28 Nov

RI PT IO N BS C SU THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF

40 PAGES

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010

Obama gets 12 stitches after ‘elbow in the lip’

THULHIJA 22, 1431 AH

Man Utd rout Blackburn 7-1

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Xmas tree ‘bomb’ thwarted Somali-born teen arrested in US bomb sting

KUWAIT: The members of the families of Mohammed Abdulqader Al-Jassem and Khaled AlFadhalah protest in front of the Prime Minister’s palace, demanding the release of AlJassem. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Amnesty urges Kuwait to free Jassem KUWAIT: Amnesty International has urged Kuwait to immediately release a writer serving a one-year jail term for criticizing the Gulf state’s prime minister. “Amnesty Inter national believes that Mohammed Abdulqader Al-Jassem has been convicted and sentenced solely for non-violently exercising his right to freedom of expres-

sion,” the London-based rights group said in a statement. Philip Luther, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and Nor th Africa, described Jassem as “a prisoner of conscience,” in the statement issued late on Friday.

“The authorities should release him immediately and unconditionally and, more broadly, cease their

apparent attempts to stop him from airing his views on the government and Kuwait’s ruling family,” he said. Jassem, 54, was jailed on Monday after being convicted of slandering Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmad AlSabah, a senior member of the ruling family.

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P O R T L A N D : Undercover agents in a sting operation arrested a Somaliborn teenager just as he tried blowing up a van full of what he believed were explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony, federal authorities said. The Mohamed Osman bomb was a fake supMohamud plied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 pm local time Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him.

Yelling “Allahu Akbar!” - Arabic for “God is great!” - Mohamud tried to kick agents and police after he was taken into custody, according to prosecutors. “The threat was very real,” said Arthur Balizan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. “Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale.”

The FBI affidavit that outlined the investigation alleges that Mohamud planned the attack for months, at one point mailing bomb components to FBI operatives, whom he believed were assembling the device.

It said Mohamud was warned several times about the seriousness of his plan, that women Continued on Page 14

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Women main targets

Beggars adopt new technique in Kuwait

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The presence of beggars often becomes more widespread in Kuwait during festival periods such as Ramadan and Eid. Observations indicate that there are also beggars who plead for money all year round.

Indeed, reports suggest that some innovative mendicants have devised new begging methods or techniques which are at least new to Kuwait, with a number of people claiming to have witnessed these beggars at

work or been subjected to their pleas.

Often, Asian men, sometimes with families, driving a vehicle with Omani or UAE license plates, stop people randomly to ask for help.

They generally try to choose women, considering females to be more sentimental and thus more likely to give them money.

About two years ago, a white sedan with Emirati license plates carrying a family with children stopped me while I was crossing the road in Salmiya. At first, I thought that since

they weren’t from Kuwait they might be needing help with directions.

Then the driver told me in a sad voice and with a gloomy expression that somebody had stolen his wallet, and he and his family simply wanted to return to the UAE. I told him to go to the police station to complain, to which he replied that he only needed some money to fill his car with fuel and return to the UAE. At this point, I gave him KD1 and he left. Two days later I saw the same car parked in front of a cafe in Salmiya and realized

that I had been duped.

It seems that many beggars have been making a living in this way for some time and have become successful at it, so choose to continue.

Last Thursday, I witnessed a similar scenario. Whilst standing in front of the garage where my car was being repaired, a dark green car with three Asian male passengers pulled up next to me and the driver called me by saying ‘Please madam I need to talk to you’. This time, however, I was better prepared, having already

worked out that they were liars, so I simply told him that if they were facing problems I could help them by calling the police to assist in resolving them. He persisted in addressing me, however, so I got out my mobile and began dialing the number to show I was serious, at which point they disappeared quickly.

These beggars are to be found in various areas of Kuwait and also appeared in the Hawally area a few months back.

“An Asian driver with a family in

his car stopped me on the main road asking for help,” said Knar, a 41-yearold Kuwaiti woman. “I don’t like to talk to strangers especially men, so I tried to avoid him, but he almost start crying and was begging me to listen to him. So I stopped, and he started telling me his story of having technical problems in his car, and how he needs money to repair it to get back home since he’d been robbed. I told him I didn’t have any money and advised him to report the theft at the police station or give him the number

of the emergency, so he left when he lost hope of getting any money.”

Some people have heard about these beggars, exploiting people’s kindness and refuse to help them.

“In front of the Shamiya Co-op, while I was leaving, a car with an Asian family stopped near me and [the driver] asked for money to repair his car, as he had come from Oman,” said Hana, a 22-year-old Kuwaiti student. “I simply told him, that I would pray to God to help him and left.”

Afghan man in police custody Heat turned up on Safar as more rotten food found for drug smuggling attempt KUWAIT: Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) inspectors have reportedly discovered more expired food items on sale at local markets, finding large amounts of foodstuffs unfit for human consumption at a number of wholesale markets in Shuwaikh, some of which have expiry dates dating back several years.

Speaking to the press on Friday, the

By Hanan Al Saadoun KUWAIT: Kuwait customs officers arrested a 61-year-old Afghan man for attempting to smuggle 76 capsules of illegal drugs into the country. The man was apprehended by authorities for acting suspiciously and an X-ray of his abdomen in Farwaniya Hospital revealed the swallowed drugs.

Authorities confiscated 650 grams of heroin and the man was referred to the proper authorities.

KAC pilot failed to follow instructions

Vehicular accidents A car accident near Qairawan left two citizens, both 27, with back and shoulder pain.

They were brought to Jahra Hospital. Meanwhile, a 28-yearold citizen was admitted to Mubarak Hospital’s intensive care unit after he fractured his spine and neck during a car accident on Fifth Ring Road.

In an unrelated accident, a 27-year-old Indian sustained a head injury when he was struck by a car in Salmiya. He was admitted to Mubarak Hospital’s ICU. Also, a 20-year-old citizen suffered a cardiac arrest caused by a head injury during a car accident in Jahra. He was admitted to Jahra Hospital’s ICU. Meanwhile, a 27-year-old Egyptian suffered a bruise on his head during an ATV accident in Julaih. He was taken to Adan Hospital. Also, a 12-yearold and a 50-year-old Pakistani suffered back pain and cuts to their feet during a car accident near the officers club. They were referred to Adan Hospital.

In an unrelated incident, a 39-year-old Iranian was struck by a car on Amman Street in Salmiya and sustained a broken left leg and a head injury. He was admitted to Mubarak Hospital’s ICU. Meanwhile, a 37-year-old Bangladeshi suf-

KUWAIT: The Afghan man who was arrested for attempting to smuggle 76 capsules of illegal drugs into the country. —Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun fered bruises and lacerations to the face when a car struck him in Kabd. He was taken to Farwaniya Hospital. In a separate incident, a 38-year-old citizen dislocated her left shoulder during a car accident on Jahra Road. She was taken to Jahra Hospital. Also, a 22-year-old citizen suffered lacerations to his forehead, knees and left hand during a motorcycle accident near Mansouriya. He was taken to Amiri Hospital.

Fire A 32-year-old Kuwaiti suffered from smoke inhalation while a 10-year-old Kuwaiti girl suffered minor burns to her feet

during a house fire in Sabah AlSalem. They were both treated on site.

KFSD inspection Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) Deputy General Manager of Fire Fighting and Human Resources Development, Brig Yousuf AlAnsari visited the Abdaly and Subbiya fire centers. He inspected the readiness of both centers during this time of year as families head for farms and camps. Brig Al-Ansari also visited firefighter Corporal Abdallah Al-Sandali, in the hospital for a foot operation, and wished him a speedy recovery.

MoC blamed for ‘road’ damage KUWAIT: The Ministry of Communication has been accused of ‘squandering public funds’ over its failure to monitor the traffic of cargo trucks in the country.

A press report published recently states that the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Ministry of Public Works hold its Communication counterpart accountable for the loss of millions of Kuwaiti dinars, paid to repair roads that are damaged due

to the overuse of heavily loaded trailer trucks, reported Al-Rai. The two ministries indicate that the government body has failed to monitor the country’s roads in Kuwait to check if trucks carry goods from and to sea ports. These are committed to the load limits that have been assigned for each road, explaining that it failed to use equipment that have already been installed.

KUWAIT: A report on the emergency landing and evacuation of a Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) plane a few weeks ago found the pilot responsible for the incident, reported Al-Rai. The report found that the pilot reacted improperly when a smoke detector in the cabin was triggered.

The KAC aircraft, on its way to Dhaka, Bangaladesh earlier this month made an emergency landing a few minutes after taking off when a smoke detector in the cabin was triggered. The report added that during the evacuation of the flight’s 260 passengers, several injuries occurred as a result of the chaotic manner with which the procedure was handled.

The Kuwait Airways Corporation indicated that the alarm was false and that Captain Nayef Al-Mutalaqim failed to triple check the alarm as he was trained and decided to unnecessarily land the plane. The report indicated that the proper response to the situation would have been to land the plane normally and to request that ambulances be deployed to the scene. The report also quotes witnesses indicating that the captain nervously demanded that passengers evacuate the plane immediately, which further caused panic.

The report explains that the plane’s engine would have burst into flames within forty minutes had an electric short circuit taken place, as the pilot claimed. The KAC, meanwhile, filed a case of noncooperation with the Directorate General for Civil Aviation against Al-Mutalaqim, accusing him of disobeying orders.

The same plane had a second emergency landing just a week later at the Kuwait International Airport after detecting high air pressure inside the cockpit, reported Al-Watan. No injuries were reported in the incident.

A news report published recently indicated that the same plane suffered a third incident on its way back from Dhaka but that the situation was handled successfully by its captain, Jassem AlAnjari.

MCI’s Assistant Undersecretary for Commercial Monitoring Affairs, Abdulaziz Al-Khaldi explained that the inspectors’ recent crackdown, conducted in cooperation with colleagues from the Kuwait Municipality and the Ministry of Interior (MoI), netted items including fruit juice, cheese, ice-cream and nuts, as well as rose water, on which the expiry dates had all been intentionally altered.

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The parliament’s call to investigate the scandal regarding the selling of spoiled meat on Kuwaiti markets was welcomed by Public Works and State Minister for Municipality Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar. The minister said that the municipality will cooperate with the committee when it is formed.

“We will provide the committee will all documents on the issue and we have nothing to hide. We want to explain everything,” he added.

In an earlier comment, MP Mubarak Al Waalan said “I will submit a request to form a

committee to investigate the spoiled meat crisis in order to expose those involved.”

Meanwhile, official sources said that the Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) will sign a contract with the French Essier-Bugatti company to repair KAC’s aircrafts. The sources added that the contract will be signed before the end of the year and that KAC wants to improve maintenance on their aircrafts in order to avoid incidents similar to those that have happened recently.

In other news, the Ministry of Interior decided to insure the four helicopters it uses during traffic jams. Official sources

in the news

No housing grant rise KUWAIT: The Ahmadi residents evacuated over concerns about the ongoing gas leak crisis have

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has celebrated the opening of its branch located in Sabahiya, extending the Bank’s offer of premium financial services to a new part of the city as part of its continued focus on client service. The Sabahiya Branch will provide local residents with the chance to experience the difference and convenience of banking with Gulf Bank in their area of residence.

The branch opening was attended by

the Governor of Ahmadi, H.E. Sheikh Dr. Ibrahim Al- Duaij Al-Sabah, as well as Gulf Bank’s management team. The branch will be open from Sunday to Thursday 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Gulf Bank now has 51 branches located across Kuwait. Today’s opening is further evidence of the success of Gulf Bank’s strategic approach to offering the best possible customer experience to customers throughout Kuwait,

and marks a further strengthening of the Gulf Bank offer.

For further information on any of Gulf Bank’s products and services and its regular promotions and offers, visit one of Gulf Bank’s conveniently located branches or call the Telebanking service on 1805805. Customers can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s bilingual website, for more information.

said approvals for the signing of the final contract were given and that the move will cost KD 270,000.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Oil put an end to the delay of constructing a new pipeline to transport crude oil. While the original contractor pulled out of the project before starting, another contractor was brought in through the CTC. Official sources said the pipeline will extend from the main Abdaly distribution point to the middle Abdaly distribution point at a cost of KD 5.5 million. The sources added that the project will start next January.

KUWAIT: Director General of the General Department for Drug Control, Maj Gen Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah was presented with a master’s thesis by Capt Fawaz Mohammad Al-Jarky. The captain’s thesis was titled ‘Loopholes in Kuwait’s drugs law compared to American drug laws.’

Blood donation drive

Gulf Bank opens branch in Sabahiya

Works and State Minister of Municipality Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar’s resignation, insisting that he should be held accountable for the corruption within the municipality.

Meanwhile, MP Saad Al-Khanfour separately urged the minister to reveal the names of those companies accused of supplying the local market with food items unfit to human consumption.

Safar welcomes spoiled meat inquiry

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior will participate in a national blood donation campaign to raise awareness on the issue. A mobile blood donation unit from the bank will arrive at the Saad AlAbdullah police academy tomorrow so that students and officials can participate in the drive. “The drive was undertaken at the behest of Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid and is being monitored by undersecretary Ahmad Al-Rujaib, as part of the ministry’s commitment towards fulfilling its social role,” said Brig Gen Mohammad Al-Sabr official ministry spokesman and Head of the Security Media Department. Furthermore, AlSabr announced that similar mobile units will be present at other security departments in the ministry.

KUWAIT: Governor of Ahmadi, Sheikh Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah cutting the ribbon with Fawzy Al-Thunayan, general manager of board affairs.

Several MPs recently took part in a seminar held to discuss this subject, with some reports suggesting that municipal officials are turning a blind eye to these violations in return for bribes, reported Al-Watan.

During the seminar, MPs Askar AlEnezi, Mubarak Al-Waalan, Naji AlAbdulhadi, Musallam Al-Barrak and Ali Al-Deqbasi called for Minister of Public

been notified that the amount of financial support given to them by the state will not be increased.

They have also been informed that they will be given the option of selecting their own alternative accommodation rather than having to live in the apartments provided by the state. Several MPs had demanded that the government double the KD 500 maximum monthly grant currently available to each of the families who were instructed to leave their homes in Ahmadi and move temporarily to furnished apartments in other areas, reported AlWatan. The latest reports suggest, however, that the commission formed by the government to handle the ongoing crisis has notified the families that the housing grant will not be raised, as well as informing them that if they wish to find alternative accommodation to the apartments offered they will have to do so for themselves. Many of the Ahmadi residents forced to evacuate their homes when the concentration of airborne natural gas in the area reached dangerous levels have expressed concerns of possible effects on their employment status after they were forced to take time off from work to evacuate their homes and move to the temporary accommodation.

Press conference on small-scale projects forum KUWAIT: A press conference, organized by the committee of the small-scale projects forum, will be held today. All details concerning the symposium that will take place on Tuesday will be discussed.

The event, held under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmad AlFahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, State Minister of Development and State Minister of Housing Affairs, will feature the participation of an elite team of academics and specialists who were invited by the Kuwait Small-scale Projects Renovation Company that organizes the forum.

During the forum’s initial session, which will be chaired by Dr Adel Al-Wuqaiyan, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Planning and Development, will feature the discussion of three main topics. Kuwait will support small scale projects through a development plan.

Lectures will be delivered by Mutlaq Al-Sanea CEO of the KSPRC, Dr Adnan Al-Sultan, Economics Professor at the Kuwait University, and Abdullah Al-Hajri Development and Industrial Support Manager at the Public Authority of Industry (PAI). The second topic to be discussed will be on encouraging a spirit of entrepreneurism among nationals.

It will be addressed by professor Dr Terki Al-Shemmari at the Administrative Sciences Faculty of Kuwait University.

Meanwhile, the third topic on the Gulf region’s experiences in the field of small-scale projects, will be addressed by board member at King Saud University Luay Radhwan.

Terror suspects KUWAIT: Kuwaiti security authorities have reportedly been contacted by their Saudi counterparts with information suggesting that two bedoon (stateless) residents of Kuwait are amongst the 149 individuals recently arrested on suspicion of connection with Al-Qaeda-related activities.

According to news reports issued on Friday, the Kuwaiti security services are currently studying the information they have received about the two suspects in order to determine whether or not they may have been working in concert with other individuals in Kuwait, reported Al-Rai. Security officials have stressed that cooperation between the intelligence and security services in the two countries is vital in uncovering any other individuals who could be connected to the activities of the alleged AlQaeda cells.

EQUATE to launch two environmental projects KUWAIT: The EQUATE Petrochemical Company yesterday announced its forthcoming launch of two major environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives at a grand celebration held to mark the event.

Speaking about the initiatives, EQUATE’s President & CEO, Hamad Al-Terkait, said, “EQUATE continues to provide its utmost contribution and commitment to ensuring the overall sustainability of the State of Kuwait.

Our CSR initiatives extend across various social and economic sectors, enabling EQUATE to share its success with the community.”

Al-Terkait added, “Over the years, EQUATE has demonstrated its commitment

and dedication to making a positive difference in the community as it continues to provide valuable and innovative initiatives across various sectors, such as manpower development, education, community awareness, corporate contributions and the environment.”

The company head explained, “Today, EQUATE will celebrate the launch of Kuwait’s first Green Carbon Project for carbon dioxide recovery and the Middle East’s first Plant Water Recycle Project. These projects are a continuous embodiment of our commitment and dedication to being a valued neighbor in Kuwait and beyond.”

Including the inauguration of the two major environmental CSR initiatives in line with the

theme of “EQUATE Safeguarding Kuwait’s Environment,” the event brought together key members of the community, partners, the media and business associates to celebrate the launch. Established in 1995, EQUATE is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC).

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

Sunday, November 28, 2010

‘No financing without legislation’ KUWAIT: A top state official’s statements has stirred political confusion, and raised questions about the Cabinet’s priorities as well as its method of financing the country’s development plan. Mohammad Al-Busairi, Minister of Communication and Minister of Parliament Affairs recently announced that the Cabinet will place a mechanism to finance the development plan’s project, among its list of priorities that were recently submitted to the Parliament.

However, the same minister told the Parliament’s priorities committee that a decision has not been arrived at, reported Al-Qabas.

Officials from the committee revealed that Dr AlBusairi - who also serves as the government’s official spokesperson - will hold a meeting next week on behalf of the government to discuss the feasibility of presenting a draft law before the financing committee. Officials further noted that a team assigned by the government to devise a financing mechanism is being led by Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah, Governor of the Central Bank.

The panel will not include the topic among the list of priorities that will be placed for voting during the November 30 session, unless the Cabinet presents a legislation.

Plans to include 43 reports

Assembly panel to finalize legislation priority list KUW AIT: The pa rlia m enta ry fina ncia l a nd econom ic comm ittee is set to fina lize its list of dra ft la w s to be given priority for discussion during the current term by toda y in order to submit it to the pa rlia m ent a s soon a s possible. Spea k ing to the press on Frida y, com m ittee hea d MP Dr. Fa isa l Al-Za lza la h sa id tha t the la w s m ost needed to fa cilita te Meanwhile, a lawmaker suggested that the cabinet has failed to follow up on the policies it suggests, indicating that the recent decision to create a crisis center contradicts an earlier law giving the civil and defense department similar powers.

In a press release issued on Friday, MP Adel AlSaraawi explained that law number 21 released in 1979 states that plans should be drawn up beforehand in order to face any potential crises, adding that this duty falls under the jurisdiction of the civil and defense department. Al-Saraawi accused the cabinet of either being unaware of this legislation when it put forward the crisis centre proposal, or of doing so regardless of the contradictions that such a move would entail.

“What happened proves that the cabinet acts only when problems occur”, Al-Saraawi added, further stating that the steps taken by the government to combat problems in the country are usually reactive rather than implementing existing crisis management measures.

Meanwhile, another MP expressed surprise at fellow parliamentarians’ “delayed reaction” to the violations allegedly taking place in the information ministry which were cited in a State Audit Bureau (SAB) report.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the head of the parliamentary human rights committee, Dr. Faisal Al-

Kuwait, Mexico plan more business cooperation

KUWAIT: Belgian Ambassador Damien Angelet held a reception last week to celebrate his country’s National Day. The event was attended by fellow ambassadors, diplomats and other dignitaries. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

Call to amend jail sentence clause in audio-visual law KUWAIT: The Kuwait Society for Human Rights (KSHR) recently called for the amendment of regulations that stipulate imprisonment as punishment for journalists who commit libel. This was mentioned in a press release that was issued to comment on the court order that sentenced columnist Mohammad Al-Jassem to one year in prison after being found guilty of insulting His Highness the Prime Minister.

The KSHR refused to mention the punishment, but said that this incident “makes it evident that the time has come for the imprisonment penalty included in the Publications and AudioVisual Law to be canceled.” It added that other legislations prevent the insult of public figures by the media.

As per the terms of the sentence spelt out, the well-known writer will be put behind bars while

the Appeals Court considers an appeal. This issue has received a backlash from local and international press. The Human Rights Watch strongly condemns the sentence which it describes to be “more than an attack to the freedom of expression.”

Meanwhile, the Journalists’ Watch Program from the Middle East and East Africa has released a statement demanding Al-Jassem’s release, expressing surprise that “eighteen cases have been filed against Al-Jassem in order to silence him.”

Meanwhile, Emad Al-Said, attorney of HH the PM, commented on the reactions of international organizations on the subject, “this case is similar to previous cases in which facts have been tampered with so that human rights cases are politicized.”

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MEXICO CITY: The United Mexican States and the State of Kuwait have been examining the prospects for facilitating a mutual flow of capital and launching investments between the two countries.

The opportunities for such cooperation were examined during a meeting on Thursday between the Kuwaiti Ambassador, Sami Gohar Hayyat and senior Mexican officials, namely Deputy Foreign Minister Lourdes Aranda, the DirectorGeneral of the International Economic Development Department, Francisco Olguin, and the Deputy Director-General of the department, Jose Garcia.

During the meeting, the senior officials discussed projected investment and commercial opportunities in the two countries, the mutual flow of capital, commodities and services between the two states, as well as the facilitation of communications between Mexican and Kuwaiti businessmen.

Hayyat praised the close ties bonding the two states, affirming that these relations would be further strengthened at various levels in the near future and adding that planned exchange of visits between Kuwaiti and Mexican officials would pave the way for enhancing political dialogue and commercial exchange, in addition to opening up new horizons for investment cooperation.

The senior diplomat also briefed the Mexican officials about the Kuwaiti State Development Strategy, calling on Mexican companies to study the investment tenders being promoted in Kuwait. —KUNA

Retraction On Saturday, November 20, 2010 the Kuwait Times published an article titled ‘Multi ministry camera ban frustrates artists’ in which incorrect information was provided. The newspaper regrets failing to verify the information. The article wrongly stated that a ban on DSLR cameras was implemented by the Ministries of Information, Social Affairs and Finance. This information is false. In a follow up investigation, it was proved that no such ban has been issued. We regret this error and deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused.

the country’s stra tegic developm ent pla n w ill be given top p riority, expla ining tha t “not every priority presented by the ca binet requires discussion during the current term .” The comm ittee hopes to include 43 reports a m ong the pa rlia m ent’s schedule of p riorities, Dr. AlZa lza la h sa id.

Duwaisan, said that the SAB report had been submitted to the parliament on October 26, asking pointedly “Does this mean that MPs read newspapers more than they do reports?”

Al-Duwaisan also revealed that he is to drop his planned interpellation motion against information minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah after the SAB report was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service for study. The MP explained that his interpellation was centered around the administrative and financial violations at the ministry, which have all been covered in the report, adding that could make his grilling motion unconstitutional since the regulations state that the subjects which an interpellation discusses should not be under consideration by the judicial sector.

On a separate issue, it was announced that the human rights committee has elected MP Saleh AlMullah as its rapporteur by default. Meanwhile, committee member MP Dr. Walid Al-Tabtabae announced that he will be boycotting the panel’s meetings until the parliament responds to a petition he submitted opposing Al-Duwaisan’s election as committee chairman. AlTabtabae, who was running for the chairman’s position himself, protested against the selection of Al-Duwaisan who was elected by default during the panel’s first meet-

ing, indicating that he was not present at the time.

On a separate matter, the parliamentary public funds protection committee announced that an investigation has been launched into alleged violations at the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Kuwait Airways Corporation. (KAC) On another parliamentary issue, it’s believed that the Popular Action Bloc is currently pushing for the prioritizing of its proposed interpellation motion against finance minister Mustafa Al-Shamali, ahead of other grillings planned for the current parliamentary term.

This follows the Reform and Development Bloc’s announcement that it will not be presenting its planned grilling motion against education minister Dr. Moudhi Al-Humoud before the interpellation prepared by the National Action Bloc against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah over the sports issue is submitted.

Meanwhile, MP Dr. Maasouma Al-Mubarak said that the fact that women in Kuwait continue to be subjected to increasing rates of violence proves that the legislation in place to protect women is inadequate. This follows the publication of official statistics last week indicating that an average of 368 charges of violence against women are filed per year in Kuwait. — Agencies

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

4,000 participate in ‘Beat Diabetes’ walkathon

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: At least 4,000 people belonging to different age groups, gender and nationalities participated in the ‘Beat Diabetes’ walkathon held yesterday.

