

With her US Women’s Open tri- WISCONSIN: South Korea’s Na Yeon aster with an errant tee shot at the umph, Choi emulated fellow Choi holds up the championship tro- par-three 13th, her ball bouncing off Koreans Pak Se-ri (at Blackwolf Run phy after winning the US Women’s rocks on the edge of a water hazard before ending up behind the green in 1998), Birdie Kim (2005), Park Infrom where she got up and down to bee (2008), Ji Eun-hee (2009) and Open golf tournament.—AP save par.

Ryu So-yeon (2011).

Choi gained welcome breathing room when Yang, her clos“Actually before Se-ri won in 1998, my dream was just being a professional golfer,” said Choi, who is projected to climb to est pursuer, bogeyed the 14th to slip four shots behind. Both players birdied the par-four 15th but Choi picked up her fourth second in the world rankings on Monday.

“But after I watched her (win), she really inspired me to be a shot of the day at the 16th to forge five ahead, then finished LPGA player. So I really appreciate what Seri did before and she par-bogey to triumph by four strokes.

“I learned a lot,” Yang said after producing her best finish in a is a legend in Korea.”

Five-times major champion Pak, whose victory here 14 years major. “It gives me a lot of confidence that I came in second this ago sparked the Korean surge at the highest level in women’s week. My game is feeling pretty good and I’m going to keep golf, led the charge on to the 18th green to congratulate Choi trying hard.” Taiwan’s world number one Yani Tseng, who has claimed five of the last 10 major titles, closed with a second sucwith champagne bottle in hand.

“She said, ‘Hey, Na-yeon, I’m really proud of you. You did a cessive 78 to finish in a tie for 50th, a distant 21 strokes off the really good job.’ She talked to me a lot, and she was hugging pace.—Reuters

often there is that one golden singles prize still missing from his career.

To give himself the best possible chance of correcting that anomaly, Federer has opted to shun the usual hoopla of living in the Athletes Village with thousands of international competitors. Instead he will stick to the tried and tested formula that has brought him so much success at the All England Club, where dozens of workmen were already replacing the familiar Wimbledon logos with giant Olympic rings yesterday.

“No (athlete’s) village for me. I’ve done it twice,” Federer said as he made himself more comfortable on an overstuffed armchair by peeling off a black leather jacket.

“I just thought it was impossible for the London Games because it’s too far away (in East London). I (stayed in the village) in Athens when I was world number one and it was distracting, in a good way, but I just thought I’ve had the Olympic experience in the past.

“I’ve now got to do what I do best, and that’s

my routine and not change it just because it’s the Olympics. It is a bit egotistic but you have to do it that way.

“I stayed at a hotel in Beijing, it felt a bit odd but that’s how I got an Olympic (doubles) gold.

And I look back at this one as one of my great, great accomplishments in my life so I’ll do the same (routine) here. “I’ll rent the same house and do the same in 20 days and hopefully be successful,” said Federer.

While it seemed a done deal that the 30-yearold would carry the Swiss flag into the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony for the third Games running, Federer said he was still undecided whether to accept the honor.

“It’s been offered to me but I might give it to someone else. I’m in talks (about it). I haven’t decided yet but there should be an announcement in the next 10 days,” Federer said as he slipped his jacket back on over a blue checked shirt before striding out of the All England Club holding an official poster of this year’s championships.—Reuters

Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates with the trophy.

Potter wins Greenbrier Classic WEST VIRGINIA: PGA Tour rookie Ted Potter Jr. won his first title on the US circuit with a nerve-jangling playoff victory over fellow American Troy Kelly at the Greenbrier Classic in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia on Sunday.

As the late afternoon shadows lengthened on the Old White TPC Course, Potter sealed the win with a four-foot birdie putt at the third extra hole, the par-three 18th, after Kelly missed his attempt from 45 feet.

Left-hander Potter had a golden opportunity to wrap up victory one hole earlier, at the par-five 17th, but he lipped out with a birdie putt from five feet after Kelly had rolled in a 20-footer to save par. The two journeymen, who have played most of their golf on the ‘mini’ tours, finished the regulation 72 holes on 16-under-par 264, Kelly closing with a four-under 66 and Potter storming home birdie-par-eaglebirdie for a 64. “This was just a big relief after all the strug-

WEST VIRGINIA: Ted Potter, Jr. stands with the championship trophy after winning the Greenbrier Classic at the Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs.—AFP

gles the last few weeks, knowing that now I’ve got a couple of years to try to improve on my game and win some more tournaments,” Potter said after becoming the sixth first-time winner on the 2012 PGA Tour.

The 28-year-old, who earned his PGA Tour card by finishing second on the 2011 Nationwide Tour money list, had missed the cut in his five previous events.

“When you’re missing cuts every week, you get down on yourself,” said Potter, ranked 218th in the world. “But the plus side for me is I was still young. I just knew I had plenty of time, just be patient and it will come back around again.”

South Korean Charlie Wi eagled the 17th on the way to a 65 to share third place at 14 under with PGA Tour rookie Charlie Beljan (67). US Open champion Webb Simpson, two strokes ahead overnight in pursuit of a fourth PGA Tour title, tumbled backwards with three consecutive bogeys from the 12th to finish with a 73 in a five-way tie for seventh.

“It was just one of those unfortunate nine holes where all week everything had been going right and in nine holes everything couldn’t have gone worse,” Simpson said of his nightmare closing stretch.

For much of Sunday afternoon, the tournament appeared to come down to a head-to-head between world number five Simpson and 464th-ranked Kelly as they dueled for the title in the final pairing. Kelly made a fast start, birdies at the second and fourth, where he hit a superb approach to three feet, putting him in a tie for the lead with Simpson at 14 under.

He then birdied the par-four fifth to move one stroke clear of his playing partner, who safely parred the first five holes. Simpson regained a share of the lead when he sank a four-footer to birdie the seventh before Kelly fell back with a bogey on nine after finding the left rough off the tee and missing the green with his approach. Kelly again moved into a tie at the top with a birdie at the 11th, where he knocked in a three-footer, before Simpson began his slide backwards with bogeys at the 12th, where he three-putted, and at the 13th.

Kelly briefly moved two ahead of the pack after sinking an 11-footer to birdie the 14th before Potter took the tournament into a playoff with his barnstorming finish.

While Kelly was bitterly disappointed to miss out on a maiden PGA Tour title, he was able to celebrate a spot at this month’s British Open via a six-tournament money list that ended on Sunday.—Reuters

19

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

SPORTS

Chinese Super League spending may not last SHANGHAI: With the corrupt heading to jail and big name signings rolling in, Chinese soccer is basking in an unusually positive period, but experts have warned the galactico-style transfer policy is unsustainable and investment is being ploughed into the wrong areas.

China’s rich soccer club owners are not interested in hearing that though.

They are enjoying the boom time and flush with global media interest after enticing household names such as Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba from the sport’s traditional power bases of Europe. Drogba, fresh from scoring the decisive penalty in the Champions League final for Chelsea against Bayern Munich in May, is expected to arrive in China this week to join Shanghai Shenhua and earn a reported weekly wage of $300,000 a week.

He will line up in a Shanghai forward line already boasting former France international Nicolas Anelka, Colombian creative midfielder Giovanni Moreno and coached by former Argentine boss Sergio Batista.

Shanghai aren’t the only ones lavishly spending, however. League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande, who are coached by former Italian World Cup winner Marcello Lippi, are led by creative midfielder Conca, the Argentine previously the best paid player in the league. The investment is thanks in large part to the booming Chinese economy and domestic soccer keen to clear up their act. The dark days of rife corruption in the national league seemingly in the past with the recent 10-year jail sentences handed to former heads of soccer.

But there are fears about the long term future of such profligate spending. “I think such a trend might probably last for two to three more years.

Because this involves a lot of financial support to keep it going,” Lou Yichen, a renowned soccer commentator in Shanghai, told Reuters in a recent interview.

“I feel such a situation cannot be sustainable in the long term because most football clubs in the Chinese Super League cannot keep up with

such huge financial pressures.

“As seen from the current situation in China, no football club can be operated on a profitable basis. The amount of financial investment put into a football club and the returns you gather from it is not even comparable.

“We always hope that Chinese football can fly high in a short period of time, and be able to catch up with our neighbours such as Japan and South Korea. But even though we have such good thoughts, to a large extent we do not know in what way or to take which road to achieve such a target.”

The Chinese way though rarely involves patience. The global super power is used to seeing instant results and struggle to see why this is not the way in soccer.

China are currently 68th in the FIFA rankings behind Haiti, El Salvador and Sierra Leone, with their hopes of qualifying for a second World Cup in 2014 already over after early elimination.

The huge investment on the likes of Drogba and Conca are expected to inspire a nation of young footballers

and improve standards in the world’s most populous country. However, fans Reuters spoke to in Shanghai after the signing of Drogba said they wished the money could have been spent on the grassroots levels of the game to eventually benefit the national team.

“In everything, there are benefits and there are problems. I think with such big-name signings, they will benefit Chinese football more than harming it,” former Shanghai midfielder Fan Yun told Reuters.

“If you look at Europe, they also have foreign imports and there is not much of a problem on them sidelining their local talent. “(But) I feel more of the focus should still be on developing young talents.”

But developing young players, building training academies and employing innovative coaches to succeed with the 2030 World Cup in mind is not in the interests of flamboyant businessmen and club owners who are keen to be photographed with their expensive soccer assets at every opportunity.

But while heads turned in Africa, Europe and South America, many in China are yet to be convinced. Using Guangzhou as an example, Lou said that despite the club’s heavy investment - they are one of the few clubs to pay transfer fees - enticing spectators has proved problematic.

“We know that they are one of the most successful real estate companies in the country. So in terms of their investment, they can put in a lot of money and are stable. But in terms of the operation of the football club as a business, till today they have not earned a single cent.

“There is even news from behind the scenes saying that Guangzhou Evergrande gave away almost 10,000 free tickets for every match. Also if you look at the football merchandising sales, they are also not earning any profits.” Without a self-sustaining model, fans rely on the rich club owners to maintain their interest and investment or China would be back to the lower echelons of Asian soccer again.—Reuters

Cerro Porteno lift Paraguay title ASUNCION: Cerro Porteno won Paraguay’s Apertura championship when they beat arch-rivals Olimpia 2-1 on a final day marred by a spate of red cards on Sunday.

Having gone into the Asuncion derby at the national Defensores del Chaco stadium two points behind Olimpia in second place, Cerro Porteno had Uruguayan Walter Lopez sent off in the eighth minute for elbowing an opponent.

Numerical parity was restored within ten minutes when Olimpia, last year’s Clausura champions, had Peruvian Renzo Revoredo shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge.

Striker Santiago Salcedo, with a 36th minute penalty, and midfielder Jonathan Fabbro, with a free kick in the 65th, gave Cerro Porteno a two-goal lead.

Olimpia had midfielder Eduardo Aranda dismissed in the 68th for a second booking but they managed a consolation goal through substitute Arnaldo Castorino 15 minutes from time setting up a nail-biting finale.

Lowly Carapequa had three players sent off during their 1-0 defeat away to fourth-placed Sol de America.

Defenders Diego Cantero and Ruben Maldonado were dismissed in the second half, and substitute Diego Benitez was also shown the red card for protesting from the bench.—Reuters

ASUNCION: Cerro Porteno’s players celebrate at the end of the Paraguay’s soccer league final match against Olimpia. —AP

‘Geddo’ snatches late winner for Ahly SPAIN: Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta and his wife Anna Ortiz wave to the crowd during their wedding at the castle of Tamarit in Tarragona.—AP

Mancini extends City stay MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has agreed terms on a new deal that will keep the Italian at Eastlands for another five years, the English Premier League champions said yesterday. “Manchester City Football Club today are pleased to announce that a new contract has been agreed with manager Roberto Mancini,” said a club statement.

“The deal, which runs until the summer of 2017, follows the club’s most successful season in more than four decades, which concluded in the most dramatic of circumstances in the team’s thrilling 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers in May this year.”

That victory, on the final day of the season, saw City crowned champions of England for the first time in 44 years as they pipped local rivals and defending title-holders Manchester United to the Premier League trophy on goal difference.

Former Inter Milan boss Mancini replaced Mark Hughes, now in charge of top-flight rivals Queens Park Rangers, when the Welshman was sacked in December 2009.

In his first full season with City, Mancini ended the club’s 35-year wait for major silverware by guiding the team to the FA Cup and also secured Champions League football with a third-place finish in the Premier League.

“I am delighted to be able to give all of my efforts to Manchester City for a further five years,” Mancini told City’s official website yesterday.

“The opportunity which exists to build on our recent success is enormous.

Manchester City is a fantastic football club, from the owner, chairman, board and the executive team, through to the players, staff and fans,” the 47-year-old former Italy forward added. “I am very much looking forward to the challenges and excitement ahead.”—AFP

SINGAPORE: Manchester United’s Nani watches as school boys show off their skills at a local school. Nani is in the city-state for a holiday and also to support the Peter Lim Scholarship, which is part of the Singapore Olympic Foundation, giving out scholarships to needy students to further their career in sports. —AP

JOHANNESBURG: Goal poacher Mohamed ‘Geddo’ Nagy scored in the final minute to snatch a 2-1 win for Al Ahly of Egypt over TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday in the CAF Champions League.

His dramatic match day-one winner behind closed doors at the Military Academy Stadium in Cairo came after Mazembe had defender Joel Kimwaki sent off before they equalised with 10 men through substitute midfielder Mbwana Samata.

Veteran striker Emad Moteab put the Red Devils ahead 11 minutes into a clash of sixtime African champions Ahly and four-time African champions Mazembe, who were runners-up to Inter Milan in the 2010 Club World Cup. ‘Geddo’ sprang to international prominence at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, finishing leading scorer with five

goals for champions Egypt despite never starting a match.

Security concerns amid post-Arab spring political tensions in Egypt meant only media were permitted to attend the match at the 35,000-capacity stadium in the Egyptian capital.

A hat-trick from leading 2012 CAF Champions League scorer Emmanuel Clottey earned debutants Berekum Chelsea of Ghana a 3-2 home victory over Zamalek of Egypt on Saturday in another Group B thriller. New signing Abdoulaye Cisse from Burkina Faso put the visitors ahead twice during the first half at Accra Sports Stadium with Clottey on target once and denied twice by the woodwork.

Clottey levelled again early in the second half and tapped home the winner a minute into stoppage time to give Chelsea a perfect start as they seek to emulate their London namesakes and win a Champions

League. Defending champions Esperance of Tunisia made a successful start in Group A thanks to a 2-0 victory over Sunshine Stars of Nigeria in Ijebu Ode through first-half goals from Youssef Msakni and Cameroonborn Yannick Ndjeng.

Etoile Sahel completed a wonderful weekend for Tunisian clubs by winning 1-0 away to ASO Chlef of Algeria with midfielder Aymen Belaid scoring the only goal just seven minutes into the first half.

A well rehearsed free-kick drill saw the ball floated toward the far post from where it was headed to the inrushing Belaid and he nodded the ball across the goalkeeper and into the far corner.

Esperance host Chlef, Etoile entertain Sunshine, Chelsea visit Mazembe and Zamalek and Ahly clash in a Cairo derby when the second round of mini-league fixtures are staged over the weekend of July 20-22.—AFP

Fluminense down Flamengo RIO DE JANEIRO: Fluminense celebrated the 100th anniversary of the great Rio de Janeiro ‘clasico’ with a 1-0 victory over city arch-rivals Flamengo on Sunday.

Brazil striker Fred scored the winner in the 11th minute of “FluFla” derby when he rammed home Thiago Neves’s cross on a rain-sodden pitch at the Engenhao.

The victory put Fluminense second in the Brazilian championship standings, one point behind Atletico Mineiro who beat promoted Portuguesa 2-0.

After eight matches, Mineiro have 19 points, Fluminense 18 and Vasco da Gama, who were held 1-1 at Figueirense, 17.

The first Fla-Flu, known as the “Classic of the Multitudes”, was played on July 7, 1912. Brazilian soccer statistics say it holds the world record for the largest crowd at a club match with more than 194,000 watching the Carioca state championship final at the giant Maracana stadium in 1963. On Sunday, though, with the Maracana closed for 2014 World Cup refurbishment, less than 40,000 went to the match at Rio’s Olympic stadium, the Engenhao.

One of the biggest rivalries in Brazilian soccer began when, six months before the first derby, nine Fluminense first team players left and started a team at Flamengo, which was then only a rowing club. The derby has been played 391 times with Flamengo

winning 139 times and Fluminense 124. The poor weather did not dampen the party atmosphere with a curtain-raiser between teams of former players of both sides before kickoff and a music show at halftime.

Santos beat Gremio 4-2, their first win in the championship, in only their second match with their full first team after concentrating on the Libertadores Cup until their elimination as holders in the quarter-finals by new South American champions

Corinthians. Santos have eight points. Late yesterday, they will lose striker Neymar, midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso and goalkeeper Rafael Cabral to the Brazil side taking part in the London Olympics soccer tournament. Sao Paulo defeated Coritiba 3-1 with their new coach Nei Franco, who has replaced Emerson Leao, watching from the stands. On Saturday, Internacional’s fans gave new signing Diego Forlan a rousing welcome before their

2-1 home win over Cruzeiro which the Uruguay captain watched from th e B e i r a - R i o stands in Porto Alegre after joining the southern Brazilian club from Inter Milan. There was an equally spectacular reception by Botafogo at the Engenhao on Saturday for their new recruit, former Dutch international Clarence Seedorf, who landed on the pitch in a helicopter before their kickoff against Bahia, a 3-0 home victory.—Reuters

BRAZIL: Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf (right) receives from Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro, a T-shirt that reads in Portuguese: ‘The most Carioca from the Dutch’ at the City Palace in Rio de Janeiro.—AP

Choi clinches US Women’s Open

Nigeria snatch final London berth

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Iraqi Olympians aim for medals, unity

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FRANCE : A combination picture shows (from top, left to right) a fan waiting for riders on the roadside with a British flag, stage second-placed and third placed in the overall standings, Great Britain’s Christopher Froome, sprinting on the finish line, Tour de France 2011 winner, Australia’s Cadel Evans, concentrating before competing and stage winner and overall leader’s yellow jersey, British Bradley Wiggins, celebrating at the end of the ninth stage of the 2012 Tour de France.—AFP

Wiggins blitzes Evans to extend lead BESANCON: Bradley Wiggins tightened his grip on the yellow jersey with a maiden Tour de France victory that heaped the pressure on defending champion Cadel Evans yesterday.

Britain’s Olympic track champion Wiggins was widely expected to increase his overnight lead of 10sec on his Australian rival on the first of two long time trials to feature in the 99th edition.

But by the end of a 41.5 km solo race that had seen former four-time world champion Fabian Cancellara finish 57sec in arrears, Wiggins had pushed his advantage over the Australian to 1min 53sec.

The icing on the cake for Team Sky was Chris Froome’s second place at 35sec, two days after the Kenyan-born Briton claimed his maiden stage at the first hilltop finish at La Planche des Belles Filles.

Evans’s American teammate Tejay Van Garderen was fourth at 1:06, just ahead of French time trial champion Sylvain Chavanel in sixth at 1:24.

Evans, who finished sixth at 1:43, admitted his surprise that Wiggins and Froome had “got first and second in the time trial”. But he added: “They were exceptional.

“When you’re out there on your own, there’s not much you can do, you do what you can. But there’s still a lot more racing to be done before Paris.”

Wiggins’ priority had been to distance his rivals for the yellow jersey.

But soon after turning on the turbos from the start of the slightly technical rolling course, it was clear he would be giving Evans a small mountain to climb ahead of two days in the high Alps tomorrow and Thursday. “I knew from the first pedal turn that I felt fantastic,” said the 32-year-old Londoner.

“But to go from that to winning the stage, it’s just fantastic. “We came here and did a good reconnaissance of the course, which has lots of little bends and is quite technical at the finish.

“But today wasn’t about winning. I was thinking

more about the GC (general classification) battle with (Vincenzo) Nibali and Cadel. The stage wasn’t my priority.”

Italian Nibali, an aggressive racer who could become a key ally of Evans’ in the mountains, did well to finish at 2:07 and is now fourth overall at 2:23.

Russian Denis Menchov, a former winner of the Tour of Spain and Giro d’Italia, in fifth at 3:02.

Despite getting the job done, Wiggins is not celebrating yet.

“After the rest day today it will be a whole different ball game,” he said. “And anything can happen, a bad day or a crash, so let’s just take it a day at a time.” Evans sealed victory in 2011 with a strong time trial performance on stage 19 last year.

But despite being encouraged with a time that was superior to world champion Tony Martin and only 46 secs behind Cancellara, he will have no option but to shake things up in the mountain

stages ahead. “It wasn’t my best time trial but certainly not a bad one, and in comparison to the other time triallists like Cancellara and Martin and so on it seems that I wasn’t so off the mark,” said Evans.

Asked what his approach would now be, he added: “Same as always. Fight to the end and don’t give up. “It hasn’t been optimal so far the Tour, 1:53 down is not the best position to be in compared to last year when I was only two seconds down (at the same stage). “But we’ll reassess the situation day by day and we don’t give up, that’s for sure, we don’t give up.”

Meanwhile, seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong filed a lawsuit yesterday in US District Court to stop US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officials from pushing forward with doping charges against him.

The legal move, coming in the US cycling legend’s hometown, claims USADA rules are a violation of his US constitutional right to a fair trial and

Deschamps signs two year deal with France

Terry ‘racially abused Ferdinand after taunt’ LONDON: Chelsea and England defender John Terry racially abused rival footballer Anton Ferdinand in response to taunts about his alleged affair with a teammate’s girlfriend, a court heard yesterday.

Terry was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence following the emergence of video footage appearing to show him abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Ferdinand during a Premier League match last October.

The 31-year-old Chelsea captain allegedly called Ferdinand-the younger brother of Terry’s England colleague Rio Ferdinand-a “fucking black cunt”, Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London heard as the trial opened.

He also allegedly called Ferdinand a “fucking knobhead” as the pair traded insults over a penalty claim. Lip-reader Susan Whitehood, assessing the footage of the incident, told the court that the video showed Terry using these words.

Terry maintains that he was only sarcastically repeating words that Ferdinand, who is mixed-race, wrongly thought he had said earlier.

“When someone brings your colour into it, it takes it to another level and it’s very hurtful,” Ferdinand, 27, told the court as Terry watched from the dock.

The QPR player said he did not initially believe that any racist terms had been used. He said he had shaken hands with Terry and accepted the verbal clashes as “banter”.

But after the match, Ferdinand’s then-girlfriend showed him a YouTube clip of the altercation which convinced him that Terry had used racist language, he told the court.

He added that if he had realised at the time what had been said, he “probably would have let the officials know what happened and dealt with it after the game.” Terry was allowed out of the dock to watch footage of the alleged racial abuse.

If found guilty, he could be fined up to £2,500 (3,150 euros, $3,850), although the damage to the Chelsea captain’s lucrative commercial deals would likely be far greater.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny said Terry’s words “demonstrated hostility based on Mr Ferdinand’s membership or presumed membership of a racial group”.

The insult was made “most probably in response to physical gestures being made by Ferdinand which the defendant understood to refer to the wellpublicised allegation of an extra-marital affair with a teammate’s girlfriend,” Penny said.

Allegations emerged in 2010 that Terry, who is married, had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of his then England teammate Wayne Bridge.

Questioning Ferdinand, Terry ’s lawyer George Carter-Stephenson suggested that the QPR player made up the racist abuse claim after his jibe about Perroncel did not have “the

that USADA lacks jurisdiction in his specific case.

Armstrong, who has denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs, also claims that USADA chief executive Travis T. Tygart is pursuing a personal vendetta upon Armstrong, who won the Tour de France from 1999 through 2005.

Armstrong, who has retired from cycling, could be stripped of his Tour de France triumphs and banned from the sport for life if convicted.

“It is a testament to USADA’s brazenness and callous disregard for its own mission that it seeks to strip Mr. Armstrong of his life’s work,” Armstrong’s attorneys said in the lawsuit.

“The process (USADA) seek to force upon Lance Armstrong is not a fair process and truth is not its goal.” Armstrong wants a federal judge to prohibit USADA pushing its case to an arbitration hearing panel, the next step in procedures that could lead to the case being settled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.—AFP

LONDON: A file picture taken on January 28, 2012, shows Chelsea’s English defender John Terry (left) in action as Queens Park Rangers’ English defender Anton Ferdinand looks on at Loftus Road in London.—AFP

desired effect” of winding Terry up.

Ferdinand denied inventing the allegation, though he admitted he had been trying to rile Terry as he was angry at the Chelsea captain for trying to get a penalty and because he “barged me in the back for no reason”.

A few supporters outside shouted “Good luck, John!” to Terry as he arrived at court, wearing a grey suit and pink tie. He did not speak to reporters. At an earlier hearing Terry’s lawyers entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

His trial was delayed until after the Euro 2012 championships after a judge heard that a number of other Chelsea

players would be unable to appear as witnesses until the end of the football season.

Terry was stripped of the England captaincy by the English Football Association in February as a result of the racial abuse allegations. Fabio Capello resigned as England coach following that decision. The case also caused friction when Terry was selected for the Euro 2012 squad last month but Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was left out.

Rio Ferdinand sent a message of support to his brother Anton yesterday, tweeting: “Head high bruv.” The trial is expected to last five days.—AFP

PARIS: France’s new coach Didier Deschamps yesterday signed a two year contract with Les Bleus, with an additional two years should he succeed in qualifying the side for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The 43-year-old, who captained France to the 1998 World Cup title and Euro 2000, put pen to paper 24 hours after being named as the successor to Laurent Blanc, who stood down after Euro 2012.

Deschamps, who became the favorite to succeed his fellow World Cup and Euro winning team-mate Blanc when he quit as coach of Marseille last Monday, appeared at a press conference alongside France Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet.

“He (Deschamps) will be manager for two years with a further two years if we qualify for the World Cup,” confirmed Le Graet. Elaborating on how the FFF went about getting their man Le Graet said: “Laurent (Blanc) made his decision (to stand down) on the Friday (June 29). I made contact with Didier, and only with Didier, yesterday-he was the first choice. “There was no plan B.” Deschamps, who since hanging up his boots has had spells managing Serie A giants Juventus and French outfit Monaco who he guided to the 2004 Champions League final, told the press conference: “The players no longer have the right to make mistakes.” That comment is a reference to France’s implosion after a player mutiny at the 2010 World Cup, and the renewed discord in the camp at

Euro 2012 which ended prematurely for Blanc’s men when they were beaten by eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals.

