16 Aug

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

03:41 03:51 05:16 11:53 15:28 18:28 19:50

India announces its Mars mission

Capello starts work in Russia with a draw

Samsung tablet takes aim at iPad with pen

NO: 15541

7 20 13 8 Govt files petition against electoral, voting systems

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

Bombing and violence leave 50 dead in Syria

www.kuwaittimes.net

RAMADAN 28, 1433 AH

Opposition threatens protests, boycott

By B Izzak and Nawara Fattahova conspiracy theories

1, 5 or 25?

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

I

tell you guys, Kuwait is unique in many ways. Have you ever seen or heard of any country with a parliament where after many years they discover that the changes to the election law were unconstitutional. This could only happen in Kuwait. Firstly, why did the government change the election law allowing the constituencies to drop from 25 to five in 2006?

They bent to the requests of certain groups and changed the number. Everyone could vote for two MPs. Now the government is not happy with the results of the five constituencies and the votes for four MPs. They say it is allegedly unconstitutional. In which way, may I know? They submitted a petition against the electoral constituencies’ law to the constitutional court on suspicion that the law is not in line with the constitution. I am sure the government will get it. So, what’s the new game plan?

Let’s suppose the 20 constituencies are back and everyone could vote for two candidates.

What would be the difference for the government? I feel they are just beating around the bush. Whether you make it 25 constituencies, 5, 6, 10 or even 50, it is all the same because of the population in certain districts. In all honesty, the Bedouin areas have larger population than the hathar and they will get more votes whatever cooking was done or regardless of the number of constituencies.

The same names and faces will be back whatever the number of constituencies and they will have the same attitude. They will be preparing their grilling campaign ahead of their election campaigns. There is no harm that they are more. In every country, certain areas are more populated for different social reasons. The harm is not in the number of votes an MP gets. The mistake is in the performance of the government in their communication with parliament. The country needs a strong government which is strict and makes decisions which is lenient when needed. The country needs a government that gives the same punishment to all - regardless of tribe, affiliation, sect or even if he or she is from the ruling family.

Follow me @badryaD

MAKKAH: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah pictured during the 4th Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Makkah yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said the government has finally submitted the controversial petition against the electoral constituencies law to the constitutional court on suspicion that the law is not in line with the constitution.

“The petition was handed to the court today” the minister announced at a press conference.

Justice and legal affairs minister Jamal Shehab told the same press conference that the petition relates to two articles in the law regarding the distribution of electoral constituencies and voters and also over the voting system. The law was introduced in 2006 following protests by the opposition that initially led to dissolving the National Assembly and hold fresh polls in which the opposition scored a resounding victory.

The legislation reduced the 25 electoral constituencies to five with each

UAE announces $3bn in nuclear fuel deals ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates awarded $3 billion in contracts to six foreign firms, including global miner Rio Tinto and France’s Areva yesterday, to supply fuel for the Gulf Arab state’s first nuclear power plant.

The Barakah plant is slated to open in 2017 and the contracts, which range from the purchase of uranium to conversion and enrichment services, will cover its fuel supply for the first 15 years of operations, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp (ENEC) said.

“These contracts will provide ENEC with long-term security of supply, high quality fuel and favorable pricing and commercial terms,” Mohamed Al-Hammadi,

ENEC’s chief executive, said in a statement. The other firms are US-based ConverDyn, Canada’s Uranium One, government-controlled nuclear group Urenco and Russia’s Tenex, the world’s largest exporter of lowenriched uranium. The fuel supply program will begin in 2014-2015.

A spokesman for Areva, the world’s biggest maker of nuclear plants, said its share of the contract was worth 400 million euros ($492.86 million). In July, the UAE’s nuclear regulator granted ENEC a license to construct the country’s first two nuclear reactors, to be built by a Continued on Page 13

Max 46º Min 34º High Tide 09:58 Low Tide 03:36 & 17:14

electing 10 MPs. But the law allows voters to pick up a maximum of four candidates in a bid to allow minorities to bag seats. The two ministers insisted that legal experts have expressed serious doubts over whether the law is in breach of the constitution with several of them insisting that if challenged before the court, it will be declared unconstitutional.

The ministers said that the government had the tough options of either dissolving the 2009 Assembly, which was revived by a court ruling in June, and then hold fresh general elections on the basis of the existing law or filing the petition to the court and waiting for its verdict. The government chose the second option because it feared that if the elections were held on the basis of the existing law, it will be challenged in the court which could nullify the election process again, leading to another legislative vacuum.

Continued on Page 13

Ramadan Kareem

Month of Blessings

By Shariffa Carlo Al Andalusia

O

you who believe, fasting is decreed upon you as it was decreed upon those before you that perhaps you may have taqwa (God-righteousness) Quran 2: 183. Every Muslim who has attained the age of puberty and is in good physical health has been commanded to fast the month of Ramadan. It is a time of abstaining from food and drink, for certain, but not just this. The Muslim isn’t supposed to just starve him or herself, while continuing to disobey Allah.

The Muslim is supposed to take this time where temptation has been eliminated, by the chaining of Continued on Page 13

HRW blasts UAE Stop ‘harassing’ lawyers DUBAI: Human Rights Watch yesterday slammed the alleged harassment of defense lawyers for dissidents detained in the United Arab Emirates, saying this would make fair trials impossible. “By extending its crackdown against peaceful critics to include lawyers, the UAE is making even the basic rule of law impossible,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Since March 2012, UAE authorities have arrested 51 people, including two prominent human rights lawyers, claiming that peaceful calls for reform threaten national security, HRW says. The New Yorkbased watchdog said in a report that the Gulf state had attempted to “deny detainees legal assistance, an essential component of their right to a fair trial as well as the right of all detainees”.

HRW said that Dubai immigration officials on 8 August arrested Egyptian lawyer Sameh Muktar, informing him that he is to be expelled from the UAE on “security grounds”. Muktar works for prominent Emirati lawyer Abdul Hamid Al-Kumaiti, who attempts to provide legal assistance to peaceful political activists in detention without charge, according to the report. Kumaiti’s work has been “undermined by harassment and intimidation”, said Continued on Page 13

JERUSALEM: Muslim worshippers pray overnight outside at the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa mosques compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on the occasion of Lailat Al-Qadr which falls on the 27th day of Ramadan. — AFP

Cosmic supermom found

Prince Philip hospitalized

Iraq Zain chief resigns

WASHINGTON: Scientists have found a cosmic supermom. It’s a galaxy that gives births to more stars in a day than ours does in a year. Astronomers used NASA’s Chandra X-Ray telescope to spot this distant gigantic galaxy creating about 740 new stars a year. By comparison, our Milky Way galaxy spawns just about one new star each year. It’s about 5.7 billion light years away in the center of a recently discovered cluster of galaxies that give the brightest X-ray glow astronomers have seen. It is by far the biggest creation of stars that astronomers have seen for this type of galaxy - massive galaxies that are in the center of clusters. But other types of galaxies, such as colliding galaxies, can produce even more stars, astronomers said. But this is the size, type and age of galaxy that shouldn’t be producing stars at such a rapid pace, said the authors of a study published yesterday in the journal Nature. “It’s very extreme,” said Harvard University astronomer Ryan Foley, co-author of the study.

This undated handout artist illustration shows a cosmic supermom. — AP

LONDON: Britain’s Prince Philip was hospitalized yesterday with a repeat of the bladder infection that made him miss part of his wife Queen Elizabeth II’s jubilee celebrations in June, Buckingham Palace said. The 91-year-old was likely to spend several days in hospital after his third health scare in the space of eight months, having also suffered a blocked coronary artery over Christmas last year. Buckingham Palace said the Duke of Edinburgh, as he is formally known, was taken by ambulance to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in northeast Scotland from Balmoral Castle about 40 miles away. “The Duke of Edinburgh has had a recurrence of the bladder infection that he had in the summer and has been admitted to hospital for investigation and treatment,” a palace spokesman said. “His royal highness is likely to remain there for the next few days.” Buckingham Palace earlier said it was a “precautionary measure.” It said he and the queen had been staying at Balmoral.

BAGHDAD: The head of Zain Iraq, the country’s biggest mobile phone company, has resigned and will be temporarily replaced by the company’s chairman, Zain said in a statement yesterday. “Zain Iraq ... today confirmed that Emad Makiya will step down as chief executive officer of Zain Iraq with immediate effect,” it said, adding that Makiya will continue to function as an adviser to chairman and interim chief executive Mohammed Charchafchi. The statement did not specify why Makiya, who became chief executive in June 2010, resigned, while Makiya himself did not respond to AFP requests for comment. Zain Iraq is a branch of Kuwait’s Zain Group, which owns mobile phone operators across the Middle East. The firm is Iraq’s biggest mobile phone company by market share.

in the

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

LOCAL

‘Women 79% of unemployed citizens’

KUWAIT: Indian Ambassador Satish C Mehta hoisting the Indian flag.

KUWAIT: Satish Mehta with other Indian community members.

— Photos by Joseph Shagra

Ambassador dedicates Wednesdays to discuss unresolved cases Indians celebrate Independence Day

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: The Ambassador of India to Kuwait Satish C Mehta has decided to hold an open house every Wednesday for members of the Indian community to discuss unresolved issues. The ambassador can be met at the Indian Embassy without taking an appointment. In his speech during the occasion of his country’s 66th anniversary of Independence, ambassador Mehta said that he would like to meet Indian workers who have been very dedicated and honest members of Kuwait’s workforce. “In addition to the daily consular ‘open house’ held at the embassy,

during which a senior consular official could be met without appointment , I have started an ‘open house’ every Wednesday where any Indian citizen can meet me without appointment to discuss any unresolved matter,” he said.

Mehta said, the 650,000 strong Indian community in Kuwait continues to contribute significantly to improve bilateral relations between two countries. “I am proud to say that our community has earned well deserved reputation for being sincere, talented, disciplined, hard working and law abiding,” he said. “Our community members are present in every segment of the society and contribute

immensely to the development and prosperity of Kuwait,” he added.

The ambassador mentioned that it has been their constant endeavor to improve the quality of the welfare services provided to the Indian workers.

“Responding to increased demand arising from enhanced bilateral interaction, the embassy outsourced its passport and visa services in May 2009. These service centers are located conveniently at Sharq and Fahaheel and functioning satisfactorily,” he said.

The ambassador extended his warm felicitations to his fellow countrymen and the good gesture displayed by the State

of Kuwait to their people. Immediately after the flag hoisting ceremony, the traditional ‘meet and greet’ was also held.

The ambassador extended his hand and talked to his people gathered around the embassy to witness the simple but colorful event. The traditional parade and colorful celebrations, including the sumptuous food usually enjoyed by attendees on the auspicious occasion, were not offered in respect of the sanctity of Ramadan. In addition to reading messages, recitation and singing of some patriotic songs were enjoyed by spectators who thronged the embassy at seven in the morning.

KUWAIT: Partial view of the participants of the Indian Independence Day celebrations.

‘Lover’ tortures woman in Salmiya KUWAIT: Police are seeking a citizen who beat and tortured a woman who sought to end their relationship.

The woman reportedly told her boyfriend her wishes in a Salmiya cafe, as he attempted to convince her otherwise with no success. The man became agitated and when she left, started shouting at her to return, while cafe patrons looked on. The woman reportedly did not know that the man followed her to her flat.

The woman told police that her former lover knocked at her door, although she again told him the relationship was over. She said as soon as she opened the door, he stormed in and began beating her. He then tied her hands with curtain ties and smoked four cigarettes while putting each one out on her chest. She said that when she told him that she will never go back to him, even if he threatened to kill her, he left the flat, leaving the door open. She called out for help and someone eventually came to her aid.

A security source said the woman brought a medical report to the police stating that she had cigarette burns on her chest. She also filed a complaint of entering a house with intent to commit a crime and the deliberate burning to torture her. Salmiya detectives are working to arrest the suspect.

Royal cheating A citizen accused a female member of the ruling

family of cheating and swindling, after she reportedly received KD 250,000 from him and did not return the money. A security source said the citizen told police that he agreed with the sheikha to buy a piece of land that belonged to her father for KD 250,000. He said that he paid the money in full, and she wrote him a cheque in waiting for the delivery. The source said the sale did not take place, so the citizen went to the bank to cash the cheque, which turned out to be fraudulent. He then went back to the woman to obtain his money but was not answered, so he was compelled to refer the matter to the police.

Children fight Children playing together resulted in a fierce fight between a Syrian family and their citizen neighbors. A security source said members of the Syrian family brought medical reports to police stating that they sustained various bruises and lacerations and then filed a complaint. The reports were based on a number of brawls that reportedly took place between children of both families. Investigations are underway.

Citizen cheated A security source said a citizen complained to Salmiya police that an Egyptian offered to become business partners with him, so he gave him KD 12,000. A

few days later, however, the Egyptian disappeared with the money. The citizen was then surprised by an international call from the partner, mocking him over the lost money. Police are investigating.

Juvenile stabbed Seven people fought with a juvenile in Fahad AlAhmad, then stabbed him before escaping. Witnesses at the scene took the victim to Adan hospital. Detectives are investigating to identify those involved.

KD 23,000 theft The theft of KD 23,000 from the cash register of a store in Hawally was found to be the work of a veiled woman, who has recently robbed a number of shops. A security source said complaints claim the veiled woman entered the shop with the intention to make purchases, then while paying she made a request that forced an employee to move away from the register. She then stole money from the register before fleeing from the store. The last incident involved an Egyptian clerk who the woman told she would pay with an ATM, causing the clerk to visit the store next door to set the machine.

When he returned, he discovered that KD 2,300 was missing from his store. The source said that nine cases involving the veiled thief are currently being investigated by detectives.

KUWAIT: According to a recent government report, more than nineteen thousand Kuwaitis are currently unemployed, nearly eighty percent of whom are women, a local daily reported yesterday.

The report, released by the Central Statistical Office and obtained by Al-Qabas, indicates that unemployment rates have dropped in 2012 compared to 2011 by 7%, with 19061 people unemployed as of April 20th compared to 20573 on the same date last year. The report further shows a 17.1% decline in the average number of unemployed male citizens, which dropped from 4725 in 2011 to 3918 in 2012. On the other hand, the report indicates that the number of unemployed female citizens, as of April 20, 2012, reached 15143, forming 79.4% of the total unemployed, compared to 20.6% for their male counterparts. Women’s unemployment has dropped by 4.4%, however, compared to 2011 when it reached 15848. Regarding age groups, the report shows that 51.4% of unemployed citizens are aged between 20 and 29, while 69.3% are ages 20 to 39. The percentage shows a slight improvement from 2011, which recorded a 53.7% unemployment rate for the 20 to 29 age group, and 71.9% for the 20-49 age group, respectively.

In the meantime, the report indicates that the average number of citizens who have been unemployed for 12 months or more has increased from 53.9% in 2011 to 60.5% in 2012. On the other hand, the average number of citizens unemployed for less than 12 months dropped from 46.1% to 39.5%.

The report also detailed how 59.8% of unemployed citizens have only elementary or middle school educations, with many lacking academic qualifications entirely.

In addition, it shows that some 49.7% lack sufficient professional training. According to the report, involuntary unemployment accounts for 2.6% of the total unemployment rate, which includes nearly 9588 citizens: 2809 males (1.4%) and 6779 females (4.4%).

Gulf Bank offers support to Pumps4Kids plan KUWAIT: Gulf Bank announced yesterday its support of the Pumps4Kids campaign, a charitable initiative organized by the Business Supporting Charities (BSC) which has teamed up with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society and the Dasman Diabetes Institute to raise funds to provide insulin pumps for children with Type 1 diabetes in Kuwait.

Type 1 Diabetes is basically the condition where the patient’s pancreas can no longer produce insulin for the body, hence resulting in an increase of glucose in the blood and urine. Type 1 Diabetes strikes children and adults suddenly, leaving them dependent on insulin injections or pumped insulin for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications involving the eyes, kidneys, and nerves. The latest statistics regarding diabetes in Kuwait are alarming and with that in mind, Gulf Bank chose to support this initiative and raise awareness of this life threatening condition.

Fawzy Al-Thunayan, Gulf Bank’s General Manager, Board Affairs said: “Our support of such a cause is imperative, considering how diabetes 1 is a critical condition that can threaten the lives of many, if the proper treatment is not provided. Therefore, Gulf Bank found the perfect opportunity to support Kuwait’s youth through a lifesaving initiative, Pump4Kids, and make a contribution that can give children the chance to look forward to a bright future.”

Al-Thunayan added, “Gulf bank will continue to explore means of supporting similar causes that can really make a difference in the world, and we do hope that this campaign receives the support it deserves.”

For customers interested in taking part in this initiative, donations can be made by simply sending the letter ‘d’ to the number listed by their respective telecom providers; for Zain customers: 99935, for Wataniya customers: 1922, and for VIVA customers: 50870. Donations can also be made through a bank transfer to the Kuwait Red Crescent Society.

For donation through the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, please find below the bank details: Beneficiary Name: Kuwait Red Crescent Society IBAN: KW98GULB0000000000009621118 Bank Name: Gulf Bank/ Kuwait Account No.: 09621118 Gulf Bank will continue being a strong supporter of popular and non popular health causes that help contribute positively to the benefit of the society. Changing people’s lives is a motto that Gulf Bank truly believes in.

HSBC Kuwait shares over 5,000 iftar meals KUWAIT: HSBC Kuwait this Ramadan ensured that families in need and the less fortunate were able to share in the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan. Staff volunteers signed up for the activity and served 315 iftar meals daily.

The activity commenced at the start of Ramadan and will continue until the end of the 30 day fasting period.

“Our staff volunteers have done

a tremendous job on a daily basis.

It is an honor to take part in activities of this nature and to be able to make a tangible difference to the lives of those in need,” said Simon Vaughan Johnson, CEO of HSBC Bank Middle East in Kuwait.

“HSBC worldwide participates in a number of community activities and being connected to the communities in which we live and work is integral to the group’s

core values.” he added.

Iftar meal distribution was initiated five years ago and since then staff volunteers in HSBC Kuwait have participated generously in the activity.

HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the M iddle East. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited has 46 branches throughout the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Pak istan, Algeria and the Palestinian Autonomous Area. In addition to this branch network, the Bank maintains representative office in Tripoli, Libya. This extensive regional coverage is strengthened by another member of the HSBC Group, HSBC Bank Egypt SAE; and by its associated compan i e s ; Th e S a u d i B r i t i s h B a n k ; British Arab Commercial Bank Limited; HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited; SABB Securities Limited; SABB Tak aful Co.; and Dar Es Saalam I nvestment something here on being open for international business.

Senyar divers finish Kubbar buoys project KUWAIT: The Senyar dive team installed new buoys around the Kubbar Island, increasing the number of floating markers protecting the island’s coral reef to 34, the Voluntary Work Center announced in a recent statement.

The buoys help sailor’s avoid damaging corals with anchors that have a detrimental effect on coral reefs whose growth average is estimated at a few millimeters a year.

The Kubbar Island, which is 370 meters long from east to west and 290 meters from north to south, is surrounded by coral reefs that keep its coasts from erosion. The average temperature at the Kubbar island during the summer reaches a maximum of 45 C degrees, and a minimum of 27 C degrees.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

LOCAL

Al-Juwaihel released on bail in insulting remarks case Legal action against Al-Turaiji

By A. Saleh KUWAIT: Controversial figure Mohammad AlJuwaihel was released on bail yesterday in a case in which he is charged with slander over insulting remarks he reportedly made on Twitter about the Mutair tribe. Al-Juwaihel, who won parliamentary membership after running in the annulled 2012 elections from the third constituency, was being held at the central jail pending investigations carried out by the Public Prosecution, who had received the case from the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Investigations Department. Al-Juwaihel denies the accusations, claiming that his account was hacked by a user located in Lebanon.

Recent reports indicated that Al-Juwaihel had stopped taking his heart medication to protest his imprisonment.

New case The Kuwaiti government has taken legal action against a member of the annulled 2012 parliament, Dr Mohammad Al-Turaiji. The government is accusing him of “damaging the national economy” over inquiries made to Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas Al-Saleh, as well as appeals to HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mabarak Al-Sabah to “stop improper appointments in the Capital Market

Authority”. In an announcement yesterday on Twitter, Al-Turaiji said: “When we ask about suspicions of corruption in appointing candidates to leading posts with astronomical salaries, we are accused of damaging the national economy, while those who steal our country’s wealth and deprive qualified personnel from opportunities are left unasked.” Al-Turaiji further claimed that the charge is “part of a plot to eliminate those who embarrassed the government with their monitoring role”.

Unions warning A labor union or nongovernmental organization that takes part in mass gatherings or demonstrations regarding topics other than their fields of specialty will immediately be dissolved, said sources with knowledge of recent instructions released by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.The stipulation, however, does not affect union members who participate individually, though “a body represented by a person will be subjected to prosecution”.

The Majority Bloc, which is a coalition of oppositionists who dominated majority seats in the annulled 2012 parliament, reportedly invited labor unions and NGOs to take part in demonstrations they plan to stage. The demonstrations are in protest of the Cabinet’s decision to refer the electoral law to the constitutional court.

Police assaulted Special task forces were summoned to control a quarrel that took place yesterday morning at the Farwaniya Hospital between feuding youths.

Medical staff reportedly called police immediately after a group of teenagers stormed the hospital to attack others who arrived for treatment of injuries sustained during their initial fight. Police officers summoned special task forces after failing to control the chaos inside the hospital, which extended to the clinics’ external building. Multiple cases of assaulting police officers were reported during the incident.

Higher studies’ registration Kuwait University’s Faculty of Higher Studies announced that from September 2, 2012 to December 13, 2012 the University will accept applications from graduates of other universities wishing to continue their graduate studies at KU for the 2013-2014 academic school-year.

Separately, a group of female students, who are set to take part in the Arab Schools Sports Tournament, leave Kuwait this Friday for the Czech Republic. The students will participate in a training camp in preparation for the tournament that is to be hosted by Kuwait.

NBK’s grand prize New McLaren at 360 Mall

KUWAIT: The 37th National Mourning Day of Bangladesh in progress.

Bangladeshis pay tribute to Bangabandhu KUWAIT: The 37th National Mourning Day of Bangladesh was observed in the Embassy of Bangladesh in Kuwait with due solemnity.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation, along with most of his family members was brutally killed on 15 August 1975 by a group of military personnel. The Bangladesh Embassy has chalked out a day-long program on the occasion.

The program began in the morning with the hosting of national flag at half-mast in the Chancery Building in Khaldiya at 8 am by Syed Shahed Reza, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Kuwait.

In the afternoon the program began in the Embassy Auditorium with recitation from the holy Quran. Subsequently one minute silence was

observered to show respect to the martyrs of Aug 15. The special messages of the Hon’ble President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Bangladesh were read out to the audiences. A discussion meeting on Bangabandhu was held in the Embassy which was presided by Syed Shahed Reza. Officials of the Embassy, Commandant of Bangladesh Military Contingent (BMC) in Kuwait. BMC officials and dignitaries from the Bangladesh community in Kuwait participated in the discussion.

In his speech Syed Shahed Reza highlighted the immense role played by the Father of the Nation in achieving independence of Bangladesh in 1971 in order to ensure political and economic emancipation of its people. He also urged all community

members to follow the ideals of the father of the nation and work unitedly to establish ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by him. A special munazat and dua were offered for eternal peace of the father of the nation and martyrs who sacrificed their lives on 15th August 1975. During dua and munajat the blessings of Almighty Allah were sought for the continuous peace. progress and development of Bangladesh. A documentary film titled ‘Sai Andhakar’ on the life of the hither of the nation and 15th August. 1975 was also shown.

The Embassy has organized an iftar party for the members of Bangladesh community and a large number of community people attended the program.

‘Zain’s lamp’ play to dispel children’s misconceptions KUWAIT: Zain Telecom, Kuwait’s largest telecommunications network, celebrates the Eid Al-Fitr holiday by organizing the ‘Mesbah Zain’ (Zain’s lamp) play, the second production the company is organizing consecutively after last year’s successful ‘Zain, a beautiful world’ play.

“The main goal behind this bold initiative is to find new dimensions in the social relationship between Zain and the public, as the new play is considered an extension of suc-

cessful experience in this field that gained support from children and families alike,” read a statement made available to the press yesterday.

Zain assured on their commitment to “live up to their social responsibilities adequately with their role as a leading business enterprise,” adding that Zain tries through these activities to “reinforce values and ethics within children, while at the same time

improve the cultural level in addressing them.” “Zain tries through this initiative to go back to the 80’s, when theater in Kuwait reached its most pinnacle,” the statement read.

The play’s storyline was penned by author Heba Al-Hamadah and trying to correct some misconceptions that children have about reading mythology, and that dreams can be realized through knowledge and thinking, not magic.

Drug dealers nabbed

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Detectives arrested four Asians in connection with drug peddling. They were caught with possession of a half kilogram of ICE (methamphetamine) drugs.

Detectives were tipped off on an Asian group that was actively trading in drugs. After verifying information received, a warrant was obtained from public prosecutor to arrest the offenders. One Asian expat and his wife were arrested in Khaitan. At least 50 grams of the drug was seized from their possession. During interrogation, they confessed to obtaining the contraband from an Asian woman who resided in the same area.

She was arrested as well and recovered 200 grams of the drug.

The woman then divulged details about her partner who lives in Hawally governorate who was also arrested with 250 grams of the drug. He admitted that he along with his female partner imported the drugs. The suspects were referred to concerned authorities.

KUWAIT: Members of the drug gang pictured after their arrest.

Fire incident A fire broke out at a house under construction in Al Salam yesterday evening. Mishref Fire Center immediately responded to an emergency call and supported by Al-Shuhada Fire Center. It was found that fire spread from a store situated adjacent to it. Firefighters put out the flames within a short while.

Ban on swimming, fishing in restricted areas KUWAIT: S ewage is no longer dumped into the Arabian Gulf following the restoration of Mishref plant. However swimming and fishing at the coast ex tending from Al-Salmiya to Al-Beda has been prohibited due to pollution, a state official said recently. “ Th e re s t r i c te d a re a s h ows signs of recovery after all gates t h ro u g h w h i c h s e w a g e w a s

dumped from the Mishref plant w a s c l o s e d,” s a i d D r S a l a h A l Mudhhi, General Director of the Environment Public Authority.

The official indicated that the a re a’s re h a b i l i t a t i o n p ro gr a m includes “signing a contract soon with a British institution specialized in marine environment rehabilitation,” further explaining that the 18-month deal includes

“examining samples periodically to determine causes of pollution and work towards treating it.”

The restricted area still suffers traces of pollution according to most recent test results “which requires caution before swimming and fishing can be allowed a g a i n t h i s s u m m e r fo r p u b l i c health protec tion,” Al-Mudhhi said. — Al-Rai

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) is showcasing the astonishing 2012 McLaren MP4-12C, its summer campaign grand prize, at 360 Mall for the public to view and inspect the fine details of this fascinating super car.

NBK offers its cardholders the chance to win the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C as well as up to KD 180,000 in cash prizes during its annual summer campaign. This exciting promotion is valid until 15 September 2012.

NBK Cardholders can earn unlimited chances throughout the summer to enter the three draws and stand the chance to win up to KD 180,000 in cash prizes, in addition to the grand prize draw for the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C. For every KD 20 spent in Kuwait with NBK Credit or Prepaid Cards, Cardholders will earn one chance to enter the draws. Cardholders can

triple their chances by using their NBK Credit, Prepaid and Debit Card abroad or by shopping on international sites. 18 winners will have their spending on their NBK Cards reimbursed up to a value of KD 10,000.

NBK Cards are accepted worldwide and are the safest, most convenient and rewarding way to pay.

For more information log onto nbk.com, contact Hala Watani on 1801801 or follow NBK on Twitter @NBKPage, and on Instagram @NBKPage. The new McLaren MP412C is one of the world’s most critically acclaimed luxurious supercars with its astonishing design that combines elegance and exquisiteness. Ali Alghanim and Sons Automotive is the sole dealer of McLaren Automotive Ltd. and the exclusive importer of BMW Group vehicles in Kuwait.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

local

KUWAIT: Nissan Al-Babtain hosted a ghabqa recently for staff members on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan at the Salwa Al-Sabah Hall in Marina Hotel.—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Iftar for Syrian refugees KUWAIT: The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) held an iftar for Syrian refugees in addition to distributing aid to 600 families that have taken refuge in Irbid, Jordan.

In a press release issued by Nabeel Bu Fatteen, Field Chief of the Society in Jordan said it extends a helping hand to the Syrian families had to flee their country owing to current political turmoil there.

A group iftar for nearly 300 individuals was organized. Aid was distributed to 600 families in cooperation and coordination with Jordan Red Crescent Society.

NO: 15541

28

RAMADAN 28, 1433 AH Where did the first group of Muslims migrate before the Prophet’s (PBUH) to Madinah?

A

Habshah, now called Ethiopia

B

Alsham

C

Egypt

local

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor hosted its annual iftar for social care homes recently, attended by Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Kandari on behalf of Salem Al-Othaina, Acting Minister.

—Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KUWAIT: MasterCard Executives at Ramadan iftar in Sheraton Kuwait.

MasterCard celebrates Ramadan with key customers in Kuwait KUWAIT: MasterCard Worldwide recently hosted an Iftar evening in Kuwait to celebrate the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan with its customer financial institutions and other key stakeholders in Kuwait.

Safdar Khan, Market Manager, Qatar, Oman & Kuwait, MasterCard Worldwide

said, “We are pleased to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan by hosting this Iftar evening. Kuwait is one of the fastest growing markets for MasterCard in the Middle East region and we remain committed to working closely with all stakeholders and also adding value to the local economy thorough

innovative payment solutions and technology”. The iftar, which was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Kuwait, witnessed attendance from leading financial institutions and merchants who were joined by senior MasterCard executives.

Representatives of local media also participated in the MasterCard Iftar event.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Enemies of constitution

Boycott group is different

By Abdellatif Al-Duaij

By Dr Ahmad Al-Khateeb his is how they managed to drag the Kuwaiti people into a confrontation with the constitutional court.

Ever since threats emerged for public demonstrations should the Cabinet consult the constitutional court regarding the five constituencies system, the course of the battle has changed.

The battle now is not between a government that is against the constitution and people committed to it, but between the judiciary and the Kuwaiti people. It is as if the government has nothing to do with the miserable situation we’re living in whatsoever, and as if the constitutional court is the real problem and main cause for the deteriorating situation we live in.

Didn’t anyone expect that the government wouldn’t give up, and would seek revenge on the judiciary, which stopped their violating of the constitution?

Aren’t we wise enough to realize that the judiciary’s uprising against violations of the constitution will come with severe consequences to the judiciary itself? Aren’t we wise enough to notice that when the Kuwaiti judiciary annulled unconstitutional articles in the demonstration law that the government went too far in disregarding everything that is constitutional or legal?

Do we really need to know the real reason why the government continues to insist that the judiciary doesn’t get full independence? Then why are we handing over the apex of our judicial system on a silver platter to its enemy?

Why, then, is the prime minister threatened if he commits to the constitutional court’s ruling? Isn’t this a clear provocation against the court? Isn’t this also exactly what the enemies of the constitution desire in order to limit the judiciary’s role?

Since when have the constituencies been the problem in electing true representatives of the nation? The problem is not in the constituencies’ type or number, but in the entire electoral process. Kuwait hasn’t seen free elections since the elections of the first parliament in 1963.

That intervention in the election process occurs in various shapes and forms is well known. They are allowed to happen because issuing penalties has been suspended by direct orders from the Interior Ministry, as stated by officials assigned to oversee the election process when they are asked to apply the law.

These violations happen with support from members of the government itself, who do not hesitate to finance these violations in order to feed their own political greed. Providing privileges, creating a group of MPs that facilitate services, tampering with electoral schedules and boxes; all types of violations are known.

During campaigns calling for changing the distribution of constituencies into five, this distribution was never seen as the solution for the election process’ problem. All this does is make bribes through money and services a lot harder to complete, compared to the 25-constituencies system.

The solution to eliminate violations is by creating an independent and neutral authority that oversees the election process entirely, and implement regulations pertaining to elections. Only then can the debate about the type and number of constituencies be useful.

The electoral system itself is not the problem, and the five-constituencies distribution is not the best solution. Instead of warning the prime minister against following the court’s order, the premier should be warned to take actions in order to stop the deterioration the country suffers from in all fields.

For all the reasons I’ve mentioned, the people never had a true majority of reform in the parliament, whether it be a pro-government majority, or being dissolved when it had an active minority.

Let’s stop and think for a moment, away from the artificial disturbance that attempts to obliterate the truth regarding the struggle between enemies of the constitutional and democratic system, and the people who are committed to their constitutional system.

Let’s talk about the plots made against the constitution since the death of its godfather, the late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah in 1965. It all started with attempts to topple the first Cabinet that wasn’t in favor of certain corrupt individuals in the government. A new Cabinet was then formed, with its first mission being the release of a series of regulations that limit public freedoms—-before supervising the forgery of the 1967 elections.

On the other hand, let’s think about who’s behind dividing society through the ‘divide and conquer’ policy, leaving us battling with destructive tribal and sectarian struggles? Do you know who that is? Do you know who cost Kuwait its leading role in the region, to instead become an example of complete failure?

Haven’t you noticed that we lost democracy a long time ago, and have been living in a fully controlled government system where the law and constitution don’t have values?

Is it true that the government was incapable of stopping this deterioration? Haven’t we learned the lesson from that day in the eighties when the government announced, after a meeting with the opposition (who were leading public protest against suspending the parliament), that: “Kuwaitis do not want democracy, but a national council with a majority of appointed members with no powers?

After all that, we express our rage against the judiciary’s uprising, instead of being proud of it and supporting its independence?

If we have a majority of MPs seeking reform, then that’s a good thing that has never happened before and a historical achievement. Through this, the will of the people is evident in the constitutional and democratic life in order to hold accountable the true people behind our miseries.

The time has come to refuse playing in the field of the enemies of the constitution, and move the battle to our own court - the court of defending the constitutional and democratic system through peaceful and democratic means.

I feel sorry for, yet optimistic about, the Kuwaiti young men and women who truly believe in reform. To them, I say that the Arab Spring managed to topple tyrants and paved the way for reform, but with a cost.

On the other hand, the people of Kuwait have a tougher task, despite the fact that we already have the launch pad towards reform held within the 1962 constitution.

The obstacles we face lie in division of society which turned into a field of fighting sectors fueled by hate.

This is a major problem that doesn’t have a quick solution, but can be overcome through hard work. Patience is required, but victory will come in the end because that is a condition for evolution. No one can stop the course of history, which is steadily escalating through what the scientific revolution provides from tools.

May God be with you, and may victory be yours — as long as dignity and eagerness for reform continues to keep you united. — Al-Jarida

t is now clear that the government wants to contest the entire election law, and not only in the poor distribution of constituencies. This means that there is a government intention to amend the election law with the particular aim of changing the voting mechanism. It is also clear that the areas’ distribution is unconstitutional, as some claim.

Additionally, the “collective” voting mechanism encourages tribal, sectarian and group zealotry. The proposed solution is to get rid of sectarianism, tribalism and grouping and reduce voting, so that the voter becomes committed to voting for one or two candidates.

Opposing the government for being “alone” in amending the election law is one thing, and opposing the amending of the election law itself is something else. This is what the superficial mentality of the “boycott” followers do not realize.

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kuwait digest

An unwise decision

By Abdullah Al-Naibari t wasn’t a wise decision for the government to refer the electoral law to the constitutional court.

Although the government has the constitutional right to do so, the decision isn’t wise from a political standpoint. It will not provide protect the law from future appeals, but will, rather, further increase the political crisis because it leaves the door wide open for the government to release a new electoral law through an emergency decree.

In addition to the government’s lack of vision about active measures to escape from the problem we are in, history contains several incidents that shows the government being unreliable when it comes to ensuring the integrity of elections. After forging the 1967 elections and parliamentary dissolutions in 1975 and 1976, the government released a modified law in 1981 that helped eliminate top opposition figures at the time, including Jassem AlQatami and Ahmad Al-Khateeb. Another dissolution took place in 1985, as well, followed by an unjustified suspension of the constitution that prompted public protests in the form of gatherings at Diwaniyas on Mondays; a movement that became known as the ‘Monday Diwaniyas’.

Before the parliament returned in 1992, a National Council was formed in 1990 with halfappointed and half-elected members to replace the parliament. It’s worth mentioning, as well, that the current system that divides Kuwait into five constituencies was passed by the parliament in 2006.

This was after the government provided a draft law following public pressure the previous year against the government’s initial refusal to proceed with the

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system then established.

Recently, speculation arose regarding the government’s plans to distribute the constituencies, including the idea of moving sections from certain constituencies to others. This scenario still allows the government to modify the distribution in a way by which they can guarantee a pro-government majority in the next parliament with an ineffective oppositionist minority. Meanwhile, the idea of reducing the number of votes per voter from four to one or two opens the door for vote buying to thrive.

If the government goes through with this plan, it will spark wide spread public protests because people will not accept moving backwards. With that in mind, going back to the 15-constituencies system is not viable, if the constitutional court finds the current distribution unconstitutional, because the old system contains the same problem of imbalance in voter distribution.

This leaves us with only two viable options: The first, which is still possible, is amending the electoral law during a session for the 2009 parliament.

This option is hindered by the fact that political groups refuse to allow the 2009 parliament to convene. In this case, the last option would be for the government to adopt a project presented by MPs in the 2012 parliament. This proposal would turn Kuwait into a single constituency with an election using a list system.This project can be the basis for negotiations for a deal in which the government releases a new electoral system through an emergency decree that would be agreed upon by all political groups. — Al-Qabas

The “collective” voting mechanism encourages tribal, sectarian and group zealotry. The proposed solution is to get rid of sectarianism, tribalism and grouping and reduce voting, so that the voter becomes committed to voting for one or two candidates.

There is no doubt that there are those who are harmed by, and in opposition to, the current voting mechanism; including the government, of course.

There are also the rest of the political powers and Shiite gatherings... that is all except the boycott group.

So, the issue of amending the constituency’s law is a general request, and it may not be as strong as the boycott group’s demands to keep it. Yet there remain Kuwaiti parties who have the same citizenry rights as the boycott group, and also see that it has the right to contest the law, re-legislate it, and make something in the best interest of Kuwaiti citizens.

This is a right and the boycott group claims that the intention is bad. Yet this same claim remains like the contest, shrouded with doubts in it and its intentions, unless the boycott group and its followers are angels and the rest of Kuwaitis are devils.

Contesting the election law is everyone’s right, both citizen and boycott member alike. Let us imagine that the rest of the political field and citizens gathered and applied political pressure, just like the boycott group. After all, they would be exercising their rights as citizens, just as the boycott group is. Is not the government supposed to listen to them, just like it is expected to listen and bow to the boycott group? Or is the boycott group once again different? — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Who are behind our setbacks?

in my view

By Sami Al-Nasf

World-renowned university

By Salman Al-Jishi high-ranking official told me of the dream of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah of 25 years to establish a world class university that would lead the world in the service of humanity and humaneness particularly in areas such as energy, nutrition, the environment and sustainable growth. The king hoped its location to be Taif, but the dream materialized many years later with the establishment of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal. It has been designed to be a world-renowned university for higher research studies with tangible contributions in the area of scientific and technological

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The university embarks on bold and collaborated research in support of leaders in the field of science and technology, and also to help in the diversification of the Saudi economy in order to under take relevant challenges regionally and internationally, which will be in the interest of the Kingdom, the region and the world. advancement. The university also looks forward to playing a significant role in the development of the Kingdom.

The university embarks on bold and collaborated research in support of leaders in the field of science and technology, and also to help in the diversification of the Saudi economy in order to undertake relevant challenges regionally and internationally, which will be in the interest of the Kingdom, the region and the world. The university’s basic principles insist on its faculty members to be committed to values such as accomplishment, boldness, inspiration, diversification, open mindedness and honesty. They should hold true to these values in all their dealings, not only as representatives of the university, but also in their personal dealings.

An international advisory council supports and

offers advice to the university’s president for comprehensive academic development with the objective of building the status of the university as an internationally recognized university and also to offer weighty contributions in the area of science and technology. It has been set up and equipped with the highest quality standards after allocating a suitable location with sufficient space to achieve its goals.

Furthermore, a section of the sea in the area has been designated for its research goals. It gets help from the most brilliant academic and administrative experts in the world so the king’s dream is achieved to the highest standard. Saudi Aramco with all its potential under the leadership of Ali AlNaimi, Khalid Al-Falih and Nazmi Al-Nasr, is undertaking implementation of the dream.

An Aramco official issued a statement about the project saying that it has been translated into a concrete reality with the par ticipation of researchers and specialists of both sexes belonging to 60 nationalities covering all continents. He added that its programs are directly linked with all the cities and towns in the Kingdom.

The university adopts gifted students at the age of 16 to develop their skills and to be sent to the best universities in the world so that they return to their country after earning their master or doctoral degrees to conduct research in key areas. The program has started paying off with many of them returning to the university after obtaining their degrees from universities such as Harvard, MIT and Stanford. Two classes of the university graduates have also passed successfully.

Unfortunately, all these achievements are documented while the media is absent from the scene.

I demand and request that the media take the initiative to highlight the university’s achievements so that not only citizens and expatriates but the whole world knows of a reality serving the nation and I hope it motivates young people to align their hopes and dreams with that of the king, particularly when those hardworking people do not readily present themselves in the media. Don’t we the citizens of the Kingdom deserve to be delighted and proud of such an academic institution and share in the king’s joy in the materialization of his conscientious dream which will glorify him among future generations and the whole of mankind?

he decision of some political leaders to boycott elections for the next four years is a good thing and should bring about positive changes in our government. After all, it is these same leaders who were usually accused of being the main cause for stopping the state wheels through the crisis and subsequent questioning. These problems, that have now led to the resignation of the government as well as the dissolution of the parliament, are a good thing and should be enforced. Also, it is not unusual for political powers in many countries of the world to decide to boycott elections for reasons they determine and then abide by their decision.

The most important benefits of this boycott during the next four years will become very clear to the Kuwaiti public.

We will finally realize who the real party that caused the state’s setbacks were, and who put obstacles in front of the growth train’s path and created a state of tension on a permanent basis for the public.

Therefore, if things improve during the coming four years, we will come to know that the opposition-led political pow-

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The most important benefits of this boycott during the next four years will become very clear to the Kuwaiti public. We will finally realize who the real party that caused the state’s setbacks is, and who put obstacles in front of the growth train’s path and created a state of tension on a permanent basis for the public. ers were the reason behind that. However, if things remain the same or became worse, we should stop blaming those powers for the setbacks made over the past 20 years and, instead, blame the government during that period.

Some of those who accuse the opposition of working for external agendas claim that the truth of those accusations is proven by the return of those powers in the upcoming elections. In spite of the current calls to boycott the elections, those who are willing to pay large amounts want those receiving the money to be automatic members of the Parliament, if not more. Since there is no use for payment to the one who has no political status, we should therefore wait and see.

NOTE: 1. Hitler said: “The worthless people I have met in my life are those who helped me to destroy their countries.”

2. Napoleon said: “The traitors of their countries do not deserve to shake hands with me. Their right with us is to pay us money only and not to shake hands with them.” — Al-Anbaa

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

US says Iran forming pro-regime militia in Syria Page 9

Untouchables: Asia’s biggest wildlife traffickers Page 10

TOKYO: A war veteran leads others clad in costumes of the Imperial Japanese Army during a visit to Yasukuni Shrine to pray for war victims yesterday. — AFP

Japan urged to face up to war past China, S Korea keep up pressure • Japan ministers visit controversial war shrine TOKYO: China and South Korea yesterday pressed Japan to face up to its wartime past, as festering territorial disputes flared and Asia marked the anniversary of Tokyo’s World War II surrender. Both countries demanded Japan do more to atone for the brutal expansionism of the 20th century, while in Tokyo cabinet ministers paid tribute to fallen Japanese, including top war criminals, at a controversial shrine. Beijing said the key issue was “whether Japan can really look in the mirror of history, heeding its lessons, holding hands with Asian people to face the future”. “The power is in the hands of Japan itself,” it added. “We hope Japan can keep its promise to deal with and reflect on its invasion history and take concrete measures to safeguard China-Japan relations.”

In Seoul, President Lee Myung-Bak, whose visit to disputed islands last week sent relations with Tokyo into virtual freefall,

said Japan had to make amends for the sexual slavery it forced on women in its former colony. “It was a breach of women’s rights committed during wartime as well as a violation of universal human rights and historic justice. We urge the Japanese government to take responsible measures in this regard,” Lee said. “Chain links tangled in the history of Korea-Japan relations are hampering the common march toward a better tomorrow in the Northeast Asian region, as well as bilateral ties,” Lee said.

The demands came as Japanese police arrested 14 people, some of whom had landed on an island claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo. The group had sailed from Hong Kong to the archipelago, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, with the intention of planting a Chinese flag. Japan summoned the Chinese ambassador in response. Their action came just days after South Korea’s Lee landed on another set of

disputed islands, kicking back into life a long-slumbering row with Japan, which this week morphed into a warning that Japan’s emperor must apologise if he ever wanted to visit.

Tokyo rounded on Lee, who had previously been viewed as a pragmatist with whom it could deal. Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said his comments on the emperor - a respected figurehead in Japan were “extremely regrettable” and “difficult to comprehend”. As Seoul celebrated Liberation Day, around 500 South Koreans, including two former comfort women, rallied outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul.

It was their 1,035th weekly protest over the issue, which Tokyo insists was settled in a 1965 accord normalising relations. The demonstration was echoed in Taiwan, which Japan occupied from 1895 until the war’s end, where about 200 Taiwanese chanted slogans and tore up Japanese mili-

tary flags. Japan marked the 67th anniversary of its surrender with an official ceremony in which Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda led 6,000 people in prayer. Their speeches used tried and tested formulae for regret, but avoided an explicit apology.

“During the war, (Japan) inflicted significant damage and pain on many countries, especially on people in Asian countries,” Noda told the annual ceremony. “We deeply regret that.” Akihito said: “Recalling history, I profoundly hope that the suffering of war will never be repeated. I sincerely express mourning for those who lost their lives on the battlefields, and wish world peace and our country’s further development.” Less diplomatically palatable were the pilgrimages by two of Noda’s cabinet to Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo, which honours 2.5 million war dead - including 14 leading war criminals from World War II. Those

enshrined at Yasukuni include General Hideki Tojo, the Japanese prime minister who ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor and was convicted of war crimes and hanged by a US-led tribunal. Jin Matsubara, one of the ministers, told reporters he was there “in a personal capacity” and had used his visit to “remember ancestors who established the foundations of the prosperity of presentday Japan”.

The pilgrimages were the first on the sensitive anniversary by any government minister since the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan came to power in 2009. All three prime ministers since then have asked their cabinets to stay away, but Noda’s crumbling support seemingly left him without sufficient power to prevent the visits.

North Korean state media said the ministers’ actions were an “intolerable insult and mockery of the Asian people who suffered a lot due to the atrocities of Japan”. — AFP

India to launch Mars mission: PM NEW DELHI: India plans to launch a space probe that will orbit Mars, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confirmed yesterday after press reports that the mission was scheduled to begin late next year. The project would mark another step in the country’s ambitious space program, which placed a probe on the moon three years ago and envisages its first manned mission in 2016. “Our spaceship will go near Mars and collect important scientific information,” Singh said in his annual Independence Day address, heralding the plan as “a huge step for us in the area of science and technology”.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to launch the unmanned orbiter as early as November next year, the Press Trust of India news agency reported earlier this month. According to one ISRO official, the cost of the mission has been estimated at four to five billion rupees ($70-90 million). India has a well-established space program which is a source of strong national

pride, but it has also attracted criticism as the government struggles to tackle dire poverty and child malnutrition.

Power blackouts on two consecutive days this month knocked out electricity across vast swathes of the country and underlined weaknesses in India’s basic infrastructure.

“More attention needs to be paid to the poor on issues such as health, drinking water and literacy,” Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the Sulabh sanitation charity and one of India’s most noted welfare activists, told AFP. “Going to space might have some scientific benefits but it alone will not help the condition of India’s poor.”

Indian scientists dismiss the criticism, saying that technology developed as part of the space program has resulted in spinoffs in other areas. “It is certainly not a question of misplaced priorities,” former ISRO chief U R Rao was quoted as saying by The Asian Age newspaper. ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan says the Mars mission must take place when the

planet is closest to Earth, which happens every 26 months. There are three “windows of opportunity” in late 2013, 2016 and 2018, and Indian scientists are aiming to be ready for the 2013 opportunity, he said.

In Sept 2009, India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe discovered water on the moon, boosting the country’s credibility among more experienced space-faring nations. But the space programme suffered a setback in Dec 2010 when a satellite launch vehicle blew up and fell into the Bay of Bengal after veering from its intended flight path. The United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and China have all sent missions to Mars. The US robot Curiosity is currently on the surface of the “Red Planet” after landing last week to hunt for soil-based signs of life and send back data for a future human mission.

Curiosity is a nuclear-powered vehicle that is designed for a two-year mission, though scientists hope it will last at least twice that long. — Agencies

KOLKATA: Indian schoolgirls perform on the occasion of 65th anniversary of India’s independence from British rule yesterday. — AP

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

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

Syria refugees battle heat, dust, sexual harassment ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP: Sweltering heat, dust, lack of electricity and at times sexual harassment are some of the hardships faced by refugees in this UN-run desert tent camp in northern Jordan.

Those who fled atrocities at home say they would rather return to Syria than be humiliated in the sprawling compound, as their trials came to a head Monday when a group of Syrians clashed with security guards who prevented them leaving. “My eyes and nose hurt, my throat aches from the dust and heat. My mother suffers from pneumonia and all of us are sick with allergies,” said 14-yearold Ziad Yunis, one of some 6,000 Syrian refugees housed in the camp near the border. “My father is still in Daraa. I wish I could go back there to hug him instead of this humiliation,” the teenager said as he paced back and forth.

Nearby, four-year-old Omar cried as his mother stripped him naked to bathe him outside their tent. “Please, mum, let’s go to a bathroom, I don’t want to be seen naked,” he insisted, as other children laughed at him. But his mother could not help. “What I can do for you? This is what we have,” she told him. As the “iftar” meal which breaks the dawn-to-dusk Muslim fast of Ramadan neared, scores of refugees lined up to receive their meals from a UN refugee agency truck. “If you don’t stick to your turn and stop shouting, you will get nothing,” a UN employee snapped at a man who complained about the long queue and demanded a quick handout. A woman considered herself lucky. “Thank God, this time, I only waited half an hour,” said Fatima Subeihi, 38, carrying a plastic bag containing bread, bottle of soft drink and water,

cheese and jam. It is not easy to fast more than 15 hours a day in this desert area during the month-long Ramadan, as average temperatures in the summer soar to 40 degrees Celsius. “You don’t

prison. We are not animals, and even animals would not accept to live here, this way,” said 50-year-old Mohammad, refusing to give his full name. Jordanian antiriot police were called in on Monday to

MAFRAQ: Syrian refugee children play in the Zaatari refugee camp near the border with Syria yesterday. Sweltering heat, dust, lack of electricity and at times sexual harassment are some of the hardships faced by refugees in this UN-run desert tent camp in northern Jordan. —AFP know how it feels. The worst thing is dust, and the tents are not good enough to protect us,” said the mother of six, covering her mouth with a white mask.