The Yachting Club in Salmiya served as the starting point of the race, and the finish line set at the Green Island.

The event was organized by Landmark Group in cooperation with the Dasman Diabetes Institute under the patronage of Dr Hilal Al-Sayer, Minister of Health. Kuwait Times was one of the media sponsors. The walkathon concluded with a raffle draw and 50 valuable gifts were distributed to lucky winners.

The walkathon began at 9am and was attended by Faisal Al-Dosari, PR and Media Manager of the Ministry of Health, Dr Kaathem Behbehani, General Director of Dasman Diabetes Institute, Sepal Basso, Executive Operation Manager of Landmark Group, and other officials.

The walkathon was part of a corporate social responsibility initiative that aimed to spread awareness on diabetes and its causes. Many participants also benefitted from other medical activities such as blood sugar tests that were offered on the sidelines.

The first ‘Beat Diabetes’ Walkathon was very successful, “We are glad to receive great support from the whole society with their high attendance in the first walkathon, providing muchneeded boost to this vital health issue.

This day marks the beginning of the commitment to follow a better lifestyle.

We hope that this event will highlight facts about the disease, which is a threat to all of us. We also aim to spread awareness about it in the whole area,” noted Sepal Basso.

The marathon began with a warm up exercise, which was followed by free tests performed to assess blood sugar levels. After the walkathon, healthy breakfast was provided to all participants.

It is important to take part in sporting activities to achieve healthful benefits. “To prevent diabetes and control blood sugar levels, it is necessary to practice sports. The initiative of the Landmark Group is an excellent example of the participation of the private sector companies to eliminate the spread of diabetes. The Dasman Institute, by sponsoring this event, aims to increase awareness in society,” said Dr Kaathem Behbehani.

Diabetes is also directly linked to obesity, “Diabetes is increasing because obesity has become common place in society, mainly caused by the lack of exercise. Today, we aim to highlight that by increasing physical activities (so that) obesity can be decreased, which will result in low diabetes rates.

The percentage of diabetes is high, with one in each 300 children suffering from it. Approximately 80 to 90 new cases of diabetes cases are diagnosed every year,” said Dr Azza Shaltoot, a pediatric diabetes consultant.

Recent statistics show that about 140,000 Kuwaitis are diabetic, comprising over 16 percent of the population.

Kuwait and the GCC countries account for the largest number of diabetic patients in the world.

140,000 Kuwaitis suffer from diabetes

The starting point of the walkathon.

The raffle draw in progress.

The start with balloons.

Some of Dasman Institute staff.

Awarding the volunteers.

Kuwaiti traditional musical band participating at the ceremony after the walkathon.

The participants at the theatre of the Green Island after the walkathon.

Awarding the participating authorities.

Faisal Al-Dosari, PR and media director of Ministry of Health, at the walkathon

First arrival —Photos by Joseph Shagra

Sunday, November 28, 2010

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Kuwait foreign policy based on respect of treaties DAMASCUS: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Syria Abdulaziz Al-Daihani asserted yesterday his country’s respect of the foreign policy established by His Highness the Amir, based on respecting international agreements and accords, particularly respecting the sovereignty of countries and not to interfere in the internal affairs of other states.

The remarks by the ambassador were made during a lecture he delivered on Kuwaiti-Syrian bilateral relations and foreign policy at the Academy of higher military marking the opening ceremony of National Defense course in which a number of officers from various Arab countries, including Kuwait took part.

Al-Daihani added that Kuwait’s foreign policy is also based on considerations to end

Top priority for ending disputes by peaceful means disputes by peaceful means.

The ambassador noted as well to bilateral relations, stressing that His Highness the Amir places special care on Syrian-Kuwaiti relations, particularly with regard to bolstering and developing ties.

He also referred to His Highness the Amir’s historic visit to Syria last May. The Kuwaiti diplomat also highlighted Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development’s (KFAED) role in contributing to the development of vital projects in Syria since 1969, noting that KFAED has so far offered 28 loans to the Syrian govern-

ment. Meanwhile in Cairo, The Arab League’s Assistant Secretary General for Palestinian Affairs, Mohammed Sobeih, said here on Friday that the Israeli Knesset’s approval of a referendum law on Israel’s withdrawal from Golan Heights and Jerusalem is, “a declaration of the failure of political process and settlement.”

Reprising the subject yesterday as the Arab League issued a specialist report on Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, Sobeih called the referendum “a declaration that the political process and settlement will not reach its end, and that if it reaches, it will

meet with failure.”

The senior Arab League official said that the Israeli decision, “puts additional hurdles before US and international efforts regarding the peace process and the return to negotiations as it adds a new and dangerous dimension [to] the peace process and further obstructs a peaceful settlement.”

He added, “If Israel wants peace, it should withdraw from Occupied Jerusalem and Syrian Golan Heights as peace is based on giving land back to their owners in exchange for Israel’s attainment of peace.”

He stressed that the Arab Peace

Initiative represents the optimal solution and way of terminating the existing conflict, adding that Israel should be held fully responsible for the faltering peace process.

A previous report from the Arab League asserted that the draft resolution approved by the Israeli Knesset on the 22nd of this month on holding a referendum prior to any withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and East Jerusalem counters the international law.

The report, compiled by the Arab League’s Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories division, made it clear that the

Fun Run 2010

resolution had received strong support from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that this is the outcome of a precondition established for concluding any peace accord with Syria or the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

The report further emphasized that this resolution demeans international law and the international community’s stance and will, which assert that both East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights are Arab territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

The Arab League report concluded that Israel has no right to hold a referendum regarding the occupied territories, and consequently the Knesset’s resolution does not establish a right nor constitute an obligation. — KUNA

kuwait digest

Political, cultural pollution Waleed Al-Rujaib

B

ack in the 60s, citizens around the country used to feel jealous about those living in Ahmadi because their area was built

by British engineers. At the time, the area was perfect; facilities, street planning, even the gas lines were unique: it was the only area with pipes delivering gas directly to people’s homes.

The area’s infrastructure was well built to protect it from flooding, sewage problems and the hospital in the area was well known for its medical services.

Built on a hill 40 km away from Kuwait city, Ahmadi was the destination of citizens looking to enjoy a cool breeze and green parks.

Decades later the situation in Ahmadi has been complete-

KUWAIT: The Dutch Embassy held the ‘Fun Run 2010’ on Friday morning, with this year’s event entitled ‘Run for Your Life.’ The fun run, which took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, was held to mark the ‘Charity for Childhood Foundation Day,’ and raise money for the worthy cause, with several diplomats taking part. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

ly turned upside down.

Similar to many other parts of the country, corruption has poisoned the area. Ahmadi hospital, for example, has become the center of negligence ever since it was turned into a public medical facility and KOC has suffered from corruption for a long time now.

The current gas leak in Ahmadi is nothing but a reflection of the political and cultural pollution that has spread through the country for the past several years.

Ahmadi has stayed firm in the face of this problem for years, and has now finally collapsed.

The same has happened with the Kuwait Airways Corporation, the education sector, the sports sector, citizens’ living standards and even the parliament.

— Al-Ra i

Farmers worried over possible frost damage KUWAIT: As local meteorologists predict the arrival of a cold winter, farmers in Kuwait are expressing concern about potential damage to their crops as a result of the expected frost, as well as voicing alarm that they may not be eligible for full compensation for this eventuality.

In 2008, frost devastated around 70 percent of the crops grown by around 2,500 farms in Abdaly and Wafra.

Thereafter, the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) sent a memorandum to the Minister of Public Works and State Minister of Municipality Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar, requesting that a sum of KD4 million be allocated as

compensation for the affected farmers, Al-Qabas reported.

However, this compensation was never paid due to a shortfall in the PAAAFR’s budget.

This year, meteorologists have predicted that December and January temperatures could drop to below 10º C, raising concern among local farmers that a similarly devastating frost could hit their crops, with the improbability of receiving any compensation for the losses sustained if this occurs increasing their worries.

While local farmers previously believed that it was worth the risk of planting outdoor crops in autumn to grow over winter, many are reportedly reconsidering the wisdom of such a move this year.

School compensation report to be submitted next month KUWAIT: A special committee has been formed to compile reports on the compensation amount that private schools are slated to receive from the government; they were forced to delay academic year commencement owing to H1N1 infection scare. Mohammed Al-Dahes, Director of the General Department for Private Education, Ministry of Education made the relevant announcement.

The committee’s final report will be submitted to the Education Minister on December 30, reported AlAnba.

Addressing a number of teachers from the Home Science department on the sidelines of a school competition held on Thursday morning, Al-Dahes said that the introduction of the new subject was of vital importantce to female students as it prepared them to become successful future homemakers.

Furthermore, Al-Dahes said that his department would sign a contract with a foreign company to assess the performance of foreign private schools in Kuwait, in collaboration with the committee formed by the Ministry of Education.

NBK sponsors NUKS convention KUWAIT: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced that it will sponsor the 27th annual convention of the National Union of Kuwait Students (NUKS) - United States Branch that began in Miami, Florida last Thursday and ends today. This step comes as part of the bank’s commitment to support the country’s educational process and activities held by Kuwaiti students both inside and outside Kuwait.

“The NBK’s annual patronage of the event has become a significant element as part of its agenda to support social activities,” Abdulmuhsin Al-Rushaid, Head of the Public Relations Department said. The NBK

Abdulmuhsin Al-Rushaid will also sponsor the economic forum that will be held as part of the convention, while also providing job opportunities to hopeful Kuwaiti youth.

6

NATIONAL

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Kuwaiti women injured in beauty salon fight Indian arrested in Jleeb

KUWAIT: Three Kuwaiti women were injured when they were attacked by employees at a beauty salon in Fahaheel after they tried to leave without paying the bill, reported Al-Watan. The incident began when the salon's personnel confronted the three to prevent them from leaving. When the confrontation turned violent the police responded to the incident and brought the situation under control. The three were taken to a local medical facility to receive treatment for the injuries they sustained during the violent struggle.

kuwait digest

Individualistic decisions hurt Kuwait

By Ali Al-Baghli ince it's important that a report should be thoroughly comprehended before criticisms are made against it, I carefully reviewed the recent US State Department's report on freedom of religion in Kuwait. While the report provided detailed data about the situation of nonMuslim minorities in Kuwait, supported by confirmed statistics, I noted one glaring omission in the report's coverage of Ali AlMomen's appointment as the first Kuwaiti Ambassador to Iraq since 1990. Al-Momen, a Shiite Muslim, is a retired Lt. Gen who served as the Kuwaiti Army's Chief of Staff for ten years, a post more vital than his ambassadorial one, yet the report failed to mention this.

Moreover, Al-Momen is one of many

S

Shiite Kuwaitis appointed as ambassadors over the past fifty years, who never felt that any discrimination was being practiced against them. For example, Kuwait's permanent representative at the United Nations during the period of the Iraqi Invasion, Ambassador Mohammad Abu AlHassan, is a Shiite citizen who issued the declaration of liberation from the invasion.

It's also important to consider the complaints of discrimination against Shiite citizens in leading public sector posts cited in the report. The majority of these complaints come against individual decisions that do not reflect the government's policy on this issue.

These unfortunate individualistic decisions are responsible for such things as obstructing the construction of Shiite mosques, as well as restricting the building

Al-Foudari with the Green Island's work team

of churches, as the Municipal Council's recent decision did. These decisions are made by individuals with narrow vision in the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and the Ministry of Municipality Affairs, as well as at the Kuwait Municipality and the municipal council, in favor of fundamentalist ideologies.

These individualistic decisions, rather than government policies, are the things damaging Kuwait's image internationally.

Therefore, those responsible for these decisions should be aware that these issues are no longer solely matters of domestic concern, but also affect the fundamental tenets of human rights that Kuwait has vowed to safeguard, and which the United States has taken upon itself to ensure are protected by its allies worldwide. — Al-Qabas

that she left her husband because he wanted her to have a sexual relationship with one of his friends as a way to pay off a debt he owed.

The husband denied the accusation and a case was opened in court.

Outlaw in custody An Indian man was arrested in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh for being in possession of narcotics and violating residency laws, reported AlWatan. The man was arrested following a brief car chase with authorities when police asked him to pull over. An investigation revealed that the man's residency expired two years ago and police discovered 102 bags of narcotic substances in his vehicle. He was referred to the proper authorities.

Heart attack An Indian died in Farwaniya as a result of a heart attack, reported Al-Qabas. Paramedics responded to the emergency and pronounced the man dead upon their arrival.

Wife leaves husband A non-Kuwaiti woman accused her Kuwaiti husband of asking her to perform sexual favors for a friend of his, reported Al-Watan.

The citizen filed a case with authorities at the Hawally police station, informing them that his Moroccan wife left him. When she was summoned by authorities for questioning, she informed them

Fatal crash An Asian man was killed and three others were injured in a car accident on Fifth Ring Road, reported Al-Qabas. Police and paramedics responded to the emergency and brought the injured to a nearby hospital. An investigation revealed that the accident occurred because the car was speeding.

Stray bullet A Kuwaiti couple was almost killed by a stray bullet in Jahra, reported Al-Rai. The incident occurred while the husband and wife were driving through Doha and a stray bullet struck their vehicle. The man reported that he pulled over after he heard a loud bang and discovered that a bullet pierced the roof of his vehicle and settled between the two front seats.

Domestic dispute Police arrested a man in Taima who threatened to kill his wife while being under the influence of drugs, reported Al-Rai. The man picked up a knife and threatened to kill his wife when she confronted him about his drug abuse. The wife locked herself in a room and called police for help. Authorities responded to the emergency and placed the man under arrest. He was referred

to the proper authorities.

Thief in custody Police arrested a young man trying to sell the furniture he stole from a house in Sabahiya, reported Al-Rai. The suspect was arrested after he sold the furniture to an undercover agent for KD 2,500.

When questioned, the suspect admitted to stealing the furniture and an investigation revealed that he was wanted for previous cases of theft. He was referred to the public prosecutor.

Cheating husband A female citizen filed for a divorce upon learning that her husband had been cheating on her for six years, reported Al-Anba. She made the discovery when she used his cell phone to order food and the restaurant kept giving her the address for an apartment in Salmiya.

Russia holding talks with GCC states MOSCOW: Russia is currently holding contacts with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with the aim of working out major arms exporting deals in the near future.

Anatoly Isaikin, the General Director of Rosobornexport, Russia's top arms authority that handles up to 80 per cent of the nation's exports of weapons to the world, said that some GCC states expressed interest for cooperation with Russia in the military and technological domains.

Present discussions with these states signal possible deals in the future, added Isaikin. However, he stopped short of naming the Gulf countries that showed interest in setting up military establishment with Russia and purchasing weapons from Moscow -- one of the world's top arms maker in the world.

In general, Arab states have always been the target of interest on part of Russia at this level, he said, indicating that friendly ties bound Moscow with a number of countries in

the Arab world. The friendship that has existed for years between Russia and a number of Arab countries consolidates stability of these relations and paves way for promoting the ties in various sectors, he added. Russia manufactures heavy arms, such as warplanes, tanks, artillery, submarines, warships and rocket launchers. Some Arab states, namely Syria, have been depending on the Russian arms for many years. Rosobornexport sold $60 billion worth of arms over the past 10 years. — KUNA

Visitors participate in a competition.

Green Island celebrates Lebanon's National Day KUWAIT: More than 4,000 Lebanese residents, citizens as well as other expatriates in Kuwait celebrated a special ceremony that was hosted by the Green Island to celebrate Lebanon's National Day. The event, organized by the Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC)

featured an entertainment program that included several events that were specially prepared for this occasion. In a statement made recently to the press, Nasser Al-Foudari, Green Island supervisor said that the ceremony featured several participation that reflected

Lebanese culture, such as Lebanese 'Dhabka' bands as well as musical concerts that featured national Lebanese songs. The event also saw various competitions held for children and their families.

Prizes were distributed by Lebanese businessman Hassan Hoho.

Nasser Al-Foudari

A competition held for female visitors

A winner receives her prize.

The festival's largest Lebanese flag on display

The Lebanese 'Dhabka' band

Lebanese businessman Hassan Hoho

Sunday, November 28, 2010

US military eyeing options

US engagement on Iran must be realistic: Army WASHINGTON: The United States needs to be realistic about its efforts to engage Iran, whose leaders are lying about Tehran’s nuclear program and are on a path to building nuclear weapons, the top US military officer said. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in comments released on Friday that the US military has been thinking about military options on Iran “for a significant period of time” but added that diplomacy remained the focus of US efforts. “I still think it’s important we focus on the dialogue, we focus on the engagement, but also do it in a realistic way that looks at whether Iran is actually going to tell the truth, actually engage and actually do anything,” Mullen said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS due to air today.

Iran has agreed to meet with a representative of the six big powers over its uranium enrichment drive, but diplomats and analysts see little chance of a breakthrough in the long-running dispute. Still, US officials, including Mullen, have warned that a military strike will only delay, not halt, Iran’s nuclear

program and say convincing Tehran to abandon its nuclear program is the only viable long-term solution. Defense Secretary Robert Gates went further last week, warning a strike would also unite the divided country and saying sanctions were biting harder than expected.

The West believes that Iran aims to use its uranium enrichment program to build atomic weapons, which Iran denies. Both Israel and the United States have said all options remain on the table to deal with its nuclear ambitions, a position Mullen reaffirmed to CNN. Asked whether he believed Tehran’s vows that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes, Mullen said: “I don’t believe it for a second.” “In fact, the information and intelligence that I’ve seen speak very specifically to the contrary,” he said. “Iran is still very much on a path to be able to develop nuclear weapons, including weaponizing them, putting them on a missile and being able to use them.” CNN released a transcript of the interview, which was recorded on Nov 24. —Reuters

Jordanians urged to pray for rain AMMAN: Jordan’s ministry of religious affairs yesterday urged citizens to gather next week and hold special prayers for rain across the parched kingdom. A ministry statement said people should begin fasting for three days ahead of Thursday’s planned prayers in Jordan, where a lack of rainfall could trigger a drought and exacerbate water shortages. “Since the rains have been delayed and because of the pressing need for water in the country, we call on you to hold open-air prayers for rain on Thursday afternoon,” said the statement. Jordanians should “prepare for the Istisqa prayer by fasting for three days starting tomorrow, and by stepping up devotion and charity work.” The special Muslim prayers known as Salat AlIstisqa—a ritual practiced since the time of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) — are fre-

quently held across the Middle East, where water is a precious resource, especially on the Arabian Peninsula.

Jordan, one of the 10 most water-impoverished countries in the world, has a population of about 6.3 million and consumes more than 900 million cubic meters of water every year.

The county, where 92 percent of the land is desert, depends mainly on rain to meet its needs with the agriculture sector representing 3.6 percent of overall gross domestic product.

More than 60 percent of the annual water consumption goes to agriculture. But five successive years of below-average rainfall has created a shortfall of 500 million cubic meters a year. According to the water ministry, Jordan needs 1.6 billion cubic meters of water a year to meet its requirements by 2015. —AFP

ElBaradei misses a much-anticipated opportunity CAIRO: Egypt’s former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei has missed a much-anticipated opportunity to press for change by failing to unite the opposition in an election boycott, analysts and diplomats say. ElBaradei, 68, has been out of the country since September and has remained largely silent in the run-up to today’s first round of parliamentary polling, despite previously denouncing the regime as authoritarian and undemocratic. “ElBaradei believes that he serves the cause of change whether he is in the country or abroad,” said Abdel Rahman Yussef, a member of his support committee. He would return at the beginning of December, he added.

“But it is true that most of us think he would serve our cause better if he were in Egypt more often,” Yussef said. “We still believe that boycotting the elections was the right choice for the opposition.

“Everything going on at the moment demonstrates that participation is absurd,” given the certain victory of the ruling National Democratic Party, he added. The Nobel Laureate and former head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency appealed to Egyptians in September to shun the vote, but only a few small parties heeded the call.

Every party in the outgoing parliament rejected the idea.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition force, as well as the liberal Wafd opposition party both decided to field candidates.

Brotherhood candidates stand as independents, to bypass a ban on religious parties. “Our decision to participate in the elections... is due to the fact that it is the only peaceful path to change,” the Islamist

group’s leader Mohammed Badie said this week. “The elections are a window that allow us to live alongside the people and promote the call for reform,” he told the Arab satellite network AlJazeera.

ElBaradei’s absence sharply contrasts with the enthusiastic welcome he received at Cairo airport on his return to Egypt in February after 20 years abroad.

His demands for constitutional reforms, which would allow independents such as himself to stand as candidates in next year’s presidential election, were quickly dismissed by the government.

Amr Hamzawi, an Egypt expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, believes that the long periods ElBaradei has spent out of the country have damaged his political prospects.

“The biggest mistake he made was that he didn’t stay in Egypt,” Hamzawi said.

“He says he wants change, but he spends three-quarters of his time abroad, which casts doubt on his personal commitment.”

It is a view that is also shared by some diplomats.

“He is a man of integrity and experience but the degree of his (political) commitment has never been resolved,” said one Western diplomat in Cairo.

In the polling booths today it will be equally difficult to gauge the effect on the Egyptian electorate of ElBaradei’s call for a boycott, given the traditionally low turnout. Official figures put the level of participation in the 2005 parliamentary election at just 26 percent, and 23 percent for the last presidential election.

“Given the low level of participation in the previous elections, I don’t think the boycott is going to have much of an impact,” said Emad Gad of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. —AFP

iNterNatioNal

7

Lebanese PM arrives in Tehran on ‘historic’ visit TEHRAN: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Iran yesterday on a first official visit amid a tense political stand-off between his pro-Western camp and rival Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah. During his three-day visit, Hariri, accompanied by several ministers, will meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other officials, state media reported.

Hariri’s visit is “historic and very important,” Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, told the official IRNA news agency.

The trip comes a little over a month after Ahmadinejad made a similar visit to Lebanon, where he was given a hero’s welcome

by Hezbollah supporters in both Beirut and in the south near the border with Israel, Iran’s arch-foe. Hariri’s visit also comes amid a tense political stand-off between his pro-Western camp and Hezbollah over a UN tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of his father, former premier Rafiq Hariri. The tribunal is expected to implicate high-ranking Hezbollah officials in the murder, but the party has warned against this, prompting fears of a sectarian conflict between Hariri’s Sunni supporters and the Shiite Hezbollah.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has a natural role in the region, especially in resolving crisis and strengthening stability in Lebanon,” Hariri was quoted as saying in an

interview with IRNA on Friday ahead of the visit.

Lebanon’s premier was welcomed by first Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi and he is expected to meet Ahmadinejad today, Iranian media said. “This visit is taking place while Lebanon is in a very sensitive and complicated situation,” Mohammad Reza Sheibani, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for the Middle East, told Khabar newspaper in an interview yesterday.

“The questions linked with the Hariri tribunal have drastically affected Lebanese groups and its political situation,” he added.

A Lebanese ministerial source said that Hariri hoped Iran would help to reconcile the rival pro-

Western camp and Hezbollah. “This visit is important because of its timing, when Lebanon is in crisis because of the expected indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” the source said. “The Iranians will try to reconcile points of view between Hezbollah and Saad Hariri,” the source said. In return, Hariri would support Iran’s “development of nuclear capabilities for civilian and peaceful purposes,” the source added. The West and its Arab allies accuse Iran of seeking to destabilize the region and extend its influence across the Arab world, and Tehran faces increasing international pressure over its nuclear program.

Government-run news-

paper Iran Daily insisted that the Saudi-backed premier’s visit “should not be reduced to the question of the Special Tribunal as it is an internal Lebanese affair.”

“Hariri’s visit can also be evaluated as a positive change in Tehran-Riyadh relations,” the paper wrote in a commentary. The two countries are also expected to focus on mutual cooperation, following up on 17 agreements signed during Ahmadinejad’s visit to Lebanon. Iran hopes warmer ties with Lebanon will deliver a blow to Israel.

“Expansion of ties between Iran and Lebanon will definitely strengthen the resistance movement against the Zionist regime,” Sheibani said. —AFP

8

INTERNATIONAL

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Hungary opposition rallies against pension changes BUDAPEST: Thousands of supporters of the Hungarian Socialist party protested yesterday against planned pension changes in the largest opposition rally since the centre-right Fidesz government took office in May. Last Wednesday the government announced steps that would force the country’s 3 million private pension fund members back into the state pension regime in a reversal of a 1997 pension reform. The plans, which private funds have denounced as an open attempt at nationalization, sparked a sell-off in Hungarian assets and

Largest protest since new govt took power provoked outrage among supporters of the Socialists, who were ousted from power in an April election.