Deschamps’ first task will be to prepare the squad for a high profile friendly with Copa America champions and World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay in Le Havre on August 15 while their first World Cup qualifier is against Finland on September 7.

However, with just one automatic qualifying spot up for grabs in the shape of group winners, France face a tough task to take that one as twotime European champions and World Cup holders Spain are in the same group. Belarus and Georgia are the other two sides.

For Deschamps, two of the most important elements he wants to see from his team are “the concept of a group and spirit”.

He told the assembled media: “I am not here to threaten or anything like that, I’ve got confidence, but today the situation of French football, and we have to be all behind this, is such that the players don’t have any room for error.”

“Today they can no longer be allowed the slightest leeway,” insisted Deschamps, who added that he was awaiting the FFF’s verdict on the four French players in the dock for rocking Blanc’s Euro 2012 boat.

The quartet - Samir Nasri, Jeremy Menez, Yann Mvila and Hatem Ben Arfa - have a date with the FFF’s disciplinary commission to explain their part in France’s turbulent campaign in Ukraine and Poland.—AFP

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Boeing lands first blow at airshow

China inflation falls, leeway for stimulus Page 25

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BRUSSELS: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi (center right) arrives with European deputy Sharon Bowles (center left) to attend the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament for their regular monetary dialogue at the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday.—AFP

Spain to get longer to reach budget goal States asked to implement promised reforms BRUSSELS: Europe will grant Spain an extra year to reach its deficit targets after it outlines further budget savings to finance ministers meeting in Brussels, diplomats said yesterday.

Although no final decision is expected at a Eurogroup meeting of euro-zone finance ministers for a bailout of Spain’s banks, a wider gathering of EU finance chiefs today is set to ease a debt goal that has pressured Madrid to make punishing cuts that are exacerbating a recession.

Spanish and Italian borrowing costs continued to rise yesterday towards levels considered unsustainable in the long term as investors saw little chance of a respite in the euro zone’s debt crisis from the Brussels meetings. “Spain’s budget consolidation targets will be adjusted to give it an extra year,” said one of the diplomats.

“This is not a unilateral move. Spain needs to make the necessary cuts to reach that goal and this will be discussed yesterday at the Ecofin (meeting of ministers). I expect the extra year to be granted.”

The European Commission will propose easing Madrid’s deficit goal for this year to 6.3 percent of economic output, 4.5 percent for 2013 and 2.8 percent for 2014, officials said.

The new figures highlighted Spain’s dramatic fiscal slippage. Madrid was originally supposed to cut its budget shortfall to 4.4 percent this year. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy unilaterally changed the target to 5.8 percent in March before eventually accepting an agreed goal of 5.3 percent.

The Commission will make the new proposal yesterday to the EU’s finance ministers, who would have to agree for the targets to become binding, two officials told Reuters. Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos will spell out at the meeting his government’s plan for a package of up to 30 billion euros over several years through spending cuts and tax hikes that are due to be announced tomorrow. A source close to the Spanish government said 10 billion euros of cuts would come this year and that the measures would include a VAT hike, reduced social security payments, reduced unemployment benefits and changes to pensions calculations.

Madrid had been due to reduce its national deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product by the end of 2013. But a deep recession has put that beyond reach.

A decision on the full details of a crucial rescue for the country’s banks is also due.

A Spanish government source said it

Euro-zone fragmenting faster than EU can act PARIS: Signs are growing that Europe’s economic and monetary union may be fragmenting faster than policymakers can repair it. Euro-zone leaders agreed in principle on June 29 to establish a joint banking supervisor for the 17-nation single currency area, based on the European Central Bank, although most of the crucial details remain to be worked out.

The proposal was a tentative first step towards a European banking union that could eventually feature a joint deposit guarantee and a bank resolution fund, to prevent bank runs or collapses sending shock waves around the continent.

The leaders agreed that the euro-zone’s permanent bailout fund, the 500 billion euro ($620 billion) European Stability Mechanism, would be able to inject capital directly into banks on strict conditions once the joint supervisor is established. But the rush to put first elements of such a system in place by next year may come too late.

Deposit flight from Spanish banks has been gaining pace and it is not clear a euro zone agreement to lend Madrid up to 100 billion euros in rescue funds will reverse the flows if investors fear Spain may face a full sovereign bailout. Many banks are reorganizing, or being forced to reorganize, along national lines, accentuating a deepening north-south divide within the currency bloc.

An invisible financial wall, potentially as dangerous as the Iron Curtain that once divided eastern and western Europe, is slow-

ly going up inside the euro area.

The interest rate gap between north European creditor countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, whose borrowing costs are at an all-time low, and southern debtor countries like Spain and Italy, where bond yields have risen to near pre-euro levels, threatens to entrench a lasting divergence. Since government credit ratings and bond yields effectively set a floor for the borrowing costs of banks and businesses in their jurisdiction, the bestmanaged Spanish or Italian banks or companies have to pay far more for loans, if they can get them, than their worst-managed German or Dutch peers.

The longer that situation goes on, the less chance there is of a recovery in southern Europe and the bigger will grow the wealth gap between north and south. With ever-higher unemployment and poverty levels in southern countries, a political backlash, already fierce in Greece and seething in Spain and Italy, seems inexorable. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi acknowledged as he cut interest rates last week that the north-south disconnect was making it more difficult to run a single monetary policy. Two huge injections of cheap three-year loans into the euro-zone banking system this year, amounting to 1 trillion euros, bought only a few months’ respite. “It is not clear that there are measures that can be effective in a highly fragmented area,” Draghi told journalists.— Reuters

would sign a memorandum of understanding yesterday in Brussels regarding the rescue, which would be followed on July 20 by a full loan agreement. As part of that, it will agree to create a single bad bank to house toxic assets from its banking sector.

Spain has requested a bailout of up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion). While it strives to cut its debts and shore up its struggling banks, it has pleaded for help to get down its borrowing costs. Spanish 10year government bond yields above seven percent are not sustainable indefinitely.

“At this moment the only institution that has enough money to act is the ECB,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said at a conference. “For that reason, the ECB should intervene in markets, it should start massive purchases of public debt so that speculators understand that they will lose their bets against the euro.”

The European Central Bank has proved markedly reluctant to revive its bond-buying program.

Alongside Spain, euro-zone ministers will also be confronted with the need to decide on a new structure for cross-border banking supervision, how to use euro zone bailout money, aid to Cyprus and whether

to grant concessions to Greece, which has admitted it is missing its bailout program targets.

A key part of a plan agreed by eurozone leaders at a summit last month is to give the ECB a central role in the cross-border supervision of banks, which would then allow the permanent rescue fund - the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)- to recapitalize banks directly instead of via governments.

ECB President Mario Draghi, testifying to the European Parliament before ministers meet, called on governments to fully implement promised economic reforms and governance improvements to remove tension in financial markets. Euro-zone countries needed to send a message to investors that “The euro is here to stay - and the euro area will take the necessary steps to ensure that,” he told lawmakers.

Draghi praised Portugal’s progress with its EU/IMF adjustment program, said Spain remained fully committed and lauded Italy’s public spending review, but he said some indebted countries were slipping into recession because they were raising taxes instead of cutting spending. He appeared to be referring notably to France. — Reuters

Egypt stocks plunge as president defies army MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Egypt’s benchmark index made its largest drop in three weeks yesterday after the new president ordered parliament to reconvene, challenging military authority, while Saudi Arabia shares also slid following protests in its oil-producing east.

Cairo’s bourse fell 4.2 percent, its largest decline since June 19, with parliament set to meet today. This would overturn a court judgment and military order last month that dissolved the legislature. “People fear further escalation from the military,” said Ashraf Akhnoukh at CIBC brokerage. “Two days ago the market was a screaming buy - everyone was buying, even internationals who were the main sellers since the start of the year.”

Saudi Arabia’s index dropped 1.4 percent.

The kingdom yesterday said two men were killed in protests in a Shiite Muslim area following the arrest of a prominent Shi’ite cleric.

These demonstrations were one of several factors weighing on investor confidence, said Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments in Dubai.

“Saudi’s market is very resilient to regional instability when commodity prices are holding up, but they have fallen a lot in the past two months,” he said. “The drop in commodity prices directly affects government income and spending plans, plus there is political instability, whether it’s Syria or Iran.”

US crude has dropped 20 percent since May 1 on worries a slowing global economy

will impact demand. Shares in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the kingdom’s largest listed firm, fell 1.1 percent. The petrochemical producer’s second-quarter profit is forecast to decline 18.8 percent, according to a Reuters poll of analysts. “Petrochemical earnings will be interesting because a lot of end-product prices weakened and were very volatile in Q2,” said Ibrahim Masood, senior investment officer at Mashreq. Zain Saudi fell 4.5 percent to a new record low as shareholders cut positions to avoid being diluted in the indebted telecom operator’s $1.6 billion rights issue, which starts today.

The firm, which is 25-percent owned by Kuwait’s Zain , has yet to make a quarterly profit and last week cut its capital to alleviate multi-billion dollar accumulated losses, with the rights issue being used largely to ease some of its debts. “The launch of the rights issue is just a preliminary step - Zain Saudi faces a very big challenge to get current shareholders to participate,” said Amine Bentaleb, director of asset management at Arqaam Capital in Dubai.

“Zain has guaranteed the rights issue should other shareholders decide not to subscribe and so its stake in Zain Saudi will probably increase. “If Zain holds more than 50 percent of Zain Saudi’s shares it will have to consolidate the Saudi company at a group level, which would add a hefty loss to its balance sheet.” Zain’s shares ended unchanged, down 21 percent in 2012. — Reuters

‘Euro is here to stay:’ ECB chief BRUSSELS: The head of the European Central Bank pledged yesterday to do everything needed to preserve the embattled single currency, vowing the “euro is here to stay” and downplaying current market turmoil. Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels, Mario Draghi stressed: “The euro is here to stay and the euro area will take the necessary steps to ensure that.” “Why then do we still have tensions in a number of market segments?

Let me first stress that a lot has been done at country as well as euro area level in terms of economic reforms and governance. But we need full implementation,” he added.

He called for the euro-zone to “move towards a further sharing of sovereignty in the fiscal, financial and economic domains.” Following a cut in interest rates to a historic low of 0.75 percent on Thursday, Draghi said that the current market conditions were not as bad as six months ago.

“I have said many times that if you compare today’s world with six months ago .. when we were at the closest to a major credit accident ... the world is a completely different one,” he told European deputies.

Draghi reiterated the ECB’s view was that there would be a “weakening of growth and heightened uncertainty” in the second quarter of 2012.

Nevertheless, he said that further ahead, he expected the euro area to “recover gradually, albeit with dampened momentum.” — AFP

Growth, Euro fears send shares lower LONDON/NEW YORK: World shares fell yesterday as investors shied away from riskier assets, unnerved by a darkening global growth outlook and mounting doubts of speedy progress to resolve Europe’s debt crisis. The euro recovered from a two-year low against the dollar, but remained fragile as the optimism raised by last month’s EU deal to help indebted states and banks faded. Yields on benchmark Spanish and Italian bonds were also moving up to levels considered unsustainable.

Wall Street opened modestly lower after data in Asia raised concerns about slower economic growth there.

Investors were also looking ahead to earnings season with Aloca reporting results at the end of the day.

But it was a meeting of euro zone finance chiefs later yesterday which held center stage, with doubts growing over whether they will make much progress on plans for a single euro zone bank regulator, or on how the region’s new bailout fund can be used to reduce a country’s borrowing costs. “In terms of progress, we might actually see a bit more clarification on where we are, but I don’t think progress is necessarily the word you use here,” said Rob Carnell, international economist at ING. The euro was last up 0.1 percent against the dollar at $1.2294, off a low of $1.2255 hit in thin early trade as traders reported demand to sell the currency above $1.2300. But time was looking to be running out for Spain, where 10-year government bond yields were 10 basis points higher at 7.08 percent, a borrowing cost widely regarded as unsustainable for any euro zone government.

Equivalent Italian debt followed the Spanish debt higher , rising a similar amount to 6.13 percent.— Reuters

22

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

BUSINESS

Xstrata hands Glencore more time for Qatar talks Shareholders likely to meet on July 12 LONDON: Glencore and rival shareholder Qatar could be granted weeks more to hammer out a deal over the terms of the commodity trader’s planned takeover of miner Xstrata, easing speculation that the current deadlock could put the deal on ice. Xstrata will this week set a fresh date for investors to vote on Glencore’s proposed $26 billion takeover offer probably in September to allow for the European summer break, the Olympics in London and half-year results from both the miner and the trader, sources familiar with the matter said.

Xstrata shareholders had been due to meet on July 12, but the miner was forced to delay the vote late last month after adjusting retention packages for its executives in response to shareholder outcry over mostly cash deals.

The new vote date, likely to be at least 24 days after supplementary documents are published this week, is still moveable.

But sources familiar with the matter and analysts agree it will mark a deadline of sorts and certainly a goal for negotiations between Xstrata’s top shareholder Glencore, and Qatar, which is demanding an improved offer from the trader.

Talks between Glencore and Qatar -

which has built up an 11 percent stake in Xstrata and carved out a role as kingmaker in the long-awaited merger - have made little or no progress over the last two weeks, with both sides indicating they are sticking to their guns. Qatar said last week it was firm in its demand for Glencore to improve its offer to 3.25 new Glencore shares for every Xstrata share held, up from the current 2.8 ratio. But the sources and analysts said neither Glencore nor Qatar were likely to yield until obliged.

“The Glencore guys are traders, they have a trading mentality, so they will not move before they have to,” one source familiar with the matter said. “ That means they could leave any change in the ratio until 14 days before the new (shareholder meeting).”

After the 14-day mark, a deadline set by regulators, Glencore can still improve its offer ratio, but the shareholder vote would potentially have to be pushed back again. The Qataris also have little incentive to move for now.

“The longer this drags on, the better for the Qataris. They are long-term investors, they can raise their stake and other powerful shareholders may align

said last week.

“From a strategic perspective, buying Xstrata cheaper a year from now might not be a bad option. Of course, I don’t know if they can do that - the Qataris might not accept a cheaper price a year from now,” LaFemina said. Yet putting the deal on hold could hamper Glencore’s acquisition plans and even delay a plan to increase its stake in Kazzinc in Kazakhstan.

Analysts have considered the potential for Glencore to shift the structure of the deal, from a “scheme of arrangement” - which requires 75 percent of shareholders, excluding Glencore itself, to back the merger - to a straightforward takeover structure, which would require a simple majority. Changing the structure, which means shareholders representing just 16.5 percent of Xstrata’s total shareholding can sink the offer, would take Qatar out of the driving seat. But a shift to a takeover would need approval from Xstrata’s board - something most analysts and sources say is unlikely.

It would also in principle require an improved offer as takeovers, unlike mergers, normally carry a control premium. — Reuters

behind them,” the source said. Activist investor Knight Vinke, a top-20 shareholder in Xstrata, last week publicly backed Qatar.

Both sides are also expected to wait for earnings statements for the first six months of the year, due for both Glencore and Xstrata in August, before making a move. A strong performance

by Glencore’s trading business could support its ratio proposal, as would a weak per formance or poor outlook from Xstrata, though this year’s drop in thermal coal prices is unlikely to have fed through yet. A September deadline could also bring the merger into line with regulatory timetables, as EU competition lawyers point out that an EU merger notification is unlikely to be filed at the height of the European summer.

Both sides insist they are under no time pressure, but several analysts and industry sources have said the standoff between Glencore and Qatar could still end with the deal being put on ice for now. “The deal doesn’t have to happen now. It is important for Glencore ... for the merger to happen, but it doesn’t have to happen imminently,” analyst Chris LaFemina at brokerage Jefferies

Sinopec to lift less Saudi crude in Aug BEIJING/Tokyo: China’s top refiner, Sinopec Corp, will lift less crude from top exporter Saudi Arabia next month, an industry source said yesterday, as it extends cuts for a second straight month.

Typically, oil demand dips in the second quarter in a transition from heating usage to summer gasoline demand in the Northern Hemisphere and many Asian and European refiners carry out planned maintenance. Consumption revives from July as homes and offices burn more energy to run air conditioners. The cut in imports from Saudi Arabia next month will be less than July, the industry source said, without giving details on the volumes. Imports will fall due to refinery maintenance, he said, declining to be identified because he was not authorized to talk to media.

Tianjin Petrochemical Corp, a unit of Sinopec, plans to shut its 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude processing facility and a 1 million ton per year (tpy) ethylene complex from mid-August until the end of September.

Asia’s top refiner, which takes in 80 percent of China’s Saudi crude imports, is already cutting production in July for the second month as inventories bulged and margins fell due to slowing demand.

The other two Chinese Saudi crude buyers will lift full contract volumes for August, sources at the refineries told Reuters. Saudi Arabia will supply full contracted volumes of crude to other Asian term buyers in August, despite an unexpected increase in the official selling price (OSP) this month.

Saudi Arabia has raised the August official selling price (OSP) for its light crude for Asia for July, state run oil firm Saudi Aramco said.

Sources told Reuters than Saudi suppliers will be meeting the term commitments for buyers in Japan and South Korea.

Big buyers of Iranian crude may also ask for extra Saudi supplies if necessary, a source at a north Asian refinery said.

Most big importers of Iranian crude have cut back on their purchases because of tough western sanctions imposed due to concerns over the nation’s nuclear program. Top buyer China is disputing freight costs for shipping crude, while Japan and South Korea have halted all Iranian imports this month. India also plans to reduce July loadings.

Saudi Arabia, the OPEC kingpin, has consistently supplied full contractual volumes to most Asian buyers since late 2009. — Reuters

News

in brief

Qatar budget surplus up to $12bn in 2011/12 DUBAI: Qatar ’s government budget surplus jumped to 44.5 billion riyals ($12.2 billion) in its 2011/12 fiscal year which ended in March, double the original plan, a prospectus for the country’s Islamic bond showed yesterday. The surplus stood at 12.8 billion riyals in the previous fiscal year. The OPEC member’s expenditure rose to a record 158.9 billion riyals last fiscal year from 142.7 billion in 2010/11, the prospectus also showed. Revenue soared to 203.4 billion riyals from 155.5 billion.

Saudi builder Dar to repay $1bn sukuk DUBAI: Saudi builder Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Co yesterday said it will repay a $1 billion Islamic bond, or sukuk, at maturity on July 16. “Dar has taken all the steps for redemption through the principal paying agent,” the company said in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai bourse.

Dar, the kingdom’s largest property developer, had said earlier that it would use cash and proceeds from land sales to repay the bond. The company’s floating rate sukuk was bid close to par, as it came closer to maturity. Its shares were trading down 3.5 percent on the Saudi bourse yesterday.

Iraq seeks 291,000tn kerosene for Sept-Feb SINGAPORE: Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) is seeking 291,000 tons of kerosene for delivery over September to February, similar volumes from its earlier term contracts, industry sources said yesterday. The company is seeking the fuel for delivery into Khor Al-Zubair terminal through a tender sent to selected parties.

The tender closed on July 1, with offers to remain valid for 20 days. SOMO last sought a similar volume for delivery over January to June this year, but details on that term contract are not known.

Kerosene is used as heating fuel in the country where winters can get chilly. Years of war and underinvestment have left Iraq grappling to rebuild its infrastructure, making it one of the biggest fuel importers in the region. SOMO has an existing gasoil contract with Vitol to import nearly 500,000 tons every month from July to December.

Iraq uses gasoil to generate power.

NPCC-Technip JV wins $817m Abu Dhabi deal

INGOLSTADT: Employees of Audi work at an assembly line of Audi Q3 cars in Ingolstadt, southern Germany. Audi, one of Volkswagen AG’s luxury brands, saw sales jump 13 percent in June due to stronger demand in the company’s home market of Germany as well as the US and China. The company sold 133,050 vehicles worldwide, up from 117,608 in June 2011. Sales rose 15 percent in Germany, 26 percent in the US and 20 percent in China. — AP

ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi-based oil and gas services contractor National Petroleum Construction Co (NPCC) and French group Technip have been jointly awarded a nearly 3 billion dirham ($817 million) contract to build offshore facilities at an oil field in Abu Dhabi, two sources said. The contract is for the first phase of Zakum Development Co’s (Zadco) expansion at its offshore oil field whose production will rise 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) when completed, one of the sources told Reuters yesterday.

“This is one of the big contracts NPCC and Technip have jointly won in Abu Dhabi this year. The two will be bidding for some more projects,” a second source familiar with the matter said. Zadco, which operates the Upper Zakum field that is ranked as the world’s fourth largest by the company, produces 500,000 bpd and plans to lift that to 750,000 by 2015. The second phase of the project where bidding is under way will increase production by 150,000 bpd.

Zadco is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company which holds a 60 percent stake. — 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 Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4320000 .3420000 .2850000 .2730000 .2840000 .0040000 .0020000 .0761760 .7421590 .3850000 .0720000 .7275550 .0040000 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2806000 GB Pound/KD .4346070 Euro .3447450 Swiss francs .2869850 Canadian dollars .2753410 Danish Kroner .0463440 Swedish Kroner .0398830 Australian dlr .2857630 Hong Kong dlr .0361910 Singapore dlr .2204930 Japanese yen .0035230 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0764270 Bahraini dinars .7445930 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0748470 Omani riyals .7291150 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 .4420000 .3510000 .2980000 .2810000 .2920000 .0070000 .0035000 .0769410 .7496180 .4050000 .0780000 .7348670 .0072000 .0510000 .2827000 .4378600 .3473250 .2891330 .2774020 .0466910 .0401820 .2879020 .0364610 .2221440 .0035490 .0050890 .0021270 .0030200 .0034700 .0769990 .7501660 .3998590 .0754070 .7345720 .0067830

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

47.200 730.940 3.110 6.950 77.840 75.130 222.850 36.340 2.680 440.400 41.100 291.800 4.400 9.270 198.263 76.720 281.800 1.350

10 Tola

GOLD 1,687.900

Sterling Pound US Dollar

730.760 3.000 6.743 77.410 75.130 222.850 36.340 2.100 438.400 290.300 4.400 9.100 76.620 281.400

SELL CASH

SELL DRAFT

291.200 748.360 3.670 280.100 552.700 45.900 47.500 167.800 48.490 350.700 36.970 5.290 0.032 0.161 0.236 3.630 398.780 0.190 91.730 44.900 4.320 228.600 1.823

289.700 748.360 3.435 276.600

222.900 46.460 349.200 36.820 5.075 0.031

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 438.400 281.400

COUNTRY

SELL DRAFT

SELL CASH

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

292.41 281.08 293.19 349.78 281.40 439.58 3.61 3.442 5.084 2.108 3.188 2.990 76.68 749.27 46.50 400.90 732.37 77.71 75.255.150

28800 27900 29900 35700 281.25 4420 3.65 3.550 5.950 2.260 3.650 3.200 77.000 745.150 48.200 397.500 732.00 78.00

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 396.740 0.189 91.730 3.200 227.100

Rate for Transfer

Selling Rate

US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro

280.750 278.155 438.550 351.875

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

292.990 743.276 76.415 77.060 74.825 395.200 46.304 2.091 5.050 2.976 3.431 6.634 688.675 4.530 8.895 5.910 3.165 88.595

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

Currency

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars

280.800 2.970 5.135 2.105 3.429 6.780 76.555 75.035 746.500 46.367 443.400 2.990 3.250 1.550 357.400 282.500

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

281.400 349.500 439.050 278.850 3.570 5.085 46.500 2.108 3.430 6.725 2.987 749.300 76.650 75.150

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

BUSINESS

Japan economic data points to weakness Recovery fears grow amid euro crisis

PARIS: (Left to right) Social Affairs and Health Minister Marisol Touraine, French Minister for Industrial Recovery, Arnaud Montebourg and French Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade Minister, Pierre Moscovici, speak together awaiting the beginning of a social conference with unions and employers yesterday in Paris. — AFP

Hollande urges compromise to boost economy PARIS: President Francois Hollande urged France to adopt a culture of compromise as he addressed unions and employers yesterday amid efforts to kickstart the country’s recession-threatened economy.

In a country famed for labor strikes that can paralyse swathes of the economy, Hollande proposed a model similar to that in neighboring Germany where “social dialogue” can head off damaging disputes.

“France has not developed a culture of negotiation,” Hollande said, as he opened a two-day “social conference” in Paris saying the most efficient economies are “those able to forge lasting compromises”.

He said France needs to “make our social model evolve to better guarantee” the country’s financial security, adding that controlling public finances and reducing the debt were a question of France’s “future sovereignty”. He proposed giving social dialogue more prominence in the debate over the country’s economy and even to “inscribe its role in the constitution”.

“The moment has come to put France in motion, there is no time to lose,” Hollande told about 300 people gathered for the conference. He said the country was facing “three great challenges”: controlling public finances, increasing competitiveness and tackling rising unemployment.

Government officials earlier met with the heads of France’s five top unions and its three employer organizations for talks on how to relaunch France’s troubled economy, which some fear is headed for a recession. The Bank of France yesterday confirmed an estimate that the economy will shrink by 0.1 percent in the second quarterthe first quarter of negative growth since France emerged from recession in the spring of 2009.

A second contraction in the third quarter would mean France joining other EU countries like Britain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain in recession. Hollande’s new Socialist government last week announced 13.3 billion euros ($16.3 billion) in extra taxes on big business and the rich to meet deficit targets and balance its budget by 2017.

The government also lowered its growth forecast for this year to 0.3 percent from 0.4 percent and for next year to 1.2 percent from 1.7 percent. France’s trade deficit remains high and ministers have raised concerns that low competitiveness is stifling the economy and hampering job creation.

Heading into yesterday’s talks, CGT union chief Bernard Thibault called for “concrete measures” and “immediate decisions” on job creation and security, and for a “state industrial strategy”.

The head of the MEDEF employers’ group, Laurence Parisot, however said the talks should focus on boosting French competitiveness. “We want all future policies to have a common thread: the competitiveness of France and its companies,” she told newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche ahead of the conference.

Parisot said she would push at the talks for more flexibility on the labor market and for Hollande’s government to reconsider its scrapping of a plan to lower employer social charges by compensating with an increase in the value-added tax.