The authorities started to transfer some of the country’s 150,000 Syrian refugees to the seven-square-kilometer Zaatari camp in July. The UN says the camp, outside the city of Mafraq, can take up to 120,000 people. “This is a large

quell a protest by angry Syrians as they clashed with guards when they tried to leave the facility in protest at poor living conditions. A father of four covered his head with a piece of white cloth but dust invaded his face, including his eyelashes, as he queued up to receive relief items.

“There’s no electricity, no water, no phones. We are isolated and I cannot check on my sons who are fighting the

regime in Syria,” lamented the man.

Unlike the refugee tents, all offices of the United Nations and aid groups in the camp are linked to a power grid. “I do not understand why we don’t have electricity in our tents,” said Subhieh, 37, adding that UN staff and others had air-conditioned caravans. “We cannot breathe here and the food is bad, while we wait for three to four hours to use the bathroom. I miss Syria,” wept a mother of five, wearing a traditional black dress that has turned into beige because of the dust. The Jordanian government says thousands of tents in Zaatari will soon be replaced by caravans. “We did not escape death and humiliation in Syria to be humiliated here. I would rather return and die there. It’s easier and faster, trust me,” complained Marwan Basti, 38. “Everything is disorganized here. Some people get five portions of food a day while others get nothing. We can handle this but our children cannot. We would not have fled here if we knew all this.”

He said a new group of Syrian refugees were brought to the camp on Monday. “When they saw the situation, they tried to leave the camp but of course they were prevented,” he added.

Many Jordanians come and visit each day to donate food, water and clothes to the refugees. But other visitors cause trouble, adding more pressure on the Syrians. “Two days ago, a janitor tried to harass a woman when she wanted to use the toilet. One of her male relatives beat him. Police came, took the janitor to hospital and arrested the other man,” said Khaldun Qaddah, 25, from Homs in central Syria. “We demonstrated near

the gate of the camp to release the man. But nothing happened. This is unfair.”

Some Syrian refugees have repeatedly complained of sexual harassment.

A grey, off-road vehicle with Kuwaiti number plates entered the camp, just before iftar, trying to follow a Syrian woman in her twenties. The driver tried to give her his phone number, as a passenger took pictures of her using his mobile. “God damn you, you dogs,” the woman shouted at them as she carried bottles of water as well as food. “What can I tell you? This is sick. We have complained to the authorities but they haven’t done a thing. God damn (Syrian President Bashar Al-) Bashar who forced us to come here,” she said. Activists have said the camp “falls short of international standards,” but Jordan and the refugee agency UNHCR say limited resources and the continuous influx of refugees hamper their ability to deal with the crisis.

France has dispatched tons of aid supplies and medical equipment as well as a field hospital to the camp, while the United States, Britain, Canada and Germany have granted Jordan more than $135 million to help it cope. As the world’s Muslims prepare to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr after Ramadan ends early next week, Syrian refugees said there is nothing to be happy about. “What Eid? Are you serious?” Um Mohammed said, smiling, as she washed clothes outside her tent. “Eid is not for us. Look around you. How can we have any joy here? We are barely alive. Maybe we will celebrate Eid once this misery ends and Bashar is gone,” she said. —AFP

Bombing and violence leave 50 dead in Syria Lebanese clan seizes 20 Syrians in counter-kidnapping AZAZ: A Syrian air raid killed 30 people in the rebel-held northern border town of Azaz yesterday, a local doctor said, and a bomb went off near UN and military sites in the capital Damascus, wounding three. The doctor, Mohammad Lakhini, said at a hospital in Azaz that scores of people were wounded in the air strike. It reduced several houses in the town to rubble and dozens of men clawed through the concrete and metal debris looking for survivors.

As the violence intensified, UN human rights investigators accused forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar AlAssad of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. They said rebels had also committed war crimes, but the violations “did not reach the gravity, frequency and scale” of those by state forces and the proAssad shabbiha militia.

“The commission found reasonable grounds to believe that government forces and the shabbiha had

said an activist who gave his name only as Anwar. “An entire street was destroyed.” Seven Lebanese hostages being held in Azaz were also wounded, with four others still missing, a rebel commander said. “The building they (the hostages) were in was hit ... We were able to remove seven from the wreckage. They are wounded, and some of the injuries are serious,” rebel commander Ahmed Ghazali told the Lebanese news channel Al Jadeed.

Assad’s forces have increasingly used helicopter gunships and warplanes against the lightly-armed insurgents. In Damascus, a bomb exploded in the car park of a hotel used by UN monitors, but several military buildings are also in the vicinity and it was not clear what the target was.

CRIMINAL AND BARBARIC No UN staff were hurt in the blast, which occurred exactly four weeks after a bomb killed four of Assad’s

AZAZ: A Syrian man points at the body of a baby lying next to covered bodies of victims who were killed in an air strike in the town of Azaz, near the northern restive Syrian city of Aleppo yesterday. —AFP committed the crimes against humanity of murder and of torture, war crimes and gross violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including unlawful killing, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, sexual violence, indiscriminate attack, pillaging and destruction of property,” said the 102-page report by the independent investigators led by Paulo Pinheiro. In video posted by activists earlier yesterday, residents in Azaz - situated just north of the major urban battleground of Aleppo - screamed and shouted “God is greatest” as they carried bloodied bodies from collapsed concrete buildings. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens had been killed. One activist in the town said at least 30 bodies had been found and rescuers were searching for more. The video footage, which could not be immediately verified, showed crowds of residents wrestling with steel bars and pulling away a giant slab of concrete to reveal the dust-covered arm of a child. “This is a real catastrophe,”

senior aides. The bomb set a fuel tanker ablaze and black smoke billowed over the city. Ash and dust covered white UN vehicles parked nearby. State media said three people were wounded in the bombing and several rebels were killed or captured in a separate gunbattle with security forces in the western district of Mezze.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said the bomb blast proved “the criminal and barbaric nature of those who carry out these attacks - and their backers in Syria and abroad”. UN emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos, on a mission to seek more access for aid deliveries, was meeting European Union officials in Damascus when the bomb went off. She herself was unable to reach the town of Douma, a trouble spot just north of the capital, due to bombardment. “Waiting at checkpoint to get into Duma. Sounds of shelling. Could not enter,” Amos tweeted. The authorities told her she had been turned back for her own safety, her spokesman said later.

SAUDI ORDERS CITIZENS OUT Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, citing fear of kidnappings by Shiites angry over rebels in Syria taking prisoners from Lebanon and Iran. The statement by the Saudi Embassy in Beirut was published on the official Saudi news agency yesterday. It urges its citizens to leave immediately and warns travelers against visiting Lebanon, a popular destination for Gulf residents in the summer. Armed Shiite clansmen in Lebanon say they have taken 20 Syrians hostages until their relative seized by rebels in Syria is freed. Syria rebels claim to be holding a Lebanese man they accuse of being a member of Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese group allied with Syria and Iran. Groups calling themselves The Descendants of the Prophet Brigade and the Al-Habib Al-Mustafa Brigade said on a Facebook page they were jointly responsible for the bombing and that the attack had killed 50 soldiers. It was impossible to verify that claim. Last month Assad’s troops successfully counter-attacked after rebels seized parts of Damascus.

They are still trying to dislodge insurgents from Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city. A Syrian air strike has wrecked a hospital in a rebel-held area of Aleppo, a doctor there said yesterday, an attack that New York-based Human Rights Watch said violated international law. At least two holes gaped in the walls of Al Shifaa Hospital and four floors were heavily damaged by Tuesday’s raid. “If we had lingered just another five minutes, we would have died,” said the surgeon, who gave his name only as Younes.

Dust covered hospital beds, incubators were broken and the floor was strewn with rubble. Water from a broken tank had leaked out, mixing with patches of blood. More than 50 were killed across Syria yesterday, the Syrian Observatory said, after 160 the day before. Opposition sources say 18,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad erupted in March last year.

Syrian state media said Amos met Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem to discuss the growing needs of civilians affected by the “destruction of private and state property by terrorist armed groups” - the government’s usual term for rebels. The bloodshed has divided regional and world powers, foiling peace efforts and paralyzing the UN Security Council on Syria. Russia accused the West yesterday of reneging on an agreement to establish a transitional government in Syria and of prolonging the bloodshed by encouraging the rebels to keep fighting to overthrow Assad. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said an agreement made by world powers and the then-peace envoy Kofi Annan in Geneva on June 30 was still valid and urged the West to do more to put it into practice.

Most Western and Arab governments have called on Assad to go, saying his government’s violent response to initially peaceful protests give him no place in a future Syria. Russia has opposed tougher UN sanctions against Damascus, a long-time strategic ally, but denies it is actively helping Assad remain in power. Muslim heads of state were expected to suspend Syria from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at a summit in Makkah, over the objections of Iran, Assad’s closest ally.

The 57-member body’s rebuke is mostly symbolic, but it shows Syria’s isolation in much of the Sunni-majority Islamic world. —Agencies

Centuries-old Eid festival cancelled in Nigeria KANO: Nigeria yesterday cancelled a centuries-old Eid festival known for its elaborate horse pageant, officially due to the emir’s health, but residents suspected worsening violence was to blame. The festival has taken place in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, for five centuries, featuring a horse pageant called a durbar, where riders in colorful robes and turbans pay homage to the local emir. Over five days at the end of Ramadan, the Emir of Kano, the top traditional and spiritual figure in the area, and his royal entourage tour the city on horseback while dressed in richly

ornamented robes. It has been one of Nigeria’s few tourist attractions, with stunning photographs of the processions making their way into guidebooks.

Kano has played an important role in Islamic culture, positioned on a transSaharan trade route. But the festival, set to begin this weekend, will not take place this year. Some said it was the first time it had been cancelled outright, though it has been held in reduced form previously. “Due to His Royal Highness’s ill health, he has mandated me to inform you that he has cancelled all Sallah festivities ... but will only attend the Eid prayers

at the mosque,” the emir’s senior counselor Abbas Sunusi told reporters.

The emir, Ado Bayero, has been on the throne for 59 years and has been dogged by an undisclosed ailment for some time. Rumors have spread that he is suffering from prostate cancer and has frequently travelled to Britain for treatment. But the city has also been badly affected by violence committed by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, whose insurgency has killed more than 1,400 people since 2010. Its deadliest attack yet occurred in Kano in January, when coordinated bombings and shoot-

ings left at least 185 people dead. On Saturday, soldiers raided a suspected Boko Haram hideout outside the city and discovered a cache of arms including guns and explosives.

Authorities said three suspects arrested in the raid confessed that the arsenal was intended for attacks in the city during Eid. “We know that the emir has been sick for some years but it did not stop him from holding the durbar.

We believe there is more to what the palace is giving as reason for cancelling the Eid festival,” resident Shitu Nasiru said. —AFP

AZAZ: An injured Syrian boy arrives at a field hospital after an air strike hit homes in the town of Azaz yesterday. —AP

Syria children are the ‘hostages of violence’ BEIRUT: Turning rockets into goal posts, abandoned tanks into playthings, and war into a game, children in Syria are hostages to a conflict that has forced them to try to normalize death, loss and violence, residents and activists say. In rebel-held but besieged Old City of Homs, in central Syria, young children play Free Syrian Army versus Assad regime, using okra for ammunition and aubergines for hand grenades.

Football lovers in the city, parts of which are shelled almost daily, take rockets and turn them into goalposts, according to activists’ photographs. Speaking to AFP from Homs via Skype, Umm Mohammed says her five grandchildren-the eldest of whom is just nine-are not afraid of the sound of shelling or bullets, and that shrapnel has become just another toy for them. “But at night, they sometimes wake up screaming,” lamented Umm Mohammed. “No child should see what they are seeing, and they have already seen so much.”

Some older children have it even worse.

In northern Aleppo, scene of heavy violence since July 20, an AFP reporter saw several boys in their teens armed with Kalashnikovs, taking part in the fighting. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 1,300 children have been killed in violence in the past 17 months. Nor are children exempt from detention.

According to the Centre for Documentation of Violations in Syria, as of August 14, 698 children have been detained since the outbreak of the anti-regime uprising.

On Tuesday, Syria’s main opposition coalition said a 14-year-old was tortured to death in a prison in the coastal province of Latakia.

“Children are hostages of the violence,” said Omar, a Hama-based activist and uncle of two. “They did nothing to create it, but they are trapped in it.” Having suffered violence, directly or indirectly, children develop high levels of resilience, experts say, which at once acts as a psychological shield against horror, and at the same time allows them to accept the abnormal as normal. “My nephew is a seven-year-old child who acts like a man,” Omar said via Skype. Wanted by the authorities, Omar sends his nephew out to tour the neighborhood and check whether there are military or security forces nearby.

“As an uncle, I am sad he has lost his childhood.”

Such examples may be extreme, but they do provide some insight into the way that conflict in Syria has transformed children’s lives, forcing them to adapt to violence, and in many cases, become immersed in it.

“Death has become all too normal for many

children,” says Beirut-based psychologist Lina Issa, who works with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, a country that has itself suffered years of war and violence. “And as much as children are being raised as the heroes of one side or another, that is not a way for children to grow. They need the situation to change.” Feeling unsafe-Children may be more resilient, Issa said. “But it will take a long time for the real symptoms of their distress to show. Only when stability returns will we know the real psychological cost of this conflict,” she added.

Different children react in different ways to violence, said Issa. “I have seen some young children who should have started walking or talking, but haven’t,” she said.

“Others become defensive, and pretend like nothing is really happening,” she says, noting that some children draw only hearts and flowers, while others’ artwork focuses on violence and conflict. Indeed, a dramatic amateur video posted by activists on YouTube shows a young wounded girl crying in her father’s arms in Aleppo, as a doctor puts his hand to her back. She has just been wounded by a bullet, but she cries: “I am fine! I am fine!”

Many Syrian children have grown all too accustomed to feeling unsafe, says Isabella Castrogiovanni, a child protection expert at UNICEF Lebanon. A recent UNICEF survey of Syrian refugee families in Lebanon showed 54 percent of children felt something bad will happen, even after they found shelter outside Syria. “One child in a UNICEF childfriendly space in Lebanon panics every time he sees someone walking on a rooftop, because he is scared of snipers,” adds Castrogiovanni, who notes how disruptive forced flight is to a child’s development.

Even in the most tragic circumstances, some children manage to retain hope.

In Homs Old City, seven-year-old Maryam (not her real name) said via Skype: “When I grow up, I want to become a doctor, so that I can help the injured.” Twice displaced, Maryam, a granddaughter of Umm Mohammed, does not recognize she is besieged, nor does she say that her family was forced to flee their home in Bab Dreib.

To Maryam, home is her current shelter. “I live at home, with my family. We are fine.”

Others are less positive, and their imagination is a mirror-image of the daily loss of life in Syria. “One child tells me stories every day, as part of his therapy,” says Issa. “His storyline changes, but the ending is always the same.” In this child’s world, whatever the outcome in Syria, she says, “everybody dies.” —AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

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

Without a car, Ramadan shopping a struggle in Hebron HEBRON: It is a blistering summer day in the West Bank city of Hebron and Mohammed Al-Jaabari sweats profusely as he struggles to haul a heavy gas canister through an Israeli checkpoint. It is not an enviable task on any day, and particularly not during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when most Palestinians fast from dawn till dusk, making any physical effort doubly hard.

But hauling heavy goods and shopping across the city has become a way of life for Jaabari and thousands of others who live in H2, a 4.3 square kilometer, tightly-controlled Israeli enclave where many key streets are off-limits to Palestinian cars. “I have to cross this checkpoint several times a day and walk hundreds of meters to take groceries and supplies home,” puffs Jaabari, a 44year-old steel worker. “There’s no other way other than carrying it all on my shoulders and walking,” he said.

“I’ve already carried more than half a ton of metal to my workshop today along with my son-all on foot,” he says.

“We were dragging it in the heat for almost two hours. “Look at the tragedy we live in! Imagine doing all this hard work in this heat while you’re fasting.”

Many streets in H2 were shut off to Palestinians after the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, with

the Israeli army declaring them “closed military zones.” Not only did they ban Palestinian cars, but they also boarded up houses and shops in the area, forcing many families to leave.

“During Ramadan, we are hungry and thirsty and we want to get home but cars aren’t allowed because of the checkpoint,” explains Jaabari’s 26-year-old wife Umm Saad. “We have to carry everything we need on foot. Our life is a tragedy”.

Most of the restrictions are on Shuhada Street, a winding road which used to be the main thoroughfare linking the north and south of the city. Flanked by a handful of Jewish settlement enclaves, the street was partially closed off in 1994 after local settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim worshippers at the city’s Al-Ibrahimi mosque, killing 29 of them.

‘Our suffering is not easy’- With more than 1,800 shops now closed down, the area-once the thriving heart of Hebronhas turned into a ghost town. “ This street has been closed for 12 years for no reason other than to please the settlers,” grumbles Aref al-Jaabari, another local from the same family. In one area of Shuhada Street, even Palestinian pedestrians are barred, meaning that those who live there have to find alternative ways of getting into their own homes-

Ethiopia urged to release jailed Muslim protesters ADDIS ABABA: Muslim leaders in Ethiopia jailed as part of a “brutal crackdown” must be released immediately, the US-based Human Rights Watch said yesterday, a demand dismissed by the government. “The Ethiopian government should immediately release 17 prominent Muslim leaders arrested as part of a brutal crackdown on peaceful Muslim protesters in Addis Ababa,” HRW said in a statement.

The arrests took place following widespread protests staged by Muslims last month, to dispute what they said was unconstitutional government interference in religious affairs.

According to HRW, the detainees have been “mistreated” in custody and are being held without charge or access to legal advice. “They have had no access to legal counsel or, in several cases, their relatives,” HRW said. “Their lack of access to lawyers while detained in a prison known for torture heightens concerns about their safety.” Muslim groups in the country have staged weekly gatherings since the beginning of the year at two mosques in the Ethiopian capital.

Protesters accuse the government of forcibly imposing the Al-Ahbash branch of Islam, and appointing leaders of the Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs, who are traditionally elected by members of the Muslim community. Muslims officially make up about 30 percent of the country’s 83 million people. The Ethiopian government denied repression and said the arrests were legal. “There is no crackdown.

There are people who are legally apprehended, legally pursued, and this is within the legal bounds, the constitutional bounds, of the government,” government spokesman Bereket Simon said.

This month, police said several people had been arrested in connection with the demonstrations for intending “to carry out acts of terrorism”. They said the protests

had been carried out illegally and accused the movement of extremism, according to a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. HRW accused police of illegally harassing, assaulting and arbitrarily arresting protesters and urged the government to engage in peaceful dialogue. “The Ethiopian government should address the grievances of its Muslim community through dialogue, not violence... the security forces should be upholding the law, not breaking it,” HRW Africa researcher Ben Rawlence said.

However, Bereket accused the rights group of meddling and said Ethiopia followed its constitution. “This is a blatant disregard for the sovereignty of Ethiopia and this country is not led by Human Rights Watch so we go by our constitution, not by the invisible hand of Human Rights Watch,” he said. At least one of the arrested protestors is a journalist, while the bulk of the detained are members of an Islamic Committee created in January to represent the Muslim community when protests kicked off. Several Muslim leaders have recently gone into hiding, and many refuse to speak publicly, citing fear of arrest. “ They are afraid of going to prison.... The Muslim community is now afraid of the government,” said one Muslim living near Awoliya mosque.

Backed by the West, Ethiopia has long been a bulwark against Islamic extremism in the volatile Horn of Africa region. In 2011, Ethiopian troops and tanks rolled into neighboring Somalia to battle Al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.

Government interference in religious affairs is illegal, according to the constitution. In April, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said freedom of religion is respected under the constitution, but said some Muslims in the country were engaged in subversive acts and had attempted to establish an Islamic state. — AFP

Calm returns to Amiens AMIENS: The French city of Amiens yesterday began a costly clean-up after two nights of rioting that left France again asking itself what to do about marginalized urban neighborhoods that have regularly erupted into violence in the past decade. The city’s northern quarter was calm overnight, 24 hours after rampaging youths torched cars and public buildings, hurled explosives improvised from fireworks and fired buckshot at police.

France’s Interior Ministry announced yesterday that a heavy police presence would be maintained in the neighborhood for several days to ensure there was no repeat. Around 250 officers were deployed overnight following clashes in which 16 officers were injured, one of them seriously. “The reinforcements will remain deployed over the next few days and nights to ensure a complete return to normal,” Interior Minister Manuel Valls said in a statement.

Valls promised a crackdown on “troublemakers” would be balanced by attempts to foster a partnership between police and the local community in order to avoid further conflict. Gilles Demailly, the mayor of the city some 120 kilometers north of Paris, said the cost of repairing or rebuilding public buildings that were damaged or destroyed could run to six million euros (about $7.4 million). The scale of the damage-a sports centre and a primary school suffered extensive fire damage-made the Amiens riot the most serious incident of its kind since the Villeneuve suburb of Grenoble exploded two years ago.

France’s Socialist government has promised a tough response with Valls warning that no amount of social deprivation could excuse firing at police or burning public buildings. “The rule of law, order and justice has to be re-established here in Amiens and the police will

be given the means to ensure that they are,” he vowed. President Francois Hollande has promised to boost police numbers in some of France’s most deprived urban areas and said that the fight against crime will be spared the cutbacks most government departments face. Unemployment in the riot-hit part of Amiens runs at 45 percent. Among under-25s, who account for half the population, two out of three are out of work.

With France’s economy stagnating and the jobless total already at a record high, some fear the Amiens violence could be a sign of things to come as Hollande’s government embarks on an austerity program. But Didier Lapeyronnie, a sociologist at Paris’s Sorbonne University, does not expect the unrest to spread. “It is not the kind of protest that you get on the left bank in Paris,” he said. “There is an element of social protest but it is not only that. This type of incident tends to happen in areas where there is real tension between a community and the police. It comes to a head from time to time, often because of a badly-judged intervention by the police.”

The unrest in Amiens was triggered by what residents considered to be provocative spot-checks carried out at the time of a funeral for a 20-year-old who had died in a motorbike accident last week. Tanazi, a 28-year-old rapper and self-styled spokesman for the neighborhood, said local youths were fed up with being stopped by police “every day from when you’re five years old.” “The CRS (riot police), they think they’re in a zoo,” he said. Local police reject the allegation of heavy-handed tactics but have admitted they are struggling to cope with troublemakers in a neighborhood described as a “no go area” by the city’s mayor.— AFP

without using the front door. Zalikha AlMuhtaseb, a 45-year-old resident of Shuhada Street, has opened a door on the roof of her house and put metal ladders on top of her neighbor’s roofs so she can get in.

She says some people have to climb up three stories to get home-a complicated and dangerous process, particularly carrying heavy bags of shopping. “Our suffering is not easy and the problem isn’t just about getting to our homes any more-it also affects people visiting us,” she said. This is particularly a problem during Ramadan, when families tend to go visiting. “ These visits, which are important both socially and in a religious sense, are almost non-existent because of the difficulty of going anywhere, especially for women and children,” Muhtaseb says.

Because of the closure of so many streets, moving around the city has become a challenge-a journey which once took a few minutes on foot can often take much longer, she explains. “It used to take me 10 minutes to get to my brother’s house but now I need an hour or so to get there,” she sighs. For 19-yearold local Ahmed Al-Jaabari, the checkpoints have had a negative impact on all aspects of local Palestinian life-hurting them socially and economically, and also

HEBRON: Palestinian children help Mohammed Al-Jaabari as he transports a heavy gas canister past an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron. — AFP making religious observance more difficult. “We cannot visit each other, or host Ramadan meals for family and relatives,” he explains, saying the restrictions made life particularly difficult for the elderly.

“Many older people cannot get to the night prayers or the dawn prayers because of the damned checkpoints that

make the distance longer,” he snaps. But the problem is not just limited to Ramadan. “We can’t build or renovate our homes because it’s almost impossible to get building materials in,” he says.

“Even a water tank for drinking water needs coordination with the Israeli army!”— AFP

Iran building and training militia in Syria: Pentagon Syrian regime battle for survival WASHINGTON: US defense officials are accusing Iran of increased meddling in Syria, including efforts to bolster its flagging armed forces, who are weary after 18 months of fighting.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran is building and training a militia to help President Bashar Assad’s regime battle the rebel fighters trying to topple him. The Iranian efforts, said Panetta, will only add to the killing going on in the country and “bolster a regime that we think ultimately is going to come down.” The fighting including alleged massacres by the regime - has led to the deaths of more than 20,000 people, according to activists.

Sitting alongside Panetta at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, Army Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the militia, which is generally made up of Syrian Shiite forces, is being used to take the pressure off the Syrian regime forces. “Any army would be taxed with that kind of pace,” Dempsey said. “They are having resupply problems, they are having morale problems, they are having the kind of wear and tear that would come of being in a fight for as long as they have.”

Dempsey also said that it appears Syrian rebels were able to shoot down a Syrian warplane but said he has seen no indication that they are armed with heavy weapons or surface-to-air missiles, at least not yet. He says the MiG fighter could have been shot down with small arms fire. Syria has blamed the crash on a technical malfunction, but Dempsey said the cause “didn’t appear to be

ALEPPO: Syrians inspect the scene following an airstrike by regime forces on the town of Azaaz yesterday.

At least 20 people, including children, were killed in an air strike activists and residents said. — AFP mechanical.” Dempsey and Panetta voiced concerns about Iran’s growing presence in Syria even as President Bashar Assad’s regime steps up its aerial attacks against the rebel forces. Fierce fighting and attacks from warplanes and helicopter gunships have pushed the opposition forces back on key fronts, such as Aleppo. Asked about military options for intervention in Syria, Dempsey said the US has been in discussions with Jordan and Turkey about the possible need for a safe zone because the two countries neighboring Syria are

seeing an influx of refugees fleeing the fighting. “And with a safe haven would probably come some form of no-fly zone, but we’re not planning anything unilaterally,” Dempsey said. A no-fly zone would be a militarily enforced area in which outside nations would prohibit Syrian warplanes from flying and attacking its own people.

Panetta repeated assertions he made during an Associated Press interview Monday, saying that right now, creating a no-fly zone in the region “is not a frontburner issue” for the US Instead,

he said, the US is focusing on providing humanitarian and nonlethal assistance and on ensuring that the chemical and biological weapons in Syria are secure. The Obama administration has insisted repeatedly that Assad must go and that diplomatic and economic pressures, including sanctions, must be given time to work. Defense officials, including Panetta, have warned that putting a no-fly zone in place would be difficult because of the Syrian regime’s relatively modern and plentiful air defense systems.— AP

Norway PM under pressure after scathing Breivik report OSLO: Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was under pressure yesterday in the wake of a scathing report on the authorities’ handling of the Anders Behring Breivik attacks that left 77 people dead. Several polls published yesterday showed that a majority of Norwegians wanted Stoltenberg, who heads a centre-left coalition government, to stay on as prime

minister, but between 19 and 30.7 percent of those surveyed said they thought he ought to resign.

Political analyst Frank Aarebrot, however, said the poll results were “not surprising”. “Those who plan to vote for Stoltenberg (in the next election) want him to stay on, those who plan to vote to the right want him out,” he said. Rightwing extremist Breivik on July 22, 2011

OSLO: Oeystein Maeland (centre), Norwegian director of police, Sissel Hammer (left) police chief in Northern Buskerud police district, which has jurisdiction over Uoeya Island, and chief of police in Oslo, Anstein Gjengedal (right) meet the press in Oslo. An independent commission said that Norwegian police could have prevented or interrupted the bomb and gun attacks carried out by Anders Behring Breivik last year. — AP

set off a car bomb outside the government offices in Oslo, killing eight people, before going to the island of Utoeya, northwest of the capital, where he spent more than an hour gunning down another 69 people, mostly teenagers, and wounding dozens of others.

An independent commission appointed by Stoltenberg to see what lessons could be learned from the authorities’ response submitted its report on Monday, primarily criticizing the police’s slow and disorganized handling. But it was also highly critical of the government.

According to the commission, the Oslo bombing could have been prevented if the street outside the government office complex had been closed to traffic in line with recommendations dating back to 2004. The traffic restrictions had never been implemented because of bureaucratic red tape and political apathy, it said.

Stoltenberg, who enjoyed soaring popularity in the wake of the attacks with his calls for more openness and democracy, was personally singled out for having failed to address the safety of his government offices at the highest levels when it was brought to his attention as early as 2007. His office has since clarified that the reason he declined to take the issue higher up was that he had already assigned

the task to a cabinet minister who was in talks with Oslo city officials to close the street to traffic.

But Norwegian media nonetheless criticized the fact that responsibility for the matter was spread out over several ministries, which led to a delay in the implementation with tragic consequences. “Stoltenberg should resign,” Norway’s biggest newspaper, the tabloid Verdens Gang, thundered on Tuesday. “Our authorities have simply not been able to protect us because of incompetence, failure to follow up on adopted measures and a lack of respect for emergency crisis plans,” an editorial read.

“It would be intolerable if there were no direct consequences on the people in charge,” it added.

Stoltenberg, whose centre -left coalition holds a majority in parliament, has rejected the idea of a resignation. “The best way for me to take responsibility is to ensure that the necessary measures to improve security are carried out,” Stoltenberg said Monday after the report was published. With one year to go before the next legislative elections, the opposition has said it does not plan to gain politically from the matter. But parliament is to hold an extraordinary session at an as-yet-undetermined date to discuss the report’s conclusions.—AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

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

Cascades and cocaine in Costa Rica’s national parks MANUEL ANTONIO, Costa Rica: The lush national parks of Costa Rica have long attracted tourists from around the globe with their evergreen rainforests, white beaches and thermal springs.

Recently, they have lured more unsavory visitors in the form of drug traffickers. Organized crime cartels have turned to Costa Rica’s treasured nature reserves as governments wage military offensives against the gangs throughout Mexico and Central America.

In the mangrove swamps and jungles, the traffickers have found a vast, sparsely populated and thinly policed paradise that they can use as a stopoff point on their way to smuggle Colombian cocaine to the United States. They also increasingly grow marijuana amid the cedar and lemonwood trees. Costa Rica prides itself on not having a standing army but the incursion has put lightly armed park rangers into the frontline of the drug war as they struggle to prevent hikers and swimmers bumping into any rude surprises.

In January, the Coast Guard was called in for an unprecedented seizure of almost 1 ton of cocaine found in swampy mud in the Palo Seco park. The drugs would have been worth about $100 million on the US streets. In total, Costa Rican authorities seized more than 6.6 tons of cocaine in the first half of this year both in and out of parks, compared to less than 3 tons in the same period last year. In all of last year, 8.9 tons of cocaine was seized. Park rangers have also uncovered dozens of gangster encampments, complete with food

supplies. “Drug traffickers come in, make new pathways into the park for their trucks and set up their camps, waiting for drug shipments to come in by boat,” said Carlos Martinez, head of police in Quepos, a town near Costa Rica’s most popular park Manuel Antonio, 130 km from the capital of San Jose. “We’ve found gasoline containers, remains of water and food supplies and canvas used to cover up the drugs. They’ve even made themselves some benches to sit down and chat.”

Drug cartel expansion into Costa Rican parks is seen as part of a ‘balloon’ effect of the narcotics trade, which has been attacked by military offensives in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala. “You squeeze the balloon in the south, then you squeeze it at the top and what you get is pressure in the center, so even if it’s not the capos themselves that are moving down here, the cartels’ operations are extending to Central America,” Costa Rica’s anti-drug czar Mauricio Boraschi said.

Police say the smuggling is carried out mainly

by Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, La Familia and the Gulf Cartel. Last month, Costa Rican police arrested the alleged head of the Gulf Cartel’s operations in all Central America, Juan Manuel Garcia, in San Jose. Traffickers bring large amounts of cocaine out of Colombia’s Pacific port of Buenaventura from where they can sail straight into parks like Manuel Antonio, which has large stretches of Pacific beach, Boraschi says.

They can then continue their route north on the Pan-American Highway, or organize further

trips up the Pacific coast. Costa Rica abolished its army in 1948, a move that is celebrated annually, so the Central American nation is unable to pursue a Mexican or Colombian-style military crackdown.

However, the Costa Rican government has strengthened cooperation with the United States Navy in hitting traffickers in the South Pacific. It also recently levied a special tax on businesses to raise $70 million for anti-drug efforts, including special police units.

US Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Michael Rothermund said local DEA agents worked closely with Costa Rica’s judicial and drug control police. “Costa Rica has been a good partner in this fight”, said Eric Nelson, deputy ambassador to the United States in Costa Rica. “We think they’re making good decisions like increasing their security budget and combating corruption.” The incursion of the drug trade has yet to cause a spike in violence as traffickers try to stay off officials‘ radar, forgoing the attacks on security forces seen in Mexico.

Costa Rica’s homicide rate fell for the first time in six years in 2011 to 11.5 murders for every 100,000 inhabitants, bucking a trend of increasing violence in Central America. Honduras, which holds the title of murder capital of the world, had a rate of 86 per 100,000 last year. The cartels have not attacked national park rangers but there is increasing concern about the safety of travelling to distant corners of the reserves. “Their duties used to be mainly conservation, environmental

education and looking after park visitors”, says Rafael Gutierrez, head of park rangers at the government’s National Conservation Areas System.

“Now their job has changed.”

Costa Rica’s 28 parks cover a quarter of the national territory of 1.5 million acres, meaning there are almost endless marshes, mountains and jungles where traffickers can hide. To pull out the ton of cocaine in Palo Seco in January, officers spent an entire day fighting through swamp water that went up to their necks, battling mangroves and swinging roots. Costa Rica is particularly keen to control the gang’s incursions as the parks are a major draw for tourists, with some 300,000 visitors annually. Tourism generates some $2.1 billion a year, roughly 5 percent of gross domestic product.

“It’s such a shame that this has to happen”, said James Kaiser, an American writing a travel guide about Costa Rica. “But as someone who visits national parks I don’t have any reservations about visiting the most popular parts of the parks because I think those are not the areas that the drug traffickers are going to use.”

Police officer Martinez agreed that tourists were highly unlikely to bump into cocaine smugglers but said they were keeping an extra eye out for wandering visitors to make sure that did not happen. “The biggest danger is that there is a confrontation between the narcos and a tourist,” police officer Martinez said. “We’re always looking for the adventurous surfer who could get lost looking around for the perfect wave.” — Reuters

No one dares touch Asia’s biggest wildlife traffickers ‘Mr Bigs’ appear immune to arrest

RUSTENBURG: A police vehicle takes position as miners stage a sit-in close to a South African platinum mine in Rustenburg yesterday. — AFP

S African authorities seek to defuse strike MARIKANA, South Africa: Police and mining officials yesterday sought to defuse a strike that sparked clashes between rival unions leaving 10 people dead and shutting down a Lonmin platinum operation. About 3,000 people gathered on a hill near the mine run by London-listed Lonmin, many of them carrying sticks, machetes and metal bars. Two helicopters hovered overhead as police and mining officials addressed the crowd. Journalists were kept about 200 metres away. “Let us listen to each other. We are here to talk,” one official said in Fanagalo, a unique language spoken in mines which is a mix of English and various African tongues. “The situation is tense and unpredictable, we’re monitoring,” police spokesman Dennis Adriao said, adding that negotiations with workers were continuing.

Troubles at the mine, near the North West province town of Rustenburg about 100 km from Johannesburg, erupted on Friday when hundreds of rock drill operators launched a wildcat strike. Some are reportedly demanding that their wages are more than tripled, from 4,000 rand ($488) to 12,500 rand a month. Clashes broke out during the weekend between members of the upstart Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The NUM is one of the most influential pillars of the Cosatu labour federation, which is part of South

Africa’s governing alliance led by the ruling African National Congress. Cosatu has denounced the violence, and both unions claim to be victims of the attacks which have left 10 people dead, including two police.

Work has been halted at the mine, dealing another blow to an already struggling industry which saw several platinum mines shut down since June. South Africa has around 87 percent of the world’s platinum resources and is the largest producer of the metal, used in vehicle catalytic converters to cut pollution. In February, two workers were killed at a mine owned by Impala Platinum during clashes between the rival unions, but the Lonmin violence is the deadliest yet. The mining sector is the biggest private employer in South Africa, whose workforce is among the most unionised in the world.

The 10th victim was found Tuesday, about 100 metres from the hilltop where workers were gathered. The man was wearing khaki clothes, the body lying face up with the skull of an animal placed on his chest, according to the South African Press Association. Police were still investigating the killing. Lonmin has rejected claims that it has not done enough to protect workers. “I do not know any company that has the competency to deal with such vicious acts,” spokesman Barnard Mokwena said Tuesday. “We are dealing with people who crossed security lines repeatedly.” — AFP

BANGKOK: Squealing tiger cubs stuffed into carryon bags. Luggage packed with hundreds of squirming tortoises, elephant tusks, even water dragons and American paddlefish. Officials at Thailand’s gateway airport proudly tick off the illegally trafficked wildlife they have seized over the past two years. But Thai and foreign law enforcement officers tell another story: Officials workinghand-in-hand with traffickers ensure that other shipments through Suvarnabhumi International Airport are whisked off before they even reach customs inspection.

It’s a murky mix. A 10-fold increase in wildlife law enforcement actions, including seizures, has been reported in the past six years in Southeast Asia. Yet, the trade’s Mr Bigs, masterful in taking advantage of pervasive corruption, appear immune to arrest and continue to orchestrate the decimation of wildlife in Thailand, the region and beyond. And Southeast Asia’s honest cops don’t have it easy. “It is very difficult for me. I have to sit among people who are both good and some who are corrupt, says Chanvut Vajrabukka, a retired police general. “If I say, ‘You have to go out and arrest that target,’ some in the room may well warn them,’” says Chanvut, who now advises ASEANWEN, the regional wildlife enforcement network.

Several kingpins, says wildlife activist Steven Galster, have recently been confronted by authorities, “but in the end, good uniforms are running into, and often stopped by bad uniforms. It’s like a bad Hollywood cop movie. “Most high-level traffickers remain untouched and continue to replace arrested underlings with new ones,” says Galster, who works for the FREELAND Foundation, an antitrafficking group. Galster, who earlier worked undercover in Asia and elsewhere, heaps praise on the region’s dedicated, honest officers because they persevere knowing they could be sidelined for their efforts.

Recently, Lt Col Adtaphon Sudsai, a highly regarded, outspoken officer, was instructed to lay off what had seemed an open-and-shut case he cracked four years ago when he penetrated a gang along the Mekong River smuggling pangolin. This led him to Daoreung Chaimas, alleged by conservation groups to be one of Southeast Asia’s biggest tiger dealers. Despite being arrested twice, having her own assistants testify against her and DNA testing that showed two cubs were not offsprings from zoo-bred parents as she claimed, Daoreung remains free and the case may never go to the prosecutor’s office.

“Her husband has been exercising his influence,” says Adtaphon, referring to her police officer spouse. “It seems that no policeman wants to get involved with this case.” The day the officer went to arrest her the second time, his transfer to another post was announced. “Maybe it was a coincidence,” the colonel says.

In another not uncommon case, a former Thai

BANGKOK: A Thai custom officer shows an Indian gharial, a type of crocodile native of India, with its mouth tied at a news conference on wildlife seized in Bangkok, Thailand. — AP police officer who tried to crack down on traders at Bangkok’s vast Chatuchak Market got a visit from a senior police general who told him to “chill it or get removed”. “I admit that in many cases, I cannot move against the big guys,” Chanvut, the retired general, notes. “The syndicates like all organized crime are built like a pyramid. We can capture the small guys but at the top they have money, the best lawyers, protection. What are we going to do?”

Chanvut’s problems are shared by others in Southeast Asia, the prime funnel for wildlife destined for the world’s No. 1 consumer - China where many animal parts are consumed in the belief they have medicinal or aphrodisiacal properties. Most recently, a torrent of rhino horn and elephant tusks has poured through it from Africa, which suffers the greatest slaughter of these two endangered animals in decades. Vietnam was singled out last month by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as the top destination country for the highly-prized rhino horn.

Tens of thousands of birds, mostly parrots and cockatoos plucked from the wild, are being imported from the Solomon Islands into Singapore, often touted as one of Asia’s least corrupt nations, in violation of CITES, the international convention on wildlife trade. According to TRAFFIC, the international body monitoring wildlife trade, the imported birds are listed as captive-bred, even though it’s widely known that the Pacific Ocean islands have virtually no breeding facilities.

Communist Laos continues to harbor Vixay Keosavang, identified as one of the region’s half

dozen Mr Bigs, who has been linked by the South African press to a rhino smuggling ring. The 54year-old former soldier and provincial official is reported to have close ties to senior government officials in Laos and Vietnam. Thai and foreign enforcement agents, who insist on anonymity since most work undercover, say they have accumulated unprecedented details of the gangs, which are increasingly linked to drug and human trafficking syndicates.

They say a key Thai smuggler, who runs a shipping company, has a gamut of law enforcement officers in his pocket, allowing him to traffic rhino horns, ivory and tiger parts to China. He frequently entertains his facilitators at a restaurant in his office building. According to the agents, Chinese buyers, informed of incoming shipments, fly to Bangkok, staying at hotels pinpointed by the agents around the Chatuchak Market, where endangered species are openly sold. There they seal deals with known middlemen and freight operators.

The sources say that when they report such investigations seizures are either made for “public relations,” sink into a “black hole” - or the information is leaked to the wrongdoers. Such a tip-off from someone at Bangkok airport customs allowed a trafficker to stop shipment of a live giraffe with powdered rhino horn believed to be implanted in its vagina. “ The 100,000 passengers moving through this airport from around the world everyday are oblivious to the fact that they are standing in one of the world’s hottest wildlife trafficking zones,” says Galster. —AP

Global activists gear up for Punk Riot rallies CFAPE TOWN: A photographer takes a picture of Xolile Mngeni, the man accused of firing the bullet that killed Swedish tourist, Anni Dewani, in a simulated hijacking in Khayelitsha in 2011 at the High Court of Cape Town yesterday. Mngeni pleaded not guilty to killing her as the newlywed�s murder trial opens. — AFP

Honeymoon murder accused denies killing CAPE TOWN: A man accused of shooting Swedish honeymooner Anni Dewani pleaded not guilty to killing her as his murder trial opened in a South African court yesterday.

Xolile Mngeni denied charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition at the Cape High Court after being cleared as fit to stand trial last week despite his brain tumour. “I confirm the plea as given by my client,” said defence lawyer Qalisile Dayimani, who said the state had to “prove each and every allegation”.

Mngeni was named by a co-accused, who pleaded guilty last week to Dewani’s murder, as the gunman in the killing of the 28-yearold in Nov 2010 in a plea bargain that implicated her husband Shrien Dewani.

Mziwamadoda Qwabe said Mngeni had fired a single fatal shot from the front passenger

seat. He claimed the pair were recruited by the couple’s driver to carry out the paid hit allegedly on Dewani’s orders. Mngeni has a brain tumour which a medical report said will not affect proceedings. He answered not guilty pleas to five charges after entering the court with a walking frame and hiding his face.

Prosecutors are still hoping to put Dewani, a British businessman, in the dock in Cape Town after his extradition process was temporarily halted earlier this year, said prosecuting authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila.

“Our hope was to get all three of them on the stand,” he said. “We are hopeful that in the end he will come to South Africa and answer to the allegations put to him.” The state is hoping that the trial will be wrapped up in around four weeks, said Ntabazilila. —AFP

MOSCOW: The global campaign to free Punk Riot is gaining speed: Supporters of the punk provocateur band mobilize this week in at least a two dozen cities worldwide to hold simultaneous demonstrations an hour before a Russian court rules on whether its members will be sent to prison. Tomorrow’s rallies will ride a wave of support for the three women who have been in jail for more than five months because of an anti-Putin prank in Moscow’s main cathedral.

Calls for them to be freed have come from a long list of celebrities such as Madonna and Bjork. Protests have been held in a number of Western capitals, including Berlin, where last week about 400 people joined Canadian electro-pop performance artist Peaches to support the band.

In one of the most extravagant displays, Reykjavik Mayor Jon Gnarr rode through the streets of the Icelandic capital in a Gay Pride parade this weekend dressed like a band member - wearing a bright pink dress and matching balaclava - while lip-synching to one of Punk Riot’s songs. Amnesty International has called the women prisoners of conscience and begun collecting signatures by text message for a petition to be sent to the Russian government, while the US State Department has repeatedly expressed its concern. Although the band

MOSCOW: A security guard at the Christ the Savior Cathedral (right) runs toward Punk Riot supporters holding Cyrillic letters reading Blessed are The Merciful in Moscow yesterday. — AP members and their lawyers are convinced that the verdict depends entirely on the will of President Vladimir Putin, and prosecutors have asked for a three-year sentence, activists hope their pressure will ease punishment or even free the women. Putin has said the women should not be judged too harshly, but he risks appearing weak if they walk free.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich were little known before their brief impromptu performance in Christ the Savior Cathedral in February. Dancing and highkicking, they shouted the words of a “punk prayer” asking the Virgin Mary to deliver Russia from Putin, who was set to win a third term in a March presidential election. —AP

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

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

Young illegal US immigrants get chance for papers WASHINGTON: Young illegal immigrants in the US scrambled to get passports and other papers in order yesterday as the Homeland Security Department started accepting applications to allow them to avoid deportation and get a work permit.

Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants potentially could benefit from the program, which President Barack Obama announced in June. The program begins less than three months before what promises to be a tight election in which the growing Hispanic vote will play an important role.

The plan is to stop deporting many illegal immigrants who were brought to the US as children. But Alejandro Mayorkas, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said being approved to avoid deportation “does not provide lawful status or a path to citizenship”. To be eligible, immigrants must prove they arrived in the United States before they turned 16, are 30 or younger, have been living in the country at least five years and are in school or graduated or served in the military.

They cannot have been convicted of certain crimes or otherwise pose a safety threat.

Obama has come under fire from Hispanic voters and others who say he hasn’t fulfilled a previous campaign promise to overhaul the nation’s tangled immigration laws. The new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals could stop deportations for more than 1 million young illegal immigrants.

Republican lawmakers have accused Obama of circumventing Congress with the new program in an effort to boost his political standing and of favoring illegal immigrants over unemployed US citizens.

Some, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, have called the policy backdoor amnesty and said they worry about fraud. “While potentially millions of illegal immigrants will be permitted to compete with American workers for scarce jobs, there seems to be little if any mechanism in place for vetting fraudulent applications and documentation submitted by illegal immigrants,” Smith said Tuesday.

The Migration Policy Institute and the Pew Hispanic Center estimate that as many as 1.7 million people could be eligible to stay in the US and legally work under the new policy. DHS officials have said they don’t have an esti-

mate of how many people may apply.

In an internal document outlining the program’s implementation, officials estimated 1.04 million people would apply in the first year and about 890,000 would be eligible.

At the Honduran Consulate on Tuesday, a line of people wrapped around the building before it was open for business. Evelyn Medina, 23, got in line at about 6:30 am. With her passport in hand, Medina was all smiles as she walked out of the building just before 2 pm, saying, “Finally” as she clutched the document. The college student said she expected to be ready to apply yesterday. If she is allowed to stay in the US and work, she hopes to earn a master’s degree.

Under guidelines that the administration announced Tuesday, proof of identity and eligibility could include a passport or birth certificate, school transcripts, medical and financial records and military service records.

The DHS said that in some instances, multiple sworn affidavits, signed by a third party under penalty of perjury, also could be used. Anyone found to have committed fraud will be referred to federal immigration agents, the department said. The paperwork for

WASHINGTON: Leonardo Irias Navas, head of the Consular Section at the Embassy of Honduras gestures in his office on Tuesday. — AP the program can be downloaded from pending. If they are allowed to stay in the Immigration Services website. the United States and want to travel Applicants must pay a $465 fee and internationally, they will need to apply provide proof of identity and eligibili- for permission to come back into the country, a request that would cost ty.

A decision on each application $360 more. Advocacy groups across could take several months, and immi- the country are planning events startgrants have been warned not to leave ing this week to help immigrants fill the country while their application is out their applications. — AP

After Ryan respite, poll campaign back in gutter Romney to Obama: Take your ‘hate’ back to Chicago

CLE ELUM, Washington: Men watch as fire roars across ranchland Tuesday on Bettas Road. — AP

Wildfires rage in US OLYMPIA, Washington: Firefighters battled wildfires across the US West on Tuesday, including a massive out-of-control blaze that has destroyed at least 60 homes and burned more than 28,000 acres between two national forests in Washington state. Another 400 homes were evacuated in the rolling hills between the northwest Washington towns of Cle Elum and Ellensburg, at the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains, prompting Governor Christine Gregoire to declare a state of emergency in two counties.

The massive Taylor Bridge Fire was among more than a dozen wildfires burning across the West, which is wilting under a heat wave that has sent temperatures into the triple digits. Together, the fires have burned some 500,000 acres across Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California.

Across the nation, wildfires have consumed roughly 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares) this year, above the 10-year average of 4.9 million acres, according to figures from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Authorities said the Washington state fire was started on Monday afternoon by workers at a construction site east of Cle Elum, about 120 km southeast of Seattle.

“We don’t know what the actual cause was.

We have no indication it was intentional,” said Nancy Jones, a spokeswoman for a state emergency response team. With strong winds and no rain in the area for three weeks, more damage is likely, said Bryan Flint, spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources.

Winds are pushing the fire east toward an area of mostly farmland, although more homes are in its path, Jones said. The fire is burning just 4 miles northwest of Ellensburg and 10 miles south of the Wenatchee National Forest. South of the fire is the Snoqualmie National Forest. “All

Washingtonians stand with those who have lost their homes and property in the Taylor Bridge Fire,” Gregoire said in a written statement. “The destruction overnight is a stark reminder of how quickly and unexpectedly wildfire can move.”

In northern California, more than 1,100 firefighters spent a third day attacking a pair of wildfires that have destroyed two homes in Lake County’s Spring Valley area and charred some 7,000 acres. Firefighters had contained only 30 percent of the two blazes burning dry brush in remote Lake and Colusa counties, said Daniel Berlant, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman. They did not expect full containment for a week. But firefighters made enough progress attacking one of the fires that authorities lifted an evacuation order for 480 homes in the Spring Valley area on Monday night, he said.