Private pension funds hold approximately 3 trillion forints ($14.23 billion) in assets. The leader of the main opposition Socialists told a crowd gathered in a sports hall in Budapest that his party would call street protests against the pension plans and other measures. “We send the mes-

sage to the government that if it does not change its arrogant style and politics, we will go the street in the spring to shout with tens of thousands: That’s enough!,” Attila Mesterhazy told a cheering crowd of 10,000 supporters. The pension bill gives taxpayers until Jan. 31 to return to the state pension system from mandatory private pension funds or face drastic cuts in their future entitlements.

The measure, as well as other recent changes clipping the wings of independent institutions in Hungary, has drawn criticism from the European Union and caused alarm among ordinary Hungarians.

Mesterhazy said a government plan to launch a flat personal income tax in 2011 would favor the rich at the expense of the poor, and that measures to curb the power of the Constitutional Court were a threat to

democracy. Analysts have said the pension changes could boost support for the Socialists, who ruled between 2002 and 2010, but are unlikely to produce mass rallies or produce a major shift in political loyalties.

Support for the ruling Fidesz party, which holds a two-thirds majority in parliament, has hovered between 39 and 44 percent in the latest opinion polls, compared

with just 11 to 14 percent for the Socialists.

Noemi Nemes, a 23-year-old student who took part in the rally said the pension shakeup will have political consequences.

“There will be big rallies... This a really serious problem when accumulated savings are taken away,” she said.

Zsuzsa Arvai, a 53-year-old health care worker said she was angered by the government plan, which would strip her son of private pension savings put aside over the past eight years. “This is blackmail,” she said. — Reuters

Voters hammer Irish govt Sinn Fein wins seat on wave of anti-government anger STRANOLAR : I reland’s government sa w its pa rliam enta ry ma jority cut to tw o on Frida y, a s voters in one of the ruling pa rty’s hea rtla nds punished it for seek ing a n EU/IMF ba ilout a nd instea d ba cked nationa lists Sinn Fein. Sta te broa dca ster RTE sa id it had lea rned tha t the ba ilout expected to be fina lized over the w eekend w ould include loa ns

a t a n a vera ge interest ra te of betw een 6 and 7 percent, fa r m ore tha n m ost Irish citizens w ere expecting to pa y. The loss of a sea t in the remote northw estern county of Donega l com plica tes the country’s politics a s the deeply unpopula r governm ent enters the fina l days of ba ilout ta lk s.

DONEGAL: Sinn Fein candidate, Pearce Doherty, centre, celebrates with Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams (left) and party colleagues after winning the Donegal By-Election at the election count in Donegal, Ireland Friday. — AP

Former Madagascar judge linked to coup plotters ANTANANARIVO: Madagascar has charged a former judge at the International Court of Justice with threatening state security, accusing Raymond Ranjeva of links with rebel troops behind last week’s failed coup attempt.

Justice Minister Christine Razanamahasoa said Ranjeva had been released on bail. He had been questioned earlier in the week over possible connections between the mutiny and his past declarations he was willing to be part of a new government. The rebellion ended almost a week ago after the army stormed the BANI barracks on the outskirts of the capital Antananarivo and arrested nearly 20 military officers who had threatened to overthrow the government on the Indian Ocean Island.

“Raymond Ranjeva has not been sent to jail. He is accused of threatening the internal security of the state,” Razanamahasoa said by telephone, adding he had links with officers

behind the mutiny. It was not clear whether Ranjeva would plead guilty or not and it was not immediately possible to contact him. No date has been set for the trial, the minister said. Military police commander Colonel Richard Ravalomanana said that 10 of the dissident troops held on charges including rebellion and threatening state security had also appeared before the court.

It was unclear if any had been temporarily released from detention. Political analysts said Ranjeva, who hails from the Merina nobility, had widespread support among civil society leaders and might have made a popular leader had the plot been successful. In October, Ranjeva publicly lashed out at President Andry Rajoelina, accusing Africa’s youngest leader of turning his back on a negotiated end to the political turmoil, triggered when Rajoelina seized power with military

support in March 2009. “To Andry Rajoelina ... I simply ask the handover of responsibilities to a truly neutral interim authority. I put myself at the disposal of the real transition,” he said then.

Ranjeva was a member of the UN International Court of Justice in the Hague between 1991 and 2009. The latest bout of unrest in Madagascar has underscored the depth of internal rifts plaguing the army since Rajoelina drove predecessor Marc Ravalomanana into exile.

The rebellion broke out as the country, the world’s biggest producer of vanilla, voted peacefully in a referendum to replace the old constitution scrapped by Rajoelina when he grabbed power. The new charter lowers the minimum age for the president from 40 to 35; Rajoelina is 36. The opposition had called for a boycott. — Reuters

Ukraine marks famine amid genocide controversy KIEV: Ukraine yesterday marked its national day remembering the victims of its devastating Stalin-era famine amid controversy over whether the tragedy should be termed a genocide. Many Ukrainian historians say the famine, which killed between four and 10 million people by different estimates, was intentionally provoked by Soviet rulers to crush an independence movement in Ukraine, but others dispute this.

President Viktor Yanukovych took part together with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in a commemoration to victims of the great famine early yesterday in Kiev, calling on Ukrainians to “bow down the memory of the innocently killed.”

Yanukovych laid a candle and Ukrainian symbol of a branch and the ears of wheat at the monument to the great famine victims, the presidency said.

Ex-president Viktor Yushchenko lobbied the United Nations for years to have the famine of 1932-33 in Ukraine recognised as an act of “genocide” against the Ukrainian

DONETSK: People hold flowers and candles to commemorate those who perished as a result of the Holodomor, the plague of hunger, during a memorial ceremony in Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Friday. —AFP people, which constantly irritated Moscow. But the proRussian Yanukovych rejected this idea and named the great famine “a common tragedy of the nations that composed the Soviet Union” in a meeting of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in April. “We consider that recognising the great famine as a fact

of genocide by one or another nation will be wrong, it would be unjust,” he said at the time.

But opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko accused Yanukovych of outraging the memory of Stalin-era famine’s victims by not recognizing it as genocide. “It is very sad that the current leadership denies the fact of genocide, committing

outrage upon the memory of millions of victims of great famine,” Tymoshenko said as was quoted on her website. In 2006 under the previous proWestern administration, the parliament of the ex-Soviet republic approved a bill recognizing the famine as genocide despite opposition from proRussian lawmakers. — AFP

In the last day of trading before the terms of the bailout are expected to be announced, the extra yield investors demand to hold Irish debt reached a record high of nearly 7 percentage points above German bunds.

The ruling Fianna Fail party’s candidate lost a special election for a vacant seat in remote northern Donegal county to Sinn Fein, a nationalist left-wing party which has capitalized on popular anger over the economic crisis.

Sinn Fein’s head Gerry Adams, best known internationally as a leader of the nationalist movement during decades of violence in British-ruled Northern Ireland, said the goal was to take power in Dublin and end IMFimposed austerity measures.

“We didn’t buy into the austerity. We’re not for the savage cuts,” he told reporters. The main opposition Fine Gael and Labor parties are expected to form the next government, but Sinn Fein, which now has a fringe role, could emerge as an opposition force, a sign of how dramatically the country’s politics are being upended. A nationwide election will take place soon because Fianna Fail’s junior coalition partners, the Greens, said last week they would pull out of government after the budget passes.

Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty defeated the Fianna Fail candidate for the vacant seat by 39.9 percent to 21.3 percent among voters’ first preferences. Last time, Fianna Fail won 51 percent in the area, a stronghold for generations. Doherty told national broadcaster RTE voters had rejected bigger parties that all favored swingeing cuts: “Sinn Fein has stood alone outside the consensus of Irish politics and the people of Donegal southwest have overwhelmingly endorsed that.” Out-of-work builder Tony Gillespie, 55, a long-time Fianna Fail voter, cast his ballot for Sinn Fein despite having “a problem with their past.” He wanted to “register a vote against what’s going on to get some of the cronies out that have been in there for the last number of years,” he said.

BAILOUT The Irish public has followed the IMF negotiations closely, and there could be a fresh political backlash if the government is seen as accepting loans at too high an interest rate. RTE said several sources had told it the average rate for the IMF, EU and European Central Bank loans would be 6.7 percent, although it said some sources had said 6.4.

Either rate is more than Greece paid for a bailout earlier this year and far more than Ireland pays on its existing debt.

The money would be loaned over nine years and would raise Ireland’s interest payments to 8.5 billion euros a year, about 20 percent of state revenues, RTE said. It described the rate as “much higher than people were expecting”. The main opposition Fine Gael party, which has called for bondholders in bailed-out banks to bear more of the cost, said any rate over 6 percent would be unacceptable. “If that is the rate, that is too high,” Fine Gael spokesman Leo Varadkar told RTE. “It is higher than the IMF rate, it is higher than the Greeks are paying.”

Cowen is expected to agree to an assistance package of about 85 billion euros from the IMF and the EU at the weekend, meant to prevent trouble spreading in the euro zone. Portugal is under pressure to follow Ireland and seek a bailout, and policy makers fear debt problems could also hit Spain. Cowen needs to tackle the worst deficit in Europe as part of the condition of a bailout.

A failure to get his 2011 budget passed next month would trigger the downfall of his government. His majority now depends on two independent members of parliament who have signaled they may vote the budget down. —Reuters

ABIDJAN: Boureima Badini (L), special representative of President Blaise Compaore in Abidjan talks with Ivory Coast’s President Laurent Gbagbo (C) and the mediator in Ivory Coast’s political crisis, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore yesterday at the airport in Abidjan. — AFP

Rallies, scuffles end Ivory Coast election campaign ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast’s political rivals ended their presidential campaigns with noisy rallies Friday, ahead of a vote aiming to end a decade of instability but overshadowed by bloodshed and lingering tension. Tens of thousands of whistling, yelling supporters turned out for separate rallies

by President Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara in the economic capital Abidjan, a key electoral battleground for the divided country. The candidates urged a peaceful vote, but the specter of unrest hovered as Ouattara’s camp rejected Gbagbo’s call for a curfew after Sunday’s polls. Ivorian and UN forces have bolstered their deployments in case of violence.

Security sources said several people were injured when fresh clashes broke out between rival supporters in Abidjan before officers intervened and restored order. One person has been killed in pre-poll violence which observers have warned could derail the second-round vote. The United Nations mission and the European Union have called for calm. The pro-Ouattara RHDP coalition said in a statement it suspected Gbagbo “may be tempted to confiscate power” if he is beaten in the run-off and said it would not comply with the curfew.

The election aims to stabilize what was once west Africa’s most prosperous country after a decade of political crisis following a 1999 coup and a 2002 civil war that split the nation in two between north and south. Gbagbo addressed a boisterous but mostly peaceful rally on Abidjan’s Place de la Republique square, promising to secure peace and jobs. Tens of thousands of his supporters in white T-shirts thronged the square and charged in groups through the streets, blowing whistles and yelling, “We’re going to vote Gbagbo in!”

Later, across town in the northern slum district of Abobo, tens of thousands of excited Ouattara supporters massed in another noisy rally, many of them denouncing the curfew plan, AFP correspondents said. “We don’t want a cur-

few. They want to steal our ballot boxes,” they chanted. “Curfew on November 28 = coup d’etat” read one placard carried by Ouattara supporters.

“No to the curfew, no assassins in the street,” read another. Gbagbo says he is a proven leader who can steer the country to peace, while exprime minister Ouattara touts his economic credentials as a former executive of the International Monetary Fund.

Gbagbo prevailed in the capital in last month’s first round vote but certain districts such as Abobo are home to Ouattara’s backers. “He is a man of conscience, not just a vote-seeker,” said one of them, a 21-year-old geology student who gave only his family name, Dembele, at a campaign event on Thursday. “We do not want someone who is going to send the country into rebellion,” said one of the pro-Gbagbo supporters, Blanchard Kla, 29, at Friday’s rally. The two candidates sought to calm tensions on Thursday during the country’s first televised election debate, but Gbagbo surprised his opponent by announcing the post-poll curfew on air. Ouattara branded the decision a ploy. The president “wants a curfew so that we can’t let our joy erupt in the streets of Abidjan”, Ouattara told supporters in an address Friday ahead of his rally.

Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader, told reporters the curfew decree was not yet passed and would “not necessarily” be enforced. Gbagbo, a southern Christian who has held on to power since his term expired in 2005 and is fighting for re-election, won 38 percent of the first-round vote. Ouattara, from the largely Muslim north, took 32 percent. Amid complex ethnic and political loyalties, each is now seeking to grab votes from supporters of the defeated first-round candidate, former president Henri Konan Bedie, whose base is in the centre of the country. Bedie has publicly thrown his support behind Ouattara, but as campaigning neared an end there was no indication of who had the edge. — AFP

Horror summer fails to shift Russia’s climate skepticism MOSCOW: Russia may have endured its hottest summer on record and battled deadly forest fires, but attitudes on climate change remain dominated by skepticism and even mired in conspiracy theories. Experts see no major substantial movement in Russia’s stance ahead of the latest UN climate conference in Cancun, despite the occasional acknowledgment by President Dmitry Medvedev that the earth is warming.

During the last major climate conference in Copenhagen, Medvedev published Russia’s ambitious Climate Doctrine and even appointed a climate adviser a month later. Russia’s own weather agency Rosgidromet said in a weighty 2008 report that daily average temperatures in Russia would rise by four to six degrees Celsius by 2050, and that the change of the past 50 years was most likely man-made. It concluded that “the dependency of Russia’s nature and economy on climatic factors... demand a serious scientific base to government policy on climate change.”

But two years later, after summer forest fires that ravaged more than a million hectares (2.5 million acres) in Russia and a heatwave believed to have killed thousands, state media are still debating whether climate change is a myth. In August, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin even wondered aloud if the natural dying out of mammoths around 10,000 BC means that current climate change was also a phenomenon independent of human influence. “Most scientists in the world now share the view that climate change is human-caused, but in Russia science is very politicized,” said Vladimir

Chuprov, a climate expert for Greenpeace Russia.

Although Medvedev has indicated his concern at climate change, skepticism in academic circles remains due to Putin’s position, since Russian science depends on government funding, Chuprov said. “The position is: the world can change but we’ll survive on our oil wells and potatoes for however long. Oil is always needed, and we have enough of it in our lifetime,” he added. In 2003, Putin amazed scientists when he speculated that a global warming by “two or three degrees” could be a good thing for Russia as its people would no longer need fur coats. A press conference hosted by the RIA Novosti state news agency ahead of Cancun provided some indication of official attitudes.

Called “Climate Change: myth or reality?” it gave a platform to a leading climate skeptic academic.

“Climate is a concept that has existed as long as the Earth exists... several hundred million years ago the temperature was 10-13 degrees higher than now,” said Yury Israel, director of the Institute of Global Climate and Environment at the Russian Academy of Sciences. “What is happening now is not some kind of unusual special case,” he said, adding that life flourished on Earth at the time of dinosaurs. Russia’s state television-often a reliable weather vane of government policy direction-has produced well-funded features on the subject of climate. “The anti-cyclone came to Russia and stopped. Why?” a low voice narrated in a film shown on state Channel One in October. —AFP

INTERNATIONAL

Sunday, November 28, 2010

9

Confusion clouds Haiti polls Where do I vote and who do I vote for?

CANAAN: Canaan, a 10-mont h-old t ent and tarpaulin settlement of thousands of ear thquake survivors car pet ing bare hillsides north of Haiti’s capital, ha s a prefabr icat ed police station, a tin-roof meeting center, tent schools and churches, and even a barber shop. But, two days before cr ucial presidential and legislative elections in the ear thquake-r avaged Caribbean nation, no one in t his sprawling new village founded by Haitians made homeless by the Jan 1 2 quake seems to have any idea where they will vote.

SAN DIEGO: In this photo released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a San Diego Tunnel Task Force agent crouches inside a cross-border tunnel that authorities say was used as an underground drug passage Friday. — AP

San Diego drug tunnel had railcar, tons of pot SAN DIEGO: A sophisticated cross-border tunnel equipped with a rail system, ventilation and fluorescent lighting has been shut down by US and Mexican officials - the second discovery of a major underground drug passage in San Diego this month, authorities said Friday. The tunnel found Thursday is 2,200 feet long and runs from the kitchen of a home in Tijuana, Mexico, to two warehouses in San Diego’s Otay Mesa industrial district, said Mike Unzueta, head of investigations at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.

In Mexico, the tunnel’s cinderblock-lined entry dropped 80 feet to 90 feet to a wood-lined floor, Unzueta said. From the US side, there was a stairway leading to a room about 50 feet underground that was full of marijuana. “It’s a lot like how the ancient Egyptians buried the kings and queens,” Unzueta said. Authorities seized more than 20 tons of marijuana.

Unzueta said the tunnel discovered Thursday and another found in early November are believed to be the work of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, headed by that country’s most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

“We think ultimately they are controlled by the same overall cartel but that the tunnels were being managed and run independently by different cells operating within the same organization,” Unzueta said. The passage found Thursday is one of the most advanced to date, with an entry shaft in Mexico lined with cinderblocks and a rail system for drugs to be carried on a small cart, Unzueta said.

Three men were arrested in the United States, and the Mexican military raided a ranch in Mexico and made five arrests in connection with the tunnel, authorities said. US authorities have discovered more than 125 clandestine tunnels along the Mexican border since the early 1990s, though many were crude and incomplete. US authorities do not know how long the latest tunnel was operating. Unzueta said investigators began to look into several warehouses in June on a tip that emerged from a large bust of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. US authorities followed a trailer from one of the warehouses to a Border Patrol checkpoint in Temecula, where they seized 27,600 pounds of marijuana.

The driver, whose name was

not released, was arrested, along with two others who went to a residence in suburban El Cajon that had $13,500 cash inside.

“That (trailer) was literally filled top to bottom, front to back,” Unzueta said. “There wasn’t any room for anything else in that tractor-trailer but air.” Three tons of marijuana were found in a “subterranean room” and elsewhere in the tunnel on the U.S. side, authorities said. Mexican officials seized four tons of pot at a ranch in northern Mexico, bringing the total haul to more than 20 tons.

The discovery of the crossborder tunnel earlier this month marked one of the largest marijuana seizures in the United States, with agents confiscating 20 tons of marijuana they said was smuggled through the underground passage. One of the warehouses involved in the tunnel discovered Thursday is only a half-block away. Several sophisticated tunnels have ended in San Diego warehouses.

ICE began meeting with landowners last month to warn them about leasing space to tunnel builders.

“These owners of warehouses, they need to know their customers, they need to know who’s in there leasing these things,” Unzueta said. — AP

World events intruding on Obama’s promise WASHINGTON: Foreign policy challenges are intruding on President Barack Obama’s promise to focus on the economy after the Democrats’ election debacle and threatening to knock the White House off message altogether. The escalation of tensions between North and South Korea this past week capped a postelection period that included two presidential trips abroad, discussions about America’s future in Afghanistan and a debate in Washington over Senate ratification of a nuclear treaty with Russia. The risk for Obama is that the capital and energy spent on a foreign crisis can undermine the perception that he’s working on the public’s top priority: finding jobs at home for Americans.

White House officials say the international focus hasn’t diminished the amount of time Obama spends working on the economy. Aides acknowledge that events abroad can make it more difficult to spotlight Obama’s economic message - one of an economy on a slow but steady march toward full recovery, and a president aware that his political future rests on his ability to speed that recovery. Take Obama’s trip to the state of Indiana last Tuesday, his first

domestic trip since the Nov 2 elections. By the time Obama arrived at a Chrysler plant to promote the revival of the US auto industry, attention had turned to how the White House would respond to North Korea’s artillery attack against a South Korean island.

“You learn quickly as president that there are events that happen like North Korea that you have to address as they happen, not how you would plan for them to happen,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Obama aides say they see opportunities for the president’s economic message to break through, starting with a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers this Tuesday. The top issue will be what to do about the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at year’s end. Obama also plans to take a few more domestic trips through the end of the year to discuss the economy.

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said he doesn’t believe the public is looking for the president to take an all-ornothing approach to the economy. “The American people understand that we have both domestic and international issues that have to be dealt with,” Pfeiffer said. — AP

Man threatens to kill US president COLUMBIA: A 78-year-old man with more than a dozen weapons in his home was arrested after federal authorities said he told a nurse he wanted to kill President Barack Obama. But the man’s son said Friday his father only spoke out as a cry for help for mental instability. Michael Stephen Bowden was being held at the Spartanburg County jail. He was arrested Nov 18 after he told a nurse at a Veterans Affairs clinic in Spartanburg he was thinking of killing the president, according to a sworn statement by a US Secret Service agent.

During a checkup at the clinic Nov. 16, a nurse asked Bowden if he ever thought about killing himself. According to the affidavit, Bowden told the nurse, “Yes, I would like to shoot the president, then myself.” Bowden repeated those words to another nurse, adding that he wanted to kill Obama “because he is not doing

enough to help African Americans.” The next day, federal agents searched the home that Bowden, who is white, shares with his wife and adult son, finding three semiautomatic handguns and a semiautomatic rifle under Bowden’s bed.

Agents also found 13 other guns throughout the home, including a loaded shotgun near the front door.

When asked about his comments to the nurses, Bowden acknowledged he made them and also gave agents a sworn, written statement, saying “if I had the opportunity to put Obama against the wall and shoot him, I would.” Bowden also exhibited suicidal tendencies during a screening in April, according to the statement. But Bowden’s son, reached at the family’s home Friday, said his father only told the nurse about the threats as a way to get attention after his April suicidal screening had gone unnoticed.

“They did nothing for him,” said Kerry Bowden, 47, adding that medication his father has taken since a heart attack in the 1970s could be the source of his irrationality. “I think he was afraid something was going to happen, so he acted out and made the statements he said to get the medical treatment.”

There was no answer at the clinic Bowden’s father visited, and a Veterans Affairs official did not immediately return a message. Kerry Bowden, who said that he works as a defense contractor training law enforcement officials, said that all but two of the guns recovered from the home belong to him.

“This should never have been a law enforcement issue,” Bowden said. “He’s going to miss his birthday. He missed Thanksgiving. He’s going to miss Christmas, all because these nurses were either incompetent, not trained or they just didn’t care.” — AP

If voting stations are planned in Canaan, no one, not even the local police, knows where they will be. “If there is no voting station, people won’t vote. We need one here,” said Vil Launaise, one of the organizers of the Canaan 2 sector, where nearly 6,000 residents are housed in flimsy blue and gray shelters stretched over stick frames. Another 6,000 live in similar settlements spread over dusty hills about five miles (8 km) north of Port-au-Prince. Haiti’s electoral authorities say 11,000 polling stations are ready to open on Sunday across the country-each to serve around 450 voters out of the 4.7 million registered.

As the country heads for the polls in the grips of a cholera epidemic that is killing dozens daily, and amid sporadic political violence, many Haitians are confused about where they can vote, let alone who they will vote for. “I don’t really know about any of the candidates, but if I can find out, I’ll vote,” said Vanessa Deslica, 39, who lives in Canaan 2 with her two children. “But I don’t know where, nobody’s told me.” Her complaint is echoed by many of the 1.3 million homeless living in crowded camps in and around Port-au-Prince.

Getting the word out about the elections to a population traumatized by successive calamities this year has been one of the challenges facing Haiti’s electoral authorities, who have also faced questions about credibility and transparency. Officials have asked voters to look for their polling stations on the Internet or call by telephone to find out- but many destitute Haitians have access to neither. Few of the 18 presidential candidates have stopped off in Canaan. In contrast to the electoral propaganda festooning the rubblestrewn streets of the capital, the only visible posters in Canaan warn of cholera and ask for help in finding dozens of missing children.

LIKELY RUN-OFF IN JANUARY There are also serious doubts about how many of the 4.7 million registered voters actually have their national identity cards needed to be able to vote, following the chaos of the earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people. Two days before the polls open, anxious voters were lining up outside the identity card office in Port-au-Prince.

Haiti’s government, the UN peacekeeping mission and international election observers are anxious the polls should go ahead despite the considerable organizational challenges.

They say the risks of not holding elections as scheduled in a volatile nation with a history of electoral turmoil and violence outweigh the threats of existing difficulties. “All in all we believe that we should have a fairly smooth election day,” said Colin Granderson, who heads a 118-strong joint Organization of American States/Caribbean Community election observation team in Haiti. Out of a varied field of 18 presidential candidates, a trio of front-runners has emerged. They are 70-yearold former first lady Mirlande Manigat, government technocrat Jude Celestin, 48, a protege of outgoing President Rene Preval, and 49-year-old musician and entertainer “Sweet Micky” Martelly, who has drawn large, enthusiastic crowds.

But with the contest so wide open, experts predict no single candidate will gain more than 50 percent of the votes, required to win in the first round. That means the election is likely to go to a deciding run-off on Jan 16 between the top two contenders.

Granderson said he was still worried about last-minute problems in the recruitment and training of polling station workers, and about the possibility of political violence.