Hollande, who in May defeated rightwinger Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency, has moved quickly to cement his left-wing credentials, boosting taxes on the rich, vowing to create thousands of public sector jobs and allowing for slight spending increases. But he has also vowed to balance the budget by 2017. — AFP

MANILA: Workers walking through a mine tunnel in Itogon north of Manila. The Philippines said yesterday, it would not approve new mining permits until Congress passed a bill increasing royalties on the industry as part of new rules governing the sector. — AFP

BMW to invest $388m on Mini in Britain FRANKFURT: German carmaker BMW will invest 250 million pounds ($388 million) over the next three years to increase capacity at the British manufacturing plants where it makes the Mini.

The world’s largest luxury carmaker said yesterday the investment would support its international growth plans for the Mini, which will expand its current line-up of seven models to include up to 10 different body styles in the medium term. BMW will use the money to ensure its engine plant in Hams Hall in the West Midlands and the steel pressing facility in Swindon in south-west England can produce additional motors and car body panels.

The investment will safeguard the 5,500 jobs at BMW’s three UK Mini plants, but no new jobs are expected. UK Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “The investment of 250 million pounds in addition to the 500 million last year demonstrates BMW’s commitment to the UK and safeguards jobs for the future.” Carmakers have been increasingly willing to maintain or expand their UK operations. General Motors spared its Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port from European cutbacks.

Nissan plans to build a new model in

its Sunderland site, while Honda will double its car output in the UK this year.

BMW is also considering whether to build Minis in another European location apart from the UK and also Graz, Austria, where third-party carmaker Magna Steyr currently builds the Mini Countryman sport utility vehicle. “Our preferred option is to establish a contract manufacturer as a satellite production as close to our UK operations as possible, at the Nedcar plant in the Netherlands, with whom BMW is in discussions,” Harald Krueger, a member of BMW’s management board responsible for the Mini brand, said.

Last month, BMW said it was in talks with NedCar, which belongs to Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors. The Mini has been a big success story for BMW ever since it revived the brand in 2001, growing sales volumes by 21 percent to more than 285,000 cars last year. The Mini range currently includes the traditional hatchback, the Clubman estate, Countryman offroader, Coupe, Convertible, Roadster and Clubvan transporter. The Mini Paceman, which blends characteristics of an SUV with that of a coupe, will be the brand’s eighth variety. — Reuters

TOKYO: Japan posted a set of weak economic figures yesterday, underscoring fears about a recovery for the world’s third-largest economy amid turmoil in Europe, a key export market.

Official data showed that the surplus in Japan’s current account, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, plunged 62.6 percent to 215.1 billion yen ($2.7 billion) in May from a year earlier.

That was well below the 511 billion yen surplus expected by economists, according to Dow Jones Newswires, with separate data pointing to weakness in new investment by corporate Japan.

“A surplus in the current account shrank substantially due to an expansion in its trade and service deficit as well as a contraction in investment income surplus from a year earlier,” the ministry said.

The current account, which measures trade in goods, services, tourism and investment income, is calculated by determining the difference

between Japan’s income from foreign sources against payments on foreign obligations and excludes net capital investment.

Japan has seen its energy bills skyrocket after turning to pricey fossil fuel alternatives following the shutdown of its nuclear reactors in the wake of last year’s atomic crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

A plan to restart two reactors has been approved, but concerns remain about how the country will boost its power mix. Separate data yesterday showed the country’s core machinery orders dropped 14.8 percent in May from the previous month, pointing to weakness in new investment by corporate Japan. The fall was much steeper than a 2.6 percent decline expected by economists. Machinery orders are seen as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending and are watched for movements that may reflect the outlook for the broader economy. The data contrasted with the Bank of Japan’s quarterly

Tankan business sentiment survey released a week ago, which showed that confidence among large Japanese manufacturers improved in the quarter ended June, with expectations of a pickup in capital spending.

Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said the machinery orders data were weak but added that the “the results are unlikely to change the recovery momentum in capital investment plans led by large manufacturers, as shown in the June Tankan report”.

Last month, the central bank held off fresh easing measures, holding key interest rates steady at between zero and 0.1 percent and leaving unchanged a 70 trillion yen ($885 billion) asset purchase program. That bucked expectations that the BoJ would usher in fresh easing measures, with central banks in China and Europe since launching new policy measures amid signs of weakness in the global economy. — AFP

India business group urges economic ‘revival package’ NEW DELHI: India urgently needs an “economic revival package,” a leading Indian business group said yesterday, adding that the government was running out of time to spur growth.

The Confederation of Indian Industry’s appeal came after India recently posted 5.3 percent quarterly growth, the slowest in nine years, down from blistering nine percentplus expansion a few years ago.

“Macroeconomic conditions are worsening at a faster pace than anticipated and we need to stem this,” said CII president Adi Godrej, in a stark warning to the Congress party-led government about the state of Asia’s thirdlargest economy.

“I am requesting that an economic revival package be announced” by the government and central bank, Godrej said in a meeting with C. Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. India’s economy is performing worse than during 2008-09 when the global financial crisis erupted, said Godrej, a billionaire who heads Indian consumer goods conglomerate Godrej Group.

Godrej said he knew that the government’s room for manoevre was limited with India battling to rein in gaping fiscal and current account deficits.

But unless government and central bank act now, “a few months down the line the economy would probably go beyond the threshold where any credible intervention could salvage it”, the CII president said.

“The economic stimulus provided during 2008-09 proved to be useful and we saw growth pick to eight-percent plus levels,” he said. As part of steps to revive the economy, the government must implement longdelayed economic reforms such as opening up India’s retail sector to more foreign investment, Godrej said.

It also needs to overhaul its patchwork tax system to bring in more revenue and boost business confidence, he said. Even with inflation still stubbornly strong, the central bank should ease India’s high interest rates, Godrej added, noting rival China has reversed its credit tightening policy to spur growth. — AFP

FARNBOROUGH: A Malaysian Airlines Airbus A380 lands after taking part in a flying display at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, southern England, yesterday. — AFP

Euro-zone’s bond market tension rises PARIS: Interest rates for Spain and Italy rose sharply yesterday, but borrowing conditions for benchmark Germany and for France were around record low levels, marking new tension before euro-zone ministers met. The Spanish 10-year rate surged again above the danger level of 7.0 percent to 7.026 percent from 6.912 percent late on Friday. A rate above 7.0 percent is believed to put a euro-zone country at risk of needing a debt rescue.

Analysts said they did not expect the Eurogroup meeting of euro-zone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday to make significant progress on issues arising out of an EU summit 10 days ago.

That summit was presented by EU leaders as a breakthrough in structuring help for Spanish banks, by separating it from national debt, and by establishing the basis for a euro-zone banking union.

“Investors doubt the capacity of the two countries (Spain and Italy) to clean up their public finances, given the worsening of the economic situation,” BNP Paribas bond strategist Patrick Jacq said.

“From now on the two lifelines represented by the European summit at the end of June and the meeting of the European Central Bank last week, are behind us. The market does not expect much progress at the Eurogroup meeting.” The ministers were expected to delay most of the decisions on Greece, which wants longer to meet rescue terms, on Cyprus which wants help for its banks, and on Spanish banks, to a meeting on July 20.

The spread or the difference between the rate Spain must pay to borrow for 10 years and the German rate-the benchmark for the euro-zonewidened to 5.66 percentage points.

The Italian 10-year rate also rose to 6.113 percent from 6.016 percent. Rates of more than 6.0 percent are considered unsustainable over the long term. The yield on 10-year German debt on the secondary market for existing bonds fell meanwhile to 1.312 per-

cent from 1.326 percent. But at an auction of new German bonds with a life of six months, investors in effect paid to lend Germany money, as they flocked to the safe haven of Europe’s top economy.

The yield or rate on the auction of six-month debt was at a record low at minus 0.03 percent, the Bundesbank, which organized the auction, said in a statement. Despite having to pay to park money with Germany, demand was still strong, with investors bidding for 5.5 billion euros’ ($6.7 billion) worth of bonds with only four billion euros’ worth on offer. In line with usual practice, the Bundesbank retained about 710 million, meaning only 3.3 billion euros’ worth of bonds were actually sold.

France borrowed 9.373 billion euros with the sale of medium and long-term debt on Monday, and the rate paid on new 10-year debt was close to a record low point.

Demand for the 10-year bonds was two to three times the supply, and the 10-year yield was 2.53 percent, slightly up from a record low level of 2.46 percent at a similar issue on June 7.

In Paris, new French President Francois Hollande said that controlling public finances and reducing the debt were a question of France’s “future sovereignty”. Meanwhile, data from the Bank of Portugal showed that Portuguese banks, which are unable to borrow on commercial terms on the inter-bank market, borrowed 60.5 billion euros from the European Central Bank in June, setting a record.

This borrowing by Portuguese banks has accelerated since May 2011 when Portugal obtained a rescue of 78 billion euros from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. The bailout included 12 billion euros for recapitalization of the financial sector. In June 2011 the Portuguese banks had borrowed 43.8 billion euros. In March this year, they borrowed 50 billion euros, and in May a record 58.7 billion euros. — AFP

UK’s SFO reopens probe into Weavering hedge fund LONDON: Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has reopened its investigation into collapsed hedge fund Weavering Capital, just weeks after damages of $450 million were awarded against the fund’s manager in a civil case in the High Court.

The decision marks a U-turn by the fraud agency after it ended a 2-1/2 year probe into Weavering last September, saying there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

Investors were left with hundreds of millions of dollars of losses when the Weavering Macro fund collapsed during the credit crisis. The fund was found to have more than $600 million in interest rate swaps where the counterparty was a firm related to Weavering. In May this year damages of $450 million were awarded against Weavering Macro’s manager Magnus

Peterson, after a High Court case brought by the liquidators of Weavering’s British operation.

Judge Sonia Proudman ruled that the interest rate swaps on which the case centred were a “sham” used to manipulate net asset value figures to give investors the impression the Macro fund was successful.

“The (SFO’s) director, following a review of the High Court Civil Judgment by Mrs Justice Proudman on the 31 May 2012, has reopened a criminal investigation into Weavering Capital UK,” the SFO said in a short statement on its website.

The move is another major decision by SFO Director David Green, who took over from Richard Alderman in April and who told Reuters last month the SFO has to “prove itself”.

Last week the SFO said it would investi-

gate the manipulation of interbank lending rates and last month it dropped its probe of proper ty tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz.

The decision last September to end the investigation into Weavering, which raised questions over London’s ability to uncover and punish white-collar crime, came just days after a Cayman Islands court awarded damages of $111 million against two of the fund’s directors. During its investigation the SFO made two arrests in May 2009, including Peterson. “The decision of the SFO to re-open the investigation is welcomed by Weavering’s investors. They and the professional advisers involved in the case will provide every assistance to the SFO,” said Jones Day partner Barnaby Stueck, who represented the liquidators in the civil case. — Reuters

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Boeing lands first blow at airshow Airbus unveils plans to revamp A330 wide-body passenger jet FARNBOROUGH: US planemaker Boeing landed the first blow at this week’s Farnborough Airshow, winning an order worth up to $7.2 billion from US lessor Air Lease, as a market share battle with its European rival Airbus plays out.

Boeing said yesterday under the grey skies of a typically unsettled British summer that the order was for 75 of its fuel-efficient 737 Max jets - a model that is key to its attempted fightback against Airbus’s rival A320neo short-haul aircraft.

Airbus and Boeing are locked in their fiercest battle for up to a decade, slashing prices to win orders for their latest narrowbody jets and storing up potential trouble for future profit margins.

Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney has predicted the US planemaker, helped by the 737 Max, will outsell Airbus for “a number of years” having trailed its European rival for nearly a decade. Airbus also expects Boeing to make up ground this year. Ray Conner, head of Boeing Commercial Aircraft, said between the roars of display flights and the clinks of corporate hospitality that the US company was confident of growing market share but does not have a specific target in mind.

“I am not going to be tied to market share numbers; ... we are focused on producing and winning,” he told reporters at the event, which was attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Though Boeing is expected to pick up the lion’s share of orders this week, David Joyce, the president and chief executive of GE Aviation predicted there would not be as many orders as in previous years amid a faltering global economy. “I think this show will be a little more subdued relative to 2011 but still a very, very positive outlook going forward. Production rates of airplanes on the commercial side are all on their way up. Our order books are full,” he said.

Though economies are stuttering, aircraft demand remains relatively strong as airlines modernize fleets to survive high fuel costs and the balance of growth

shifts towards Asia, prompting Boeing to raise forecasts last week.EADS unit Airbus booked orders for 1,419 planes worth some 90 billion pounds ($140 billion) in 2011, compared with Boeing’s 805. The pair compete for the lion’s share of a jet market estimated at $100 billion a year.

The defense industry, however, is struggling as countries cut military procurement budgets.

“A continued uncertain defense outlook is likely to

impact overall financial performance in 2012,” said Tom Captain, global aerospace and defense leader at business consultancy Deloitte.

Also at the airshow, Airbus unveiled plans to revamp its A330 wide-body passenger jet in order to boost its range. It said the 240 ton A330-300 would have an increased range of 11,020 km, meaning it can now connect London to Tokyo, Frankfurt to Cape Town or Beijing to Melbourne.— Reuters

FARNBOROUGH: Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, second left, walks with President of Airbus Fabrice Bregier, second right front row, as he arrives to visit the Airbus display during the Farnborough International Airshow, Farnborough yesterday.—AP

Airports crisis will damage Britain: Branson FARNBOROUGH: Britain’s economy will fall behind the rest of Europe unless London’s capacity-constrained Heathrow hub gets a third runway and the government improves immigration services, serial entrepreneur and Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson said.

“There should have been a third runway at Heathrow in the 1940s and only two got built,” Branson told Reuters in an interview. “Meanwhile, in France, Germany and Italy about 24 new runways have been built and, as a result, Britain is being held back.”

BAA’s Heathrow is operating at full capacity after Britain’s Conservativeled coalition government blocked development of a third runway when it came to power in 2010 as further expansion of the west London site would mean a huge increase in the number of planes flying directly over the capital.

There were 476,197 flights at Heathrow in 2011, representing 99.2 percent of the airport’s limit.

Heathrow is falling behind rival European airports in Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam in the battle for lucrative routes to the Far East because of

the constraints on growth. Branson said a lack of space at the London hub was stopping Virgin Atlantic competing with IAG’s British Airways domestically and on routes to emerging markets. “We can’t fly to Beijing or most of the Far Eastern or African routes in competition with British Airways and we also can’t fly to most of the emerging south American destinations,” said Branson. “Because Virgin Atlantic is being held back it means we can’t fly in hundreds of thousands of people who will go elsewhere in Europe instead.”

The billionaire tycoon also called on the British government to abolish the UK’s tax on flying - Air Passenger Duty (APD) - and take action to improve immigration services at UK airports.

“Britain should make arriving at the airport in immigration the most magical, wonderful thing. It should be ‘welcome to Great Britain’ not ‘we suspect every single one of you of being terrorists’,” he said. Virgin Atlantic plans to bid for slots at Heathrow to start daily flights to Moscow next year after IAG was forced to sell 12 landing slots at the airport following its takeover of bmi, said Branson.—Reuters

Cathay seen front-runner to ease A350 drought FARNBOROUGH: Airbus will be looking for a long-awaited new order for its A350-1000 mini-jumbo at this week’s Farnborough Airshow, with Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific tipped as most likely to end a three-year order drought, industry sources said. Cathay Pacific has 36 of the A350-900 base model on order, and may add on further orders for the stretched A350-1000 or convert some of its existing orders, or both, the sources said. Airbus and Cathay Pacific declined to comment. Airbus says the future 350seat carbon-composite passenger jet will be much more efficient than Boeing’s 777 but has so far been unable to make a significant dent in the 777’s hold on a lucrative corner of the jet market, just below 400 seats. Due in service from 2014, the A350 is Airbus’s response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first in a new generation of lightweight carbon-composite jets designed to consume less fuel.

Spanning two categories, it also challenges the older 777 which leads the market for large-capacity long-range twinjets. Airbus has started building the first A350-900 test aircraft and has a total of 548 of the A350 family aircraft on order.

Sales of the A350-1000 mini-jumbo are disappointing, however, accounting for 62 of the 548.

Some Middle East airlines have complained about its range and payload capacity, prompting Airbus and engine maker Rolls-Royce to bolster the engine design and relaunch the aircraft at the Paris Air Show last year. Airbus attributes slow sales of the A350-1000 to the lack of availability before late in this decade, but Boeing continues to post strong sales of the 777 which had a record year in 2011.

Boeing is touting a more efficient 407-seat version of its most profitable jet with new engines to try to stay ahead of the A350-1000 which is based on a lighter fuselage.

Airbus sales chief John Leahy said last month the planemaker could announce an A350-1000 order at the July 9-15 show. That adds to what some air show delegates say could be a busier-than-expected event for Airbus, which tends to spring air show surprises, while Boeing is ratcheting down expectations by insisting it builds up its

portfolio over the whole year. As the order guessing game built up on the eve of what promises to be rain-sodden air show, business expected at Farnborough included purchases of the Boeing 737 MAX by lessors Air Lease and Alafco and a possible scalp for Airbus with an order from Russian airline UT Air. Arkia Israel Airlines was also expected to order aircraft. Both manufacturers have left scope for surprises. Boeing’s new commercial aircraft division chief executive Ray Conner told reporters he expected a “decent” air show - a slightly more downbeat forecast than one from his predecessor Jim Albaugh, who said in Beijing last month he expected a “very good” event.

Airbus’ Leahy said in an interview last week he did not expect to sell as many aircraft as Boeing at Farnborough.

Industry sources expect Airbus to log sales or commitments of about a quarter of the 1,000 it took last year, when it created a frenzy of demand with a revamped A320.

Boeing is expected to bounce back this year with a competing model and may overtake its rival for the first since 2006. Boeing Chief Executive James McNerney told European newspapers on Sunday that having done so it could outsell Airbus for “a number of years”.

The two planemakers have most of

the market for narrowbody short-haul planes and control all the market for wide-bodies. Including smaller competitors, global jet sales are estimated at approximately $100 billion a year.

Airbus and Boeing go into the show engaged in a bitter contest for market share after the switch to more fuel-efficient short-haul models, the industry’s bread and butter, shook up a market estimated at $2 trillion over 20 years.

The firefight has included a backand-forth battle for 40-50 jets worth $45 billion sought by Istanbul-based budget carrier Pegasus Airlines, with Boeing trying to prevent the 737 operator defecting to Airbus, industry sources said. Boeing has accused Airbus of aggressive pricing and vowed recently to defend its share of the market, but Leahy said it was the “height of arrogance” to suggest airlines could not switch from one planemaker to the other. Airbus faced a surprise challenge from a different quarter on the eve of the show, however, as Reuters reported Canada’s Bombardier was in talks with AirAsia over a 160-seat CSeries.

Chief executives of the two companies met at the Silverstone British Grand Prix race track at the weekend.

AirAsia is a flagship Airbus customer and is in talks to buy another 50 A320s on top of a record 200-jet order last year.— Reuters

FARNBOROUGH: Visitors look at an aircraft on display at the Farnborough International Airshow, Farnborough, England, yesterday. —AP

LME shareholders to vote on HKEx takeover July 25 LONDON: London Metal Exchange (LME) shareholders will vote on July 25 on a 1.4 billion pound ($2.2 billion) takeover offer by the Hong Kong stock exchange , which could deliver a payout of 7.4 million pounds for the LME’s chief executive.

The LME, the world’s largest marketplace for metals including copper and aluminium, said in a statement on Monday it had set the date for the vote and sent documents to its shareholders on the takeover plan, including details of potential payouts for its executives. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) and the LME announced on June 15 they had agreed on an acquisition that would give LME members a gateway to China, the world’s biggest metals buyer.

Some smaller shareholders have voiced opposition to a takeover and top shareholder JP Morgan is also reluctant to vote in favour, sources familiar with

the matter have said. If shareholders approve the deal, LME executives would receive up to 19.65 million pounds from a shadow equity incentive scheme, including as much as 7.36 million pounds for Chief Executive Martin Abbott, according to the shareholder documents. Although those kinds of payouts have provoked outrage among ordinary Britons when awarded to bankers, it is not unusual for chief executives to take part in a sales process and profit from incentive schemes when the deal is done.

Last year, Abbott earned a salary of 410,000 pounds, a bonus of 369,000 pounds and a pension contribution of 69,700 pounds, the documents said.

The largest shareholders of the LME, which still uses open outcry trading, are banks. Due to a voting structure designed to preserve the influence of smaller shareholders - often industrial users and pro-

ducers of metal - the deal could fail if many of them oppose the bid, which has to be approved by 75 percent of shares and 50 percent of shareholders. Many shareholder members who own and use the 135year-old exchange fear a sale might alter its unique, complex structure of futures trading and end its system of low fees.

HKEx Chief Executive Charles Li has promised that until at least Jan. 1, 2015, his exchange will preserve the LME brand, its open-outcry trading and unique structure. Romnesh Lamba, HKEx head of market development has said the exchange is “reasonably confident” of success in the LME shareholder vote. If approved, the deal would close in the fourth quarter.During the bidding process, HKEx officials met more than 20 major LME shareholders, representing 60 percent of shares, to present their case, Lamba said. — Reuters

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Economy slows and now comes the earnings season GLOBAL MARKETS OUTLOOK LONDON: Growing disillusion over the latest steps to resolve Europe’s debt crisis and policy easing by major central banks will dominate market sentiment in the coming week, with equity investors also braced for a new company reporting season.

Testimony by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to Europe’s parliament yesterday followed by a meeting of euro zone finance ministers will keep Europe’s problems centre stage.

Germany’s constitutional court will also hear complaints midweek about the euro area’s new permanent bailout fund, which was due to have begun operating on July 1. But with aluminum giant Alcoa kicking off the Q2 US reporting season yesterday, the focus could quickly switch to the impact of the crisis on corporate performance.

“The Q2 earnings season is not likely to be good,” said Manish Singh, head of investment services at Crossbridge

Capital. Overall, second quarter earnings for companies covered by the broad S&P 500 index are expected to decline by around 1.1 percent compared with the same quarter of 2011, he said. “If I were already on holiday, I would not hurry back and would extend until the end of the month,” Singh said.

Global equity markets have outperformed bonds this year despite evidence of steady outflows from traditional managed funds. The performance gap has widened in the past five weeks.

The MSCI world equity index is up over five percent since June 1, while the Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 4.7 percent in June and was up over two percent in the first week of July.

MSCI’s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares outside Japan logged a rise of about 1.2 percent for the first week of the third quarter and is near a seven-week high. It’s a similar story in major US markets, with a strong June

performance so far matched by solid gains this month.

“Bond markets are pricing in a much more dire situation than equities, which could leave equities a bit vulnerable in the short term,” said Colin Robertson, Global Head of Asset Allocation at Aon Hewitt.

A big focus in the first week of the new reporting season will be the revelation from mega-bank JPMorgan Chase of the scale of losses from is disastrous derivatives trades, due to be announced when it reports on July 13.

Investors will also be digesting the central moves of the past week, when the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China eased policy in different ways to fight off the global slowdown. The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) doesn’t meet until the end of the month, but minutes from its latest meeting are due out tomorrow.

They should shed more light on the

central bank’s current view, although Friday’s disappointing payrolls report is likely to be more influential.

US non-farm payrolls expanded by just 80,000 jobs in June, falling short of forecasts though they were slightly higher than a revised May reading of 77,000 new jobs. The Bank of Japan will give its views on the global environment and the health of its own economy when it concludes a two-day meeting on Thursday (July 12th) and publishes its interim forecasts for growth and inflation.

“The decision on whether to provide additional stimulus is likely to be finely balanced,” said David Rea, Japan Economist for Capital Economics.

“It has been our call since before June’s meeting that the (BOJ) Board would ease in July and after weighing up the evidence, we are sticking to this call for an additional 10 trillion yen ($125 billion) of asset purchases at this meeting.”

The big data release of the week

will come on Thursday when China unveils its second quarter economic growth numbers, and June data on industrial production and retail sales.

A Reuters poll showed economists expect the data to show China’s economy expanded in the second quarter by 7.6 percent from a year earlier, its weakest performance since the 200809 financial crisis and the sixth straight quarter of lower growth.

The big worry for Asia’s exporting nations, such as China, is a possible slide by the world economy into a repeat of the financial crisis of 2008/2009, when global trade ground to a halt.

But the announcement by the PBOC on July 5 of China’s second surprise rate cut in the space of a month will offset much of any negative impact from the data.

Investors also get data on German trade performance in May and UK industrial and manufacturing production. — Reuters

China inflation falls, leeway for stimulus CB may go in for interest rates cut

SHANGHAI: An investor gestures in front of the stock price monitor at a private securities company yesterday in Shanghai. Asian stocks were lower yesterday while markets in Europe were steady after a disappointing US jobs report stoked concern that the world’s biggest economy remains mired in weak growth. —AP

Bank scandals prolong pain for recruiter Michael Page LONDON: Outrage aimed at some of Britain’s scandal-hit banks is likely to prolong painful financial job market conditions, recruiter Michael Page International Plc said after posting a slip in quarterly profit due to the crisis in the euro-zone.

Like many recruiters, the British group, which places people in accounting, financial and legal jobs across 35 countries, is battling a slowdown in markets as clients hold off on hiring or moving jobs in light of unstable economic conditions. The banking sector has been particularly hit and forced to cut staff.

“Banking is tough, no surprise. Let us be real, the headlines over the last few weeks, they do not help,” Chief Executive Steve Ingham told Reuters yesterday.

A scandal over the rigging of a key interest rate has reignited public anger in Britain over the banking sector, which many people blame for sending the economy into a recession from which the country is struggling to emerge. Such resentment may harden political resolve to tighten regulatory controls on the sector, which could crimp profits.

“I think it is fair to say that the more negative the headlines, the less (banking) recruitment is going on generally,” Ingham said. Michael Page posted a second-quarter gross profit of 138 million pounds ($214 million), 6.6 percent below what was its second-highest quarter on record in the same period in 2011, but 1.6 percent up on the quieter first quarter of 2012.

Its shares, which have shrunk from a 2012 high of 505 pence set in March, were down 4.5 percent at 348.1 pence by 0922 GMT. While it expected full-year operating profit to be broadly in line with market estimates, the group said its third quarter was likely to be challenging, as euro-zone issues, austerity measures and high unemployment figures hit customer confidence and combine with its seasonally quieter holiday period.

In its largest region, Europe, Middle East and Africa, second-quarter gross profit fell 10 percent on last year, with the UK down 9 percent and Asia Pacific the only region to grow against 2011 comparators. “Geographically, it .. reflects what we are hearing in the economic news - tougher in southern Europe particularly, clearly not improving in the UK, but elsewhere in Asia Pacific things still relatively strong,” Ingham said.