Berlant said the flames had moved east into Colusa County and continued to threaten the area around Wilbur Hot Springs, a 147-year-old resort that offers clothing-optional bathing in mineral water.

Owner Richard Miller said he and 15 employees had to flee the property, which was closed on Sunday for 12 days of maintenance. “It is in jeopardy,” Miller said.

“There’s fire surrounding it.” But he was confident the California Department of Forestry would protect the retreat, which includes a stucco hotel built in 1910 and nine homes. “Wilbur is a charmed and magical place and it has all the luck,” Miller said.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while working the blaze in triple-digit temperatures. Suzann Thompson, who works the front desk at Clear Lake Cottages and Marina, said the fires decimated business throughout the area. Clear Lake, the biggest lake in California, is a popular tourist attraction. “It’s really a catastrophe,” she said. — Reuters

Ecuador says no decision yet on Assange’s asylum QUITO: Ecuador denied a report on Tuesday that it had granted amnesty to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and the country’s foreign minister said only he and President Rafael Correa could make the decision. Assange has been taking refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for the past eight weeks to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sex crime allegations. The former computer hacker, who enraged Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published thousands of secret US diplomatic cables, says he fears he could be sent to the United States, where he believes his life would be at risk.

Correa has said a decision on Assange’s application is likely before the end of this week and that he will meet his foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, yesterday to discuss the case. However, Britain’s Guardian newspaper cited unnamed Ecuadorean government officials as saying amnesty will be granted.

The report brought a swift response from

Correa. “The story is false... When we make the decision we’ll explain very clearly the reasons, the legal framework, the analysis that we made to grant or not asylum to Mr Julian Assange,” Correa told a press conference in the coastal city of Guayaquil.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an event in the highland city of Ambato, Foreign Minister Patino also criticized the report by The Guardian.

“Anonymous sources are useless. Only the president and myself will make the decision ... there’s nothing yet,” he said.

Earlier, Patino told Reuters that Ecuador was pondering not only whether to give Assange asylum, but also how he might avoid arrest in Britain should he try to head to South America.

By diplomatic convention, British police cannot enter the embassy without Ecuador’s approval. But the WikiLeaks founder has no way of boarding a flight to the Andean country without passing through London and exposing himself to arrest. — Reuters

WATERLOO, Iowa: So much for the new, intellectual debate promised after the wonkish Paul Ryan joined the White House race. In a flurry of charge and counterpunch Tuesday, the battle for the US presidency erupted, reflecting the fast deepening antipathy between the incumbent Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Ryan’s debut as Republican vice presidential nominee on Saturday, pundits predicted, would inject serious substance into a gutter trawling campaign, given his penchant for number crunching on budgets. But the lauded battle of ideas lasted barely three days before the rival camps plummeted into faux outrage mode, waging spats unrelated to the economy, the central campaign issue.

Romney’s braintrust decided their man should openly confront Obama after Vice President Joe Biden said in Virginia, which helped trigger a civil war over slavery, that the Republican candidate’s banking reform would put people back in “chains”. “Mr President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago,” Romney said. But Obama did not take the bait, sending out his spokesman out to implicitly question Romney’s suitability for the pressures of the Oval Office. “Governor Romney’s comments tonight seemed unhinged,” Ben LaBolt said.

Earlier, the campaign teams were back to their comment-twisting best, clashing over Biden’s choice of metaphor and the fabled tale of Romney driving to Canada with a pet dog on the car roof. “Because of the president’s failed record he’s been reduced to a desperate campaign based on division and demonization,” said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul, reacting to Biden’s comments. Saul also bemoaned past transgressions, citing an attack ad by a pro-Obama group in which a worker for a steel firm run by

WASHINGTON: Leonardo Irias Navas, head of the Consular Section at the Embassy of Honduras gestures in his office on Tuesday. — AP is on a bus tour - could be Romney’s Bain Capital said his wife quickly abandoned,” she said.

But the sniping is unlikely to summed up thus. “Governor died from cancer after he lost his job and health insurance. She also end soon, though both sides Romney even explained his enernoted that an Obama advisor probably would like it to. Any day gy policy this way... ‘You can’t drive once questioned whether that Obama’s camp is waging a car with a windmill on it’.” Obama Romney lied to the American peo- inane political rows, it is not hav- said. “I don’t know if he has actualple or committed a felony over his ing to defend the slow economic ly tried that - I know he has had recovery, and 8.3 percent US other things on his car,” Obama tax returns.

The scene shifted quickly to unemployment rate. Romney’s said. Obama’s joke revived the stoChicago, as the Obama campaign team may have also welcomed ry of the time the former launched a rebuttal, denying there Tuesday’s brouhaha as a respite Massachusetts governor put his was a racial spin to Biden’s from increasing scrutiny of Ryan’s pet dog Seamus in a carrier, remarks. Obama deputy campaign record and the rationale for choos- strapped it to his car roof and drove to Canada on a family trip. manager Stephanie Cutter said ing him.

By dragging the president into Democrats have used the story to Biden had been playing off Republican demands for the the mire, they may hope to strike a suggest there is something “unshackling” of the private sector contrast between the prophet of strange and out of the mainfrom regulations designed to pre- post partisanship that Obama stream about the multi-millionaire vent a repeat of the economic claimed to be in 2008 and the former venture capitalist. This time crash. “We find the Romney cam- more conventional politician he the jibe did not go unanswered. paign’s outrage over the vice pres- has become. A slanging match “After sanctimoniously complainident’s comments today hypocriti- may also help dent Obama’s per- ing about making a ‘big election cal,” Cutter said, complaining that sonal likeability ratings, which are about small things’ President Romney had previously ques- boosting his bid for a second term Obama continues to embarrass tioned Obama’s patriotism. “Now, on Nov 6. In an especially sarcastic himself and diminish his office let’s return to that ‘substantive’ swipe, Obama said Romney’s posi- with his un-presidential behavior,” debate Mitt Romney and Paul tion on wind power - which has said Ryan Williams, a Romney Ryan promised 72 hours ago, but growing muscle in Iowa where he spokesman. — AFP

Ryan brings fundraising prowess WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman who has breathed new life into Republican Mitt Romney’s bid for the White House as his vice presidential running mate, also brings to the ticket his status as a fundraising heavyweight. During his 14-year career in Congress, Ryan has been propelled by sizeable donations from insurance companies and other players in the financial sector, including notable hedge fund names. Ryan’s campaign has so far reported raising $4.3 million this election cycle, with $5.4 million in cash on hand as of July 25, making it one of the top fundraising congressional campaigns this year.

His leadership Prosperity PAC, or political action committee, has collected another $3.7 million this cycle. The biggest contributors behind Ryan this cycle are family members and employees of Elliott Management, a Wall Street hedge fund run by prominent Republican donor Paul Singer, who has helped raise millions for the party, including for Romney. Now, as Romney’s vice presidential pick, Ryan is already energizing donors, especially those on the Wall Street scene.

Anthony Scaramucci, managing partner at alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital LLC, said people in the hedge fund community with whom he has spoken are “ecstatic” about

the Ryan choice. “Of ever ybody in the Republican leadership, there’s nobody that understands pro-growth economic policies and how massive deficit spending can actually lead to a drag on job creation better than Paul Ryan,” said Scaramucci. Scaramucci, who is one of the eight co-chairs of Romney’s National Finance Committee, gave $5,000 last year to Ryan’s Prosperity PAC. Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said the campaign raised $7.4 million through 101,000 online donations in the 72 hours after naming Ryan as Romney’s vice presidential running mate. It is hard to judge whether that was a boost from the previous pace. In July, Romney raised an average of just under $3.3 million a day for his campaign and the Republican party adding up to about $9.8 million in 72 hours. But that amount includes both smaller donations submitted online and other, generally bigger checks submitted in person or by mail.

Ryan, a 42-year-old Washington insider who has spent practically his entire career on Capitol Hill, has in recent years garnered national attention for his dramatic proposals to slash the federal budget. The campaign money has followed. Financial firms went all-out for Ryan in the 2010 election cycle, when Republicans swept into the majority in the House of

Representatives and Ryan became chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee. That year, Ryan received nearly $500,000 from the securities and investment industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group.

According to CRP, top givers included Elliott employees with $35,419, and Affiliated Managers Group, a Massachusetts-based asset manager, with $22,666. Ryan also received $23,364 from SAC Capital Advisors, one of the world’s biggest and most successful hedge funds that is run by billionaire Steven Cohen.

Representatives for Cohen and Singer declined comment. Topping the list of Ryan’s 2010 donors is Northwestern Mutual, a life insurance company based in Milwaukee, in Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin, according to a tally by CRP. Northwestern’s PAC and employees have given $139,335 to Ryan’s campaign and his leadership PAC since his first run for Congress in 1998, according to a Reuters analysis of contribution records. “Congressman Ryan - whose district includes our Franklin, Wis., Campus - has always expressed a willingness to listen to our views on public policy matters and appreciates the importance of individuals’ planning for their financial security,” company spokeswoman Betsy Hoylman said in an email. —Reuters

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

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

Japan arrests 14 pro-China activists on disputed isles Episode threatens to further destabilise relations

HERAT: Afghan locals inspect the site of an bomb explosion yesterday. — AFP

Grenades at east Afghan mosque wound 9 people KABUL: Two grenades exploded inside a mosque compound during morning prayers in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, wounding at least nine worshippers, an Afghan official said. The attack in eastern Khost province came a day after a series of bombs around Afghanistan killed at least 50 people in the deadliest day for civilians this year as Taleban insurgents and their allies ramp up violence across the country.

The Taleban summer offensive this year coincides with Afghan police and soldiers taking on more responsibility for security while international forces start to withdraw.

Three grenades were thrown into the mosque compound in Baghi Sara area, Khost police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said. One exploded inside the mosque itself, and one in the courtyard outside. The third failed to detonate. Zazai blamed Taleban insurgents for the attack. “This was the work of the enemy,” he said. “It cannot be a private dispute. Why would anyone be so angry to throw grenades in a mosque while people are praying?” He said many of those praying were Afghans who work at the nearby US base, Forward Operating Base Salerno.

Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement that did not acknowledge the mosque attack but claimed an insurgent suicide bomber had attacked a US base in Khost, causing several American casualties. A spokesman for the NATO military coalition said yesterday that there was no attack on the Salerno base, which is close to the mosque in Baghi Sara. Lt Col Hagen Messer said the American personnel at the base reported hearing gunfire from the mosque but that Afghan police were investigating.

The latest violence comes after a particularly bloody day for Afghanistan. Suicide bombers launched multiple attacks in remote Nimroz province in southwestern Afghanistan near the Iranian border on Tuesday, killing dozens of people, including shoppers buying sweets for Eid. The bombings left charred and smoldering bits of cookies and dried fruit among the bodies on the ground. A separate market bombing

later Tuesday, this one in Kunduz in the north, killed 10 people, including five children. And in the eastern province of Paktika, a car hit a roadside bomb. Four children died in the blast, provincial spokesman Mokhlis Afghan said, bringing Tuesday’s death toll to 50 - 11 police and 39 civilians. At least 110 people were wounded in all the attacks.

The attacks came as the Taleban and their allies step up their assaults in a display of force that often results in civilian carnage. Militants are especially trying to weaken the still-developing Afghan security forces, who are to assume control across their homeland in 28 months when most foreign combat troops will have left. The Taleban “want to expand their influence show that they are everywhere,” said Afghan political analyst Jawid Kohistani.

“They want to show that the Afghan police are not strong enough so they are targeting the security forces and the government.”

Gen John Allen, the top commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan said Tuesday’s attacks were “acts of intentional mass murder”. “By targeting innocent civilians in populated areas, the insurgents have again shown they will kill non-combatants without hesitation to advance their backward-looking plans for Afghanistan. Once again, I call on (Afghan Taleban leader) Mullah Omar to rein in his murderers. His intentions not to target civilians are hollow,” Allen said in a statement.

In past statements, Omar has asked his fighters to avoid civilian casualties. In one message in 2010, for instance, he said: “Pay attention to the life and property of the civilians so that ... your jihad activities will not become a cause for destruction of property and loss of life of people.” The UN reported last week that civilian deaths were lower in the first six months of 2012 than in the first half of 2011, but that an onslaught of summer attacks from insurgents were threatening to reverse that trend. In all, 1,145 civilians were killed in Afghanistan between January and June of this year, according to the UN report. — AP

TOKYO: Japan made 14 arrests after pro-China activists landed on an island at the centre of a territorial dispute yesterday, in an episode that threatens to further destabilise already fractious relations. Those detained were part of a group who had sailed from Hong Kong, proclaiming their intention to plant a Chinese flag on an archipelago they know as Diaoyu but which Japan calls Senkaku. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters Japan would “deal with the incident strictly in line with the law”. “The Okinawa prefectural police arrested five men for violation of the immigration control law on Uotsurijima,” a police spokesman told AFP, referring to one of the islands in the archipelago.

Seven people jumped into the water from their boat, which had been surrounded by at a number of coastguard vessels, and reached the rocky shore at about 5:30 pm (0830 GMT), local police and coastguard officials said. Two of the activists then returned to their boat, they said. Several hours later, a Japanese Coast Guard spokesman said: “We have also arrested nine more people on suspicion of illegally entering our country. We have now taken a total of 14 people into custody and will carry out full investigation.”

All those arrested were being sent to the Okinawa main island for investigation, reports said.

Japan’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Chinese ambassador to Tokyo to register its displeasure at the landing. Beijing countered by saying it would lodge a complaint over the arrests. The activists, who belong to the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, had said the move was aimed at countering a plan by a group of Japanese lawmakers to visit the disputed islands this weekend.

“We’re very happy, we have tried many times and we declare this trip a big success,” Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands spokesman Chan Yu-lam told reporters in Hong Kong. “They (the Japanese) are like thieves, they take away the Diaoyu islands from us and they tried to stop us. They’re like a thief shouting ‘stop

thief’,” he said, using a Chinese proverb. The landing coincided with the 67th anniversary of Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II. Tokyo is embroiled in an increasingly bitter spat with South Korea over another archipelago.

The activists made it to the island despite the Japan Coast Guard’s heightened security, which included firing water cannon at their boat, said the protest group’s leader. Twelve Japanese ships had been following the fishing boat and a helicopter was hovering around, the leader said. The coastguard declined to confirm the details for “operational reasons”.

Pro-China groups have made repeated attempts to reach the islands, but apart from one successful foray in 1996 and one in 2004, they have

TAIPEI: Taiwanese women display pictures of confort women during a protest in front of the offices of Interchange Association of Japan yesterday. — AFP

Philippines storm brings more floods, landslides MANILA: Two people were killed as another tropical storm swept across the Philippines yesterday, triggering landslides in the mountainous north and dumping more heavy rain on the flood-battered capital. Tropical Storm Kai-tak hit the northeast of the main island of Luzon before dawn, packing powerful winds and dumping up to 35 mm of rain an hour on a vast farming region, the state weather bureau said. Areas to the south that were trying to recover from devastating floods last week, including Manila, also endured strong rain, prompting authorities to warn residents

in low-lying areas of the capital to be ready to evacuate.

The worst-hit areas yesterday morning were four small northern farming towns, where water reached neck-deep in some areas and landslides cut off a major highway, said Melchito Castro, civil defence chief in the region. “We have been experiencing really heavy rains since last night, and our rescuers have evacuated some residents,” Castro told AFP by phone. Two people died in the far north yesterday, including a 47-year-old man who drowned in a swollen river, adding to the

Nazi criminal free to stay in Australia SYDNEY: A 90-year-old man accused of being a Nazi war criminal won his fight yesterday to stay in Australia, ending a legal battle to extradite him to Hungary over the 1944 murder of a Jewish teenager. Charles Zentai was allegedly one of three Nazibacked Hungarian soldiers who tortured and killed a Jewish boy in Budapest, a crime for which he has always maintained his innocence. “ The effect of the High Court’s decision is that Mr Zentai will not be surrendered to Hungary,” a spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Jason

Charles Zentai Clare said, confirming that the decision was final. “Mr Zentai cannot be surrendered for extradition because the offence of ‘war crime’ did not exist under Hungarian law at the time of Mr Zentai’s alleged criminal conduct.”

Hungary first requested the extradition of Zentai, an Australian citizen, in 2005 for the offence of “war crime”, namely a fatal assault on Peter Balazs, 18, in November 1944 for not wearing a yellow Star of David.

He and two fellow soldiers in the Hungarian army, which was then allied to the Germans, were accused of beating Balazs and then tossing his body into the Danube River.

Zentai has always claimed he had already left Nazi-occupied Budapest by

then and could not have been involved in the murder. He said yesterday he was relieved at the High Court decision. “The way I feel at the moment... I’m just overwhelmed,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Perth. “I’ve been so stressed, the last few days in particular, so now I just don’t know how I feel.”

Asked whether he was still prepared to be questioned by Hungarian authorities if they came to Australia, he said: “Oh yes, I am.” The Australian government agreed to send Zentai to Hungary to face the allegations in late 2009, but he fought a legal battle against the move and the Federal Court eventually overturned his extradition.

Canberra pushed ahead with its case, despite pleas from Zentai’s family that he was elderly and had health problems, appealing the Federal Court’s interpretation of an “extraditable offence”.

In late 2011, when the government was granted leave to appeal to the High Court, the nation’s highest judicial authority, it said the matter raised “a significant issue for the administration of Australia’s extradition regime”. It said yesterday that the High Court decision provided certainty about the interpretation of a provision of Australia’s ex tradition treaty with Hungary, but did not alter extradition arrangements. Zentai’s law yer Denis Barich confirmed to AFP that he received a letter from the attorney- general’s department saying that extradition proceedings had been concluded.

“Obviously the family and Mr Zentai are over the moon, naturally. It’s been a sevenyear saga,” he said. “One thing I’m worried about... people might see this and say Mr Zentai is being let off on a technicality. But that’s just a small part of a number of matters why this matter shouldn’t have come this far anyway.” Barich said had Zentai, who has lived in Australia for almost six decades and has denied ever being a Nazi, been extradited it was unlikely the case would have stood up given the evidence.

Australia conducted war crimes trials of Japanese defendants between November 1945 and April 1951, but since then has not concluded a successful prosecution of a war criminal or extradited a citizen to face trial elsewhere. — AFP

been blocked by Japanese patrol vessels. Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying said he will “closely” monitor the incident and that the city’s immigration officials will be in Japan to provide assistance to the activists. “Japan must ensure the personal safety of the activists, especially the Hong Kong residents,” he told reporters. “Our stance on the territorial dispute is clear - the Diaoyu islands belong to China all this while,” he added. The uninhabited outcrops were the scene of a particularly nasty confrontation in late 2010 when Japan arrested a Chinese trawlerman who had rammed two of coastguard vessels. Tensions spiked in April after controversial Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said his city intended to buy the islands from their private Japanese owner.— AFP

PASIG, Philippines: A man pushes a cart full of schoolchildren as they cross a flooded road east of Manila yesterday. — AP

95 deaths in and around Manila during last week’s floods, the civil defence office said.

Norma Talosig, the civil defence chief for northeastern Luzon, said authorities there were closely watching the Cagayan river, the country’s largest river basin, amid fears it could overflow.

At more than 500 km long, the heavily silted Cagayan river is the longest in the country and cuts across four northeastern agricultural provinces. “The water level is rising, but it has not yet reached critical levels,” Talosig told AFP. “The danger is that when it does overflow, it will flood hundreds of hectares of agricultural production areas and communities.”

More heavy rains were expected in the northeast yesterday, she said. “When the storm’s outer bands hits us, it’s like a whip that’s deadlier,” she said. Rain was also falling in and around Manila on the other side of the Sierra Madre mountain range to the southwest, where more than 300,000 people were still in evacuation shelters following last week’s floods.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said many low-lying farming areas near Manila remained flooded, and with the fresh rain there was little chance of the waters receding anytime soon. Council chief Benito Ramos also said Kai-tak had not yet caused any major fresh floods in Manila, 80 percent of which was submerged last week amid an intense 48-hour deluge triggered by another tropical storm. But he said people in coastal areas of Manila and others in dangerous areas should be prepared to leave their homes if the rains worsened. Local governments declared school holidays in some areas of Manila yesterday because of the heavy rains, while several domestic flights were delayed or cancelled due to bad visibility.

Weather forecasters said Kai-Tak was expected to move across Luzon yesterday and exit into the South China Sea towards Hong Kong today morning. —AP

Pak frees 55 Indians for independence day KARACHI: Pakistan yesterday released 55 Indian fishermen, 15 of them teenagers, as a “goodwill gesture” to mark independence day in India. The release is part of an understanding between the nuclear-armed rivals to free citizens who mistakenly stray into each other’s waters. “Some 55 Indian fishermen have been released from our jail on the instructions of the government,” said Nazeer Husain Shah, superintendent of Malir district prison in Karachi. “Those released include 15 teenage boys,” he told AFP. The Indians were presented with flowers and gifts, then bused to the eastern city of Lahore, from where they would cross the Wagah border. Officials say 100 Indian fishermen are still in Pakistani jails and 250 Pakistanis in Indian prisons. Ayaz Soomro, law minister for the southern province of Sindh on the Arabian Sea, said the releases were “a goodwill gesture”. “We hope our neighbours reciprocate in the same spirit and release Pakistani prisoners from their jails,” he said.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided by a heavily militarised Line of Control and which both countries claim in full. Last year they resumed their tentative peace process, which collapsed after Islamist gunmen from Pakistan killed 166 people in Mumbai in Nov 2008. — AFP

KARACHI: Indian fishermen leave a jail after their release in this port city yesterday. — AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NEWS

AZAZ: A Syrian youth holds a limb trapped under the rumble after an air strike in the town of Azaz, near the northern restive Syrian city of Aleppo yesterday. — AFP

Samsung tablet takes aim at iPad with pen NEW YORK: The tablet-computer market is like guerrilla warfare. One huge army - Apple - dominates the land, while a ragtag group of insurgents keeps raiding and probing, hoping to find some opening it can exploit. With Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 10.1, the rebels have scored a small victory. It’s a tablet that does something that the iPad doesn’t do, and it does it well. This victory won’t win the war, though.

Available in the US starting today, the $499 tablet comes with a pen, or more precisely, a stylus. It doesn’t leave marks on paper, but the tablet’s screen responds to it. I found it a pleasure to use: It’s precise and responsive, and it glides easily across the screen. There are styluses available for the iPad, but they’re not very good.

The iPad’s screen can’t sense sharp objects, so any stylus has to be fairly blunt. Many of them have rubber tips, which resist being dragged across the screen.

The Galaxy Note has an additional layer in its screen, tuned to sense special, sharp-pointed pens through magnetism. The Note is not the first iPad competitor to work with a stylus. The HTC Flyer came out last year with the same ability, but several missteps limited its appeal. First, it was half the size of the iPad yet cost just as much, and that was without the pen. Second, there was no slot for the pen in the body of the tablet, making it easy to lose. The pen also was expensive, costing $80 to replace.

Samsung then built pen-sensitivity into the first Galaxy Note, a smartphone launched early this year. Though well-received, the tablet had an odd size, with a 5-inch screen. That makes it very big for smartphone but small for a tablet.

With the Galaxy Note 10.1, Samsung is taking the pen squarely into iPad territory. So what can you do with the pen? Well, this is where the Samsung offensive starts faltering. There just isn’t that much the pen is useful for, because stylus-equipped tablets are so new.

You can jot down notes, or edit photos in an included version of Photoshop. You can scrawl personal notes to people and email them.

Instead of using the on-screen keyboard, you can use handwriting and let the tablet interpret it. You can even enter Web addresses this way.

Handwriting is slower than typing, and the tablet’s interpretation introduces errors, so it’s not clear why you’d use it much, though.

The stylus senses how hard you press into the screen. Samsung’s S Note app responds by making the line you make thinner or thicker, an essential feature for anyone who wants to use a tablet for serious drawing. The pen also comes with a side button that works much like the left mouse button, giving access to extra features with little effort. Very few third-party apps are designed with styluses in mind, but some of them work better with a stylus anyway. “Draw Something,” a drawing game, is a good example.

It’s designed for use with fingers, but the stylus makes it much easier to draw intelligible pictures, because it’s easier to see what you’re drawing. By contrast, a finger is so big and blunt that it obscures the picture. The app would work even better if it sensed the pen pressure.

At the current level of software support, the stylus is just slightly better than a gimmick. But even when there are more apps for it, the stylus is going to have limited appeal. It’s a must-have for only a small group of people, who like to doodle or need to do so for their jobs. For the rest of us, it will be a fun thing we use once in a while. It can and should tip a purchase decision now and then, but not for everyone. You can contrast that with the signature feature of the latest iPad: the ultra-high resolution screen.

That’s not a must-have feature for everyone either, but it’s immediately useful to everyone.

The Galaxy Note does chip at the iPad’s defenses with other features the Apple tablet lacks. One is a slot for microSD memory cards, which means you can expand the memory of the Galaxy Note inexpensively. That’s very welcome. The other feature is an infra-red light, which can be used in place of a remote at the home entertainment center. This is a feature Sony pioneered in its Android tablets. It’s welcome, too - some people spend hundreds of dollars on universal remotes, which the Galaxy Note effectively replaces with this feature. — AP

HRW blasts UAE Continued from Page 1 HRW’s report, referring to the 17 July arrest of Emirati lawyer Slim Hamdun Al-Shehhi and to the deportation of two Egyptians working for the firm in October 2011.

Most of the dissidents arrested have been Islamists, including lawyers and human rights activists Mohammed

Month of Blessings Al-Roken and Mohammed Mansuri. On 15 July, authorities announced the dismantling of a group accused of plotting against the state. Later that month, Dubai’s police Chief Dhahi Khalfan charged Muslim Brotherhood members were seeking to overthrow Gulf monarchies.

The oil-rich UAE was spared the wave of popular revolt which spread across the Arab world last —-AFP

UAE announces $3bn in nuclear fuel deals Continued from Page 1 South Korean-led consortium that will eventually build and operator four 1,400 megawatt reactors in total.

The OPEC member will be the first Gulf Arab state to begin building a nuclear power plant. It wants to save its oil reserves for export rather than using them to generate electricity, for which demand is rising rapidly. The UAE, and other top oil exporters in the region, have been seeking alternative energy resources to meet soaring electricity demand on the back of a growing population and industrialization that threatens to absorb precious oil and gas reserves. The contracted fuel will

enable the plant, located west of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, to generate up to 450 million megawatts over the first 15 years, ENEC said.

The company added it “expects to return to the market at various times to take advantage of favorable market conditions and to strengthen its security of supply position.” The enriched uranium will be supplied to KEPCO Nuclear Fuels ENEC’s prime contract consortium led

by Korea Electric Power Corp - which will make the fuel assemblies for use in the four planned UAE units. Before granting the contract to the South Korean consortium, the UAE signed an agreement under the US Atomic Energy Act with the United States in early 2009, forfeiting its right to enrich uranium domestically. — Reuters

Govt files petition against electoral...

Continued from Page 1 In an unprecedented ruling on June 20, the constitutional court nullified the February legislative polls on flawed procedures, scrapped the 2012 Assembly and reinstated the 2009 Assembly, just six months after it was dissolved. The 2009 Assembly failed to meet on two occasions earlier this month because the overwhelming majority of lawmakers boycotted it.

Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi on Sunday informed the Amir it was unable to convene the Assembly.

Shehab said the 2009 Assembly will continue as is now until the constitutional court issues its verdict on the electoral constituencies law which he hoped “will not take long”. Based on the verdict, the government will act, said Shehab, hinting that the government will issue a new law in an emergency Amiri decree if the court rules that the original law is unconstitutional.

NEW YORK: Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet is demonstrated in New York.

Samsung Electronics Co will start selling the new tablet in the US today in its latest effort to compete with Apple’s dominant iPad. — AP

The opposition has warned that if the government refers the law to the court it will boycott the forthcoming election and threatened to stage popular rallies in protest against the government move. The two ministers however said that as long as the protests were within the law, the government will not prevent them. Senior lawyer and activist Mohammad Abdulqader Al-Jassem said that after reading the petitions filed at the court, the government wants to revert to the old electoral law system which divided Kuwait into 25 districts with each district electing two MPs. “We respect the will of people, so who ever doesn’t aim to participate in the elections or voting it’s their personal choice.

Our responsibility is to protect the interests and security of the country, which has the priority to the personal interests. This step will protect the election system and the nation’s will,” AlAbdullah added.

Continued from Page 1 the devils, to increase their God-consciousness, increase their good deeds, get closer to Allah and, inshallah, gain forgiveness and eternal life in Paradise.

Certainly, Allah created us all with the propensity towards sin. Even without any encouragement from Satan, we are constantly going to fail in attaining perfection. It is for this reason that Allah has stacked the deck in our favor, by giving us so many ways to find forgiveness.

First, Allah Created us pure, sinless. He gave us the time to grow up and attain the mindset of understanding right from wrong. Thus, it’s not until we attain puberty that we begin to be held accountable for our actions. Prior to this event, we are sinless in the eyes of Allah. Any who die before puberty are guaranteed paradise. The rest of us? We have to work for it.

During Ramadan, Allah takes away outside interference. We are left with fighting only our own desire and rebelliousness to please Allah. Also, during this month, rewards for deeds are multiplied. Even small acts of charity, like smiling to your Muslim brother increase in benefit and value. Furthermore, the act of fasting has no limit to its blessings. Allah sets this Himself based on the quality of our fast.

During Ramadan, the hearts and souls of Muslims are open to the acts of worship that Allah has ordained, and communal acts of worship increase. We all know that the lone sheep is eaten by the wolf. In Ramadan, increased communal prayers, increased family togetherness, increased acts of benevolence, mercy and kindness make it easier for the Muslim to find his/her way back to Allah.

The hearts of the Muslim becomes softer in these times. If we try sincerely to please Allah in this month, Allah makes it increasingly easier for us to succeed.

Imagine you love someone, but they don’t necessarily love you back. Of course, you want to do whatever you can to make that person closer to you, so that they can know you, and hopefully love you back. You start with beautiful words, you bring them gifts, and you call on them, trying to get them closer to you.

The same is true and even more important when you

want to get acquire Allah’s Love. The sweet words are your prayers, made on time and increased in Ramadan.

The gifts are your deeds, especially your fast which is the deed most loved by Allah, and your calls are the supplications you make throughout the day, calling upon Allah for all your needs and desires.

The month of Ramadan is an open door to finding Allah’s Love, and His Love is the door for forgiveness.

Allah wants us to work hard to please us, which is why He has given us so many chances for blessings and so many paths towards forgiveness. Even something as simple as forgiving others what they do to us is a method for achieving forgiveness. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: Musa, the son of Imran once asked, “Oh my Lord! Who is the most honorable of Your servants? And He replied, the person who forgives even when he is in a position of power” (Baihaqi). Thus, just forgiving someone can get us forgiveness from Allah, and since the deeds are multiplied in Ramadan, there is no limit to how far this simple act may lift us into Paradise.

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has promised us that if we pray sincerely in the nights of Ramadan, seeking only Allah’s Favor, He will forgive us all our sins.

Imagine, all our sins wiped out, erased, simply because we prayed some extra prayers in this special month.

Also, even the act of fasting the month completely and sincerely will erase all our sins. If that isn’t enough, the Prophet even told us that whoever believes in Allah and His Prophet (PBUH), makes his prayers perfectly and fasts the month of Ramadan, it is incumbent upon Allah to enter him into Paradise!

This month is absolutely full of blessings and shortcuts to paradise, to the point we have to ask, “Who is the Muslim who will ignore this chance, turn his back on Allah, and not snatch the chance before it leaves?” If we knew that fasting and praying at night for a month would guarantee us a free Ferrari or Lamborghini or Bentley, and that the offer was open to all, no limits, who amongst us would refuse? I know without a doubt, I would be driving away with a new car! Ramadan is a month like no other. It is the month which can win us the ultimate trip, the ultimate prize, eternal paradise with Allah. — Courtesy AWARE Center

14

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

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Issues

Egyptian surprise: Elected president sidelines generals gypt has undergone a revolution of sorts.

No, not the one last year, when weeks of mass protests forced the resignation of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. That revolution had been substantially frustrated by the Egyptian military, which had been allied with Mubarak and which refused to relinquish power - even as Egyptians were in the midst of exerting their unprecedented right to choose their new leader in June. But over the weekend, the country’s newly elected president, Mohammed Morsi, cashiered the top generals and restored the governing prerogatives they had taken away from him. That this is a major moment in modern Egyptian history, there can be no doubt. Whether it will turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing, though, is up in the dusty air over Cairo.

There are certainly reasons to take Morsi’s weekend measures as a victory for Egyptians who mobilized against the militar y regime and brought down Mubarak. After the citizens elected a new parliament dominated by Islamic parties, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled it illegal and the generals shut it down. The military leaders also asserted their right to enact laws and to pick the members of a body assigned to draft a new constitution. But Morsi ordered the parliament reinstated, refusing to cede one of the signal victories of the Arab Spring. Now, by getting rid of the senior generals, he appears to have established control of the government by a democratically chosen civilian - himself.

That was the first surprise of the weekend. The second was that the militar y appears to be accepting his decree, in contrast to its previous resistance. Speculation has run rampant, with some concluding that Morsi has used the support of younger, reform-minded officers to get rid of Mubarak’s cronies. Others, however, suspect the president has struck a backroom deal with the departing generals that will protect their interests. No one has forgotten that the military still has ample means to impede Morsi if it wants to.

And the generals he has elevated to replace those he ousted may have considerable say over his policies going forward.

An equally relevant concern is that Morsi, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, is planning to turn Egypt into a theocratic state along the lines of Iran. The new president has acted to consolidate an immense amount of power in his office, which could be used for bad as well as good purposes.

I t ’s by no means cer tain that the Muslim Brotherhood is committed to building a durable democracy that could evict it from power. That said, any overreach by Morsi risks unleashing anew the societal forces that last year demanded freedom: There is some reassurance in knowing that while Morsi has won a round against the secular-minded military, he could provoke a military coup or conceivably another public uprising - by pushing an extreme Islamic agenda.

And while upholding civilian authority and democratic processes is no guarantee of Morsi’s long-term intentions, it’s essential to creating a stable constitutional system. Our hope is that the sobering responsibilities of governing - of making citizens content with his rule - moderates any Morsi inclination to turn Cairo into a rigid Tehran West. It has been plain since Mubarak’s fall that the top generals had no desire to defer to the people who so courageously rebelled against his regime. Morsi, having come to power in the nation’s first free presidential election, may someday eviscerate Egypt’s fledgling democracy. But give him credit for not letting the military do so now.— MCT

E

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

Forget drought, ‘demand rationing’ is corn’s new master

By Karl Plume hen all is said and done, predicting the damage done to US corn and soy crops from the worst drought in half a century may have been the easy part. With the harvest imminent and plants mature, most traders are fairly confident they have a handle on this year’s supply. Whether corn yields are 120 bushels an acre or 130, it’s clear that demand will outstrip supply, possibly by a wide margin. Demand, in trade parlance, will have to be “rationed”.

What’s far less clear-and harder to discern now than ever before-is just how much less food, feed or fuel will be made from corn as buyers cut back. From food companies to livestock ranchers to ethanol plants, the calculations are complex: Can end consumers withstand higher prices? Can they sustain production with cheaper grain alternatives?

For traders, that complexity is multiplied. The unpredictability of dry weather is nothing compared to the vagaries of consumption by livestock producers, exporters, ethanol makers and other industrial users that turn corn into scores of products including plastics, adhesives, explosives and pharmaceuticals.

So after two months of relatively steady price gains as every passing hot, dry day withered the crop a little more, some are bracing for a bumpy spell in which traders attempt to second-guess the price point at which demand is rationed. “Demand occurs in so many different categories that it’s a little hard to get your hands around,” said Darrel Good, a respected agricultural economist with the University of Illinois and a foremost authority on the topic.

“The thought process is pretty clear, but quantifying things is pretty subjective.”

The US Department of Agriculture cut its 2012/13 US corn crop forecast by 4.011 billion bushels, or 27 percent, over the past two months and slashed its estimate of corn use across all demand segments by 2.55 billion bushels, or 19 percent. US inventories at the end of next summer are now expected to fall to 650 million bushels, a 17-year low and considered near the bare minimum required to prevent an unprecedented scramble for the last kernels. As recently as June, the USDA had forecast 2 billion bushels.

Few traders expect those numbers to be final, with the agency fine-tuning for months to come.

W

‘DICEY’ MARKET In theory, the mystery of demand should offer opportunities for smart traders to capitalize on volatile markets. In practice, the evidence needed to quantify demand can be so disparate and piecemeal that it defies order. US export sales are the easy part, strictly reported on a weekly basis.

For everything else it’s a case of scouring data on livestock slaughter rates, chicken egg sets or sow liquidation; anticipating government policy on ethanol; or seeking private market intelligence on how much wheat is replacing corn among pig farmers.

Cargill said this week that it was delaying the announcement of its 2013 sweetener pricing, suggesting the agribusiness giant may be anticipating difficulty in sourcing corn. The change in sentiment from a supplyinduced panic to a period of demand uncertainty is already weighing on prices. From Friday through Tuesday, corn for December delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 4.2 percent to post the biggest three-day drop since June 13, just days before traders first fixated on the drought.

From mid-June to mid-July, corn embarked on a remarkably orderly rally, surging for several days and then pausing for another push. Rarely did prices close at their daily maximum. Never did they fall more than two days in a row. For the past two weeks, however, they’ve just bounced around. “The first phase is unidirectional, where the market goes into a little bit of a panic mode, trying to price the day-to-day weather,” said Malinda Goldsmith, a partner at agriculture-focused and Dallas-based Four Seasons Commodities, where she oversees a $50 million portfolio that gained 10 percent in July. “Then you get to a point where the demand gets to be destroyed. And the market gets more choppy. Then you get into a very volatile period, which is the one we’re in now, where we have sharply higher, sharply lower prices.” She concluded: “Now it’s going to get dicey.”

ETHANOL COMPLEXITY Modeling demand for food is a tricky task in the best of times. It is generally regarded as largely “inelastic”, meaning consumption tends to resist the effects of higher prices. Historical assumptions can provide a useful guide.

But the growing role of the ethanol industry-which consumes 40 percent of the US crop-has introduced a new set of variables. Even setting aside the possibility that

President Barack Obama could offer a waiver of ethanol blending quotas this year, corn traders must now take stock of New York gasoline prices, Brazilian sugar exports and ethanol credits.

“We really didn’t have ethanol when we had this kind of a shortfall in production in the past, so how that sector will respond is something new,” Good said. “There’s a lot of difference of opinion out there in how much corn will eventually get consumed for ethanol.” The USDA cut its forecast of corn use for ethanol in the 2012/13 marketing year by 400 million bushels this month to 4.5 billion bushels, the lowest in four years. At that rate, output would be short of the government’s 2012 mandate of 13.2 billion gallons .

Some analysts say the estimate is too low. Rising oil prices mean ethanol is still cheaper than gasoline in some places, encouraging refiners to maximize its use in blending. Production cuts by an estimated two dozen plantsmostly older, less-efficient facilities located further from the corn belt-have helped boost margins enough to sustain output. “I think we’ll see a fairly aggressive pace of demand rationing in the export sector first, followed by feed, followed by ethanol,” said Shawn McCambridge, analyst with Jefferies Bache.

But others questioned whether use may decline further, citing a recent slowdown in ethanol production blamed on poor plant margins amid this summer’s historic rally in corn prices. Calls for the suspension of a government mandate on ethanol blending could be a swing factor, with the United Nations chiming in on the debate last week. “I think the ethanol could be lower than (the USDA estimate) ... If the price of ethanol increases, which I think it will given the

buyer of late. The country’s wheat imports hit a record 5.2 million tons this season as nearly 2.9 million tons were imported to feed livestock, while its corn imports fell to the lowest in three years, according to the USDA. Emerging corn importer China was forecast to produce a record-large 200-million-tonne crop this season, which would limit its import needs to just 2 million tons, the USDA said. Earlier this year, China had been expected to import a record 7 million tons in 2012/13. “I don’t see a robust year for exports whatsoever. I wouldn’t be surprised to see something around a 1.2-billion-bushel program. The first rationing is going to be done on what moves beyond the borders, not within the borders,” McCambridge said.

LIVESTOCK FEEDERS FIRST TO SQUEAL Predicting the amount of corn being used by livestock and poultry producers has always been challenging because the USDA releases corn stocks data only on a quarterly basis. With the advent of the Internet, forecasters have access to scores of local corn and livestock prices, which help them get a clearer picture of profitability among meat and dairy producers. But as corn prices climb and supplies become harder to source, producers are prone to explore alternatives such as feed wheat or replace a portion of their feed rations with something cheaper like soybean hulls or wheat middlings. Domestic livestock and poultry producers, traditionally the largest consumers of corn, have seen their share shrink from more than 60 percent two decades ago to just 37 percent due to ethanol.

They have been squeezed by high corn prices. However, other than an increased sow slaughter, a sign of herd

IOWA: President Barack Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (right) inspect drought damaged corn on the McIntosh farm with members of the McIntosh family in Missouri Valley, Iowa, during a three-day campaign bus tour through Iowa. — AP higher cost of production, it may not be as competitive an octane source,” said Bill Lapp, president of Advanced Economic Solutions. Demand may be nearer 4 billion bushels, he said.

EXPORTS ERODE Overseas demand is another part of the puzzle. While theoretically made easy thanks to US government rules that require exporters to report all sales within a week of a deal, predicting the pace of annual shipments is tricky work. The USDA has already cut its outlook for 2012/13 exports to the lowest in 28 years, at just 1.3 billion bushels.

It slashed 300 million bushels in each of the past two months. Because this year’s supply distress is domestic, unlike during the price spikes of 2008 and 2010, many importers are simply buying from other producers such as Brazil, which yielded a record corn crop this year.

But many of them have also begun more aggressive campaigns to replace corn as a source of livestock feed, relying on feed wheat instead. This trend has helped to whittle global wheat stocks, which hit a record 200 million tons two years ago. South Korea, traditionally a top-five US corn customer, has been a particularly active feed wheat

downscaling by the pork industry, there has been little liquidation of hogs, cows and chickens. Some livestock and poultry operations in the southeastern United States have imported corn from Brazil while cattle feeders in the southwest have brought in Canadian feed wheat, but the volumes have been relatively minimal. More imports are likely as long as corn prices remain elevated, but shipping costs may be prohibitively high in many cases, likely limiting imported volumes. In the meantime, feed users are likely to maintain a hand-to-mouth corn-buying strategy, extending coverage on price dips and trying to minimize losses. But the months ahead will be challenging, particularly for cattle operations. The longer life cycle of animals makes it difficult to change course when market conditions turn sour. “The real question is not how much demand will drop with each dollar rally in the corn market, but what is the margin difference when you rally corn by a dollar, live cattle rally and feeder cattle drop,” said Tregg Cronin, a market analyst with Country Hedging. “You run all these crushes and margin calculations on a rolling basis and as long as you can pencil a margin, you have to assume that the demand center is going to use corn. It’s a lot more art than science.”— Reuters

sp orts

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

Tiger’s biggest threat also in pursuit of major record KIAWAH ISLAND: The next major is eight months away. The next showdown is nine days away. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are assured of being paired together next week at The Barclays for the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs. And while these playoff events are more about making money than making history, this could become meaningful down the road.

Woods has never faced a rival with this kind of potential. He has never won at least three times in a year without being looked upon as the undisputed best player in golf.

For the first time in his quest to break Jack Nicklaus’ record in the majors, the biggest challenge for Woods is no longer overcoming a failed marriage, four knee surgeries, a tender Achilles tendon or even the fact that he’s simply getting older. It’s another player.

McIlroy and Woods have played in the same tournament 12 times this year.

McIlroy has finished ahead of Woods seven times, including wins at the Honda Classic and the PGA Championship. They both tied for 40th at the Masters. McIlroy has seven top 5s in those events, along with three missed cuts.This is not about where they were at a similar stage in their careers. Woods is incomparable in that regard. McIlroy has won twice in his first 16 majors as a pro. Woods won five majors in that span, including the career Grand Slam

at age 24. It’s about where they are now.

So dominant was McIlroy at Kiawah Island, where he had rounds of 67-66 on the weekend to win the PGA Championship by eight shots, that it’s easy to get caught up in all things Rory.

He is only 23, younger by some four months than when Woods won his second major, and he is doing things only thought possible by Woods. A record score at the US Open last summer at Congressional. A record margin of victory at the PGA Championship on Sunday at Kiawah Island. McIlroy has won two majors by a combined 16 shots.

To put that in perspective, only five majors have been won by eight shots or more in the last 35 years - three by Woods, two by McIlroy. But let’s see how this plays out.

McIlroy could turn out to be like Johnny Miller, a comet on the golf horizon in the 1970s when he fired at flags and slaughtered the competition. Miller won two majors, with a 63 on the last day at Oakmont and a 66 in the final round at Royal Birkdale. Perhaps McIlroy will be like Tom Watson, who was 10 years younger than Nicklaus.

Nicklaus already had the record for most majors when Watson won his first one, although Watson kept him from winning more. He beat Nicklaus twice in 1977, in the Masters and in the “Duel in the Sun” at Turnberry. He beat him again in 1981 at Augusta National and kept

him from a record five U.S. Open titles in 1982 at Pebble Beach when Watson chipped in for birdie on the 17th hole.

McIlroy is 13 years younger than Woods. They have never gone head-tohead on Sunday in a major. Ultimately, that will be the measure. Along the way, however, McIlroy is stashing away large bits of confidence that few others could when Woods was at his peak.

There is no reason for McIlroy to be intimidated. His name on the leaderboard means just as much. He is a favorite in any color shirt. Nick Faldo once explained why Woods had such a huge advantage in the majors. Faldo thought after the 1997 Masters that Augusta National would be the only place Woods could win a major because the golf course suited him and because it was the only major where the media was kept outside the ropes. Only later did he realize that Woods was the only one who could handle the commotion inside the ropes in the final round.

“Other guys will step into that arena one week and go back out,” Faldo said in a 2007 interview. “He’s there all the time.

And good luck coming into his world.”

McIlroy now has been atop the leaderboard 10 out of the last 40 rounds in the majors. He has more experience than most his age, good and bad. What he took away from blowing a four-shot lead in the 2011 Masters was to set a target score. He set his target at 12-

Tiger Woods watches his drive in this file photo under par at Kiawah Island, played the gy was that he would have to match final round without a bogey and did Phil Mickelson’s career wins in the one better than that by finishing at 13- majors (four) just to tie the record. This under 275. “I feel these days when I give never made much sense, though, myself a chance to win one of these big because Woods and Mickelson never tournaments, I can draw on the memo- belonged in the same conversation ries of Augusta, of Congressional, and when the topic was majors. Mickelson now of today,” he said Sunday at Kiawah. went 42 majors before he won his first.

“And know what I did out there, and Woods had won 12 of them in the same know what to do again.” span. They’re not the same player, then It was never going to be easy for or now.

Woods to break Nicklaus’ record of 18 The main problem for Woods has majors. He said even in good times that been his head. His game is in great Nicklaus achieved that mark over 25 shape, and he knows it. He is pressing to seasons. Woods lost two full years win a major, to resume his pursuit of because of the strife he created in his Nicklaus and shut up the critics. But this personal life, and then more leg injuries, is the wrong game to try too hard. and then hiring his third swing coach.

Maybe that’s one lesson to take away In handicapping Woods’ chances of from Kiawah. The bigger problem could breaking the record, one popular analo- turn out to be McIlroy. — AP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

sp orts Muamba hangs up his boots LONDON: Fabrice Muamba has retired from football on the advice of doctors, his Premier League club Bolton Wanderers said in a statement yesterday.

Muamba, 24, almost died after suffering cardiac arrest in an FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in March when he collapsed on the pitch and needed life-saving treatment. His heart stopped for 78 minutes but the former midfielder made a remarkable recovery, spending four weeks in an east London hospital.

Muamba travelled to Belgium last week to seek medical advice from a leading cardiologist but his hopes of resuming a playing career were dashed.

“The news I received was obviously not what I had hoped it would be and it means I am now announcing my retirement from professional football,” Muamba said on the Bolton website (www.bwfc.co.uk) “Since suffering my heart attack and being discharged from hospital, I have remained utterly positive in the belief I could one day resume my playing career and play for Bolton Wanderers once again. “Football has been my life since I was a teenage boy and it has given me so many opportunities.” Muamba moved to the London borough of Waltham Forest from the Democratic Republic of Congo when he was 11 and represented England at every youth level from Under-16 to Under-21. —Reuters

Daniel to make first test start for Springboks CAPE TOWN: Keegan Daniel will make his first test start for South Africa when he lines up at number eight for their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Cape Town on Saturday.

Daniel, 27, who captained the Sharks to the Super Rugby final this season, has made three substitute appearances for the Springboks since making his test debut against Ireland in 2010.

Daniel starts in place of the Pierre Spies, who was ruled out of the tournament on Tuesday with a finger injury. While Daniel has experience at the back of the scrum, his regular position is as a flanker and concerns have been raised that, at 1.88 metres and weighing 94 kgs he may be too small for the international game. Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer rejected these suggestions on Wednesday and clearly has no qualms about Daniel’s ability to perform at the highest level.

“Keegan has been playing really well in Super Rugby and he has put up his hand,” Meyer told a news conference in Cape Town. —Reuters

Maradona wants China job BEIJING: Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona has underlined his desire to coach in China after arriving in the country for an eight-day charity trip, local media reported.

The 51-year-old, Argentina’s head coach at the 2010 World Cup, was sacked by United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl last month but appears keen on a job in the Far East. “I would like to coach in China,” Maradona told a news conference in Beijing, the China Daily reported. “I wish to contribute to the development of China’s youth soccer.” One of Maradona’s coterie of agents had sounded out the Chinese earlier this year with a view of eventually landing the national team job, the newspaper said. During his visit, Maradona, who led his country to the 1986 World Cup as a player and is regarded as one of the game’s greatest ever, will holds talks with Chinese FA boss Wei Di. A controversial figure who has suffered serious health issues and overcome drug addiction, Maradona was fired as Argentina coach after losing 40 to Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2010 tournament.

Chinese soccer has seen an influx of big-name foreign players and coaches, including Sergio Batista, the man who took over the Argentina job from Maradona, now coach of Shanghai Shenhua. The big-spending Chinese Super League club boast former Chelsea strikers Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, while other clubs have also been splashing the cash.

Shanghai’s rivals Guangzhou Evergrande appointed Italy’s former World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi. —Reuters

Kuroda shutout leads Yankees over Rangers

SAN FRANCISCO: Giants’ Madison Bumgarner works against the Washington Nationals in the first inning of a baseball game. —AP

Giants win over Nationals SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game, steering the Giants to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals in Tuesday’s clash of National League title contenders. Bumgarner (13-7) struck out six and walked one in his second complete game this season. Brandon Belt had three hits and three RBIs for the Giants, who bounced back from the previous day’s 16-1 thrashing at the hands of the Nationals.