About 12,000 United Nations troops and police will be helping local police to protect the polls. The UN says levels of violence have been less than in the 2006 elections. Polls will open on Sunday at 6 a.m. and close early at 4 pm, well before night falls. — Reuters

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haitian voters que to receive their electoral identification card yesterday in Portau-Prince. —AFP

Marine pushback to permitting openly gay military OCEANSIDE: They are the few, the proud and perhaps the military’s biggest opponents of lifting the ban on openly gay troops. Most of those serving in America’s armed forces have no strong objections to repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, according to a Pentagon survey of 400,000 active duty and reservists that is scheduled for release Tuesday.

But the survey found resistance to repealing the ban strongest among the Marines, according to the Washington Post. It’s an attitude apparently shared by their top leader, Commandant Gen. James Amos, who has said that the government should not lift the ban in wartime.

The Senate is supposed to consider repeal in December, with many legislators favoring changing the law to allow gays to serve openly. A few staunchly oppose it, however, and both sides are expected to cite the survey in arguing whether to move forward with repeal.

The Corps is the youngest, smallest and arguably the most tight-knit of the enlisted forces, with many of its roughly 200,000 members hailing from small towns and rural areas in the South. Marines are unabashed about distinguishing themselves from the rest of the military, with a warrior ethos and a religious zeal for their branch of service that they liken to a brotherhood.

“We’ve never changed our motto. We’ve never changed our pitch to new recruits. We have hardly changed our formal uniforms in 235 years,” said Marine Reserve Lt Col Paul Hackett, 48, who has been in the Corps for 25 years. “We are a religion unto ourselves, and we pride ourselves in that.”

The Marine Corps traces its roots to an 18th century Philadelphia bar, Tun Tavern, where, according to legend, the first Colonial Marines were recruited in 1775 _ setting the tone for troops who still boast they are the toughest, most

aggressive fighters in the military. Over the centuries they have remained faithful to their martial traditions, even in the face of sweeping societal change. The Marines Corps was among the last in the military to open its doors to women, forming the first female Corps in 1943, according to the Women’s Memorial in Washington D.C. But some things haven’t changed. Marine recruiting commercials are still full of macho swagger that dare people to become one of “The Few. The Proud. The Marines.”

Much has been said about the Marine “mystique,” the almost cult-like bonds developed among a force known historically to have higher casualty rates because it is considered the “tip of the spear,” or the first to respond to bloody conflicts. Marine officers say that kind of unit “cohesion” - fostered through close living quarters - can literally mean the difference between life and death when headed into battle.

Many Marines say they aren’t bothered by the notion of serving with openly gay men and women. Gary Solis, a Marine combat veteran who teaches the laws of war at Georgetown University Law Center, says others have the misconception that openly gay Marines will not be as aggressive or “gung-ho” as their comrades in arms.

“Of course, we know none of that’s true about homosexuals,” Solis added. “There have always been homosexuals in the Marine Corps, but when you acknowledge it openly, that’s a different thing. There are many Marines, particularly the older, more senior Marines, who don’t want to see that image diluted.”

That image is flaunted here in Oceanside, a coastal community bordering Camp Pendleton, where souped-up pick up trucks with Marine Corps stickers in the back windows rumble down the main street flanked by towering Palms. — AP

INTERNATIONAL

10

Sunday, November 28, 2010

World braces for WikiLeaks flood of US cables

WASHINGTON: Governments around the world yesterday braced for the release of millions of potentially embarrassing US diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks as Washington raced to contain the fallout. The whistle-blower website is expected to put online three million leaked cables covering US dealings and confidential views of countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, Israel, Russia and Turkey.

US diplomats skipped their Thanksgiving holiday weekend and headed to foreign ministries hoping to stave off anger over the cables, which are internal messages that often lack the niceties diplomats voice in public.

“WikiLeaks are an absolutely awful impediment to my business, which is to be able to have discussions in confidence with people. I

do not understand the motivation for releasing these documents,” said James Jeffrey, the US ambassador to Iraq. “They will not help, they will simply hurt our ability to do our work here,” he told reporters. The top US military commander, Admiral Mike Mullen, meanwhile urged WikiLeaks to stop its “extremely dangerous” release of documents, according to a transcript of a CNN interview set to air today. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley also condemned WikiLeaks’s plans.

“It will place lives and interests at risk. It is irresponsible,” he said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had contacted leaders in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, France and Afghanistan over the issue, he added. Russia’s respected

Kommersant newspaper said that the documents included US diplomats’ conversations with Russian politicians and “unflattering” assessments of some of them.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed the impending file dump on “little thieves running around the Internet,” the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

WikiLeaks has not specified the documents’ contents or when they would be put online, but Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said officials were expecting a release “late this week or early next week.” The website has said there would be “seven times” as many secret documents as the 400,000 Iraq war logs it published last month.

Turkish media said the planned release includes papers suggesting that Ankara helped

Al-Qaeda militants in Iraq and that the United States helped Iraq-based Kurdish rebels fighting against Turkey-potentially explosive revelations for the two allies. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey did not know what the documents contained. “This is speculation,” he said on CNN Turk. “But as a principle, tolerating or ignoring any terrorist action that originates in Turkey and targets a neighboring country, particularly Iraq, is out of the question.”

Israel has also been warned of potential embarrassment from the latest release, which could include confidential reports from the US embassy in Tel Aviv, Haaretz newspaper said, citing a senior Israeli official. The US ambassador in Canada telephoned Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon about the leak, a ministry

spokeswoman said, adding that the Canadian embassy in Washington was “engaging” with the State Department on the matter. Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told parliament that US diplomats informed him “that the person responsible for leaking the information has been arrested.”

The government meanwhile said that it was alarmed about “possible negative repercussions for Italy” from the release of the cables.

Officials in Australia, Britain, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden also said they had been contacted by US diplomats regarding the release. US officials have not confirmed the source of the leaked documents, but suspicion has fallen on Bradley Manning, a former army intelligence agent. He was arrested after the earlier release of a video showing air strikes

that killed civilian reporters in Baghdad.

Wired magazine said Manning confessed to the leaks during a webchat in May. He was quoted as saying he acted out of idealism after watching Iraqi police detain men for distributing a “scholarly critique” against corruption.

WikiLeaks argues that the first two document dumps-US soldier-authored incident reports from 2004 to 2009 — shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, including allegations of torture by Iraqi forces and reports that suggested 15,000 additional civilian deaths in Iraq. WikiLeaks is the project of Australian hacker Julian Assange.

Sweden recently issued an international warrant for his arrest, saying he is wanted for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual molestation. — AFP

China-friendly party gains upper hand in Taiwan poll Top politician’s son shot at election-eve rally TAI PEI: The party of Taiwan’s China-friendly President M a Ying-jeou won key local elect ions yest erday amid a wave of sympathy after a top politician’s son was shot at an election-eve rally. The Kuomintang (KMT) gar ner ed three mayora l positions out of five up for grabs against the opposition, according to final results released by the Centr al Elect ion Commission.

TAIPEI: Nationalist Party mayoral candidate Hau Ling-bin, left, holds his wife and celebrate Hau’s victory yesterday in Taipei, Taiwan. — AP

Teens adrift at sea almost lost hope SUVA: For more than 50 days, the three boys slurped rainwater that puddled in the bottom of their tiny boat, gobbled flying fish that leaped aboard and prayed for salvation.

Etueni Nasau and his two cousins almost gave up hope they would survive as they bobbed in their aluminum dinghy across the South Pacific for more than seven weeks, before a fishing trawler spotted them by chance and brought an end to their extraordinary ordeal.

“I thank God for keeping us alive all this while, while we’re drifting out in open sea,” Nasau, 14, told The Associated Press. “We prayed every day that someone will find us and rescue us. We thought we would die.”

In a shy, quiet voice, Nasau spoke yesterday from his hospital bed in Fiji, where the trio were brought a day earlier and quickly treated for dehydration, bad sunburn and malnourishment.

Nasau, also known as Edward, and his two 15-year-old cousins, Samuel Pelesa and Filo Filo, jumped into the 12-foot- (3.5meter-) long boat, known locally as a “tinnie,” sometime in late September, Nasau couldn’t remember the date, to make what they thought was a short journey between islands in their archipelago home of Tokelau.

But they ran out of fuel for their outboard motor and began drifting out to sea.

As land retreated from sight, they contemplated the handful of coconuts they had brought with them to snack on, and the little else in the boat. Day after day, the teens sat helpless in the open craft under a beating tropical sun, scouring the horizon for signs of land or a passing boat.

On many nights, rainstorms churned the sea and lashed the boat. The boys threw themselves to the bottom of the boat, clutching the sides and trying to keep it from capsizing. Though terrifying, the storms also brought a lifeline: puddles of rainwater for them to sip. They ran out of food all too quickly, and increasingly feared starvation. The sea provided meager pickings in the form of fish that leaped out of the water and sometimes landed in the boat.

“We ate flying fish, very small ones that jump into our boat, about five inches,” said Nasau, looking thin and weak, but relieved.

“The last time we ate one was last week if I recall.” Once, a bird perched on the boat and Pelesa managed to snatch it with his bare hands. The hungry boys tore at the bird and shared the meat, raw.

“The bird came to our punt and my cousin Sam grabbed it,” Nasau said. “We ate it.” In the days before their rescue,

the nighttime storms stopped and the boys became desperately thirsty. They began drinking small amounts of sea water. One night, the boys’ hopes for rescue soared when they spotted lights they thought must be a ship, then plunged again when they realized that they had no light and that those on board would never see them in the dark.

“We saw one big ship at night time but it’s too far, we couldn’t do anything,” Nasau said. “So we just sat down and looked at it” as it passed by. Last Wednesday, at least 55 days into the boys’ ordeal, the deep-sea tuna boat San Nikuna came into view on its way to its home port in New Zealand, this time during the day.

First mate Tai Fredricsen said the crew were amazed to see a small boat out so far and in a region rarely used by any vessels.

They were even more stunned to see the bedraggled boys frantically waving for help.

They had drifted more than 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) from Tokelau.

Fredricsen took the boys and their little boat on board the trawler, and tried to give them fluids and small pieces of fruit.

Officials in Fiji said the boys had so little food and water during their ordeal they would be unable to keep down solid food until their bodies recovered. The boys have responded quickly to rehydration treatment.

Twenty-four hours after arriving in Fiji, Pelesa and Filo had been released from hos-

pital and were staying the consular staff from New Zealand, which administers Tokelau as a territory.

Only Nasau remained in hospital. New Zealand officials declined to give media access to the boys. “The doctor told me to drink a lot of fluid and take a rest because we are so dehydrated,” Nasau said. “He hasn’t told me when I will be released, but I guess when I’m strong enough.” The three are expected to be flown to Samoa tomorrow. They would then have to wait two weeks for a boat to take them back to their homeland, New Zealand’s TV3 reported yesterday.

News of the boys’ survival was greeted as a miracle in Tokelau, a deeply Christian archipelago north of Samoa. New Zealand maritime authorities began an official search Oct 5 after worried family members reported them missing. Spotters in air force planes scoured thousands of square miles (kilometers) with no success.

The search was eventually called off, the boys given up for dead. The tight-knit community of 500 or so residents in their village held traditional grieving services. One of the boys called their home village by satellite phone from the San Nikuna , with some trepidation because they thought they would get into trouble because they borrowed the boat from a relative without permission. Instead, they were greeted with jubilation. —AP

SUVA: Edward Nasau lies on a bed in Suva Hospital in Suva, Fiji yesterday. Nasau and two other teenage boys were rescued by a passing fishing vessel Friday after spending 50 days adrift in a tiny boat in the South Pacific. —AP

“I love you Taipei residents... I will do my best in the future,” Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin told his supporters after declaring victory in his re-election bid by a comfortable margin, despite predictions of a close race. In New Taipei city, another tightly contested area, the chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen conceded her defeat to rival Eric Chu. “We did not succeed in our challenge but we should remember the efforts we put in,” she said.

Hau called for a moment of silence to pray for Sean Lien, the son of former vice president Lien Chan, who was seriously injured in the shooting that also killed a bystander.

Analysts said the incident helped consolidate support for the party, especially in Taipei city, where Hau was trailing in some polls. “The shooting was an important factor in the election outcome as it brought out votes for the KMT,” said Chang Ya-chung, a political scientist at National Taiwan University.

Ma called the shooting an assault on the island’s democracy and urged the police to solve the case soon. A man has been arrested over the attack in a Taipei suburb and claimed his intended target was city council candidate Chen Hungyuan-although it was unclear how he confused the much taller Lien with the candidate, police said. Analysts had said a good performance at the polls by the DPP could set the scene for a return to power in the 2012 presidential vote.

The DPP, which held the presidency from 2000 to 2008, is campaigning on a platform of more competent leadership, with Ma and the KMT still suffering from the perception that his government reacted slowly to a deadly typhoon in 2009.

However yesterday’s elections took place at a time when the economy is improving rapidly and ties with China are better than ever. Ma was elected for four years in 2008 on a promise to lift the economy and initially faced an uphill battle as the export-dependent island was severely hit by the global financial crisis.

Recent data have suggested a drastic turn for the better, and unemployment, a major concern on the island, has now slipped below five percent. At the same time, Ma’s administration has pursued an ambitious agenda of reducing tensions with China, especially through economic cooperation.

In late June Taiwan and China signed a historic economic agreement that will serve as a framework for opening up trade between the two former rivals.

Despite the improved ties, China has not given up its explicit wish of bringing about reunification, putting an end to 61 years of separation. Friday’s shooting revived painful memories of another election-eve shooting in 2004, when thenpresident Chen Shui-bian and his deputy Annette Lu were shot while campaigning for reelection in southern Taiwan.

Critics alleged that shooting was staged to win sympathy for Chen, who eventually won by a razor-thin margin in a disputed election that plunged the island into turmoil for months. — AFP

YANGON: Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, welcomes Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at her home yesterday in Yangon, Myanmar. — AP

UN official meets Suu Kyi YANGON: Released Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met yesterday with a senior UN official and said she hopes the talks will be the first of many with the world body to solve the country’s problems.

Suu Kyi met for more than an hour with Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff for UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy to the militarycontrolled country. Nambiar met earlier with Myanmar’s foreign minister, but details of the talks were not available. Suu Kyi told reporters in brief comments at her lakeside home that her talks with the UN envoy were “very valuable.” “But one meeting is not enough. I hope this is the first of many meetings. I think we may need many and frequent meetings to sort out all the problems we are facing,” she said.

Since her release Nov 13 from more than seven years of continuous house arrest, Suu Kyi has been busy talking with diplomats, politicians and international agencies. The 65-yearold Nobel Peace Prize laureate has made it clear she plans to pursue her goal of a democratic Myanmar but has been careful not to verbally challenge the ruling junta.

Suu Kyi “believes that the visit could be conducive to Myanmar’s political development,” her spokesman, Nyan Win, said before the meeting.

“Although the United Nations has its limitations in implementing its tasks, we respect the role of the UN” This is Nambiar’s first visit to Myanmar since he took over the position of special envoy from Ibrahim Gambari, who last traveled to Myanmar in June 2009. A long line of UN

officials, including Ban, has attempted to broker talks between the opposing sides, but have failed to bring them together despite numerous claims of breakthroughs.

The ruling generals and Suu Kyi, their longtime archrival, have had no contact since she was freed. She has called for face-to-face reconciliation talks with junta leader Gen. Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi’s political party overwhelmingly won elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power. No elections were held until this month, when the pro-military party was victorious amid widespread claims the balloting was rigged. The junta regards Suu Kyi and her nonviolent struggle for democracy as a threat to its power. She has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. — AP

Okinawa vote to test Japan’s US relations TOKYO: Japan’s strained relations with key ally the United States may be tested again as today’s election for governor of Okinawa highlights deep opposition to a controversial US airbase on the island. Japan and the United States squabbled for much of the past year over the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, amid hardening opposition on the southern island to the large US military presence there.

But high tensions in the region following a North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island Tuesday and Tokyo’s recent diplomatic spats with Beijing and Moscow highlight Japan’s need for US security support, say analysts. As a result Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s government faces a tough task in cultivating an alliance referred to by US President Barack Obama as a security “cornerstone”, while not angering voters at home, say analysts.

The issue is yet another headache for a government already under pressure over its handling of a faltering economy and rows with Moscow and Beijing. On one hand, Kan “has to listen to real demands from Okinawa people, including concerns over the local economy,” said Tsuneo Yoshihara, professor of international politics at Shobi University in Tokyo.

But “what’s more important for Kan is to establish a solid security policy, as the Futenma base issue is rooted in Japan’s heavy reliance on the United States for its national security,” he said. The base lies in an urban area of Okinawa, where

residents have long complained about aircraft noise and the risk of accidents, and is set to be relocated to a coastal location on the island.

There are two main con-

tenders in Okinawa’s gubernatorial election-incumbent Hirokazu Nakaima, 71, and Yoichi Iha, 58, former mayor of Ginowan city, which currently hosts Futenma. — AFP

NAHA: This file photo taken on May 23, 2010 shows Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima answering questions after his talks with thenJapanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama at the Okinawa government offices in Naha, southern Japan over talks about the relocation of the US Marine Corps’ Futemma Air Station. — AFP

11

INTERNATIONAL

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Suicide bombing at Afghan police headquarters kills 12 Taleban claim responsibility for deadly attacks KABUL: Two suicide bombers wearing police uniforms blew themselves up at an Afghan police headquar ters yesterday, killing at least 12 officers in a deadly border region that has long been a refuge for Islamist extr emists from ar ound the world. I n a stat ement e-mailed to the media, the Taleban cla imed responsibility for the att acks in t he eastern Paktika province.

COLOMBO: This photo made available by the Sri Lankan President’s Office shows Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, right, greeting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari upon his arrival in Colombo, Sri Lanka yesterday. — AP

Pakistan announces reward, protection for Taleban info ISLAMABAD: Pakistan announced yesterday a reward of 10 million rupees (around 120,000 dollars) to anyone providing information about the Taleban, as Islamabad struggles to defeat the Islamic militants. “The government will make arrangements to settle the informers and their families anywhere in the country, even abroad, if they fear that Taleban might hurt them,” interior minister Rehman Malik told reporters.

Malik said that most Taleban belonged to the banned Sunni militant outfits of Laskhar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is regarded as Pakistan’s most extreme Sunni outfit, accused of killing hundreds of minority Shiite Muslims after its emergence in the early 1990s. It was banned by then president Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

The group played a key role in the 2002 kidnap and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl

from Karachi and in twin failed assassination bids on key US ally Musharraf in December 2003.

Sipah-e-Sahaba is also a banned Sunni extremist outfit behind attacks on Shiites. Around 4,000 people have been killed in suicide and bomb attacks that have been blamed on homegrown Taleban and other militant networks across Pakistan since government forces raided an extremist mosque in Islamabad in July 2007.

Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants have rear bases in Pakistan’s northwest and semiautonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border.

Afghan and US officials say their leaders enjoy at least some measure of protection from Pakistan.

Pakistan flatly denies any collusion and says more than 2,420 of its soldiers have been killed fighting Islamist militants since 2002, when the United States put the country on the front line of its war on Al-Qaeda. — AFP

Bangladesh police fire tear gas at protesters DHAKA: Police in Bangladesh fired tear gas yesterday to break up a protest held in support of the main opposition party leader, police and witnesses said. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is preparing for a day-long strike on Nov. 30 against the eviction of former prime minister and party chief Begum Khaleda Zia from a house where she had lived for 40 years. About 30 people were wounded in Barishal,

about 300 km (188 miles) south of Dhaka, and dozens were detained when police used tear gas to quell a protest organised ahead of the strike.

Street marches were also held in other parts of Bangladesh where police used batons to break up crowds. On Nov. 14, thousands of people marched in Dhaka and other cities during a day-long strike over the eviction.

The opposition is also call-

ing for protests today and tomorrow.

Khaleda was ordered by a court to leave the house she had occupied at the barracks since her husband, ex-army chief and president Ziaur Rahman, was killed in an abortive coup in 1981. The government said she lived in the house illegally, but Khaleda and her party said the house was leased to her after Zia’s assassination.— Reuters

Shiite deal gives militants new Afghanistan access PESHAWAR: Shiite Muslim militias in Pakistan’s tribal regions are helping some of NATOs fiercest enemies evade missile attacks from US drones to cross safely into Afghanistan, a tribal activist told The Associated Press. Shiites, who control a key piece of tribal real estate, cut a deal with the deadly Haqqani network to give insurgents a safe, alternative route to Afghanistan through Pakistan’s Kurram tribal region, said Munir Bangash, who is familiar with the deal. A second tribesman from Kurram confirmed the deal but spoke only on condition of anonymity fearing retribution from the Taliban and from fellow tribesmen.

The deal underlines the problems of shutting down the Haqqani network’s access to its bases in Afghanistan from its refuges in Pakistan. The Haqqani network is blamed for many of the deadliest attacks on US troops in Afghanistan.

Washington has been pressing Pakistan to launch a military operation against the Haqqani network in North Waziristan but so far the military has held back, saying its 140,000 soldiers deployed across the tribal belt are already stretched too thin.

Analysts and Afghan government officials have accused Pakistan of protecting the Haqqani network as allies who could be of use after the Americans and their allies leave Afghanistan. The deal in Kurram was brokered two months ago dur-

ing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A delegation of Shiite elders and Shiite militiamen from Kurram met representatives of the Haqqani network and laid the groundwork for the deal, said Bangash, who is the chairman of the Community Rights Program, an independent organization trying to broker peace between Kurram’s Shiites and Sunnis while bringing development to their areas.

Under the agreement, the Shiites gave the Haqqani network safe passage through Kurram from its Pakistan strongholds in neighboring North and South Waziristan across the border to its Afghan bases in Khost and Paktia provinces, Bangash said. In return, the Haqqanis intervened with the Sunni Muslim militants to get them to agree to a truce with the Shiites in Kurram. The two sects have been engaged in brutal tit-for-tat killings, although most of the dead have been Shiite Muslim.

Rival Sunni Muslims have also blocked the only highway connecting Kurram to Pakistan’s Khyber Pukhtunkhwa provincial capital of Peshawar. Bangash said hundreds of Haqqani insurgents as well as Pakistani Taliban have taken refuge in Kurram to escape attacks by US drones in North Waziristan as well as a Pakistan military offensive in South Waziristan and Orakzai tribal regions. — AP

ISLAMABAD: Supporters of Sunni Ittehad Council chants slogans take part in a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan yesterday. Hundreds of Sunni Muslims began a nearly 200-miles (320-Kilometer) high-risk trek from the Pakistani capital to condemn Taleban attacks on religious sites. — AP

The attackers made it through three security gates before reaching the main building on the police compound, said Nawab Waziry, the provincial council head.

One attacker detonated his explosives inside the police headquarters building, while the other blew himself up near the entrance about 20 minutes later, Waziry said.

“The site was covered with blood,” Waziry told The Associated Press.

Gen. Daud Andarabi, the spokesman for the regional police commander in southeastern Afghanistan, said the blasts killed at least 12 officers and wounded 16.

Meyawer Khan, chief of the criminal investigation department for Paktika province, confirmed 12 people were killed. The compound was also used as a police training center.

The attack took place in one of the most violent areas of Afghanistan, where NATO and Afghan forces fight daily against the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based Taleban faction closely tied to Al-Qaeda.

The area, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) south of Kabul, borders the Pakistani region of North Waziristan and has been the target of numerous drone strikes against the insurgents. A NATO service member also was killed yesterday in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan, but the military coalition did not give any further details, so it was unclear if there was any connection to the Paktika bombing. President Hamid Karzai condemned the Paktika attack in a statement, saying that the Afghan police are trying to serve the people of

NATO, Afghan forces kill 15 insurgents KABUL: Afghan and coalition forces killed at least 15 insurgents in eastern Afghanistan during an overnight search for a senior Taleban leader in remote eastern Afghanistan, NATO said yesterday.

Security forces came under attack near a compound in Sherzad district of Nangarhar province on Friday night, sparking a battle that killed the insurgents. NATO also used airstrikes in the operation.

The insurgents were the only casualties, NATO said.

Authorities were trying to determine whether the Taleban leader the troops were searching for was among those killed. The leader was not identified, but NATO said he helped foreign fighters, raised money and planned attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

Mohammad Hassan, a district chief in the area, gave a slightly higher estimate of the deaths, saying at least 18 Taleban were killed in the fighting, including a local commander. He said the airstrikes hit during a Taleban meeting.

Security forces destroyed the weapons found on the insurgents, including rocketpropelled grenade launchers and hand grenades. Also yesterday, NATO said Afghan and coalition forces called in an airstrike to destroy a network of tunnels and underground bunkers in a Talebanoccupied area of Musa Qala district in Helmand province.

The strike came during a daylong sweep to clear Taleban cells in the province.

Coalition forces searched more than 70 buildings in the area, discovering weapons caches that included detonation cords, 200 blasting caps for roadside bombs, a rocketpropelled grenade and a 40pound (18-kilogram) bag of homemade explosives. In Kandahar province on Friday, three Afghan civilians, believed to be ages 10, 15 and 20, were killed in a roadside bomb in Zhari district, NATO said. — AP

KANDAHAR: An Afghan national Army soldier attached to First Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division stands atop of military track before patrolling in Panjwai district, Afghanistan’s Kandahar province yesterday. — AP Afghanistan.