Trading conditions in banking, which represents 8 percent of group gross profit compared with 11 percent a year ago, would remain challenging, the group said, adding it would continue investing in newer markets to soften its impact.

Overall gross profit growth in its finance and accounting division, which accounts for 42 percent of the group, fell by almost 13 percent in the second quarter.

“We are trying to make sure that if we have to take the pain in a particular sector we’ve got other sectors that are growing to replace them,” said Ingham, pointing to 10 percent gross profit growth in its engineering and procurement division.

Analysts at Panmure Gordon kept a “sell” rating on the stock. “While the result for the second-quarter is ... admirable given the macro (economy) backdrop, the lack of visibility and caution regarding the third quarter leaves us still negative regarding short-term trading for both Michael Page and the recruitment market in general,” a note read.

In a Reuters interview last month, Michael Page said high-growth Asian and Latin American markets would help it ride out tough European conditions, adding it also wanted to increase its presence in Africa’s booming resource regions. Last week rival recruiter Robert Walters posted a 3 percent dip in second-quarter gross profit as slow banking markets hit its core Asia Pacific market. — Reuters

Ethiopia inflation falls for fourth month in row ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia’s year-on-year inflation fell for the fourth consecutive month to 20.9 percent in June from 25.5 percent a month before due to slowing food prices, the statistics office said yesterday. The Central Statistics Agency said food inflation dropped to 21.5 percent from 29.2 percent in May, while non-food inflation rose slightly to 19.8 percent from 19.6 percent.

Month-on-month, prices did not change, compared with a rise of 0.9 percent in the previous month, the agency said. Although the Horn of African country has registered one of the highest economic growth rates in the world for the last few years, the International

Monetary Fund says the biggest challenge facing its policymakers is the high rate of inflation.

Surges in global oil prices and poor harvests drove inflation into double digits in several African countries in the past year, including some of the poorest in the Horn. Ethiopia’s economy has been boosted in the past few years by rising coffee earnings as the country is Africa’s biggest coffee producer, as well as surging gold, oil seed and livestock exports.

Officials expect a gross domestic product growth of 11 percent for 2011/2012 which ended in March, thanks to rising agricultural output, the seventh consecutive fiscal year of growth. — Reuters

BEIJING: China’s inflation fell to a 29-month low in June, giving Beijing more room to fight a deepening economic slowdown. Consumer prices rose 2.2 percent over a year earlier, down from May’s 3 percent, government data showed yesterday. Food costs rose 3.8 percent. Lower inflation clears the way for Beijing to cut interest rates or boost spending to reverse China’s deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis with less danger of igniting a spike in politically sensitive living costs.

Premier Wen Jiabao warned over the weekend that the world’s second-largest economy still faces “huge pressure” to decelerate. That suggested Beijing might roll out more stimulus measures following two rate cuts since the start of June, a reduction in gasoline prices and higher public works spending.

Also yesterday, the government announced its second fuel price cut in five weeks in a new effort to ease cost pressures for companies and consumers and encourage spending. The official Xinhua News Agency said the reduction takes effect Wednesday but gave no details of how large it would be.

China’s slowdown and measures to fight it could have global repercussions if they disrupt Chinese demand for imported oil, iron ore and consumer goods from the United States, Europe and other struggling economies.

Lower price pressures “do leave more room for more policy easing” but inflation “will likely soon bottom out and should rebound late in the year,” said Credit Agricole CIB economist Dariusz Kowalczyk in a report. Beijing is likely to avoid more rate cuts and instead probably will increase the amount of money available for lending by reducing minimum reserve limits for banks, Kowalczyk said. He said he expects more tax cuts and spending on infrastructure and other initiatives.

“We remain confident that these measures will suffice to revive growth,” he said. June’s headline inflation was the lowest since January 2010’s 1.5 percent. Prices then spiked

much higher, fueled in part by Beijing’s flood of government spending and bank lending in response to the 2008 crisis.

Beijing tightened controls repeatedly last year to cool an overheated economy and surging prices but reversed course after global demand plunged and growth slowed abruptly, raising the threat of job losses and unrest.

The slowdown comes at a politically awk-

without allowing the flood of money to cause a repeat of the stock and real estate speculation that followed its 2008 stimulus and pushed up housing costs.

Wen ordered local officials on Saturday to enforce rules aimed at cooling housing prices and called for people who tried to evade curbs on purchases and mortgage lending to be punished, Xinhua reported. He said regulation of the housing market is still at a “critical

SHANGHAI: People shop at a wet market in Shanghai yesterday. China’s inflation rate slowed to 2.2 percent in June, official data showed, giving the government further room to move as it seeks to reignite growth in the world’s second biggest economy. — AFP ward time for the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to enforce calm ahead of a planned handover of power to a younger generation of leaders. In his weekend comments, Wen promised to “fine-tune economic policies,” according to Xinhua, but no details or new initiatives were announced.

The government is trying to boost growth

Russia fills gap for GM as China sales slow BEIJING: China is no longer the eye-popping growth story for General Motors Co, but robust sales in Russia and other emerging markets quickly filled the gap during the first half of this year, a senior company executive told Reuters.

“While China is still strong it is no longer the gravity-defying growth as we have seen in prior years,” Tim Lee, head of GM International Operations, said in an interview late on Friday.

Middle-class Russian consumers have come to GM’s rescue, cushioning the impact of the slowdown in China that has led to a sharp rise in inventory and the resulting slide in profitability for many auto makers, along with the difficulty GM is facing in jump-starting operations in India and Southeast Asia. GM’s corporate reputation was “pretty low” in Russia, “but today we’re back and really leaning into the market,” Lee said. Of course, China has been a great performer for GM over the past decade and is still offering notable growth. “But I would put Russia in the same breath as China.”

In the just-ended first half of 2012, GM sold a total of about 136,400 vehicles in Russia, up 21 percent from the same period a year ago. While that volume is still a fraction of the 1.4 million vehicles GM sold in China during the same six months, the sales growth rate for GM Russia was twice faster than China, where first-half sales increased 11 percent from the year-ago period.

Just two years ago GM’s China sales were growing at an annual pace of almost 50 percent.

Those results, along with what Lee described as the company’s strong presence in the Middle East region, South Korea and Australia, drove overall sales for GM International Operations to about 2 million vehicles in the first half, against 1.8 million sold in the same 2011 period and accounting approximately for 40 percent of GM’s overall new vehicle sales, according to GM. — Reuters

moment.” Despite the decline in June headline inflation, prices of vegetables and pork, the country’s staple meat, rose by 12.1 percent and 12.2 percent respectively. That highlighted the pressure on Beijing to ensure adequate supplies in a society where the poorest families spend up to half their incomes on food. — AP

Carrefour puts India expansion plan on hold MUMBAI: French retail giant Carrefour has put on hold its expansion plan for wholesale stores in India due to the global downturn, a report said yesterday.

The report in the Business Standard newspaper came as many foreign

A woman shops in the cheese produce section of a Carrefour supermarket in the French northern city of Hazebrouck.

French retail giant Carrefour has put on hold its expansion plan for wholesale stores in India due to the global downturn, a report said yesterday. The report in the Business Standard newspaper came as many foreign investors have been put off India due to a sharply slowing economy and a string of government corruption scandals. — AFP

investors have been put off India due to a sharply slowing economy and a string of government corruption scandals.

Carrefour, Europe’s biggest retailer, is “rationalizing” its store expansion plans in India due to a worsening global economic climate, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources. A company spokesman had no comment on the report. Carrefour-which opened its first cash-and-carry store in India in 2010 planned to open an outlet in the western city of Pune, but “that is now on the backburner,” the newspaper said, quoting two sources.

Some of the other store openings it had planned for 2012, widely expected to be an aggressive launch year for the chain in India, might also be delayed, the sources told the newspaper.

Six months after finalizing as many as 12 real estate leases across India, the company has put on hold hiring for its planned outlets, the sources said.

Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer after US giant Wal-Mart, operates two wholesale stores in India, catering to food firms, restaurants and retailers. The group said in its most recent annual report it intended to maintain strict financial discipline in response to a challenging business environment.

It said it wanted to continue to focus on emerging markets but preferred countries such as China, Brazil and Indonesia. India bans multibrand retailers from directly selling to consumers because of fears they could undermine local retailers. However, it allows foreign retailers selling one brand to operate stores. — AFP

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

BUSINESS

Samsung’s WB850F SMART camera in Kuwait New WB850F surpasses all travel zoom cameras packing 21x optical zoom, 16.2 mp sensors KUWAIT: Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced yesterday the launch of its latest travel zoom camera range, the WB850F SMAR T camera. The WB850F enhances the advanced optical zoom and image quality that the WB range is known for, with Wi-Fi capability to facilitate sharing and saving images - wherever users are in the world. Housed in a compact, light and durable body, the new zoom camera from Samsung makes the perfect travel companion.

One of the best parts of discovering new places and cultures is sharing your experiences with friends and family back home.

With the Wi-Fi capability of the new Samsung SMART long-zooms this is quicker and easier than ever. From any Wi-Fi hotspot, users can email photos or share them on social networks such as Facebook and Picasa and post videos to YouTube in a few simple steps. The WB850F also uses GPS and Live Landmark to enhance your journeys, enabling you to download maps and find out information on

nearby locations with the touch of a button. The camera’s Digital Compass can also give users their location and tell them how far they are from certain locations, whilst the M apView func tion allows users to download maps and use their camera to help explore new cities. “Samsung’s SMART camera technology is a game changer. We’ve raised the bar with these devices as we continue to revolutionize how people interact with their cameras,” said Raj Varma, General Manager of the IT division, Samsung Gulf Electronics. “We added groundbreaking Wi-Fi functions to our zoom camera, building on the brilliant image quality that high-quality sensor and zoom lens provide now with the abilit y to share images like never before,” he added.

As with its WB predecessors, the WB850F makes it easy to capture incredible detail through its zoom lens, making it simple to get upclose shots that were once out of reach. The WB850F features a 21x optical zoom - Samsung’s best yet.

In order to capture the detail at its best, the WB850F packs a 16.2

Megapixel sensor. The WB850F also features pioneering BSI CMOS sensor technology to reduce image noise and distortion, even in low light conditions. This crystal-clear detail can then be experienced in all its clarity on the 3.0” VGA AMOLED screen.

Making it easy to get the best shot With the new travel zoom cameras, it’s up to you how you get the best shot. On the WB850F, you can explore your own photographic skills with Full Manual Control, also tak ing advantage of the OIS. Alternatively, SMART Auto identi-

Live Panorama to get everyone in the shot!

Live Panorama, featured on the WB850F, allows you to capture even more of the action, facilitating wide panoramic shots which don’t miss any of the detail, from sprawling mountain peaks through to large groups of friends. The function allows

Share unforgettable scenes in full HD Whether filming at the carnival in Global or from a vantage point atop Burj Khalifa, Samsung travel zoom cameras mean you can share your video in HD. The WB850F captures awesome detail in 1080/30p Full HD and 1080/60i for spectacular scenery shots.

fies and automatically selects the most appropriate of its scene modes to provide you with the best possible result every time.

From a fireworks display to a dimly-lit party, scene detection technology identifies the shooting conditions and automatically tailors the settings to help achieve standout results.

the easy capture of large scenes by simply holding down the shutter button and sweeping the camera across.

Users can even preview the whole scene they’ve just captured via the LCD screen.

Fun features to add a twist to your travels Why not add some more fun to

your travels by getting creative with your photographs? With Split Shot you can divide the screen into three separate shots and create up to three different photographs by simply blending them together to create a whole new view of your travels. Using Magic Frame you can also position your target in the middle of a fun background - either choose from one of the many pre-designed backgrounds like movie billboards or posters or erase part of an existing picture to get even more creative! Or use the Picture in Picture feature to insert your photo whether an eye-catching monument or personal portrait into another image or video so you can combine your favorite shots to make a memorable collage. You can also bend, stretch, and warp your friends and family for big laughs with the Funny Face feature simply press the 5-direction key to enlarge heads or noses, or create hilarious distortions. And when you move the camera, Face Tracking preserves the funny looks just the way you want them.

The Samsung SMART WB850F camera is available across all leading retail outlets at a price of KD 112.

Burgan Bank wins ‘Best Private Bank in Kuwait’ Recognition by World Finance for 2nd year in a row KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday that it has been awarded the coveted “Best Private Bank in Kuwait” award for the 2nd consecutive year by World Finance.

The award comes in recognition of Burgan Bank’s continuous commitment towards providing excellent services to its private banking clientele, and its vision to implement international best practices to ensure the delivery of a trusted premium private banking services.

Burgan Bank’s success was announced at the World Finance Banking Awards 2012, where winners were chosen through a subscribers-based voting process. Mones Bazzy, Head of Private Banking, General Manager at Burgan Bank said: “We are very pleased with our achievement of being recognized as the “Best Private Bank in Kuwait” for the second year running by World Finance. I would like to thank our customers for the trust they have in our capabilities and for our colleagues in private banking for their success.”

“This recognition, which is based on our customers’ votes, motivates us to further enhance our premium banking services to our clientele, and we are committed to excel in our offerings to maintain our customers’ valuable trust. In 2007, Burgan Bank was recognized by Euromoney as the Best Local Private Bank in Kuwait, and in 2011, the bank also won the Best Private Bank in Kuwait award by World Finance. This year’s award is a testament to our commitment to attain trust

through excellence,” added Bazzy.

Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is the youngest commercial Bank based in Kuwait, with a significant focus on the corporate and financial institutions sectors, as well as having a growing retail and private bank customer base.

Mones Bazzy, Head of Private Banking, General Manager at Burgan Bank Burgan Bank has four majority owned subsidiaries: Gulf Bank Algeria - AGB (Algeria), Bank of Baghdad - BOB (Iraq), Jordan Kuwait Bank - JKB (Jordan) and Tunis International

Bank - TIB (Tunisia), (collectively known as the “Burgan Bank Group”).

The Bank has continuously improved its per formance over the years through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region.

Burgan Bank’s brand has been created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the high standards to which we aspire.

‘People come first’ is the foundation on which its products and services are developed.

Earlier this year, ‘Brand Finance’ - the international brand valuation company- rated Burgan Bank brand as AA with positive outlook. The rating places Burgan Bank Brand at 2nd amongst the most valuable banking brands in Kuwait.

Excellence is one of the Bank’s four key values and Burgan Bank continually strives to maintain the highest standards in the industry. The Bank was re-certified in 2010 with the ISO 9001:2008 certification in all its banking businesses, making it the first bank in the GCC, and the only bank in Kuwait to receive such accreditation. The Bank also has to its credit the distinction of being the only Bank in Kuwait to have won the JP Morgan Chase Quality Recognition Award for twelve consecutive years.

GE technology supports Mass Global to boost efficiency, output of northern Iraq KUWAIT: Mass Global Investment Company (Mass Global), an independent power producer, has selected GE steam turbine technology to increase the efficiency and the output of the Erbil Power Plant in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

In operation since late 2008, the Erbil plant plays a vital role in meeting the growing power needs of Kurdistan, Iraq.

Under the new agreement, GE will supply two steam turbines that will be used to convert the Erbil plant from simple to combined-

Kurdistan Regional Government’s policy to increase the thermal efficiency of its power generation facilities. This new agreement builds on our growing relationship with GE, a global technology leader, whose proven and reliable advanced energy technology has been employed in our gas power facilities since 2006.”

The project will increase thermal efficiency to more than 48 percent, making Erbil among the most efficient power plants in Iraq. The GE

GE’s Erbil plant, northern Iraq cycle operation, boosting plant output by 500 megawatts, enough additional electricity to serve 100,000 Iraqi households. The agreement also includes installation services.

“Mass Global continues to be at the forefront of meeting the power requirements of the Kurdistan Iraq region,” said Ahmad Ismail, Chairman of Mass Global. “Converting our Erbil facility to combined-cycle service supports the

C-7 steam turbines will join eight GE Frame 9E gas turbines already operating at the site and further expands GE’s growing relationship with Mass Global.

“Today’s agreement reflects GE’s continuing commitment to support energy infrastructure growth in Northern Iraq and throughout the country,” said Joseph Anis, GE Energy’s president and CEO for the Middle East. “It

builds on our growing relationship with Mass Global, supporting its efforts to enable a reliable and efficient supply of electricity needed to fuel the growth and development of the Kurdistan region. This agreement also reflects GE’s ongoing commitment to support Iraq in boosting its power generation and infrastructure growth.”

The conversion marks Erbil power plant as the first combined-cycle project in the Kurdistan region and further expands GE’s growing relationship with Mass Global. This combined-cycle conversion power project in the country feature GE technology. There are 20 GE gas turbines installed in Mass Global projects today and last December, the two companies also signed a 12-year service agreement designed to support the efficient operations of the installed GE turbines as well as further build local technical expertise with a tailored training program for 30 Mass Global engineers.

ENKA Construction & Industry Co. (ENKA), the Turkish engineering, procurement and construction company, has been selected to build the new combined-cycle power plant.

GE’s C series steam turbines are a well proven and experienced non reheat combined cycle design. First build in the early 1990’s, this steam turbine design is most often applied in combined cycle with E class gas turbines or industrial applications. This two pressure level steam turbine design is used in multi-shaft combined cycle configurations to support from two to four gas turbines.

Combined-cycle power plants utilize heat generated from gas turbines to drive steam turbines, generating additional electricity, without an increase in fuel. This significantly increases the efficiency of the power generation process.

GE will manufacture the steam turbines in Schenectady, NY, USA and will ship them to the project site during the second half of 2013.

The combined-cycle plant will start commercial service in the second half of 2014.

TOKYO: Women operate mobile phones in front of the stock index display of a securities firm in Tokyo yesterday. Asian stocks were lower yesterday after a disappointing US jobs report stoked concern that the world’s biggest economy remains mired in weak growth. —AP

Asian stocks fall on US data, China concerns HONG KONG: Asian markets slumped yesterday after disappointing US jobs data raised fresh fears about the world’s biggest economy and amid renewed concern about China’s slowing growth. Investors are nervous ahead of the release of key Chinese economic indicators this week, with comments by Premier Wen Jiabao at the weekend adding to the concerns, which overshadowed positive news in the form of a sharp slowdown in inflation. Hong Kong tumbled 1.88 percent, or 372.55 points, to end at 19,428.09, their largest percentage loss for more than a month, while Shanghai plunged 2.37 percent, or 52.77 points, to finish at 2,170.81.

Tokyo fell 1.37 percent, or 123.87 points, to end at 8,896.88, with a set of weak figures from its domestic economy adding to negative sentiment. Seoul slipped 1.19 percent, or 22.07 points, to close at 1,836.13, and Sydney ended 0.95 percent, or 39.5 points, lower at 4,118.3.

The drop in Sydney stocks “has predominantly been about our market following the leads of the US market and its disappointment in yet another sub-par jobs report”, said Cameron Peacock, an analyst at IG Markets. In his comments at the weekend, Wen warned that “downward pressure is still relatively big” on the Chinese economy, although he also said that the economy was generally stable, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Combined with a surprise interest rate cut last week, the second in a month , the remarks heightened investor fears about China before the release of key data, including second quarter GDP, on Friday.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the consumer price index rose by 2.2 percent year-on-year last month, the lowest rate since the start of 2010. While it gives the government a freer hand to act to boost growth, which slipped to an annual 8.1 percent in the first quarter, it did little to allay investor fears.

“Investors are worried that China’s move last week to cut rates ahead of the release of data indicates growth remains sluggish,” Amy Lin, an analyst at Capital Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Meanwhile, official data released Friday after Asian markets closed showed that the US economy added only 80,000 jobs in June, well below expectations, leaving the unemployment rate at 8.2 percent. It was the latest disappointing economic report from the US and came shortly after International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned that the fund would be cutting its global growth forecasts later this month. US markets closed lower Friday after the jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.96 percent, The S&P 500 losing 0.94 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq dropping 1.30 percent.

In Europe, London was down 0.53 percent, Frankfurt shed 1.92 percent and Paris lost 1.88 percent.

In Japan, official data showed the surplus in the country’s current account, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, plunged 62.6 percent to 215.1 billion yen ($2.7 billion) in May from a year earlier. That was well below the 511 billion yen surplus expected by economists, according to Dow Jones Newswires, with separate data pointing to weakness in new investment by corporate Japan. Investors were also looking to a meeting in Brussels later in the day of euro-zone finance ministers, who are under pressure to flesh out a plan agreed last month to helping the ailing currency bloc. On currency markets in early European trade, the euro was changing hands at $1.2307 against $1.2287 in New York late Friday, its lowest since July 2010. The euro bought 97.96 yen from 97.83 yen in US trade on Friday, while the dollar fetched 79.57 yen in Tokyo, little changed from 79.62 yen in New York.—AFP

Free stays at Dubai for ABK Emirates MasterCard credit cardholders KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait in collab- the chance to experience being on top oration with MasterCard and Emirates air- of the world with priority tickets to ‘At lines have an exciting offer for Emirates the Top’ in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest passengers who use their ABK Emirates building.” Lockie added, “ABK is extremeMasterCard credit cards to purchase their ly pleased with the joint efforts from MasterCard and Emirates, First and Business class tickets where our cardholders not online on emirates.com. only benefit from free miles All ABK Emirates MasterCard when using their ABK credit cardholders have to do is Emirates MasterCard’s, now to book their Emirate Airways they also have the opportuniflights to or via Dubai online ty to enjoy complimentary using their MasterCard, and stays at Armani Hotel Dubai, they can enjoy free night stays and the Address Hotel located from Dubai’s most luxurious in Dubai Marina.” hotels. The offer is on bookings So go ahead and book made until September 30, Stewart Lockie your Emirates airline flights 2012.

Stewart Lockie, General Manager of online using your ABK Emirates the Retail Banking Division commented MasterCard, and be a part of this amazon the promotion “In addition to the ing offer. For more details, please visit top-end hotels, this offer includes com- any ABK branch or call Ahlan Ahli 1899 plimentary 96-hour transfer visas and 899.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

HP launches unique partnership with universal music KUWAIT: HP yesterday announced it has formed a unique partnership with Universal Music MENA that will give consumers across the Middle East access to the Universal Music Group’s rich catalogueof global and regional artists, with the launch of HP Play - a new digital music experience.

Digital music enthusiasts across the region will be able create personalized playlists and enjoy online streaming anddownloadsat no cost from Universal Music’s world-classcatalogueon their HP Sleekbooks, a new thin and light notebook range launching in the region.Global superstars ranging from Madonna, DrDre and the Rolling Stones to Kanye West, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, as well as popular Arabic and Asianartists, which are part of Universal Music’s collaboration with other top catalogues,will be available as part of thisnew music service for the Middle East.

HP Play is now available in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. Under this collaboration: • HP customers that purchase a new super mobile HP ENVY 4 or HP ENVY 6 Sleekbook will be giv-

en an HP Play pack to register with a serial number online and access HP Play for free for 12 months • Non-HP customers have the opportunity to purchase HP Play packs at selected retail stores or

New MacBook Pro sets new standards with sharp display BERLIN: Fittingly for a product dubbed Retina, the new MacBook Pro is a real eye-grabber thanks to its super-sharp display. A recent dpa test run of the new laptop showed a display with significantly less glare than competitors and one that works quickly and quietly, making an overall good impression. Only the price is likely to give customers pause.

Until now, the differences between MacBook Pro models over the last four years have been incremental, at best.

Barely anything has changed on the outside.

That changes with the MacBook Pro Retina. It only takes one look to show that this is different than its predecessors.

That sense is only intensified when a customer gets his first look at the display.

No laptop has ever had such a high resolution: 2,880 X 1,800 pixels means a pixel density of 220 dpi (dots per inch).

Under normal viewing conditions, it is impossible to make out individual dots on the screen. The wow factor is only increased when one notices how much less screen glare there is than with the competition.

Pictures and videos will benefit the most from this new display. Apple has already finessed its image management software, Aperture, and its video editing programme, Final Cut Pro X, for the Retina. It shouldn’t be too long before other software manufacturers, like Adobe, optimize their products for Retina.

Until then, surfers can enjoy the excellent resolution using Apple’s Safari browser. Of course, since not every website has upgraded to the 5-million-pixel possibilities of the new Apple notebook, it’s not uncommon to run across images that just seem clunky, especially in comparison to the sharp text.

Just like it did with the MacBook Air four years ago, Apple is setting new standards with its top model, which will probably influence the entire laptop market. The MacBook Air started the trend towards notebooks making do without optical drives, coming with integrated batteries and coming with housing in the trademark wedge shape that has now been adopted by Windows machines,

thanks to Intel’s Ultrabook concept.

Apple has continued to do without a DVD drive in the new MacBook Pro. Instead of a standard hard drive, the company has opted for speedier SSD drives, which come in three different sizes (256, 512 and 768 gigabyte (GB) flash drives). These make sure that a computer can go from shut down to running in only 17 seconds.

For the first time, Apple has opted for Intel’s Ivy Bridge chip to run its central processing unit (CPU). Its quadcore i7 processors run at either 2.3 or 2.7 gigahertz (GHz) and consume so little energy that the battery can run the laptop for up to seven hours.

But no computer can function without a fan. To minimize noise, the vents have been set up asynchronously, so that noise is distributed in a wide spectrum.

During a normal test, it was almost impossible to hear the fans: They were only audible during more robust testing, such as when burning a DVD. For communicating with peripheral devices, Apple has made the switch entirely to the multifunction ports Thunderbolt and USB 3.0. The two Thunderbolt relays are primarily for external screens. An additional adapter can be used to connect a LAN cable or FireWire 800 devices.

One new addition is an HDMI port, which can be used to transfer the laptop’s picture to a television, monitor or projector. To get the housing almost as flat as that of a MacBook Air, Apple has opted for six different battery sizes that can only be swapped out by service technicians, to the tune of 199 euros (250 dollars), which includes the cost of a new battery.

Potential buyers should note that the memory is permanently affixed inside, meaning the exact size of the RAM has to be set at the start. There’s the option for up to 16 GB. But this all comes at a price. A standard version with a 2.3 GHz CPU costs about 2,279 euros, while the 2.6 GHz version goes for 2,899 euros. If you go for the gusto, with SSD and RAM drives and a 2.7 GHz CPU, the price can quickly hit an upper level of 3,849 euros. — dpa

Photo and video editing for beginners BERLIN: Blurred portraits, red eyes and tilted horizons can turn a great memory at the moment of shooting into a minor disaster.