National League ERA leader Jordan Zimmermann (9-7) took the loss, ending a sixgame winning streak, despite only allowing two runs.

Dodgers 11, Pirates 0 In Pittsburgh, Los Angeles’ Chad Billingsley pitched eight scoreless innings as the Dodgers matched their highest-scoring game of the season, routing the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0 in the National League on Tuesday. Billingsley (9-9) won his fifth consecutive start, allowing no runs and one walk. He improved to 7-1 in his career against the Pirates.

The Dodgers have won five of six, pushing them to the top of the NL West. Pittsburgh has lost five of six. Luis Cruz tied career highs for hits and RBIs with three each as Los Angeles beat the Pirates for the eighth straight time, dating to last season.

Pittsburgh’s Kevin Correia (9-7) took the loss. Going in, he had won seven straight decisions, tied for the longest active streak in the majors.

Reds 3, Mets 0 In Cincinnati, Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning, and Cincinnati on its fourth game in a row, beating New York. The NL Central leaders and the Mets were a combined 0 for 18 with runners in scoring position before Bruce connected.

Brandon Phillips drew a leadoff walk in the ninth from Manny Acosta (1-3). Ryan Ludwick followed with single that sent Phillips to second, setting up Bruce’s winning shot. Reds reliever Jose Arredondo (5-2) wound up with the win. In all, the clubs stranded a total of 24 runners on base.

Cardinals 8, D’backs 2 In St. Louis, rookie Joe Kelly pitched into the seventh inning of what could be his final start for some time, guiding St. Louis to victory over Arizona.

Kelly (3-5) gave up two runs in 6 1-3 innings and matched his career best with six strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.41 - trailing only Kyle Lohse’s 2.72 in the rotation. However Jaime Garcia is soon due back from injury, ending Kelly’s run as a starter. St. Louis got home runs from Matt Holliday and Jon Jay. Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy (10-10) made throwing

errors on consecutive plays to help the Cardinals score two unearned runs in the seventh for a three-run cushion, and gave up both homers.

Braves 6, Padres 0 In Atlanta, Tim Hudson combined with three relievers to shut out San Diego, steering Atlanta to victory. Hudson (12-4) allowed no runs and one walk in 6 2-3 innings and won his sixth straight decision. Martin Prado had a three-run homer for the Braves, who began the day 51/2 games behind first-place Washington in the NL East, their biggest deficit since trailing by 6 games on July 5.

San Diego starter Clayton Richard (9-12) left the game trailing 3-0 in the seventh, He gave up five runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Phillies 1, Marlins 0 In Miami, Kyle Kendrick pitched seven scoreless innings, steering Philadelphia to a tight win over Miami. Kendrick (5-9) struck out six and threw 61 of 87 pitches for strikes. He has won seven straight against the Marlins, dating to September 2008.

The sole run of the game came from Jimmy Rollins homer leading off the first. Charlie Manuel earned his 700th win as a manager with the Phillies’ second straight shutout. The Marlins haven’t scored in 27 innings. Jonathan Papelbon issued a walk with two outs in the ninth but induced a grounder to end it. Marlins starter Josh Johnson (7-9) was an unlucky loser, giving up just one run in eight innings.

Rockies 8, Brewers 6 In Denver, Carlos Gonzalez had four hits in Colorado’s win over Milwaukee. Colorado starter Tyler Chatwood (3-2) allowed one earned in six innings.

The Rockies finished with 15 hits for the second straight game. On Monday, they jumped in front early and they repeated the formula against Randy Wolf (3-9).

Astros 10, Cubs 1 In Chicago, Brett Wallace and Fernando Martinez each hit three-run homers as Houston cruised past Chicago. Houston had 15 hits in winning only its third road game in 28 tries.

Astros starter Lucas Harrell (10-8) struck out six over eight innings. He has allowed two runs or fewer in all seven of his starts since the AllStar break. Cubs starter Chris Volstad (0-9) lasted just five innings, allowing four runs as he again came up well short in his bid to end a personal winless streak that’s lasted 13 months.

He hasn’t won in 23 starts and is approaching the major league record of 28. The Cubs, who have lost 12 of 14, matched their season worst by falling 25 games under .500, their worst record since 2006. —AP

NEW YORK: New York’s Hiroki Kuroda pitched a shutout as the Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 30 in Tuesday’s meeting of American League divisional leaders.

(11-8) pitched a two-hitter and the New York Yankees got consecutive homers from Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira in a victory over the Rangers.

Kuroda (11-8) held Texas hitless until an infield single leading off the seventh. He walked only two and struck out five in his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career.

The Yankees too were held in check until the seventh, when consecutive homers from Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira broke the game open.

Texas’ All-Star Matt Harrison (13-7) took the loss.

Orioles 7, Red Sox 1 In Baltimore, Mark Reynolds homered twice and drove in four runs to power Baltimore past Boston. Reynolds hit a solo shot in the fifth and a three -run drive in the sixth, while Omar Quintanilla also went deep for the Orioles, who moved 10 games over .500 for the first time since June.

Baltimore starter Wei-Yin Chen (11-7) gave up one run and one walk in six-plus innings. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett (5-10) surrendered six runs in 5 1-3 innings. He is 1-6 in his past 12 starts. Boston stranded 12 and went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

White Sox 3, Blue Jays 2 In Toronto, Jose Quintana snapped a fivestart winless streak to steer Chicago to a rare win at Toronto. Quintana (5-2) allowed two runs in 6 2-3 innings, helping the White Sox win at Rogers Centre for only the fourth time in six years. Blue Jays starter Henderson Alvarez (7-10) allowed two earned runs in seven innings.

Mariners 3, Rays 2 In Seattle, Eric Thames’ two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Seattle victory and snapped Tampa Bay’s seven-game winning streak.

Kyle Seager started the winning rally with a single to right field off Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney (2-2). Chone Figgins pushed a bunt that first baseman Carlos Pena fielded.

Pena glanced at second, pivoted and then threw wide of first base, allowing Seager to sprint to third, and Figgins to advance to second. Justin Smoak’s deep sacrifice fly scored Seager to tie the game 2-2.

Thames’ hit into short right field scored Figgins and made a winner of Stephen Pryor (20), who worked 1 2-3 innings.

Angels 9, Indians 6 In Anaheim, Zack Greinke won for the first time in four starts since being acquired by Los Angeles, delivering a victory over Cleveland.

Greinke (1-1) allowed eight hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked only one.

Albert Pujols homered and drove in four runs for the Angels. Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez (9-12) gave up eight runs through four innings, matching a career-worst for earned runs allowed.

Tigers 8, Twins 4 In Minneapolis, Miguel Cabrera became the first player to reach 100 RBIs this season with a run-scoring single as Detroit downed Minnesota.

With the game locked 4-4 in the sixth inning, Andy Dirks hit a solo home run off Brian Duensing (2-8) to put the Tigers ahead for good.

Cabrera got his 100th RBI in the seventh, becoming the third player in Tigers history to collect at least 100 RBIs in five or more consecutive seasons. Detroit starter Doug Fister (7-7) pitched

NEW YORK: Yankees’ Hiroki Kuroda pitches during the first inning of the baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium. — AP

MLB results/standings Baltimore 7, Boston 1; NY Yankees 3, Texas 0; La Dodgers 11, Pittsburgh 0; Chicago White Sox 3, Toronto 2; Atlanta 6, San Diego 0; Philadelphia 1, Miami 0; Cincinnati 3, NY Mets 0; Houston 10, Chicago Cubs 1; Kansas City 5, Oakland 0; Detroit 8, Minnesota 4; St. Louis 8, Arizona 2; Colorado 8, Milwaukee 6; LA Angels 9, Cleveland 6; Seattle 3, Tampa Bay 2; San Francisco 6, Washington 1.

National League American League Eastern Division Eastern Division Washington 72 45 .615 W L PCT GB Atlanta 67 49 .578 4.5 NY Yankees 69 47 .595 NY Mets 55 61 .474 16.5 63 53 .543 6 Tampa Bay Philadelphia 54 62 .466 17.5 Baltimore 63 53 .543 6 Miami 52 65 .444 Boston 57 60 .487 12.5 20Central Division Toronto 55 61 .474 14 Cincinnati 70 46 .603 Central Division Pittsburgh 64 52 .552 6 Chicago White Sox 63 52 .548 St. Louis 63 53 .543 7 62 55 .530 2 Detroit Milwaukee 52 63 .452 17.5 Cleveland 54 63 .462 10 Chicago Cubs 45 70 .391 24.5 Kansas City 50 65 .435 13 Houston 39 79 .331 32 Minnesota 50 66 .431 13.5 Western Division Western Division San Francisco 64 53 .547 LA Dodgers 64 53 .547 Texas 67 48 .583 Arizona 58 58 .500 5.5 Oakland 61 54 .530 6 San Diego 52 66 .441 12.5 LA Angels 61 56 .521 7 Colorado 43 71 .377 19.5 Seattle 54 64 .458 14.5 eight strong innings, not allowing any earned runs and striking out seven.

Royals 5, Athletics 0 In Kansas City, Jeremy Guthrie allowed only three singles in seven innings as Kansas City rolled to a win over Oakland. Guthrie (5-12), who struck out a season-high eight, ran his scoreless

streak to 15 innings. He has struck out 14 over his past two starts. The A’s failed to get a runner past second base and were shut out for a major league-high 14th time. Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer delivered run-scoring singles in the Royals’ five-run fifth inning. A’s rookie right-hander Jarrod Parker (7-7) was pulled after 4 2-3 innings. He gave up five runs. —AP

Strauss surprised by Pietersen’s row LONDON: England captain Andrew Strauss said Kevin Pietersen’s falling out with the ECB was a surprise after the batsman was dropped for sending South Africa players text messages allegedly criticising his team mates and staff.

“I’ve always got on with Kevin,” Strauss told Sky Sports after Pietersen was excluded from the squad for the third and final test against the Proteas starting at Lord’s on Thursday. “I’ve tried to be honest with him; he’s been honest with me.

“That’s why this has all been a bit of a surprise to me. “I think the discontent that Kevin had with the (England and Wales Cricket) Board over his contract situation was one that the players didn’t get involved in - and I didn’t really get involved in, if I’m honest.

“But over the last week I have had to get involved, because there have been issues a little bit more central to his relationship with the other players and our ability to perform out in the middle.” Pietersen had intimated after the second test that he intended to retire altogether from international cricket, only to issue a statement via a staged YouTube interview insisting he was still committed to playing for England.

As Pietersen seeks to talk his way back into the England fold, Alec Stewart, executive director at the batsman’s county Surrey, told the BBC he had heard the player had said sorry to the England and Wales Cricket Board over the texts episode. “I’m hearing he’s now apologised but hasn’t had any confirmation back from the ECB,” said the former England captain.

South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis believes England will miss Pietersen. “He’s a world-class player and he’s proven that over many years - putting in big performances for England - so I’m sure he’s going to be missed,” Kallis told Sky Sports.

“I don’t think it will affect him, I think he’ll bounce back and I think he’s still got a lot of cricket ahead of him. He’s too good a player to stay out of the international scene.”

But Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan said England would work better as a team without Pietersen in a match they must win to ensure they remain the world’s number one test nation.

“Just because you lose one player it doesn’t necessarily make you a weaker team,” said England off-spinner Swann in his Sun newspaper

column on Tuesday. “We all need to be pulling in the same direction - not 10 of us doing it and one of us not.”

Swann said England’s one-day results had improved since Pietersen gave up 50-over and Twenty20 international cricket in May. “Since Kevin retired from limited-overs cricket we are unbeaten in all matches in the shorter formats,” he said. England paceman Bresnan said: “It may be an even better side. “It’s one of those things where a talented player has been replaced by another talented player. Why should we miss certain individuals just because they’re not available for selection?” Jonny Bairstow will replace Pietersen at Lord’s.

Pietersen, man of the match at Headingley for his 149 in the second test, was dropped for the final test the day after his YouTube interview because of the controversial text messages.

Bresnan said the spirit among the squad, who are 1-0 down in the series, had not been destabilised by the furore surrounding England’s most explosive batsman.

“We met up yesterday, the mood in the camp was exceptional. It’s just like it always is. Always

relaxed, quite focused, but we’ve always got the driving desire to get that win,” he said. The Lord’s test starts today.

In another twist to the embarrassing saga, England paceman Stuart Broad issued a statement on the ECB website (www.ecb.co.uk) on Tuesday denying any involvement in a fake Twitter account using Pietersen’s name.

Broad said: “Following last night’s statement

by Mr Richard Bailey that he was responsible for creating a fake Twitter account in Kevin Pietersen’s name, I would like to confirm that I had no involvement in this whatsoever. “I met with the Managing Director - England Cricket, Hugh Morris, this morning and assured him that I did not play any role in the creation of this account or provide Mr Bailey with any information regarding Kevin Pietersen or the England team. “As has been widely reported Mr Bailey is a friend of mine, but we had no conversations regarding this issue at all and I am pleased that he has now decided to close the fake account down.” Morris told the website he was “fully satisfied” Broad had not breached the confidence of any of his England team mates. —Reuters

England’s Kevin Peitersen

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

sp orts

‘Missing’ African Olympians may be after new life LONDON: Thousands of Olympians have returned to their homelands with the end of the London Games - but more than a dozen African competitors have not.

Even before the closing ceremony, some athletes from impoverished or conflict-ridden nations including Cameroon, Eritrea, Guinea and the Ivory Coast had been reported missing from the athletes’ village. The London Games are not the first time such reports have surfaced: There is a well-established pattern of sportsmen trying to use international competitions in foreign countries as springboards to a better life.

Athletes attending the London Olympics have the legal right to stay in Britain until November under the terms of their visas, but one of them has already declared that he intends to seek political asylum in Britain.

“I still very much love my country and it’s the harsh conditions and lack of basic human rights which has compelled me to seek asylum,” Eritrean steeplechase runner Weynay Ghebresilasie, 18, told The Guardian newspaper in an interview published yesterday. Ghebresilasie, who finished 10th in his

first-round heat and did not advance, told the paper that he has become disillusioned with the worsening political conditions in his homeland. He said he’s not alone: Three of his fellow Eritrean teammates, out of delegation of only 12 athletes, have also sought asylum but are reluctant to go public because they fear their families may get into trouble back home.

Eritrea was among the top 10 countries of origin for people seeking asylum in the U.K last year, along with Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iran, according to the London-based charity Refugee Council. The northeastern African country also has a past record for missing athletes: In 2009, an entire Eritrean national soccer team defected during a tournament in Kenya.

The report followed confirmation Tuesday from Salamata Cisse, head of Ivory Coast’s Olympic delegation, that three members of the Ivorian delegation went missing last week. She said they were two swimmers and a wrestling coach.

In Guinea, sports minister Titi Camara also confirmed that three athletes had not returned to the west African country after the Olympics.

“They told their friends that they weren’t going to come back to Guinea,” said N’famara Bangoura, a Guinean sports journalist. “Here, there is no infrastructure, no equipment, no qualified coaches for them to become good athletes.”

Last week, Cameroon’s Olympic team asked for help from London officials to look for seven athletes who disappeared after they finished their games.

Its press attache, Emmanuel Tataw, said this has happened before to squads competing in Melbourne and Athens.

Cameroon, a predominantly French-speaking nation of 20 million in west central Africa, is among the poorest nations on earth.

According to African media, other missing athletes include judo competitor Cedric Mandembo and three others from the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, 20 members of the Sierra Leone team went missing from their camp before the end of the competition. Visa overstays and asylum applications also followed the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Britain’s Home Office would not comment on the reports, saying it does not speak about individual

cases. Experts say it is too early to tell what will happen to the athletes who have gone missing - they may overstay their visas, apply to become a refugee or they may well return to their countries before their visas expire.

“Visitors to the UK are able to travel the country without restrictions, so providing Olympic athletes have a valid visa at the moment, it would be premature to suggest that any have absconded,” said Carlos Vargas-Silva, a senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at Oxford University.

But he said it is difficult to track people who decide to overstay their visas. Donna Covey, the Refugee Council’s chief executive, said that Britain must protect people who can prove they need shelter from conflict because it has signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. “It a tragic fact that many people competing in the Olympics come from countries around the world where they are at risk of human rights abuses, conflict and violence,” she said. “Over the last two weeks, we welcomed the world to the UK for the Olympics, so we must now also uphold our proud tradition of offering safety to those fleeing persecution.”—AP

Ugandans celebrate first Olympic medal in 40 years

RIO DE JANEIRO: People attend a flag ceremony, using the newly arrived Olympic flag, in the Complexo de Alemao slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro in 2016 will become the first South American city to host the Games.—AP

Scouts to light flames on British mountains London Paralympics LONDON: Scouts will light flames on the highest mountains in each of the four home nations of Britain next week to spark the torch relay for the London Paralympics, organisers said yesterday.

Members of the youth movement will spark flints on rocks on Scafell Pike in England, Snowdon in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland to create the flames on August 22, organisers LOCOG said.

The flames will travel to the four national capitals for a day of celebrations and then on to Stoke Mandeville in southern England, the spiritual home of the Paralympic movement, on August 28. They will be united at Stoke Mandeville to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame during a special ceremony, before a 24-hour torch relay to the Olympic Stadium in London for the start of the Games bringing together disabled athletes from across the world on August 29.

“We have created a unique identity for the Paralympic torch relay which will be a celebration of courage, determination, inspiration and equality that every Paralympian represents,” London Olympics chief Sebastian Coe said.

“By creating the four flames through human endeavour at the four highest peaks in the UK we will ensure that the

spirit of each home nation is represented in the Paralympic flame.”

Coe urged Britons to attend the events in a bid to repeat the success of the Olympic torch relay, which saw 13 million people line the streets around Britain over the course of 70 days.

Both disabled and non-disabled Scouts will be involved in the Paralympic flamelighting ceremony on the four mountains.

The Paralympics relay will involve 580 torchbearers working in teams of five on the 92-mile (148-kilometre) route. They include disabled athletes and volunteers who have helped train them.

They will pass landmarks including London Zoo, Lord’s Cricket Ground and Abbey Road in northwest London made famous by The Beatles.

Olympics minister Jeremy Hunt said Britain was hoping to stage the “best ever Paralympic Games” after a successful Olympics. “ The UK is the birthplace of the Paralympic movement and London’s Games will show the world how just amazing and inspiring elite Paralympic sport can be,” he said.

Organisers have sold more than 2.1 million tickets for the London 2012 Paralympics, beating the previous record set at the 2008 edition in Beijing.—AFP

Fukuhara says Japan a long way from catching China TOKYO: Ai Fukuhara says winning her country’s first Olympic medal in table tennis was a huge boost but Japan still has a long way to go to catch up with China.

China again swept all four gold medals in London, duplicating its results from Beijing four years ago. Fukuhara spent years honing her skills in China and knows better than anyone what it will take to close the gap with the table tennis superpower.

Japan beat Singapore 3-0 in the semifinals of the team event to guarantee its first medal in table tennis since the sport entered the Olympics in 1988 before eventually losing 3-0 to China in the final.

“I don’t think of China as a rival but more of an ideal or goal to strive for,” Fukuhara said Tuesday. “To get close to China first we have to improve against rivals like Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore.”

Hugely popular in Japan, the 23-year-

old Fukuhara started playing when she was three years old, often appearing on TV shows where she was featured as a child prodigy playing against, and beating, much older opponents.

She failed to medal at both the Athens and Beijing Olympics leading some to believe she couldn’t compete against the world’s top players, especially the Chinese.

“China’s players are strong both technically and physically,” Fukuhara said.

“While we may have two different kinds of drive shots in Japan the Chinese have many different variations of drive shots and that shows you how advanced they are.”

Fukuhara said she plans to sit back and enjoy winning the team medal for a while and hasn’t even considered whether she will take part in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. “I’ve been so busy the last few days and I haven’t even had time to figure out what I’ll have for dinner,” Fukuhara said.—AP

KAMPALA: Uganda’s only medal winner at the London Olympics cried tears of joy as hundreds of people welcomed him home yesterday with celebrations of music and dance in honor of the African nation’s first gold since the 1972 games in Munich.

Stephen Kiprotich’s victory in the men’s marathon race also was Uganda’s first medal of any kind since the Atlanta Olympics 16 years ago and was deeply felt by the nation.

Lawmakers want to declare him a national hero and Ugandans are hailing him as a role model for their children.

His boss has promised to promote him at work and $100,000 has been collected in a fundraising campaign whose goal is to collect half a million dollars for the runner’s benefit.

Unknown to most Ugandans before he won in London, the 23-year-old Kiprotich returned home a star and was ushered in through the V.I.P. lounge of the Entebbe International Airport and shadowed by politicians. The athlete was saluted by a guard of honor mounted by prisons officials, the kind of treatment usually reserved for the head of state. Within hours of arriving he was whisked away for a “state breakfast” with Uganda’s president.

Those who came to honor Kiprotich at the airport in central Uganda say he deserves all the attention he is getting for beating the odds to win a medal that has galvanized national pride. Kiprotich’s elderly father and mother, as well as scores of villagers from his tribe, were there to greet him. Some wore yellow T-shirts declaring the athlete a savior.

“His win has united Ugandans,” said David Satya, who is from the same village as Kiprotich. “He is a humble man who had humble beginnings. His parents are poor, as you can see, but he kept on fighting and today we are cheering his perseverance.”

Joseph Byabasaija, Kiprotich’s boss at the Uganda Prisons Service, said the athlete wept when he saw the crowd that had gathered to meet him.

“He cried tears,” Byabasaija said. “I am too proud of him. He has been training very hard for the last five years.... God is great.” In a country that does not have too many obvious role models, some say that Kiprotich offers the gold standard.

“Our children will grow up knowing there is a hero called Kiprotich,” said Robert Kabushenga, whose local media house launched the Kiprotich fundraiser. “We have a

positive role model.”

Kiprotich, who is married with two young children, worked as a prison warder, juggling his duties as a jailer with athletics. His closest relatives live deep in eastern Uganda, and those who know him well say his success came against all odds.

Kiprotich had competed in marathons before going to London, but success had eluded him. Uganda’s hopes for any kind of medal at the Olympics had rested on the middle-distance runner Moses Kipsiro, but those hopes faded when he finished last in the

well-known Kenyans who in the end settled for silver and bronze. A few meters from the finishing line, having suddenly accelerated his pace to leave the Kenyans behind, he spotted a man in the crowd holding Uganda’s flag, which he grabbed and carried to glor y.

Ugandan officials say they are still debating the best way to reward Kiprotich, whose win comes at a time when the East African country is celebrating 50 years of independence from the British, the reason some see Kiprotich’s victory as timely for Golden Jubilee celebrations.

ENTEBBE: A Ugandan Army officer (right) admires the gold medal of Uganda’s Olympic marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich (left) with wife Patricia Kiprotich (centre) at State House at Entebbe.—AP finals. Mark Namanya, a local sports journalist who has known Kiprotich since his early days as a runner, said the athlete “endured all sorts of ups and downs” before his victory in London. Kiprotich had tried and failed at events such as steeplechase and middle-distance running before discovering he could do well at the marathon. Namanya said that the “world started noticing” Kiprotich after he came third in the Tokyo Marathon this year.

Kiprotich was not expected to beat the

Today Uganda’s parliament will hold a special session in honor of the athlete, and parliamentarian Odonga Otto said he would bring a motion seeking to have the athlete declared a national hero.

“I watched the race with my mother-in-law and I almost jumped into the television,” Otto said. “I was so emotional and came close to breaking down. I was so happy that this happened in my lifetime. These are life moments.”—AP

Argentina prepared for baptism of fire LONDON: Finally getting the opportunity to play in a regular competition against top tier nations would be “tough” but equally as rewarding, according to former Argentina captain Agustin Pichot.

The Pumas, who finished third at the 2007 World Cup, finally end years of exclusion from competitions like the Six and Tri-Nations when they play their opening match in the Rugby Championship against the Springboks in Cape Town on Saturday.

“It’s tough... the first word I said to you was it would be a difficult challenge,” Pichot told Reuters at the London Olympics. “It’s going to be very difficult... it’s probably going to be the most difficult tournament in the world.

“Here you play week-in, weekout, 12 hours by plane and you have to see them all over again. “To be fair, they come to you and they are the best... so you are playing against the best three teams in the world, twice? (It’s) tough.”

After years of being neglected by much of the top-tier rugby nations, Argentina began more intense lobbying, pleading and negotiating to join either the Six, or Tri-Nations, following their 25-25 draw against the British and Irish Lions in 2005.

Those pleas increased in volume when Pichot’s Pumas’ stunned hosts France in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup before beating them again in the third-place

playoff. “In the last 10 or 15 years, we worked really hard on the pitch to gain respect so we could be part of an annual competition,” the 37year-old former scrumhalf said.

“I think we were only players

three or four games a year, that wasn’t fair. So when we came into a World Cup, we were always on the back foot.”

While there were murmurs the Pumas and their predominantly

Agustin Pichot

European-based players could enter an expanded Six Nations and be based in Barcelona without causing a club-country tussle, the southern hemisphere’s nations agreed to expand their Tri-Nations with certain provisos.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) had to come to the party for any financial losses. The Pumas had to be at full strength. They also had to develop their domestic player base.

As such, their third-strength Pampas XV side began playing in South Africa’s third tier competition, below Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. The Pampas won the competition in 2011, and Pichot said all of the hard work done by people in the background and former players like himself lobbying at every opportunity was now coming to fruition.

“I think, although it’s a very difficult challenge, but I think the respect of the world said ‘ok, Argentina is now part of a big concert (competition), it’s playing the Rugby Championship, it’s part of the southern nations, and let’s help them to do better’,” Pichot added.

“Personally, I think it’s highly satisfying to have been part of the whole process as well. “As an Argentine, I’m going to be very proud next weekend in Cape Town playing against South Africa because we fought very hard and it’s a lot of history for Argentina rugby.” —Reuters

18

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

S P ORT S

Premier League back in spotlight after Olympics LONDON: After two glorious Olympic weeks when cycling, rowing, athletics, swimming and boxing have captured the public’s imagination, Premier League soccer emerges from the shadows and back into the spotlight this weekend.

For once, in England at least, the trials and tribulations of the big clubs, and their close-season transfer spending sprees have been pushed off the back pages by the exploits of Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Michael Phelps, David Rudisha and the others.

Although it will be the usual frenetic, high-octane business on the field when Manchester City kick off their title defence against newlypromoted Southampton and European champions Chelsea visit Wigan Athletic this weekend, some post-Olympic re-evaluation would do soccer no harm.

Twitter and other social messaging sites have seen thousands posing questions such as: “What can soccer learn from the Olympics?”, and in general the answer is that fans want to see an end to arrogant, spoilt-brat behavior and diving and cheating from players.

They want a return to a far more Olympian sporting sense of fair play and even FIFA president Sepp Blatter agreed during the Games that soccer could learn from other sports - and male players could learn something from their female counterparts now playing the game at a high standard.

Blatter told reporters at Wembley: “Absolutely, we can learn a lot. “There is even a difference between women’s and men’s football. In women’s football simulation practically doesn’t exist. They are not lying down and saying they are injured. They stand up. “We can learn inside our sport and also outside our sport. You can learn something every day.”

Once the Olympic glow has faded, however, all the fans will proba-

bly learn over the next few weeks is what they knew already.

That is that the title will go to either Manchester City or Manchester United, that Chelsea and Arsenal will finish in the top four and that promoted Reading, Southampton and West Ham United will all fight against an

Community Shield at Villa Park on Sunday. They have made only one major signing so far, buying England international midfielder Jack Rodwell, 21, from Everton on Monday for 12 million pounds ($18.82 million).

Talk of Robin van Persie leaving Arsenal for Manchester City

Manchester City’s Argentine striker Carlos Tevez (right) vies for the ball in this file photo. immediate return to the Championship. City, who clinched their first title for 44 years last May with Sergio Aguero’s last-minute winner in their final match against Queens Park Rangers, warmed up for the new season with a 3-2 win over FA Cup winners in the

appears to have waned, with the Dutchman, the League’s top scorer last season with 30 goals, looking more likely to move to Manchester United.

Manager Alex Ferguson has, according to widespread media reports, made a personal interven-

Major EPL deals LONDON: List of major Premier League transfers ahead of the 2012/13 season which starts on Saturday (estimated cost in millions of dollars).

Arsenal IN Santi Cazorla from Malaga - undisclosed Lukas Podolski from Cologne - undisclosed Olivier Giroud from Montpellier - undisclosed OUT Manuel Almunia (Watford) - released Denilson (Sao Paulo) - loan Aston Villa IN Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord) - undisclosed Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar) - free Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord) - undisclosed OUT James Collins (West Ham United) - undisclosed Carlos Cuellar (Sunderland) - free Emile Heskey (free agent) - released Chelsea IN Eden Hazard (Lille) - undisclosed Marko Marin (Werder Bremen) - undisclosed Oscar (Internacional) - undisclosed OUT Jose Bosingwa (free agent) - released Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua) - free Salomon Kalou (Lille) - free Romelu Lukaku (West Brom) - loan Everton IN Steven Pienaar (Tottenham Hotspur) - $7.05 million OUT Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls) - undisclosed Jack Rodwell (Manchester City) - $18.80 million Fulham IN Mladen Petric (Hamburg) - free Sascha Riether (Cologne) - loan Hugo Rodallega (Wigan Athletic) - free OUT Dickson Etuhu (Blackburn Rovers) - undisclosed Andrew Johnson (Queens Park Rangers) free Danny Murphy (Blackburn Rovers) - free Liverpool IN Joe Allen (Swansea City) - undisclosed Fabio Borini (Roma) - undisclosed OUT Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina) - undisclosed Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce) - undisclosed Craig Bellamy (Cardiff City) - free Fabio Aurelio (Gremio) - free Manchester City IN Jack Rodwell (Everton) - $18.80 million OUT Wayne Bridge (Brighton & Hove Albion) loan Owen Hargreaves (released) Vladimir Weiss (Pescara) - undisclosed Manchester United IN Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund) - undisclosed OUT Park Ji-sung (Queens Park Rangers) - undisclosed Fabio da Silva (Queens Park Rangers) - loan Michael Owen (released) Tomasz Kuszczak (Brighton & Hove Albion) free

NEWCASTLE UNITED IN Romain Amalfitano (Reims)- free OUT Leon Best (Blackburn Rovers) - $4.70 million Fraser Forster (Celtic) - undisclosed Danny Guthrie (Reading) - free Peter Lovenkrands (Birmingham) - released Alan Smith (MK Dons) - released QUEENS PARK RANGERS IN Samba Diakite (Nancy) - loan Fabio da Silva (Manchester United) - loan Robert Green (West Ham United) - free Junior Hoilett (unattached) - free Andrew Johnson (Fulham) - free Ryan Nelsen (Tottenham Hotspur) - free Park Ji-sung (Manchester United) - undisclosed OUT Patrick Agyemang (Released) Daniel Gabbidon (Released) Fitz Hall (Released) Paddy Kenny (Leeds United) - undisclosed Daniel Shittu - released READING IN Danny Guthrie (Newcastle) - free Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart) - free Nicky Shorey ( West Bromwich Albion) undisclosed SUNDERLAND IN Carlos Cuellar (Aston Villa) - free OUT Asamoah Gyan (Al-Ain) - undisclosed SWANSEA CITY IN Jose Manuel Flores (Genoa) - $3.15 million Jonathan De Guzman (Villarreal) - loan Michu (Rayo Vallecano) - £3.15 million TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR IN Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim) - undisclosed Jan Vertonghen (Ajax)- undisclosed OUT Ve d ra n Co r l u k a ( Lo k o m o t i v M o s cow ) undisclosed Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev) undisclosed R yan Nelsen (Queens Park Rangers) - free Steven Pienaar (Everton) 7.05 million Louis Saha (Released) WEST BROMWICH ALBION IN Ben Foster (Birmingham City) - undisclosed Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)- loan WEST HAM UNITED IN James Collins (Aston Villa) - undisclosed Mohamed Diame (Wigan Athletic) - free Alou Diarra (Olympique Marseille) - undisclosed Stephen Henderson (Portsmouth) - undisclosed Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers) - free OUT Pablo Barrera (Cruz Azul) - undisclosed Freddie Sears (Colchester) - free WIGAN ATHLETIC IN Ryo Miyaichi (Arsenal) - loan OUT Mohamed Diame (West Ham United)- free Chris Kirkland (Released) Hugo Rodallega (Fulham)- free

tion to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to resolve a matter that has gone on since the end of last season, but whether Van Persie joins Japanese striker Shinji Kagawa at Old Trafford remains to be seen.

Kagawa, 23, moved from German champions Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of 17 million pounds to boost United’s bid to take the title back from City which begins at Everton on Monday.

Arsenal, who finished third last season, have had a busy summer with French forward Oliver Giroud from Montpellier, German striker Lukas Podolski from Cologne and Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla from Malaga all moving to north London.

Wenger hinted that Podolski would make his debut on Saturday against Sunderland, although he is not fully match fit, when Arsenal set out on their campaign to end a seven-year trophy drought.

Chelsea, who won two trophies last season, will be without longterm talisman Didier Drogba after he left for Shanghai Shenhua in China, but have been busy spending 64 million pounds on new players, including exciting Brazilian playmaker Oscar, Belgium striker Eden Hazard and Germany winger Marko Marin. Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich kept faith with Roberto di Matteo after their Champions League success, while Andre Villas-Boas, who was replaced at Chelsea by Di Matteo midway through his first season in March, has a new job, replacing Harry Redknapp as Tottenham Hotspur look to improve on their fourth place last season.

Liverpool, still chasing former glories, have signed Joe Allen from Swansea City for 19 million pounds, and begin life under new manager Brendan Rodgers against West Bromwich Albion, managed by former Liverpool assistant boss Steve Clarke, on Saturday. —Reuters

Preview

Last chance for struggling Zamalek JOHANNESBURG: Zamalek need a victory this weekend and a big favor from fellow Cairo club Al Ahly to have any chance of surviving the CAF Champions League group phase.

Victories for the two Egyptian sides would give Ahly an unassailable eight-point lead in Group B after matchday 4 and bring Zamalek back into contention for second place and the other semi-final spot. Pointless Zamalek host second-place TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo behind closed doors as a result of security concerns whlile Ahly are away to third-place Berekum Chelsea in Ghana.

Mazembe defeated Zamalek 2-0 at home two weeks ago after a series of superb saves from Abdel Wahed Al Sayed kept the match scoreless for 70 minutes while a Walid Soliman brace clinched a 4-1 triumph for Ahly over Chelsea in Cairo.

A hat-trick of victories leaves record six-time African champions Ahly on nine points, Mazembe and Chelsea are separated by goal difference as they have four points each and Zamalek have suffered three consecutive losses. But Egyptian victories in Cairo and Accra would move Zamalek within one point of Mazembe and Chelsea and open up the race to finish runners-up in the so-called ‘Group of Death’.

Benin and Zamalek striker Razak Omotoyossi believes the five-time Champions League title holders are still in contention, but must win their remaining fixtures against Mazembe, Chelsea and Ahly in Cairo.

“I really hope we can win our remaining three fixtures and finish with nine points. We have a chance of qualifying-albeit a slim one,” he told Egyptian reporters.

The clash with four-time African champions Mazembe marks the debut of Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira, who took over when legendar y Hassan Shehata resigned after a row with the club chairman.

Shehata, who led Egypt to an unrivalled three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles between 2006 and 2010, had personality clashes with stars ‘Shikabala’ and ‘Mido’ and his departure was no surprise.

Vieira, 59, has worked across the Middle East for several decades and his greatest achievement was leading outsiders Iraq to the Asian Cup title five years ago.

Zamalek will be missing midfielders Ahmed Hassan (suspended) and Nour Al Sayed (injured) for a game to be handled by Mauritanian officials after Mazembe objected to Tunisians controlling a game involving another North African country.

Mazembe prepared for the match in Zambia after refusing to release five stars from that countryFrancis Kasonde, Stoppila Sunzu, Hichani Himonde, Rainford Kalaba, Given Singuluma-for a midweek friendly in South Korea.

Defending champions Esperance take a five-point advantage over fellow Tunisians Etoile Sahel to Mediterranean resort Sousse for the big Group A showdown while ASO Chlef of Algeria host Sunshine Stars of Nigeria.

While Esperance hope to extend an unbeaten run in the competition to 20 matches spanning two seasons, Etoile and Sunshine have four points each and appear set to battle for second place. —AFP

Mohamed bin Hammam

Bin Hammam: Payments came out of own personal accounts DUBAI: Mohamed bin Hammam said accusations he enriched his family and supporters while president of Asian soccer are politically motivated and that he plans to fight “this clear abuse of power and process at the hand of FIFA.” In a letter to 20 Asian associations, bin Hammam confirmed he made payments to soccer officials and others but said they came out of his own bank accounts and were driven by a desire to help those in need - including Zhang Jilong, the current AFC president who ordered the PriceWaterhouseCoopers audit that instigated the investigation by FIFA’s ethics committee.

“Jilong was one of those who came to me for financial support and I helped him with a significant amount from my personal account,” bin Hammam wrote. “I will leave him to explain the circumstances of this to you if he wishes.”

The 63-year-old Qatari had a lifetime soccer ban overturned in court in July following allegations he bribed Caribbean voters when he challenged Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency.

The accusations in the PWC audit are the subject of separate investigations by the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA, but have been described by Bin Hammam as “a repeat of what FIFA did immediately before I stood against Mr. Blatter in the presidential elections last year.”

“This, of course, is yet another attempt

by Zurich through the infinite tools and power of FIFA to diminish and insult Asia’s name by attacking me directly following the annulment of my previous FIFA ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” bin Hammam wrote.

When contacted by The Associated Press, bin Hammam’s US-based lawyer Eugene Gulland confirmed Tuesday that the letter written on AFC letterhead was authentic.

Bin Hammam’s letter cites the names of five people from Bangladesh, Nepal and Kyrgyzstan whom he says he helped, including two who have since died of cancer, one who had open-heart surgery, another for tuition fees for a FIFA program, and the family of a 16-year-old from Nepal who died while playing soccer. “Let me declare that as a human being with the personal means to help and coming from a culture and society where this is seen as a duty, I am proud of these accusations, and I welcome them,” bin Hammam wrote.

The audit accuses bin Hammam of receiving millions of dollars from individuals linked to AFC contracts and spending tens of thousands on items such as a honeymoon, dental work, haircuts and cash payments for his family. Payments are alleged to have been made to Asian,

African and Caribbean soccer officials, including $250,000 to Jack Warner, the former longtime head of Caribbean soccer.

Tens of thousands of dollars were given to federation presidents and their relatives, the audit claimed, adding that most of it went into their personal bank accounts and none of it was for soccer-related expenses.

According to the audit, Gaurav Thapa, whose father heads the Nepalese federation, received $100,000 while Filipino soccer official Jose Mari Martinez was given $60,000 and had $11,226 in hospital expenses paid. Another $50,000 went to East Timorese soccer official Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, the audit found.

The audit also said that a Bangladesh soccer federation spokesman received $25,000 for tuition expenses and that its general secretary was given $20,000 to cover the cost of cancer treatment.

The head of the Nepal federation has acknowledged his son took a $100,000 loan from bin Hammam while Bangladesh soccer officials also confirmed the payments. But Martinez could not be reached for comment and Lay has refused to discuss the payments.

Bin Hammam seemed offended that the federations had been dragged into his own investigation. “Was it necessary for those who are behind the PWC report to dig the graves of the dead to achieve their political goals? Was it necessary to NOT respect their deaths?” bin Hammam wrote. “Was it necessary to humiliate their children and families in the way I believe that the PWC report has done? Are these our Asian ethics?”

The audit said some commercial rights contracts were no-bid deals that were “considerably undervalued,” and that $14 million in total was paid from several companies to the AFC for the “personal use of its president.”

Bin Hammam also attacked the AFC for hiring former FBI director Louis Freeh’s agency in the probe despite its evidence in the case that was overturned being “heavily criticized in the CAS judgment” for relying on “speculation rather than fact.”

“My legal team has filed an immediate response to the actions of the AFC and FIFA in relation to my latest politically motivated ban,” he wrote. “I will announce further steps very shortly.”

Bin Hammam, who helped Qatar win the right to stage the 2022 World Cup, was AFC president from 2002 until last year.

He is serving a 90-day ban so FIFA independent prosecutor Michael Garcia can examine the audit, ensuring Bin Hammam can’t immediately return to office and denying him a seat at the FIFA executive committee when it next meets in Zurich on Sept. 27-28. —AP

Russian goes from jail to pro soccer in Chile QUILICURA: Fog blankets the grassy soccer field surrounded by chickens and grazing cows as the players of Santiago Morning sprint through a practice game. It’s just another training session in Chile’s second-tier soccer league, but at least one man plays like a child running free in a pasture.

For Maxim Molokoedov, it’s a taste of temporary freedom after almost three years in prison - and a renewed shot at a professional soccer career that seemed to have been cut short. Every evening, the Russian footballer sleeps behind bars. But every morning, Molokoedov walks out of his prison Maxim Molokoedov cell, ready to hit the field wearing the jersey of his professional soccer team. The newest star of Santiago Morning is getting a second shot at life through soccer after he was arrested carrying six kilograms of cocaine that he planned to smuggle to Europe inside children’s books. “I’m so happy, but I know I need to work hard. It’s been three years since I played at this level,” Molokoedov, 24, said in a thick accent, sometimes dropping in Spanish slang that he learned from other inmates. “I have a six-month contract. I’m looking forward, but I’m living a day at a time.” Back home in Russia, Molokoedov had dropped out of school in his native St. Petersburg, but was recruited by second-division soccer team FK Pskov 747 because of his power and agility with a ball.

Traveling from Ecuador on his way to Madrid, and then Moscow in 2010, he was arrested during a stop at the airport in the Chilean capital of Santiago. He was sentenced to three years and one day. Molokoedov said he was stupid, regrets it, and prefers not to talk about it, calling the experience “a bad memory.”

The first days at Santiago’s penitentiary were rough. Molokoedov slept in a crammed cell with four other prisoners, didn’t speak a word of Spanish and missed his family. He put his faith in a wooden rendering of St. Nicholas,

known as the Wonderworker in the Russian Orthodox church.

The miracle came at the rocky prison yard’s pickup games. Inmates began offering him deodorant and a bar of soap to be treated to a few minutes of his dribbling skills and brutal right-footed shot. Word got around about “El Ruso.” It reached Chilean national coach Claudio Borghi, who said Molokoedov was good enough to go pro. It also reached Franklin Lobos, a former Chilean professional player who volunteers at prisons and who vouched for the Russian.

With almost a year still to go on his sentence, Molokoedov does not yet qualify for Sunday passes or the daily passes many inmates get after they complete most of their term. But starting in late July, the warden began letting him leave the prison grounds to play soccer as long he was accompanied by a guard. “It’s an exceptional situation that has to do with Maxim’s sporting abilities,” said Max Laulie, a spokesman for Chile’s prison police.

Such an arrangement would be difficult to imagine in countries with zero tolerance for drugs such as Singapore, Malaysia or Iran, where traffickers often get the death penalty or at least a lengthy prison term. “We’re not trying to defend this practice but the objective behind it, which is rehabilitating people, in this case someone who has a shot at becoming a professional soccer player,” said Laulie. “The prison’s system defends this opportunity to reintegrate him into society. We just hope he does well.” In his debut game, Molokoedov scored two goals against top division team C.D. Palestino. “He’s proving that you can make mistakes, but if life gives you another chance, you have to take it. And if it is through soccer, which is what he loves, then even better yet,” said Santiago Morning Coach Hernan Ibarra.

The coach praised Molokoedov’s control of the ball, his ability to show up unexpectedly behind players and, most of all, his speed. He compares Molokoedov to Luis Figo, the Portuguese right-wing midfielder who was FIFA’s player of the year in 2001 and who played for Spanish rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. —AP

19

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

SPORTS

Preview

Messi, Ronaldo set to renew scoring duel

Juan Carlos Cacho

Toluca beats Pumas to maintain Mexican lead MEXICO CITY: Toluca defeated Pumas 2-1 on Sunday to maintain its winning start to Mexico’s Apertura championship after four rounds of matches.

The win puts Toluca in first place in the league on 12 points, with recently promoted Leon three points behind in second after its 3-0 victory Friday against defending champions Santos Laguna.

In other weekend results, Cruz Azul defeated Puebla 1-0, Chivas and Morelia drew 1-1, Tigres drew 2-2 with Queretaro, America and Atlas finished 11, Pachuca and Tijuana tied 2-2, San Luis and Monterrey drew 1-1 and Atlante won 2-1 against Jaguares. A penalty from Carlos Rodriguez in the 60th minute handed victory to Toluca.

Juan Carlos Cacho fired in the first of the game from a tight angle in the 12th to give Toluca the lead, before Spaniard Luis Garcia swept in the equalizer for Pumas seven minutes before halftime.

On Friday, Juan Gonzalez opened the scoring for Leon in the 31st, with Uruguayan Nelson Maz and Carlos Pena getting the second and third in the last 15 minutes of the game.

Puebla went down to 10 men on Sunday when Jesus Chavez was sent off in the 31st, but Cruz Azul found it difficult to break down the Puebla defense until Argentine Mariano Pavone tapped in with eight minutes left.

Also Sunday, Xavi Baez rescued a point for Chivas in the 80th minute after Morelia took the lead in the 34th through a header from Mauricio

Romero. Chivas Hector Reynoso saw his penalty kick saved in the 40th and Rafael Marquez Lugo was sent off in the 69th for a high tackle.

On Saturday, Brazilian Juninho struck a shot from 30 yards (meters) into the top corner net in the 78th to rescue a point for Tigres.

Lucas Lobos had given Tigres in the lead in the 49th after an error from Queretaro goalkeeper Juan Castillo, before goals from Carlos Bueno and Emmanuel Tapia temporarily gave Queretaro the lead.

Argentine Rubens Sambueza drove a left foot shot from 25 yards (meters) into the top corner of the net to equalize for America. Hugo Rodriguez had headed Atlas into the lead in first half injury time. Pachuca twice came from behind against Tijuana on Saturday. Felix Borja equalized in the 61st after Pablo Aguilar put Tijuana into the lead with a header after 34 minutes and Nery Castillo won the point for his team on his debut with a strike from the edge of the area with two minutes remaining.

Fernando Arce scored Tijuana’s second in the 65th. Also Saturday, San Luis went behind to a 9th minute goal from Humberto Suazo. Luis Rodriguez equalized three minute after halftime.

Monterrey had Argentina Cesar Delgado sent off in the 65th.

On Friday, Chilean striker Esteban Paredes scored two second half goals for Atlante, with Colombian Luis Gabriel Rey’s goal for Jaguares sandwiched between.—AP

BARCELONA: It will be tough for Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo to take their unprecedented scoring duel to even greater heights after last season’s record-breaking performances.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t try.

In the Spanish league alone, Messi scored a record 50 times last season, while Ronaldo almost kept pace with 46 goals, six more than the previous league record that the Portuguese forward established the year before.

“I begin each season with the objective of surpassing what I have done before,” said Messi. “I don’t try to score more goals, I try to improve as a player. I hope I still have margin to continue growing and become a better footballer.” Messi shattered a string of records in 201112.

The 25-year-old Argentina forward scored 73 goals overall in 60 games for Barcelona, breaking the mark of 67 set by Bayern Munich’s Gerd Mueller in 1973 and the prior world club mark of 70 established by Archie Stark of Bethlehem Steel in the American Soccer League in 1925. He became Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer by breaking a 57-year-old club milestone, and equaled a Champions League record with 14 goals.

Ronaldo came close to matching Messi with 60 goals in 55 games in all competitions as he powered Madrid to the Spanish league title and its record point haul (100) and goals scored (121).

“My immediate goals are to work as hard as I can so I can fight with my team for all the titles possible,” said Ronaldo. “I want to keep getting better because it is going to be a long season.”

On Tuesday, the two rivals

SPAIN: This combo of file photos shows soccer coaches Tito Vilanova of FC Barcelona (left) and Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho.—AP and Messi’s teammate Andres Iniesta were named as finalists for the UEFA Best Player in Europe award. Messi has won the award the past three years.

Ronaldo won it in 2008.

For Ronaldo’s coach Jose Mourinho, his fellow countryman should win this time. “My idea is clear, football is a collective sport,” Mourinho said. “Real Madrid won a very important title and won it in spectacular fashion. Those that make the difference on a great champion team are the (best) candidates.”

Messi refused to say if he felt he deserved the award more than Ronaldo. Instead, he said he would like to see it go to a Barcelona player.

“I would like to see the award remain for one more year at Barcelona,” he said. The two scoring aces will soon meet in the Spanish Supercup, to be played between Madrid and

Barcelona over two legs on Aug. 23 and 29, one day before the winner of the award is announced.

And if the battle for individual honors wasn’t enough added motivation, both players ended last season with team and individual disappointments despite their superb scoring campaigns.

While Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, Club World Cup and both the Spanish and European Super Cups, it was dethroned by Madrid in the Spanish league and lost to Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals. Messi missed a penalty in the second leg at home against the eventual champion that would have sent the Catalan club through.

Ronaldo, for his part, had a penalty saved in a loss to Bayern Munich in the other Champions League semifinal. Messi said his

Scunthorpe to play Norwich

UEFA Best Player Award NYON: UEFA says Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta have been nominated alongside Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo for its Best Player award.

Messi won the award last year and had a prolific 2011-12 season, scoring 50 league goals. He was also top scorer in the Champions League for the fourth successive season with a record 14 goals.

His teammate Iniesta enjoyed another

strong season at club and international level. He helped Spain defend its European Championship title at the European Championship, where he was voted player of the tournament.

Ronaldo scored 46 league goals for Real Madrid as it won its first La Liga title in four years. He also scored three times as Portugal captain at Euro 2012.

The winner will be announced on Aug. 30.—AP

League Cup LONDON: Scunthorpe were drawn against Premier League Norwich in the second round of the English League Cup yesterday, a day after knocking Derby out of the tournament in dramatic style.

The third tier club beat Derby on penalties after coming back from 3-0 and then 5-3 down to force extra time with two injury-time goals.

Northampton, who knocked out last season’s runners-up Cardiff, have been drawn at home to Championship club Wolves.

Thirteen Premier League clubs were in the second round draw, with five-time League Cup winners Aston Villa hosting Tranmere. The ties will be played during the week commencing August 27.

Nadal out of US Open NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal withdrew from the US Open yesterday, sidelined by the knee tendinitis that has kept him out of action since his stunning loss at Wimbledon in late June.