The ongoing violence and intransigence of Taleban militants has led Western officials to advocate more strongly this year for a negotiated solution that would allow insurgents to have some sort of role in the government. That push hit a roadblock this week, however, as a man believed to be a high-ranking Taleban representative was exposed as an impostor. Afghanistan’s intelligence service issued a statement yesterday saying that it had discovered the man posing as Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour was a fake and blocked him from

entering Afghanistan from Pakistan for a planned meeting with Afghan government officials. “He was about to come to Afghanistan, then during a meeting with the intelligence service near the border, it was made clear that he was not Mansour, so the intelligence service did not bring him in to Afghanistan for the negotiations,” the statement said.

According to the New York Times, which first reported the ruse, the impostor met with Afghan and NATO officials three times , including once with Karzai , before they discovered he was not

Mansour. He was allegedly paid to attend. Karzai’s office, however, has insisted the president never met with a man named Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.

However, the Afghan intelligence agency did confirm talks of some sort with the Taleban leadership, saying “there have been several contacts and negotiations in the several circles in the leadership of the Taleban and they are ongoing.”

Although NATO forces have poured troops into the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand and have been making progress in rolling back the Taleban, fighting has continued

apace in the eastern provinces where the Haqqani network holds sway. Violence also has broken out in other provinces , Baghdis in the northwest, Kunduz and Baghlan and Takhar in the north. A bombing in a packed mosque last month killed Kunduz’s governor and 19 others. Elsewhere, Afghan and coalition forces killed at least 15 insurgents during an overnight search for a senior Taleban leader in remote eastern Afghanistan, NATO said yesterday. Security forces came under attack near a compound in Sherzad district of Nangarhar province on Friday night, sparking a battle that killed the insurgents. NATO also used airstrikes in the operation. The alliance said insurgents were the only casualties.

Authorities were trying to determine whether the wanted Taleban leader was among those killed. The leader was not identified, but NATO said he helped foreign fighters, raised money and planned attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

Also yesterday, NATO said Afghan and coalition forces called in an airstrike to destroy a network of tunnels and underground bunkers in a Taleban-occupied area of Musa Qala district in Helmand province. In Kandahar province on Friday, three Afghan civilians , believed to be ages 10, 15 and 20 , were killed by a roadside bomb in Zhari district, NATO said. In the northern province of Takhar, 16 family members who were heading to a funeral died Friday when their driver lost control of their vehicle, said Faiz Mohammad Tawhedi, spokesman for the provincial governor. — AP

opiNioN

12

Sunday, November 28, 2010

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Sports struggle to survive after bloated Asiad

By Eric Talmadge a b a d d i .

Sepaktakraw.

Wushu.

Sound Asian enough? How about 10-pin bowling? The cha cha cha? Billiards? Chess?

Organizers of the next Asian Games, an Olympicstyle event staged every four years for the top athletes of the world's most populous continent, say the time has come to trim the ever-swelling games down to a more reasonable and affordable - size. But cuts are never easy, and the mere suggestion that, say, India's beloved sport of cricket might get the ax has almost been enough to scandalize a whole subcontinent. That the games, which have grown bigger than the Winter Olympics, are getting out of hand is a point of general agreement.

This year's event, which wrapped up yesterday, was the biggest ever.

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou for the past two weeks has been swamped by more than 10,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions.

That was hundreds more than the previous games, held in Doha, Qatar, four years ago. Another 4,750 team officials have also descended on the city.

China alone - in its successful quest to set a new gold-winning record - sent a delegation of 1,500 people.

But bigger isn't always better.

Concerned by the games' growth, the Olympic Council of Asia has decided to reduce the number of sports at future Asian Games to 35 - 28 from the Olympic program and seven more that reflect the region's culture. The Guangzhou Games had 42 sports. "The OCA felt that the Asian Games had grown too big," Randhir Singh, generalsecretary of the OCA, said when the decision was announced late last year.

The idea was to get the Asian Games more in line with the schedule for the Rio De Jeneiro Olympics, and to trim away some of the accumulated fat of sports with a limited appeal and no Olympic credentials that has made the games a costly, logistical headache for their hosts.

So the organizers of the next games, to be held in Incheon, South Korea, proposed cutting sports such as cricket and dance, which features among other things the cha cha cha - from the 2014 program.

The cut-list suggested

by Incheon wasn't terribly

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surprising. According to the OCA, the games' next host put on the chopping block cricket, cue sports, dance sport, dragon boat racing, roller sports and though Bobby Fischer may be rolling in his grave chess. Tenpin bowling is looking at a possible switchover from the Asian Games to the Asian Indoor Games.

But if you happen to be a fan of cricket - like millions of south Asians - the whole idea was an outrage.

Why cricket, instead of, for instance, squash? Or why single out bowling, loved by millions around the world, and not the enigmatic game of kabaddi, which is virtually unknown outside of India and its immediate neighbors?

The Indian uproar about cricket was too big to be ignored.

Cricket successfully rallied its forces to hold its slot, as did Japan's martial art of karate, with OCA honorary life vice president Wei Jizhong saying he backed cricket's inclusion at Incheon because the sport is "very popular and influential in Asia."

But not all sports have strong lobbies going for them. Kabaddi is a perennial endangered species at the games. The tag-like game involves a player "raiding" his opponent's court and touching as many of the defenders as possible without getting caught. The player must chant "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" on a single breath while raiding. It dates back centuries and was used to train warriors mentally when they weren't at battle.

The sport was introduced to the games in 1990, and India's men have never lost - which is taken by many as proof that it's a one-country event.

This year, only seven countries competed in men's kabaddi. Even host China, which was inescapable at virtually every other venue, didn't field a team. India's men and women won golds yet again on Friday. Still, supporters say sports like kabaddi or the acrobatic sport of sepaktakraw which is big in southeast Asia, or China's graceful martial art of wushu - are what give the Asian Games their special flavor.

"All that is required for kabaddi is a t-shirt and a pair of shoes," said India's women's coach, Sunil Dabas. "It's all about excitement and entertainment. Kabaddi is such an enjoyable game, I'm sure it won't be excluded from the Asian Games." — AP

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Real, Barca hegemony threatens La Liga TV income

By Iain Rogers onday's "Clasico" between La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid serves as a timely reminder of the growing dominance the world's richest two clubs exert over their domestic league. That strength is derived mainly from their stranglehold over about 600 million euros ($799 million) in annual revenue from audiovisual rights, which, in turn, is due to Spain's system of clubs negotiating with TV companies individually rather than collectively as in most rival European leagues.

Real and Barca, who meet at the Catalan team's Nou Camp stadium for a match that will be watched by millions around the world, suck in about half the total, which helps them pay the astronomical transfer fees and wages for the best players. The other La Liga clubs are left to thrash out their own deals as best they can and many have tumbled into the red and even administration as a result. They have no real hope of winning the league.

An agreement brokered this month with 11 other top-flight sides on sharing some of the TV cash from 2015 is likely to cement Real's and Barca's advantage while helping the others only marginally, analysts said. It will be harder to market the TV rights for a league of 20 in which only two teams battle for the title each season and over the longer term Real and Barca will lose out along with their Spanish peers,

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they added. Under the deal, Real and Barca would get 34 percent of TV income negotiated in a new collective deal from 2015, with 11 percent for Valencia and Atletico Madrid and the rest shared out based on positions in the league standings.

OPTIMISITIC HOPES Angel Barajas, associate professor of financial management

at the University of Vigo, noted that conditions in the crisis-hit TV market may have changed significantly by 2015 and the clubs' hopes of reaping an extra 200 or 300 million euros may be optimistic. "Given the lack of competitive balance it could be that La Liga is not sufficiently attractive to promote a bidding war for the rights," Barajas told Reuters. "If things carry on the

way they are, interest in La Liga will diminish and, as a result, income from TV." The six La Liga clubs who did not sign up to the agreement Sevilla, Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol, Real Zaragoza and Real Sociedad-back an alternative system more like that used in the English Premier League, where the gap between rich and poor is much smaller. A

study published in May by Sport+Markt, a consulting firm, showed Real and Barca earned almost 19 times more from TV deals than the smallest clubs in the top division, by far the biggest gap among European leagues.

The richest clubs in the Premier League, which generates just over a billion euros a year in broadcast revenue,

Mourinho can plan Barca game with eyes closed

By Mark Elkington f there is one man who should know how to end Barcelona's four-match winning streak in the 'Clasico' it is Jose Mourinho. His inside knowledge of the club is second to none after working as assistant to Barca coaches Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal in the late 90s but his record against them is mixed. He has knocked Barca out of the Champions League twice- once with Chelsea and last season in the semi-finals with Inter Milanalthough the overall statistics read three wins, three draws and four defeats as manager of Chelsea and Inter. On top of that, Mourinho has never won at the Nou Camp.

However, the 'special one' is supremely confident that he has the tactics to get the better of his former employers. "I know how to play against Barca, from memory," Mourinho said in an interview back in September. "You can deactivate them by imposing your style. If you want to play the way they do, you will lose... because individually and collectively they are the best (at that style)."

I

TACTICAL DISCIPLINE Inter's 3-2 aggregate win over Barca in the Champions League semis points the

way forward and the watchwords are tactical discipline, physical fitness and psychological strength. "You can't let them catch you out in the first phase of possession," he said. "You have to go direct from the defensive area to the second or third phase with a long movement of the ball to surprise them. "Barca have many more problems when they have to do steady build ups."

Real's standard lineup this season, with Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira in the midfield holding roles, will be bolstered by the tracking back and harrying of Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain in Monday's 'Clasico'.

Mourinho has said he prefers zonal rather than man-to-man marking and through strict adherence to this he will seek to cut the supply lines from Xavi and company to the number one dangerman, Barcelona's top scorer Lionel Messi. When Barca's possession breaks down, Real will try to pounce quickly on the counter-attack, with long balls behind their opponents' high defensive line.

PASSING GAME The Catalans are second in the standings behind Real this season because they have dropped five points to the Madrid side's four in their 12 matches so far, and

those five points were lost against teams managed by former Barca players.

Hercules's Esteban Vigo won 2-0 at the Nou Camp and Real Mallorca's Michael Laudrup drew 1-1 there last month.

"Everyone knows how to play against Barcelona," former Danish international Laudrup said in an interview. "The problem is that it's one thing on paper and another thing on the pitch. "Barcelona always need the ball to feel good. Madrid don't... because they have so much quality on the counter-attack. In just three passes it can be a goal."

Barca will need plenty of zip in their passing game if they are to open up La Liga's tightest defense. Pep Guardiola's side have essentially played the same way for a number of years, dominating possession, patiently working the ball around until they can pull the opposition open. When they lose the ball they swarm around opponents looking to win it back deep in their rivals' half, and they will work hard to stop the game from opening up, when Ronaldo becomes a greater threat with wide open spaces to run in to. Mourinho's Real have yet to lose in competitive or friendly matches since he took the helm and, with a onepoint lead at the top, the onus will be on the hosts to make the running. — Reuters

earned about 1.7 times more than their smaller rivals. "In the last five years the percentage of league titles going to the big two was 100 and in future years there will be no chance for any of the other clubs to aspire to competing for the title with Real Madrid or Barcelona," Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido said last week. "This is something that just does not happen in our European neighbors," he added.

The six clubs have also said they will take the case to Spain's competition authority. Their alternative proposal would see 40 percent of income being shared equally and 60 percent distributed according to criteria such as results on the pitch and audience share.

SCOTTISH LEAGUE Jose Maria Gay, a professor of accounting and soccer finance expert at the University of Barcelona, said Spain had turned into another Scotland with two teams-Celtic and Rangers in the SPL-handing out regular thrashings to the also-rans. "The clubs who have joined the accord with the big two are signing away their ability to grow and surrendering the league to the two most powerful clubs," Gay said.

"Over the long term, the Spanish league will get weaker and people will lose interest. It's already very hard to sell the La Liga product around the world. It will be a sad future for the league if things are not sorted out." Real Mallorca was one of the club's that signed up to the Real-Barca agreement. — Reuters

Albino United kicks against prejudice in Tanzania

By Otto Bakano s the sun goes down young albino men, normally a persecuted minority here, head eagerly to a sandy roadside patch that serves as a training pitch for Tanzania's Albino United football club. In a country where scores of albinos have been gruesomely murdered since 2007 to supply witch doctors who use their body parts to concoct lucky charms, this football club aims to show that albinos are just ordinary people who lack pigmentation.

"The team has managed to make people with albinism very happy, very united.

Not only the players, but also other people with albinism outside of Dar es Salaam," said Severin Edward, the team's program manager. "This was not possible earlier."

Although Dar es Salaam has not been directly hit by the wave of murders that has mainly occurred in and around the northern Mwanza region, Albino United, based in the seaside city, aims to counter the trend throughout the country. Established in 2008 and initially called Albino Magic, the club changed its name when its founders became wary of parallels with the witchcraft killings. The club's ambitions

A

LOME: Opposition leader, 72 year old, Gilchrist Olympio of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC) poses for photographers during an interview at his home in Tokoin Casablanca in Lome. — AFP to alter the way people with albinism are perceived are to a certain extent prisoner to its paltry budget.

Their home ground is a dusty field,

the goals are made of tree branches and string and many of the players have no proper football boots. That doesn't stop 17-year-old Said Seremani, an albino

and a winger for the division three club, of dreaming of playing professional football in Europe. "I believe I can succeed through this club because they look after me," said Seremani, referring to the occasional donor handout. But Seremani himself plays barefoot despite risking injuries. "I have benefitted a lot from the club. I have paid school fees from my allowances and I have been able to travel to other provinces in the country I had never been to before."

Seremani's non-albino mother, who raised him alone after being abandoned by the boy's father, said she was never shocked at giving birth to an albino baby.

"When I gave birth I saw that he was an albino, but I did not take it negatively. I did not find it odd," she recounted. "I like his interest in football. He began playing as a young boy and he would often eat in a hurry to go and play football." Albinism is a genetically inherited condition resulting in the hair, skin and eyes lacking the melanin pigmentation that normally protects from the sun's ultraviolet rays. In almost all cases, albinism affects sight.

The burning sun in coastal Dar es Salaam, poverty, disease and injuries among the fragile albino squad have often kept away players from regular

practice sessions. Because of the players' acute sensitivity to the sun, practice can only begin from about 5:00 pm when the sun wanes and a cool breeze comes in off the sea. Despite the absence of targeted murders in much of southern Tanzania, people with albinism still face discrimination, as highlighted by insults during recent poll campaigns against an opposition candidate who became Tanzania's first elected albino MP. Salum Khalfani Bar'wani's opponent charged that he could not think properly because he was an albino, but the MPelect hailed his victory as a milestone for Tanzania's albinos.

Albino United player, Fikiri Sultan, said their triumphs on the pitch have surprised many and bolstered their confidence. "I joined the club because we are despised by society," said the 28year-old who was out of action due to an ankle injury. "Since I joined, those who despised us have been challenged seeing us on television playing against MPs and other clubs. We now also believe that we can do anything." At least 58 albinos have been murdered in Tanzania since 2007 according to Under the Same Sun, a Canada-based NGO. Some of the albino body parts are believed to be exported from the country. — AFP

analysis

sunday, november 28, 2010

War for Rio? Olympic city facing gang backBy Bradley Brooks he drug gang leader jabs the muzzle of his .556-caliber Sig Sauer assault rifle around as he talks. Yes, Jogador says emphatically, Rio's drug gangs are feeling threatened by the biggest police push against them in the city's history, a Herculean effort to improve security before the 2016 Olympics. The heavily armed criminal gang he helps lead is being driven from long-held turf in the slums, leading to losses in cocaine and marijuana sales. It's what the 25-year-old career criminal says next, with a low laugh and a nodding of his head, that strikes at the heart of fears in this seaside city: He says that Rio's gangs are preparing for a return to the city's most violent days.

"You take any animal and put it up against the wall," he says, eyes ablaze, pointing the tip of his Swiss-made weapon toward a whitewashed ledge pocked by bullets. "Its last option is what? To attack." A radio attached to his black sports shorts begins squawking wildly. Police have captured a lookout on the edge of the western Rio slum his gang rules. Young men with rifles and semiautomatic pistols are scurrying about, preparing for yet another police invasion. Jogador turns the radio down. It's hard to tell how much of what he says is bravado and how much is warning, but there is plenty of both.

"Rio de Janeiro is going to get really small," says Jogador, who agreed to talk on condition he be identified by a nickname police would not know. "Rio de Janeiro is going to tremble." Rio is seeing violent, chaotic days. Just as Jogador, who spoke to The Associated Press two weeks before the recent clashes, said it would be. Armed men have set up roadblocks in key areas - a highway leading to the international airport, an avenue running by the state government's headquarters, quiet streets in wealthier neighborhoods - letting loose rifle fire, tossing grenades. More than 100 cars and buses stopped in the dragnets have been set on fire, usually after their occupants fled.

Police responded by invading more than 20 slums, engaging traffickers in massive shootouts, killing at least 25 people, mostly suspected drug gang members, and arresting more than 200.

Authorities now control one of the most fortified slums where traffickers long ruled with impunity, and are preparing to invade another that many fear will ignite an even bloodier battle. The scenes of urban warfare

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in Rio on the nightly news bring back memories of 2002, when drug gangs protesting the prison conditions of their incarcerated leaders shut down Rio, a city of 6 million people - twice the size of Chicago. They burned buses, sprayed government buildings with bullets and grenades, and sent foot soldiers out to warn businesses to close. Similar shutdowns went on for months. Now the three major gangs are preparing for another fight, and according to Jogador, are ready to end their bloody rivalries and join forces against the police. Rio's top security official and governor acknowledge that the battle is heating up and that the gangs seem to be unifying.

"These are classic acts of terror, an effort to create and diffuse a sense of insecurity throughout the city," said Paulo Storani, a security consultant who spent nearly 30 years on the police force and was a captain in an elite Rio unit sent in to clear slums. "The mass robberies, the burning of cars, these are just the beginning of a response by the drug gangs." The reason, security analysts say, is economics. For two years, police have invaded the slums and installed 13 permanent posts - not much in a squalid sea of more than 1,000 slums, but enough to make a point.

The gangs are losing slums and the drug revenues they yield. The fear is that there is a tipping point when the gangs decide it costs less to fight the police than to give up the slums, and that this moment is at hand.

Since September, armed men have carried out scores of mass robberies of motorists.

The recent episodes are much more frequent than in the past and of a different nature. Few of the cars have been stolen.

Instead, they are torched as vivid forms of protest, or motorists are ordered to hand over their keys, stranding the vehicles and clogging traffic.

The gunmen then melt back into the city, leaving behind panic and chaos. The tension is growing as police prepare to go into the largest slums that are the backbone of the gangs' operations. One, the Alemao complex, surrounds a road that leads to the international airport. On Friday, it was surrounded by police after officers invaded the neighboring Vila Cruzeiro slum and drove armed gangsters from there to Alemao. The other, Rocinha, is on the other side of the city, a sprawling mass of shacks on a route that will connect the main venues of the 2016 Olympics with the rest of the city.

Both are densely packed, creating a human shield for the gang leaders. They are

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian Army soldiers patrol the entrance to the Alemao shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — AFP also havens for drug production and serve as lucrative distribution points. "They are not going to simply leave these areas and hand them over to police," says Storani.

"Losing them would be a huge blow to the infrastructure of the traffickers. There is going to be a fight and heavy fighting at

that." The crowd of 300 slum residents sits in white plastic chairs neatly aligned on a large concrete slab, chipped and faded blue paint on its surface marking the outlines of a soccer field.

They're staring at something they've never seen: a government official address-

ing them. "We are here. Our presence here will remain. The police will no longer leave you. But the police alone cannot win this fight. We need your help." Rio state Public Safety Director Jose Beltrame, in charge of the armed security forces, stares intently back at the crowd, speaking in a staccato cadence, trying to pierce the cloud of doubt.

"We can bring another reality here. That is not a political promise. We have already brought security and social services to other communities," he says. It was midmorning on a rainy Saturday in early November and Beltrame, the architect of the police program to take over the slums, was standing in the Morro dos Macacos slum.

He was there to celebrate the creation of his 13th police post in a slum, known as a pacification police unit, or UPP. This slum was taken three weeks earlier without a shot. The crowd applauds after Beltrame speaks. Behind the claps, however, are worries. "The devil lives inside this slum.

They've got to end the misery, the poverty.

Look at this place, full of filthiness, just a mess," says Henrique, a slum resident who only gives his first name for fear that the drug gangs will return. "I hope that God gives these men the strength to change things here, but I don't have much faith they will."

Antonio Carlos Costa, director of Rio de Paz, an anti-violence group, says the UPPs are by far the best development police have presented. But the big doubt, he says, is whether they can be sustained. "You need more police, you need better-trained and better-paid police," he says. "There is no way they can pacify all the communities. If you push the traffickers out of one area, they naturally just flow to another." Costa thinks Rio is at a moment of dramatic change. "We could have one of the scariest scenarios imaginable, that the gangs declare an all-out war and we return to the levels of violence seen in the 1990s, the most violent period of Rio's history," says Costa.

"But we also could have a way out, with the international pressure to improve security before the Olympics, which should bring more money in to combat crime."

With the pistol held to his head, Antonio Freitas' first thoughts were for his two sons, ages 7 and 12, sitting in the back seat of his car playing Nintendo video games.

Armed men blocked off a quiet cobblestone road in his leafy neighborhood one evening in late October, descending from a slum to

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the "asphalt" as the Rio outside of the shantytowns is known. Suddenly, Freitas was caught in one of the mass robberies that have hit Rio. It happened a block away from the state government's headquarters, Palacio Guanabara.

"I just kept thinking of the horror it would be if the thief stole my car with my two sons inside," he recalls. "I warned the boys to keep quiet because we were going to be assaulted." A lifelong resident of Rio, Freitas, 59, says he watched the idyllic tropical city of his youth spiral into violence with economic crises in the 1970s and '80s and the arrival of a heavy cocaine trade that fuels gang wars to this day. But the gunmen were not there to steal cars. Instead, they took the little cash that was on him and his car keys and those of other victims on the street - so they could not get away, and their vehicles blocked the road. Another car made its way down the winding, inclined street. Instead of getting caught in the trap, its driver punched it in reverse, tires squealing. The gun to Freitas' head was removed and the criminal ran after the car trying to escape, firing shots.

The gunmen made off - they were, after all, 100 yards from the state's seat of power.

Freitas says nothing was said about the UPPs, there were no political statements about police actions. But he has little doubt about a motive. "The action," he says, "was terror on the asphalt." Back at the slum, Jogador offers no details on whether the recent mass robberies and burning of cars are being ordered by drug gang bosses. He also does not deny it. "If they come attacking, we're going to find a way to make them pay," he says. "Every action has a reaction."

Beyond the threats, he offers up some can't-we-all-just-get-along suggestions, along with doomsday predictions if the UPPs continue.

"I think the World Cup would be a lot more peaceful, the Olympics would be a lot more peaceful, if they stopped invading our slums," he says. "If they come shooting in our community, where do we have to go?

We're going to come over to their side and then things will get difficult for them." But he also says he does not think the police will stop, and neither will the gangs. "If they try to put a UPP here," he says, "there will be a war." Jogador pulls his rifle strap over his head and laces it around his right shoulder. He walks to the street's edge, talks to other gang members. His hand is always on his weapon, watching and waiting for the police to arrive. — AP

US carrier visit a dilemma for China

By Christopher Bodeen his weekend's arrival of a US aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea poses a dilemma for Beijing: Should it protest angrily and aggravate ties with Washington, or quietly accept the presence of a key symbol of American military pre-eminence off Chinese shores? The USS George Washington, accompanied by escort ships, is to take part in military drills with South Korea following North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island Tuesday that was one of the most serious confrontations since the Korean War a half-century ago.

It's a scenario China has sought to prevent.

Only four months ago, Chinese officials and military officers warned Washington against sending a carrier into the Yellow Sea for an earlier set of exercises. Some said it would escalate tensions after the sinking of a South Korean navy ship blamed on North Korea. Others went further, calling the carrier deployment a threat to Chinese security. Beijing believes its objections worked.

Although Washington never said why, no aircraft carrier sailed into the strategic Yellow Sea, which

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laps at several Chinese provinces and the Korean peninsula.

This time around, with outrage high over the shelling, the US raising pressure on China to rein in wayward ally North Korea, and a ChineseAmerican summit in the works, the warship is coming, and Beijing is muffling any criticisms.

"One of the results of North Korea's most recent belligerence has been to make it more difficult for China to condemn US naval deployments in the East China Sea," said Michael Richardson, a visiting research fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. "I think China must be quietly cursing North Korea under their breath."