Those who want to seriously take photos or create movies should become familiar with the basic concepts of photo and video editing. That doesn’t only mean correcting errors but also getting everything they can from their content.

Computer beginners must overcome a number of hurdles - at least regarding video editing. “It will not work without a basic knowledge of the camera or computer,” said Robert Klassen, who has written a number of books on the topic.

Hobby photographers have it a bit easier, said Wolfgang Froehling, lecturer at a media design academy in Dusseldor f, Germany. “It depends a little bit on what they exactly want to do,” he said. Simple picture correction, such as of fuzziness and poor lighting, is not hard for beginners. “It is amazing what I can get out of pictures with the current software.” However, professional edits such as changing the colouring of a photo take a bit more knowledge.

In both disciplines, beginners need software that makes the introduction less complicated. An image editing program such as Gimp may be free but it quickly overtaxes inexperienced users. “It only supplies the essential tools which you need to know,” said Andre Kramer, editor of German computer magazine c’t. Also free and somewhat simpler to use are programs such as XnView, Picasa or Paint.NET. Mac users also have the program iPhoto.

Other programmes may cost money but also provide numerous automatic functions and assistants that make it easier for beginners. Slimmed down versions of expensive professional programs often implement a simpler, beginner-friendly language in their menus.

Hobby filmmakers have an easier choice for programmes - at least at the beginning.

Those with older versions of Windows usually have Windows Movie Maker while Windows 7 users must first download the software. It is somewhat frowned on by professionals but Klassen doesn’t think that’s fair. “The programme is better than its reputation. The most important basic concepts are well explained for beginners and they will not be overtaxed.”

More ambitious editors will eventually reach their limitations with Movie Maker and will have to switch over to non-free software. But Klassen said users should not pay more than 100 euros (125 dollars).

“These programmes are totally enough for even semi-professionals,” said Klassen.

Mac users can avoid even this cost.

Apple computers have iMovie which offers more functions than Movie Maker. In addition, all camcorders include their own programs. Klassen recommends at least installing it, even if it’s not ever used.

Good video editing does not begin on the computer, said Klassen. “Beginners often just start filming and realize afterwards that 80 to 90 per cent of the material can be thrown away,” he said. “Make a plan beforehand what you want to film and how you want to proceed.”

The rule during both filming and cutting is: “Less is more.” It’s better to have a couple of great recordings of the best moments than a boring documentation of all the events. And it’s also worth thinking about the post-processing when taking pictures.

Froehling said the contrast should not be that sharp: “I would always select more neutral tones while taking pictures so that I have more margin afterwards.” Also important to know is that if shadows are too intensive then the picture cannot be saved afterwards. — dpa

online at hpplay.com/middleeast soon. Salim Ziade, General Manager HP Printing and Personal Systems, HP, Middle East, said: “As the world’s largest technology company, we are excited to partner with the

world’s leading music group to offer music fans across the Middle East access to this extensive catalogue. At HP, we are constantly working to redefine the digital entertainment experience for our customers. With innova-

tive new products, services and collaborations, we want to enhance the way consumers connect with their favorite content, whether it’s music, movies or games.” Patrick Boulos, Managing Director of Universal Music MENA, said: “This is a one-of-akind opportunity to give music fans access to legal digital music in the region with the most extensive choice of catalogues and world-famous artists. HP play is the first partnership ever, in this category, in this region and we will constantly grow our proposition with new releases and hits to always bring more satisfaction to music lovers and fans.

This partnership will also pave the way to signing and developing new local talent.” With Beats Audio and high-capacity hard drive options, the new HP ENVY 4 and HP ENVY 6 will provide customers with a premium HP Play music experience.

Internet doomsday virus appears to fizzle Nearly 300,000 computers appear to be infected WASHINGTON: The so-called Internet doomsday virus with the potential to black out tens of thousands of computers worldwide appeared to pose no major problems yesterday in the first hours after a fix expired.

Security firms reported no significant outages linked to the DNS Changer virus, as many Internet service providers have either implemented a fix or contacted customers with steps to clean their computers.

The problem stems from malware known as DNS Changer, which was created by a cybercriminals to redirect Internet traffic by hijacking the domain name systems (DNS) of Web browsers.

The ring behind the DNS Changer was shut down last year by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Estonian police and other law enforcement agencies, after infecting some four million computers worldwide.

Nearly 300,000 computers appeared to be still infected as of June, according to experts monitoring the problem. Yesterday, temporary servers set up by the FBI to direct Internet traffic normally, even for infected computers, were shut down.

But security specialists said most Internet users and providers have had time to work around or fix the problem. “Many global operators are keeping their DNS Changer victims online, even after FBI stopped. We do not expect much noise about this today,” said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at the Finland-based firm F-Secure, in a Twitter message.

Johannes Ullrich of the SANS Security Institute said that for computers running Windows, the computer “may actually revert to the default settings once the DNS server is turned off.”

He added, that “if you used the bad DNS server, chances are that various entities tried to notify you. Google for example should

PARIS: A woman looks at the FBI internet site page dedicated to the DSN Malware yesterday in Paris. Tens of thousands of people around the world whose computers were infected with malware may lose their Internet access after the expiry of a US government fix, security experts said. However, no trouble was reported in the early hours of yesterday. The problem stems from malware known as DNS Changer, which was created by a gang of cybercriminals to redirect Internet traffic by hijacking the domain name systems of Web browsers. — AFP

have shown you a banner.”

Additionally, Ullrich said the malware is “old enough where antivirus, if you run any, should have signatures for it.”

Six Estonians and a Russian were charged in Estonia in November with infecting computers, including NASA machines, with the malware as part of an online advertising scam that reaped at least $14 million.

Because the virus controlled so much Internet traffic, authorities obtained a court order to allow the FBI to operate replacement servers until July 9.

The FBI, as well as Facebook, Google, Internet service providers

and security firms have been scrambling to warn users about the problem and direct them to fixes. A DNS Changer Working Group has been monitoring and educating people about the malware, with a website http://www.dcwg.org.

Experts said that if a computer is infected, they could still access the Internet by reconfiguring the way they access the domain name system.

Instead of entering an address such as ebay.com, they could use the underlying address, which is a series of numbers, said Marco Preuss of the Russian security firm Kaspersky on the company ’s

Securelist blog. “If you know the address of the server you can still use it instead of the name, e.g.

195.122.169.23 is ‘securelist.com’ but this is not easy solution,” he said. Others with more technical savvy can also reprogram their computer’s network settings, to access public DNS servers such as one operated by Google.

“If you are infected, you can change your DNS entries to the free DNS-Servers from Google: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4,” said Preuss.

“OpenDNS also offers two: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220, which we also recommend for additional security features.” — AFP

Tech

briefs

Toshiba tablet with Android 4.0 BERLIN: Toshiba has equipped its new tablet with the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system and Nvidia’s quad core processor Tegra. The silver AT300 is 9 mm thin and weighs 590 grams, making it a bit thicker and heavier than its predecessor, the AT200. It is also equipped with a slot for SD cards and two cameras on the front and rear. While there is no UMTS module, the 10.1inch display has a resolution of 1280 to 800 pixels and is protected by scratch-free gorilla glass. The 16 Gigabyte version costs around 450 euros (570 dollars) while the 32 GB version is about 50 euros more expensive.

SEOUL: People try out Samsung Electronics’ new smartphone Galaxy S III to purchase in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. Samsung began selling its new Galaxy S III in the country yesterday. —AP

Google TV player from Sony After smartphones, tablets, a Walkman and an e-reader, in the coming months Sony will be bringing a media player to the market with the Google operating system Android.

The Google TV boxes with (NSZ-GP9) or without (NSZGS7) Blu-ray players will play videos and films from the internet on the television thanks to the Chrome browser and Flash support. In addition, the manufacturers said there will also be apps for playing games, listening to music or reading messages. The remote control offers a touchpad on the front side for comfortable control of the mouse while on the back there’s a back-lighted keyboard for easier text input. The remote control of the Blu-ray model is also equipped with a microphone for voice control and a motion sensor for gesture control. The NSZ-GS7 will be available in September for 199 euros (250 dollars) and the NSZ-GS9 starting in November for 299 euros.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

Dogs may protect babies from some infections WASHINGTON: Babies who spend time around pet dogs have fewer ear infections and respiratory ailments than those whose homes are animalfree, said a study released yesterday.

The study, published in the US journal Pediatrics, did not say why but suggested that being around a dog that spends at least part of its day outdoors may boost a child’s immune system in the first year of life.

Cats, too, seemed to convey some protection to babies, though the effect obser ved was weaker than

with dogs. The research was based on 397 children in Finland whose parents made diar y entries each week recording the state of their child’s health during the infant’s first year, from nine weeks to 52 weeks of age. Overall, babies in homes with cats or dogs were about 30 percent less likely to have respiratory infectious symptoms-which included cough, wheezing, rhinitis (stuffy or runny nose) and fever-and about half as likely to get ear infections.

“If children had dog or cat contacts at home, they were significantly

healthier during the study period,” said the study led by exper ts at Kuopio University Hospital in Finland.

The most protective association was seen in children who had a dog inside at home for up to six hours a day, compared to children who did not have any dogs or who had dogs that were always outside.

“We offer preliminary evidence that dog ownership may be protective against respiratory tract infections during the first year of life,” said the study. “We speculate that animal contacts could help to mature the

immunologic system, leading to more composed immunologic response and shorter duration of infections.”

The improvement was significant, even after researchers ruled out other factors that could boost infection risk, such as not having been breastfed, attending daycare, being raised by smokers or parents with asthma, or having older siblings in the household.

In addition to having less frequent ear infections and respiratory infections, babies near dogs tended to

need fewer courses of antibiotics compared to those who were reared in pet-free households, it said.

Previous research has shown conflicting results, with some studies finding no benefit for young children being around furry pets and others finding that animal contact appears to offer some protection against colds and stomach ailments.

The study authors said their research differs from previous analyses because it focuses solely on the first postnatal year and does not include older children. —AFP

Cambodian deaths tied to common child illness EV-71 virus can result in brain swelling and death

This undated file photo provided by the Australian Institute of Marine Science shows white coral syndrome in Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Ocean acidification has emerged as one of the biggest threats to coral reefs across the world, acting as the “osteoporosis of the sea” and threatening everything from food security to tourism to livelihoods, the head of a US scientific agency said yesterday. — AP

Ocean acidity major reef threat: Official SYDN E Y: O ce a n a c i d i f i c a t i o n h a s emerged as one of the biggest threats to coral reefs across the world, acting as the “osteoporosis of the sea” and threatening ever ything from food security to tourism to livelihoods, the head of a US scientific agency said yesterday.

The speed by which the oceans’ acid levels has risen caught scientists offguard, with the problem now considered to be climate change’s “equally e v i l t w i n ,” N a t i o n a l O ce a n i c a n d Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco told The Associated Press.

“We’ve got sort of the perfect storm of stressors from multiple places really hammering reefs around the world,” said Lubchenco, who was in Australia to speak at the International Coral Reef Symposium in the northeast city of Cairns, near the Great Barrier Reef. “It’s a very serious situation.”

Oceans absorb excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in acidity. Scientists are worried about how that increase will affect sea life, particularly reefs, as higher acid levels make it tough for coral skeletons to form.

Lubchenco likened ocean acidification to osteoporosis - a bone-thinning disease - because researchers are concerned it will lead to the deterioration of reefs.

Scientists initially assumed that the carbon dioxide absorbed by the water would be sufficiently diluted as the oceans mixed shallow and deeper waters. But most of the carbon dioxide and the subsequent chemical changes are being concentrated in sur face waters, Lubchenco said. “And those sur face waters are changing much more rapidly than initial calculations have suggested,” she said.

“It’s yet another reason to be very seriously concerned about the amount of carbon dioxide that is in the atmos-

phere now and the additional amount we continue to put out.”

Higher acidity levels are especially problematic for creatures such as oysters, because they slow the growth of their shells. Experiments have shown other animals, such as clown fish, also suffer. In a study that mimicked the level of acidity scientists expect by the end of the century, clown fish began swimming toward predators, instead o f away from th em, bec ause th eir sense of smell had been dulled.

“We’re just beginning to uncover many of the ways in which the changing chemistry of oceans affects lots of behaviors,” Lubchenco said. “So salmon not being able to find their natal streams because their sense of smell was impaired, that’s a very real possibility.”

The potential impact of all of this is huge, Lubchenco said. Coral reefs attract critical tourism dollars and protect fragile coastlines from threats such as tsunamis. Seafood is the primary source of protein for many people around the world. Already, some oyster farmers have blamed higher acidity levels for a decrease in stocks.

Some attempts to address the problem are already under way.

Instruments that measure changing acid levels in the water have been installed in some areas to warn oyster growers wh en to stop th e flow of ocean water to their hatcheries.

But that is only a short-term solution, Lubchenco said. The most critical element, she said, is reducing carbon emissions.

“The carbon dioxide that we have put in the atmosphere will continue to be absorbed by oceans for decades,” she said. “It is going to be a long time b e fo re we c a n s t a b i l i ze a n d t u r n around the direction of change simply because it’s a big atmosphere and it’s a big ocean.” — AP

PHNOM PENH: A deadly form of a common childhood illness has been linked to the mysterious child deaths in Cambodia that sparked alarm after a cause could not immediately be determined, health officials said yesterday.

Lab tests have confirmed that a virulent strain of hand, foot and mouth disease known as EV-71 is to blame for some of the 59 cases reviewed since April, including 52 deaths, according to a joint statement from the World Health Organization and Cambodian Health Ministry. The numbers were lowered from the initial report of 62 cases.

EV-71 is a virus that can result in paralysis, brain swelling and death. Most of the Cambodian cases involved children younger than 3 who experienced fever, respiratory problems that led to rapid shutdown and sometimes neurological symptoms.

Epidemiologists are still trying to piece together information about the cases by interviewing parents because some details may have been omitted or missing from medical charts and specimens were not taken from most children before they died, said Dr. Nima Asgari, who is leading the WHO investigation. Of 24 samples tested, 15 came back positive for EV-71.

“As far as I’m aware, EV-71 was not identified as a virus in Cambodia before,” Asgari said, adding that based on the information now available it’s likely that the majority of untested patients were infected with it.

“We are a bit more confident. We are hoping that we can come up with something a bit more conclusive in the next day or so,” he said.

Hand, foot and mouth disease has been raging across Asia and usually causes a telltale rash.

Blistering was only reported in some of the Cambodian cases, and it ’s possible that steroids administered by doctors could have masked the symptom or it may not have been recorded, he said. The lab results also identified other diseases in some cases, including mosquito -borne dengue fever and Streptococcus suis, a germ commonly seen in pigs that sometimes infects people, often causing meningitis and hearing loss.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is spread by sneezing, coughing and contact with fluid from blisters or infected feces. It is caused by enteroviruses in the same family as polio. No vaccine or specific treatment exists, but illness is typically mild and most children recover quickly without problems.

The virus gets its name from the symptoms it causes, including rash, mouth sores and blisters covering the hands and feet. Many infected children don’t get sick but can spread it to others.

Neighboring Vietnam has been battling a surging number of hand, foot and mouth dis-

PHNOM PENH: Mean Thida, 4, affected with mystery disease, sleeps beside her mother as she receives treatment via a bottle of serum, not in photo, at their home near a dump site at Sambour village, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, yesterday. A deadly form of a common childhood illness has been linked to many of the mysterious child deaths in Cambodia that caused alarm after a cause could not immediately be determined, health officials said yesterday.— AP

‘Coral Triangle’ reefs at risk

BENOA: Indonesia workers load tuna fish from a fishing boat onto a truck at Benoa fishing port in Denpasar, on Bali island yesterday.

More than 85 percent of reefs in Asia’s “Coral Triangle” are directly threatened by human activities such as coastal development, pollution, and overfishing, a new report warned. — AFP

Madagascar battles surge in TB cases MORAMANGA: After enduring six months of pain that grew so intense she could no longer work, Perline Razanadravao finally decided to go with her equally sick baby to see a doctor.

“I had pain everywhere, in my muscles,” said the 26-year-old rice grower. She went first to the local health centre near her home village of Lakatu, which sent her to the nearest clinic to her home, the Little Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, run

by Catholic nuns on the outskirts of Moramanga, a town in the east of the country. That meant a six-hour walk, with nine-month-old Jeudi coughing and suffering from diarrhoea along the way. There, doctors told her that they are part of Madagascar’s growing tuberculosis problem. Last year alone 26,700 people contracted TB, according to the health ministry, a jump of more than 16 percent compared with 2009, when a military coup precipitated an economic crisis as donors suspended aid to one of the world’s poorest countries.

Chronic malnutrition and poverty deep-

ened, contributing to the spike in TB, experts say. “There are more people getting the disease since the crisis started in 2009,” says sister Marie Amelie, the chief doctor at the small clinic treating 22 TB patients.

Since the army-backed takeover by baby-faced strongman Andry Rajoelina, the economy has yet to regain a peak reached in 2008, with an estimated 200,000 jobs lost. In a country where 81 percent of the population lives on less than $1.25 (a euro) a day, even small economic changes have a major effect.

Veronique Raveloarisoa, 27, who lives in Madagascar’s second city Toamasina, a port on the east coast some 350 kilometres (220 miles) from the capital Antananarivo, is relatively fortunate. But she and her 10month-old, the youngest of four, also have TB. Like Razanadravao, she also waited until she was too weak to work before visiting a doctor.

Now the $2.0 a day her husband works as a rickshaw driver is their family’s sole income. Many patients stop treatment ear-

ease cases for the past few years, with EV-71 also wreaking havoc there. Last year, the disease sickened more than 110,000 people and killed 166, mostly children whose immune systems were not strong enough to fend off the infection.

China is also experiencing an outbreak, and more than 240 people have died of the disease there this year, according to China’s Health Ministry. The Cambodia investigation is continuing, but the H5N1 bird flu virus, SARS and Nipah - a deadly virus usually spread by fruit bats or pigs - have all been ruled out. — AP

ly-Raveloarisoa has tea and bread for breakfast, then rice for lunch and supper. Here that is considered a full diet, but doctors say people need better nutrition to fight TB. “The problems that we are facing are those of nutrition. It’s the really poor who get sick and they no longer can work,” said Aimee Razoeliarisoa, a doctor at the private Salfa hospital in Toamasina, which is treating more than 400 TB patients.

“But lately we are seeing even teachers, students who catch the disease,” she added. Treatment is arduous. Madagascar follows an eight-month treatment regime that requires daily medical supervision for the first 60 days, and the WHO has persuaded it to adopt a six-month regime, the health ministry said.

The lengthy treatment is a problem for many patients in a nation where 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas, 65 percent of them more than 10 kilometres from health centres, according to the health ministry. Often this distance must be covered on foot because of poor roads and

transport. Nearly five percent of diagnosed cases are fatal. About nine percent of patients stop their treatment early. Among the few aid agencies still working in Madagascar, the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria is providing free TB treatment and helping to improve both public and private hospitals.

Even before the political crisis, Madagascar suffered one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world.

According to the UN children’s agency UNICEF, 50 percent of children were chronically malnourished in 2008-09.

The figure has since crept up to 52 percent. Razanadravao and her daughter have been at the Little Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which offers free meals and beds in addition to medication, for 10 days.

She must stay for two months of observation, leaving her husband to take care of the house and their two other children.

After that, she will have to complete the six-hour walk every other month for checkups and to pick up her medication. — AFP

SYDNEY: More than 85 percent of reefs in Asia’s “Coral Triangle” are directly threatened by human activities such as coastal development, pollution, and overfishing, a new report warned yesterday.

Launched at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, it said the threat was substantially more than the global average of 60 percent and urged greater efforts to reduce destructive fishing and runoff from land.

“When these threats are combined with recent coral bleaching, prompted by rising ocean temperatures, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent,” the report said.

The Coral Triangle covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, The Solomon Islands, and East Timor and contains nearly 30 percent of the world’s reefs and more than 3,000 species of fish.

More than 130 million people living in the region rely on reef ecosystems for food, employment, and revenue from tourism, according to “Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle”.

“Across the Coral Triangle region, coastal communities depend on coral reefs for food, livelihoods, and protection from waves during storms, but the threats to reefs in this region are incredibly high,” said lead author Lauretta Burke.

“Reefs are resilient-they can recover from coral bleaching and other impacts-particularly if other threats are low. “The benefits reefs provide are at risk, which is why concer ted action to mitigate threats to reefs across the Coral Triangle region is so important.”

The report by the World Resources Institute, in collaboration with environmental groups WWF, The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International, will be used by the six countries to develop their management of the reefs. “(The report) is an important contribution for supporting the six Coral Triangle countries in making critical decisions related to protecting their marine resources,” said Maurice Knight, a contributing author. “ The region-wide perspective on the status of coral reefs as depicted in this report demonstrates the urgency of the situation and the need for immediate action.”

The International Coral Reef Symposium, held every four years, has attracted more than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries to present the latest advances in coral reef conservation. Their research and findings are considered fundamental to informing international and national policies and the sustainable use of coral reefs globally.—AFP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

ACL injuries may be more common in men: Study NEW YORK: Men have a greater number of knee ligament injuries than women, despite research suggesting that women’s knees are more prone to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and surgeries to fix them, according to a Swedish study.

The report, published in the American Journal of Sports medicine, counted the injuries across the entire Swedish population, not just among players of particular sports or in certain regions.

The ACL is the key stabilizing ligament in the knee, and is most often injured during sports that involve quick turns or pivoting movements, such as basketball, soccer and skiing. It has been estimated that 80,000 cruciate ligament injuries - the majority of them ACL - take place in the United States every year, with almost half surgically repaired. “I think the difference is that earlier studies studied at-risk populations,” said Richard Nordenvall, of Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden.

“In those studies, women are more prone to get injured. The difference with this study is that we studied the general population.”

Nordenvall and his colleagues used a nationwide database of patients to see how many Swedes had knee ligament injuries and how many had surgical repairs between 2002 and 2009.

Overall, 56,659 people in Sweden tore a knee ligament during the study period. The researchers say that works out to an average of 78 tears for every 100,000 Swedish citizens.

Men accounted for about 34,000 of the tears, or 60 percent. Men also had 59 percent of the reconstructive surgeries associated with knee ligament injuries. Swedish women tended to experience ACL injuries at a younger age - between the ages of 11 and 20, versus 21 to 30 for men. When Nordenvall and his colleagues looked just at the age groups with the highest injury rates, men still had far more knee troubles. The numbers worked out to about 144 tears per 100,000 women between 11 and 20 years old, and 225 tears per 100,0000 men aged 21 to 30.

Darin Padua, director of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said he was not surprised by the findings. No one can say for certain why women seem to tear their knee ligaments earlier in life compared to men, Padua said, but it probably has to do with the body’s development and movement patterns. “It’s a common injury and it’s more common than what has been thought of earlier,” Nordenvall said. Padua echoed this, adding that it helps to show that both men and women should be taking part in injury prevention programs. — Reuters

Centers of Excellence brings hope to Arthritis sufferers Enhance program, first of its kind in the ME KUWAIT: A new program, the first of its kind in the Middle East, has been launched in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and other Gulf countries to improve the early diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis in the patient population here. The “Enhance” Program has established Centers of Excellence in many hospitals, including Amiri Hospital and Al Jahra Hospital in Kuwait to promote the early diagnosis and management of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis affects an estimated 1% of the population. It has potentially devastating impact on sufferers, their families and society as a whole, and late diagnosis is a major obstacle in its successful management.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by symptoms that include, swelling, pain and stiffness of the joints, in particular affecting the hands, feet, wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles and knees. Disease onset most frequently occurs between the ages of 40 and 60, but people of any age can be affected. It can be a disabling and painful condition, and if untreated, can cause permanent damage to joints, and can reduce life expectancy.

Having an early diagnosis and manage-

ment center available locally meets an unmet need. Currently, there is a significant lag time between disease symptom onset and diagnosis, as well as a lag between diagnosis and treatment. However, seeking medical advice from a Rheumatologist and receiving treatment early has been shown to significantly reduce the level of irreversible joint damage, as the majority of joint damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis occurs in the first years. Dr. Adeeba Al-Herz, Consultant Rheumatologist, Amiri Hospital, commented, “Rheumatoid Arthritis can be a debilitating disease, negatively impacting patients’ quality of life and even their mental wellbeing, the earlier Rheumatoid Arthritis patients can receive treatment by a Rheumatologist, in the proper setting of an early arthritis clinic, the better the patient health outcome”.

Dr. Adeeba added, “With the launch of our new center, we offer a unique and muchneeded facility. We urge patients suffering from the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis to seek medical attention, to help avoid unnecessary joint damage and improve their chances of successfully managing the disease, if diagnosed.”

The local hospitals participating in the Enhance program have undergone training

and preparations to establish and manage an early Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis and management clinic, in collaboration with Dr. Karim Raza and colleagues from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Joining select institutes across the Gulf, including from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, the hospitals first participated in a kick-off meeting in November 2011 in Birmingham, followed up by a practical planning and training session in late February, all with the support of local health authorities.

Equipped with best practice for patient diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases, experts returned to their respective hospitals to establish their own centers of excellence. As a final step in the pre-launch process, Enhance program director and international expert Dr. Karim Raza, Reader in Clinical Rheumatology & Honorar y Consultant Rheumatologist, University of Birmingham, visited each hospital at the end of May to review clinical practice and meet Early Arthritis Clinic stakeholders.

“Through our preparations for launching this center, the local need for early RA diagnosis and care became more and more apparent. Information on RA among Arab

populations in the Middle East is scarce and Rheumatoid Arthritis can often be misdiagnosed. So, it’s important for patients who think they might have RA to see a Rheumatologist as soon as possible, and for general practitioners to refer their patients accordingly,” noted Dr Fatma Butaiban Consultant Rheumatologist & head of division, Al Jahra Hopsital. “Through Enhance, we are equipped to better understand RA in the local population, promote awareness of RA symptoms to increase the likelihood of early diagnosis, and leverage best practices for more effective disease management, which is expected to profoundly improve patient outcomes in the region,” added Dr Fatma. As the program offers such significant benefits to patients, it is hoped that other institutions in Kuwait will follow suit and introduce similar programs in the near future.

Amiri and Al Jahra Hospitals of Kuwait have initiated Early Arthritis centers and conducted a soft launch a few months ago.

Since then, the centers have been tracking patients in their disease management and treatment, and will analyze results in the future, to continue to optimize the patient experience locally and across the region.