The third-ranked Spaniard reached the final at Flushing Meadows each of the past two years, winning the title in 2010 to complete a career Grand Slam, then losing to champion Novak Djokovic in 2011.

“I am very sad to announce that I am not ready to play the US Open in NY. Thanks to my fans for their support and specially, the new yorkers,” Nadal wrote on his Twitter account.

He hasn’t played a match since June 28, when he was upset in the second round at the All England Club by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol. Shortly after that defeat, Nadal canceled a scheduled charity match against Djokovic in Spain, citing tendon problems in his left knee. Nadal has had recurring knee problems in the past.

The 26-year-old Nadal also pulled out of the London Olympics - he won the gold medal at Beijing in 2008, and was supposed to carry Spain’s flag in the opening ceremony this time. He also opted not to play in a hard-court tuneup tournament in Cincinnati. “Rafa has informed us that he

Rafael Nadal of Spain

will not be ready to compete at the U.S. Open this year and has withdrawn from the tournament,” tournament director David Brewer said in a statement issued Wednesday. “We hope to see him back on the court soon and look forward to his return to New York next year.” Play in the two-week tournament begins at Flushing Meadows on Aug. 27.

Nadal’s absence immediately leaves a trio of heavy favorites at the last Grand Slam event of the year: defending champion Djokovic; five-time US Open winner and currently top-ranked Roger Federer; and 2008 US Open runner-up Andy Murray, who won the gold medal in singles at the London Games by beating Federer in the final. Nadal’s withdrawal also raises questions about his future. He owns 11 Grand Slam titles, including seven on the red clay of the French Open, but his hard-charging, hard-hitting style of play takes a toll on his body, particularly his knees.

In 2009, he missed Wimbledon because of aching knees, becoming only the second men’s champion in 35 years to decline to defend his title at the All England Club.

Federer, in contrast, has played in every Grand Slam tournament since the start of 2000, a streak of 51 in a row.—AP

goal is for Barcelona to return to the top of both Spain and Europe.

“I hope so. We’re upset with how we ended last season with the loss to Chelsea and the loss to Real Madrid in Camp Nou,” he said. “Last season is history.

We begin from zero.”

Without any international commitments this summer for Argentina, Messi has enjoyed both a longer than usual vacation and has been able to get in a full preseason under Barcelona’s new head coach Tito Vilanova. “Leo has come back strong,” Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano said about his fellow Argentina teammate. “This season you will see him start in even better shape.”

The Spanish league begins for both teams on Aug. 19 with Real Madrid hosting Valencia and Barcelona hosting Real Sociedad.—AP

English League Cup Second round draw Preston v Crystal Palace Watford v Bradford Swansea v Barnsley Yeovil v West Brom Coventry v Birmingham West Ham v Crewe Doncaster v Hull Carlisle v Ipswich Reading v Peterborough

Benoit Cheyrou

Maradona wants China job BEIJING: Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona has underlined his desire to coach in China after arriving in the country for an eight-day charity trip, local media reported.

The 51-year-old, Argentina’s head coach at the 2010 World Cup, was sacked by United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl last month but appears keen on a job in the Far East.

“I would like to coach in China,” Maradona told a news conference in Beijing, the China Daily reported. “I wish to contribute to the development of China’s youth soccer.”

One of Maradona’s coterie of agents had sounded out the Chinese earlier this year with a view of eventually landing the national team job, the newspaper said.

During his visit, Maradona, who led his country to the 1986 World Cup as a player and is regarded as

one of the game’s greatest ever, will holds talks with Chinese FA boss Wei Di. A controversial figure who has suffered serious health issues and overcome drug addiction, Maradona was fired as Argentina coach after losing 4-0 to Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2010 tournament. Chinese soccer has seen an influx of big-name foreign players and coaches, including Sergio Batista, the man who took over the Argentina job from Maradona, now coach of Shanghai Shenhua. The big-spending Chinese Super League club boast former Chelsea strikers Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, while other clubs have also been splashing the cash.

Shanghai’s rivals Guangzhou Evergrande appointed Italy’s former World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi.—Reuters

Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham Leicester v Burton Burnley v Plymouth QPR v Walsall Stevenage v Southampton Nottingham Forest v Wigan Stoke v Swindon Aston Villa v Tranmere Crawley v Bolton Gillingham v Middlesbrough Northampton v Wolves Everton v Leyton Orient MK Dons v Blackburn Leeds v Oxford Sunderland v Morecambe Norwich v Scunthorpe Ties to be played week commencing August 27.—AFP

Bin Hammam: Payments came out of personal accounts

Maradona wants China job

18

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

Messi, Ronaldo set to renew scoring duel

Page 19

MOSCOW: Russia’s Victor Faizulin (right) falls as he vies for the ball with Abdul Rasack of the Ivory Coast during a friendly football match at Lokomotiv Stadium.—AFP

Capello begins work in Russia with draw Japan held 1-1 by Venezuela MOSCOW: Russia’s newly-appointed Italian manager Fabio Capello saw his team record a 1-1 draw in a friendly against Ivory Coast in his debut match here yesterday.

CSKA Moscow midfielder Alan Dzagoev scored for Russia, while St Etienne’s Max Gradel was on target for the visitors to record a draw in the two teams’ first ever head-to-head meeting.

“It was a very uneasy match as Ivory Coast team have a set of very strong players in their line-up,” Capello said. “I’m really pleased with the Russian team’s performance. I knew the team is strong but today I’ve got more proof of that.

“I had a precious opportunity to test young players against strong rivals. Some of them made a debut performance today and I’m glad that now they have a chance for further development.”

Russia took to the pitch at Moscow’s Lokomotiv arena without forward Andrei Arshavin but looked more confident and began testing an Ivory Coast

defence marshalled by ‘keeper Daniel Yeboah from the start. Roman Pavlyuchenko had a chance to put Russia in front in the 11th minute but his powerful 22-metre free-kick was confidently stopped by Yeboah.

After the 20th minute the guests, who looked physically much stronger than the hosts, grabbed the initiative and replied with a series of attacks down the right sparked by Gradel and Kader Keita but to no immediate avail.

Ivorian skipper Didier Drogba was also awarded a mid-range free-kick in the 22nd minute but his shot went just inches wide off the right post.

Russia took the initiative back after the halfhour mark, pinning the visitors back, but failed to create any serious threat before the break.

After the interval Russia still looked in command and in the 55th minute Dzagoev lifted the hosts 1-0 up, firing the ball into the left corner of Yeboah’s net with a well-struck 25-metre freekick.

The Ivorians poured onto the attack seeking an equaliser and in the 68th minute Manchester City midfielder Abdul Razack had a clear chance, but his powerful shot from just outside the six-yard box came back off the woodwork.

But in the 77th minute Gradel levelled, sending home a rebound with a close-range header after his initial 12-metre header hit the crossbar. Chances fell to both sides in the closing stages but neither was able to conjure a winner.

“It was an excellent opportunity to evaluate my players’ conditions,” said Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi. “We are currently at the very early stage of preparations but in general our team’s level is very good. Today’s encounter was a very good test for my players.”

Meanwhile, Asian soccer champions Japan were held 1-1 by Venezuela yesterday in the first of two warm-up matches before the resumption of the final round of regional World Cup qualifiers.

Yasuhito Endo put the Blue Samurai in front in the 14th minute at a sellout Sapporo Dome, sweeping home after a dazzling run down the right from Yuichi Komano.

Spain-based striker Miku pegged Japan back, twisting while on the ground to deftly poke the loose ball past goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima with the outside of his right boot.

“First half, (we) got early goal but should have capitalised on that, taken more chances,” Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni told reporters. “In the second half we created a few chances but I thought our pace dropped off a bit.”

Keisuke Honda, sporting a new-look blond mohican haircut, could have put Japan 2-0 up well before the halftime whistle, only for his left-foot drive to thump off the post.

Manchester United’s pre-season signing Shinji Kagawa flashed a header just past the post on the hour mark. It proved costly as Miku struck

Venus battles to defeat Kirilenko MASON: Venus Williams showed almost a year after her health scare that she has the stamina needed as she battled for two hours 23 minutes to beat Russia’s Maria Kirilenko 6-3 6-7 6-2 at the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday.

Sister Serena, fresh from her Olympic gold medal success in London, ground out a 6-3 6-4 win over determined Greek Eleni Daniilidou.

Venus served for the match twice in the second set, when up 5-4 and 6-5, but Kirilenko, the 12th seed, fought well to push the first-round contest into a third set.

The American was on top throughout the decider, though, showing no signs of the physical ailments which cut short her campaign in the US Open last year.

The seven-times grand slam singles champion pulled out of last year’s US Open citing an auto-immune disease, Sjogren’s Syndrome, which causes fatigue and joint pain.

“I’m doing a lot better than this time last year,” Williams told reporters. “So much better. So much better than a couple months of ago as well. I also am learning to deal with everything a lot better.

“If I wake up and I don’t feel great, then I would panic and lose my match 2-1. I had a few 2-1’s this year, too, but I had to take those losses in order learn and get better.

“Now I realise that I just kind of hang in there if I’m not having the best day and still try to get the win.” Williams had to skip the Australian Open in January and her comeback did not begin in earnest

MASON: Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic serves against Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan during day four of the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center.—AFP until she reached the quarter-finals at Miami in March.

Not that Williams is out of the woods yet. She continues to work with her medical team to reduce the impact of the disease. “I’m trying different things all the time,” she said. “Nothing can prevent bad days, but the bad days aren’t as bad as they used to be.

“It’s a work in progress. My main goal is

to be 100 percent, but it’s not like it goes away. It’s still in my body trying to fight against me, but I’m fighting it as well.”

Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova fought back in the second set, surviving match point, to beat China’s Zheng Jie 2-6 7-6 63 and will next face Italian Sara Errani.

Australian world number six Samantha Stosur survived a scare against Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues before winning

6-3 6-7 6-4. Stosur had to come back from 0-4 down in the third and did so by winning six straight games.

“I kind of let myself down with some hitting errors too early and got in that big hole,” she said. “I thought, I can still regroup and close that gap just a little bit.

If you can do that, then you never know what can happen. I got on a roll and managed to squeeze it out.”—Reuters

moments later. Kagawa also contrived to miss an open goal in the 75th minute, his shot looping up against the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.

“We were at home and had lots of chances to score so I feel deeply sorry we didn’t manage to win,” said Kagawa. “It’s really disappointing. We’ll put it right for the World Cup qualifiers.” Honda praised Venezuela, who finished fourth at last year’s Copa America.

“They’re a tough side,” said a bare-chested Honda. “They put us under a lot of pressure and didn’t let us play our game. We will have to increase our work rate.”

Japan meet the United Arab Emirates early next month in their final tune-up for a World Cup qualifier against Iraq on Sept. 11.

They overpowered Oman 3-0 and Jordan 6-0 at home before being held 1-1 in Australia in June in their first three games in the final round of Asian 2014 World Cup qualifiers.—Reuters

United, Arsenal reach deal on Van Persie sale MANCHESTER: Manchester United is set to complete the signing of Robin van Persie from Arsenal yesterday after the Premier League rivals reached an agreement over the sale of the Netherlands striker. Both clubs released statements on their websites yesterday saying personal terms still needed to be agreed and that a deal was subject to a medical examination. No financial details were disclosed by either United or Arsenal, although British media has reported that the London club wanted 20 million pounds ($31.3 million) for its captain, who has one year left on his contract.

“Arsenal Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for the transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United,” the Arsenal statement said. “Van Persie will travel to Manchester today in order to agree personal terms and complete a medical ahead of the proposed move.”

The Dutchman, who joined from Feyenoord in 2004, was the Premier League’s top scorer last season with 30 goals. But he refused to sign a new contract with Arsenal, saying he wasn’t happy with the direction the club was heading.

Arsenal hasn’t won a trophy since 2005 and has been unable to keep hold of its leading players in recent seasons, with midfielders Cesc Fabregas joining Barcelona and no fewer than four players have left for Premier League champion Manchester City - Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Gael Clichy - since 2009.

If United complete the signing of Van Persie, he will join a star-studded strikeforce that already includes England internationals Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, Mexico forward Javier Hernandez and former Bulgaria international Dimitar Berbatov. Berbatov would be the player likely to make way for Van Persie.

Since announcing on his personal website last month that he wouldn’t be signing a new contract with Arsenal, the 29-year-old Van Persie has also been linked with City and Juventus. But United has emerged in the past two weeks as the club most likely to come forward with a bid.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has already planned for a future without Van Persie by signing France striker Olivier Giroud and Germany forward Lukas Podolski in the close season.—AP

Drake Q2 profit slumps to one-week low, misses view Page 22

Greek PM to meet Juncker, Merkel, Hollande next week Page 23

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

India PM urges steps to boost economy

Target’s Q2 income remains stagnant Page 24

Page 25

SYDNEY: This photo taken on August 7, 2012 shows a customer (L) withdrawing money from a Commonwealth Bank automatic teller machine (ATM) in Sydney. Australia’s biggest banking group, the Commonwealth Bank, yesterday posted a record full-year net profit despite subdued revenue growth with customers cautious about global instability. — AFP

Stocks steady on stimulus uncertainty Oil climbs partly on growing Middle East tension NEW YORK: Global shares held near their highest level since May yesterday on hopes of more central bank stimulus for struggling economies, but uncertainty about the extent and timing of any moves hurt the euro and safe-haven US and German government bonds.

Oil prices in London clung near threemonth peaks, partly on worries about supply disruption stemming from Mideast tension, while weaker-than-expected US economic data pushed gold back above $1,600 an ounce.

Financial markets have been riding high in recent weeks on hopes that European Central Bank plans expected to be detailed in September can put a floor under Spain and Italy’s debt troubles and prevent the euro zone from unraveling. Traders have also raised bets the US Federal Reserve

would embark on a third round of largescale bond purchases, known as QE3, perhaps as soon as its next policy meeting in September.

While recent weak economic data in Europe and Asia supported the view that more monetary stimulus is needed to avert a global recession, surprisingly strong July figures on US employment and retail sales caused some traders to reconsider that QE3 might not happen until after September.

“While one or two data points alone will not meaningfully alter the outlook for Fed monetary policy, additional upside surprises to US data over the coming weeks would indeed see investors scale back expectations for additional Fed easing,” said Omer Esiner, chief analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in

Washington.

Among the latest evidence the US economy is not as weak as previously feared were a 0.6 percent increase in industrial output in July and a rise in a gauge of home builder confidence, which hit its highest in more than five years.

The data, however, was mitigated by a report from the New York Federal Reserve that showed manufacturing in New York state contracted in the first time in 10 months. Investors took solace for now that a sluggish US economy would not result in severe deterioration in consumer demand and corporate profits, maintaining some appetite for equities.

In late-morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 8.50 points, or 0.06 percent, at 13,163.64. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 0.81 points, or

0.06 percent, at 1,404.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 10.69 points, or 0.35 percent, at 3,027.67.

Top European shares were down 0.03 percent at 1,101.68 points, while the global MSCI index was down 0.13 percent at 322.60. Uncertainty over the timing of more central bank stimulus spurred selling in US Treasuries and German Bunds.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose to 1.786 percent, the highest level since May 22, according to Reuters data. The 10year yield broke above its 100-day moving average on Tuesday, a move that portended yields might rise further. German Bund futures fell 99 basis points to 141.44, the lowest level since July 3.

Higher US bond yields helped boost the dollar against the yen. The greenback was last up 0.18 percent at 78.86 yen. In line

with the sell-off in stocks and lingering concerns about Europe’s economy, the euro was down 0.31 percent at $1.2284.

In commodities trading, tensions in the Middle East and supply concerns pushed up oil prices, with worries that Israel could launch an attack on Iran in the coming months.

US inventories of crude oil measured by the Energy Information Administration dropped 3.7 million barrels, bigger than a forecast drop of 1.7 million, which pointed to tight supply on either side of the Atlantic.

Brent crude futures rose 88 cents at $114.91 a barrel, while US oil futures were up 39 cents at $93.82 a barrel. Gold rose 0.44 percent at $1,605.30 an ounce after dipping to a near two -week low on Tuesday.— Reuters

StanChart works on joint deal with US agencies LONDON: Standard Chartered is pursuing a collective settlement with other US authorities after speedily agreeing to pay $340 million to New York’s financial regulator, who broke ranks with early revelations that the bank hid banned Iranian transactions.

Chief Executive Peter Sands, who cut short his holiday in Canada last week to deal with the affair, remains in the United States as the bank continues talks with other agencies to agree a comprehensive deal that removes lingering uncertainty.

“Negotiations are going on between the other agencies, and we are talking to them. It is safe to assume there will now be a collective agreement,” the spokesman said, declining to put a timeframe on the process.

Shares in Standard Chartered were up 4.2 percent at 1,427 pence at 0945 GMT, still 9 percent below their value prior to accusations being made against the bank on Aug. 6 by New York’s Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky.

Lawsky said Standard Chartered had hidden Iran-linked transactions with a total value

of $250 billion and called it a “rogue institution” for breaking US sanctions. That prompted a robust defence from Sands against what he called Lawsky’s “disproportionate” allegations, but the bank’s shares lost over 30 percent of their value in 24 hours, ramping up the pressure on Standard Chartered to strike a deal.

“I think Standard Chartered wanted to settle because the share price had become destabilised,” said one of the bank’s 30 biggest investors. “Prior to that, I think they believed they had good legal grounds to resist a settlement of say under $200 million on the basis of the history of these cases.”

The affair also took on a political dimension, with some British members of parliament suggesting it was part of a US effort to undermine London as a financial centre.

Lawsky drew criticism from other regulators for jumping ahead of a two-year probe into the bank by the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the Justice Department and New York prosecutors.

Britain’s finance minister George Osborne

made a series of phone calls to his US counterpart last week expressing concern at the way details of the case came out. Sands flew to New York on Sunday to take personal control of the negotiations ahead of a planned hearing with New York on Wednesday which has now been adjourned pending formal completion of the settlement.

Monday’s settlement offered some relief to shareholders, but investors were quick to point out that Standard Chartered still had some way to go before closing the most regrettable chapter in its history.

“Don’t forget about the other half of the fine - they haven’t settled with the DoJ/OFAC yet,” another of the bank’s biggest 30 investors told Reuters, estimating a second financial hit of around the same size.

Shareholders remain broadly supportive of Sands. “I don’t think Peter Sands’s reputation has been damaged much by the affair. The fact that his robust defence doesn’t quite gel with the size of the fine would be the only real concern,” said one of the bank’s biggest 40 shareholders. —Reuters

HONG KONG: This file photo taken on March 2, 2011 shows a man walking past advertising for Standard Chartered bank in Hong Kong. Standard Chartered yesterday settled allegations that it helped Iranian clients dodge US sanctions, announcing a fine of $340 million from a New York banking watchdog. — AFP

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

BUSINESS

Drake Q2 profit slumps to one-week low, misses view Gulf markets muted DUBAI: Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International slumped to a one-week low yesterday after it posted disappointing second-quarter numbers that missed forecasts, but trading on most regional markets were muted ahead of the Eid holidays.

Drake shares dropped 1.9 percent to its lowest since Aug 7. The stock, which has gained 24 percent year-to-date, accounted for nearly half the shares traded on the emirate’s bourse.

The contractor blamed high acquisition funding costs and contract provisioning for the drop in earnings. Developer Deyaar also slipped 0.6 percent, after it reported a marginal increase in profits aided by a sharp drop in expenses.

However, Dubai’s top real estate firm Emaar Properties reversed losses in early trade and climbed 0.3 percent, partly offseting declines on other property-related stocks. Emaar said on Tuesday that revenue from apartment sales more than doubled in the second quarter offseting a drop in sales of commercial units and villas.

“We are seeing some slowdown ahead of the Eid holiday but the UAE has had a decent rally, with prices adjusted upwards on Q2 numbers,” said Julian Bruce, EFG-Hermes’ director of institutional equity sales.

“We’ve some misses, most notably Arabtec and now Drake, so we could see some consolidation going forward before we look for the next leg-up.” Property stocks in Dubai have rallied recently following positive second-quarter earn-

ings and hope that the near four-year real estate market slump is ending.

Telecoms firm Du also gained 1.1 percent.

Dubai’s index edged up ending 0.09 percent higher. Trade was also muted on Abu Dhabi’s bourse, which ended 0.1 percent up. Gulf Arab markets are seeing a slowdown in trading as the region heads into the long Eid holiday starting this weekend.

Saudi Arabia’s bourse broke through the psychologically-important 7,000-point mark on the final trading session before the Eid break, led by food stocks. “Some declines were expected today as it’s the last day of trading. However, the market is around the bottom and there’s not much profit-taking,” said Hesham Tuffaha, head of asset management at Bakheet Investment Group. The agricultural and food index advanced 3.2 percent, led by dairy and food producer Almarai Co, which jumped 10 pct in its largest one-day gain in more than two years. The dairy firm closes at its highest level since June 18.

Saudi Fisheries Co gained 1 percent, with Halwani Brothers Co rising 1.9 percent. Banks also performed well, with Bank Al Bilad climbing 3.3 percent to its highest finish since April 22.

SABB and Banque Saudi Fransi gained 1.5 and 0.9 percent respectively.

However, Bank Al Jazira dropped 0.7 percent, trimming its August rise to 13.4 percent. The index closed 0.5 percent higher at 7,004 points.

Egypt’s index continued its advance for a fourth

consecutive session, adding 0.2 percent. The North African country will discuss the possibility of a bigger-than-expected $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund when a delegation from the Washington-based body visits Cairo this month, its finance minister said.

YESTERDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS EGYPT The measure gained 0.2 percent to 5,120 points.

SAUDI ARABIA The index climbed 0.5 percent to 7,004 points.

DUBAI The index edged up 0.09 percent to 1,579 points.

ABU DHABI The index rose 0.1 percent to 2,557 points.

KUWAIT The measure added 0.2 percent to 5,713 points.

OMAN The index gained 0.2 percent to 5,509 points.

BAHRAIN The measure added 0.3 percent to 1,080 points.

QATAR The benchmark rose 0.03 percent to 8,421 points.

—Reuters

US homebuilder confidence at 5-year-high in August LOS ANGELES: US homebuilders grew more confident in the housing recovery in August, as many reported that prospects for sales are the best they’ve been since the home bubble burst five years ago.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released yesterday rose two points this month to 37, up from 35 in July. That’s the highest reading since March 2007.

The index, which is based on responses from 478 builders, has been trending higher since October and only dipped once since January suggesting a turnaround in housing is solidifying after years of stagnation.

Any reading below 50 indicates negative sen-

timent about the housing market. The index hasn’t reached that level since April 2006, the peak of the housing boom. Homebuilders have mostly enjoyed improved sales trends this year, aided by low mortgage rates and a decline in the inventory of unsold homes. The pace of foreclosures slowed sharply last year, and banks appear to be holding back from flooding the market with foreclosed properties.

As confidence has increased, so has construction. Builders broke ground in June on the most new homes and apartments in nearly four years.

And permits to build single-family homes rose to the highest level since March 2010.

Consumers also appear more upbeat about the housing market and are investing more in

LISBON: A man talking on the phone looks at the departure information board announcing canceled trains during a train drivers strike at Lisbon’s Santa Apolonia station yesterday.

Portuguese train drivers are striking to protest against economic austerity measures taken by the Portuguese government due to a euro 78 billion ($96 billion) bailout needed in 2011. The words on the right side of the board read in Portuguese “Canceled”. — AP

their homes. Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, said healthy sales of paint, bathroom accessories and kitchen installations helped lift its net income in the second quarter by 12 percent.

Many economists believe that housing construction could contribute to overall economic growth this year for the first time since 2005.

“While there is still much room for improvement, we have come a long way from the depths of the recession and the outlook appears to be brightening,” said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. In August, builders reported seeing the best sales level since February 2007, according to a separate measure in the NAHB survey. Their outlook for sales in the next six months is at the highest level since March 2007. Turnout by prospective buyers, meanwhile, returned to levels not seen since May 2006.

Still, the recovery has been subject to fits and starts. Sales of new homes fell 8.4 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 350,000 - the biggest decline since February 2011. That was down from a two-year high of 382,000 in May. Sales remain well below the 700,000 annual rate that economists equate with healthy markets.And the housing recovery could stumble further if economic growth and employment stay weak. From April through June, employers added an average of only 73,000 jobs. And the economy grew at a tepid 1.5 percent annual rate in the second quarter.

Hiring appeared to recover somewhat in July.

Employers added 163,000 jobs, the most since February. Still, the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June.

Though new homes represent less than 20 percent of the housing sales market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to the NAHB’s data.— AP

EUSTON: A Virgin train stands on a platform at Euston station in London, yesterday.

Virgin Trains will lose its franchise to operate the busy London to Scotland west coast route after being outbid by a rival. Virgin was joined by unions in claiming yesterday that First Group had bid too much and would be forced to jack up fares and reduce the quality of service. —AP

UAE’s Deyaar posts small Q2 profit rise DUBAI: Property developer Deyaar yesterday reported a marginal increase in quarterly net profit as it slashed costs to offset a sharp drop in revenues following Dubai’s property market collapse.

Deyaar, the emirate’s second largest developer by market value, made a net profit of 18.6 million dirhams ($5 million) for the quarter, compared with 18.1 million dirhams made during the same period in 2011, it said in a statement on the Dubai bourse.

However, revenue for the quarter more than halved to 143.3 million dirhams from 334.3 million dirhams in the prior-year period. The company

reduced direct costs in the quarter to 82.9 million dirhams from 328 million dirhams.

Deyaar, badly hit by Dubai’s property bust, continues to reel under the impact of the global financial crisis. The company plans to focus on completing existing real estate projects. The developer said it delivered two projects in the second quarter and will hand over two more projects during this year.

Property firms in the emirate have fared better in the second quarter this year with Emaar Properties and Union Properties reporting an increase in profits. — Reuters

Air Berlin to sell planes as finances crumble FRANKFURT: Air Berlin is to sell eight planes to improve its deteriorating finances and help cut debt by 300 million euros ($370 million) by the year-end, it said yesterday. “Cutting debt is our clear aim for 2012,” Germany’s second-biggest airline after Lufthansa said, adding that it expected to improve its performance in 2012 with 230 million euros in savings from a cost-cutting programme.

It also still aims to return to an operating profit in 2013, Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn confirmed. Air Berlin, which has not posted a full-year operating profit since 2007, has already cut seats, unprofitable routes and postponed plane orders to reduce costs and shrink its way back to profitability after racking up debts to expand.

Despite that, net debt barely changed in the first half, standing at 812 million euros at end-June. Loans from Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad Air ways, which last year bought a 29 percent stake, accounted for about 163 million euros of the debt.

Air Berlin has reduced its fleet to 152 aircraft by the end of June from 165 a year earlier. According to its website, it owns 26 of its aircraft with the rest leased. It said yesterday it was in talks with potential buyers for the eight planes and expected the sale by the end of this year to result in a profit, improving its debt to equity ratio and liquidity position.

Last week it reported a rise in its second-quarter net loss to 66.2 million euros

and said shareholder equity, or net worth, had plummeted by two thirds to 101 million euros as at the end of June.

DZ Bank analyst Robert Czerwensky said the plan to improve the debt to equity ratio made sense but the shares remained a “sell” in his view based on its weak financial profile.

Air Berlin’s share price has lost almost a quarter of its value this year amid concern over its finances. Of 11 analysts covering Air Berlin, according to Reuters data, 10 have a “sell” or “strong sell” recommendation. Its shares were down 1.2 percent at 1.906 euros by 1158 GMT. Adding to Air Berlin’s woes, passenger numbers fell 5.9 percent in the busy summer travel month of July, as demand fell faster than it could cut capacity.

Management declined yesterday to provide more detail on bookings for August and the third quarter.

It has also been hampered by delays to Berlin’s new airport, which should replace the Schoenefeld and Tegel airports that date from the Cold War and was originally supposed to open in 2011.

The new airport might now not make its latest opening date of March 2013.

Mehdorn described the delays as farcical for a country like Germany, usually known for its efficiency, and said Air Berlin was waiting for a new date.

“We want to be there by next summer, but that’s just our wish. We have to trust that the airport will open as quickly as possible because it’s in their best interests too,” he said. — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

.2740000 .4390000 .3450000 .2870000 .2820000 .2940000 .0040000 .0020000 .0763950 .7442710 .3860000 .0720000 .7296250 .0430000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2812500 .4415060 .3474840 .2893520 .2835180 .0466900 .0421540 .2960020 .0362590 .2258310 .0035800 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0766040 .7463180 .0000000 .0750200 .7308040 .0000000

.2855000 .4340000 .3620000 .2960000 .2920000 .3030000 .0065000 .00350000 .0771600 .7517510 .4060000 .0780000 .7369580 .0510000 .2833500 .4448030 .3500790 .2915120 .2856350 .0470390 .0424690 .2982120 .0365290 .2275170 .0036070 .0051170 .0021330 .0030110 .0034900 .0771750 .7518910 .4007780 .0755800 .7362610 .0068040

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 282.600 2.994

Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

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

5.098 2.145 3.464 6.750 77.045 75.515 751.300 46.565 448.900 2.990 1.550 355.200 290.600 3.200

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 282.600 351.000 445.300 286.700 3.600 5.085 46.503 2.142 3.460 6.718 3.005 751.800 76.970 75.480

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen

SELL DRAFT 301.27 289.20 296.64 350.43 282.25 446.18 3.65

3.580 5.300 2.350 3.650 3.150 77.450 750.000 47.700 399.00 736.000 78.000 75.800

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

3.463 5.072 2.143 3.181 2.996 76.91 751.53 46.49 402.11 734.58 77.94 75.48

SELL CASH 311.000 290.000 298.000 355.000 284.000 450.000 3.630

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Selling Rate 282.600 288.830 443.975 348.970 290.575 748.180 76.920 77.570 75.325 398.365 46.498 2.138 5.081 3.002 3.454 6.702 693.220 4.580 9.060 4.385 3.285 90.285

Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

Bahrain Exchange Company

GOLD 10 Tola

COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka

SELL CASH 300.800 751.680 3.720

SELL DRAFT 299.300 751.680 3.451

287.900 555.100 46.000 47.900 167.800 46.870 353.500 37.140 5.320 0.032 0.161 0.237 3.710 400.540 0.191 93.290 44.600 4.340 232.400 1.831 48.900 734.190 3.080 6.980 78.180 75.470 228.450 36.490 2.692 447.600 43.300 294.000 4.400 9.280 198.263 77.060 283.000 1.380

Sterling Pound US Dollar

1,698.560 TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 445.600 282.600

286.400

228.500 46.552 352.000 36.990 5.070 0.031

400.510 0.190 93.290 3.200 230.900

734.010 2.993 6.740 77.750 75.470 228.450 36.490 2.137 445.600 292.500 4.400 9.180 76.960 282.600

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

BUSINESS

Chrysler rises from ashes with production revolution DETROIT: Three years after its near collapse, US auto maker Chrysler has pulled back into market contention helped not just by snazzy new models but also a revolution on the factory floor.

Hundreds of small changes in production, more than any radical technology, has increased flexibility and output and brought once at-odds workers and management back on the same page, according to employees.

“You wouldn’t believe this plantfour years ago it looked like a dungeon. Now it’s beautiful, clean,” said Robert Figlioli, a tradesman at Chrysler’s Jefferson North plant in Detroit.

Jefferson North is nothing like what it was before Chrysler tanked with the

economy in 2007, eventually requiring a $13 billion government rescue that left it in the hands of Italy’s Fiat after it came out of bankruptcy restructuring.

The specter of workers losing their jobs has also led to an acknowledgment of financial reality, with wages for new employees being half of what they would have been before the crisis.

But today, the plant hums with the feel of a high-tech firm: the aisles are clear and clean and the entrance has a giant poster with the four letters JEEP-one of Chrysler’s brands-and the faces of hundreds of smiling employees.

“The environment is important-to have a house that is clean with nice colors makes a difference,” said Chrysler official Scott Tolmie. “We want that Apple store look-it makes people

want to work here.” Scott is one of those responsible for Chrysler’s WCM Academy-for World Class Manufacturing-that was launched in January to implement Fiat’s three-year-old approach to modern car-making.

It is inspired by Toyota’s renowned hyper-efficient “just in time” production method, which aims to maximize efficiencies of parts supply and delivery and capitalize on employee input to keep costs lower and quality high.

Posters shouting “I am WCM” decorate the pillars around the factory, which turns out the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango SUVs. For workers, WCM means new tasks, like keeping their work stations clean

and machinery painted in like-new condition. “It actually helps the operator — you’re working with pride. In the long run the pride is going to show,” said Figlioli who is the vice president of the United Auto Workers union local and has worked at Chrysler for two decades.

It represents a broader change in the working environment, he said.

People are coming to work with better attitudes: they have more say on the job, there is more focus on workplace safety. In return, management is more willing to listen to and implement worker ideas, said Figlioli.

WCM, which Fiat says has saved the group hundreds of millions of dollars over the first half of the year, is not about technology and automation.

The role of workers is the focus.

The academy trains them to use equipment and studies how they work to boost efficiency in movement. “In the 1980s the trend was to have unmanned factories. That didn’t work,” said Chrysler spokesman Gualberto Ranieri.

The revival and changes have meant sacrifices for the workforce, however-new workers earn half the wages of pre-crisis levels, but Figlioli says it has been necessary.

“The majority of the personnel has accepted this change,” he said. “We were coming out of a bankruptcy. If we wanted our job, we had to make a change. The people in this plant know that if they don’t perform, their plant can close.” — AFP

Greek PM to meet Juncker, Merkel, Hollande next week Samaras to ask for more time to reduce deficit

NEW YORK: Specialists Thomas Bishop, left, and Michael Pistillo work at their post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. Stocks are edging higher on Wall Street following more signs that the US economic recovery is advancing, albeit at a slow pace. — AP

Wall Street fades in late trade, bonds fall NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks ended little changed after early gains supported by stronger-than-expected US retail sales numbers faded, while oil prices rose on tepid growth data in Europe that underpinned hopes for fresh monetary stimulus.

A rise in US retail sales in July, the first increase in four months, added to uncertainty in the bond market over whether growth has slowed to the point at which the US Federal Reserve is likely to launch a new round of stimulus when it meets next month. Treasury prices fell.

Prices of German government bonds also fell after data showed that France and Germany, the euro zone’s two biggest economies, had withstood a contraction in the currency bloc in the second quarter. The US retail sales data propelled gains in the dollar against the yen and pushed down the price of gold.

Analysts have expected equities would struggle to move higher from current levels on low volume as traders hope for new easing measures from US and European central bankers. “There was a bit of a late skid into the close. It could simply be some profit-taking. We have had a good rally,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati.

The S&P 500 is within a stone’s throw of new four-year highs, leaving investors looking for new catalysts to move the market higher. Traders reckon the latest batch of weak data from Europe would pressure the European Central Bank, the Fed or both to act.

The economy of the 17-nation euro zone contracted by 0.2 percent in the second quarter, although Germany eked out growth of 0.3 percent. But even there, a forward-looking sentiment indicator pointed to poorer performance ahead.

The latest European data kept alive expectations for stimulus, without unnerving investors who are looking for clues on whether the Fed, the European Central Bank or both will help their economies with more bond purchases.

The euro zone data followed worrying Chinese trade figures on Friday and Monday’s report showing a slowdown in growth in Japan. Both lent support to the view that central banks will be forced to act as early as next month to boost flagging global growth.

In the United States, the retail sales gains for July, which at 0.8 percent marked the biggest increase since February, followed other data on housing and jobs that have raised hopes that an earlier economic slowdown may prove to be temporary.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index hit its

highest level since May 1. The S&P has risen for seven of the last eight sessions, with concerns of risk from Europe’s debt crisis still casting a cloud.

“Today’s data are supportive of the stock market. That’s a healthy development,” said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Boston. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 2.71 points, or 0.02 percent, at 13,172.14. The S&P 500 Index ended down 0.18 point, or 0.01 percent, at 1,403.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished down 5.54 points, or 0.18 percent, at 3,016.98.

Top European shares ended up 0.66 percent at 1,101.97 points, after taking their biggest tumble in a week on Monday. The global MSCI index rose 0.15 percent to 323.01 points.

Oil prices climbed as the weak European economic data was slightly less gloomy than anticipated, and ahead of a U.S. report expected to show a drop in oil stocks.

Brent crude settled 43 cents, or 0.38 percent, higher at $114.03 a barrel after flirting with its highest level since early May, while U.S. crude settled up 70 cents, or 0.75 percent, at $93.43 a barrel.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries and German Bund prices fell as traders reduced their safe-haven holdings in the wake of the less-dire growth data on German and France.

“I don’t expect the Fed will be doing anything for at least a month and the same for the ECB,” Ameriprise’s Joy said.

German Bund futures were down 77 basis points at 142.41, within striking distance of a one-month low set last week.

Benchmark US 10-year notes were down 18/32 in price at 99-2/32 with the yield at 1.727 percent, up 6 basis points.

Earlier, the 10-year yield was close to its 100-day moving average of 1.7443 percent, which is a technical indicator that US yields might head higher.

“As sentiment improved during the past couple of weeks, the demand for bonds as a perceived safe haven has diminished, and the bond market has started to decline,” said chief macro strategist Gary Thayer at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis, Missouri. In the currency market, the July improvement in US retail sales helped boost the dollar against the Japanese yen. It was up 0.55 percent at 78.74 yen.

The euro was down 0.07 percent at $1.2323. In precious metal trading, gold fell 0.65 percent to its lowest level in over a week. It fell for a second straight day, last trading at $1,598.49 an ounce, with investors staying cautious while they wait to hear more from central banks.—Reuters

ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will next week have his first meetings with euro zone leaders since taking office, striving to assure them he will honour a pledge for more austerity and gauging whether they could grant him more time to pull it off.

Having recovered from eye surgery that has prevented him travelling since June, Samaras will fly to Berlin and Paris to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande. Earlier in the week, he will meet euro zone chief JeanClaude Juncker, a Greek government source said.

“The dates are not official yet, they will be announced soon,” said the official on condition of anonymity. Samaras will insist he can ram through an austerity package worth about 11.5 billion euros ($14.2 billion) — a key condition to continue receiving EU/IMF bailout funds and avoid default and a possible exit from the currency club.

Greece is falling short of the budget cut and reform promises it made in March to obtain a second, 130-billion euro bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. This has led to calls by politicians in its biggest lender, Germany, for the country be ousted from the euro zone.

“Our key priority is to regain our credibility by showing our determination,” the government official said. Greece has yet to nail down the requested austerity package. The bulk of the cuts will come from state salaries and pensions, and up to 40,000 public sector firings, further angering an austerity-weary public that often takes to the streets. The coalition’s two leftist junior partners have also opposed any further cuts.

Samaras is already preparing public opinion for yet more suffering. “We’re all having a difficult time. There will be more hardship,” he said on Monday from his southern Greek home region of Messinia, where he spends the Assumption holiday.

EU officials told Reuters last month that Athens was way off its bailout targets, was unlikely to be able to pay what it owes and further debt restructuring is likely to be necessary if it was not to be abandoned.

In a bid to offer suffering Greeks some hope, Samaras will use his talks next week to raise a long-standing proposal that the measures be spread over four instead of two years, to soften their impact on a Greek economy enduring its longest and deepest recession since World War Two. No formal request will be made but the proposal will be broached as part of exploratory talks, the official said. “The matter of extension is already being debated in Greece and abroad. Its official submission is a different matter”.

A two-year extension to narrow the budget deficit below 3 percent of GDP in 2016 instead of 2014 was a key plank of Samaras’s campaign for the June 17 election that brought him to power as head of a fragile three-party coalition.

Samaras and his junior coalition partners, the Socialist PASOK and the moderate Democratic Left party, adopted the promise under pressure from the radical leftist, antibailout Syriza, which suddenly rose from the political fringe to become the main opposition party.

But Samaras and his finance minister, Yannis Stournaras, put the demand on the back burner after meeting EU/IMF inspectors

in Athens last month, realising that no concessions would be considered until the lenders were convinced of their commitment to austerity - a big task given repeatedly missed targets and broken promises over the past two years.

They must deliver the 11.5 billion euros before the inspectors return in early September to decide whether to release the next loan tranche and draft a key report that will determine whether the country will be supported or abandoned.

An extension would mean Greece’s bailout package may have to be increased by 20-50 billion euros, according to estimates by some euro zone officials and economists, and there is no appetite in the euro zone to give Greece yet more money.

However, European policymakers are already working on “last chance” options to bring Greece’s debts down and keep it in the euro zone, with the ECB and national central banks looking at taking big losses on the value of their bond holdings, euro zone officials have told Reuters.

The latest aim is to reduce Greece’s debts by a further 70-100 billion euros, several senior euro zone officials familiar with the discussions told Reuters, cutting its debts to a more manageable 100 percent of annual economic output. Citing a Greek government document, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Greece put the price tag of a two-year extension at 20 billion euros.

According to the report, Athens hopes to cover that amount without help from its euro zone partners, tapping an existing IMF loan, short-term debt sales and a possible postponement of debt repayments from the first EU/IMF loan it obtained in 2010. — Reuters

UK central bankers tempt to boost bond buying

LOAMI: In this April 2, 2012 photo, Derek Long uses a John Deere tractor to disk and cultivate a field in preparation for planting corn in Loami, Ill. A slowing global economy and the effects of a prolonged US drought caught up to Deere & Co. in its fiscal third quarter, as its net income rose 11 percent but fell well short of Wall Street’s expectations. — AP

Deere Q3 income up NEW YORK: A slowing global economy and the effects of a prolonged US drought caught up to Deere & Co. in its fiscal third quarter, as its net income rose 11 percent but fell well short of Wall Street’s expectations.

Deere cut its revenue prediction for the year, and investors reacted swiftly.

Shares dropped more than 5 percent before the opening bell. The ongoing drought in the Midwest, a stronger dollar and costs to introduce a slew of new products hurt the world’s largest producer of agricultural equipment.

The Moline, Ill., company, said yesterday that it earned $788 million, or $1.98 per share for the quarter ended July 31, compared with $712.3 million, or $1.69 per share for the same period last year.

Analysts expected $2.31 per share in the most recent quarter, according to FactSet. Revenue rose 15 percent to $9.59 billion, missing analysts’ average prediction of $9.61 billion. Sales of tractors and other farm equipment, by far its biggest segment, rose 14 percent to $7.27 billion.

Deere also makes a wide range of con-

struction and forestry equipment, including backhoes and excavators. That segment’s sales jumped 23 percent to $1.66 billion.

Sales from Deere’s financial services segment, where it offers crop insurance, loans and other aid, rose 3 percent to $565 million. Since it touches many important markets, it provides a unique look into the state of the U.S. and global economies. Deere’s earnings have held up better in recent quarters than other U.S. companies that are considered economic bellwethers, such as UPS and 3M. Besides some of its red-hot international markets cooling down and a serious lack of rain shrinking crop yields in the US, Deere says the introduction of a slew of new products reduced the efficiency of its production lines.It expects those factors to continue to hurt its results in the near term. Deere sees net income of $3.1 billion for the year ending in October, down from $3.35 billion forecast three months ago. Analysts estimate about $3.4 billion. In premarket trading, Deere shares fell $4.46, or 5.6 percent, to $75.67. — AP

LONDON: Some Bank of England policymakers were tempted to step up the central bank’s monetary stimulus programme in August, just a month after agreeing to a 50 billion pound increase in asset purchases, minutes of their policy meeting showed yesterday.

The BoE slashed its growth outlook for this year to zero last week and sharply downgraded its medium-term forecast as a result of the euro zone crisis and with the global economic slowdown appearing deeper than previously thought.

However, the labour market has performed much more strongly than the rest of the economy - something that was confirmed by separate data on Wednesday showing a fall in the unemployment rate to its lowest in nearly a year.

“The private sector in Britain is demonstrating that it is remarkably robust even in difficult times,” work and pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith told Sky television after the data. Nonetheless high employment at a time of falling output contributes to Britain’s weak labour productivity, and raises concerns about inflation in the long run - something which lies behind many Monetary Policy Committee members’ concerns about increasing asset purchases too rapidly. Minutes of the Aug. 1-2 MPC meeting showed that all nine members voted to maintain the quantitative easing (QE) - essentially bond buying - target at the 375 billion pound level agreed in July, but for some policymakers this decision was “finely balanced” and there was a good case for more. This view contrasts with the message from the central bank’s governor, Mervyn King, last week. He said there was no urgent need to print more money beyond what it had already announced.

“It was perhaps at this stage a touch surprising that some MPC members thought there was a finely balanced argument as to whether to expand QE,” said Investec economist Philip Shaw. “That’s an acknowledgement that the flow of economic news has been poor, but also it suggests that the door for further asset purchases is well and truly open. Perhaps when the current programme has been completed in November-or there’s an outside chance that the target could be raised before then.”

Sterling rose to a session high against the dollar and the euro, in part because the minutes did not show any discussion of a cut to the BoE’s main interest rate, as well as because of the stronger labour market data.

Britain’s economy shrank at its fastest pace in three years in the three months to June, contracting by 0.7 percent at a time when Germany and France were able to hold output steady or increase it slightly.

The minutes show that the majority of the MPC appeared to share King’s view that there was no need for more stimulus soon.

They wanted more time to assess the impact of the BoE’s new Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) to boost bank credit, which started on Aug. 1, as this could help the economy more than the central bank assumed in its August forecasts. “For most members, the decision this month was relatively straightforward. Over the coming months, the committee could take stock of the impact of the FLS and the implications this had for other potential policy options,” the BoE said.—Reuters

24

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

business Islamic scholars to launch financial literacy test DUBAI: A fledgling industry body of Islamic scholars wants to develop a global code of ethics and a professional development programme for scholars, in order to improve standards in the industry, its president told Reuters.

The plan takes aim at a weakness in Islamic finance which is slowing the industry’s growth.

Boards of scholars at financial institutions rule on whether instruments and activities obey religious principles, but there is no single, commonly recognized set of qualifications for the scholars. This has fostered confusion when scholars’ rulings contradict each other. And because scholars are paid by the institutions whose products they vet, the industry is open to accusations of conflicts of interest. The Malaysian-based Association of Sharia Advisers in Islamic Finance (ASAS), set up in April last year, plans this year to launch a test for the financial literacy of scholars, and ask its members to sign up to a code of ethics; if they break the code, they may be reprimanded by ASAS. Both initiatives will initially apply only to Malaysia but the group aims eventually to extend it around the world, said Malaysianborn ASAS president Aznan Hasan, a scholar who sits on several sharia boards across the globe. “We want to have a programme that can have an impact on the industry,” Hasan said by telephone from Kuala Lumpur.

ASAS, which currently has over 60 members, will offer guidance on issues such as how to appoint sharia boards and address potential conflicts of interest, he said. The financial literacy test will form the basis of an accreditation programme that could start as early as the first quarter of next year, aiming to encourage the professional development of scholars through a points-based system. This would address concerns that some scholars “may be static in terms of their knowledge”, said Hasan. “If we

are not careful, someone who claims to be a scholar could give wrong advice.” ASAS members will be able to earn points towards their accreditation by enrolling in training courses offered by regulatory bodies, private providers or ASAS itself. The body plans to build its membership of scholars on a voluntary basis in the first two years, and then propose that membership becomes compulsory for all scholars in Malaysia from 2015 onwards. Although its initial focus will be Malaysia, it aims eventually to have an international footprint that could encompass all sharia scholars. “We need to lead by example first,” said Hasan, adding that it would be difficult to persuade other countries to join without proof that the system worked. ASAS will offer a venue for discussion and be proactive in shaping the role of scholars in the industry, Hasan added.

Malaysia’s securities commission is also considering the possibility of developing an accreditation programme for Islamic scholars, but this is only at the exploratory stage and could take no less than three years, a source involved in the discussions told Reuters. If ASAS’s accreditation scheme spreads globally, it could help to create more uniformity and consistency among sharia boards’ rulings and in standard-setting for the industry.

Currently, standards set by industry bodies such as the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions are enforced in some countries in full or in part, while others use them as a reference. “Regulations come in many different ways; some are lenient and some are structured,” said Hasan, who among other posts sit on the sharia boards of the Malaysian central bank and of Dar Al Istithmar, the firm which advised Goldman Sachs on its controversial plan, which has still not gone ahead, to issue a $2 billion sukuk.—Reuters

Dutch operator calls off its Belgian mobile business AMSTERDAM: Dutch telecom operator KPN called off the sale of its Belgian mobile business, which it had hoped would raise up to 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion), saying yesterday that the offers it received were too low.

The failure of the auction, which had drawn five non-binding bids from private equity groups, a Belgian cable operator and a media group, means KPN faces tough choices on how to reduce its debt and find money needed for network investment in its home market. KPN ruled out a rights issue and any further cuts in its dividend following a sharp reduction last month, a company spokesman told Reuters. Its shares were down 1.4 percent at 1045 GMT. When Carlos Slim’s America Movil became KPN’s largest shareholder in June, it signalled a preference for the Dutch operator to hold on to its operations in Germany and Belgium.

It was not immediately clear whether America Movil had weighed in to stop the sale of BASE, the smallest of Belgium’s three main operators behind Belgacom and Mobistar. But the investment in KPN and purchase of 23 percent of Telekom Austria in June show how Carlos Slim, who became the world’s richest man via his Latin American telecoms empire, is making a big bet on Europe despite the region’s debt crisis and weak economy.

The BASE sale was intended to buy KPN time for cutting its debt while trying to turn around its business in the Netherlands, where it has been losing mobile clients and struggling with tough competition from cable companies. Analysts estimate that KPN also needs roughly 500 million euros to bid in an upcoming auction of fourth generation mobile licences in the Netherlands.

Sources told Reuters during the sale process that there was a gap between what bidders were offering and KPN’s price expectations. KPN was seeking roughly 5.8-6 times earnings before inter-

est, tax, depreciation and amortisation, implying a price of 1.6-1.7 billion euros.

One person close to the talks said a “fair” price would have been be 1.4-1.5 billion, while a second person said first-round bids were “far below” 6 times EBITDA. Belgium’s media group De Persgroep, cable company Telenet and private equity firms Blackstone, Providence and Cinven all submitted non-binding bids last week, people familiar with the process said.

“Selling BASE only would have been a positive step had KPN managed to get a good price for it,” said Damien Chew, a credit analyst at Fitch Ratings, which has a BBB- with negative outlook rating on KPN. “KPN now needs to consider options to get its leverage under control. It’s not necessarily an issue this year, but will be in 2013 and 2014.”

Analysts said KPN may now consider further cost cuts or slowing network investments to cope with its debt. It is already half way through a programme to cut 4,000-5,000 fulltime employees and has also promised to reduce costs at group headquarters by 30-40 percent by 2013.

“We have drastically cut our dividend three weeks ago, and a further cut is not under consideration,” KPN spokesman Stefan Simons said, adding that a rights issue was also not an option.