China's response has so far been limited to expressing mild concern over the exercises.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday reiterated Beijing's long-standing insistence that foreign navies obtain its permission before undertaking military operations inside China's exclusive economic zone, which extends 230 miles from its coast. It wasn't clear where the drills were being held or if they would cross into the Chinese zone. The statement also reiterated calls for calm and restraint but did not directly

mention the Yellow Sea or the planned exercises.

State media have been virtually silent. An editorial in the nationalistic tabloid Global Times worried that a US carrier would upset the delicate balance in the Yellow Sea, ignoring the fact that the George Washington has taken part in drills in those waters numerous times before. North Korea, by contrast, warned Friday that the USSouth Korean military drills were pushing the peninsula to the "brink of war." A more passive approach this time helps Beijing raise its credibility with Washington and trading partner South Korea, and puts North Korea on notice that its actions are wearing China's patience thin.

"The Chinese government is trying to send Pyongyang a signal that if they continue to be so provocative, China will just leave the North Koreans to themselves," said Zhu Feng, director of Peking University's Center for International and Strategic Studies. Sending signals is likely to be as far as Beijing goes, however. China fears that tougher action - say cutting the food and fuel assistance Beijing supplies - would destabilize the isolated North Korean dictatorship, possibly leading to its collapse. That could send floods of

refugees into northeastern China and result in a pro-US government taking over in the North.

"What China should do is make the North Koreans feel that they have got to stop messing around," Zhu said. China may also be mindful of its relations with key trading partner Seoul, strained by Beijing's reluctance to condemn Pyongyang over the March ship sinking. Raising a clamor over upcoming drills in the wake of a national tragedy would only further alienate South Korea.

Beijing's mild tone also shows its reluctance to spoil the atmosphere ahead of renewed exchanges with Washington. President Hu Jintao is scheduled to make a state visit to Washington in January hosted by President Barack Obama replete with a state dinner and other formal trappings that President George W. Bush never gave the Chinese leader. Before that, Gen. Ma Xiaotian, one of the commanders who objected to the George Washington's deployment earlier this year, is due in Washington for defense consultations. Those talks are another step in restoring tattered defense ties, a key goal of the Obama administration.

Bluefin tuna on the edge: Who's to blame?

By Marlowe Hood s dozens of nations meeting in Paris grope for a way to save the Atlantic bluefin tuna without destroying the billion-dollar industry built on its gleaming back, a question haunts the debate: who's most to blame for driving the species to the brink of collapse? That bluefin stocks are in bad shape is hard to deny. Even the Chairman of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), set to announce new catch quotas on Saturday, says the body's management of the fishery-especially in the Mediterranean-has been "a disgrace."

Eastern Atlantic bluefin populations are less that 15 percent of their historical high, and only 30 percent of "mass sustainable yield," the theoretical equilibrium between a natural state and commercial fishing. Some experts worry a tipping point may already have been passed, in part because the average size of the slow-maturing species has dropped below prime spawning age.

"In the late 1990s, 75 percent of all eastern Atlantic bluefin airfreighted to and auctioned in Japan was 120 kilos or above," said Roberto Mielgo, a Spanish expert. "In 2008, 2009 and 2010 so far, the ratio is reversed: 75 percent of all fish auctioned are under 120 kilos," added Mielgo, who helped pioneer the use of "tuna farms" in the Mediterranean in the mid-1990s.

How did things get to such a sorry state? Certainly commercial fishermen must take a large slice of the blame, especially those who systematically cheated on already generous quotas set

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by ICCAT. Fraud and under-reporting may have peaked in 2007, when quotas twice the catch level recommended by ICCAT scientists were doubled yet again. But fault lays more with governments that looked the other way than with the men who took to sea, argues Sue Lieberman, policy director for the Washington-based Pew Environment Group.

"Of course many fishermen cheated.

If there's a speed limit but you know that you will never get a ticket, wouldn't you speed?", she said. "But they are cheating with boats their governments gave them money to build," she added. Over the last few years, Europe has funneled tens of millions of euros into expanding and renovating a fleet that was already at overcapacity, adding even more pressure on dwindling stocks.

About 70 percent of the bluefin caught in the Mediterranean are netted by industrial purse seine vessels with vast, sack-like nets that encircle tuna as they gather to spawn. "Based on the number of vessels in the Mediterranean, they should be fishing 50,000 tons," Lieberman said. ICCAT's 2010 quota was 13,500 tons, a number that could shrink further yesterday.

Conservationists say purse seiners should be banned, and that a sharply reduced catch limit should be handed over to fishermen who use artisanal methods. Japan-by far the largest market for the fatty fish-has also helped drive the bluefin debacle, experts say.

This year, Tokyo refused to accept shipments totaling 3,000 tons because of suspect documentation. In Paris, Japanese delegates have lambasted fishing nations that violate strict new

ZADAR: A photo taken off the coast of the mid-Adriatic Croatian town of Zadar, shows a diver helping fishermen catch tuna fish at a bluefin tuna farm. — AFP reporting rules. In the past, however, Japan invested heavily in building up the hard-to-monitor purse-seine and ranching system that now threatens stocks. It also remained silent when fraud was most rampant. ICCAT scientists are generally given credit for doing the best they can under difficult circumstances.

"They have to come up with recommendations using data and assessment

methods which are both deficient in major ways," notes statistician and biologist Justin Cooke, who sits on ICCAT's scientific committee.

In the end, consumers must also decide whether they will continue to eat a species to the edge of viability. Many high-end restaurants in North America and Europe are now "bluefin free", and a growing number of major supermar-

kets, wholesalers and other businesses have followed suit. For Mielgo, who has gravitated from industry insider to environmentalist over the last 15 years, "pointing fingers at this stage is useless." "More than anything, it is the system that is to blame, along with the deeply ingrained idea that the sea is a free-for-all that will offer up fish for ever. It is not," he said. — AFP

Chinese fixations about aircraft carriers verge on the visceral. US carriers often figure in Chinese media as a symbol of the American government's ability to project power around the world. The Chinese navy is

building a carrier, and keeping US ones out of China's waters is seen as rightful deference to its growing power. The US is worried about a key principle: the US Navy's right to operate in international waters. — AP

focus

What Taiwan's elections mean for markets, China aiwan voters are choosing mayors in five major cities yesterday, setting the stage for the 2012 presidential race. A strong performance by the antiChina opposition will stoke concern in Beijing and chill financial markets worried about the future of economic ties. Here are questions and answers on election result impacts:

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WHAT IS AT STAKE IN THE ELECTION? The China-friendly ruling Nationalists are running against the anti-China Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in five citiesKaohsiung, Taichung, the capital Taipei and Tainan totaling about 60 percent of the island's electorate. Only one area is expected to change hands: Taipei, where polls show the DPP narrowly seizing control from the Nationalists.

The Nationalists are expected to remain in power in Taichung and Sinbei, formerly Taipei county, while the DPP should hang on in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second city on the southwest coast, and in its traditional stronghold Tainan.

A gain in seats for either party yesterday means more money and public exposure that can be leveraged into votes in 2012. If the DPP keeps the two mayoral posts it controls now and takes Taipei from the Nationalists, it also indicates a broader public discontent with President Ma Ying-jeou, whose ratings have fallen from high levels when he took office in 2008.

HOW WILL MARKETS REACT TO RESULTS? Taiwan stocks and the Taiwan dollar will slip in the short term if the DPP gains

one or two seats in greater Taipei as forecast by local media and analysts. Shortterm investors may shun Taiwan for fear that the opposition DPP's new clout would lead it to the presidency in 2012 and threaten the ruling party's recent moves toward free trade with Beijing after a 60-year chill.

"Some of the support for the Taiwan dollar is due to improved ties, so any sign that those may not continue would be negative," said Patrick Bennett, currency strategist with Standard Bank in Hong Kong.

But longer-term investors will keep their positions in Taiwan and shortterm investors will return if it turns out that the DPP chooses not to risk votes by rolling back the ruling party's broadly popular trade deals with China. A strong showing for the Nationalists would see the markets firm slightly on hopes for more tie-ups with China.

WHAT IS CHINA PREPARED TO DO? Beijing is hoping the Nationalists, its former Chinese civil war enemy that fled to Taiwan in the 1940s, will stay in power. Chinese officials believe the party is more receptive to their goal of political reunification. China at the same time is engaging the more hawkish DPP through informal talks focused on the economy.

But the DPP has not abandoned support for Taiwan's de jure independence from Beijing, a position virulently opposed by China, which says it would lead to war. A strong DPP showing yesterday would prompt China to redouble efforts to back Ma's expected re-election campaign with economic sweeteners. — Reuters

NEWS

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Obama gets 12 stitches after ‘elbow in the lip’

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama holds what appears to be a bit of gauze as he walks back to his vehicle after playing a private game of basketball at Fort McNair in Washington. — AP

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama had to get 12 stitches on his upper lip Friday after being struck in the face by an elbow during a basketball game, the White House said. “After being inadvertently hit with an opposing player’s elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the president received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit,” spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement. Obama was given local anesthetic during the treatment, Gibbs said, adding that he was given a smaller filament that increases the number of stitches to ensure a smaller scar.

The White House later identified the man who struck the president as Rey Decerega, the program director at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, who said the game was all in good fun and did not apologize. “I learned today the president is both a tough competitor and a good sport. I enjoyed playing basketball with him this morning. I’m sure he’ll be back out on the court again soon,” Decerega said in a statement. The White House said Obama was playing defense in the fifth of five games at a gym in Fort McNair military base in Washington when Decerega went to take a shot and accidentally hit the president in the mouth.

An avid basketball fan and player, Obama often plays with friends, including his towering personal aide Reggie Love, who played Friday. Obama has a famous love for the game, and often displays skills on the court that are the envy of many of his compatriots.

A game among friends became a ritual for him throughout the long campaign for the White House in 2008. For his birthday this year he traded passes and scuffles at the White House with a number of the game’s current greats, including Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James of the Miami Heat, and former NBA star Earvin “Magic” Johnson. — AFP

Iran’s nuke plant begins operation TEHRAN: Iran said yesterday its first atomic power plant built by Russia in Bushehr has begun operations, ahead of a new round of talks with Western powers over the country’s controversial nuclear drive. “Without any propaganda and fuss we sealed the cover of the reactor and all the fuel rods are in the core of the reactor,” atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by Fars news agency, without specifying when.

But Salehi said the authorities in the Islamic republic “hope that electricity produced at the Bushehr plant will be connected to the national grid in a month or two.”

Iran says it needs the plant, which had been under construction since the 1970s in the southern port city of Bushehr before it was completed by Russia, to meet growing demand for electricity. But Western governments suspect Iran’s nuclear program masks a drive for an atomic weapons capability, an ambition Tehran has steadfastly denied.

Salehi’s announcement come ahead of the likely resumption of stalled negotiations between world powers and Iran on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program in Geneva on December 5. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said this week she had received “informal confirmations” from Iran about the date and location for the talks, “but I want a formal confirmation.” Iran and six world powers-the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany-have agreed to return to the negotiating table for the first time since October 2009, but two sides diverge on what issues should be on the table.

The world powers want the talks to focus on Iran’s uranium enrichment program but Tehran wants a wider discussion that includes regional security issues. Iran is under four sets of UN sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, the sensitive process which can be used to make nuclear fuel or, in highly extended

form, the fissile core of an atom bomb.

Last month Iran said it has begun loading fuel-provided by Moscow which also recovers the spent fuel-into the reactor core of Bushehr plant, a move which brings the facility closer to generating electricity after decades of delay. Iran had begun transferring the fuel to the facility on August 21, a process which was described as the “physical launch” of the power plant.

On October 4, Salehi said the power plant would be ready to generate electricity by January-two months later than previously announced. The process of loading the fuel has suffered some hiccups, which Salehi has previously blamed on “severe hot weather” in Bushehr. Early October, Salehi said a small leak in a pool beside the Bushehr reactor has delayed the start-up of the nuclear plant and four days ago, he also repeated previous denials by Iranian officials that an extraordinary computer worm, Stuxnet, had in any way harmed Iran’s nuclear program. — AFP

Amnesty urges Kuwait to free Jassem Continued from Page 1 The lower court ruling was based on an article posted by Jassem on his website a year ago and in which he charged Iranian intelligence was meddling in Kuwaiti affairs through a leading businessman close to the premier.

Human Rights Watch and Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday condemned Jassem’s jail sentence and called for his immediate release and a withdrawal of the charges. A lawyer acting for Jassem is challenging the sentence at the appeals court which has not yet set a date for a hearing on the matter. Jassem had

already been detained twice over the past year for a total of two months in connection with cases filed by the government.

In October, Kuwait dropped 27 positions in the Reporters Without Borders world press rankings for 2010. The watchdog cited the State’s harsh treatment of Jassem as the main reason. — AFP

Xmas tree ‘bomb’ thwarted Continued from Page 1 and children could be killed, and that he could back out, but he told agents: “Since I was 15 I thought about all this” and “It’s gonna be a fireworks show ... a spectacular show.” Mohamud, a naturalized US citizen living in Corvallis, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. A court appearance was set for Monday. Few details were available about him late Friday.

Authorities allowed the plot to proceed in order to build up enough evidence to charge the suspect with attempt. Officials didn’t say if the suspect had any ties to other Americans recently accused of trying to carry out attacks on US soil, including alleged efforts in May by a Pakistanborn man to set off a car bomb near Times Square or another Pakistan-born Virginia resident accused last month in a bomb plot to kill commuters.

US Attorney Dwight Holton released federal court documents to The Associated Press and the Oregonian newspaper that show the sting operation began in June after an undercover agent learned that Mohamud had been in regular email contact with an “unindicted associate” in Pakistan’s northwest, a frontier region where Al-Qaeda and Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents are strong. The two used coded language in which the FBI believes Mohamud discussed traveling to Pakistan to prepare for

“violent jihad,” the documents said.

In June an FBI agent contacted Mohamud “under the guise of being affiliated with” the suspected terrorist. But the documents did not say how federal officials first became aware of Mohamud.

An undercover agent met with him a month later in Portland, where they “discussed violent jihad,” according to the court documents. As a trial run, Mohamud and agents detonated a bomb in Oregon’s backcounry earlier this month.

“This defendant’s chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people even here in Oregon - who are determined to kill Americans,” Holton said.

Friday, an agent and Mohamud drove to downtown Portland in a white van that carried six 55-gallon drums with detonation cords and plastic caps, but all of them were inert, the complaint states.

They left the van near the downtown ceremony site and went to a train station where Mohamud was given a cell phone that he thought would blow up the vehicle, according to the complaint. There was no detonation when he dialed, and when he tried again federal agents and police made their move. Omar Jamal, first secretary to the Somali mission to the United Nations, condemned the plot and urged Somalis to cooperate with police and the FBI. “Talk to them and tell them what you know so we can all be safe,” Jamal said.

Somalia Foreign Minister Mohamed Abullahi Omaar said his government is “ready and willing” to offer the US any assistance it may need to prevent similar

attempts. “It is tragic for the family of the young man, it is tragic for the people he tried to harm. It is tragic for all of us here,” said Omaar, whose government is holed up in a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu, while much of the country’s southern and central regions are ruled by Islamist insurgents. “Mohamud’s attempt is neither representative nor an example of Somalis. Somalis are peace loving people,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Somalis have resettled in the United States since their country plunged into lawlessness in 1991.

US authorities have been struggling against a recent spate of terror plans by US citizens or residents. In the Times Square plot, Faisal Shazhad allegedly tried to set off a car bomb at a bustling street corner. US authorities had no intelligence about Shahzad’s plot until the smoking car turned up in Manhattan.

Late last month, Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Virginia was arrested and accused of casing Washington-area subway stations in what he thought was an Al-Qaeda plot to bomb and kill commuters. Similar to the Portland sting, the bombing plot was a ruse conducted over the past six months by federal officials. And a year ago in another federal sting, 19-year-old Jordanian Hosam Smadi was arrested on charges he intended to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper. Federal officials said he placed what he believed was a car bomb outside the building but was instead a decoy device given him by an undercover FBI agent. — AP

SEOUL: A former South Korean underwater demolition team member shouts a slogan during an anti-government rally in front of the Defense Ministry yesterday. About 70 members protested what they call the country’s weak response to a North Korean artillery attack. — AP

S Korean Marines vow thousand-fold revenge SEOUL: South Korea’s Marine commander yesterday vowed “thousandfold” revenge for a North Korean attack that killed two servicemen as protesters demanded tougher action by the government against its reclusive neighbor.

President Lee Myung-bak told ministers and aides to be ready for further “provocation” by North Korea during joint military maneuvers with the United States that start today. “There is the possibility that North Korea may do some unexpected action, so please perfectly prepare against it through cooperation with the Korea-US joint force,” Lee was quoted by a spokesman as saying.

The two Marines were honored with a gun salute as families wailed and grimfaced officials saluted the funeral cortege, four days after North Korea rained shells on a tiny island in the heaviest attack on South Korea since the 1950-53 civil war. Two Marines and two civilians were killed in the attack. South Korea responded with artillery fire 13 minutes later, but it was not clear what damage was caused. “All Marines, including Marines on service and reserve Marines, will avenge the two at any cost, keeping today’s anger and hostility in mind,” said Lieutenant General

Yoo Nak Joon, commander of the South Korean Marine Corps. “We will put our feelings of rage and animosity in our bones and take our revenge on North Korea.”

The funeral was followed by antiNorth Korea protests in the capital as a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier headed for the maneuvers with South Korea, infuriating North Korea and prompting a warning from its only major ally, China. “It’s time for action. Time for retaliation. Let’s hit the presidential palace in Pyongyang,” shouted close to 1,000 Marine veterans in downtown Seoul who burnt photographs of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his anointed successor, son Kim Jung-un.

Former members of the “Underwater Demolition Team”, practiced in sabotage, protested against North Korea and against the government for ignoring their sacrifices on spy missions. Scuffles broke out and police used fire-extinguishers to break up the crowd. “We can not help expressing our anger about the behavior of the defense ministry and the government in general that failed to take due retaliatory action,” the group said.

South Korea’s new defense minister called for tougher action, local media

reported. A Seoul newspaper also reported the government plans to sharply increase defense spending next year.

Regional giant China has said it is determined to prevent an escalation of the violence but warned against military acts near its coast as US and South Korean forces prepare for exercises in the Yellow Sea. A North Korean website (http://www.uriminzokkiri) operated by the government propaganda agency said the war drills were “another unforgivable military provocation”. “(The North) will make the stronghold of the enemy a sheet of flames if they violate its territory even by 0.01 mm.”

The US military said the exercises, planned long before Tuesday’s attack, were designed to deter North Korea and were not aimed at China. “We’ve routinely operated in waters off the Korean peninsula for years,” said Captain Darryn James, a Pentagon spokesman. “These latest provocations have been by the North and they need to take ownership of those, not us.” US Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and leader Kim Jong-il’s unpredictability increased the threat of regional instability. — Reuters

Egypt security on alert ahead of tense election CAIRO: Egyptian security forces were on the alert yesterday, on the eve of a general election, after activists clashed with police at the end of a campaign marred by violence and a crackdown on the opposition. Thousands of activists demonstrated in support of their candidates throughout the Nile Delta and in the south of the country as campaigning for the vote officially concluded on Friday night, said security officials. Several of the rallies turned violent after supporters of rival candidates hurled stones at each other, they said.

Activists for the banned Muslim Brotherhood opposition group clashed with police in the southern Bani Suef governorate, and at least 15 protesters were arrested.

Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud, a lawyer for the Islamist group, said 22 of its members were arrested on Friday across the country.

The Brotherhood is expected to win far less than the fifth of parliamentary seats it captured in the last election in 2005, after at least 1,200 its supporters were arrested in the weeks before the vote.

Most of them have been released, but the group says more of its supporters are rounded up each day as they put up posters and handed out fliers. Eleven campaign volunteers in Alexandria were sentenced Friday to

two years in prison after being convicted of distributing fliers bearing religious slogans for the group and supporting their candidates, a judicial source said. Another 320 supporters faced similar charges, according to Maqsud.

The Brotherhood is fielding 130 candidates for the 508 elected seats after the election committee disqualified more than a dozen of them. The public prosecutor is investigating complaints by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) that more of the Islamists should be disqualified because they are misrepresenting themselves as independents. The group registers its candidates as independents to circumvent a ban on religious parties.

Several administrative courts have ordered the cancellation of elections in 24 of 254 districts after rulings to reinstate disqualified candidates, many of them Brotherhood members and other independents, were ignored. NDP secretary general Safwat Al-Sharif said yesterday that the vote would be held as scheduled in all the districts. The orders have been stayed in many of the districts as the NDP is contesting them. Rights groups say the election has already been compromised by the arrests of

opposition members and campaign restrictions on their candidates.

Amnesty International called on Egyptian authorities to safeguard the rights of voters in the election. “The Egyptian authorities must uphold the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and ensure that peaceful protesters are not arbitrarily arrested and detained,” the London-based rights group’s Middle East director, Malcolm Smart, said in a statement last week. Voter turnout is expected to be low as usual in Egypt, where elections are often marred by violence and ballot fraud, according to rights groups.

The government insists the election will be fair and the electoral committee says it granted more than 6,000 permits to local civil society groups to monitor the vote and the ballot counting. The NDP, which has dominated parliament for more than three decades, is expected to gain seats in parliament at the expense of the Brotherhood. It is running about 800 candidates. Campaign restrictions on the remaining Brotherhood candidates and a low voter turnout amid fears of violence and widespread suspicion about the election’s integrity are expected to reduce the Islamists’ share. — AFP

Iran foils hijacking Hamas woos hearts TEHRAN: Iranian air marshals have arrested a “mentally unstable” man who threatened to hijack a Syria-bound Iran Air passenger plane, an airline spokesman told Fars and Mehr news agencies yesterday. Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Nushabadi said the incident took place on Friday aboard Iran Air flight 517 which was bound for the Syrian capital Damascus.

“As the plane was approaching Damascus, one of the passengers falsely claimed he had a bomb and that the plane should land in another country,” Nushabadi told Mehr news agency. “The air marshals immediately arrested the offender who was unarmed,” he told Fars, describing the hijacker as “mentally unstable.” “The air marshals

talked to him, calmed him down and the plane safely landed in Damascus airport,” he said.

Nushabadi said that the was handed over to unspecified authorities at Damascus airport.

Earlier Fars carried an unsourced report saying the incident happened yesterday morning. “I have planted a bomb on the plane and want to take control of it,” the agency quoted the hijacker as saying. The would-be hijacker “was armed with a weapon, which wasn’t a firearm”, Fars said in its previous report, adding that a preliminary investigation showed there was no bomb on the aircraft. Iran’s flagship carrier Iran Air has frequent weekly flights to the Syrian capital, which many Iranians visit on pilgrimage. — AFP

and minds of Gazans GAZA: Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip three years ago but is now worried that the Islamist movement has been losing the hearts and minds of the Palestinian territory’s 1.5 million residents.

Seeking to regain the popularity lost through political repression and the of ten heavy hand of its police, Hamas has embarked on a door-to-door public relations campaign called “Communication and Affection.”

The charm offensive, due to wrap up at year end, is the second time Hamas has gone courting public opinion since it ousted forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud

Abbas’s secular Fatah party in deadly street fighting in 2007.

By mobilizing party officials and even government members to visit homes and sit down with people, Hamas aims to “restore its popularity and clarify some of its policies,” spokesman Taher AlNunu said. “We have taken notice of the excesses of the security services and police, and of rumors about that within Palestinian public opinion,” said Nunu, whose party scored a surprise victory in Palestinian elections in 2006.

“That is why this campaign was necessary to strengthen relations with citizens and to remind them of services provided.” — AFP

SPORTS

Sunday, November 28, 2010

15

NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Friday.