Parasite tied to self-harm, suicide attempts: Study NEW YORK: Women who are infected with a common parasite may be more likely to harm themselves or to attempt suicide, according to a study of more than 45,000 Danish women.

The infection, known as toxoplasmosis, is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Humans can become chronically infected by eating undercooked meat or unwashed vegetables, or by handling cat litter, as the parasite is known to multiply in the gut of infected cats.

Some studies have linked the parasite to a higher chance of developing schizophrenia, and researchers believe that because the T. gondii parasite lives in the brain, it could have an effect on emotions and behavior.

“Women with a T gondii infection have an increased risk of self-directed violence,” wrote study leader Teodor Postolache

at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

For the study, Postolache and his colleagues used Danish medical registries to track 45,788 women who were originally included in a study that screened newborn babies for toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is often symptom-free, but it can be dangerous in people with weak immune systems or during pregnancy, since the parasite may be passed to babies.

All of the infants in the screening were tested for antibodies against the parasite through a blood sample drawn five to 10 days after birth. Because the babies were still too young to make their own antibodies, any that showed up in their blood would have been passed from their mothers.

Just over one-quarter of the babies were positive for the

antibodies, meaning their mothers likely had a chronic, underlying toxoplasmosis infection. And over the next 11 to 14 years, infected women were about 50 percent more likely to cut, burn or otherwise hurt themselves, according to their medical records. They were 80 percent more likely to attempt suicide. In total, 488 women hurt themselves for the first time during the study, or eight out of every 10,000 annually, and 78 tried to kill themselves. Louis Weiss, who studies toxoplasmosis at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York but was not involved with the study, said the findings were “really quite interesting” but that the risk was not very high.

“There probably is an effect of this parasite on human behavior, which has been suspected” based on studies of animals infected with the parasite, Weiss added.— Reuters

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Announcements Indian Embassy passport and visa Passports and Visa applications can be deposited at the two outsourced centers of M/S BLS Ltd at Sharq and Fahaheel. Details are available at www.bls-international.com and www.indembkwt.org .

Consular Open House Consular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizens on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the Consular Officer in the Meeting Room of the Consular Hall at the Embassy. For any unaddressed issues, Second Secretary (Consular) can be contacted.

Furthermore, the head of the Consular Wing is also available to redress grievances.

KBC honors participants in Euro Cup competition ithin the social activities organized by the Kuwaiti Banks Club (KBC) for bankers and their families, KBC recently held a special ceremony to honor 250 bankers who took part in a competition to pre-

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Indian workers helpline/helpdesk Indian workers helpline is accessible by toll free telephone number 25674163 from all over Kuwait. It provides information and advice to Indian workers as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. The help desk at the Embassy (Open from 9AM to 1PM and 2PM to 4:30PM, Sunday to Thursday) provides guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal and other issues. It also provides workers assistance in filling up labour complaint forms. For any unaddressed issues, the concerned attachÈ in the Labour section and the head of the Labour Wing can be contacted.

dict who would win the Euro Cup. 123 participants’ predictions came true and a raffle was made to choose the winners with the presence of KBC’s member of board and chairman of the sports committee, Khalil Al-

Bloushi. Abdullah Oun and Abdul Rahman AlEnezi (KFH) and Soha Abol Soud (Doha Bank) won the three first prizes.

Legal Advice Clinic Free legal advice is provided on matters pertaining to labour disputes, terms of contracts with employers, death/accident compensation, withholding of dues by employers, etc. by lawyers on our panel, to Indian nationals on all working days between 1500hrs to 1600hrs.

Ambassador’s Open House The Open House for Indian citizens by the Ambassador is being held on all Wednesdays at the Embassy for redressal of grievances. In case Wednesday is an Embassy holiday, the meeting will be held on the next working day.

Kala holds literary seminar erala Art Lovers Association, KALA-Kuwait as the part of Thakazhi Sivasankarappillai centenary celebration conducted a seminar on “Current Significance of Thakazhi’s work”. Thakazhi, the winner of the highest award for literature in India

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‘Njanapeeddam’for his greatest work ‘Kayar’ has authored more than 40 novels and 600 short stories. The subject was presented by Suresh Babu followed by the inaugural discussion by K. Vinod, KALA President.

Thereafter Ms Sobha Suresh, PR

Babu, Sebastian, Sajitha Skaria, Praveen, Roopesh, Krishnan Kutty participated in the discussion. Sam Pynummodu acted as the moderator and the meeting concluded withthe postulation that the ‘The works of Thakazhi are still significant’ based onthe message he project-

ed through them. SalimRaj, literary secretary presided over the function while Vikas welcomed and N.R Rajeesh conveyed vote of thanks.

‘Leniency of Islam’ An unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid Al-Turkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University. So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm.

Free Arabic course IPC is opening an Intensive Basic Arabic Course for ladies commencing from June 3 to July 8, 2012. The class will be from 5-7 pm for three days a week. Registration is on! For information, call 22512257.

Fasting in Islam ou are cordially invited to Aware diwaniya presentation entitled, “Fasting in Islam, Judaism and Christianity,” by Iman Martin today, July 10 at 7 pm.

Is fasting unique to Muslims only? When and how do Jews and Christians fast? Is there any difference in Islam between fasting during Ramadan and other types of fasting? What is the meaning of Ramadan? What were the main reasons as to why people observed fasting in the past? In her 20-minute presentation, Iman will answer all the questions and many more.

For more information, call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw

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Summer Scrabble for kids ood news for kids still here during the summer vacations. You can join up with me to learn some tricks, tips and how to play Scrabble the right way! Need to know more? Then register with me Rohaina at 66634224 or at rainaveer@hotmail.com. You will be given Scrabble boards and have loads of fun games, mind games and quizzes. If this sounds fun, then call soon. Classes will end on July 26.

Classes are on Thursdays ONLY and from 2.30 4.00 pm. Loads of fun and games in store.

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Marina Hotel Kuwait brings traditional delights this holy month of Ramadan arina Hotel extends Ramadan Kareem greetings to guests and their families on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan. Experience Ramadan at the hotel and break your fast with flavorsome Iftar and Sohour selections prepared daily, offering an ideal venue to share the joy of Ramadan with family and friends. Share this special time in the traditional settings of Ramadan and the wonderful Oriental ambience at all outlets of the Hotel.

A traditional Ramadan experience is made by Chef Maher and his culinary team offering a delectable daily sunset Iftar & Sohour. Break your fast with an exquisite Iftar buffet at the Atlantis restaurant with panoramic views of the Arabian Sea and experience a remarkable Ghabka and Sohour buffet with a wide selection of delicacies at the Kamar Al Marina Tent inside the Six Palms. The Kamar Al Marina Tent is the best choice to dine. It is fully equipped to cater for groups and organizations with a capacity to accommodate up to 180 guests at a time.

For private functions and corporate events, Salwa Sabah Al Ahmed Theatre and Hall gives special personalized attention, this exquisite hall can

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accommodate up to 750 guests at a time. It also offers a selection of different menus for Iftar and Sohour at exclusive prices and is fully equipped to cater for groups and organizations.

fessional chefs of the hotel will prepare mouthwatering dishes to satisfy every palate. Savor the delicious delicacies from the open buffet and live cooking stations and quench your

Oriental cuisine in a tranquil setting complemented by live cooking stations, sweets, beverages and a wide selection of flavored Shisha.

Nabil Hammoud, General

For the entire period of Ramadan the “Kamar Al Marina Tent” will be sponsored by Al Rai TV and Air France / KLM. The highly qualified and pro-

thirst with the traditional Ramadan beverages including Jelab, Ark Sous, Kamardine and Tamarhindi. Guests can feast on an extensive array of Arabic and

Manager of Marina Hotel said: “Ramadan is a dynamic month and one of the most sacred occasions. We have designed our promotion keeping the

needs of the faithful in mind and would like to give them a chance to create more memories with loved ones during this exceptional time. We wish to extend our warmest greetings to you and your families and I take this opportunity to invite one and all to our property to enjoy the flavorful feast that we have prepared for our guests.”

Guests are invited to avail special room packages where they can relax and enjoy their stay in the luxurious rooms throughout the Ramadan period. The Hotel’s rooms are specially designed and have all the requisite facilities and luxurious amenities. They can also use the spa, and the state of the art fitness centre. Savor the authentic Arabian flavors at Marina Hotel Kuwait this Ramadan.

Competitions in Patriotic songs ndo-Kuwait Friendship Society, Kuwait (www.indokuwaitfriendshipsociety.com) is planning to conduct competitions in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs.

This is the first time in Kuwait, an Indian Association is organizing contests in “Patriotic Songs” for both Indian and Kuwaiti School students. The first 3 places will be declared separately by Judges who are experts in Indian and Kuwaiti Patriotic songs. Several prizes and awards will be handed over for the winning schools.

Pradeep Rajkumar and A K S Abdul Nazar said that IKFS wants let our children learn what they mean as a “Patriotic” to their home country. 4 pages of spot Essay competition related to “Patriotism” also will be held in the same day as a spot registration. 1 Girl and 1 Boy student from each School can participate in the ESSAY contest. Dr. Mohamed Tareq, Chairman of the First Indian Model School in Kuwait “ Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS) already confirmed as a Co-Sponsor of the Program.

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Conditions apply: 1) The competitions are meant for all the Schools located in Kuwait and should be nominated by school authority.

2) Each school can select group of 7 students for the “PATRIOTIC SONGS (Indian and Kuwaiti)” and nominate separately.

3) Children of above 12 years till 17 years (VII classes to XII classes) are eligible for the contest. But if School is permitted 4) Musical instruments or KARAOKE mixer should be accompanied by the participating students/Children and the school team should operate and select the mixers.

5) Time frame: 7 minutes - Names will be called as “First come” in the Registration.

The Event will be held at the auditorium of “Salmiya Indian Model School” on Saturday, 27th October 2012 from 09:30 am onwards. It will be a full day program

with fun and full of entertainments. Food-stalls of different Kuwaiti and Indian tastes will installed.

Dr. Ghalib Al-Mashoor said in a press release that Invitations for all schools located in various parts of Kuwait are already been sent. Schools under one management but from different locations can also participate in the contest individually. As per the school directory, there 23 Indian schools in Kuwait. The last date of receiving names of the Participants is scheduled on 2nd day of October, 2012 (INDIA’s GHANDI JAYANTHI DAY). The entry is free to all and due to 2nd day of Eid Al-Adha holidays, a large crowd is expected to attend in addition to, Senior Kuwaiti and Indian citizens will also grace the function.

All the applications of interest should be sent to: ikfsociety@gmail.com Phone:99430786

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian ConsulateGeneral in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF BRAZIL The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form / Fale Conosco) in order to register or update contact information. The Embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the Embassy. The registration process helps the Brazilian Government to contact and assist Brazilians living abroad in case of any emergency.

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EMBASSY OF BRITAIN Consular section at the British Embassy will be starting an online appointment booking system for our consular customers from Sunday, 01 July 2012. All information including how to make an appointment is now available on the embassy website. In addition, there is also a “Consular Appointment System” option under Quick links on the right hand side on the homepage, which should take you to the “Consular online booking appointment system” main page.

Please be aware that from 01 July 2012, we will no longer accept walk-in customers for legalisation, notarial services and certificates (birth, death and marriages). If you have problems accessing the system or need to make an appointment for non-notarial consular issues or have a consular emergency, please call 2259 4355/7/8 or email us on consularenquirieskuwait@fco.gov.uk. If you require consular assistance out of office hours (working hours: 0730-l430 hrs), please contact the Embassy on 2259 4320.

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Outstanding students honoured uwait University Student Union’s Al-Quds committee recently held a special ceremony to honor the high achievers in this year’s school-leaving certificate exams. The ceremony was held at Othman Abdul Malek stage, KU, Shuwaikh where Dr Ibrahim Al-Muhanna presented special trophies to outstanding students.

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EMBASSY OF KOREA The Embassy of the Republic of Korea wishes to inform that it has moved to Mishref. New Address: Embassy of the Republic of Korea Mishref, Block 7A, Diplomatic Area 2, Plot 6 The Embassy also wishes to inform that it will be opened to the public on the following office hours: Saturday to Thursday Morning: 8:00 am to 12:30 pm Lunch Break: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm Afternoon: 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform Kenyan residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that with effect from June 1, 2012 the Embassy has moved from its current location to a new location in Surra Block 1, Street 8, Villa 303.

Please note that the new telephone and fax numbers will be communicated as soon as possible. For enquiries you can contact Consular Section on mobile 90935162 or 97527306.

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EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico is pleased to inform that it is located in CLIFFS Complex, Villa 6, Salmiya, block 9, Baghdad street, Jadda Lane 7. The working hours for consular issues are from 9:00 to 12:00 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 14:00 to 15:00 hours for lunch break. The Embassy of Mexico kindly requests all Mexicans citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the e-mail: embkuwait@sre.gob.mx in order to register or update contact information. Other consultations or/and appointments could be done by telephone or fax: (+965) 2573 1952 ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location.

Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF NEPAL The Embassy of Nepal has moved to a new location in Jabriya, Block 8, St. 13, House No. 514, effective from 15th April, 2012. Till the new telephone connections are installed, the Embassy may be contacted by email: info@nepembku.org ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF THAILAND The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait, wishes to invite the Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database.

The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 -25317531, Ext: 14.

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EMBASSY OF UKRAINE We’d like to inform you that in response to the increasing number of our citizens who work in the state and the need for 24-hour operational telephone in case of emergency the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait has opened “hotline telephone number” - (+ 965) 972-79-206.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Your Worst Animal Nightmares 01:40 Untamed & Uncut 02:35 Great Animal Escapes 03:00 Great Animal Escapes 03:30 Must Love Cats 04:25 Wildest India 05:20 Cheetah Kingdom 05:45 Predator’s Prey 06:10 New Breed Vets With Steve Irwin 07:00 Karina: Wild On Safari 07:25 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 08:15 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Baby Planet 10:05 Wildest India 11:00 Wildlife SOS 11:25 Going Ape 11:55 Animal Cops Specials 2009 12:50 Safari Vet School 13:15 Safari Vet School 13:45 Animal Precinct 14:40 Wildest India 15:30 Karina: Wild On Safari 16:00 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 16:30 Growing Up...

17:25 Cats 101 18:20 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 19:15 Wildlife SOS 19:40 Going Ape 20:10 Cheetah Kingdom 20:35 In Too Deep 21:05 Wildest India 22:00 Rescue Vet 22:25 Rescue Vet 22:55 World Wild Vet 23:50 Animal Cops Houston

00:55 Eastenders 01:25 Doctors 01:55 Spooks 02:45 The Weakest Link 03:35 As Time Goes By 04:05 Balamory 04:25 Tellytales 04:35 Bobinogs 04:45 Nina And The Neurons 05:00 Teletubbies 05:25 Boogie Beebies 05:40 Little Robots 05:50 Balamory 06:10 Tellytales 06:20 Bobinogs 06:30 Nina And The Neurons 06:45 Teletubbies 07:10 Boogie Beebies 07:25 Little Robots 07:35 As Time Goes By 08:05 One Foot In The Grave 08:35 Dinnerladies 09:05 Eastenders 09:35 Doctors 10:05 Coast 11:05 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 11:50 As Time Goes By 12:20 One Foot In The Grave 12:50 The Weakest Link 13:35 Eastenders 14:05 Doctors 14:35 Coast 15:30 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 16:15 The Weakest Link 17:00 Eastenders 17:30 Doctors 18:00 Bleak House 18:30 Bleak House 19:00 After You’ve Gone 19:30 Gavin & Stacey 20:00 London Hospital 20:50 2 Point 4 Children 21:20 Lead Balloon 21:50 Life On Mars 22:40 Fawlty Towers 23:15 The Weakest Link

00:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix 01:20 Gok’s Fashion Fix 02:10 MasterChef

02:35 MasterChef 03:00 Living In The Sun 03:55 Living In The Sun 04:45 MasterChef 05:10 MasterChef 05:35 Living In The Sun 06:30 Living In The Sun 07:20 MasterChef Australia 08:05 MasterChef Australia 08:55 MasterChef Australia 09:20 Bargain Hunt 10:05 Antiques Roadshow 11:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 11:40 Come Dine With Me 12:30 10 Years Younger 13:20 Holmes On Homes 14:05 Holmes On Homes 14:55 Bargain Hunt 15:40 Antiques Roadshow 16:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 Rachel’s Favourite Food For Living 18:25 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 18:55 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 19:45 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Bargain Hunt 22:05 Antiques Roadshow 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

00:00 BBC World News America 00:30 BBC World News America 01:00 Newsday 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 Sport Today 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 BBC World News 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 14:30 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 21:30 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 Business Edition With Tanya Beckett 23:30 Hardtalk

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 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 10:55 11:15 11:40 12:00 12:15 12:40 12:55 13:20 13:35 14:00 14:25 14:50 15:15 15:40 16:00 16:15 16:40 17:05 17:30 17:55 18:10 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

Puppy In My Pocket Tom & Jerry Kids Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Flintstones Pink Panther And Pals Looney Tunes Popeye Classics 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 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Duck Dodgers Looney Tunes The Flintstones Wacky Races Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Looney Tunes Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Duck Dodgers Duck Dodgers The Looney Tunes Show Dastardly And Muttley Johnny Bravo Johnny Bravo Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show The Garfield Show Dexter’s Laboratory Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Dexter’s Laboratory Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Duck Dodgers Looney Tunes The Garfield Show A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Popeye The Jetsons Duck Dodgers

00:30 Bakugan: New Vestroia 00:55 Bakugan: New Vestroia 01:20 Powerpuff Girls 02:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 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...

TAKERS ON OSN ACTION HD

14:45 Angelo Rules 15:35 Powerpuff Girls 16:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 16:40 Johnny Test 17:05 Adventure Time 17:30 Regular Show 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

00:00 Amanpour 00:30 World Sport 01:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 02:00 World Report 03:00 Anderson Cooper 360 04:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 05:00 Quest Means Business 06:00 The Situation Room 07:00 World Sport 07:30 African Voices 08:00 World Report 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Sport 10:30 Talk Asia 11:00 World Business Today 12:00 Amanpour 12:30 World’s Untold Stories 13:00 World One 14:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 15:00 News Stream 16:00 World Business Today 17:00 International Desk 18:00 Global Exchange 19:00 World Sport 19:30 World’s Untold Stories 20:00 International Desk 21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

00:15 01:10 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 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

Weird Or What?

Sons Of Guns Hillbilly Handfishin’ Extreme Fishing River Monsters: Lair Of Giants Weird Or What?

How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Gold Divers American Chopper Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Border Security Auction Kings How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Rattlesnake Republic Finding Bigfoot Tornado Road Border Security Auction Kings Ultimate Survival American Chopper Fifth Gear Gold Divers Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Border Security Auction Kings The Gadget Show Rattlesnake Republic Finding Bigfoot Wreckreation Nation

00:35 01:25 02:15 03:05 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 07:53 08:20 08:50 09:40 10:30 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:45 15:35 16:00 16:03 16:30 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:40

Superships Science Of The Movies Mighty Ships The Gadget Show Da Vinci’s Machines Space Pioneer Superships Science Of The Movies Mighty Ships Head Rush Bang Goes The Theory Sci-Fi Science Sport Science Da Vinci’s Machines Scrapheap Challenge Scrapheap Challenge Scrapheap Challenge Scrapheap Challenge Scrapheap Challenge Scrapheap Challenge The Gadget Show Head Rush Bang Goes The Theory Sci-Fi Science Science Of The Movies Sport Science Moon Machines Junk Men Junk Men Scrapheap Challenge The Gadget Show The Gadget Show Junk Men Junk Men Scrapheap Challenge Sport Science

00:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 00:55 Style Star 01:25 E!es 02:20 THS 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 E!es 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Scouted 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Ice Loves Coco 13:35 Ice Loves Coco 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 THS 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 17:55 E! News

18:55 19:25 York 20:25 21:25 22:25 23:25 23:55

E!es Kourtney & Kim Take New Mrs. Eastwood And Company Giuliana & Bill E! News Chelsea Lately Fashion Police

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Deadly Sins Scorned: Crimes Of Passion Extreme Forensics The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Street Patrol Street Patrol Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Killer Kids Killer Kids Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

The Green Way Up The Green Way Up Destination Extreme Destination Extreme Extreme Tourist Afghanistan City Chase Marrakech Treks In A Wild World Meet The Natives The Green Way Up The Green Way Up Destination Extreme Destination Extreme Extreme Tourist Afghanistan City Chase Marrakech Treks In A Wild World Meet The Natives The Green Way Up The Green Way Up Destination Extreme Destination Extreme Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Chasing Time Chasing Time Treks In A Wild World Meet The Natives The Green Way Up The Green Way Up Travel Madness Travel Madness David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Exploring The Vine Exploring The Vine Long Way Down Asia Action Challenge 2000

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Big, Bigger, Biggest Secret Bible Is It Real? S3 (1 hour) Ancient Megastructures Fight Science Hunter Hunted Banged Up Abroad Air Crash Investigation Big, Bigger, Biggest Secret Bible Is It Real? S3 (1 hour) Big, Bigger, Biggest Fight Masters Hunter Hunted Banged Up Abroad Air Crash Investigation Big, Bigger, Biggest Secret Bible Is It Real? S3 (1 hour) Ancient Megastructures World’s Deadliest Animals Shark Men Lockdown Air Crash Investigation

00:00 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Inside Nature’s Giants Built for the Kill 4 Deep Jungle Outback Wrangler Hooked Africa’s Deadliest The Real Serengeti Deep Jungle Outback Wrangler Hooked Lost Sharks of Easter Island Monster Fish Rescue Ink I, Predator Deep Jungle Outback Wrangler Hooked Secrets Of The King Cobra Monster Fish Rescue Ink Deep Jungle Outback Wrangler Hooked Lost Sharks of Easter Island Monster Fish

00:00 Wild Chronicles 01:00 Kangaroo Kaos 01:55 Great Migrations 02:50 Swamp Men 03:45 Outback Wrangler 04:40 The Real Serengeti 05:35 Rescue Ink 06:30 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 07:25 The Invaders 08:20 Street Monkeys 09:15 Snake Wranglers 10:10 Built For The Kill 11:05 Great Migrations 12:00 Night Of The Lion

HANNA ON OSN CINEMA 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Camera Trap Hooked The Living Edens Grizzly Cauldron Snake Wranglers Squid vs. Whale The Living Edens Grizzly Cauldron Snake Wranglers Squid vs. Whale Night Of The Lion

Luster-18 The Killer Inside Me-18 Alien Resurrection-PG15 Ladder 49-PG15 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 Blank Slate-PG15 The Recruit-PG15 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 Little Big Soldier-PG15 The Recruit-PG15 Law Abiding Citizen-18 Takers-PG15

01:00 The Conspirator-PG15 03:00 The Green Hornet-PG15 05:00 The Third Wave-PG15 07:00 The Eagle-PG15 09:00 The Conspirator-PG15 11:00 The Cry Of The Owl-PG15 13:00 Coyote County Loser-PG15 15:00 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 17:00 Stonehenge ApocalypsePG15 19:00 Jumping The Broom-PG15 21:00 Hanna-PG15 23:00 Jackass 3-R

00:00 King Of The Hill 00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:30 Louie 02:00 American Dad 02:30 American Dad 03:00 2 Broke Girls 03:30 Raising Hope 04:00 Til Death 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 The Simpsons 06:00 Friends 06:30 Mad Love 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Til Death 08:30 2 Broke Girls 09:00 The Simpsons 10:00 Happy Endings 10:30 Mad Love 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Til Death 13:00 The Simpsons 13:30 Mad Love 14:00 Raising Hope 14:30 Happy Endings 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 2 Broke Girls 18:30 Man Up! 19:00 The Cleveland Show 19:30 Happy Endings 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 22:00 Eastbound And Down 23:00 Two And A Half Men 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 19:00 20:00 21:00

Justified Missing Luck Suits The Killing Good Morning America Terra Nova Coronation Street The Martha Stewart Show The View Missing Suits Live Good Morning America Terra Nova White Collar Royal Pains House

22:00 Luck 23:00 The Killing

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Unforgettable Luck Missing Justified Suits The Nine Lives Of Chloe King Unforgettable Emmerdale Coronation Street Body Of Proof The Ellen DeGeneres Show Missing Suits Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Body Of Proof Cold Case Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville White Collar Royal Pains House Luck Boardwalk Empire

00:45 The Kingdom-18 02:45 Alien Resurrection-PG15 04:45 Tron: Legacy-PG15 07:00 Riddles Of The Sphinx-PG15 09:00 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights-PG15 10:45 Tron: Legacy-PG15 13:00 In The Line Of Fire-PG15 15:15 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights-PG15 17:00 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 19:00 Get Rich Or Die Tryin’-18 21:00 Takers-PG15 23:00 Quarantine 2: Terminal-18

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 PG15 20:00 22:00

Bob Roberts-PG15 The Lightkeepers-PG15 Feed The Fish-PG15 Sleepover-PG15 The Lightkeepers-PG15 Cool Runnings-PG15 Kuffs-PG 16 To Life-PG15 Cool Runnings-PG15 The Night Of The White PantsThe Answer Man-PG15 Pete Smalls Is Dead-18

01:00 PVC-1-PG15 03:00 Fear-18 05:00 Funny Bones-PG15 07:15 Shipwrecked-PG 09:00 Alabama Moon-PG15 11:00 My Dog Tulip-PG15 13:00 The LXD: The Uprising BeginsPG15 15:00 Alabama Moon-PG15 17:00 Veronica Guerin-PG15 19:00 Hollywood, I’m Sleeping Over Tonight-PG15 21:00 Anna And The King-PG15 23:30 The Weather Man-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:15 23:00

Season Of The Witch-PG15 Lies In Plain Sight-PG15 A Soldier’s Love Story-PG15 Our Family Wedding-PG15 Megamind-FAM I Am Number Four-PG15 Oranges And Sunshine-PG15 Oceans - Into The Deep-PG Megamind-FAM X-Men: First Class-PG15 Brothers-18 Bad Teacher-18

01:45 Legend Of Sleeping BeautyPG 03:45 Teo: The Intergalactic HunterPG 06:00 Olentzero Christmas Tale-FAM

08:00 10:00 12:00 PG 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

In Search Of The Titanic-PG Marmaduke-PG Teo: The Intergalactic HunterTommy & Oscar-FAM The Prince Of Dinosaurs-PG Marmaduke-PG Paws-PG Tommy & Oscar-FAM