KPN had net debt of 12.4 billion euros at the end of June, and its ratio of net debt to operating profit was 2.6. It is aiming for a ratio between 2 and 2.5 but has said it could temporarily exceed this due to investments in the Netherlands.

Fitch’s Chew pointed out that KPN’s leverage ratio was closer to 2.95 once its plan to increase its 41 percent stake in Reggefiber, a company building a fibre broadband network in the Netherlands, was taken into account. Fitch would consider ratings downgrades if debt ratios exceed 3 on a sustained basis, it said in January.

The impasse in the BASE auction may also be a sign that other European telecoms operators such as Telefonica which are seeking to sell assets will not reap top valuations. With few companies stepping in as buyers, private equity funds tend to be the main bidders for such businesses.

ING Credit Research analyst Malin Hedman said the state of the market in Europe made getting attractive valuations difficult. “This is something which may weigh on Telefonica today as that is the name with the most substantial assets disposal program at the moment,” Hedman wrote in a note.

Telefonica plans an initial public offering of its German mobile business later this year, and is weighing a listing of some of its Latin American businesses. It has also been in talks with private equity to sell its Atento call centre business.

If KPN were to find itself in a difficult position with its debt, it’s not clear that Carlos Slim would help with a cash infusion, analysts say. America Movil has built a 28 percent stake in KPN but has said that it doesn’t want to go past 30 percent to avoid having to bid for the whole company, as Dutch law requires.

America Movil’s influence is already being felt at KPN although Slim and his associates are not yet board members. KPN has already begun to pay out less to shareholders, and analysts expect Slim to push the firm to invest more in its networks, in a strategy reversal intended to revive its flagging business. “I don’t think it’s an accident that KPN reduced its dividend and abandoned its plan to exit Belgium just after Slim’s arrival,” said a person close to the BASE talks. “It’s America Movil’s management that is influencing the decisions.” Jos Versteeg, analyst at Dutch private bank Theodoor Gilissen, said Slim’s big ambitions for Europe were now clear. “Slim does not want to sell BASE,” said Versteeg. “He wants to create a European network.”—Reuters

AWB of Egypt reports 20% increase in net profits CAIRO: Al-Watany Bank of Egypt (AWB), the subsidiary of National Bank of Kuwait Group (NBK) in Egypt, reported net profits of EGP 161.4 million for the first half of 2012 compared with EGP 135 million for the same period in 2011, an increase of 20percent year-on-year.

As of end of June 2012, AWB’s total assets reached EGP 17.4 billion, up 5.5percent year-on-year. ROA increased to 1.86percent compared with 1.70percent at the end of June 2011, and ROE increased to 20.1percent from 17.36percent.

Yasser Hassan, AWB Managing Director, said that AWB has once again

proved its ability to post strong profits despite the unfavorable and challenging local and regional situation. AWB’s resilient performance for the first half of 2012 reflects the bank’s strength and solid financial position.

“AWB has been one of the fastest growing banks in Egypt over the past few years and is moving forward with its strategy to strengthen its position in the Egyptian market,” added Hassan.

AWB, a member of NBK Group, was established in 1980 and has a branch network comprised of 41 branches situated at strategic locations within the various Egyptian governorates and cities, including Cairo.

Yasser Hassan

MARLBOROUGH: In this July 28, 2012 photo, shopping carts sit parked outside a Target store in Marlborough, Mass. Target is reporting that net income for the second quarter was unchanged, as the retailer gets ready for its upcoming move into Canada. But the retailer saw solid spending in the quarter and in a sign of confidence, the cheap chic discounter raised its earnings outlook. — AP

Target’s Q2 income remains stagnant NEW YORK: Target’s net income for the second quarter was unchanged as it paves the way for an upcoming move into Canada, but it saw solid spending by customers and the cheap chic discounter raised its outlook for the year.

Like most retailers, Target’s challenge has been luring shoppers into stores during an uncertain economic climate that has them scrutinizing every purchase. While there have been some improvements in the economy, the job and housing market remain shaky. Unemployment is hovering at an uncomfortable 8.3 percent. Target, which sells clothes and trendy decor under the same roof as toothpaste and cereal, has reached out to customers with two growth initiatives. It has been offering a larger selection of foods and also a program it started in 2010, which gives shoppers a 5 percent discount when they pay with Target-branded credit and debit cards.

It has also expanded into urban markets using smaller versions of its bigbox stores. It said yesterday that it was pleased with the performance of its first three City Target locations in Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago. It’s now looking outside the country for growth as well. Target is preparing to move into Canada next year, its first expansion outside the US It will soon begin opening the first of between 125 and 135 stores at store locations once owned by Zellers, Canada’s second-largest discount chain. And the retailer announced last month that it was teaming up with luxury merchant Neiman Marcus to offer a limited collection spanning from fashion to sporting goods for the winter holidays.

More than 50 products from 24 designers, including Oscar de la Renta and Diane von Furstenberg as well as younger designers such as Derek Lam, will be available at both stores and

online starting Dec. 1.

Target posted earnings yesterday of $704 million, or $1.06 per share in the period ended July 30. That compares with $704 million or $1.03 per share, in the year ago period.

Excluding expenses tied to Canada, Target earned $1.12 per share, which easily topped expectations of $1.01 per share on Wall Street, according to FactSet. Overall revenue rose 3.5 percent to $16.45 million in the quarter.

Analysts had expected $16.75 million.

Revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 3.1 percent.The company expects earnings per share in the current quarter to be anywhere from 83 cents to 93 cents.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 77 cents. Target also raised its profit guidance for the year by a nickel to $4.65 to $4.85 per share.

Analysts had been expecting only $4.30 per share. Shares of Target Corp., based in Minneapolis, rose 82 cents to $64.20 in premarket trading. — AP

25

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

BUSINESS

India PM urges steps to boost economy Vows to attract more foreign investment

BEIJING: A silk clothing vendor reads newspaper while waiting for customers at a summer consumer fair in Beijing, yesterday. —AP

Asia markets slip in muted trade HONG KONG: Asian markets fell yesterday despite better-than-expected US and European data, while Standard Chartered bank rebounded after settling claims it helped Iranian firms dodge US sanctions.

With many traders away for summer breaks volume was light and movement limited, while Wall Street offered little guidance with a mixed finish.

Hong Kong fell 1.18 percent, or 239.39 points, to 20,052.29, Tokyo was off 0.05 percent, or 4.84 points, to 8,925.04, and Sydney lost 0.26 percent, or 11 points, to 4,281.2.

Shanghai lost 1.10 percent, or 23.58 points, to 2,118.95. Seoul was closed for a public holiday.

The falls came despite official data showing that US retail sales rose by a better-thanexpected 0.8 percent in July, breaking a three-month losing streak and offering hope of faster growth in the third quarter.

US stocks made early gains Tuesday on the figures but ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.02 percent, the S&P 500 down 0.01 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq down 0.18 percent.

The retail figures may have disappointed some investors who were hoping for further poor data that would spur the US Federal Reserve into new stimulus measures to kickstart growth, analysts said.

The hope of US action, combined with hints from the European Central Bank that it would restart a bond-buying programme to help crisis-hit eurozone countries, has helped drive solid gains in stocks this month.

Meanwhile a poor set of trade and production figures from China last week has raised expectations of fresh monetary easing by Beijing. Despite yesterday’s weak performance, analysts expected market senti-

ment to remain largely positive.

“Investors’ expectations for global central banks to ease remains the supportive factor for equity prices,” Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong, told Dow Jones Newswires. In Europe, second-quarter growth in eurozone heavyweights France and Germany came in better than expected, providing some respite for the under-pressure single currency, official data showed yesterday.

The German economy, the continent’s biggest, grew by 0.3 percent owing to rising exports and solid domestic demand, while the French economy posted zero growth, defying forecasts that it would begin to slide into recession.

The overall picture remained bleak, however. The EU statistics office estimated that economic growth fell by 0.2 percent for the eurozone as a whole in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year.

In Hong Kong, Standard Chartered closed 3.56 percent higher at HK$171.7 after the London-based lender said it would pay a fine of $340 million from a New York banking watchdog.

Its shares surged above 6.5 percent on the news earlier in the day but did not reach their August 6 level of HK$188.10, before the Iran accusations emerged. The “civil penalty” came amid allegations the bank, a household name in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, hid 60,000 transactions with proscribed Iranian clients worth $250 billion over 10 years.

Analysts said the settlement was far from the worst-case scenario for the bank. Some had feared it could lose its New York banking licence, effectively cutting it off from the US market. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday used his Independence Day speech to promise to improve conditions for foreign investment in the country after a sharp downturn in economic growth. India recorded near double-digit expansion over much of the last decade but the economy grew by just 5.3 percent in the January-March quarter, a rate that threatens to stall its transformation since the early 1990s.

Singh said that the government would “leave no stone unturned to encourage investment”, and vowed to increase spending on much-needed infrastructure projects such as roads, railways and the electricity network. “To attract foreign capital, we will have to create confidence at the international level that there are no barriers to investment in India,” Singh said, signaling that further liberalization reforms were in the pipeline. Foreign companies keen to tap into India’s emerging consumer market have poured into the country, but have often struggled to thrive amid government policy U-turns, endemic corruption and red tape. Foreign direct investment into India collapsed by 65 percent year-on-year in the April-June quarter, according to the Reserve Bank of India.

The ruling Congress party is already concerned about general elections due in 2014, and the prime minister has launched a campaign to revive its flagging fortunes since P. Chidambaram was named as finance minister two weeks ago. Singh, delivering the annual Independence Day address at the Red Fort in Delhi, said that “a difficult phase” for the world economy had merged with India’s domestic situation to hinder growth.

“We cannot do much about the conditions that prevail outside our country,” he said. “But we must make every effort to resolve the problems inside our country so that our economic growth (is)... again speeded up.” He added that growth must be obtained while controlling inflation, which is likely to be stoked by this year’s poor monsoon-though the headline rate unexpectedly dropped to

6.87 percent in July from 7.25 percent in June.

Singh, 79, who is expected to step down at the end of his term, repeated his forecast that annual GDP growth would exceed last year’s rate of 6.5 percent, a prediction dismissed by opposition leaders and many independent economists.

Ratings agency Moody’s last week scaled down its growth outlook for Asia’s third largest

ing stability in India. “If we do not increase the pace of the country’s economic growth (and) take steps to encourage new investment in the economy... then it most certainly affects our national security,” he said.

Among moves that have spooked foreign firms was the announcement followed by the sudden withdrawal of reforms allowing retail giants such as Wal-Mart into India, as well as a

NEW DELHI: An Indian family stands next to a street vendor selling adornments with the Indian flag at the India Gate monument in New Delhi yesterday. —AFP economy to 5.5 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2013. The Congress-led government elected in 2009 has struggled to push legislation through parliament due to constant protests by opposition parties and even its coalition partners.

Singh blamed the lack of political consensus for the failure to create rapid economic growth and said that the problem was damag-

retrospective tax bill for Vodafone. The premier’s speech, marking the end of British rule in 1947, also included a vow to provide electricity to all households within five years and proposals for a new law to end the “repulsive practice” of manual removal of human waste.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed the speech as lackluster and uninspiring. —AFP

Thousands of China-made cars recalled in Australia SYDNEY: An Australian importer recalled 23,000 Chinese-made cars after asbestos was found inside engine and exhaust gaskets, the nation’s consumer watchdog said yesterday. Ateco Automotive, which imports the cars made by Great Wall Motor Co and Chery Automobile, ordered dealers to stop selling the affected vehicles and recalled gaskets that were distributed as spare parts, the Australian Competition and

Consumer Commission said in a statement.

“The asbestos is bound into gaskets in the engine and exhaust system and does not present any risk to consumers during use of the vehicle,” the watchdog agency said. “However, consumers should not perform do-it-yourself maintenance that might disturb these gaskets.”

Australia has prohibited the importation of asbestos - a known carcinogen - since

2004. The recall is a blow to Great Wall and Chery, which have been looking to expand their businesses beyond the domestic market.

Customs officers initially detected the asbestos in imported spare parts, which sparked a wider investigation, the consumer commission said. Ateco did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. —AP

Peugeot faces tough fight over plant closure PARIS: When US carmakers slashed production capacity in exchange for government rescue four years ago, workers faced up to change. Though unions bargained hard for existing employees, they agreed to factory closures and cuts in wages and benefits for new hires.

Thousands of workers accepted redundancy payouts and moved on, without a huge outcry.

In Europe it’s different. In July, after workers at French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen learned of company plans to close a plant in the suburbs of Paris, union leader Jean-Pierre Mercier went on the attack. Within hours he was calling for a “shock campaign” to force PSA Chief Executive Philippe Varin to keep the plant open.

“We have the power to make Peugeot back down, to preserve our jobs,” Mercier, head of the hardline CGT union at the factory targeted for closure, told a crowd gathered by its gates. “We are a political bomb, a social bomb, and we intend to detonate.”

The union is planning a long-term campaign of protest, including marches on the company headquarters, to keep the plant open, no matter the cost to the company. Other unions are more intent on extracting hefty redundancy terms for workers.

The battle in Aulnay-sous-Bois may be the first of many across Europe.

European carmakers such as Peugeot, General Motors’ Opel division and Fiat in Italy say they are finally ready to deal with the long-standing problem of overcapacity.

They want to close under-used factories and cut staff. Peugeot is leading the way, with a restructuring plan that includes axeing 8,000 jobs by 2014. The firm has lost 200 million euros ($246 million) a month in the past year and has no other choice, Peugeot executives say.

“We’re indebted and unable to earn as much money as we’re spending,” said Frederic Saint-Geours, in charge of brands at Peugeot. “That’s why we had to take this decision.”

But in Europe, announcing changes and enacting them are very different things. French voters have a history of resisting job losses and carmakers face huge obstacles to restructuring.

President Francois Hollande has brand-

ed Peugeot’s plans “unacceptable”.

Aulnay’s unions are bristling for a fight and its Socialist mayor has ordered Peugeot to find a new industrial employer for the site, threatening to expropriate the factory grounds if it fails. The plant a rare place of worker pride in a region suffering from high unemployment and crime - employs 3,300 full-time workers and uses 7,500 sub-contractors around the region. Local officials say a closure could bring “social disaster”.

“If you grew up around here, it’s impossible not to know somebody who works or has worked at the plant, be it a mother, a father, a brother or a cousin,” said Billel Ouadah, an Aulnay native, local centrist politician and work-site inspector.

“Many of those people will end up with no job and no economic prospects if the plant closes down. And as things stand, we have no clear idea what will come after Peugeot to help them get back on their feet once it’s gone.”

Compared with carmakers’ restructuring in the United States, Peugeot’s plan is relatively modest and its deal for workers generous. The firm says all workers will be offered new jobs of some sort.

Half will be transferred to its factory in Poissy, another Paris suburb. The rest will be kept on-site if Peugeot can lure a new industrial employer to Aulnay, or t ransferred to other factories. Those who choose to leave will receive 1,000 euros for every year they have worked at Peugeot, and help towards job-training.

“Restructuring in Chicago and Detroit was a totally different issue,” said Karl Ostler, a director at FTI Consulting specialising in industrial restructuring.

“Labour laws in Europe, especially France, are far stricter and unions are far stronger.”

However, Peugeot’s offer doesn’t impress many in Seine-Saint-Denis, the area in which Aulnay lies, where unemployment hit 12.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012. In high-rise housing projects like the “Estate of the 3,000” named because it was originally built to house 3,000 worker families from Aulnay - a shutdown would mean closing off the main source of jobs for low-skilled young workers, in a town where highschool dropout rates are twice the national average.

“Closing Aulnay would be a double tragedy,” said Francois Asensi, a Socialist member of parliament for Seine-SaintDenis and mayor of nearby town Tremblay-en-France. “There is PSA’s huge economic weight, of course. But there is also a social disaster because it would remove one of the last real sources of stability in the community.”

A closure would also hurt the town’s finances. Already deep in the red, its debt payments have doubled in the past four years to 90.4 million euros in a budget of 226 million.

“We stand to lose millions,” said Christophe Lopez, an adviser to Aulnay’s Socialist mayor Gerard Segura. He warned the town would lose taxes from the company and from “hundreds of families that can no longer pay and have to rely on social services.”

To counter job losses and lower tax revenue, Aulnay officials hope to attract new manufacturers to Peugeot’s 420acre industrial site, situated between two major highways and close to a commuter rail link to Paris.

Peugeot has not disclosed the value of the land, though council officials estimate it at some 400 million euros. Some officials, including the mayor, have accused Peugeot of holding out on a sale of the property despite interest from several buyers. Sale talks were advancing with several parties including ADP, the firm that owns Paris’ airports, until they broke off abruptly in 2011, said former Aulnay City Hall adviser Damien Baldy.

The possibility that the land could become a major rail hub in the capital’s planned “Great Paris” network may have pushed Peugeot to hold out for more.

“Basically, they seemed to think that they could hold on to the terrain to wait until the (Great Paris) station was completed, and then try to reap a big speculative gain,” said Baldy.

Peugeot, which declined to comment when asked about that claim, has promised to seek new investors for its site. So far, though, the only concrete proposal is for two maintenance centres for the Great Paris network, which are likely to bring far fewer jobs - just dozens, estimate some observers - than the thousands the car plant provides.

Segura, a mayor keen to preserve

Aulnay’s working class heritage - and a left-wing hold on City Hall - says that unless appropriate new tenants can be found he might expropriate the land by invoking a law that applies in cases of economic emergency.

Ouadah, a rival of Segura, dismisses that threat as posturing. “You’d need to invoke some sort of public necessity, like building a hospital, which is not needed here.” With so much at stake, arguments over the best use for Aulnay could drag on for years. France’s last auto plant shutdown offers a depressing precedent.

Two decades ago, Renault closed a plant in the Paris suburb of BoulogneBillancourt. Today, half the site has been converted to residential and commercial use. Work to convert the other half finally started last December, though the company has yet to sell the choicest parcel of all - a 27-acre (11-hectare) island where Renault cars were once assembled.

“If we end up with a dead site (in Aulnay), that would be the worst outcome of all,” Ouadah said. “But it’s going to be difficult to get everyone to agree.”

The government is trying to keep its distance from the dispute. In parliament, industry minister Arnaud Montebourg has criticised Peugeot’s planned layoffs, saying France has a “real problem” with its strategy, but the government has not sought to block the shutdown. Though the government has raised political pressure on Peugeot to s a ve jobs by drawing a new employer to Aulnay, so far it is essentially letting Peugeot go ahead with its plans.

Union officials are preparing for a fight and many workers at the Aulnay plant say they have already rejected Peugeot’s promise to find them new jobs. Trust in management, never strong in the first place, was undermined, they say, when Peugeot’s CEO, Varin, denied for a year that there were plans for any shutdown despite a leaked internal memo that detailed the scheme. Moving to another location is out of the question, many workers say.

Led by the CGT, unions are preparing for a series of protests from early September and hope to draw workers from another Peugeot plant facing job cuts, Rennes in northern France.

Workers have already won a tempo-

rary reprieve after an independent auditor was appointed to investigate whether Peugeot’s reasons for closing Aulnay were “in good faith”. The move could delay plans to start winding down the plant in late 2012 by two to three months.

In the unlikely event the probe finds Peugeot was not facing economic difficulties, but seeking to increase profits, the carmaker could end up in court and be forced to revise or scrap its restructuring plan altogether.

Philippe Portier, in charge of the auto sector at France’s largest union, the CFDT, accuses Peugeot of overstating its production capacity problem and says the company could keep Aulnay open by increasing sales. “We are not of the mind that it’s time to bury Aulnay quite yet,” he said.

Peugeot declined to comment on Portier’s claims, but its chief executive has repeatedly spoken about problems with overcapacity.

While the CGT says it wants to keep the plant open, other unionists admit they just want better severance packages. Tania Susset of the SIA union said Peugeot s h ould pay each employee 50,000 euros and three years’ salary. If all staff took such a deal, severance pay alone would cost Peugeot 165 million euros or more.

By comparison, when Ford unveiled plans to close 14 plants and fire 3540,000 workers in the United States in 2009, it said the cost of shedding union workers was $250 million.

A month after the closure announcement, the sprawling parking lot by the Aulnay-sous-Bois factory’s main entrance stands empty, its green gates locked shut and not a worker in sight.

But the air of peace is an illusion.

Workers are off for summer holidays.

When they return in September, the fight for the Peugeot plant - and for the future of European carmakers -will heat up again.

CGT member Marc Darsy, who has worked at the plant for 16 years, says the next few months will be a battle of wills between Peugeot and the unions.

“We have a lot of experience with social conflicts all around the country,” he said. “They haven’t seen anything yet.” —Reuters

26

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

business

Etihad Airways opens new Melbourne maintenance facility MELBOURNE: Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan yesterday opened a new line maintenance base in Melbourne, the UAE flag carrier’s seventh facility outside Abu Dhabi and its second in Australia.

The new maintenance base will be managed by three engineers and three technicians. Three of the technicians, Scott Gaskell and Erik Robinson from Brisbane, and Marcus Casey from Melbourne are among 23 trainees which the airline has recruited directly from the training organisation, Aviation Australia.

Hogan said: “Since 2007, Etihad Airways has invested more than $A10 million in its Australian line maintenance operations, hiring and upskilling in the process many Australian engineers and technicians.

“While some companies are shedding maintenance jobs, we look forward to hiring even more Australian technicians and engineers as our global operations continue to grow.

“It is particularly pleasing that Etihad Airways was able to bring Scott, Erik and Marcus to our home-base of Abu Dhabi and train them along with the other 20 Australians to become

Etihad’s line maintenance team

Exclusive Ramadan deals on Mercedes ‘Best or Nothing’

Ford, Arabian Motors Group open Quick Parts outlet Opening of Quick Lane Service in Kuwait KUWAIT: Ford Middle East and Arabian Motors Group (AMG), the Ford and Lincoln importer-dealer in Kuwait, recently opened the first Quick Parts outlet in Shuwaikh as part of their ongoing efforts to expand the presence and availability of Ford and MotorCraft parts, while bringing a new and affordable option for multi-vehicle parts supplies to Kuwaiti motorists.

A new initiative for Ford Motor Company’s Export and Growth Operations, Quick Parts are designed to improve customer service by increasing parts availability. While the stores carry Ford- and Motorcraft-branded parts and Ford-branded accessories and merchandise, competitive-make parts are available if no Motorcraft application exists.

Chris Noel, Ford Middle East’s Customer Service director, said: “We commend AMG for their continued efforts and investments in raising the bar on the after-sales experience in Kuwait. The new Quick Parts center will not only provide genuine and high quality parts for Kuwaiti motorists, but it further emphasizes AMG’s commitment to making Ford parts available, faster.”

Hamad Al Wazzan, AMG’s chairman and managing director, said: “Arabian Motors Group has yet again set the standards in after-sales support in Kuwait. We are proud to offer our customers the perfect combination of quality and reliable parts in a more convenient and accessible way.”

The Quick Parts outlet will carry a vast array of parts and accessories in its new facility, offering a wide range of products for all makes that will enhance the customer’s parts shopping experience and make this a one stop shop. The Quick Parts outlet will hold items such as: oil and filters, all essential maintenance items, brake parts, batteries, air-conditioning parts, belts and hoses, wiper blades, lamps and bulbs, alternators and electrical components, suspension and steering parts plus cooling system parts.

Opening of Quick Lane Service in Kuwait.

KUWAIT : AR Albisher and Z Alkazemi Co, the exclusive general distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait is making ownership of the luxury German car with the three pointed star a delicious reality this Ramadan.

A feast of special offers will wet the appetites of customers hoping to trade in or upgrade vehicles to live Mercedes-Benz ‘Best or Nothing’ dream. Available across the full 2012 spread of sumptuous German automotive joy, customers can benefit from a raft of attractive high-value deals to fast-track themselves into luxury.

A Service select package that offers free service to customers to maintain their new Mercedes-Benz vehicle to optimum operating condition for the best performance for a period of five years or 100,000km, free of charge, whilst enjoying peace of mind with 12 months complimentary comprehensive insurance. To experience the full capabilities of MercedesBenz, the first ten customers of the flagship S-Class of SUVs - GL Grand Edition, will be invited to participate in a breath-taking SUV driving event in Oman. AMG customers during Ramadan will receive a complimentary AMG experience package, to feel the full fury of what the AMG brand mantra of ‘Driving Performance’ really means.

Michael Ruehle, General Manager, AR Albisher and Z Alkazemi Co., said: “At this special time of year, AR Albisher and Z Alkazemi Co. is reflecting the spirit of Ramadan by inviting customers to experience our warm hospitality and generous Ramadan offers across the Mercedes-Benz 2012 model line-up. There is no better time of year to live the Mercedes-Benz promise of ‘The Best or Nothing’ in Kuwait. Ramadan Kareem.”

The offers are valid from 15 July to 31 August in AR Albisher and Z Alkazemi Co. showroom in Shuwaikh.

Kuwait Energy begins production in Egypt KUWAIT: Kuwait Energy, one of the fastest growing independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Middle East, and its main partner in Egypt, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, announce that they have begun production of oil and gas condensate in four wells within the Abu Sennan concession. The announcement follows successful exploration activities over the last eight months. The Abu Sennan concession is located in the Western Desert in Egypt.

Commercial production commenced with a total production flow rate of 2,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) across the four wells. ZZ-4 well is presently producing at 267 barrels of oil per day (bopd), Al Ahmadi-1 well at 420 bopd, Al-Jahraa-1X well at 500 bopd and El Salmiya-1 well at 1,000 barrels of condensate per day.

Production flow was successful at the level of the Bahriya formation, the Abu Roash “G”, Abu Roash “E”, and Abu Roash “C” formations.

Kuwait Energy is the operator of the concession and holds a 50 percent working interest. The remaining working interest is held by Beach Petroleum (Egypt) Pty Ltd which holds a 22 percent working interest, and Dover Investments Limited with a 28 percent working interest. The Company had announced the discoveries of ZZ-4 and Al-Ahmadi-1 wells in August 2011, the discovery of Al Jahraa-1X well in February 2012 and El Salmiya-1 well in March 2012.

Sara Akbar, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Energy, said:

Sara Akbar, CEO of Kuwait Energy “This is a great milestone for Kuwait Energy in Egypt as it represents first production from the Abu Sennan concession and is a result of the four discoveries achieved over the last year. The Abu Sennan concession has yielded discoveries resulting in three development leases being granted within the concession yielding finds to date, and we look forward to starting our development activities for these leases.”

Kuwait Energy started operating in Egypt in 2008 and its operations there contribute the largest share to the Company’s current total working interest production.

The company operates three oil blocks, Area A, Burg El Arab development lease and the Abu Sennan concession in Egypt, and has interests in two other non Companyoperated blocks, namely the Mesaha concession and the East Ras Qattara development lease.

aviation technicians. These three have now returned home to Australia as fully certified aviation professionals.”

The new engineering facility is equipped with the latest technology and will perform all scheduled and non-scheduled line maintenance for Etihad Airways aircraft flying into Melbourne.

From September 1, 2012 the specialist team will have the ability to provide line maintenance to other airlines.

The maintenance services to be performed in Melbourne include transit, daily and weekly checks, scheduled engineering services and fault repairs for the aircraft systems and in the cabins. In addition to Melbourne and Sydney, Etihad Airways’ existing facilities are in Bombay, Dublin, Lahore, London-Heathrow and Manchester.

Chris Woodruff, Melbourne Airport CEO, said: “Melbourne Airport is proud to welcome the Etihad Airways line maintenance facility and the team that will manage its operations.

“Etihad Airways has a terrific reputation in the city, gained through its award-winning services and the Etihad Stadium and this continued local investment is greatly appreciated.”

Samsung launches Galaxy Note 10.1 KUWAIT: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, announced yesterday the launch of GALAXY Note 10.1, an extension of the GALAXY Note category. The GALAXY Note 10.1 offers the functionality and precision of a pen and paper on a 10.1inch large display,providing endless possibilities to elevate user’s creativity, productivity, and learningability.

Featuring an intuitive user experience and armed with a 1.4GHz quadcore processor and 2GB RAM for enhanced performance, GALAXY Note 10.1 is designed to simplify idea capture information access, and multi-tasking, making each easier and faster. The GALAXY Note 10.1 allows users to express their ideas naturally and efficiently. In addition, the device enables easy communication by allowing users to place and receive voice calls.

“With the new GALAXY Note 10.1, Samsung is further strengthening the GALAXY Note category to provide unrivaled productivity, creativity and performance,” said Ashraf Fawakherji, General Manager of Telecommunications Group at Samsung Gulf Electronics. “With a larger, fully utilizable screen and superior performance, the GALAXY Note 10.1 combines the intuitiveness of handwriting with all the flexibility of digital content to let users be more productive across all tasks- whether working, interacting, learning, or creating content.”

The GALAXY Note 10.1 incorporates key intuitive features and capabilities such as Multiscreen, enhanced S Note functionalities, Pop-Up Play, and Adobe Photoshop Touch. With the new device, users can perform side-by-side multitasking with the Multiscreenfeature on a 10.1-inch large screen. Samsung’s unique S Pen,with a variety ofS Note templates and productive tools (Shape Match and Formula Match) enables consumers to create content actively on the Note 10.1.

True multitasking with multiscreen feature With its Multiscreen feature, users can effortlessly utilize two different applications side-by-side simultaneously for true andeasy multitasking. Users can view Web pages, videos, or launch other applications while writing or sketching ideas with the S Pen on the other half of the screen. Furthermore, users can freely capture and crop images, and paste them onto the other screen to make personal notes and enhance their creativity, productivity, and learning abilities. The Multiscreen feature increases productivity and efficiency while users are enjoyingmulti-

media content. GALAXY Note 10.1 brings a new culture of creation through the user’s own notes, and enables an entirely new experience to improve productivity and enjoyment.

S Pen & S Note for personalized and organized note-taking Featuring its advanced 6.5mm S Pen, GALAXY Note 10.1 is optimized for the creation of personalized and expressive content in the most natural and intuitive way. The S Pen’s feel and functionality are specifically designed for an optimal experience on the 10.1-inch screen. The S Pen is embedded directly in the device and, when removed, automatically launches specially optimized applications, including S Note, S Planner, Adobe(r)Photoshop(r)Touch, and Polaris Office.Users can also easily set their preferred application to be launched instantly.

The S Note is a unique tool that gives users the ability to combine notes and sketcheswith other digital content in ready-to-use templates. Shape Match feature help correct and digitize geometric shapes, while the Formula Match features assists in solving numeric formulas hand-written with the S Pen. Exclusively pre-loaded on GALAXY Note 10.1, the Adobe(r) Photoshop(r) Touch application allows users to edit photosprofessionallywith the ease and precision of the S Pen. Superior hardware performance GALAXY Note 10.1 is designed with advanced hardware technology, including a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of internal RAM. Seamless multitasking, high-standard graphics, and blazing-fast performance without any lag are essential features of GALAXY Note 10.1. The device also includes a 5 megapixel main camera anda 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera.

Several other features have been added to GALAXY Note 10.1 including Smart Stay, which tracks the user’s eyes to ensure that thescreen is always on while being looked at; and Pop Up Play, which allows the users to watch a video anywhere on their screen while simultaneously running other tasks. With AllShare(r) Play, users can share content with a large group in real-time by connecting GALAXY Note 10.1 to Samsung HDTVs, mobile tablets, laptops, and other consumer electronic devices on the same network. With AllShare Group Cast,users can also share and collaborate on documents, presentations, or images without loading the files separately.

27

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Facebook insiders can sell stock as ‘lock-up’ ends CALIFORNIA: Facebook ’s early investors and a handful of directors will become eligible today to sell stock they own in the social networking company. It marks the beginning of a time-honored process for public companies, one that will give many Facebook employees the same right to sell their shares this fall. It’s conceivable none of them will sell. But if they do, up to 1.91 billion more shares could flood the stock market over the next several months - more than four times the 421 million shares that have been trading since Facebook’s initial public offering in May. So-called “lock-up” periods, which prevent insiders from unloading shares too close to an IPO, generally start to expire 90 days after a stock makes its public debut. Lock-ups are designed to prevent a stock from experiencing the kind of volatility that might occur if too many shareholders decide to sell a newly traded stock all at once. The progressive phasing-in of various shareholders allows early owners to shed their stock and make

way for new investors, says Peter Zaleski, a professor of economics at the Villanova School of Business in Pennsylvania.

But there’s risk involved, too. If too many people sell, Facebook Inc.’s stock price could decline. That’s a problem the company can’t afford. On Tuesday, the stock closed at $20.38, down 46 percent from its initial public offering price of $38. In all, 271 million shares will become eligible this week, according to Facebook’s regulatory filings. Firms ranging from Accel Partners to Goldman Sachs, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and Facebook board members James Breyer, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman are among those free to sell stock they own. Microsoft Corp., another early Facebook investor, will be eligible to sell, too.

Facebook’s 28-year-old chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, won’t be able to sell his shares until mid-November.

Facebook hasn’t explained why Zuckerberg didn’t become eligible this week. He controls about a third of the 1.22 billion shares and stock

options that will become unlocked on Nov 14. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes it’s unlikely that top executives will sell their shares as soon as they can. It would look bad for the company, Pachter says, if Facebook’s No. 2 executive and operating chief Sheryl Sandberg or finance chief David Ebersman decide to sell.

Zynga Inc., the company behind “FarmVille” and other games played largely on Facebook, was sued last month for waiving lock-up restrictions for insiders, including Pincus, before the company’s first-quarter results in April. “The only people who would sell are people who need the money,” Pachter says. “I would be very worried if Sheryl Sandberg or Ebersman sell, but they are not that dumb.” Following this week’s expiration date, about 243 million more Facebook shares and stock options will enter the public stock market between Oct 15 and Nov. 13. Then there’s the Nov 14 expiration, and another a month later.

Next May, a year after Facebook’s IPO, the Russian Internet company Mail.ru

Group and DST Global - both of which made early investments in Facebook will be able to sell their shares.

The early investors who sold their stock to the public as part of Facebook’s IPO did so at $38 each. If they sell now, they will make far less money from each share than they did in the IPO. Facebook’s stock has not hit its IPO price since its first day of trading. As a result, the company’s market value has plummeted from $104 billion to $59.1 billion in roughly three months. Goldman Sachs and a few other investors are in an unusual position to profit if they sell Facebook’s stock at its current price. A January 2011 investment round from Goldman Sachs and others valued Facebook at $50 billion.

Even before Facebook’s IPO, Silicon Valley merchants - those who sell real estate, cars and other luxury items had been expecting a boost to the local economy from rank-and-file Facebook employees who received stock options as part of their compensation. Now, experts are cautioning

those merchants to temper their expectations. “In light of the company’s market value being half of what was expected, and the fact that the big gainers are not in Silicon Valley yearround, I would not expect a new boom in Silicon Valley resulting from this,” Zaleski says.

Jon Burgstone, professor at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley, points out that many of Facebook’s shareholders had already been able to sell their stock through private stock markets before the company’s IPO. In many ways, he added, “Facebook’s IPO was really a secondary public offering. A number of large shareholders and early employees have already been cashing out.” As for flashy cars and fancy clothes? “People here generally don’t spend their money on expensive clothing, jewelry, etc.,” Burgstone says.

“The ethos of Silicon Valley remains what have you done, and what can you do now? - not what label are you wearing.” —AP

Who needs a license? Self-driving cars coming our way

SEATTLE: Bill Gates, left, presents an award to Michael Hoffman, right, of the California Institute of Technology, for the winning entry in the “Reinventing the Toilet” Fair, Tuesday. —AP photos

SEATTLE: Marcos Fiovavanti, of the Ecuador-based “Fundacion In Terris” group, talks about the “Earth Auger Toliet,” which is operated by a mechanical pedal and chain system, on display at the “Reinventing the Toliet” Fair.

New toilet technology after 150 years of waste Using chemistry and engineering to transform waste SEATTLE: These aren’t your typical loos. One uses microwave energy to transform human waste into electricity. Another captures urine and uses it for flushing. And still another turns excrement into charcoal. They are part of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation competition to reinvent the toilet for the 2.5 billion people around the world who don’t have access to modern sanitation. Scientists from around the world have taken up the challenge, and the foundation announced some projects Tuesday that will be getting more money to take their ideas from the lab to cities. There, local entrepreneurs will use the new technology to turn pollution into cash. “We couldn’t be happier with the response that we’ve gotten,” Bill Gates said.

To pass the foundation’s threshold for the world’s next toilet, it must operate without running water, electricity or a septic system, not discharge pollutants, preferably capture energy or other resources, and operate at a cost of 5 cents a day. The United Nations estimates disease caused by unsafe sanitation results in about half the hospitalizations in the developing world. About 1.5 million children die each year from diarrheal disease. Scientists believe most of these deaths could be prevented with proper sanitation, along with safe drinking water and improved hygiene.

The foundation expects to field test its first prototypes within the next three years. Most of the prototypes on display this week in the open courtyard of the foundation’s Seattle headquarters turn solid waste into energy. This is both a practical and pragmatic solution to the solid waste puzzle, said Carl Hensman, program officer for the foundation’s water, sanitation and hygiene team. Many recycle waste into other usable substances such as animal feed, water for irrigation,

or even just energy and water to run their own systems.

Some, like the winning project from Caltech, use chemistry and engineering to completely transform the waste. Clement Cid, a

Caltech grad student from Trouillas, France, said it has been intellectually rewarding to work with scientists from a variety of specialties. “You can come up with great ideas,” he said, adding that

SEATTLE: Bill Gates, third from right, looks at a device that uses solar energy to treat human waste, as he tours the “Reinventing the Toliet” Fair, Tuesday.

SEATTLE: Tove Larsen (second from right) of Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, talks about their diversion toilet at the “Reinventing the Toliet” Fair.

the toilet fair offered more opportunities for idea sharing. Other projects on display were not so high-tech, including one from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that sends black soldier fly larvae inside latrines and even home toilets to process waste, resulting in high quality, environmentally friendly animal feed at a cost of a penny a day.

The fly larvae project is already being field tested in Cape Town, South Africa, and the inventors are working on a kit to sell to entrepreneurs. They have had inquiries from Haiti, Sudan, Kenya and Ghana about adopting the approach. “At the end of the day it will look very low-tech, but there’s a lot of science behind it,” said Walter Gibson, a medical biochemist who is part of the development team. The Gates toilet focus started just about a year ago, and including grants announced Tuesday, $370 million in foundation dollars have been committed to reinventing the toilet. Hensman said the foundation decided to hold a toilet fair this week to show how far the scientists have gotten in that time, and to give them an opportunity to learn from each other and potentially collaborate.

Among those scheduled to attend the toilet fair were government ministers from African nations, utility workers and potential financial partners like UNICEF and Oxfam. Reinventing the toilet has the potential to improve lives as well as the environment. Flush toilets waste tons of potable drinking water each year, fail to recapture reusable resources like the potential energy in solid waste and are simply impractical in so many places. Gates predicted the result of this project would reach beyond the developing world. “If we do it right, there’s every possibility that some of these designs would also be solutions for rich and middleincome countries,” Gates said. —AP

China’s Tencent posts Q2 profit surge HONG KONG: Chinese Internet giant Tencent posted a second-quarter net profit increase of 32 percent yesterday, despite a decelerating domestic economy. Tencent reported a net profit of 3.1 billion yuan ($487.2 million) compared with last year’s 2.35 billion yuan in the three months ended June 30, and posted healthy year-on-year improvements in revenues, earnings and cash flow. “We believe we are uniquely positioned in the China Internet market

because of our leadership across multiple media platforms and our ability to provide cross-platform integration and user benefits,” the company said in a statement.

“During the second quarter of 2012, we expanded our platforms and deepened our media influence,” said the company, which saw a 56.2 percent increase in revenue. Tencent, which is listed in Hong Kong and based in the southern Chinese export hub

of Shenzhen, operates various online and social networking services, including instant messaging service QQ, Tencent Microblog and web portal QQ.com.

The group also operates a popular online gaming platform and bought a majority stake in US online game developer Riot Games last year. China is the world’s biggest Internet market with over 500 million web users, according to the latest official count. —AFP

DETROIT: It’s been more than half a century frameworks-things that may takes years to put since some of the first concept cars boasting in place.

Bill Windsor, associate vice president of conself-driving features were presented to the world and they’re still not on the roads. But sumer safety at insurer Nationwide Mutual, many auto executives say the industry is on the pointed out the airline industry has had an cusp of welcoming vehicles that make the idea autopilot feature for years, but people still man of keeping both hands on the wheel an the cockpit. The same will be true for cars. “It’s anachronism. General Motors showed off going to be a long time before we’re going to “dream cars” in the late 1950s like the Firebird II feel comfortable turning over all the day-to-day and Cadillac Cyclone with features automakers decisions in driving to a computer,” he said.

Costs must come down as well. For are now starting to roll out in new models as the technology, based on sensors, lasers, radar instance, the laser-based Light Detection and systems, GPS, cameras and microchips- Ranging system used by Google costs $70,000 according to a study released this month by improves and becomes less costly.

While most industry officials don’t envision a consulting firm KPMG and the Center for fully self-driving, or autonomous, vehicle before Automotive Research (CAR). For that reason, 2025, features such as adaptive cruise control or the rollout over the next decade of more traffic jam assist that automatically slow or semi-autonomous features that assist drivers apply the brakes for a car in certain situations or take control of cars in only some cases is are already being introduced. And much like the path the industry is taking with the idea of anti-lock brakes became the norm after initial preparing consumers for a future with fully resistance; these new technologies will prepare driverless cars.

“The socialization of autonomous driving is drivers for a future where they are needed less.

“The whole concept of a car being able to actually the difficult part. The invention of the drive itself is pretty profound,” said Larry Burns, vehicle is the easy part,” said John Hanson, GM’s former research and development chief Toyota’s national manager for environmental, and an adviser for Google’s self-driving car proj- safety and quality issues. The Japanese ect. “This is the most transformational play to hit the auto industry in 125 years.”

The progress has been in the making for decades as GM’s Firebird II, introduced in 1956, included a system to work with an electrical wire embedded in the highway to guide the car. Three years later, the rocket-like Cyclone boasted an autopilot system that steered the car and radar in front nose cones that warned of a collision and automatically BERLIN: German Federal Minister of Education and applied the brakes.

Research sits in the back of an autonomous car during However, the pace of invention has quickened, the presentation of the project “AutoNOMOS” at the uniwith such automakers as versity “Freie Universitaet” in Berlin yesterday. —AFP GM, Ford Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG developing automaker has two autonomous car programs, technologies to help drivers avoid accidents. one in Japan and the other in Ann Arbor, Some even envision a future where today’s cars Michigan. are more amusement. “In the same way we all ‘George Jetson’ days not close used to travel on horses and now horses are Even some automakers developing semientertainment, you could imagine automobiles driven by people becoming more entertain- autonomous features for their cars don’t ment,” said Chris Urmson, the Google program’s believe consumers will accept a future without human drivers. “The days of George Jetson technical head.

In a world where Nevada and Florida have getting in the vehicle, saying ‘to the office’ and already passed laws allowing the licensing of then reading a newspaper, we don’t envision self-driving cars, the rush is on to make the job for an awful long time,” said Tom Baloga, BMW’s easier for drivers. For many, the ultimate goal is US vice president of engineering.

“We will always be the ultimate driving to take the steering wheel totally out of consumers’ hands and eliminate accidents alto- machine,” he said, adding that there will be times when bored drivers stuck in bumper-together.

“Once we have a car that will never crash, bumper traffic will turn over control of their why don’t we let it drive?” said Nady Boules, cars. BMW has worked on autonomous techGM’s director of autonomous technology devel- nology for more than a decade. Others development. However, Boules and executives like oping autonomous technologies include: him will have to win over a public that includes Honda , Hyundai, Mercedes, Nissan and Volvo, those who love to drive or simply wouldn’t trust as well as suppliers, technology firms and unitheir lives to a robot. Others, like long-haul versities. Chip giant Intel Corp created a $100 truckers, could resist the technology for fear of million fund in February to invest in future auto technology. job losses.

“The industry appears to be on the cusp of revolutionary change ... engendered by the ‘Blue screen of death’ “My mental model of trust in technology is a advent of autonomous or ‘self-driving’ vehicles.

Windows blue screen of death. That’s how And the timing may be sooner than you think,” much faith I have in PCs and computer systems,” KPMG and CAR said in their study. GM, for said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at instance, believes semi-autonomous cars will Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab. be available by mid-decade with more sophistiReimer, whose group studies human behavior cated self-driving systems by the end of the in relation to transportation safety and has decade. Cadillac is testing a feature dubbed worked with BMW, Ford and Toyota, said people “Super Cruise” that is capable of fully automatic are terrible overseers of highly autonomous sys- steering, braking and lane centering in certain tems and a car that helps drivers rather than highway driving that could be ready for production by mid-decade. replaces them would be a better model.

Meanwhile Bill Ford, the chairman of rival J.D. Power and Associates found 37 percent of US consumers it surveyed in March were Ford Motor, sees semi-autonomous driving interested in autonomous driving technology, technology by 2025 like driver-initiated autopibut only 20 percent definitely or probably lot systems, as well as, the ability to reserve would buy it at an estimated price of $3,000. parking spots ahead of your destination in a Consulting firm Accenture said last year that linked network, with fully autonomous cars folalmost half of U.S. and British consumers it lowing after that. “There’s a lot of moving parts polled would be comfortable in a self-driving to all of this, but it’s almost limitless in terms of car. Even if the industry eventually wins the what we can do,” he said in June atan event in hearts and minds of most consumers, it also California’s Silicon Valley. Ford’s 2013 must establish the infrastructure that supports Fusionmid-sized car includes a lane-keeping self-driving cars, including not only the tech- aid system, an active parkassist function, adapnology but the necessary legal and liability tive cruise control and collision. —Reuters

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

‘Operation Frozen Dumbo’ gets elephant Tonga pregnant VIENNA: Scientists have succeeded for the first time in impregnating an elephant with frozen sperm, ultrasound pictures presented by Vienna’s Schoenbrunn Zoo showed on Tuesday. The scan shows a 10.6-centimetre-long, five-month-old elephant foetus with its trunk, legs, tail, eyes and ears clearly discernible. The foetus, which was scanned in April, is likely now 20 cm long, the zoo said, and is due

to be born to 26-year-old African elephant Tonga in or around August 2013 after a pregnancy of about 630 days.

Elephants have been impregnated with fresh or refrigerated sperm in the past in an effort to protect endangered species, but frozen sperm can be transported further, and allows the female elephant to be inseminated at her most fertile time.

The sperm was taken from a sedated

wild elephant in South Africa using electroejaculation in the project known internally as “Operation Frozen Dumbo,” a zoo spokeswoman said. It took eight months to clear customs on its way to France due to lack of an established procedure for such wares. The project was a joint effort of Schoenbrunn Zoo, Berlin’s Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, France’s Beauval Zoo and Pittsburgh Zoo

in the United States. Both African and Asian species of elephant are endangered, especially the Asian, mainly due to poaching for meat and ivory tusks and destruction of their habitats.

Around 2,000 elephants live in zoos, and a further 15,000 Asian elephants are estimated to be kept privately, employed in the timber industry or living in temples. “Since the survival of elephants in

their natural habitat is under threat, zoos around the world are striving to preserve them,” said Schoenbrunn Zoo Director Dagmar Schratter.

“Ar tificial insemination with the semen of a wild bull elephant is a chance to enrich the gene pool to further species conservation,” she said, adding that there were five female elephants living in zoos to every one male.— Reuters

Australia court approves tobacco pack logo ban Plain packages, no special branding, graphic warnings

SYDNEY: A combo images shows both sides of a new generic cigarette packaging with health warnings taking up 85 percent of the pack and a minimal border. Global tobacco giants yesterday lost a court challenge to Australia’s plain packaging laws for cigarettes in a closely watched case health advocates said would have worldwide impact. — AFP

‘Facebook for Seniors’ NEW YORK: Seniors, some in their 90s, could soon be making new friends on Facebook thanks to New York libraries offering classes to help the elderly learn, or brush up their social network skills. Carol White, 69, was already on Facebook when she enrolled in the “Facebook for Seniors” class at the Spuyten Duyvil Library in the Bronx. But she didn’t understand how it worked. Rosalind Licht, 76, was completely new to the social networking site and hoped the class would provide another way to stay in touch with family and friends.

“I understand that young people, the grandchildren, don’t use e-mail very much now. They only use Facebook, specifically, so I feel it is another way of communication with them,” she said. Seniors are a growing demographic, with more than half of US adults 65 and older online, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. For many elderly citizens, particularly those who live alone and far from their families, social networking sites offer new opportunities to stay in touch, share photos, make new friends or reconnect with old ones.

FRIEND REQUESTS, SECURITY CONCERNS The Spuyten Duyvil Library is just one of many of the 87 libraries in New York helping seniors get connected. During his 90-minute course, Josh Soule, the senior librarian at the Spuyten Duyvil Library, explained what Facebook is, how to start an account and deal with notifications, newsfeeds, timelines and privacy issues. The hands-on classes are popular and attract seniors of all ages. His oldest

student was a 97-year-old woman. “They are more tech savvy than they think they are,” said Soule after teaching a class of five seniors two men and three women.

“They tend to be unsure of themselves, I find, and they need reinforcement and some tips about how to use it better.” After explaining the concept of “friending” and responding to requests on Facebook, Soule suggested that one woman accept a friend request after she recognized the person. “It’s my sister-inlaw,” she said. “I don’t know if I want to friend her.” But someone else elicited a different response. “This is my grandson. Him, I’m interested in,” she said. Soule, 36, started the free classes to meet the demand from seniors. He also teaches classes about Google, eBooks, basics of the computer and how to use mobile devices.

Although most students are enthusiastic and eager to learn, Soule does encounter an occasional skeptic. One woman said she didn’t want to find anybody, or to be found.

“She is the first one I had who was leery about having an account. Most people just jump right in,” he said, adding that there is a lot of information to absorb at once and can be overwhelming. “They just want someone to show them the ropes,” he said. White, who came equipped to the class with her own iPad, found the lessons helpful. “I have all this new technology, an iPhone, an iPad. They are all new and I don’t know how to use any of them. I’m working on it,” she said. “Why have it if you are not going to use it?” White is already planning to attend Soule’s next class on eBooks.— Reuters

CANBERRA: Australia called on the world to match its tough new anti-tobacco marketing laws that will ban logos on cigarette packs, after its highest court yesterday dismissed a challenge from global manufacturers. The decision means that from Dec 1 cigarettes and tobacco products must be sold in plain olive green packets with graphic health warnings, such as pictures of mouth cancer and other smoking-related illnesses.