Carolina 3, Boston 0; NY Islanders 2, New Jersey 0; Calgary 3, Philadelphia 2 (So); Pittsburgh 2, Ottawa 1; Minnesota 5, Nashville 2; Chicago 4, Anaheim 1; Washington 6, Tampa Bay 0; Detroit 2, Columbus 1; Buffalo 3, Toronto 1; Atlanta 3, Montreal 0; NY Rangers 3, Florida 0; Dallas 3, St. Louis 2; Vancouver 6, San Jose 1. (So denotes shootout win) Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF Philadelphia 15 6 3 86 Pittsburgh 14 8 2 72 NY Rangers 13 10 1 71 New Jersey 7 14 2 43 NY Islanders 5 12 5 46 Northeast Division Montreal 14 8 1 57 Boston 12 7 2 58 Ottawa 10 12 1 54 Buffalo 9 12 3 61 Toronto 8 10 3 48 Southeast Division Washington 16 6 2 83 Tampa Bay 13 8 2 70 Atlanta 11 9 3 73 Carolina 10 10 2 68 Florida 9 12 0 53 Western Conference Central Division Detroit 14 4 2 69 Columbus 14 7 0 60 St Louis 12 6 3 56 Chicago 12 11 2 77 Nashville 9 8 4 50 Northwest Division Vancouver 12 7 3 68 Colorado 12 9 1 76 Minnesota 11 8 2 52 Calgary 9 11 2 63 Edmonton 6 11 4 52 Pacific Division Phoenix 11 5 5 62 Los Angeles 13 8 0 62 Dallas 12 8 1 62 San Jose 10 7 4 61 Anaheim 10 11 3 58

GA PTS 59 33 60 30 65 27 68 16 72 15 46 42 71 70 58

29 26 21 21 19

66 74 71 71 54

34 28 25 22 18

54 49 55 73 58

30 28 27 26 22

59 67 55 65 84

27 25 24 20 16

59 53 60 60 73

27 26 25 24 23

BUFFALO: Francois Beachemin No. 22 and Jonas Gustavsson No. 50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs defend against Jason Pominville No. 29 of the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena. —AFP

Islanders thrash Devils, Capitals stop Lightning UNIONDALE: Rick DiPietro stopped all 29 shots he faced and the New York Islanders ended a 14game winless streak with a 2-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

Jesse Joensuu and Rob Schremp scored for the Islanders, 1-11-3 in their last 15 games since Oct 21. The loss ended New Jersey’s two-game winning streak. The win was the first for Islanders coach Jack Capuano since taking over for the fired Scott Gordon last week.

Capuano had been coaching the Islanders’ American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport, and went 0-22 in his first four games after taking over the NHL franchise.

The Islanders also avoided the dubious distinction of matching the club

record of 15 games without a win, set in 1999.

Capitals 6, Lightning 0 In Washington, Alexander Semin scored three times in the second period for his NHL-high third hat trick of the season, and Semyon Varlamov made 17 saves for NHLleading Washington.

Semin has 17 goals in 24 games this season. In two games against the Lightning this season, Semin has twice scored three goals in a period.

John Carlson, John Erskine and Tom Poti also scored to help the Capitals extend their Southeast Division lead over the Lightning to six points.

Red Wings 2, Blue Jackets 1 In Columbus, Jimmy Howard

stopped a Jared Boll penalty shot and finished with 34 saves to help Detroit beat Columbus in a fight for the Western Conference lead. Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula scored for Detroit, coming off a 5-1 loss at Atlanta on Saturday night.

The Red Wings killed all five Columbus power plays en route to their ninth victory in their last 12 games. Antoine Vermette scored midway through the third to spoil Howard’s shutout bid.

Penguins 2, Senators 1 In Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury made 43 saves, and Alex Goligoski scored the winner for Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh and Fleury are 7-0-1 with a 1.60 goals-against average in their past eight.

Evgeni Malkin also scored, and Sidney Crosby assisted on the play to extend his points streak to 11 games. Jesse Winchester scored for Ottawa.

Blackhawks 4, Ducks 1 In Anaheim, Patrick Sharp scored for the fourth time in five games as Chicago edged out Anaheim. Duncan Keith had a short-handed goal and Nicklas Hjalmarsson ended a 44game goal drought for the Blackhawks.

Troy Brouwer capped a three-goal third period and Corey Crawford made 26 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. Dan Sexton scored on a power play for the Ducks, who have just 10 goals during a six-game losing streak that began on

November 14 against Chicago.

Thrashers 3, Canadiens 0 In Atlanta, Ondrej Pavelec made 25 saves for his second shutout in a week, while Rich Peverley scored twice as Atlanta beat Montreal for its season-high fourth straight victory.

Toby Enstrom added a goal and an assist for the Thrashers.

Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 1 In Buffalo, Ryan Miller made 35 saves, and Jordan Leopold, Thomas Vanek and Patrick Kaleta scored to help Buffalo beat Toronto for the 16th time in their last 19 meetings.

Miller returned from a two-game absence because of a minor groin injury, and improved to 23-8-0 lifetime against Toronto. Phil Kessel had a

“Whoever has a government, an oil company or a mobile phone group from a rising country behind him has the best chance to be on the grid in 2011,” added Klien.

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, this year’s GP2 champion who tested for Williams and HRT last week, is backed by his country’s state oil company PDVSA and is expected to join Williams as replacement for highly-rated German Nico Hulkenberg.

Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov, who helped Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel win this year’s title by keeping Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso behind him for 40 laps, is a key to the merry-go-round.

Everything is likely to slot into place once Renault announce whether he is staying or leaving, although there are clear signs that Russia’s first F1 driver will be retained.

Russia is building up to a grand prix in Sochi in 2014 and Petrov has already attracted several national sponsors, while fledgling Russian sportscar maker Marussia have taken over as Virgin Racing’s title backers.

“It is more positive for Vitaly than negative, so there is less chance for them (other drivers),” Renault team boss Eric Boullier said after this month’s Abu Dhabi season-ender.

Those still searching for a home include Vettel’s fellow-Germans Nick Heidfeld and Hulkenberg, released by Williams despite taking their first pole position for five years in Brazil this month.

Force India are likely to retain Germany’s Adrian Sutil, who has solid sponsorship, but also have promising Briton Paul di Resta pushing for a race drive and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi under contract.

Virgin have yet to announce their drivers. —Reuters

Rangers 3, Panthers 0 In Sunrise, Henrik Lundqvist made 40 saves for his third shutout of the season, and rookie Derek Stepan scored his sixth goal as New York defeated Florida. Ryan Callahan and Brandon Prust also scored, and Marc Staal had two assists. The Panthers have lost three in a row for the first time this season.

Hurricanes 3, Bruins 0 In Boston, Tuomo Ruutu scored a power-play goal, set up another, and Cam Ward stopped 37 shots for his

first shutout of the season for Carolina. Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen also scored power-play goals.

Flames 3, Flyers 2 In Philadelphia, Niklas Hagman and Rene Bourque scored shootout goals for Calgary. Curtis Glencross had a short-handed goal, and Steve Staios also scored for the Flames.

James van Riemsdyk and Nikolay Zherdev scored for Philadelphia.

Wild 5, Predators 2 In St. Paul, Martin Havlat scored twice, Marek Zidlicky, Andrew Brunette and Nick Schultz added goals, and Jose Theodore made 32 saves for Minnesota. Steve Sullivan and Martin Erat scored for Nashville.—AP

New Zealand clinches Louis Vuitton Trophy

Chandhok eyes F1 return in crowded driver market LONDON: Indian Karun Chandhok will test with GP2 teams in Abu Dhabi this weekend while still hoping for a return to Formula One next year in time for his country’s first grand prix.

The 26-year-old, who made 10 starts for the struggling Hispania (HRT) F1 team this year, said he was hopeful of securing a place without mentioning any interested parties.

“My goal for next year as I’ve said before is still firmly to be in Formula One and negotiations for a drive in the 2011 F1 World Championship are progressing in the right way,” he said in a statement on Friday. “So hopefully we’ll have a final programme in place before the F1 world shuts for Christmas.”

Chandhok tested a GP2 car in France last week but said the Abu Dhabi outing was a good chance to learn a new circuit and be race ready for 2011.

Force India and Lotus, yet to confirm their line-ups, could be targets but competition for places is intense with teams increasingly looking for drivers to bring sponsorship.

Austrian Christian Klien, who also raced for HRT this year and is looking for a seat, suggested the sport’s increasing embrace of the emerging economies was being reflected in the driver market.

“Some time ago your best chance to get a drive in Formula One was when you were British, French or Italian,” he said on his website (www. christianklien.com).

“Nowadays the number of cockpits has hardly increased compared to 10 or 20 years ago but drivers are coming in from all areas of the world: Russia, India, South East Asia, soon probably Korea and China.

short-handed goal to spoil Miller’s shutout bid with 3:27 left. Jonas Gustavsson made 25 saves for Toronto, winless in its last seven road games.

Karan Chandhok in action in this file photo

DUBAI: Emirates Team New Zealand staged back-to-back victories yesterday to win the Louis Vuitton Trophy over defending America’s Cup champion BMW Oracle Racing.

The final in Dubai marked the last series for America’s Cup class boats as sailing moves into the multi-hull era of 72-foot, wing-sail catamarans.

The Kiwis, led by skipper Dean Barker, staged a dramatic run in the final minutes of the first race, erasing a nearly 150-yard (meter) lead by James Spithill’s BMW Oracle team.

In the second race in the bestof-three finals, New Zealand closed in when the Americans’ spinnaker became stuck in the hatch for several seconds during a hoist in light northwesterly breezes in the Gulf.

The Kiwis crossed the line 350 yards in front. The race came after the New Zealand team paid tribute to the 29 coal miners killed in an explosion last week at the Pike River Coal mine.

The two raced the Louis Vuitton Cup 2007 final in Valencia, Spain, when New Zealand also came out on top. For the United Arab Emirates, hosting the race was seen an important step in efforts to increase its profile on the international sailing circuit.

This year’s America’s Cup had been planned for Ras Al-Khaimah, a seafaring emirate north of Dubai, but was shifted to Spain after BMW Oracle Racing raised safety concerns about the venue’s proximity to the Iranian coastline just 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, will be the first Middle East stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race, which begins in October 2011 in Spain. —AP

SPORTS

16

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Hussey, Haddin put Australia in charge

BRISBANE: England’s bowler Steven Finn (center) dives on the wicket attempting to stop a ball as Australia’s batsmen Mitchell Johnson (top) and Michael Hussey make runs and umpire Aleem Dar (bottom) keeps an eye on the play during the third day of the first Ashes cricket Test. —AP

Scoreboard Scoreboard at the close of play on the third day of the first Ashes test between England and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane yesterday: 450 7-458 8-462 England won the toss and chose to bat 9-472 England first innings 260 Bowling: Anderson 37-13-99-2 (w-1), Broad 33Australia first innings (overnight 220-5) 7-72-0 (w-1 nb-1), Swann 43-5-128-2, Finn 33.4S. Watson c Strauss b Anderson 36 1-125-6, Collingwood 12-1-41-0 S. Katich c&b Finn 50 (w-2) R. Ponting c Prior b Anderson 10 England second innings M. Clarke c Prior b Finn 9 A. Strauss not out 11 M. Hussey c Cook b Finn 195 A. Cook not out 6 M. North c Collingwood b Swann 1 Extras (lb-1, nb-1) 2 B. Haddin c Collingwood b Swann 136 Total (For no loss, 15 overs) 19 M. Johnson b Finn 0 To bat: J. Trott, K. Pietersen, P. Collingwood, I. X. Doherty c Cook b Finn 16 Bell, M. Prior, S. Broad, G. Swann, J. Anderson, P. Siddle c Swann b Finn 6 S. Finn.

B. Hilfenhaus not out 1 Bowling (to date): Hilfenhaus 6-3-6-0, Siddle 4Extras (w-4 lb-12 nb-1 b-4) 21 2-7-0 (nb-1), North 2-0-5-0, Johnson 2-2-0-0, Total (all out, 158.4 overs) 481 Fall of wicket: 1-78 2-96 3-100 4-140 5-143 6- Doherty 1-1-0-0.

Kuwait lauds Kuwaiti athletes at Asian Games

By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: Kuwait’s shooting left an outstanding impression during the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Three gold medals and three silver were won by Kuwait’s outstanding athletes.

President of Kuwait and Asian shooting sport federations and vice president of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem AlHumoud Al-Sabah said this achievement is with the grace of Almighty Allah, and the unlimited support of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Jaber Al-Sabah, who always extends his moral and material support for KSSC members.

Sheikh Salman said he was honored by the congratulatory telegram HH the Amir sent acknowledging the achievements of Kuwait’s shooting, and commended the extreme sports spirit the athletes expressed along with the outstanding performance, and HH said the winning did not come out of void and laxity, rather as the result of the great efforts officials at KSF are exerting to improve the sport of shooting.

Sheikh Salman said HH the Amir’s telegram will be considered a medal of honor and an appreciation of HH the Amir’s support, and it will always push us to exert more efforts to serve our dear homeland.

Sheikh Salman dedicated this achievement to HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad, he also thanked the deputy chairman of the national guard Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad, for his continuous support of Kuwait’s shooters.

He also thanked the Premier HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad and the government for their continued support.

President of ASSC, KSF and vice president

Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah of ISSF Sheikh Salman gave special thanks to Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad, the President of the Olympic Council of Asia, and Chairman of Kuwait Olympic Committee, for his contribution to raising the team’s moral and his major role in leading the Asian sports movement in an ideal way.

He also appreciated the support of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS), its director general and his deputies as well as KOC and the army and police sports unions for congratulating the Kuwait shooting community.

Sheikh Salman said Kuwait shooting will continue its quest of achievements and will always aim to maintain what it already achieved around the globe.

BRISBANE: Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin both hit magical centuries in a record partnership of 307 to put Australia firmly in control of the first Ashes test at the end of the third day at the Gabba yesterday.

Hussey hit a career best innings of 195 and Haddin pitched in with an impressive 136 as they dominated the day to help steer Australia to 481 all out and a first innings lead of 221 runs.

England captain Andrew Strauss, on a pair after a first innings duck, had a scare on his first ball but survived 15 tough overs with fellow opener Alastair Cook to leave the tourists on 19-0 in their second innings.

“The Ashes is what you dream of playing as a kid so to just be a part of the Ashes series is fantastic, but to score a hundred in the first test, it’s a dream come true,” said Hussey, who hit 26 fours and one six in his eight-hour innings.

Hussey and Haddin, who came together on Friday with Australia wobbling at 143 for five, weathered England’s new ball onslaught in the morning before tearing off the shackles as the tourists toiled in the afternoon heat.

“I think the first hour and a half was probably the hardest test bowling I’ve ever had to face with (Stuart) Broad and (James) Anderson bowling,” said Haddin.

The partnership was the highest in a test match at the Gabba, beating Don Bradman and Lindsay Hassett’s 276 for Australia in the 1946-47 Ashes series.

Haddin, who had resumed on 25, stifled his attacking instincts but still scored more freely than his partner to drive Australia past England’s first innings tally of 260.

Hussey, whose place in the team was under threat before the series, then sparked wild celebrations from another packed house at the Gabba when he brought up his 12th test century.

A euphoric Hussey pumped his fists then raised his bat and helmet in the air as he took the ovation before embracing Haddin in the middle of the wicket. “He just told me to enjoy the moment,” said Haddin.

Back in test cricket after missing much of the year through injury, Haddin reached his century in some style after lunch by clubbing a six over spin bowler Graeme Swann’s head to long-on.

Haddin was the first to fall, caught by Paul Collingwood off the bowling of Swann and Hussey followed three overs later when he miscued a pull shot to allow Cook a catch at mid-wicket, just five runs short of a double century.

“I was very determined to get to two hundred but it wasn’t to be,” he said. “As I was walking off I thought however disappointed I was I had to enjoy the fantastic ovation from the Gabba crowd.

“Emotions went through my body that I’ll never forget.”

Hussey was Steve Finn’s third victim of the match and the young pace bowler then ripped through the Australian tail to finish with 6125, his third five-wicket haul in test cricket.

“It was a very tough day of test cricket for us,” said the 21-yearold. “Personally, to take six wickets is great but there are still plenty of things I want to improve on.

“To say that there’s a gulf in class is grossly wrong ...

Australia are on top at the moment but the nature of the way we’ve played our cricket over the last 18 months will stand us in good stead and that dog fight will come out.” The day might have been very different but for the umpire referral system.

Hussey had added just one run to his overnight total of 81 when he was given out lbw to James Anderson but a review of the TV pictures showed the ball had pitched outside leg stump and umpire Aleem Dar’s decision was overturned.

Soon afterwards, he was giving thanks that England had already used the two reviews allowed in each innings when Dar turned down a loud shout for lbw from Anderson.

Replays showed Hussey would have gone had an appeal been available to England.

“They bowled really well and we probably had a little bit of luck,” Hussey added. “So to get through that and to get our team in a great position gives us a lot of satisfaction.”

England will also rue missed catches from Cook and Anderson which would have curtailed Haddin’s innings but they did finally get a break from the TV umpire when they went out to bat.

Australian quick Ben Hilfenhaus bowled a corker of a first delivery to Strauss and when the appeal for lbw drew no response he requested a review, which was turned down. —Reuters

COLOMBO: West Indies’ Carlton Baugh hits a shot as Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene looks on during the fifth day of their second Test cricket match. —AP

Sri Lanka and Windies draw Test COLOMBO: The second cricket Test between Sri Lanka and the West Indies ended in a tame draw Saturday after most of the match was washed out by rain.

Set 202 runs to win in 22 overs under fading light, the West Indies ended the final day at 12 for two wickets from 11 overs.

Opener Adrian Barath (8) was trapped lbw by spinner Ajantha Mendis and Chris Gayle (3) edged Tillakaratne Dilshan to Mahela Jayawardene at slip.

Sri Lanka earlier declared its second innings at 57-1 _ adding a little excitement to an otherwise dull test match — after dismissing the West Indies’ first innings for 243.

“Unfortunately rain hampered this test,” West Indies skipper Darren Sammy said.

“We are still in the series going into the third test match and have everything to play for.” Sri Lanka scored 387-9 in its first innings for a lead of 144.

West Indies resumed Saturday on 165-5 after rain prevented any play on day four. But soon spinner Rangana Herath ran through their lower-middle order and the tail.

Overnight batsman Carlton Baugh recorded his second test

Scoreboard COLOMBO: Scoreboard after the second test between Sri Lanka and West Indies ended in a draw yesterday.

Sri Lanka first innings 387-9 declared West Indies first innings (overnight 165-5) C. Gayle c Mathews b Lakmal 30 A. Barath lbw b Kulasekara 3 Darren Bravo c Herath b Dilshan 80 S. Chanderpaul lbw b Mendis 8 B. Nash lbw b Dilshan 29 Dwayne Bravo st P. Jayawardene b Herath 20 C. Baugh b Herath 50 D. Sammy c Mathews b Lakmal 2 S. Benn c Paranavitana b Herath 0 S. Shillingford not out 5 K. Roach b Mendis 3 Extras: (lb-5, nb-8) 13 Total: (all out, 71.3 overs) 243 Fall of wickets: 1-7 2-51 3-77 4-160 5-161 6-205 7-208 8-209 9-240.

Bowling: Mendis 16.3-1-56-2 (nb-3), Lakmal 161-84-2 (nb-5), Kulasekara 11-5-17-1, Herath 233-76-3, Mathews 3-2-1-0, Dilshan 2-0-4-2. half-century, including six boundaries, and shared a promising 44-run partnership with Dwayne Bravo (20) who became Herath’s first victim, stumped by Prasanna Jayawardene.

The visitors lost their last five wickets for 35 runs. Left-

Sri Lanka second innings T. Paranavitana not out 20 T. Dilshan c Baugh b DJ Bravo 26 K. Sangakkara not out 1 Extras: (b-5, lb-4, w-1) 10 Total (one wicket declared, 15 overs) 57 Fall of wicket: 1-55.

Bowling: Roach 5-0-15-0, Sammy 4-1-16-0, DJ Bravo 4-1-8-1 (w-1), Benn 2-0-9-0.

West Indies second innings C. Gayle c M Jayawardene b Dilshan 3 A. Barath lbw b Mendis 8 Darren Bravo not out 0 S. Chanderpaul not out 0 Extras: (nb-1) 1 Total: (two wickets, 11 overs) 12 Fall of wickets: 1-9 2-11.

Bowling: Lakmal 2-0-7-0, Dilshan 5-2-4-1, Mendis 3-2-1-1 (1nb), Herath 1-1-0-0.

handed Herath bowled Baugh for 50 with a variation that darted in to the right hander and had tailender Sulieman Benn caught at forward short-leg to finish with 3-76. Mendis and seamer Suranga Lakmal picked up two wickets each.

Sri Lanka’s brief second

innings lasted just 15 overs before Sangakkara declared the innings closed. The first Test was also drawn. The last match of the three-test series starts Wednesday at Pallekelle — a new venue constructed for next year’s World Cup in central Sri Lanka. —AP

Poulter leads by 2 shots at Dubai DUBAI: Ian Poulter broke free from a crowded leaderboard on Saturday to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Dubai World Championship.

The Englishman is at 12-under overall after a third round 69, ahead of England’s Ross Fisher (71), Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee (69) and Italy’s Francesco Molinari (68) who are all on 10-under.

Poulter, who won last week’s Hong Kong Open, started Saturday in a tie for the lead with Fisher and the two were even for much of the day. Poulter made his move on the back nine with two birdies while Fisher three-putted the 15th hole and went in the water on the 18th which forced him to settle for a bogey.

“I think it was important today to go out there and play solid, bank a few birdies,” Poulter said. “I felt I dropped two silly, silly bogeys on holes that I really feel I should have taken advantage of. That was the only frustration of the day.”

Fisher, who tied the course record with a 64 in the second round, was left to rue

what could have been a chance to at least tie for the lead several times on the back nine. His best chance came on the 15th when he hit his drive to the green on the 371-yard, par 4 hole. His first putt for eagle rolled past the hole and he missed what should been an easy putt for birdie.

“I made it harder, I didn’t play as well as yesterday,” Fisher said. “I missed a couple of putts at key times ... Hit a great drive on 15 onto the green and unfortunately didn’t capitalize there.”

Jaidee and Molinari charged up the leaderboard, with the Thai shooting a 3under 69 while the Italian had a 4-under 68 to put themselves in contention. No. 1ranked Lee Westwood was also in the mix, shooting a 1-under 71 to remain three shots off the pace.

Westwood won the tournament last year, shooting a course record 64 on the final Sunday on his way to an easy victory. “(I) kept giving myself a lot of chances at birdies and nothing would go in,” Westwood said. “I had to hit some good

shots coming in just to make a couple of birdies in the last five holes, which has kept me in the tournament probably.”

Meanwhile, Graeme McDowell’s hopes of winning the European money title took another hit with more putting problems after he finished four shots behind moneyleader Martin Kaymer and far down the leaderboard in a tie for 30th.

Kaymer, the US PGA champion, will claim the money title and a $1.5 million bonus by finishing higher than McDowell, who can only overtake the German in the Order of Merit by winning the tournament or ending up alone in second as long as Kaymer finishes no higher than a tie for third. If McDowell is tied for second, Kaymer could afford to finish as low as sixth.

“Barring the impossible, I think Europe’s No. 1 is probably not a reality for me any more,” McDowell told reporters.

“Unless I shoot 55 tomorrow, which unless one of you boys comes and putts for me tomorrow, I don’t think will happen. —AP

Wataniya sponsors Kuwait Federation Athletics Season 2010-2011 KUWAIT: As part of its continuous support to the athletic field in Kuwait, Wataniya has announced its sponsorship for the Kuwait Federation Athletics Season 2010-2011 for all age groups.

Abdul Aziz Al Balool PR Manager at Wataniya Telecom has expressed that the sponsorship comes from its cautious endeavors to support the Kuwaiti athletes in its mission to achieve higher successes.

Wataniya’s sponsorship also entails awarding winning players with valuable gifts. Al Balool has also noted that Wataniya’s initiative is in parallel with its corporate social responsibility pillars which always aim to support the Kuwaiti athletic youth and provide them with all the necessary tools to take a step forward.

Al Balool concluded by assuring that Wataniya will continue its journey in providing all the necessary support for athleticism in Kuwait as it is the right path to build promising generations in the future.

Kuwait Federation Athletics Committee honored Wataniya’s continuous support to the Federation Athletics season stated that “Wataniya’s sponsorship proves its commitment to support sports in Kuwait to promote all kinds of sports to gained momentum amongst the public in Kuwait and we would just like to thank Wataniya for their ongoing great efforts and interest in the field.”

Worthy to mention, Wataniya has left its footprints in its sponsorships of diverse sports activities in Kuwait such as basketball, soccer, cycling and Ice hockey.

Abdul Aziz Al Balool PR Manager of Wataniya Telecom

Sunday, November 28, 2010

SPORTS

17

The players of the opening match IES and GIS along with the Chief Guest, dignitaries and other officials line up before the commencement of the match.

JIS hosts CBSE Inter-School football tournament - 2010

Federer yearns for Wimbledon gold LONDON: With six Wimbledon trophies already packed on to his mantelpiece, Roger Federer would like nothing more than to win a singles gold medal on the hallowed turf when it hosts the Olympic tennis event in 2012.

The 16-times grand slam champion has stockpiled so many records in his decade-long career that a couple of rainforests have probably been chopped down to produce the paper needed to print them all. But there is one more chapter he would dearly love to add to his memoirs-winning an Olympic singles title.

Dressed in a dapper navy suit and tie, Federer settled into a well-worn leather armchair in the corridor of a plush London hotel to have a chat with Reuters about how much winning the gold will mean to him and how Wimbledon will finally put tennis at the forefront of the Olympics.

REUTERS: Roger, for all your grand slam wins and records, the one glaring omission in your impressive resume is the Olympic singles gold.

How much of a priority is it to win it in 2012, especially since it’s being held at Wimbledon?

FEDERER: “The beauty of it being at Wimbledon is huge for the world of tennis. At the Olympics, the focus is on swimming and athletics and tennis has been forgotten a little bit.