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Film Socialisme-PG15 The Flyboys-PG15 Double Wedding-PG15 Bustin’ Down The Door-PG15 Zookeeper-PG15 Winnie The Pooh-FAM Gulliver’s Travels-PG Flash Of Genius-PG15 Zookeeper-PG15 Rio-FAM The Switch-18 X-Men: First Class-PG15

00:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 01:00 NRL Premiership 03:00 Super Rugby Highlights 04:00 Super League 06:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 07:00 NRL Premiership 09:00 Super League 11:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 11:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 12:30 Super Rugby Highlights 13:30 NRL Premiership 15:30 Futbol Mundial 16:00 Live Cricket One Day International

00:30 02:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 22:00

Super League PGA European Tour Super Rugby Highlights PGA European Tour Highlights Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Super Rugby Super League PGA European Tour Highlights Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Super Rugby Highlights Trans World Sport UFC 148 WWE SmackDown

00:30 AFL Highlights 01:30 Golfing World 02:30 City Centre Races 03:30 City Centre Races 04:30 City Centre Races 05:00 World Match Racing Tour Highlights 06:00 World Pool Masters 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 AFL Highlights 09:00 Trans World Sport 10:00 Adventure Sports 10:30 Adventure Sports 11:00 Adventure Sports 12:00 Adventure Sports 12:30 Futbol Mundial 14:00 Sailing World Match Racing Tour 16:00 Adventure Sports 16:30 AFL Premiership 19:00 Golfing World 20:00 NRL Full Time 20:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 21:00 Futbol Mundial 22:30 Sailing World Match Racing Tour

01:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00

Prizefighter UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed WWE NXT WWE Bottom Line NHL V8 Supercars Extra Mobil 1 The Grid WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage Collection V8 Supercars V8 Supercars WWE NXT WWE Experience UFC 148

Classifieds TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JZR QTR ETH RJA GFA UAE ETD OMA THY FDB MSR RBG QTR JZR KAC THY JZR DHX KAC JZR KAC BAW KAC JZR KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD IRA GFA MEA JZR MSR MSC JZR MSR KAC KAC GFA FDB KNE JZR QTR KAC SVA FDB RJA JZR KAC KAC QTR JZR ETD KAC JZR UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC QTR SYR KAC KAC KAC FDB MSR MSC KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK KLM JZR UAE ABY QTR JZR AIC FDB GFA UAL JZR DLH JZR MSR THY PIA

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 10/7/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 768 ISTANBUL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 3553 ALEXANDRIA 138 DOHA 503 LUXOR 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 1541 CAIRO 170 BAHRAIN 154 ISTANBUL 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 529 ASSIUT 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 605 ISFAHAN 301 ABU DHABI 619 LAR 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 401 ALEXANDRIA 561 SOHAG 610 CAIRO 672 DUBAI 514 TEHRAN 219 BAHRAIN 57 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 535 CAIRO 140 DOHA 562 AMMAN 500 JEDDAH 8055 DUBAI 640 AMMAN 257 BEIRUT 678 ABU DHABI 546 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 325 NAJAF 303 ABU DHABI 1802 CAIRO 787 RIYADH 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 144 DOHA 341 DAMASCUS 786 JEDDAH 166 PARIS 104 LONDON 63 DUBAI 624 SOHAG 403 ASSIUT 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 742 DAMMAM 614 BAHRAIN 572 MUMBAI 774 RIYADH 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 229 COLOMBO 415 AMSTERDAM 135 BAHRAIN 859 DUBAI 129 SHARJAH 136 DOHA 539 CAIRO 981 CHENNAI 59 DUBAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 513 SHARM EL SHEIKH 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 205 LAHORE

Time 0:15 0:20 1:45 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 2:50 3:10 3:20 3:20 3:25 3:55 4:10 4:35 4:55 5:00 5:40 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:35 6:40 7:15 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:15 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:20 9:30 9:40 10:00 10:55 11:05 11:25 12:00 12:25 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:30 14:40 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:05 15:15 16:30 16:35 16:40 16:40 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:30 21:35 22:10 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:30 23:35 23:40 23:59

Airlines AIC UAL DLH MSR KLM PIA THY ETH THY UAE FDB OMA RBG ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA JZR GFA THY JZR KAC BAW FDB KAC JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC UAE KAC QTR FDB KAC ETD IRA IRA GFA KAC KAC MEA KAC JZR MSR MSC JZR KAC JZR JZR GFA FDB MSR KAC JZR KNE FDB KAC SVA RJA QTR KAC KAC KAC ETD JZR JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY UAL SVA JZR QTR FDB SYR KAC MSR MSC JZR KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC GFA DHX ALK KLM JZR ABY KAC UAE QTR KAC KAC JZR QTR AXB FDB GFA KAC JZR

Depature Flights on Tuesday 10/7/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 411 AMSTERDAM 240 SIALKOT 773 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 769 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 3554 ALEXANDRIA 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 534 CAIRO 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 677 ABU DHABI 256 BEIRUT 126 SHARJAH 561 AMMAN 513 IMAM KHOMEINI 671 DUBAI 856 DUBAI 101 LONDON 133 DOHA 56 DUBAI 1801 CAIRO 302 ABU DHABI 604 ISFAHAN 618 LAR 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 623 SOHAG 404 ASSIUT 324 AL NAJAF 785 JEDDAH 786 RIYADH 176 DUBAI 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 673 DUBAI 538 CAIRO 473 JEDDAH 8056 DUBAI 617 DOHA 501 JEDDAH 641 AMMAN 135 DOHA 773 RIYADH 741 DAMMAM 613 BAHRAIN 304 ABU DHABI 512 SHARM EL SHEIKH 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 526 ASSIUT 145 DOHA 64 DUBAI 342 DAMASCUS 283 DHAKA 607 LUXOR 402 ALEXANDRIA 184 DUBAI 361 COLOMBO 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 343 CHENNAI 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 222 BAHRAIN 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 415 DAMMAM 1540 CAIRO 120 SHARJAH 381 DELHI 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 554 ALEXANDRIA 147 DOHA 390 MANGALORE 60 DUBAI 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 528 ASSIUT

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:35 0:55 1:00 2:15 2:45 3:40 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:50 6:55 7:05 7:10 7:30 8:10 8:25 8:25 8:35 9:00 9:05 9:15 9:15 9:20 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:05 10:15 10:20 10:40 10:45 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:15 12:25 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:15 13:20 14:25 14:25 14:30 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:40 15:45 15:45 15:50 16:15 16:25 16:30 16:30 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:50 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:55 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:40 23:50

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

ACCOMMODATION Accommodation available for two decent bachelors or a small family in a 2 bedroom spacious apartment in Shaab Al-Behri, opposite Bush Plaza, rent is very reasonable.

Contact: 66541343. (C 4074) 10-7-2012 Sharing accommodation available for decent Kerala bachelor in Abbasiya near German Clinic. Contact: 66941892. (C 4070) Sharing accommodation available for small Indian Manglorean or Goan family or bachelors share with small MG family, two bedroom flat near Al-Rashid Hospital, Shara Amman, Salmiya.

Contact: 55995437/ 99200186.

(C 4072)

SITUATION WANTED Immediately available Indian Accountant / Secretary to deal all financial activities with sufficient experience in Kuwait holding Kuwait driving license and car & can speak Arabic well. Part time from 12:30 to 5:30 pm also considered.

Contact: 24315927/ 97669236. (C 4073) Looking for job as Store Keeper, experience 15 years, Visa #18 Transferable.

Contact: 99341164.

(C 4071) 9-7-2012 Academic teacher 33 years experience in teaching classical Arabic and Kuwaiti dialect all levels for foreigners and ASK, BSK students.

Also German language.

Contact: 99538080.

(C 4067) 5-7-2012

CHANGE OF NAME I, Thiru D. Suresh, Indian Passport No: E6840843 have changed my name to D. Barakathali converted from Hindu to Islam.

(C 4068) 8-7-2012 SITUATION VACANT A part-time maid wanted urgently in Mangaf.

Interested applicants should call 60055305.

Full time live out maid/nanny for three months, starting mid July.

Must have own residency.

Work from 7am to 7pm, Saturday - Thursday in Salwa. Call 97687172 for interview.

7-7-2012

FOR SALE

112

Mitsubishi Lancer Ex-2008, green color (new body) 62000km, price KD 1,950/-.

Contact: 50699345.

(C 4075) 10-7-2012 Mitsubishi Pajero 2000 model, maroon color, full option, good condition, price KD 1,250/-. Contact: 66395004. (C 4063) Mitsubishi Lancer GLX 2009, golden color, excellent condition, price KD 1,700/-. Contact: 50699345.

(C 4064) Toyota Prado (4 CLR), 2003 model, white color, 4 doors, price KD 3,650. Contact: 66729295. (C 4065) 1-7-2012

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:22 11:53 15:28 18:51 20:21

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

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

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 732

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) The remainder of some negative residue still lingers—careful.

Treat yourself like your own best friend and do a lot of positive talk.

Research the herbs that are best for your body. Consider growing the herbs that will help you to maintain your energy level and also promote a cleansing. You will find you are happiest when you work with or teach young people. This could involve a parttime job or volunteer work for the next few weeks. Working with young people will help to increase your own energies and lift your spirit. You are a natural when working with young people, always able to motivate and inspire others. With your powerful spirit, you enjoy strong emotions. A Pisces comes into your life this evening. Positive things happen.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) If a new investment opportunity should arise today—go for it!

External or internal pressures may force you to reevaluate your priorities and change your mind set. Keeping an open mind about the new ideas coming to your attention now will be of great benefit in the future—pay attention to the details. You find yourself in a very practical mood and being of great help to those around you. You may have some serious or contemplative moments. After work you will find interactions with friends and family are free of complication. Much good can come about through spending time with people you have not seen in a while. People to whom you are close, from a working situation or from your personal life, tend to be optimistic.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

4. An alloy of copper and zinc (and sometimes arsenic) used to imitate gold in cheap jewelry and for gilding.

10. Negation of a word or group of words.

13. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

14. 43rd President of the United States.

15. A member of the Siouan people inhabiting the valleys of the Platte and Missouri rivers in Nebraska.

16. A mountainous island in western Indonesia.

18. (Old Testament) A famous hunter.

20. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

21. Cooked in steam.

22. Mentally or physically infirm with age.

25. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

26. An annual publication including weather forecasts and other miscellaneous information arranged according to the calendar of a given year.

32. The cry made by sheep.

33. Type genus of the Alaudidae.

36. Improved or corrected by critical editing.

40. The time when something ends.

41. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

42. A flexible container with a single opening.

44. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.

46. A heavy gray-white metallic element.

50. A river in southeastern Australia that flows generally northwest to join the Darling River.

54. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

55. A board with the alphabet on it.

58. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

59. (computer science) Memory whose contents can be accessed and read but cannot be changed.

60. The cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one.

61. On or toward the lee.

62. Seed of a pea plant.

63. Any of various mints of the genus Thymus.

64. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

DOWN 1. Strong woody fibers obtained especially from the phloem of from various plants.

2. Largest known toad species.

3. Fallow deer.

4. (astronomy) A measure of time defined by Earth's orbital motion.

5. A conspicuous constellation in the northern hemisphere.

6. A master's degree in business.

7. Minor or subordinate.

8. The sister of your father or mother.

9. Most important element.

10. A small constellation in the southern hemisphere near Lupus and Ara in the Milky Way. 11. A member of the Siouan people inhabiting the valleys of the Platte and Missouri rivers in Nebraska.

12. Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907).

17. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves.

19. A state in southeastern India on the Bay of Bengal (south of Andhra Pradesh).

23. A mountain range in South America running 5000 miles along the Pacific coast.

24. (informal) Of the highest quality.

27. Remove with or as if with a ladle.

28. Injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration or mutilation.

29. Of or relating to or characteristic of Thailand of its people.

30. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

31. With no effort to conceal.

34. Hungarian choreographer who developed Labanotation (1879-1958).

35. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

37. Petty quarrel.

38. A wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity.

39. One millionth of a gram.

43. A cordial disposition.

45. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

47. A slender double-reed instrument.

48. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

49. Arising from or going to the root.

50. One of the most common of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.

51. A public area set aside as a pedestrian walk.

52. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

53. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

56. Preserve of crushed fruit.

57. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You take a serious attitude to just about all aspects of your life.

This is an excellent time to get many things accomplished. You have an opportunity for sustained work that allows you to coordinate and organize like never before. This is a good time to bring to fruition uncompleted tasks or projects.

You are most persuasive with others through speech or just communicating and would make a good counselor or teacher, which is certainly worth considering. The situation is a natural for self-expression and lends itself to your particular ideas and thoughts. Your efforts really pay off and plans seem to run smoothly. Also, love is in full bloom during this time—it is a good time to fully demonstrate the depth of affection to loved ones and expect positive results.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You are well disposed to others today; however, setting a little time aside for yourself might be a wise choice. Later today the focus will be toward the need to complete any job that needs to be completed at this time.

You have optimism and foresight, making it an excellent time to plan a trip or vacation or enjoy new ventures. This is a good day to solve problems and make important decisions. You will find a way around almost any obstacle and you have control and you are able to guide yourself with ease. You are likely to hear some good news soon regarding something of importance to you. You enjoy good relations with a family member that you have not seen in a long time. This family gathering may take place at a fun restaurant or park.

NON SEQUITUR

Leo (July 23-August 22) You have what it takes to tackle any problem or project in front of you today. This is a time for new accomplishments, during which insights and breakthroughs are in order. A revolution within the established order, when new ideas and ways to do and use things become clear. After work this afternoon you will want to avoid the purchase of a large or expensive item. You may have expended a great deal of effort to secure finances recently. The motivation to finish paying for something could bring you much stress; take this one-step-at-a-time.

Complete unfinished work on the home front, before taking it easy. You will clear up any difficulties between friends this evening. There may be a surprise, in the way of a pleasant experience tonight.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Someone puts in a good word for you in the workplace. There are aspects in your chart now that show advancement. You could take on a leadership role in your place of business this week. You inspire others with your actions. You seem to understand what the public wants and mass marketing could be a natural for you. Fascinated by the latest technology, you may have some very original ideas of your own. To you dreamers of impossible dreams, you just might make them come true today. Don’t let your high spirits get too far ahead of the discipline and attention to detail necessary to make any dream a reality—good luck! You have new friends and they have a lot of information for you this evening. Be careful to stay away from gossip.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Today you may feel like focusing on the higher aspects of life— the big picture. You may feel that pesky little details are a waste of time. You may be drawn to the study of religion, philosophy or psychology. Just remember not to pontificate to others, or give the impression that you know all the answers—you probably do but they only need to see the example you set for them.

This afternoon could be challenging in that anything unfinished has a tendency to pop up and nag you. Those things that you have not finished will go against you in the workplace. Try to set aside some special time for the family this evening because you could be working overtime. Aside from this, it should be a pleasant day of optimism and generosity.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You are a born doer, with an incredible drive to accomplish and achieve in life. This is a great time to be with others and to work together. This ability to solve problems, to counsel and always put others at ease is the key to meeting and coming to know you. Opportunities are springing up all around you to work and earn money away from your regular position. Make sure you have exercised all the avenues to solve problems before you make any decision to change jobs. Staying power in a place of business could be a test for you this year. New ways to communicate or an easy manner will make conversations and interactions go well today. You could find that others appreciate your attitude and the way you act and get things accomplished.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may find that both your personal growth and your career may depend upon how you can handle an argumentative person in the workplace today. You will benefit from analytical insights, getting to the heart of things—success is near. Responsibilities are easy and you tend to pile on tasks, one after another. You work very hard, with a gritty resolve, and can accomplish much. It takes a lot to overload your willingness to take charge and help—once you begin. You strive to make your dreams real. You have an easy way with superiors or those in authority and can always manage to get the most out of any skill or ability you have.

You will find little difficulty while working with those in authority or those who are more experienced.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) This could be a great day at the workplace! Your vitality and enthusiasm combine to get a lot accomplished, whether alone or as the leader of a group. Your superiors are watching. You could be given an important new responsibility, perhaps leading to a raise or promotion. Your fine verbal skills and a natural sense of justice makes legal work a distinct possibility. You know what you want and what you can do; now, show them! You may be sought after for your advice and counsel regarding very personal and emotional issues this afternoon. You will be able to handle some very volatile material. You are able to cut through the red tape and get at what is beneath and behind most difficult situations. You will also want to learn the art of relaxation.

To

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) This is another one of those positive, upbeat days. You feel good about your friends and you like to be of help to others as best you can—you love relationships—and if there is none, you may feel good about finding one. The only things you do not feel good about are work and self-discipline— watch the finances! You could be inclined to go on a spending binge. This evening, there could be an unexpected social get-together. You may want to leave the affair early, but you will clearly be your charming self. This event may bring about some wonderful opportunities to network. Abstract ideas will present themselves during extensive conversation—others will listen to your ideas. You like to add your two cents to any conversation and show your knowledge.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Intellectual curiosity abounds! Just where do you fit in the big scheme of things, now and in the future? Introspective thinking could increase your self-understanding or perhaps attract you to philosophical subjects or thoughts of faraway places. This is a good day to begin a journey. Although everyday affairs may take a back seat, your alert mind also makes this an excellent day to transact business or deal with people. Your abilities and common sense come into play today. As the events of the day unfold, you will know just what to do and you behave accordingly. Whether traveling or working, this is a good time to make longrange plans. Make these plans as if you were going to live forever. Live today as if it were your last day on earth.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 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 WA AIT

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA ATE T GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIA V AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PARTMENT A

Hot with light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of 12 - 32 km/h

BY Y NIGHT:

Relatively hot with light to moderate north westerly to northerly wind, with speed of 08 - 30 km/h

No Current Waarnings arnin

WARNING A

34 °C

22451082

KUW WAIT A AIRPOR RT

45 °C

27 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WAISEEB A

43 °C

30 °C

Sharq

22465401

WA AFRA

45 °C

26 °C

Salmiya

25746401

SALMI

45 °C

28 °C

ABDAL LY

46 °C

28 °C

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YAH A

44 °C

29 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

42 °C

28 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

43 °C

33 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

39 °C

31 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WA ARBA A - BUBY YA AN

45 °C

27 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

ST TAT TION

DA AT TE

WEA ATHER T

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

Tuesday

10/07

hot

46 °C

30 °C

NW

12 - 32 km/h

11/07

hot + blowing dust

46 °C

32 °C

NW-N

20 - 45 km/h

12/07

hot + raising dust

47 °C

33 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

hot + raising dust

47 °C

34 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

West Jahra

24772608

Weednesday

South Jahra

24775066

Thursday

North Jahra

24775992

Friday

13/07

North Jleeb

24311795

PRA RA AYER Y TIMES 03:21

MAX. Temp.

45 °C

Sunrise

04:55

MIN. Temp.

31 °C

Zuhr

11:53

MAX. RH

15 %

Asr

15:27

MIN. RH

Sunset

18:51

MAX. Wind i

Isha

20:22

TOT TA AL L RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

24892674

23900322

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

Fajr

24884079

Fintas

09/07/2012 0000 UTC

Temperatures DA AY

24575755

24710044

SFC. CHART

4 DA AYS Y FORECAST

New Jahra

N.Kheitan

06 % NW 64 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

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36

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

lifest yle G o s s i p

Stone

iane Kruger believes sleep is the key to looking your best. The 35-year-old actress - who is in a relationship with former ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star Joshua Jackson admits she has a simple beauty regime, though it can sometimes be quite difficult to maintain, especially when she is making a movie. She said: “I try to get nine hours of sleep a night. It’s really that simple. Of course, it’s hard to do sometimes, especially when I am working, but I feel and look better when I sleep well. I also noticed a great improvement in my skin when I gave up smoking. “There are no secret potions, though.” Diane has her own beauty icons, but prefers women who maintain a simple look instead of a lavish one. She added: “I have always liked interesting people. I trained originally as a ballet dancer so I have always admired the simple elegance of the ballerina, the refined features and serenity, and hair pulled back in a bun. “I like a simple, clean look rather than elaborate beauty. Grace Kelly and Romy Schneider both inspire me.”

D essica Biel won’t be around drugs. The 30-year-old actress - who is engaged to Justin Timberlake - leaves parties if people’s behaviour seems to be getting too wild or out of control. She said: “If there is a huge drug fest happening and everyone is getting it on in the bedroom, it is probably time to leave.” Jessica’s sensible attitude stems from her teenage years where, even though she was a working actress, she still had to live by her family’s rules.

She explained in an interview with The Sun newspaper: “I was lucky to get a part in a long-running TV series, ‘7th Heaven’, when I was 14, and everything took off from there. “It was like having two families, my real one and the cast. “My mum had me under curfew, so I was well known on TV at the same time as having to be back home early.”

Jessica also credits her mother Kimberly with giving her a sensible attitude to her body image. She said: “My mum Kim taught me an important lesson in Hollywood - if someone says you are too fat, tell them to p**s off. “My

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mum brought me up with sports and a healthy image. It was just how we lived. “With her attitude and upbringing, I have been lucky not to have an eating disorder or a drug habit to stay skinny. “I am 5ft 7in and don’t go along with the Hollywood obsession with weight.”

ink would rather “hang” out with her daughter than go to the gym. The ‘So What’ singer is still trying to get back into top shape since she gave birth to Willow in June 2011 and although she has been happy to take her time with her fitness regime she admits there are days when she can’t be bothered to exercise. She said: “I have the time (to exercise) but I have this thing where I look at Willow and I go, ‘Should I go to the gym or hang out with you? I think I’m going to hang out with you.’ “ Pink insists her husband Carey Hart has no complaints about her few extra pounds but she accepts she has to ditch the last of her baby weight because she is getting ready to go back on tour after her break with her family.

In an interview on the Kyle & Jackie O Show on Australian radio station 2Day FM, she said: “Carey just says its more love ... But he knows it’s tour time, he knows that soon there’s not going to be much to love.” The 32-year-old pop star also revealed 13-month-old Willow is fun-loving little girl, although she has an unusual approach to sharing. Pink said: “Willow thinks she’s really good at sharing but if the kid doesn’t take the toy she’ll bash them over the head with it.”

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ienna Miller has become a mother for the first time. The 30-year-old actress and her fiance Tom Sturridge welcomed their child into the world over the weekend in London, a source has confirmed to Us Weekly magazine.

However, details on the baby’s gender, name and weight have not yet been disclosed. In May, the couple celebrated their child’s imminent arrival

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om Cruise wants to meet Katie Holmes in an attempt to save his marriage. The ‘Rock of Ages’ star is set to face his spouse in court next week for the beginning of their divorce proceedings, but he wants to talk things over with Katie in a bid to stop the details of their relationship being made public. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Tom either doesn’t get it or doesn’t believe that his marriage is ending. He feels there is still time for Katie and him to sit down and sort out a compromise. “He knows that they are days away from a huge public court clash and stopping that or at least making it as amicable as possible are his goals.

He feels he can still communicate with Katie and wants to sit down with her one on one. “The lawyers are working away, but Tom reckons

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with a baby shower in London. The pair were seen leaving the patty with a friend, who carried boxes which appeared to house cakes and balloons. Sienna - who has been in a relationship with ‘The Boat That Rocked’ actor for just over a year - revealed earlier this year she had taken up yoga to help her relax during her pregnancy. She said: “I have been trying to do some pregnancy

he is the best one to communicate with his wife. He reckons he can delay the hearing or come to an interim agreement.” Tom, 50, has reportedly instructed his lawyers to not make any public statements until he has spoken with Katie, 33.

He was said to be “blindsided” when she filed for divorce after five years of marriage late last month in New York, and lawyers for both parties are said to be in talks to settle issues including child custody, visitation and child support for their six-year-old daughter Suri and property division. Katie is claimed to have filed for divorce because she is worried about Tom’s devotion to sci-fi cult Scientology and the effect the quasi-religious sect may have on Suri as she grows up.

yoga as I’m definitely not a gym person. “My mum started up one of the first yoga schools in London in the 70s, so I should probably use her expertise as I have really bad posture. But I think I’d probably kill her if she tried to tell me to sit up straight.”

— Agencies

ourtney Kardashian has given birth to a girl and she’s naming her Penelope. The reality TV star told E! News that her second child with boyfriend Scott Disick was born early Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces. Her full name is Penelope Scotland Disick.

Kardashian said mother and child were “resting comfortably.” She and Disick have a 2-year-old son named Mason.

Both of her pregnancies were highly publicized. Her sister, Kim, wrote on her website that the family was thrilled to finally meet the newborn. The family appears on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

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sleep key to looks

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it off. I was close to death at one point and saw the white light that people claim they see. “I did see people who I knew had died, as close and real as any living thing.” The 54year-old actress - who is currently dating 27-year-old model Martin Mica - admits she could have ‘crossed over’ but felt it was not her “time” to die. She added to the Daily Express newspaper: “I felt that I only had to step over a very narrow line and I would have joined them. What kept me back? It was just not my time.”

Kruger’s

haron Stone “saw the white light” when she nearly died of a brain aneurysm. The ‘Basic Instinct’ star suffered a near-fatal aneurysm in 2001 and while she managed to survive, she admits she came very close to death and even saw people she knew that had already passed away in a vision. She said: “Compared to that illness, nothing has been so difficult. It was as if I had been shot in the head. “They thought I had a ruptured vessel that had bled itself out. So another nine days went by when I was not improving.

During the next operation they found an artery that was pumping blood into my brain. They put in platinum to shut

37

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

Anthony Hamilton performs at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on Sunday. —AP photos

&

M o v i e s

Fantasia

Aretha Franklin poses with her Power Award with Essence editorin-chief Constance White.

R&B’s Anthony Hamilton among Essence Fest closers or years, R&B singer Anthony Hamilton has packed the smaller stages at the Essence Music Festival. This year, though, Hamilton scored a closing night spot on the festival’s main stage, something he’s been seeking ever since he got a taste of the event. “So many years have gone by with me wanting to be on that stage,” Hamilton told The Associated Press on Sunday night.

“This is such a huge accomplishment for me that didn’t come easily.” The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, wearing a flowing tangerine-colored dress, opened her show with “(Your Love has

F

Lifted me) Higher and Higher” “Natural Woman” and “Think.” Midway through her performance, she left the stage so the festival could pay special tribute to her life and career as part of a ceremony where she received its Power Award. A video montage and brief history of her career was played for the audience before she returned wearing an olive- and gold-colored dress.

“We honor Ms. Aretha Franklin for having the greatest voice of all time,” said Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc. Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and New Orleans Mayor

Mitch Landrieu recognized Franklin’s longevity in the industry and talent with awards from the state and city.