Although the impact of Australia on their global business is small, the law could have a major effect if it is adopted as a precedent in other countries, especially the fast-growing economies that cigarette firms see as markets of the future. The laws are in line with World Health Organization recommendations and are being watched closely by countries including Britain, Norway, New Zealand, Canada and India, who are considering similar measures to help fight smoking. British American Tobacco, Britain’s Imperial Tobacco, Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco challenged the laws in Australia’s High Court, claiming the rules were unconstitutional because they effectively extinguished their intellectual property rights. In a brief statement, the High Court said a majority of its seven judges believed the laws did not breach Australia’s constitution. A full judgment will be released later.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1 billion people around the world are regular smokers, with 80 percent in low- and middle-income countries.

Shares in tobacco groups dipped lower with BAT off 1.8 percent at 3,384 pence and Imperial Tobacco down 1.9 percent at 2,486 pence by 1040 GMT in a slightly lower London market.

Supporters of the measure hailed the legal victory as an important step for public health in Australia and any other countries that may copy it. Australian Attorney-General Nicola Roxon hailed the ruling as “a watershed moment for tobacco control around the world”. “The message to the rest of the world is big tobacco can be taken on and beaten,” said Roxon, whose father, a smoker, died of cancer when she was 10. “Without brave governments willing to take the fight up to big tobacco, they’d still have us believing that tobacco is neither harmful nor addictive,” she said after the ruling. According to the global Tobacco Atlas, a report on smoking produced by the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society, 17 percent of male deaths and 14 percent of female deaths in Australia are due to tobacco. “We hope other nations follow Australia’s lead and eliminate the use of tobacco packaging as a marketing tool, to help reduce the global tobacco death toll-which is on track to reach half a billion people this century,” said Australia’s Cancer Council chief executive Ian Olver.

Countries with legal systems similar to

Australia’s may be among the first to try to copy the packaging logo ban. New Zealand’s Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia said the decision gave New Zealand more confidence to push ahead with similar measures. In Britain, which is also considering such steps, anti-smoking and health campaigners welcomed the ruling. “This is a major victory not just for Australia but for the world and the first of many bloody noses for the tobacco industry on plain packaging. It should encourage the British government to go ahead with legislation,” said Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of anti-smoking lobby group Action on Smoking and Health.

Britain finished a four-month consultation process on plain packaging last week and will now analyse the thousands of responses it has received and is expected to make a decision on whether to push ahead with legislation later this year. The Department of Health said no decision had been taken, although Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has been quoted as saying “we no longer see smoking as part of life” and that he wanted tobacco companies to have “no business in the UK”.

Peter Hollins, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation charity said: “This decision should now be echoed around the globe to make it clear that plain packs protect, no matter what smoke and mirrors the tobacco industry employ.” However, lawyer Paul Medlicott, who advises consumer goods companies on plain packaging laws, said Britain might wait 2-3 years to gather data on whether the Australian measures succeed in cutting youth smoking before taking on tobacco firms.

A spread of plain-package laws to emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia or Indonesia could threaten cigarette firms’ sales growth. In Indonesia, the government said it would like to follow Australia’s example: “That’s excellent ... this is one way to protect the people,” Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said. However, anti-tobacco campaigner Tulus Abadi, head of the national commission on tobacco control, said there had been little movement from the government on a draft law to include graphic warnings on cigarette packets like those in Australia.

CHALLENGES Tobacco firms say plain packaging laws violate their intellectual property rights and will stimulate a black market in fake or illegally imported cigarettes. “It’s still a bad law that will only benefit organized crime groups, which sell illegal tobacco on our streets,” British American Tobacco Australia spokesman Scott McIntyre said after the decision. However, he said the firm would comply. Firms can also use free trade arguments against plan packaging laws. Australia is already fighting trade complaints in the World Trade Organization ( W TO) from Ukraine, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, which claim the laws unfairly restrict trade, although their trade with Australia is negligible. Philip Morris said it would launch a legal challenge against the laws under a bilateral Australia-Hong Kong investment agreement. “There is still a long way to go before all the legal questions about plain packaging are fully explored and answered,” Philip Morris spokesman Chris Argent said in a statement.— Reuters

SYDNEY: Cigarette butts lie in a public roadside cigarette bin in central Sydney yesterday. — AFP

Employee health, corporate success

By Dr Shaidul Kazi

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MOSCOW: Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo (right) and Greenpeace Russian energy researcher Vladimir Chuprov speak at a news conference in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. —AP

Environmentalists warn of risks of Arctic drilling MOSCOW: Environmental activists have warned that drilling for oil in the Russian Arctic could have disastrous consequences because of a lack of technology and infrastructure to deal with a possible spill in a remote region with massive icebergs and heavy storms. Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund unveiled a report assessing the risks of an oil spill in the Pechora Sea in Russia’s Arctic, where state-owned Gazprom has installed a huge drilling platform and is pioneering sea drilling in the area at its Prirazlomnaya platform.

The report concludes that a sizeable spill from the platform could contaminate protected areas and nature reserves on the shore and islands within about 20 hours after a spill, while emergency teams would take at least three days to reach the area. The platform is about 1,000 kilometers from the nearest port, which is in Murmansk, a city on the extreme northwestern edge of the Russian mainland.

The report was commissioned by the two environmental organizations and compiled by an independent Moscow-based think tank.

“An oil spill in the Arctic would be virtually impossible to clean up,” Greenpeace International’s director, Kumi Naidoo, told a news conference. An oil spill that releases 10,000 metric tons of oil over five days would contaminate half a million square kilometers of water, the report said. Gazprom disputed the report’s assessment of the risks involved

and said it is committed to safety. Its offshore drilling subsidiary told The Associated Press in an email that the platform’s design “incorporated the latest technology in offshore oil drilling” and “more than” satisfied all environmental and safety standards.

The company also said it collaborates with Russian oil company Lukoil, which has a base in the coastal town of Varrandei, 60 kilometers south of Gazprom’s oil deposit, which, if necessary, could speed up any rescue efforts significantly. Environmentalists also insist that oil production in the Arctic is unprofitable and cannot survive without government subsidies.

“Oil companies would not be rushing to the Arctic so eagerly if it wasn’t for politicians who push them to,” Igor Chestin, head of WWF in Russia, said Tuesday. Russian oil companies have only recently begun to operate in weather conditions as harsh as those found in the ice-bound Arctic, where ice ridges are meters (yards) deep and storms are frequent.

Gazprom is pioneering the oil development of Russia’s sector of the Arctic and was the first Russian company to dispatch a drilling rig to the Pechora Sea in northwest Russia last year. The oil field they are prospecting holds some 6.6 million tons of oil.

Environmentalists argue that Artic drilling is a hazard that mankind cannot afford since there are no tried and tested technologies to deal with oil spills in conditions with ice - under ice in particular. — AP

he proverb “health is wealth” is well known to all of us but many of us usually forget its application to personal- as well as working life. Health has two dimensions; physical- and mental dimension. These two dimensions are inter-liked to each other like “a healthy mind lives in a healthy body” but the opposite is true as well that “a healthy mind is precondition for a healthy body.”

Consequently, mental- and physical health of employees are directly linked to corporate success.

At workplace the concept of total fitness focuses upon ability and willingness sides of a worker. A worker should be physically or bodily fit for doing work - the ability side. At the same time, a worker should be willing to do the job - the mental side. In order to keep your workforce agile, productive, fit and motivated - caring employee health is indispensible.

A typical successful organization in the 21st century is flexible, customer-oriented, active internationally, and technically innovative. The nature of work in contemporary organizations is becoming frenetic and complex where knowledge-based skills and cross-functional teamwork are essential.

All of these are creating a greater emphasis on learning - the lifelong learning. Consequently, there is a huge pressure upon employees for the creation of knowledge and the acquiring, processing, distributing, and use of information.

This greater importance upon information has changed the way we do work. The work has shifted from muscle power to brain power and computer has become integral tool for performing job. This dependence upon computer requires more sitting hours; less body movement; a fixed body pose; and greater use of hands, fingers, and eyes. These all lead more and more workers to suffer from occupational diseases like repetitive motion disorder and cumulative trauma disorder. Repetitive motion disorder is injuries sustained by continuous and repetitive movements, usually of hand. Cumulative Trauma Disorder is an occupational injury that occurs from repetitively performing similar physical movements like sitting longer hours in front of computer.

Furthermore, the frenetic and complex nature of work in 21st century organizations causes stress and burnout among workers which affect mental side of the employees - workers’ willingness to do

work suffers. Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what he or she desires, and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important. Stress may be caused by personal- or organizational variables.

The symptoms of stress may be increased heart and breathing rates, higher blood pressure, headaches, tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom, procrastination, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and turnover, and increased smoking and alcohol consumption. The worsening stage of stress may lead a person to burnout. Burnout is a situation when one or more of these symptoms exist for a prolonged time, greater problem may arise for company and individual. This extended stress symptom is commonly referred to as burnout. Burnout is a multifaceted phenomenon, the byproduct of both personal and organizational variables.

Organizational actions to reduce the possibility of causing repetitive motion disorder, cumulative trauma disorder, stress and burnout may include the creation of an appropriate working climate, work design, ergonomics, and employee assistance programs. Apart from these, the human resource department of any organization may formulate its own workforce health policy which may focus the following workforce health related issues: Food, exercise and sleep: Health of a worker is a complete package where food, exercise and sleep are equally important. Workers may be offered with healthy breakfast and lunch at staff cafeteria operated by the company. At the same time, awareness programs like lectures and seminars may be arranged for workers on healthy food and nutrition. A habit of doing exercise may be developed among kids from the very early age where family and educational institutions are main actors. However, if that is not done, each organization may encourage its workers to do different types of exercises regularly.

A worker may keep himself/herself fit at workplace by doing regularly half an hour exercise at least. Companies may consider for setting up their own gym for the workforce. Sleep is as important as proper food and nutrition and regular exercises.

For a grown up person, it is very important to have eight hours sleep daily. Organizations may educate its workforce about the importance of

enough sleep and work performance. Rests and breaks: On the job rests and breaks help workers to get relieve from tiredness and boredom. At the same time, during scheduled breaks workers may have their lunch, tea or coffee. In addition to lunch, tea or coffee, there may be breaks for washing up if the job type demands. Workers may be offered 15 minutes break after each 45 minutes work for tea or coffee. In addition to tea or coffee breaks, a 30 minutes break may be given for the lunch.

Support from the co-workers and superiors: A worker is not like an isolated island in a big sea or ocean. A worker is a human being and in organizational set up he/she is an individual worker who is part of a bigger work team or group.

Therefore, each individual worker should have support from his/her co-workers and superiors in dealing with everyday issues at work. In addition, an individual worker may be in need of support from the co-workers and superior to bring a balance between family- and work life.

Workplace itself: Workforce health is also dependent upon the workplace itself or the working environment. In organization, each worker should have enough office space so that he/she can work peacefully. The office furniture should be designed ergonomically. There should be enough supply of fresh air and the organization’s interior should be smoke free. In addition, security from physical harm and job loss are two most important factors which keep workers mentally healthy.

Research shows that workers who have a permanent job- and clear career path perform better than workers recruited on temporary basis and suffer from job insecurity. Furthermore, a secured workplace is very important for a motivated workforce. Building- and sustaining a healthy workforce is very crucial for the performance of 21st century multicultural- and multi-skilled organizations. Actually employee health is a joint issue where organization and employee both should have their own contribution and commitment. An organization may create possibilities and opportunities for employee health related activities but in the end it is the employees who have to utilize those opportunities and possibilities for enhancing corporate success by being healthy.

Dr Shaidul Kazi is a senior lecturer at Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Tampere, Finland.

he a lt h & s c ie n c e

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

What if baby boomers don’t live forever?

Post-war baby boomers have higher rates of cancer WASHINGTON: What if the generation that once rocked out to The Who’s “hope I die before I get old” line actually does? Most retirement plans and federal budget projections assume baby boomers-those Americans born between 1946 and 1964 - will live significantly longer than their parents have. That is a logical assumption, given healthcare improvements, new drugs and the long 20th century experience of ever-rising life expectancies.

But there is a counter argument: boomers, beset by factors like elevated rates of obesity, cancer and suicide, could reverse or at least slow the increase in human life spans. A change in trend could have a bearing on everything from Social Security trust fund balances to the number of nursing homes and golf courses supported in the future. “It does not bode well for the baby boom generation at all,” says S Jay Olshansky, a public health professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has been studying boomer longevity under a MacArthur Foundation grant.

One new study, led by Rice University professor Justin Denney, concludes that it would be a mistake to project the longevity gains of the last century throughout this one. Yet that is about what the trustees who estimate the future solvency of the US Social Security retirement program have been doing. Denney notes a “huge increase” of 30 years in US life expectancy from 1900 to the 2000s. But he and fellow researchers see a mere three-year increase over the next 50 years, with improvements in longevity concentrated among the well-to-do, while poorer people will not share in the same benefits.

To be sure, the trajectory of American lifespans is stirring great debate among epidemiologists, actuaries and other experts. Most say mortality will continue to decline and people will live longer. But some experts believe that trend will slow.

MULTIPLE THREATS “If you look at the health status of the baby boom versus the generation that just preceded them, they are in worse shape,” says Olshansky. “There is a whole suite of problems we are now seeing in the baby boom generation that we didn’t see in their parents when they were that age,” Olshansky said, citing greater frailty, increased risk for cardiovascular disease and declining cognitive function. Baby boomers, now between 48 and 67 years old, have already shown a greater propensity to suicide than previous generations, according to a data analysis from researchers at Rutgers University and Emory University.

Male boomers had abnormally high suicide rates in their teen and early 20s, peaking for many boomers at 26 suicides per 100,000 lives at an age when the rate among next older generations were below 20 suicides per 100,000 lives, data showed. Patterns were similar for women, though their rates are lower, Emory epidemiologist Ellen Idler said. Even more disturbing to Idler is the fact that suicide rates for baby boomers rose significantly when they were in their 40s, a time when those rates typically plateau or head down. “It’s a troubling scenario all around.” And suicide is not insignificant: Idler says it causes roughly as many deaths in any given year as breast cancer. In 2009, there were 11.8 suicide deaths and 12.5 breast cancer deaths per 100,000 lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

THE BIG ‘C’ Then there’s cancer. The post-war baby boom generation does have higher rates of cancer at younger ages than the previous generation, the National Cancer Institute reported. In 2009, people 45 to 59 years old saw roughly 570 cases of cancer per 100,000 people. That’s up 7 percent from the 533 cases per 100,000 who were in that same age range in 1985. Some of that increase may be due to better detection, which along with new treatments - has resulted in fewer cancer deaths for boomers than for their parents generation. Yet epidemiologists also see baby boomer women falling prey to lung, skin and other cancers.

“Boomer women are about the heaviest smoking cohort in US history and they are suffering big time,” says Samuel Preston, a professor of sociology and demography at the University of Pennsylvania. Like many of his colleagues, Preston believes that a declining rate of smoking will eventually extend women’s life expectancy; however, he isn’t projecting that until today’s young women turn 40 in 2020.

OBESITY And what about obesity? It’s still not completely clear.

By 2040, obesity will reduce life expectancy by 0.733 percent for men, and 0.677 percent for women, according to Preston. Those are trends that he believes will be offset by other gains as people stop smoking. Richard Suzman, director of behavioral and social research at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging, puts it this way: “Obesity is a little more complicated.” So far among boomers serious weight gain appears linked to rising disability and all the costs asso-

ciated with that, but because of modern medicine’s ability to treat complications like diabetes and heart disease, the impact on longevity is there, just not as much, he says.

Additionally, some experts say obesity’s true impact on longevity won’t be seen until current youth get older since they are more likely to have been obese as children than today’s elders. And Chris Ruhm, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Virginia, sees another shoe ready to drop: severe obesity. He expects high rates of obesity to be a drag on life expectancy and severe or morbid obesity, even in the baby boom generation, to be a much bigger problem.

‘RICH PEOPLE LIVE LONGER’ Even pessimists like Olshansky do not believe that all or even most baby boomers will die at younger ages than their forbears. But he sees a future in which the rate of improvement slows overall and some groups boomers who are from lower socio-economic strata and are black or Latino - see actual declines.

“Rich people live significantly longer than poor people do,” says John Bailey Jones, an associate professor of economics at the University of Albany, State University of New York. In the United States, the wealthy live nearly five years longer on average than do the most destitute, according to Denney’s research.

NIH’s Suzman sees a “very uneven” picture when it comes to US mortality: “It’s a combination of public health, lifestyle and medical treatments, and there are still very large gaps.” Furthermore, people facing economic stress seem to die younger than those who are comfortable, and job loss worries could push more boomers into that low-income, high-stress group with higher death rates than their well-to-do peers, suggests Rice University’s Denney.

Many people in developed countries overseas outlive Americans. Overall those in Japan, Singapore, Canada and even beleaguered Italy and Spain live longer than those in the United States, which ranked 50th in latest CIA World Factbook. Even with that gap, it’s important to note that other countries fund their retirement plans differently and face unique distributions of age and wealth.

THE SOCIAL SECURITY MATH In April, the Social Security board of trustees predicted that the funds that finance the retirement, disability and survivors programs will be exhausted in 2035. At that point, benefits would need to be cut or new funds

found. Over the next 75 years, the shortfall in the Old Age, Survivors and Disability (OASDI) fund would amount to 2.67 percent of US payroll. This projection has triggered much political infighting over whether the United States should be cutting Social Security benefits or raising taxes to pay for them. But those calculations are based on the expectation that the constant improvements in mortality (fewer deaths at every age) would continue unabated. The trustees project mortality declining by roughly 0.77 percent a year for every year going forward as far as the eye can see.

“We’re simply projecting that improvements will occur at roughly the same... (rate) as in the past,” Stephen Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration said. The agency’s math relies on this assumption: the average 65-year-old in 2020 can be expected to live 19.4 more years if a man and 21.3 more years if a woman. By 2030, when the last baby boomer turns 66, the average 65-year-old woman could expect to live to 87.9 and the average 65-year-old man would live to 86.

What if the trustees are wrong? If mortality rates stopped improving, and remained constant over the next 75 years, that would cut the OASDI actuarial deficit by about 0.45 percent of payroll, about one sixth of the projected shortfall over the next 75 years, a Social Security spokesperson told Reuters. That won’t completely save the trust fund from shortfalls, but it would help. Medicare is trickier to assess, Goss and other experts say. “The net effect (of slower longevity improvements) might not be large,” agrees Ronald Lee, director of University of California, Berkeley’s Center for the Demography and Economics of Aging. “There will be fewer elderly people to provide health care for... (but) those elderly people who are alive will be less healthy and have higher healthcare needs.”

Some insurance companies selling annuities-firms like Metlife Inc, Prudential Financial Inc, New York Life Insurance Co and TIAA CREF-could also benefit. For individuals planning their futures any surprising shifts in life expectancy really wouldn’t change their course.

Some children of boomers could inherit money earlier than expected. Still, retirees will have to manage their money expecting it to last 25, 30 or even 40 years, because no individual could count on being one of the unlucky few dying younger. Keith Moon and John Entwistle-two of the four original The Who band members-did indeed die before they got old. But the others Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey-are still going strong.— Reuters

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WHAT’S ON

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! This summer, let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

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Indian Embassy 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.

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.

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.

Attention Kids!

EF VBS 12 starting from Aug 24, 2012. Six Exciting days of singing, games & bible stories for children of all ages. HURRY Limited Seats. Register Online www.cefkuwait.org.

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Burgan Bank celebrates Girgian with the special care complex urgan Bank recently celebrated Girgian at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor’s special care complex. The bank’s famous “BuBa” Kids Account character welcomed children, orphans as well as the elderly with a range of Girgi’an boxes, as well as other forms of entertainment that highlighted the importance and true spirit of the holy month of Ramadan.

Burgan Bank continues to support the different segments across the Kuwaiti society. The bank’s corporate social responsibility portfolio continues to grow with a wide array of initiatives that demonstrate its leadership as a financial institution that is socially dedicated.

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Register and Win promotion at Q8India.com ity Centre, Kuwait’s premier mega-market, in association with Q8India.com, a leading online Indian community portal, is holding a month-long ‘Register and Win’ promotion campaign. Any resident in Kuwait can participate in the promotion by visiting www.Q8India.com and registering their name, email and phone number. A winner will be picked each day (except Friday), from the list of names registered on the previous day, and receive a free shopping voucher worth KD10 from City Centre.

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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

Holiday Inn Salmiya starts Eid preparations n the occasion of Eid, Holiday Inn Salmiya starts it’s preparation to receive the holy days with a special package of offers and services to present to their valued guests as the Hotel announced on a part of its promotions and the other part will be announced during Eid days. The management of Holiday Inn Salmiya announced a Eid rooms promotion which includes a special free night for their guests whenever they book 4 consecutive nights as the offer will be valid through the month of August. Special menus will be also available in all the

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IKEA Kuwait kicks off Back to School Campaign KEA Kuwait recently launched its Back to School Campaign to provide every student the opportunity to study in the perfect set up before the school year starts. Customers receive a chair for free on the purchase of any of the two exclusive tables.

As every child eagerly awaits to resume the next academic year after their summer vacation, IKEA Kuwait adds to this anticipation by offering the ideal study space. IKEA believes that education is a commitment that requires continuing dedication and this can be achieved, by replicating the school environment at home through its specially designed furniture.

This upcoming school season, IKEA Kuwait has created a beneficial promotion that offers a Lasse Bookcase and white Micke Desk for KD 25 and KD 29 respectively while shoppers can also look forward to receiving a chair each for free, the Snille swivel silver colored -shell pink seated chair and the snille swivel silver colored -white seated chair worth KD 8 each. The campaign ends September 30th,2012.

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hotel’s restaurants.

And a part of its special promotions, Holiday inn will be holding the grand raffle draw for two tickets “Kuwait-RomeKuwait” which is offered from Gulf Air s Co. and which will take place on the last day of Eid. Ideally located in the Heart of Kuwait. Holiday inn Kuwait - Salmiya offers sweeping and spectacular views of the Gulf Road with an easy access to shopping malls and in close proximity to Gulf Road restaurants and cafes as well as the nearby Scientific Center and Al Shaab Entertainment Park.

The hotel is a mere 25 minutes’ drive

from Kuwait International Airport with a complimentary shuttle from and to the airport. The hotel’s rooms and suites offer the ultimate in luxury accommodations, featuring 32-inch LCD flat screens, mini bars containing beverages and healthy snacks and complimentary highspeed Iinternet access and a very efficient room service. A 24-hour fully equipped health club features the latest cardio and weight machines, boxing and steps classes in additional to salsa and hip hop dancing classes and an outdoor swimming pool. The Executive Club that provides the ideal environment to work

Patriotic songs Competitions

Winter 2012 AMIE examination

ndo-Kuwait Friendship Society, Kuwait (www.indo-kuwaitfriendshipsociety.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.

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.

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‘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 to- 97822021 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.

Registration for Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament begins Once again this year, the stage is set for the fourth annual ‘Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament’ to be held from August 3 to 9 at the Kazma Sporting Club, Adailiya. Abdulrahim Al-Awadi, the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee has announced that doors are now open for registration to all those who are interested in participating, stating that the deadline for registration will be August 1. The participation in this tournament is open to all and will fall under three categories this year. The first category is for amateurs from

ages 17 and above, second category is for professional players from ages 20 and above and the third category is for ladies 17 and above. Following its last three years of grand success, the 4th annual Ramadan STARS Squash Tournament is being organized during Ramadan for squash lovers who will have an opportunity to practice the sport while being encouraged to develop their skills in a healthy, competitive and social environment. All details pertaining to the tournament and means to participate can be found on the tournaments facebook page under ‘Ramadan Stars Squash Tourney’ or follow the official twitter page @RamadanStars for updates. The registration is taking place at GO SPORT store located at The Avenues Mall.

Alawadi also pointed out the great interest the ‘Ramadan Stars Squash tournament’ received from the private sector, where companies took the initiative in sponsoring the tournament. Alawadi expressed his gratitude and thanks to Kazma Sporting Clun, Go Sport, Comtel, Vio, Unite Colors and Alawadi Photography guaranteeing unique prizes for all winners.

Burgan Bank announces branch timings for Ramadan Burgan Bank announced its new branch timings which will be applicable all throughout the holy month of Ramadan. All Burgan Bank branches will commence work in one shift from 10 am to 1:30 pm.

Additionally, the Airport branch will be open seven

out with more privacy.

With our extensive meeting and banquet facilities, the hotel can accommodate every type of event from small business meetings to large social gatherings.

For the convenience of all business traveler Our 24 hour’s 16 meeting rooms provide an efficient place with the latest amenities and high-tech communications. As for the social events we proudly have two state-of-the-art ballrooms ready to host all distinguished occasions.

The AMIE Winter 2012 examinations will be held between Dec 01-07, 2012 as follows: Section A (Diploma) - December 1-4, 2012 Section A (Non-Diploma) December 1-7, 2012 Section B - December 1-7, 2012 The last date for submission of examination application forms are given hereunder: Candidates not appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Aug 21 - Sept 21, 2012 Candidates appeared at Summer 2012 Exam: Sept 21 - Oct 19, 2012 Candidates intend to appear for the Winter 2012 examination must apply directly to Kolkata by filling the prescribed application form along with requisite amount of demand draft in favour of The Institution of Engineers (India), payable at Kolkata. The details of the examination is available at the website www.ieindia.org.

days a week in the mornings from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm and in the evenings from 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm. On this occasion, Burgan Bank extends its best wishes to everyone during the holy month of Ramadan.

KIB announces Ramadan working hours Kuwait International Bank has announced its working hours during the holy month of Ramadan in a press statement released by the bank stating: “We would like to congratulate our valued customers on the start of the holy month of Ramadan, and we are glad to announce that the bank’s working hours will be from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm at the head offices and its 18 branches distributed around Kuwait.” Similar to every year, KIB services and products will be accessible to all customers during the bank’s working hours, and around the clock customers can perform their banking transactions and submit their enquiries through Al-Dawli Weyak which offers a dedicated 24/7 call center and can accessed from anywhere around the world. KIB customers can also use Al-Dawli Online and SMS Banking to further manage their accounts and banking needs around the clock. For more information on KIB’s services and products, please visit the bank’s website on www.kib.com.kw or check the latest updates on www.facebook.com/aldawlibank or follow us on Twitter @alDawliBank.

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WHAT’S ON

Embassy Information

Ahmad Meshal Al-Mutairi hosted his annual ghabqa at his diwaniya which was attended by sheikhs, MPs, social figures, as well as media and press personalities. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

TEMBASSY 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, AlBanwan 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 online at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm On the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, the Australian Embassy wishes to advise that it will be closed on the following days, in addition to the normal weekend closures. 19th August 2012 (Sunday) 20th August 2012 (Monday) The Embassy will reopen on Tuesday 21 August 2012.

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EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE

The Embassy of Argentina requests all Argentinean citizens in Kuwait to proceed to our official email ekuwa@mrecic.gov.ar 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 Argentinean Government to contact and assist Argentineans 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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EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break.

Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday. The Canadian Embassy will be closed on Sunday and Monday 19 and 20 August 2012 on the occasion of Aid Al Fitr. The Embassy will resume its duties on Tuesday 21 August 2012. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

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EMBASSY OF INDIA During the holy month of Ramadan, the office timings of the Indian Passport and Visa Service Centres of BLS International Visa Services Co, Kuwait, situated at (i) Emad Commercial Centre, Basement Floor, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Sharq, Kuwait, and (ii) Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No. 25-26 Makka Street, Fahaheel, Kuwait, will be from 8.00 am - 3.00 pm from Saturday to Thursday (i.e. six days a week). Tokens for submission of applications will NOT be issued after 2.00 pm. Delivery of passports and visas will be from 11.00 am onwards. Embassy of India, Kuwait, will maintain its usual working hours.

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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, e-mail:myankuwait11@gmai1.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF SRI LANKA The Embassy of Sri Lanka will be closed from 19 August to 21 August, 2012 in lieu of Eid Al-Fitr.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 I’m Alive 01:40 Untamed & Uncut 02:35 Wildest Latin America 03:30 Galapagos 04:25 Wildest Africa 05:20 Monkey Life 05:45 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 06:10 Rescue Vet 06:35 RSPCA: Have You Got What It Takes?

07:00 Karina: Wild On Safari 07:25 Crocodile Hunter 08:15 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Natural Born Hunters 09:35 The Really Wild Show 10:05 Wildest Africa 11:00 Wildlife SOS 11:25 Orangutan Island 11:55 Animal Cops Houston 12:50 Escape To Chimp Eden 13:15 Escape To Chimp Eden 13:45 Animal Precinct 14:40 Wildest Africa 15:30 Karina: Wild On Safari 16:00 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 16:30 Pandamonium 17:25 Britain’s Worst Pet 17:50 Britain’s Worst Pet 18:20 Dogs 101 19:15 Wildlife SOS 19:40 Orangutan Island 20:10 Monkey Life 20:35 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 21:05 Wildest Africa 22:00 Whale Wars 22:55 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 23:50 Animal Cops Houston

00:30 Come Dine With Me 01:20 Holmes On Homes 02:05 Holmes On Homes 02:55 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 03:20 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 03:45 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 04:10 MasterChef 04:40 Living In The Sun 05:25 Living In The Sun 06:10 MasterChef 06:35 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 07:00 MasterChef Australia 07:45 MasterChef Australia 08:35 What Not To Wear 09:25 What Not To Wear 10:20 Bargain Hunt 11:05 Antiques Roadshow 11:55 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:40 10 Years Younger 13:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 14:25 Masterchef: The Professionals 14:55 Bargain Hunt 15:40 Antiques Roadshow 16:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:10 Come Dine With Me 18:00 Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers 18:25 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 18:50 Rick Stein’s French Odyssey 19:20 James Martin’s Champagne 19:45 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 23:45 Holmes On Homes

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 01:45 02:00 02:30 02:45 03:00

BBC World News America BBC World News America Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today 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 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 BBC World News 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 16:30 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 19:30 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 Doo 10:55 11:15 11:40 12:00 12:15 12:40 12:55 13:20 13:35 14:00 14:50 15:15

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 The Scooby Doo Show Scooby-Doo And ScrappyDastardly And Muttley The Flintstones Wacky Races Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Puppy In My Pocket Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-

Doo 15:40 16:00 16:15 16:40 17:05 17:30 17:55 18:10 18:35 19:00 19:15 19:40 19:55 20:20 20:35 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:40 23:05 23:20 23:45

Dastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show The Garfield Show Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Dexter’s Laboratory Johnny Bravo Pink Panther And Pals Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Popeye The Jetsons Duck Dodgers

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 Talk Asia 08:00 World Report 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Sport 10:30 I Report For CNN 11:00 World Business Today 12:00 Amanpour 12:30 Aiming For Gold 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 18:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East 19:00 World Sport 19:30 Aiming For Gold 20:00 International Desk 21:00 Quest Means Business 21:45 CNN Marketplace Europe 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

00:00 Living Golf 00:30 World Sport 01:00 World Report 02:00 World Report 03:00 Backstory 03:30 Talk Asia 04:00 Fareed Zakaria GPS 05:00 CNN Newsroom 06:00 Eco Solutions 06:30 World’s Untold Stories 07:00 World Sport 07:30 Inside Africa 08:00 World Report 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Sport 10:30 World’s Untold Stories 11:00 World Business Today 12:00 Backstory 12:30 African Voices 13:00 World One 14:00 Fareed Zakaria GPS 15:00 News Stream 16:00 World Business Today 17:00 International Desk 18:00 Global Exchange 19:00 World Sport 19:30 African Voices 20:00 International Desk 21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

THE RECRUIT ON OSN ACTION HD

00:15 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 01:10 I Escaped: Real Prison Breaks 01:35 Stan Lee’s Superhumans 02:30 Mythbusters 03:25 Mythbusters 04:20 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 American Loggers 07:00 American Chopper 07:50 Mythbusters 08:45 Ultimate Survival 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Dirty Money 10:30 How Do They Do It? 10:55 How It’s Made 11:25 American Guns 12:20 Surviving The Cut 13:15 One Man Army 14:10 Border Security 14:35 Dirty Money 15:05 Ultimate Survival 16:00 American Chopper 16:55 Fifth Gear 17:20 American Loggers 18:15 Mythbusters 19:10 How Do They Do It? 19:40 How It’s Made 20:05 Border Security 20:35 Dirty Money 21:00 The Gadget Show 21:30 American Guns 22:25 First Week In 23:20 Surviving Disaster

00:35 Mighty Ships 01:25 Perfect Disaster 02:15 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 03:05 The Gadget Show 03:35 Scrapheap Challenge 04:25 How The Universe Works 05:15 Mighty Ships 06:05 Perfect Disaster 07:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 07:50 Head Rush 07:53 Weird Connections 08:20 Sci-Fi Science 08:50 Sport Science 09:40 Scrapheap Challenge 10:30 Sport Science 14:45 Sport Science 15:35 The Gadget Show 16:00 Head Rush 16:03 Weird Connections 16:30 Sci-Fi Science 17:00 Perfect Disaster 17:50 Sport Science 18:40 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 19:30 Sci-Fi Science 19:55 Sci-Fi Science 20:20 Bang Goes The Theory 20:45 Bang Goes The Theory 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Gadget Show 22:00 Prank Science 22:25 Prank Science 22:50 Bang Goes The Theory 23:15 Bang Goes The Theory 23:40 Sport Science

00:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 00:55 Style Star 01:25 Cheating Death 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 THS 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Khloe And Lamar 09:45 Khloe And Lamar 10:15 40 (More) Crimes Of Fashion 12:05 E! News 13:05 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 13:35 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Ice Loves Coco 17:25 Ice Loves Coco 17:55 E! News 18:55 E!es 19:55 Giuliana & Bill 20:55 Mrs. Eastwood And Company 21:25 Fashion Police 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

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 Australian Families Of Crime American Greed Extreme Forensics The Haunted Crime Scene Psychics Disappeared Forensic Detectives FBI Case Files Mystery ER Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Street Patrol Street Patrol FBI Case Files Mystery ER Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Forensic Detectives Undercover Real Emergency Calls Mystery ER Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Nightmare Next Door Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30

Into The Drink Into The Drink Danger Beach Danger Beach

02:00 Kimchi Chronicles 02:30 Kimchi Chronicles 03:00 One Man & His Campervan 03:30 One Man & His Campervan 04:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 05:00 Bondi Rescue 05:30 Bondi Rescue 06:00 Into The Drink 06:30 Into The Drink 07:00 Danger Beach 07:30 Danger Beach 08:00 Kimchi Chronicles 08:30 Kimchi Chronicles 09:00 One Man & His Campervan 09:30 One Man & His Campervan 10:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 11:00 Bondi Rescue 11:30 Bondi Rescue 12:00 Into The Drink 12:30 Into The Drink 13:00 Danger Beach 13:30 Danger Beach 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 One Man & His Campervan 15:30 One Man & His Campervan 16:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 17:00 Bondi Rescue 17:30 Bondi Rescue 18:00 Graham’s World 18:30 Graham’s World 19:00 Around The World For Free 20:00 Market Values 20:30 Market Values 21:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:30 Pressure Cook 22:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 23:00 Danger Beach 23:30 Danger Beach

00:00 Into The Drink 00:30 Into The Drink 01:00 Danger Beach 01:30 Danger Beach 02:00 Kimchi Chronicles 02:30 Kimchi Chronicles 03:00 One Man & His Campervan 03:30 One Man & His Campervan 04:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 05:00 Bondi Rescue 05:30 Bondi Rescue 06:00 Into The Drink 06:30 Into The Drink 07:00 Danger Beach 07:30 Danger Beach 08:00 Kimchi Chronicles 08:30 Kimchi Chronicles 09:00 One Man & His Campervan 09:30 One Man & His Campervan 10:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 11:00 Bondi Rescue 12:00 Into The Drink 12:30 Into The Drink 13:00 Danger Beach 13:30 Danger Beach 14:00 Kimchi Chronicles 14:30 Kimchi Chronicles 15:00 One Man & His Campervan 15:30 One Man & His Campervan 16:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 17:00 Bondi Rescue 17:30 Bondi Rescue 18:00 Graham’s World 18:30 Graham’s World 19:00 Around The World For Free 20:00 Market Values 20:30 Market Values 21:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:30 Pressure Cook 22:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 23:00 Danger Beach 23:30 Danger Beach

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

Megacities Britain’s Underworld Britain’s Greatest Machines Megacities Monster Moves Prehistoric Predators Untamed Americas Naked Science Megacities Britain’s Underworld Britain’s Greatest Machines Megacities Monster Moves Prehistoric Predators Untamed Americas Naked Science World’s Toughest Fixes Britain’s Underworld Britain’s Greatest Machines Megacities The Known Universe Brilliant Beasts Which Way To Naked Science

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:55 02:20 02:50 04:40 05:35 06:30 06:55 07:25 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 22:00 23:00

Extinction Sucks Extinction Sucks Fish Warrior Hidden Worlds Hidden Worlds America’s Greatest Animals Wild Russia Built For The Kill Hidden Worlds Hidden Worlds America’s Greatest Animals Python Hunters Swamp Men Animal Fugitives Monster Fish Animals Of Brazil Indonesia Beyond The Reefs Hunter Hunted Africa’s Deadliest Python Hunters Swamp Men The Invaders Hidden Worlds Hidden Worlds America’s Greatest Animals Python Hunters Swamp Men

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:55

Extinction Sucks Extinction Sucks Fish Warrior Hidden Worlds

RESTLESS ON OSN CINEMA 02:20 02:50 04:40 05:35 06:30 06:55 07:25 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 22:00 23:00

Hidden Worlds America’s Greatest Animals Wild Russia Built For The Kill Hidden Worlds Hidden Worlds America’s Greatest Animals Python Hunters Swamp Men Animal Fugitives Monster Fish Animals Of Brazil Indonesia Beyond The Reefs Hunter Hunted Africa’s Deadliest Python Hunters Swamp Men The Invaders Hidden Worlds Hidden Worlds America’s Greatest Animals Python Hunters Swamp Men

00:15 Tupac: Resurrection-18 02:15 District 9-PG15 04:15 Iron Man 2-PG15 06:30 Shanghai Noon-PG15 08:30 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights-PG15 10:00 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 12:00 The Recruit-PG15 14:00 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights-PG15 16:00 Enter The Phoenix-PG15 18:00 The Recruit-PG15 20:00 Jonah Hex-PG15 22:00 Quarantine 2: Terminal-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 22:45

33 Postcards-PG15 9-PG True Story Of Puss’n Boots-PG Helen-PG15 Family Gathering-PG15 Dear John-PG15 33 Postcards-PG15 Not Since You-PG15 Uncorked-PG15 Red Riding Hood-PG15 Restless-PG15 Broken Embraces-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Friends 02:00 Friends 02:30 Seinfeld 03:00 2 Broke Girls 03:30 Community 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Weird Science 06:00 Friends 06:30 Samantha Who? 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:30 2 Broke Girls 09:00 Weird Science 09:30 Parks And Recreation 10:00 Parks And Recreation 10:30 Samantha Who? 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Friends 12:30 Friends 13:00 Weird Science 13:30 Samantha Who? 14:00 Community 14:30 Parks And Recreation 15:00 Parks And Recreation 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Friends 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Bent 18:30 Community 19:00 Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23 19:30 How I Met Your Mother 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Family Guy 22:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 23:00 Seinfeld 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Grimm Alphas Supernatural Bunheads Desperate Housewives Good Morning America The Practice Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Desperate Housewives The View Alphas Bunheads Live Good Morning America The Practice The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Parenthood One Tree Hill One Tree Hill Scandal Desperate Housewives

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

Criminal Minds Supernatural Grey’s Anatomy Alphas Bunheads Grey’s Anatomy Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street Smallville Supernatural Alphas Bunheads Emmerdale Hot In Cleveland The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville Criminal Minds Emmerdale Hot In Cleveland The Ellen DeGeneres Show Smallville Parenthood One Tree Hill One Tree Hill Scandal Grey’s Anatomy

01:00 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 PG15 23:00 PG15

Windtalkers-PG15 Dorothy Mills-18 Arachnophobia-PG15 Rocky II-PG15 The Net-PG15 Arachnophobia-PG15 The Karate Kid II-PG The Net-PG15 Anaconda-PG15 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World-18 The Haunting In ConnecticutThe Burningmoore Incident-

00:00 Melinda And Melinda-PG15 02:00 What’s The Worst That Could Happen?-PG15 04:00 Nothing Like The HolidaysPG15 06:00 Love Hurts-PG15 08:00 What’s The Worst That Could Happen?-PG15 10:00 Roommates-PG15 12:00 Spud-PG15 14:00 Feed The Fish-PG15 16:00 Roommates-PG15 18:00 Elevator Girl-PG15 20:00 How Do You Know-PG15 22:15 Tank Girl-PG15

01:15 03:00 05:00 06:45 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Love The Beast-PG Garden State-18 Fear-18 Entre Les Murs-PG15 Shipwrecked-PG Six Days Seven Nights-PG15 A L’origine-PG15 Shipwrecked-PG The Greatest-PG15 The Color Of Money-PG15 Adaptation-18 Gal-18

01:30 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

The Roommate-PG15 Flipped-PG A Soldier’s Love Story-PG15 Battle For Terra-PG Gulliver’s Travels-PG Love The Beast-PG Hop-PG Letters To Juliet-PG15 Gulliver’s Travels-PG Jumping The Broom-PG15 Restless-PG15 Unknown-PG15

00:00 Turandot-PG 02:00 A Venetian Rascal Goes To America-FAM 04:00 Micropolis-FAM 06:00 Turandot-PG 08:00 Marco Antonio-PG 10:00 From The Crib-FAM 12:00 Ramona And Beezus-PG 14:00 Rainbow Valley Heroes-FAM 16:00 Paws-PG 18:00 From The Crib-FAM 20:00 Rango-FAM 22:00 Rainbow Valley Heroes-FAM

00:00 02:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 Ball 07:00 09:00 11:00 12:30 13:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Super League Volvo Ocean Racce Highlights Challenge Series Trans World Sport Olympic Men’s Beach Volley Olympic Highlights Super League Volvo Ocean Racce Highlights Challenge Series Live Test Cricket Olympic Highlights Olympic Highlights Trans World Sport

01:30 NRL Premiership 03:30 UFC 150 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 Super Rugby Highlights 09:00 Darts World Match Play 11:00 NRL Premiership 13:00 Trans World Sport 14:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 14:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 15:00 The PGA Championship 19:30 Super Rugby Highlights 20:30 Trans World Sport 21:30 Live Premier League Snooker

01:00 Golfing World 02:00 European Tour Weekly 02:30 Triathlon 05:00 AFL Highlights 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 Golfing World 09:00 NRL Full Time 09:30 Total Rugby 10:30 Ironman 13:00 Golfing World 14:00 Total Rugby 14:30 NRL Premiership 17:30 World Match Racing Tour Highlights 18:30 NRL Full Time 19:00 Total Rugby 19:30 Golfing World 20:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 22:00 World Match Racing Tour Highlights 23:00 AFL Highlights

01:00 04:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 15:30 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00

Prizefighter UFC 150 WWE SmackDown NHL V8 Supercars Extra UAE National Race WWE Experience WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottomline Mobil 1 The Grid V8 Supercars Highlights V8 Supercars Extra UAE National Race Mobil 1 The Grid WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter

Classifieds THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines QTR JZR SAI ETH RJA GFA UAE ETD THY FDB MSR QTR CLX KAC THY JZR KAC DHX JZR KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC RJA KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY IRA QTR IZG MEA IRA FDB ETD BAB GFA UAE MEA JZR MSR KNE MSC SYR JZR MSR GFA KAC FDB OMA JZR JZR QTR SVA RJA JZR KAC KAC QTR KAC JZR ETD UAE UAL GFA SVA JZR TAR JZR ABY KAC KNE KAC KAC QTR BAB KAC FDB KAC MSR MSC RBG KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC AXB FDB OMA MEA QTR GFA ALK FDB JZR UAE ETD ABY QTR JZR ALK JZR AIC GFA UAL JZR DLH MSR THY KLM JAI

Arrival Flights on Thursday 16/8/2012 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 441 LAHORE 620 ADDIS ABABA 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 768 ISTANBUL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 792 LUXEMBOURG 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 1541 CAIRO 154 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 529 ASSIUT 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 5438 AMMAN 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 605 ISFAHAN 132 DOHA 4161 MASHAD 408 BEIRUT 617 AHWAZ 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 436 BAHRAIN 213 BAHRAIN 871 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 470 JEDDAH 401 ALEXANDRIA 341 DAMASCUS 561 SOHAG 610 CAIRO 219 BAHRAIN 672 DUBAI 57 DUBAI 645 MUSCAT 241 AMMAN 535 CAIRO 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 257 BEIRUT 788 JEDDAH 546 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 118 NEW YORK 357 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 177 DUBAI 328 TUNIS 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 176 GENEVA 474 JEDDAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 144 DOHA 438 BAHRAIN 786 JEDDAH 63 DUBAI 104 LONDON 624 SOHAG 405 SOHAG 3553 ALEXANDRIA 774 RIYADH 175 DUBAI 618 DOHA 674 DUBAI 614 BAHRAIN 572 MUMBAI 562 AMMAN 389 KOZHIKODE 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 402 BEIRUT 146 DOHA 221 BAHRAIN 229 COLOMBO 59 DUBAI 135 BAHRAIN 859 DUBAI 307 ABU DHABI 129 SHARJAH 136 DOHA 513 SHARM EL SHEIKH 505 COLOMBO 539 CAIRO 981 CHENNAI 217 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 239 AMMAN 636 FRANKFURT 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 411 AMSTERDAM 574 MUMBAI

Time 0:20 0:50 1:30 1:45 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 3:10 3:20 3:25 4:10 4:10 4:35 4:55 4:55 5:00 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:40 7:15 7:30 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:00 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:25 8:30 8:35 9:00 9:10 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:30 9:35 10:00 10:45 10:55 11:05 11:25 11:35 12:00 12:05 12:30 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:00 14:05 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:05 15:15 16:00 16:20 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:45 17:55 18:00 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:50 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:50

Airlines AIC BBC UAL DLH MSR THY SAI ETH THY UAE FDB ETD MSR QTR QTR CLX JZR RJA JZR GFA THY JZR KAC BAW FDB JZR RJA JZR ABY KAC KAC IRA UAE QTR KAC FDB MEA ETD IRA BAB JZR IZG GFA KAC KAC MEA KAC JZR UAE MSR KNE MSC SYR KAC JZR GFA FDB MSR KAC OMA KAC JZR JZR KAC RJA JZR KAC SVA QTR KAC ETD JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR TAR ABY UAL SVA KNE JZR QTR FDB BAB KAC RBG MSR MSC JZR JAI FDB KAC KAC KAC OMA MEA KAC KAC GFA FDB DHX ALK JZR ABY ETD UAE QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR ALK QTR AXB GFA KAC KAC JZR JZR

Depature Flights on Thursday 16/8/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 44 DHAKA 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 621 ADDIS ABABA 769 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 792 LUXEMBOURG 560 SOHAG 643 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 534 CAIRO 545 ALEXANDRIA 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 240 AMMAN 5439 AMMAN 256 BEIRUT 126 SHARJAH 671 DUBAI 787 JEDDAH 606 MASHHAD 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI 409 BEIRUT 302 ABU DHABI 616 AHWAZ 437 BAHRAIN 356 MASHHAD 4162 MASHHAD 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 872 DUBAI 623 SOHAG 471 JEDDAH 406 SOHAG 342 DAMASCUS 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 220 BAHRAIN 58 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 646 MUSCAT 673 DUBAI 174 DUBAI 538 CAIRO 617 DOHA 641 AMMAN 512 SHARM EL SHEIKH 773 RIYADH 505 JEDDAH 135 DOHA 613 BAHRAIN 304 ABU DHABI 238 AMMAN 141 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 328 TUNIS 128 SHARJAH 982 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 475 JEDDAH 266 BEIRUT 145 DOHA 64 DUBAI 439 BAHRAIN 283 DHAKA 3554 ALEXANDRIA 607 LUXOR 402 ALEXANDRIA 184 DUBAI 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 331 TRIVANDRUM 343 CHENNAI 351 KOCHI 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 543 CAIRO 153 ISTANBUL 222 BAHRAIN 60 DUBAI 171 BAHRAIN 230 COLOMBO 1540 CAIRO 120 SHARJAH 308 ABU DHABI 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 188 DUBAI 554 ALEXANDRIA 506 COLOMBO 147 DOHA 390 MANGALORE 218 BAHRAIN 411 BANGKOK 415 KUALA LUMPUR 528 ASSIUT 502 LUXOR

Time 0:05 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:35 2:15 2:30 2:45 3:40 3:45 3:50 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 5:40 6:05 6:50 6:55 7:05 7:10 7:30 8:10 8:25 8:25 8:35 8:45 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:35 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:10 10:15 10:15 10:25 10:30 10:35 10:45 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:25 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:20 14:25 14:25 14:30 14:40 15:00 15:05 15:05 15:10 15:45 15:50 15:55 15:55 16:00 16:15 16:30 17:20 17:30 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:45 18:50 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 19:45 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:35 20:40 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:35 21:50 21:50 21:55 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:30 23:40 23:50 23:50 23:55

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor non smoking, one big room, Amman street, opposite to Al Rashid hospital. Contact: 66232356.

(C 4106) 15-8-2012 Sharing accommodation available for a bachelor, with an Indian family at Salmiya near Edee store.

Contact: 97947562.

(C 4104) One room available for sharing separate bath and sharing kitchen available at Abbassiya near Indian Learners School from Sept 1, preferably ladies with a Keralite family. Mob: 99821508. (C 4105) 14-8-2012 Sharing accommodation available for single Indian bachelor in two bedroom flat in Khaitan near Kuwait Finance House. Contact: 66141908. (C 4102) 12-8-2012 Sharing accommodation available for a Keralite bachelor at Sharq, near Amiri hospital, beside Holiday Inn. Call 99387111.

Sharing accommodation for Christian couples or working ladies in Abbassiya. Contact: 66538532. (C 4099) 9-8-2012

SITUATION VACANT A Kuwaiti family looks to hire a driver with a Kuwaiti license, transferable visa and good knowledge of Kuwait areas. Contact: 99401126. (C 4103) 16-8-2012

CHANGE OF NAME I, Rejimol Joseph holder of Indian Passport No: J5394310 hereby change my name REJIMOL JOSEPH PARAMMAVIL. (C 4098) 8-8-2012 I, Rajee Ramanathan Koolathu, daughter of Koolath Velappan Ramanathan holder of Indian Passport No. K1677756 have embraced Islam religion with new name Fathima Raja.

(C 4095) 6-8-2012

POLICE STATION

Al-Madena Police Station 22434064 Al-Murqab Police Station 22435865 Al-Daiya Police Station 22544200 Al-Fayha’a Police Station 22547133 Al-Qadissiya Police Station22515277 Al-Nugra Police Station 22616662 Al-Salmiya Police Station 25714406 Al-Dasma Police Station 22530801 THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988 Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:52 11:52 15:28 18:28 19:49

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

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 769

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) This is the time when you can expect a little boost; some sort of extra support from those around you. You may feel that you are linked with others because any support you need is available. Others show appreciation for your recent hard work. Sometime during this day, you will be asked to speak or lead a group. You will do well. You have an ability to enchant others with your words and images. Your presence has a way of easing things and you are willing to help those around you let go of any differences and grow in peace. After work you may meet with some friends to exercise at a neighborhood gym. You like being with people and your activities would not be as much fun if performed all alone. A fishing trip is in the works.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) As much as you might like to ignore responsibilities and do some socializing today, you will find demands on your time rewarding—it is nice to be needed. Proper attention to difficult matters in the working world may call for your easy handling of a subject. This is a time when you take your work more seriously than usual. A lot of drive goes into getting things scheduled and organized. This afternoon you enjoy your friends and may find yourself laughing and playing golf or tennis as though you had no worries. This activity with your friends is a necessity for more than one day out of the week—it will help you to be a more relaxed individual and happier in your work. Keep your mind off work until tomorrow—this evening is a great time for lovers.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. Characteristic of a mob.

4. Resembling the sound of a brass instrument.

10. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

13. Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all.

14. A feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will.

15. A group of Niger-Congo languages spoken primarily in southeastern Mali and northern Ghana.

16. Having leadership guidance.

17. Garlic mayonnaise.

19. Singing jazz.

21. An unforeseen obstacle.

22. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.

23. (informal) Of the highest quality.

25. A federally chartered corporation that purchases mortgages.

27. Having winglike extensions.

30. A canvas bag that is used to feed an animal (such as a horse).

34. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

36. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

37. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

38. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

41. Twist or braid together, interlace.

43. An edilbe seaweed with a mild flavor.

44. A light touch or stroke.

46. Having the leading position or higher score in a contest.

55. A genus of Ploceidae.

56. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

58. An ester of adenosine that is converted to ATP for energy storage.

59. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

60. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

62. Owed and payable immediately or on demand.

63. A recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs.

64. The capital of Eritrea.

65. The compass point midway between northeast and east.

66. A doctor's degree in religion.

DOWN 1. A master's degree in library science.

2. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

3. English monk and scholar (672-735).

4. An undergarment worn by women to support their breasts.

5. The amount a salary is increased.

6. Sweet pulpy tropical fruit with thick scaly rind and shiny black seeds.

7. Strike with a flat object.

8. Polished and well-groomed.

9. A period of time containing 365 (or 366) days.

10. Largest known toad species.

11. A modified bud consisting of a thickened globular underground stem serving as a reproductive structure.

12. A steep rugged rock or cliff.

18. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

20. French filmmaker (1908-1982).

24. Of or like a cecum.

26. Australian operatic soprano (1861-1931).

28. A Russian river.

29. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

31. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

32. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

33. A self-replicating protein molecule that occupies a fixed place on a chromosome.

35. In bed.

39. A bachelor's degree in theology.

40. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail.

42. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

45. A saying that widely accepted on its own merits.

47. Swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs.

48. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

49. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

50. (used especially of vegetation) Having lost all moisture.

51. A metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells.

52. (of a young animal) Abandoned by its mother and raised by hand.

53. Goddess of spring and wife of Bragi.

54. A fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade.

57. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

58. A colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube.

61. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.

Yesterday’s Solution

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You may have the opportunity to gain a new customer today or at least satisfy the demands of the public. Work issues are understandable and the usual disturbance in your office is contained in low tones. You are able to cut through all the red tape and find the right decision every time. Progress in the business world is satisfying for you now. Close relationships and other ties between people become a focus for much of your enthusiasm this afternoon. New partnerships are entered into; old ones are renewed or else they are left behind. There is time to have some special interaction with someone you love this evening. General good feelings and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time. Meditate for inspiration tonight.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You may feel restricted in some way today. Perhaps this is not the time to try to solve any serious problems. Although this force is short-term, it could be hard to think. Creating your own list to help you remember the most important responsibilities would be a good thing. However, if resolving conflicts is a key concern, you have resources at your fingertips and you are good at compromise. Communication is the key for the rest of today. You will find the people around you want the same thing that you do . . . understanding and recognition. Later today you may find your attention is drawn to property and the purchase of real estate; there is a window of opportunity for buying or selling that will be available and give you time to think.

NON SEQUITUR

Leo (July 23-August 22) Your work or career seems to be in real harmony with the rest of your life. You are grateful for a day that flows along without your constant worry and input. You seem to attract harmony and any problems around you are easily solved with your wisdom. If you need assistance, there are those that are quick to respond and all you need to do is ask. You could feel real support. Your home environment, friends and surroundings in general get your attention this afternoon. In particular, you will do well in activities that include children, young people. Foster parenting may come to your attention this evening and you encourage the family to think about investing their emotions and love into this area. This may also be a professional consideration in time.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Your organizational abilities and sense of responsibility can sometimes limit your own true ambitions. Your seriousness may be counterproductive, making it difficult for you to build a foundation. Be patient—this fire will diminish on its own—progress will resume again soon. Take notes on how you might reach your goals. Creative projects get your attention after work today.

Someone you know may want to add your work to his or her art show. You may be the last person to realize your own talents are very fine. This may be a good time to back up and really look at some of the work you have created. Neighbors or siblings have a big impact on your goals and make a positive impression. This is a mentally and socially active period.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Your sense of honesty is something that other people sense in you. You may be called upon by different people for your advice today. You will probably be in some trustworthy position of handling money, vouchers, receipts or expensive items, etc. When it comes to business and career, you have a mind that just cannot help but taking care of business. Your thoughts and ideas are nothing if not practical and your clear-sightedness makes some form of management or supervision almost unavoidable. An interest and ability in athletics with friends this afternoon can only add to your competency to focus. You will find yourself with friends in some sort of sports environment this afternoon. Tonight you make plans to do some future traveling.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) The events of this day may be challenging, however—with a deep breath, and a few minutes to think over the next move—problems should have easy solutions. You have a cheerful heart and very little slows you from achieving what you set out to accomplish. You are in a planning mood and are very clearheaded and able to view all the alternative paths. While someone else is complaining, you will be able to make decisions and move forward. Go ahead and make those decisions—you can see the road ahead and will make all the right choices. You could be in the limelight, especially with superiors this afternoon. You may find that you enjoy your job or the responsibility it entails more than usual. Relax after work with the people you love.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You are in a good position to put in for that raise, job change or otherwise make yourself known. This is a time for imagination and creativity when it comes to ideas. Others may express the fact that they wish they could have a grasp on words as you do—you have an ability to put your thoughts into words and to charm others. Your overwhelming ability to feel things intuitively helps you make the right moves when it comes to the business world. This is also a good time to consider how you fare financially. You will gain insight into any changes that are needed. A lover or child will play a big part of your life for the remainder of this week. You may find a family member giving you advice this evening; listen, he or she knows you well.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

If necessary, this is the time to make amends. Making peace with the past and meditating on things unseen becomes important to you. Someone needs caring for today and you may be able to guide others in the care of this person. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. You work with the imagination and you have an understanding in areas of the mind that are the most personal or private—depth psychology. You tend to be radical when it comes to self-analysis— which means health care, food and mental health, etc. Serving and caring for others are the primary sources of inner growth and change for the next few years. Your burning zeal for the ideal world and your need to be included in a group of likeminded souls are major factors now.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You have a list and are determined to stick with it today. Your sense of direction and guidance is improving all the time—you are beginning to have better confidence in yourself and your decisions where the workplace is concerned. Solving problems seems easy today—you come up with the correct approach in every situation. There is an inborn capacity to negotiate with the law and authorities, plus an ability to find your way when it comes to inner and spiritual matters. Others sense this gift and accept guidance and advice from you. This is a very good time to communicate your goals and put them into words—and for making decisions. There are many opportunities today to help the less fortunate. Perhaps this would involve some job path.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Stumbling blocks that occur today will basically pertain to emotions. Work at removing the emotional parts of a situation and deal with the business side of the challenge. A problem-solving frame of mind will help you find the answers you may need—all day long. After you have found an answer, you can then deal with the emotional. Many times you will find that emotions are no longer part of a situation. Your internal strength tends to lean toward independence—you might prefer to lean on yourself more than on those outside yourself. You are learning to be self-motivating—able to take care of yourself. Let yourself dream this evening. This time does not come all that often—so do not ignore this opportunity to let your imagination loose.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 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

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TAT TE OF K KUW WAIT A

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA ATE T GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AV VIA AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PARTMENT A

Ext.: 262 2627 - 2630

WWW.MET.GOV V.KW .

Very e hot h with moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of 22 - 42 km/h causing raising dust over open areas

BY Y NIGHT:

Relatively hot with moderate freshening at times north westerly wind, with speed of 20 - 40 km/h

No Current Warnings arnin a

WARNING A

22459381

45 °C

33 °C

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

46 °C

33 °C

Al-Mirqab

22456536

NUW WA AISEEB

47 °C

32 °C

WA AFRA

ST TAT TION

46 °C

32 °C

SALMI

44 °C

26 °C

ABDAL LY

46 °C

29 °C

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YAH A

45 °C

28 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FA AILAKA

46 °C

31 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

44 °C

35 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

41 °C

34 °C

W.Hawally

22630786

WA ARBA A - BUBY YAN A

47 °C

27 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

SFC. CHART

15/08/2012 1200 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA ATE T

WEA ATHER T

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

New Jahra

24575755 Thursday

16/08

very hot + raising dust

47 °C

34 °C

NW

22 - 40 km/h

West Jahra

24772608

Friday

17/08

very hot + raising dust

47 °C

35 °C

NW

25 - 45 km/h

South Jahra

24775066

Saturday

18/08

very hot

48 °C

35 °C

NW-N

12 - 35 km/h

North Jahra

24775992

Sunday

19/08

very hot

48 °C

36 °C

NW

12 - 35 km/h

North Jleeb

24311795

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

PRA RA AY YER TIMES Fajr

03:50

MAX. Temp.

45 °C

Sunrise

05:16

MIN. Temp.

34 °C

Zuhr

11:54

MAX. RH

17 %

Asr

15:28

MIN. RH

05 %

Sunset

18:29

MAX. Wind i

N 60 km/h

Isha

19:51

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FALL A L IN 24 HR.

.06 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

23900322

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

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36

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

lifest yle G o s s i p

rad Pitt sent Jennifer Aniston his congratulations on the news of her engagement.

The 48-year-old star spoke with his exwife, who he split from in 2005, to say how pleased he was to hear the news she is marrying actor Justin Theroux, who proposed at his 41st birthday dinner on Friday. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Brad gave Jen a quick call to say how pleased he was to hear that she was getting married. “He jokingly asked if he should ‘save the date’, and they both laughed, but told her in all seriousness that he

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was really happy for her and Justin. “He wished her luck and told her he hopes they’re very happy together.” Brad is also set to marry his partner, Angelina Jolie - who he started dating shortly after splitting from Jennifer - in the coming weeks, and she also wished him well. The source added: “Brad and Angelina are due to marry in the next few weeks and she wished him all the best for his wedding, too.” Although Jennifer, 43, and Brad don’t speak too often, it is thought his mother, Jane, may still get an invite to her wedding, as they remained friends after

the separation. The source said: “Brad and Jen don’t get in touch that often as they’ve both moved on with their lives. “Jen does still chat to his mum, Jane, so there are rumors in Hollywood that she will make an appearance at the wedding. “But the guest list hasn’t even been started yet, so it’s too early to say for sure.”

oel Madden finds his wife Nicole Richie’s voice annoying.

The Good Charlotte rocker can’t stand it when his spouse puts on a special tone to talk in interviews, because she comes across nicer than she is to him in everyday life. After being played a clip of his wife talking by Australian radio station 2Day FM, he said: “First of all, she has that interview voice that really gets on my nerves! You ever hear your wife or girlfriend talk to someone you’re like, shut up man? She’s not that nice in real life!” Joel also claimed he is the organized one in the relationship, and after he had completed his stint on TV show ‘The Voice Australia’, he was the one who had to pack up all of the things she had brought over for her and their children, Harlow, four, and Sparrow, two, before they missed their flight. He added: “To be honest with you we can’t count the number of bags she brought, it was in the neighborhood of 10 to15. After ‘The Voice’, I was like, ‘Let’s get the kids home.’

We were all homesick, I was like, and ‘Can you pack all the bags?’ She said, ‘Yes,’ and then she didn’t pack all the bags. “We were literally about to miss our flights, and I had to throw all this things in a bag. She is the worst with packing, she tells all our friends, ‘I pack his bags when we he goes on trips,’ she doesn’t pack my bags when I go on trips, I pack my own bags.”

In a further complaint against his spouse, he claimed she almost ruined the climax of the Olympic Games in London over the weekend, although he was quick to add he still loves her despite their tiffs. He said: “The final of the Olympics were on! I’ve been in the studio, I missed most of the Olympics, and all I wanted was to watch it. She was watching one of 10 movies she watches all the time; she watches ‘Glitter’, ‘First Wives Club’. She watches all these awful movies!” When the show’s hosts told him it was good he has the same issues in his relationship as everyone else, he added: “God bless her though, I love my wife!”

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he reality TV star - whose impeccable fashion sense got her noticed on ‘The City’ - thinks that a good statement accessory and well-fitting garments can make or break an outfit. Olivia told Britain’s Grazia magazine: “I’d describe it as eclectic and accessorized. The most important accessories are a statement cocktail ring and great tailor.” She added that she would never been caught dead in sweatpants - “unless I’m coming back from yoga”.

The brunette beauty is a front row regular at fashion shows and was hooked from her very first event. Olivia explained: “I keep a mental note of what I see at shows, and then write them up. My favorite thing is that I get to see these amazing collections. “I remember my first show: Zac Posen in Bryant Park, New York, 2007. The buzz was incredible and seeing all the trends before everyone else - amazing!”

The 26-year-old star also admitted she sometimes takes fashion a bit too seriously and is obsessed with keeping her wardrobe organized. The fashionista said: “I keep a written checklist at all times and tick things off. You should see my wardrobe at home. “I’m very specific. I break it down into dresses and blazers, and then it’s color-coded. I find it cleansing.”

or one night, Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Gospel - not just Soul. Franklin has been inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame along with country and bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs, singersongwriter Dallas Holm, family group The Hoppers, the late televangelist Rex Humbard and Christian rockers Love Song. Franklin couldn’t attend the induction at Trinity Music City in Hendersonville, Tennessee, but sent a video message played during the ceremony. Long before she became the queen of soul, Franklin learned to perform as a budding star in her father Rev C.L. Franklin’s New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit. Christian stars Jaci Velasquez and Jason Crabb, who performed Skagg’s signature song “Somebody’s Prayin’,” hosted the event. Dailey & Vincent and Michael W Smith were among presenters.

F

T

ohn Lennon’s former home has gone up for sale for £15 million. The late music legend wrote a number of tracks for The Beatles’ eighth studio album, the seminal ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, at the house in Weybridge, Surrey, which was home to John and his first wife Cynthia between 1964 and 1968. Beatles fanatics might like to get their hands on the pricey property - which John purchased for just £20,000 on July 15, 1964 on the advice of the band’s accountants Dr Walter Strach and James Isherwood - as it was also featured in 1988 documentary film ‘Imagine: John Lennon’. As well as writing Beatles songs in the house, named Kenwood, John is said to have spent several days there taking LSD before later meeting the rest of the group - Sir Paul obert Pattinson can’t wait to get to Australia to escape the McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - and problems in his personal life. The ‘Twilight Saga’ actor - who proclaiming he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. was left devastated after his girlfriend of four years Kristen The house - which is on the St George’s Hill estate, Stewart cheated on him with director Rupert Sanders - is flying to where Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Tom Jones owned the Australian outback to shoot new movie ‘The Rover’ and sources homes - boasts six bedrooms, a swimming pool and say he can’t wait to get away from his regular life. One said: “Rob 1.5 actress of landscaped garden, which John can wants to get away for a while, and is looking forward to filming in take credit for improving. Following his purchase of the desert in Australia. He needs some space.” While he is looking the property, which is described by estate agents forward to getting away from Hollywood, Robert has been putting Knight Frank as a “luxuriously finished family on a brave face as he promotes new movie ‘Cosmopolis’ in New York home”, John splashed out around £40,000 renovatCity and enjoyed a night out with his guy friends last night . The ing his new abode by reducing its 22 rooms to 17 source added to the New York Post newspaper: “He was drinking, and building an outdoor pool, as well as landscapdancing and having a good time. He was bro’-hugging everyone. ing the grounds. While living in Kenwood, John There were some girls dancing [near Rob], but he didn’t seem to met Yoko Ono - his wife from 1969 until his death take any special interest in [any of them].” But before he goes, in 1980 - and he livened up the entrance hall with Robert is due to meet Kristen at the MTV Video Music Awards, next a suit of armor and a gorilla suit. As well as the month. Despite breaking up, the ‘Twilight’ stars are scheduled to bizarre features, the house also contains a study present prizes at the annual event and it would be the first time and an attic, where John installed the majority they are seen together in public since Kristen admitted cheating on of his musical equipment. Bill Martin, who him. wrote hit songs such as ‘Puppet on a String’ and ‘Congratulations’, purchased the property for £40,000 in 1968 and it has changed hands a number of times since, most recently being sold for £5.8 million in January 2007. — Bang Showbiz

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Pattinson planning escape to Australia

R

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

17th century shipwreck to be freeze-dried, rebuilt M ore than three centuries ago, a French explorer ’s ship sank in the Gulf of Mexico, taking with it France’s hopes of colonizing a vast piece of the New World - modern-day Texas. Like La Salle in 1685, researchers at Texas A&M University are in uncharted waters as they try to reconstruct his vessel with a gigantic freeze-dryer, the first undertaking of its size.

By placing the ship - La Belle - in a constant environment of up to 60 degrees below zero, more than 300 years of moisture will be safely removed from hundreds of European oak and pine timbers and planks. The freeze-dryer, located at the old Bryan Air Force base several miles northwest of College Station, is 40 feet long and 8 feet wide - the biggest such machine on the continent devoted to archaeology.

Researchers will then rebuild the 54 1/2-foot vessel, which will become the centerpiece of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. From a historical perspective, it’s “an icon of a small event that dramatically changed the course of Texas history,” said Jim Bruseth, who led the Texas Historical Commission effort to recover the remains.

The supply ship was built in 1684 and sank two years later in a storm on Matagorda Bay, about midway between Galveston and Corpus Christi. “When La Belle sank, that doomed La Salle’s colony and opened up the door for Spain to come in and occupy Texas,” Bruseth said.

“People can see firsthand how history can turn on a dime.” “It’s an important piece in ship architecture,” said Peter Fix, conservator at the school’s Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation. Researchers have determined that unlike earlier vessels, the frames on La Belle were marked specifically by the French craftsmen so the wood comprising the hull could follow the complex curve of the ship.

“This was the age of Enlightenment when math was coming into more play,” Fix said. After a more than decade-long hunt, Texas Historical Commission archaeologists found it in 1995 in 12 feet of murky water. Then began the tedious recovery that involved constructing a dam around the site. After the water was pumped out, teams dug through up to 6 feet of mud in the Gulf of Mexico seabed to retrieve the nearly

File photo shows Peter Fix, a conservator, peers through a tiny window on a 40-footlong, 8-feet-wide freeze dryer at the Texas A&M University Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation in Bryan, Texas. intact ship and some 700,000 items, from swords, cannons and ammunition to beads and mirrors intended for trade. Archaeologists also found one skeleton, believed to be a crew member or settler among the some 40 people aboard.

The ship was then transferred to the Texas A&M lab, where the water-logged wood has been immersed in a chemical solution to keep it solid. Initially, the ship was being reassembled in a two-stage chemical process, but as oil prices rose, so did the cost of the key chemical, polyethylene glycol. They decided the freeze-dry process was more economical and would shorten the preservation timeframe. So, the hull was disassembled and the wood was categorized and digitally scanned so that they could make molds of its original shape.

A New York-based firm that specializes in scientific equipment built the submarine-like freeze dryer. “If we were to take any piece of wood, say it’s been in the water for 300 years,

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irds, one of the Maison’s favorite inspirations for over one hundred years, are at the heart of the new Couleurs de Paradis collection. Precious and hard stones celebrate the harmonious beauty of these winged creatures.

The bird, a universal symbol The grace and lightness of birds have always fascinated.

Present on every continent, birds play their part in many mythologies: Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Celtic and also Asian or Native American. In the Chinese literature of the Han people, blue birds are immortal fairy spirits. According to different cultures, these gravity-defying travelers can symbolize liberated souls, celestial messengers or freedom. Indeed, since the dawn of time, men have looked to the sky and dreamed of imitating birds and acquiring the power of flight.

At the heart of Van Cleef & Arpels’ imaginary world Aerial and elusive, birds are among the winged creatures that inspire Van Cleef & Arpels, along with dragonflies, butterflies and, of course, the Maison’s emblematic fairies. The poetry of legends and nature’s constant renewal are themes which enduringly enrich Van Cleef & Arpels’ imagination; birds are naturally at the heart of these sources of inspiration. Always in movement, their grace offers endless delight as we observe them hovering over a flower, courting a mate or about to take flight. As a pair, they symbolize the tenderness and affection of enduring love. Whether delicate or majestic, birds are a constant invitation to representation; figurative or stylized, they are always precious.

When the bird becomes a jewel For over one hundred years, Van Cleef & Arpels’ Mains d’Or our artisans with golden hands - have continued to defy the boundaries of excellence and creativity in order to bring to life the versatile beauty of birds and their dazzling plumage. The Maison has devoted its unrivalled savoir-faire of exceptional stones to celebrate this rainbow of colors, with multi-colored pave setting, cut-to-size gems and Mystery Setting, technique.

Birds of paradise, symbols of dreams and creativity, are among the most spectacular pieces of the Maison. Their dazzling tails are adorned with shimmering gems and their love dances inspire precious jewelry scenes. Evoking exotic lands and legends, these creatures open the door to an imaginary world of beauty and harmony, created by Van Cleef & Arpels.

and pull it out, it would shrink, crack, warp within a couple of days,” Fix said. “The physical stress on wood would essentially cause it to fall apart and crumble and powder into pieces.”

But scientists know that at the right temperature and pressure, water can go from being solid to gas and skip the liquid phase. “It’s a slow, controlled process and depending on the thickness of material, over four to six or seven months, we know that timber has lost most of its bound water and it’s safe to bring out,” Fix said, noting that they’re experimenting with smaller pieces to “make sure nothing goes wrong.”

A similar preservation using freeze-dryer technology is planned for a medieval ship discovered in 2002 in Newport, South Wales. That vessel is about twice the length of La Belle. The La Belle rebuilding will start late next year at the Bullock Museum. “I can’t wait,” said Bruseth, who is serving as guest curator for the exhibit. “It’s just fantastic to see this project reach the point where we’ll actually be reassembling the ship as

a permanent installation.”

Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle was the first European to travel the Mississippi River south to the Gulf, claiming all the land along the Mississippi and its tributaries for France in 1682.

In 1685, he sailed from France with more than 300 colonists aboard four ships, La Belle among them, to establish a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi. Maps of the time show he believed the river was closer to Mexico, and his expedition missed the Mississippi by hundreds of miles. “They were guessing,” Bruseth said. His team established a colony near Matagorda Bay, but it was ravaged by disease, rattlesnakes and Indians. Three years later, La Salle led a handful of survivors inland in search of the Mississippi.

The explorer didn’t make it out of Texas; he was murdered by his own men. — AP

laces and earrings express the rich diversity of the theme and the Maison’s unrivalled savoir-faire.

In 2011, Van Cleef & Arpels makes a delightful addition to the collection with Nid de Paradis . Inspired by the theme of the nest- the nurturing haven of early life- a ring, a pendant and a pair of ear studs are born. A central stone, pledging true love, nestles at the centre of a welcoming spiral. The creations are ideally combined with the swirls of the Oiseaux de Paradis collection, offering an array of variations for matching sets.

Couleurs de Paradis, a new array of stones In 2012, the Maison pursues the inspiration and unveils new creations, as feminine as always. The novelty in this collection lies in the introduction of cultured pearls and hard stones such as: onyx, turquoise, chalcedony or lapis lazuli. These are materials that have already appeared in some of the Maison’s signature pieces such as the clips of the 50s and 60s and the iconic Alhambra collection. Today, their radiant colors echo the sky’s changing hues or the bird’s brightly colored plumage, represented here in a figurative or abstract fashion.

Indeed, each piece is an ode to the creature’s aerial grace and beauty. The emphasis is on the volume effect; to achieve this, elements of each silhouette are first carved out of wax before being crafted and assembled step by step. Once completed, the creations spring to life and give a remarkable impression of movement.

With equal lightness, the asymmetrical swirls of the pendants intertwine and all in cascades of dazzling stones; handselected diamonds or colored gems, the exotic color combinations echoing the hues of vegetation or plumage. These new creations reflect the excellence of Van Cleef & Arpels: the strict selection of stones submitted to the highest quality criteria (only diamonds of D E F color and IF to VVS clarity), the unique savoir-faire of the mise ‡ jour technique and the six grains setting.

A saga is born In 2009, the Maison pays homage to birds of paradise with the collection: Oiseaux de Paradis. Offering the dynamic lines of exclusive pieces, as well as High Jewellery creations, the collection combines fluidity and precision, technical mastery and beauty.

A series of figurative pieces gives Van Cleef & Arpels the freedom to represent the bird’s outline and attitudes, while more abstract designs symbolize the delicate swirls of its plumage.

Adorned with airy arabesques and graceful creatures, the diamond and colored stone Between-the-Finger rings, clips, neck-

Ring Oiseaux de Paradis

File photo shows the hull of the 17th-century French ship La Belle at the Texas A&M University Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation. —AP photos

Ring Oiseaux de Paradis Volutes

Ring Oiseaux de Paradis

Earclips Oiseaux de paradis

S

tylist turned media and fashion mogul Rachel Zoe has expanded her empire to include jewelry. “It’s fancy, but it’s not,” Zoe said during a recent viewing of the collection in her Melrose Avenue showroom. Inspired by her favorite things, including Art Deco and 1960s and 1970s glam, the pieces make a big statement-like Zoe herself. “I’ve never been subtle,” she said.

Indeed, this is the kind of jewelry that lets every woman have a red carpet moment, whether it’s at lunch with friends or at a charity gala. The line, priced $195 to $650, currently is being introduced at NeimanMarcus.com and in 42 Neiman Marcus stores nationwide. “This, I have not stopped wearing since I got it,” Zoe said, fingering the chunky, twisted gold rope and tassel sautoir necklace ($650) that she wore with a skinny, black pantsuit. “You can tie it in front, drape it around your neck like a scarf and let the ends hang in front or drape down the back.”

Looking at the necklace, I immediately thought of one of Zoe’s most memorable styling coups: Kate Hudson at the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards in that sexy, backless, long-sleeved, white Emilio Pucci gown with a Cartier tassel sautoir draped against her bare back. It was such an effective flourish that it may have single-handedly brought tassel jewelry back into fashion. (I know it prompted me to get a tassel necklace that belonged to my grandmother out of the drawer and start wearing it.)

“Since I’ve started styling, I’ve always loved a super-low back with a necklace worn against it,” Zoe explained. Her ability to create a red carpet look that translates to the real world explains how Zoe’s styling is informing her burgeoning fashion business.

And indeed, her Los Angeles headquarters includes a floor for her celebrity styling business, as well as a floor for the Rachel Zoe Media Group, where she oversees an editorial staff that publishes daily email newsletters the Zoe Report, Zoe Beautiful and AccessZOEries. Design of the jewelry collection is also done here in LA, while the apparel collection is designed in New York, where she will present her spring 2013 runway show at fashion week in September.

Zoe picked up another piece of jewelry, a Wonder Woman-like cuff with a circular, shield-like embellishment in yellow gold, black enamel and crystal stones ($420). “I love putting one of these on each arm. This

is a piece,” Zoe said with emphasis. There are gobstopper-sized cocktail rings with jadecolored stones, stackable bangles with alternating strips of black enamel and crystals, Lucite link collar necklaces, cuffs with interlocking knots, and dangling black and gold fringe earrings, all of which will be rolled out in Neiman Marcus stores over the next couple of months.

“I feel like I have been designing this collection for the last 20 years,” Zoe said. “I sketched and drew a lot of inspiration from my archives. And my research involved a lot of trial and error. After the first prototypes, I decided if I liked this or that, changed chains and stones.”

Zoe has quite an impressive personal jewelry collection too, which I have been able to see the two times I’ve toured her closet. She loves vintage Chanel, Miriam Haskell, Lanvin, Cartier and Bulgari pieces.

Her new collection is about giving her customers a taste of that glamour, albeit a less expensive one. “People want fun things that they can wear with jeans and a T-shirt and make their look that much better, which is why each piece has a lot to it,” she said.

When the jewelry collection expands beyond Neiman Marcus into other stores for spring, the line also will broaden to include smaller, more subtle pieces-in other words, not so much bling.

“For me, I have never stopped wearing big jewelry, some bigger than my appendages,” Zoe said. “But it’s not for everybody. And since my son has been born, there are more delicate things that I sleep in and don’t take off. Anita Ko made me a necklace that’s a vertical bar engraved with my son Skyler’s name and birth date, and Hilary Tisch made me a couple of delicate pieces with his name on them too.” So will fine jewelry be next? “Why not? I never say never. It’s the same reason I will probably go into high-end evening wear eventually. Why not play with the real stuff?” — MCT

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

lifestyle M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

A Minute With

Kelsey Grammer on ‘Boss,’ awards and fatherhood

K

elsey Grammer switched from comedy to dark drama to play ruthless Chicago Mayor Tom Kane in the Starz TV series “Boss,” earning a Golden Globe for a role that took him back to his classical theater roots.

On Friday, “Boss” returns for a second season, with Kane struggling to keep a Kelsey Grammer debilitating brain disease secret and looking to repair his legacy. The former “Frasier” star, 57, talked with Reuters about the new season, his disappointment at being overlooked by the Emmys and his delight at becoming a father for the fifth time with his new wife Kayte.

Q: It looks as if things are going from bad to worse for Tom Kane. How much longer will he be able to keep his medical condition secret?

A: “We deal with that in this upcoming season. You will just have to be surprised. I don’t have a satisfying answer for you right now.”

Q: But it does seems as if Kane is a changed person and more concerned about his legacy than just staying in power.

A: “It is definitely something on his mind. There is a nugget of intellectual agitation that is driving him right now. He has got to start worrying about what is going to be thought of him in the end. He is trying to establish a project that has his name on it, that is more selfless.”

Q: Your per formance is a tour de force. How exhausting is it playing a character who is always plotting and who is now having hallucinations?

A: “He is a great character to play because he is so energetic. The guy’s vitality is fantastic. He is dying and yet he has more vitality than most people who have another 50 years to live. It is more energizing to play in a weird way. “We have explored and lifted from Shakespeare quite a bit. Apparitions in Shakespeare are common place and in the culture of that time they were meant as real things. It is up to the audience whether they want to accept it as a real thing or a figment of his imagination.”

Q: And yet you were overlooked in the Emmy nominations this time, despite winning a Golden Globe in January. Does that kind of snub hurt?

A: “Oh yes, it hurts a lot. It is a little confusing, actually.

I still don’t know what to make of it. I am still not sure how it happened, but I am stuck with it, so there we go.”

Q: ‘Boss’ was a return to drama, your first love. Do you think drama is a genre you will stay with for a while?

A: “I hope so, I’d love to do another comedy too if the right thing came along. It’s all about the role. At this point in my life, if the material is good, if it’s a character I think ‘Wow! I’d love to do that,’ it won’t matter what the venue or the reason is except it’s a fascinating character to try to wrap my brain around.”

Q: “Newsroom” star Jeff Daniels told TV critics recently he doesn’t pay attention to what critics write about him because it doesn’t help him as an actor. Is that an approach you share?

A: “No. I find critical writing to be helpful sometimes so I often will investigate what they are saying. If it’s a slaughter piece, I am not going to continue to read it or let it impact my spirit too much. But if it’s what I grew up understanding as critical writing, they might make some interesting statement. I can slough off the stuff that is negative, personal attacks.”

Q: Congratulations on the arrival in July of your new baby. What’s it like being a dad for the 5th time? Has it changed the way you approach fatherhood?

A: “I just love life. I have always loved being a dad. I like looking after them. I love my little babies and I love my little girl, and the reflection she is of the love I have for Kayte. I have never been in a better place in life than now to have a baby. Arguably, a lot of guys wouldn’t even think of having any more kids at my time in life, but I am thinking about having many more.” — Reuters

Kirk Douglas recalls ‘Spartacus,’ film censorship

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ollywood legend Kirk Douglas earned a standing ovation from a packed Los Angeles theater as he introduced a screening of the 1960 classic “Spartacus” that included a previously censored scene. “When you’re 95 years old, you don’t look forward. You look backwards, you take inventory,” Douglas said late Monday, as he sat on stage to talk about the film that immortalized him as a movie legend.

Douglas said that “Spartacus”-a 2.5-hour epic about a slave rebellion in the Roman Empire-challenged censorship during an era when Hollywood actors and screenwriters were blacklisted due to their alleged communist sympathies.

Douglas produced and starred in the movie, which won four Oscars. The film was directed by Stanley Kubrick and costarred Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis. Douglas hired Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter, who wrote the script under a penname. Douglas however put Trumbo’s name in the film credits. “You have no idea how terrible those years were when we had the blacklist,” said Douglas, speaking with difficulty in part due to a stroke that he suffered in the 1990s.

The complete “Spartacus,” which was restored in 1991, includes a homoerotic scene that censors cut out when the movie first screened. In the scene, Olivier’s character, a wealthy Roman, comes to his slave-a young, half-naked Curtis-and asks him to enter the tub and help bathe him. Douglas presented the restored version as part of the “Last 70mm Film Festival” series. —AFP

Libyan musician perform traditional Andalusian music at the Tripoli Maluf Festival late on August 14, 2012. Maluf, played by small orchestras, consisting of violins, drums, luthes and flutes, is the classical Andalusian music of the Maghreb region with elements of Berber traditional melodies. — AFP

Teen fan keeps faith in Elvis

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emographically speaking, a girl like Isabella Scott ought to be obsessed with the likes of Justin Bieber. But in fact, her heart belongs to Elvis Presley. In her bright cotton dress and cowboy boots, the 13-year-old from Bonifay, Florida stands out among the significantly older crowd at Elvis Week, the annual jamboree in Memphis dedicated to the king of rock ‘n’ roll. But as the youngest president of any Elvis Presley fan club anywhere in the world, Scott clearly knows her stuff. “With his music, he has so many songs that you can connect with-like, if you’re having a bad day, his songs can pick you up,” she said on Tuesday at Presley’s suburban Graceland estate, which she first visited in 2010.

“And I just love his life stor y,” she explained in an engaging southern lilt. “You know he liked to give and to be generous to people.” Presley died suddenly 35 years ago Thursday at the age of 42 — that’s 22 years before Scott was born-and well before the Internet technology that enabled her to bond with other Elvis aficionados worldwide. Her web-based Elvis Aaron Presley-TCB 4EVR Official Fan Club (“TCB” meaning Taking Care of Business)

Isabella T Scott, 13, from Bonifay, Florida poses in front of a cut-out of Elvis Presley on August 14, 2012 during Elvis Week at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. — AFP has 1,470 members, plus a Facebook page and a Twitter account (@GracelandGal) that she updates several times a day.

“Found the security guard who calls me, ‘Pres!’ I love being a #ElvisFan club president. #ElvisWeek #elvis,” she tweeted from

Toronto film festival to end with feel-good fare

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he Toronto International Film Festival will wrap up its 10-day run in September with the world premiere of “Song for Marion”, a heartwarming story about the power of music from a director better known for his thrillers than feel-good fare.

“Song for Marion” stars Terence Stamp as Arthur, a grumpy retiree, and Vanessa Redgrave as his wife. Gemma Arterton plays a choir director who coaxes Arthur out of his shell in the film by British writer-director Paul Andrew Williams.

Opening on Sept. 6 and considered a launching site for Hollywood’s Oscar race, the 37th edition of the Toronto festival will feature films starring Ryan Gosling, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro, as well as Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut. Along with the closing night film, organizers on Tuesday announced three new galas, including the world premieres of “Emperor”, a historical epic starring Tommy Lee Jones about the US occupation of Japan after World War Two, and “What Maisie Knew,” a family drama centered

around a 7-year-old caught up in a chaotic custody battle.

TIFF will also host the North American premiere of Spike Lee’s “Bad 25”, a documentary that celebrates the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s highly influential album “Bad”. The festival promises a flock of familiar faces in new roles, from Colin Firth as a failed golfer in “Arthur Newman” to Philip Seymour Hoffman as a cult leader in “The Master”.

Launched in 1976, TIFF now ranks with festivals such as Cannes and Sundance among the world’s top movie events, and serves as a launching point for international films seeking North American distribution.

The festival enjoys a record of unearthing gems that go on to success at the Academy Awards, such as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The King’s Speech,” which both won bestfilm Oscars. The 21 movies named on Tuesday complete the full lineup for the festival, which includes 48 world premieres. All told there will be 20 Gala screenings and 70 special presentations. —Reuters

Judge grants Sheryl Crow 3-year restraining order

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judge granted Sheryl Crow a three-year restraining order against a man who acknowledged he threatened to shoot the singer-songwriter and film executive Harvey Weinstein. Philip Gordon Sparks, 45, agreed to stay away from the Grammy winner and Weinstein after an hour-long hearing in which he accused the pair of stealing $7.5 million from him, videotaping and following him without permission and leaving him homeless. A forensic psychiatrist who interviewed Sparks recently called him “imminently dangerous” and said his psychosis is directed intently at Crow.

Superior Court Judge James Hahn ordered Sparks to stay 300 yards away from Crow and Weinstein and make no attempt to contact them. Hahn, the former Los Angeles mayor who was appointed as a judge in 2008, presided over the hour-long hearing, patiently instructing Sparks to ask questions and allow him to describe at length his reasons for feeling persecuted. Crow obtained a temporary restraining order against the 45-year-old in July after her team reviewed a series of Sparks’ online posts directed at the singer.

A worker at the Screen Actors GuildAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists wrote in a declaration accompanying Crow’s filing that she spoke with Sparks on July 16 and he made the threat against Crow.

He also threatened to shoot film executive

File photo shows musician Sheryl Crow at the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s ‘Unforgettable Evening’ in Beverly Hills. —AP Weinstein because he believed they were filming him and had stolen millions from him, the worker stated. Crow, 50, has won nine Grammy Awards and has two sons, ages 5 and 2, who are also covered by the order. Sparks said he made the statement because he was frustrated because he believes they stole from him and continued to follow him. —AP

Graceland earlier this week. “Basically, I just post things going on that are happening here at Graceland and I try to keep my members updated with all things Elvis,” said Scott, who spends about two to three hours a week maintaining her virtual fan

club. But it’s not entirely about Elvis. For her YouTube channel, Scott chose “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones as the soundtrack for a video mash-up of her Graceland snapshots, betraying a precocious taste for classic rock.

“I listen basically to anything new on the radio,” she replied when asked to share her favorite tunes. “I like oldies. I like country. I like any kind (of music), really.” Scott-whose other extra-curricular passion is cheerleading-vividly remembers being introduced to Presley’s music during a family road trip when she was all of five years old. “My dad had made a CD for us to listen to on the way ... and it had a lot of Elvis hits on it like ‘Kentucky Rain,’ ‘In the Ghetto’ and ‘Suspicious Minds,’ and I really liked it,” she recalled. “I kept wanting (my parents) to replay it and that’s how I started loving Elvis.”

But what do her peers at school make of her Presley obsession? “They sort of think it’s weird that I like Elvis,” she said. “They wonder why I’m such a big Elvis fan and a fan club president when Justin Bieber is going out on tour and stuff.” And what does she tell them in response? “Elvis is the best... His legacy lives on today.” —AFP

Cee Lo Green launching environmental education program

File photo shows Cee Lo Green performing at the Caesars Entertainment Escape To Total Rewards concert in Los Angeles. —AP

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ee Lo Green is applying an extra level of meaning to his surname with his latest venture. The singer and coach for NBC’s “The Voice” is launching a new organization to make environmental education more accessible to kids in underserved school districts, the singer said in a release Tuesday.

The nonprofit organization, dubbed the GreenHouse Foundation, will officially launch Aug. 17. Green co-founded the organization with his sister, Shedonna Alexander. The GreenHouse Foundation “will educate, inspire and influence children to become responsible stewards of their environment, communities and future,” according to the release. Its first initiative, The Green Garden Education Program, will help schools build outdoor green gardens on campuses and introduce “green education” into their everyday curriculum. Ultimately, the produce created from the initiative will go toward the less privileged who don’t have access to fresh fruit and vegetables. “ Through the Green Garden Education Program, the GreenHouse Foundation is supporting schools with

the tools, curriculum, and resources necessary to create and maintain an outdoor ‘teaching garden,’” Green said.

“With the garden as the primary focus, children will learn the fundamentals of gardening along with the health and environmental benefits of growing their own produce. Children will also learn how to start and manage their own school farmers market. The hands of our children will help feed those in need, like the homeless or elderly who live in ‘grocery deserts’ with no access to fresh produce.”

Future initiatives will include “The School Waste Diversion Initiative”, which will provide schools with waste receptacles to divert non-biodegradable waste from local landfills and create a local competition among the schools. The official launch will take place with a dedication on the campus of Southwest-Atlanta Christian Academy, where Green attended elementary school, and which will serve as the foundation’s first GreenHouse School Partner. The first “teaching GreenHouse” will be dedicated in memory of Green and Alexander’s late mother, Sheila J. Callaway Tyler. — Reuters

lifestyle M U S I C

To The Arctic 3D:

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

M O V I E S

A SURVIVAL JOURNEY

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n extraordinary journey to the top of the world, “To The Arctic 3D” tells the ultimate tale of survival and takes audiences on a never-before-experienced journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her twin seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home.

Captivating, adventurous and intimate footage brings moviegoers up close and personal with this family’s struggle to survive in a frigid environment of melting ice, immense glaciers, spectacular waterfalls, and majestic snow-bound peaks.

Warner Bros Pictures and IMAX Filmed Entertainment present a MacGillivray Freeman Film, “To The Arctic,” a One World One Ocean presentation, directed by two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Greg MacGillivray (“The Living Sea,” “Dolphins”).

Filmed in 15/70mm IMAX 3D, “To The Arctic” is written and edited by Stephen Judson (“Everest”), and produced by Shaun MacGillivray (“Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk”).

The musical score is by Steve Wood, with songs

by Paul McCartney. MacGillivray Freeman Films is the world’s foremost independent producer and distributor of giant-screen 70mm films with 35 IMAX films to its credit. Throughout the company’s 40-year history, its films have won numerous international awards including two Academy Award nominations and three films inducted into the IMAX Hall of Fame.

“To The Arctic 3D” follows in the company’s long tradition of films known for their artistry and celebration of science, and for calling attention to the natural world.

Pitt congratulates Aniston on her engagement

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani grand Faisal Mosque is illuminated in Islamabad yesterday on Lailat Al-Qader, also known as the Night of Power - the 27th night of the Holy month of Ramadan. Lailat Al-Qader commemorates the night, according to tradition, when the Muslim holy book, the Quran, was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) through the angel Gabriel. Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. — AFP

Toy sailors

‘love locks’

In Paris, conquer all, even City Hall

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hey say you can’t beat City Hall, but Paris authorities who once took a dim view of the thousands of “love locks” adorning the bridges of the Seine River have had a change of heart. “We are letting the phenomenon be, looking at it with benevolence,” City Hall spokesman Damien Steffan told AFP with a Gallic shrug. “It’s not a problem for us.” The custom of attaching padlocks to bridge railings, fences or other public fixtures as a way for couples to pledge their undying love is of uncertain origin, but many link it to a 2006 novel, “Ho Voglia di Te” (I Want You), by Italian author Federico Moccia.

In it, two lovers attach a padlock engraved with their names to a lamppost on the Ponte Milvio in northern Rome, and then throw the key into the River Tiber. What could be more romantic than attaching a love lock to the Pont des Arts, the footbridge that crosses the Seine from the Left Bank to the Louvre? Or to the Pont de l’Archeveche, in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral? Most couples throw away the key, but some hang on to them as keepsakes for their children. When the custom began taking off around four years ago, Paris city authorities were not having it, more concerned with “preserving heritage” than gratifying lovers.

They considered a variety of solutions, such as installing purpose-built iron trees on or near the bridges. Two years ago, around 10 days after a City Hall spokesman said “the locks would be removed, eventually”, hundreds of them mysteriously disappeared from the Pont des Arts, with only a few dozen left hanging.

Municipal authorities were quick to deny involvement. “City workers had nothing to do with this,” a spokesman said, suggesting that someone else had pre-empted them. Police were just as categorical, saying they had heard nothing, seen nothing and detained no one sneaking about with a wire cutter in hand.

New love, new lock Since then, however, the love locks have been allowed to multiply again, appearing on any bridge where an attachment is possible.

“People like it and they tell other people about it,” Steffan told AFP, adding: “They give Paris some publicity.” Seen from a distance the Pont des Arts today glints like gold, its sides covered in brass dotted here and there with wisps of

A file picture taken on April 16, 2010 in Paris, shows love locks attached to a fence by lovers on the “Pont des Arts” bridge.

— AFP photos

white where brides have tied on strips from their wedding veils.

Tourists snap pictures of the jumbles of padlocks-even chunky bicycle locks in placesor jostle for a place to attach their own. The locks are absent from bridges with glass or stone railings, but at the Seine’s oldest bridge, the all-stone Pont Neuf, tourists make do by locking their love onto the railing of the steps down to the quay. The love lock trend has spread to cities around the world from Moscow to Marrakesh.

In Florence however, the locks are barred from the Ponte Vecchio-the city’s oldest, known for the dozens of shops lining the span in three storey’s for fear of damage to the metal railings. In Paris, an American tourist, Suzan Field from the western US state of Nevada, said she and her husband attached a love lock at the Pont de l’Archeveche two years ago and planned to check on it every two years. A Parisian woman named Elisabeth confided that she was attaching a second love lock after changing partners. — AFP

A file picture shows love locks attached to a fence by lovers on the “Pont des Arts” bridge in front of the Notre-Dame de Paris famous cathedral.

battle the seas of Central Park

Jon Elmaleh from the Central Park Model Yacht Club places his model boat into the water at the Conservatory Water in New York’s Central Park. — AFP photos

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niffing the wind, the hardened racing sailors eye their rivals. That the water’s waist deep and the boats are toys does nothing to lower the intensity at this centuryold sailing club in New York’s Central Park. The CPMYC-that’s the Central Park Model Yacht Club-makes a big thing from miniature voyages. Every Saturday for as long as anyone can remember members have shown up at the Conservatory Water to pit their wits against each other in the baffling winds swirling through the park’s trees. “This is a very pure form of sailing,” said Jon Elmaleh, a wiry 52-year-old, who with his chin stubble, mountaineer-style sunglasses and polo shirt, looked as if he might already be halfway across the Atlantic.

“You get to the core of sailing in a way you don’t on a big boat,” he said. Central Park’s pond is popular with tourists who rent radiocontrolled sailboats, one lever on the controls turning the rudder and another lever to manage the sail. But perhaps the most famous race of all is fictional. In EB White’s classic children’s novel “Stuart Little,” a talented mouse at the wheel of the wooden schooner “Wasp” defeats the bullying “Lillian B Womrath”. In that tale, a huge crowd gathers around the pond, a policeman falls in, and the boats have to navigate fluky winds and an errant paper bag.

The last factor-the sometimes maddening challenges of a pond surrounded by tall trees and the skyscrapers of Manhattan-are something today’s toy sailors can appreciate. “The wind’s hard. It goes around in circles. It goes straight down,” Elmaleh said, squinting at the sky. “You get to think of it as moving through space as a three dimensional object that’s turning all the time.” The CPMYC has been around since 1916 and up until the 1970s boasted some 120 members. Keen amateur model builders came up with designs that would go on to inspire naval architects working on America’s Cup and other big boat

Pat Dworzan places Incognito, a boat he built, into the pond.

races. Today there are just 25 members. “It’s kind of dying,” Elmaleh said.

Quirky club tradition?

The more than 100 miniature yachts lined up in the red brick boathouse remain an evocative sight. Many are sleek racing machines with narrow hulls. Others are more tubby recreations of ocean sailing boats, complete with cabins, steering wheels and everything a tiny sailor, such as EB White’s mouse, would want. Like any real yacht club, the CPMYC has a leader called the commodore, a vice commodore, a treasurer, a secretary and its own triangular pennant to be flown from the mast.

“Central Park is it. I call it Mecca,” the commodore, John Tucker, said. “The entire world sailing fraternity, when they come here to New York, they come to pay homage.” Tucker, 79, said he’s “dabbled” in big boats. Elmaleh has crossed the Atlantic on a yacht, but insists that model racing is superior: “You can race your own boat without, you know, dockage fees and getting sandwiches for the crew.”

While Elmaleh blamed the ever rising trees and falling wind for the club’s decline, Pat Dworzan, 68, said young people no longer have the needed attention span.

Dworzan’s boat “Incognito” is an amazing piece of handcrafted wood, with every feature of a real boat reproduced, right down to the individual planks lay over ribs and perfectly tied knots in the thread-sized rigging. “A kid today can’t do that. There’s too much distraction,” he said, rescuing “Incognito” from impending collision with one of the “pain in the ass” vessels rented by tourists.

Dworzan said he had no intention of graduating to a proper boat at sea. “One time I tried and it scared the hell out of me.” Elmaleh, whose company Out There Technologies designs everything from toy boats to pool cleaning gizmos and a stool that lets you exercise while sitting, takes racing pretty seri-

ously. At a three-way contest last weekend, his boat, hand built to a cutting-edge design, trounced the field.

He’d just come back from a national championships in San Diego, where, he says darkly, a competitor from Barbados cheated and ruined his shot at the title. He’s also sailed in New Zealand and England. Tucker called Elmaleh “the king of the water.” But not everyone at New York’s miniature yacht club has such big ambition. “My wife bought a boat for me to get me out of the house,” an elderly man in a Yankees baseball cap said. “The nicest thing about it is the parade.” A parade?

Was this some quirky club tradition? “Oh no,” the man said, gesturing toward a group of female tourists in shorts. “The women going by. You just sit on the bench and watch themand to hell with the boats.”—AFP

A family sails a model boat at the Conservatory Water in New York’s Central Park.