“You are the essence of Essence,” Dardenne said. Franklin thanked them all “for these very wonderful and significant awards” and then returned to the music with her hit “Chain of Fools.”

She also played piano on several of songs, including “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

At the end of her performance, R&B superstar Chaka Khan returned for an encore show that included the newly comprised R&B Divas - Faith Evans, Nicci Gilbert, Monifah Carter,

Syleenah Johnson and Keke Wyatt who paid tribute to the R&B artists who died during the past year, including Whitney Houston. Backed by a full band, Franklin entertained the audience after Hamilton’s high-energy set that included most of his songs, opening the show with “Sucka For You,” “Cool,” and “Comin’ From Where I’m From.” Lesley Boudy, 27, who lives in the New Orleans area, said he liked Hamilton’s “overall vibe.” “He was very interactive with the crowd, jumping off the stage and dancing with his fans on the floor. I liked that,” she said.

“I was a little disappointed he didn’t

sing his new hit, ‘Pray for Me,’ but I would love to see his high-energy again next year.”

Hamilton noted he had consistently packed the SuperLounges set up inside the Superdome’s corridors, and he believed he had long ago earned the main stage inside the cavernous arena. Last year, he sang there with Jill Scott. “One of the goals when you perform at smaller venues is that you want to be in a place where all your fans can come see you,” he said.

“To be on that grand stage, wow, the feeling is unparalleled. I don’t think performing at the Grammys would

feel this good.” Gospel great Kirk Franklin and Fantasia also performed earlier Sunday at the festival, which is in its 18th year. Pastor Marvin Sapp, known for his hit “Never Would Have Made It,” joined Kirk Franklin on his hit “Smile” and the O. Perry Walker High School band, including three drum majors, backed Fantasia on her opening song, “It’s All Good.” —AP

Oscar-winning actor Borgnine dies at 95 eteran actor Ernest Borgnine, the star of dozens of films and television shows who won an Oscar for his portrayal of a shy butcher in love in “Marty,” died Sunday, his manager said. He was 95. “It’s a very sad day. The industry has lost someone great, the caliber of which we will never see again. A true icon,” the manager, Lynda Bensky, said in an email to AFP. “But more importantly the world has lost a sage and loving man who taught us all how to ‘grow young’. His infectious smile and chuckle made the world a happier place.”

Bensky said the actor died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, with his family at his side.

Born to Italian immigrants on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut, Borgnine was primarily known for his roles in comedies such as the popular TV series “McHale’s Navy” and dramas like the World War II film “The Dirty Dozen.” The US Navy veteran won an Academy Award for best actor for his role in the 1955 film “Marty,” which also took home Oscars for best picture, best director and best screenplay.

Tributes to Borgnine poured in on Twitter, from ordinary folk to fellow actors to Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy. Actress Marlee Matlin, also an Oscar winner, tweeted: “So sad to read about passing of Ernest Borgnine. We spoke recently at Paramount’s 100th anniversary photo. A true legend & a gentleman. RIP.” “God bless Ernest Borgnine. An amazingly strong spirit.

R.I.P. Ernie,” said actor Gary Sinise.

Borgnine-who began his career as a stage actor and first shot to prominence in Hollywood when he played Sergeant “Fatso” Judson in “From Here to Eternity”-was also known for his role on the television series “Airwolf.”

He also appeared on the celebrity game show “The Hollywood Squares”.

Borgnine continued to work into his

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Canadian teen heartthrob singer Justin Bieber is greeted by fans upon his arrival at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo yesterday. Bieber is here to meet with Japanese fans as well as take part in interviews and promo appearances. —AFP

Nolan says no to ‘Justice League’ superhero film ow that Christopher Nolan is done with his epic Batman trilogy, the filmmaker has quashed speculation that he might be involved in a “Justice League” movie featuring the Dark Knight. Writerdirector Nolan said his take on Batman wraps up with “The Dark Knight Rises,” his third and final film centered on the DC Comics superhero. In an interview over the week-

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Green Lantern. Nolan guesses that the “Justice League” rumors started because of his involvement as a producer on next summer’s Superman relaunch, “Man of Steel.” He also said he not intend to get involved with any future solo Batman films when distributor Warner Bros., which owns DC Comics, decides the time is right to launch a new take on the masked vigilante. “Batman will outlive us all, and

Christopher Nolan, director of the upcoming film “The Dark Knight Rises,” holds up his hands after putting them in cement during a ceremony for him at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre —AP end to promote the finale, Nolan said he has no “Justice League” plans.

“No, none at all,” Nolan said. “We’re finished with all we’re doing with Batman. This is the end of our take on this character.” Fans have conjectured that Nolan might return to Batman by producing a big-screen take on “Justice League,” DC Comics’ “Avengers”-style ensemble whose key superheroes include the Dark Knight, Superman, Wonder Woman and

our interpretation was ours.

Obviously, we consider it definitive and kind of finished. The great thing about Batman is he lives on for future generations to reinterpret, and obviously, Warners will have to decide in the future what they’re going to do with him,” Nolan said. “We’ve had our say on the character. ... “I’ve got no plans to do anything more, and certainly, no involvement with any ‘Justice League’ project.”

After Disney’s success with “The Avengers,” the big-screen round-up of Marvel Comics superheroes that has pulled in $1.45 billion worldwide, speculation has grown that Warner Bros. would get its own ensemble flick on the drawing board.

Nolan resurrected the Dark Knight with 2005’s “Batman Begins” and shattered box-office records with 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” which won a posthumous Academy Award for Heath Ledger as the Joker. “The Dark Knight Rises” reunites Nolan with Christian Bale as billionaire Bruce Wayne and his Batman alter-ego; Michael Caine as stalwart butler Alfred; Morgan Freeman as Wayne Enterprises mastermind Lucius Fox; and Gary Oldman as upright Police Commissioner Jim Gordon. Joining the cast are Anne Hathaway as daring thief Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, and three of Nolan’s “Inception” co-stars: Tom Hardy as brutish villain Bane; Marion Cotillard as Wayne’s new business ally, Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as gutsy cop John Blake.

The story begins eight years after the action of “The Dark Knight,” with Batman vanished from the scene and vilified as an enemy of Gotham City, whose tough anti-crime laws have cleaned up the streets. A limping, emotionally shattered recluse, Bale’s Wayne is forced back into action as Bane lays deadly siege to the city. —AP

‘The Hobbit’ poster unveiled in time for Comic-Con irector Peter Jackson has unveiled the poster for his upcoming film “The Hobbit” on his Facebook page, just two days after posting that principle photography on his two-part epic had wrapped.

Jackson is targeting Comic-Con fans with this poster, which shows Ian McKellan as Gandalf the Wizard trekking through green, rolling hills.

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“Hi everyone. Here’s an exclusive Comic-Con poster,” Jackson wrote. “Be sure to get your copy in San Diego and let me know what you think of it!

Cheers, Peter J.” Jackson and several stars are scheduled to attend on July 14 when Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures will preview the films, which follow the earlier days of a cast of characters familiar from “The Lords of the

Rings,” including Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Wizard and Gollum. The first is subtitled “An Unexpected Journey” and the second “There and Back Again.”“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” will open in the U.S. on Dec. 14; the second is due a year later. —Reuters

90s, voicing the character Mermaid Man on the animated children’s series “SpongeBob SquarePants”. In 2009, he appeared in a guest starring role on long-running TV drama “ER” for which he earned an Emmy nomination. The year before, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in the made-for-TV movie “A Grandpa for Christmas”.

The Screen Actors Guild gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award last year.

of being a team player as an actor.

“When you’re part of an ensemble like I was in ‘From Here To Eternity’ and ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ you realize you stick out badly if you try to steal a scene instead of being a part of a team,” he said. “Acting to me is very simple. You just need to use your heart and your head together.”

Borgnine said at the time that he would advise aspiring actors to “get a real job before you try to get an acting

File photo, cast member Ernest Borgnine, right, and his wife, Tova, arrive at a special screening of the film “Red” in Los Angeles —AP “ We mourn the loss of Ernest Borgnine. A wonderful man, actor and our 47th Life Achievement Recipient.

Ernie, you will be deeply missed,” said a tweet on the official feed of the SAG Awards. The gap-toothed actor wed five times, including once to Broadway megastar Ethel Merman-a marriage that lasted only a month. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Tova. Borgnine had four children. In an interview with AFP in 2007, Borgnine emphasized the importance

job.” “Learn about life and then learn your craft. And don’t wear dark glasses on screen because you think you’re cool. The eyes are an actor’s best asset,” Borgnine said. —AFP

Ernest Borgnine’s best-known films China Corsair, 1951 The Whistle at Eaton Falls, 1951 The Mob, 1951 The Stranger Wore a Gun, 1953 From Here to Eternity, 1953 Johnny Guitar, 1954 Demetrius and the Gladiators, 1954 The Bounty Hunter, 1954 Vera Cruz, 1954 Bad Day at Black Rock, 1955 Marty, 1955 Run for Cover, 1955 Violet Saturday, 1955 The Last Command, 1955 The Square Jungle, 1956 Jubal, 1956 The Catered Affair, 1956 The Best Things in Life Are Free, 1956 Three Brave Men, 1957 The Vikings, 1958 The Badlanders, 1958 Torpedo Run, 1958 The Rabbit Trap, 1959 Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, 1959 Man on a String, 1960

Pay or Die, 1960 Go Naked in the World, 1961 Barabbas, 1961 McHale’s Navy, 1964 The Flight of the Phoenix, 1965 The Oscar, 1966 The Dirty Dozen, 1967 Chuka, 1967 The Legend of Lylah Clare, 1968 The Split, 1968 Ice Station Zebra, 1968 The Wild Bunch, 1969 A Bullet for Sandoval, 1970 The Adventurers, 1970 Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came, 1970 Willard, 1971 Bunny O’Hare, 1971 Rain for a Dusty Summer, 1971 Hannie Caulder, 1971 The Poseidon Adventure, 1972 The Neptune Factor, 1973 Emperor of the North Pole, 1973 Law and Disorder, 1974 Sunday in the Country, 1975

The Devil’s Rain, 1975 Hustle, 1975 Won Ton Ton - The Dog That Saved Hollywood (cameo), 1976 The Greatest, 1977 The Prince and the Pauper, 1977 Convoy, 1978 Ravagers, 1979 The Double McGuffin, 1979 The Black Hole, 1979 When Time Ran Out, 1980, Escape From New York, 1981 High Risk, 1981 Deadly Blessing, 1981 Young Warriors, 1983 Spike of Bensonhurst, 1988 Turnaround, Laser Mission, 1989 Any Man’s Death, 1990 Moving Target, 1990 Mistress, 1992 All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, 1996 (voice) McHale’s Navy, 1997 Gattaca, 1997 BASEketball, 1998 Abilene, 1999 Castlerock, 2000 The Long Ride Home, 2003.—AP

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

lifestyle T r a v e l

Young men and women dance in the front row during the Cuban National Baseball Series between the Holguin home team and the Havana-based Metropolitanos, a farm team of the better-known Industriales at the local stadium in Holguin, Cuba.

Photo shows a view of Cuba’s southeastern coastline and the Caribbean Sea from the top of the Castillo del Morro San Pedro de la Roca, a 17th century Spanish fortress that protects the entrance to the harbor in Santiago de Cuba.

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A 1950’s era Studebaker is available as a taxi at a plaza in Bayamo, Cuba, Friday, April 20, 2012.

In this picture taken on April 21, 2012, a young girl rides on a carousel of a street fair near the harbor in the seaside town of Gibara, Cuba.

irls dressed in ruffled layers for a quinceanera. American cars, from the Eisenhower era, in tropical colors. A hand-hewn carousel with peeling paint. Young fans cheering at a baseball game. These are some of the scenes of everyday life I observed on a recent people-to-people tour of Cuba. These tours allow Americans to travel to Cuba as long as they go with a group licensed by the U.S. government to provide a “full-time schedule of educational activities.” (The U.S. government forbids unrestricted travel to Cuba, but in addition to people-topeople tours, travel is permitted for certain other groups, including Americans with relatives there, religious organizations and academics.)

Most people-to-people trips have a themed itinerary like music or food. Some are offered by large travel companies, others by small nonprofits. I joined 21 artists, writers, filmmakers and photographers on a trip organized by a small group from Minnesota that traveled to four cities: Havana, Bayamo, colonial Holguin, and Santiago de Cuba, home of Cuba’s historic summer carnival, birthplace of Cuban musical legends and gravesite of national hero Jose Marti.

People-to-people tours are not typical vacations. Structured itineraries include daily meetings with government-sponsored organizations and tours of schools and other institutions. Some meals were in dreary government cafeterias, but we also ate well in paladars, which are intimate restaurants in private homes. You’re not supposed to spend the day at the beach the way Canadian and European tourists do, but we did get some free time, and occasionally participants ditched the schedule to explore on their own.

Our program included sightseeing and encounters with artists, writers and filmmakers, but politics was never far away.

Political billboards are everywhere in Cuba, on roads, streets and in classrooms and even hand-painted on private homes, and many pay homage to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary who helped Castro take power in 1959.

But no effort was made to shield us from unpleasant realities, like the sight of crumbling buildings or women begging

Residents seek shade beneath a sculpture of a sailfish in the seaside town of Gibara, Cuba.

for money to buy milk for their children.

And the tours do guarantee opportunities to meet ordinary Cubans, whose warmth, friendliness and outgoing nature leap across the boundaries imposed by the decades-long political cold-shoulder between the U.S. and their tropical island nation. When we asked about censorship and other sensitive issues, they sometimes turned our questions around to point out inconsistencies in our own government.

But they also acknowledged everyday hardships, like struggling to feed their families and coping with shortages. Those connections created a travel experience that surpassed my expectations, offering glimpses of ordinary life that tourists don’t often experience. Here is a gallery of photos from the tour.—AP

In this picture taken on April 17, 2012, a musician rehearses beside a louvered window at a restaurant in Old Havana.

In this picture taken April 17, 2012, a man rides a pedicab through the streets of Old Havana.

In this photo taken Monday April 23, 2012, primary school students walk past a mural depicting heroes of Cuba’s independence from Spain, including Cuban patriot Francisco Vicente Aguilera, right, who later supported Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in the revolt against Spain, in Bayamo, a colonial town in Oriente province.

Students raising their hands to answer their teacher’s questions in front of a portrait of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, the Argentine-born cofounder of the Cuban revolution, at the Jose Maria Heredia Vocational Arts school.

A mother adjusts her younger daughter’s necklace as the girl’s sister steps into a rented 1950’s era Chevrolet for a parade celebrating the older daughter’s quinceanera, a girl’s 15th birthday celebration, in Bayamo.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

lifestyle T r a v e l

W

e’re nodding off in our tent, pitched under a tree, when the crunching and gnashing begin. It’s the hippos again, a half-dozen massive beasts climbing up from the Luangwa River for their nightly feed.

During September, a hot, dry month here at Zebra Plains Camp, in northeast Zambia, the tree’s foot-long fruit hang low, an irresistible meal for diners with gaping jaws and fist-size grinders.

Silence falls as the hippos lumber away. For a moment we doze-well wined and dined after a long day tramping through the bush, tracking wild game. Then the bushes rustle and the elephants arrive, treading gently to avoid our plastic ground cloth and canvas patio chairs. Amazed at how quietly those huge feet step, we peer out through our screened windows, spotting a shifting shadow reaching for the top branches.

I fall asleep wondering who decided to pitch the tent under a sausage tree. Intentional, perhaps, or a prank, to give the dudes a thrill? But Garth Hovell, manager at Zebra Plains, a walking safari camp in the most remote sector of the South Luangwa National Park, shakes his head. “No way,” he says. With 20 years’ of bush experience, Hovell, head naturalist for Sanctuary Retreats’ five Zambian lodges, says that here in the bush, where we’re the intruders, safety is Rule One. No blood allowed on his watch, is what I’m thinking.

“If it gets much hotter you’ll thank the tree for such big branches,” says Milemia Banda, guide and second-in-command, with a twinkle. “And anyway, the animals are more afraid of you than you are of them. With no roads, no vehicles and no airplanes in this sector, they rarely see or hear people. To them a tent is like a tree, something to walk around.”

The Luangwa River, pristine and undammed, is the reason we — and the wildlife — are here at Zebra Plains, near the national park’s northern border. Flowing in wide, curving loops over fertile plains and through wild miombo woodland, the Luangwa supports an immense diversity of species, a veritable Zambian Ark. From elephants to antelope, lions to leopards and crocodiles to hippos, all flourish within this vast wildlife refuge.

“Living with them, you really feel close to the animals,” says Hovell. “And you’ll see them, once you know where to look.”

During the dry season, August through mid-October, inland waterholes dry up, pushing wildlife toward the river.

It also brings them closer to our camp and to the sausage trees.

A zoom lens catches these elephants unawares.

Like them, your feet will be the only transport available during your stay at Zebra Plains, a reminder that hiking boots are in order. Except for the three-hour drive from the Mfuwe airport-and the return when you leave-walking will take you across the plains, along the river bank and to the campfire for appetizers and a sundowner. “The road ends here so we have to walk the last bit, less than a quarter mile,” Hovell announced when we first arrived. “I want you to see the river and the camp on foot. You need to experience it the way the early explorers did.”

Digesting that unwelcome news (jet lag is a buzz kill) we managed smiles for the three camp staff who hoisted our heavy suitcases up onto their heads and fell into line.

Tramping along after Hovell, we must have looked the very image of Henry Stanley, searching for David Livingstone, the missionary, in 1869, weary reporter in rumpled khakis trailed by a long line of perspiring porters.

Walking-only safari camps, like Zebra Plains, are probably this decade’s biggest news in African safaris-and ironically, the oldest. The first Europeans to venture deep into the Dark Continent — glory-seeking adventurers, greedy miners and relentless missionaries-expected to walk. Even after trucks and jeeps arrived, hunters and photographers bunked in tents, stalked their quarry on foot and thrilled to the charge of angry lions.

The first guest-organized walking camp was founded south of Zebra Plains in 1961 by Norman Carr, a former ranger and lifelong environmentalist. Since then, hard-core walking camps have become Zambia’s signature.

Most safari lodges are commercial enterprises, of course, relying on a half-dozen off-road vehicles and guides who radio big animal sightings from guide to guide. Guests get what they’ve paid for: guaranteed closeups of lions yawning and trumpeting elephants. Luxury is the norm as is a large staff, mostly local people, from manager, rangers and guides to the chef, dish washers, maids, laundresses and the fix-it crew.

“That’s not Zebra Plains,” said Hovell. “We’re designed for people who’ve been on safari before but are tired of sitting in a vehicle. Curious people who want to get away from exhaust fumes and down on the ground. They want to hear dry grass crackle underfoot and smell the earth,” he said, as we gathered in the Mess Tent for a first-day orientation. In the days ahead, he promised, we’d track sign (footprints and spoor), be alert for unexpected encounter, and “see the animals the way they really are in nature.”

As in all game lodges, our days began at 6 a.m. while the air was cool and the animals active. On day one we headed for a distant loop of the Chibembe River, led by Mathews, the camp’s armed guard, rifle loaded and at the ready. Hovell followed toting binoculars and a day pack with a first aid kit, loaner hats, survival gear, extra water and sun lotion.

We six, dressed in khakis (tan makes the best camouflage), fell in behind. Guide Rabson Banda walking shotgun, kept us bunched up tight. Predators like to pick on stragglers, he told us with a grin. Banda’s backpack overflowed with the tea things: a portable gas stove, pot, cups, tea bags, cookies, brownies and water.

Here and there groups of tiny puku grazed calmly, lifting their heads to watch us pass. Three giraffe and sable antelope were more wary, moving into a grove of mopane trees. After an hour walking, stopping to identify plants and tell-tale spoor, Mathews and Hovell pulled up short and bent over to inspect a lion track. With a zing of fear, we stood still and peered left and right until Hovell spied two lionesses at 50 yards, half hidden in deep grass. For a long minute they stared at us, unmoving, and then they were gone, fleeing the other way.

Each day followed a similar pattern. Morning game drives lasted from 6-11 a.m. followed by lunch and down time for a shower, journal notations or photo downloads.

From 4-6 p.m, we set out again, now searching for the elephant family approaching the river, or to watch the hippos

grunt and growl, jockeying for position.

At twilight we gathered around the campfire for a glass of wine, some surprisingly appealing dishes and an evening of stories and stars. Escorted back to our tent by a game-wise guide with a flashlight (sometimes Isaac our porter and guard, and sometimes Milemia or Rabson) — we took a warm shower, crawled under the mosquito netting onto a first-class mattress and fell asleep to the hippo chorus.

Because walking safaris are specialized, choosing an itinerary that includes stays at other lodges is a good way to broaden your experience. Sanctuary Retreats has five Zambian lodges, each different from the others. Driving safaris are most popular, but several lodges lead guided walks as well. Having done both, I confess that I like the convenience, comfort and range that a vehicle provides.

But if you’re like me, you won’t say you’ve really seen Zambia until you’ve walked the walk.

The second Bradt Guidebook, “Zambia & Malawi,” $26.99, is authored by a group of writers. This book is a good choice if your trip is short and you’re visiting both countries. The book reflects Bradt’s focus on quality, and provides solid information, superior maps and color photos. — MCT

Thornicroft Giraffes have adapted to reach the leaves in the tree tops.

—MCT photos

If you go

Z

ebra Plains is open from June through Oct. 31 only; for more see www.sanctuaryretreats.com. The all-inclusive rate per person per night, sharing a tent, is $585.

Sanctuar y ’s other Zambian lodges include Chichele Presidential Lodge and Puku Ridge, near Mfuwe; Sussi & Chuma in Livingstone; and Zambezi Kalefu Camp, near Lusaka.

Other booking options: Most game lodge companies will book their clients into any Zambian or South African lodge, regardless of who owns or manages it. If you find something you can’t miss, your booking agent should be able to add it to your tour. It’s routine.

Getting there: We prefer South African Airways, flying nonstop to Johannesburg, South Africa, from New York’s JFK Airport or from Washington, D.C. Dulles International Airport.

SAA’s connecting flights continue north to Livingstone (on Zambia’s southern border); another flight continues to Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city; and the last goes on to Mfuwe, south of Zebra Plains. Pack a bag of snacks and a thick paperback novel and you’ll be ready for the trek. The last leg, a three-hour drive into camp, isn’t just transportation. It’s a game drive in itself, with views of wildlife, native villages and giant baobob trees.

Recommended guides: Only one Zambia guidebook is worth the time you’ll spend reading and rereading it: “Zambia: The Bradt Travel Guide,” by Chris McIntyre, $28.99, distributed in the U.S. by Globe Pequot Press.

McIntyre, a long-time Africa traveler and writer, pulls out the stops to deliver a work that abounds in wildlife description, environmental and political issues, social history, tribal groups, language differences, best lodges and hotels, town signts, early and recent history, reading lists, anecdotes, tips, maps and distances.

Along the river, it’s single file for safety.

He informs in a conversational tone and entertains with personal comments and understated humor. The book sports 58 glossy photos of places, people, animals and birds, and this when most guidebook publishers no longer spend on illustrations.

R&B’s Anthony Hamilton among Essence Fest closers

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

Archie, pals to find

‘Glee’ in crossover T

he kids from Riverdale are no strangers to high school angst, worries about fitting in or music. Neither are the teens from “Glee.” Now, Archie, Betty, Veronica and resident boy genius Dilton Doiley will match wits - and maybe a vocal or two - with the likes of Finn Hudson, Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry in the pages of “Archie Comics,” said Jon Goldwater, the co-chief executive officer.

Goldwater unveiled the planned collaboration yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s start of Comic-Con in San Diego. He said the crossover between the Fox show and the comic book is set for late this year or in early 2013, and is being written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, one of the television show’s writers. It features multiple characters from the long-running comic book and the Fox show now in its third year. Dan Parent is illustrating the story. “I’ve become friendly with Roberto - he’s just a genius writer,” said Goldwater, who met the playwright last year at New York Comic Con when he stopped by Archie Comic Publications Inc.’s booth. “He and I were shooting the breeze.”

That visit sparked a friendship and, ultimately, the idea for the crossover. “It turns out he’s been a fan of Archie for years. His most recent Halloween costume? He was dressed as Archie!”

Goldwater said. For now, says Goldwater, the plot of the fourissue story arc in “Archie Comics” is a closely-held secret, but it does involve parallel dimensions, dancing and some serious singing, too. It’s also the latest step for the publisher, which has expanded its pop cultural offerings beyond just Jughead, Midge and Mr. Weatherbee.

In the past two years, Archie Comics has brought in an openly-gay character, Kevin Keller; been visited by the band Kiss; and seen Archie marry Valerie, the bassist for Josie and the Pussycats, and have a daughter with her. “Those have reintroduced a lot of people back to ‘Archie,’” Goldwater said. “And it’s opened a whole new world of people coming to ‘Archie’ for the first time, too.”

Goldwater said that in the course of his conversation with Aguirre-Sacasa it was evident both “Glee” and “Archie” had some common ground despite coming from decidedly different mediums, including a diverse array of characters, conditions and concerns. “‘Glee’ is courageous in their story lines and how they represent their characters, how they represent the high school situation,” he said, noting that it’s similar in the world of Archie, too.

V

Vilebrequin, the trend-setting French men’s beachwear company today recognized worldwide as the leading name for men’s and boy’s swimwear recently launched the new “Collection” line for summer 2012. The “Collection” line features limited edition models, representing the pursuit of excellence and exclusiveness. Its uniqueness originates from the graphics of its exclusive prints, fine lines and meticulously created colors, as well as from its distinctive high quality and unusual fabrics. The trunk’s fabrics are embroidered in French ateliers and the drawstring tips are made of silver. They are the ultimate combination of elegance and fun, especially dedicated to all those who fancy colorful and fun beach outfits.

Comfortable, practical and versatile to meet the needs and tastes of adults and children, this swimwear collection mingles flowers with fruits, shells with stripes, and checks with fanciful motifs! The swimming trunks are distinguished by several of the brand’s exclusive features: the fabric consists of cotton touch polyamide, the rear pocket is hand cut and positioned to be aligned with the pattern with maximum precision, and the polyester mottled gray drawstrings are tipped with Vilebrequin engravements, and finallyan exclusive 100% cotton mesh liner.

Practical and comfortable, colorful and elegant, this special limited edition knows how to be soft and subtle.

In a nutshell, the “Collection” line is an impeccable blend of perfectionism and creativity, coupled with ultimate comfort and style.

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