“At the last couple of Olympics, we’ve seen the best players are always playing. Rafa (Nadal) winning the singles in Beijing, me winning the doubles over there, that was great news for tennis in an Olympic spirit.

“I’ve now carried the flag twice, in Beijing and Athens, and it’s always been a dream for me to play for my country and to win an Olympic gold. I already have one but still, the special part of having it at Wimbledon will be amazing.”

REUTERS: Do you think that will be your last chance to win the Olympic singles title or do you plan to stick around for 2016 in Brazil?

FEDERER: “I will be 35 in 2016. I haven’t thought that far yet and I don’t even know what surface they’ll play it on, whether it’s going to be clay or hard court. I hope in some ways, it’s (2012) not my last just because I like to play for so long.

For an Olympics, I definitely could get up for that, no problem.”

REUTERS: For you personally, what is the main attraction of the London Games? The fact that it’s at Wimbledon or that after playing three Olympics on hardcourts, this one will be on grass?

FEDERER: “The grass is one part, it being at the Holy Grail of tennis is the second one. London, if you see how successful this World Tour Finals is, how successful Wimbledon is, how much tennis is liked in this country-all these things make this a very very special place to play tennis.”

REUTERS: At the last two Olympics, you were favourite to win the singles gold. How much does it hurt that you were unable to fulfil this?

FEDERER: “It’s somewhat surprising. In 2000 I had no expectations and I played the semis and missed out on a potential gold. Then missed out on the bronze by losing the bronze medal match too. I couldn’t believe how close I was all of a sudden from a medal at the Olympics. “Athens was disappointing because in ‘04 I won three majors, I played great. I didn’t really play a bad match. It was just really quick conditions, I played (Tomas) Berdych who also loves quick (conditions) and who I didn’t know back then yet. “I was caught by surprise by a good, young player who had nothing to lose. It was a tough loss for me... more than maybe Beijing because there I felt my game was not 100 percent on. I ended up losing to James Blake, who I had never lost to before. “It was a disappointment as well. Especially as expectations grew more and more from Switzerland because we don’t win 50 medals at an Olympics, so they were hoping that I would definitely get a medal. —Reuters

The Chief Guest Karadan Sulaiman and Guest of Honour Jose Thomas, Marketing Manager, Bahrain Exchange Company, being presented to the players.

Nadal storms into semis

LONDON: Rafael Nadal raised the temperature at the ATP World Tour Finals on Friday with a fiery defeat of Tomas Berdych and a rare flash of temper as a heavyweight semi-final line-up was completed.

The world number one looked unstoppable as he battered Berdych 7-6 6-1 to set up last four clash with home favourite Andy Murray before Novak Djokovic crushed a jaded Andy Roddick 6-2 6-3 in the final Group A action to book a meeting with Roger Federer.

Unlike last year when the event made its debut at the cavernous O2 Arena and virtually every match went the distance, this time there has been just one three-setter in the 12 matches so far, although Nadal’s performances have stood out and not just because of the shocking pink shirt he has chosen to wear.

The 24-year-old spin king and the burly Berdych waged baseline warfare during a compelling 70minute first set on Friday-proof that after an 11month slog and three grand slam titles Nadal’s insatiable appetite for a scrap remains intact.

Just ask umpire Carlos Bernardes. At 5-6, 15-15 Nadal blew his top when Berdych was awarded the point after the Czech successfully challenged an overrule by the Brazilian chair official, who deemed a backhand by the sixth seed had landed long. When the Hawkeye video screen revealed the shot had kissed the baseline and the umpire awarded the point to Berdych, Nadal stormed to the chair and had a heated debate with the umpire and tournament supervisor Tom Barnes before returning to take out his rage on his opponent. He lost just one more game. “He was wrong,” Nadal pleaded later when calm had been restored. “That’s something unbelievable. I was just asking Carlos what’s happening.

That’s all.” Berdych stirred the pot when he accused the umpire of being “scared” of Nadal.

“It just shows how the referee is probably scared of him and just let him talk with him too long,” Berdych, who lost to Nadal in the Wimbledon final, told reporters.

“I was waiting while he was talking for like three minutes. He was like sitting there and he’s not going to play. It’s not the mistake of Rafa. It’s the mistake of the referee. He just needed to show him that it’s not like he can do whatever he wants on the court.”

With Nadal and Federer, the only players here to win all three round-robin matches, in sublime form it would be fitting if they met in Sunday’s final when a $1.6 million jackpot could be up for grabs.

Murray and Djokovic will have other ideas even if the Briton appeared to have written off his chances after qualifying on Thursday. Nadal was not buying the mind games though.

“My only chance to win is play my best tennis and wait and hope Andy doesn’t play his highest level,” Nadal said after protesting his innocence over the controversy against Berdych. “The pressure is back on him now.”

While the day’s early action bristled with intensity and contained the best tennis of the week, the evening clash between Djokovic and Roddick was memorable mainly for the Serb walking on to court wearing a comedy eye patch.

Djokovic was struck by contact lens problems during his defeat by Nadal on Wednesday but after revealing his well-known sense of humour he got down to business and put Roddick out of his misery in 65 minutes.

“I got together with my team and glued my lenses in tonight,” the 23-year-old joked on court when the interviewer asked him about his pirate’s patch.

On a more serious note he said he was locking horns with Federer. “It’s a great achievement that I already reached the semi-final and I will try to give my best tomorrow night.

“It’s going to come down to maybe a couple of points.” The doubles semi-finals are also finalised with American world number one pair Bob and Mike Bryan taking on Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic and Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski up against Max Mirnyi and Mahesh Bhupathi. — Reuters

Properties and Real Estates, a recipient of the Best Businessman Award 2010 designated by the Chamber of Commerce, South India.

The Principal of Jabriya Indian School Mrs. Usha Varkey presided over the function. The Marketing Manager of Bahrain Exchange Company, Jose Thomas was also present at the inaugural function. After the inauguration, ten matches were played. Some of the results are as follows.

GIS defeated IES: Score 2-0; ICSK won against IIS (J): Score 4-0; IPS won against IES for 4 goals; CSK defeated IEAS: Score 2-1.

The tournament went on with much excitement and enthusiasm.

Mavericks end Spurs winning streak SAN ANTONIO: Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and the Dallas Mavericks halted San Antonio’s winning streak at 12 games, beating the Spurs 103-94 on Friday night.

Shawn Marion scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for Dallas, which probably took extra satisfaction finally handing the Spurs a loss. Last time the Mavs were in San Antonio, their season ended in a stunning playoff defeat to the Spurs. Manu Ginobili scored 31 points for the Spurs, 16 in the first quarter.

But the Mavericks, who lost all three playoff games in San Antonio in their first-round loss last season, pulled away with a 14-2 run within the final five minutes. Tyson Chandler scored 13 of his 19 points from the foul line for Dallas, which has now won four straight.

Heat 99, 76ers 90 In Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, LeBron James added 20 as Miami ended a three game losing streak at the expense of Philadelphia.

Chris Bosh scored 18 points and Carlos Arroyo had a seasonhigh 17 for Miami, which needed a 12-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter to pull away from Philadelphia _ the team off to the worst start in the Eastern Conference.

Jodie Meeks scored 18 of his 21 points in the second quarter for the 76ers, who dropped their third straight game.

LONDON: Spain’s Rafael Nadal serves during a round robin singles tennis match against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych at the ATP World Tour Finals. — AP

KUWAIT: The CBSE Inter-School Football Tournament was organized

by Jabriya Indian School. The tournament was held in the Public Authority of Youth and Sports Football Stadium for Al Bayan.

Thirteen Indian Schools participated in the event. The winners of this Cluster Tournament will represent Kuwait in the CBSE National Football Tournament which will be held in India.

The event was co-sponsored by Shifa Al Jazeera Medical Clinic, UAE Exchange Co. and Bahrain Exchange Company, Kuwait.

The much anticipated event was inaugurated by Karadan Sulaiman, the Managing Director of Suleimans

Jazz 102, Lakers 96 In Salt Lake City, Deron Williams scored 29 points and Andrei Kirilenko grabbed two late rebounds as Utah rallied from a 19-point, first-half deficit to beat Los Angeles for its fourth straight victory.

Williams tied the score at 96 with 1:16 remaining with a 3point shot, then stole the ball and passed to Raja Bell for what proved to be the game-winning play. Ron Artest and Paul Gasol both missed shots late for the Lakers (13-3), which saw their five-game winning streak end.

Nuggets 98, Bulls 97 In Denver, Carmelo Anthony made a jump shot as time expired as Denver, after blowing a 19point, third-quarter lead, came back to beat Chicago. Anthony finished with 22 points, Nene added 18 points and Ty Lawson had 17 for the Nuggets.

CJ Watson led the Bulls with 33 points and Luol Deng had 24.

Joakim Noah added 17 points and 16 rebounds. Both teams played without their starting point guards. Chicago’s Derrick Rose had a sore neck, apparently from having slept on it awkwardly the night before. Denver’s Chauncey Billups missed a second consecutive game since spraining his right wrist and breaking his nose in last Saturday’s game against New Jersey.

Magic 111, Cavaliers 100 In Orlando, Dwight Howard scored 23 points and 11 rebounds as Orlando beat Cleveland. JJ Redick, starting for the second straight game in place of the injured Vince Carter, added 15 points for Orlando, which won for the sixth time in its last seven games.

Quentin Richardson and

SAN ANTONIO: Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) is defended by Dallas Mavericks’ Tyson Chandler, left, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game. — AP Rashard Lewis had 14 apiece for the Magic, who had all five starters in double figures.

Antawn Jamison came off the bench to score 22 points and Mo Williams contributed 20 for the Cavaliers, who fell behind by 12 early in the second quarter and couldn’t get the deficit under 10 the rest of the game.

Celtics 110, Raptors 101 In Boston, Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Shaquille O’Neal added 16 points and nine boards, as Boston avenged a loss to Toronto last week.

It was the Celtics’ third straight win after they had consecutive losses for the only time this season, the second coming at Toronto on Sunday.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis had 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter for Boston. Linas Kleiza led Toronto’s balanced scoring with 18 points. The Raptors, who had

won four straight, had six players in double figures.

Thunder 110, Pacers 106 In Indianapolis, Russell Westbrook scored 43 points and Kevin Durant made clutch shots late in Oklahoma City’s overtime victory over Indiana.

Westbrook was 13 of 24 from the field and made 17 of 18 free throws and Oklahoma City overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to win its fifth consecutive road game. Danny Granger led Indiana with 30 points.

Bobcats 99, Rockets 89 In Charlotte, Gerald Wallace overcame a poor shooting night to score 21 points and grab 14 rebounds as Charlotte beat slumping Houston to end a twogame losing streak. Stephen Jackson scored 16 points and his 3-pointer with 2:41 left put Charlotte ahead 93-82 as it recovered from an 11-point, first-half

deficit. Chase Budinger scored 19 points off the bench and Kevin Martin added 16 for the Rockets, who lost for the fifth time in six games as they play without the injured Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks.

With owner Michael Jordan sitting courtside, the Bobcats dominated the second half behind the versatile Diaw, who hit 9-of14 shots.

Hornets 97, T Blazers 78 In Portland, Reserve Willie Green scored 19 points and Trevor Ariza added 18 as New Orleans got back on track with a victory over Portland.

Chris Paul had 16 points and 13 assists for the Hornets, who had one of the best starts in the NBA but had dropped two of their previous three games on a West Coast road trip.

Brandon Roy scored 27 points, leading the Blazers in his return from a sore knee that kept

NBA results/standings WASHINGTON: Results and standings after Friday’s National Basketball Association games: Orlando 111, Cleveland 100; Charlotte 99, Houston 89; Boston 110, Toronto 101; Detroit 103, Milwaukee 89; Miami 99, Philadelphia 90; Oklahoma City 110, Indiana 106; Denver 98, Chicago 97; Phoenix 116, LA Clippers 108; Utah 102, LA Lakers 96; Memphis 116, Golden State 111; Dallas 103, San Antonio 94; New Orleans 97, Portland 78.

Western Conference Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Northwest Division W L PCT GB Utah 12 5 .706 Boston 12 4 .750 Oklahoma City 11 5 .688 .5 New York 8 8 .500 4 Denver 9 6 .600 2 Toronto 6 10 .375 6 Portland 8 7 .533 3 New Jersey 5 10 .333 6.5 Minnesota 4 12 .250 7.5 Philadelphia 3 13 .188 9 Pa cific Division Central Division La Lakers 13 3 .813 Chicago 8 6 .571 Phoenix 8 8 .500 5 Indiana 7 7 .500 1 Golden State 7 9 .438 6 Cleveland 6 9 .400 2.5 Sacramento 4 10 .286 8 Detroit 6 10 .375 3 La Clippers 3 14 .176 10.5 Milwaukee 5 10 .333 3.5 Southw est Division Southeast Division San Antonio 13 2 .867 Orlando 11 4 .733 New Orleans 12 3 .800 1 Atlanta 9 7 .563 2.5 Dallas 11 4 .733 2 Miami 9 7 .563 2.5 Memphis 7 9 .438 6.5 Charlotte 6 10 .375 5.5 Houston 4 11 .267 9 Washington 5 9 .357 5.5

him out three games.

Grizzlies 116, Warriors 111 In Memphis, Rudy Gay scored 25 points, O.J. Mayo added 23 in his new role off the bench, to help Memphis to a close victory over Golden State. Mayo, who served in a reserve role for the third straight game, shot 8 of 14, including 2 of 5 outside the arc as Memphis won its season-high third straight game. Golden State center Andris Biedrins had season highs of 28 points and 21 rebounds. Stephen Curry added 26 points, while Monta Ellis added 23 points and eight assists for the Warriors.

Curry’s two free throws with 11.6 seconds left pulled the Warriors within 112-111. But Gay and Mayo both scored two-point shots in the final 11 seconds to seal the victory.

Suns 116, Clippers 108 In Phoenix, Jason Richardson scored 29 points, reserve Hakim Warrick had a season-high 25 as Phoenix kept Los Angeles winless on the road.

The victory was the Suns’ ninth in a row over the Clippers and extended their home winning streak against Los Angeles to seven. Steve Nash added 16 points and 10 assists for the Suns, Channing Frye scored 16 with four 3-pointers and Grant Hill had 12. Eric Gordon topped the Clippers with 32 points, Ryan Gomes had a season-high 20, and Blake Griffin had 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Pistons 103, Bucks 89 In Detroit, Rodney Stuckey had 18 points and seven assists, while Richard Hamilton contributed 15 points and nine assists as Detroit beat Milwaukee. Charlie Villanueva added 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, which had seven players score in double figures. Brandon Jennings had 25 points and six assists for Milwaukee, which lost its fifth straight. — AP

SPORTS

18

Sunday, November 28, 2010

As expected, China dominates Asian Games GUANGZHOU: Let there be no doubt. China knows how to stage a sports event. The Chinese dazzled the world with the Olympics in Beijing and now they’ve done it again in the southern city of Guangzhou, hosting — and totally dominating — the biggest Asian Games ever held.

The next time as many athletes gather, it will be 2012 at the London Olympics. Judging from China’s outstanding performance here at the Asian version, a once-every-four-years extravaganza featuring more than 10,000 competitors, its red-and-yellowclad athletes could take their show to the British capital in a very big way. Guangzhou, China’s thirdlargest city, has for the past two weeks played host to more than 10,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions.

That was hundreds more than the previous games, held in Doha, Qatar. Another 4,750 team officials descended on the city, organizers said, along with some 60,000 volunteers.

China — in its quest to set a gold medal-winning record — sent a delegation of 1,500 people, including almost 1,000 athletes.

And they snapped up the medals like never before. China demolished the competition with its 199 golds, including a nail-biter in women’s volleyball to claim the final gold awarded as the games closed Saturday. South Korea was second with 76 and Japan had to settle for 48.

The Chinese team was so dominant — sweeping diving, table tennis, basketball, beach volleyball, women’s boxing and a 10-gold romp in the nonOlympic dance sport event — that it found itself facing criticism the other countries might as well have not shown up. “Every delegation participated at these games to obtain the best possible result,” delegation secretary-general Cai Jiadong said. “Even though we were top of the medal tally, it doesn’t mean we have a monopoly.” Not quite, anyway.

There were a few special moments for other nations. Along with the usual complement of familiar Olympic sports, the Asian Games have a healthy heaping of local flavor, from the acrobatic game of sepak takraw, a no-hands brand of volleyball that is popular in southeast Asia, to the Indian tag game of kabaddi and China’s own fast and furious martial art

of wushu. “The staging of the 14 non-Olympic sports are equally fascinating and has furthered the development of the Asian-unique sports,” said Xu Ruisheng, the deputy secretary-general of the organizing committee. Countries from Myanmar to Syria to Kazakhstan — 36 in all — took home medals. One thing the games were short on, however, was world records.

Only three were set — two in weightlifting and one in archery. That was fewer than in Doha, and prompted some criticism that the level of the competition was not as good as it should have been, considering the participating countries represent twothirds of the world’s population.

Still, the head of the Olympic Council of Asia noted that, taking into account the sheer size of the event, there were surprisingly few controversies.

OCA Chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah boasted that even a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula couldn’t damage the event’s image. Four South Koreans were killed last Tuesday when North Korean artillery destroyed large parts of Yeonpyeong Island in an escalation of their sporadic

skirmishes along the disputed sea border.

The two Koreas continued to compete as planned. North and South Korean athletes even stood next to each other on the podium later that day in archery, and again in wrestling the next day.

The games also only had two reported cases of doping — compared with more than a dozen in Doha — and even those weren’t too shocking. The two positives — a judo competitor and a wrestler, both from Uzbekistan — involved a banned stimulant that the World Anti-Doping Agency has decided to downlist next year to a classification of drugs that are susceptible to inadvertent use and can carry reduced penalties.

Al-Sabah said the most controversial decision at the games came when Taiwanese taekwondo competitor Yang Shu-chun was disqualified during her match against Vietnam’s Thi Hau Vu. Judges ruled she was using illegal sensors on the heels of her shoes that would have unfairly added points to her score.

There was much outcry in Taipei over the decision and the OCA has handed responsibility over to

the World Taekwondo Federation for further investigation. But Al-Sabah said the competitor had used “unfair technology ... it was a very fair suspension.”

He also noted China’s domination, from the massive spending on venues and games preparations, to the medal table. He said it was important to keep raising the bar on and off the fields of play to keep the continent competitive in broader international competition.

“China is not only on top of the medal table in Asian Games, but also in the Olympics,” Al-Sabah told The Associated Press. “If Asia’s athletes have to compete against the best in the world here, it will increase their level of competition.”

Guangzhou will likely remain on the books as the biggest ever for quite some time — the OCA has decided that the games have become too unwieldy for their own good and will be streamlined for the next version in Incheon, South Korea in 2014. Seven non-Olympic sports are set to be cut from the 2014 program, reducing the total to 35 sports. Some of the events rumored to be on their way out are tenpin bowling, dance, roller sports and chess. — AP

‘One of best-ever’ Asian Games comes to a close GUANGZHOU: Just five gold medals were presented yesterday at the Asian Games in a rather rather slowpaced denouement for an event the Olympic Council of Asia president referred to as “one of the best ever.”

Zhou Chunxiu won the women’s marathon in the morning, giving China its 198th gold medal of the games, one shy of its eventual record total, and Myanmar took its first two — in the men’s and women’s doubles finals in sepaktakraw.

OCA chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah told a closing news conference that even a military conflict on the Korean peninsula during the games could not damage its image. North and South Korean “athletes stood shoulder-to-shoulder to compete even though there had been some problems in their countries,” Al-Sabah said. The closing ceremony yesterday evening began with an impressive display of fireworks from the 600meter (2,000-foot) Canton Tower and along the Pearl River, the focal point of China’s third-largest city of 10 million.

Like the opening ceremony, the closing extravaganza was held in a 27,000-seat stadium on tiny Haixinsha island in the river. Later, Al-Sabah took the games torch from Guangzhou officials and handed it to those from the city of Incheon, South Korea, which will host the Asian Games in 2014.

The Guangzhou organizers paid tribute to Asia’s cultural diversity in a 47-minute opening medley that drew on ethnic song and dance from India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Lebanon and Mongolia. Hong Kong pop stars Alan Tam and Hacken Lee added a contemporary touch by leading a performance of the games theme song, “Triumphant Return.”

The show was later turned over to Incheon — South Korean drummers, dancers with red and white fans and taekwondo performers emerged. Donning a black trench coat, actor-singer Rain followed with a fast number accompanied by identically dressed dancers.

The closing ceremony ended with the games flame extinguished as hundreds of athletes watched beneath and fireworks again lit the coolish autumn sky.

After 48 gold medals were presented Friday in a hectic penultimate day, Zhou won the first of the lastday medals when she finished the marathon in 2 hours, 25 minutes, about 90 seconds ahead of her Chinese compatriot Zhui Xiaolon.

Kim Kum Ok of North Korea won the bronze. Ji Young-jun of South Korea won gold in the men’s marathon, finishing in 2:11.11, with Japan’s Yukihiro Kitaoka second. That ended China’s chances of capturing 200 gold medals at Guangzhou.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, won its previous gold in sepak takraw in 1998 in the women’s regu division of the acrobatic volleyball-like sport in which competitors use just about everything but their hands to get a rattan ball over the net. Myanmar’s men beat South Korea 2-0 and its women defeated China 2-1.

“We have a new flag and we are proud to have won the gold medal under it,” said Myanmar coach Kyaw Zin Moe. China won the first gold of the games on Nov. 13 when Yuan Xiaochao finished first in wushu martial arts event, and took the last yesterday.

The Chinese women’s volleyball team came back from two sets down to beat South Korea 21-25, 22-25,

CHINA: The Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah (center), receives the Asian Games flag from Liu Peng (left), President of Chinese Olympic Council, as Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil (right) looks on during the closing ceremony for the 16th Asian Games. — AFP 25-10, 25-17, 16-14, leaving its final gold medal count for the games at 199. Al-Sabah was in an upbeat mood in the hours leading up to the closing ceremony, noting that there had been only two doping cases at these games compared with more than a dozen at the 2006 Asian Games at Doha, Qatar. And the two positives _ a judo competitor and a wrestler, both from Uzbekistan — involved a banned stimulant responsible for a spate of recent international doping cases.

The World Anti-Doping Agency recently loosened the classification of the stimulant, Methylhexaneamine, for next year to the “specified stimulant” list, which covers drugs that are more susceptible to inadvertent use and can carry reduced penalties.

Al-Sabah also reiterated his support for the most controversial decision at the games when Taiwanese taekwondo competitor Yang Shu-chun was disqualified during her match against Vietnam’s Thi Hau Vu. Judges ruled she was using illegal sensors on the heels of her shoes which would have unfairly added points to her score.

While there was much outcry in Taipei over the decision, the OCA met with the World Taekwondo Federation and left responsibility for further investigating the case and any future sanctions with the international body. Al-Sabah said Saturday the competitor had used “unfair technology ... it was a very fair suspension.”

The OCA president also announced that they had resolved “the misunderstandings and solved all the problems” of its dealings with the Incheon organizing committee, and had signed a contract with committee officials in the South Korean city.

Seven non-Olympic sports are set to be cut from the

2014 program, reducing the Asian Games total to 35 sports. There were reports that the Incheon organizers did not agree with some of the OCA’s suggestions, but Al-Sabah said they had agreed on the sports, which were not announced, and on the schedule of test events ahead of the games. — AP

CHINA: South Korea’s Lee Jun Ho (left) kicks the ball to Myanmar’s Zaw Zaw Aung (right) during the men’s sepak takraw doubles final at the 16th Asian Games. — AP

CHINA: The Asian Games cauldron is extinguished, marking the end of the closing ceremony for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou. — AFP

CHINA: Ding Jinhui of China (right) looks at the ball go in to the basket by Kim JooSung of South Korea during the men’s gold medal basketball game at the Guangzhou international sport arena during the 16th Asian Games. — AFP

SPORTS

Sunday, November 28, 2010

19

UEFA should throw rule book at Real Madrid PARIS: What would happen if the police suddenly declared that petty criminals — small-time shoplifters and tax-dodgers, drunk drivers and suchlike — would no longer be caught and punished? It’s a Safe bet there would be public outrage and fears that the foundations of law and order were being eroded. Football should be no different.

There is an ill-informed school of thought which wrongly theorizes that European football bosses shouldn’t be too harsh on Real Madrid for the slippery gamesmanship of its coach and players in the Champions League this week.

Those in favor of turning a blind eye like

to pretend that midfielder Xabi Alonso and defender Sergio Ramos didn’t really do anyone any harm when they contrived to get themselves sent off in the final minutes of Real’s 4-0 defeat of Netherlands side, Ajax.

Although Real coach Jose Mourinho and his players dismissed the idea that they deliberately courted the red cards, their actions on the pitch suggested otherwise.

By blatantly wasting time — their hamacting was as exaggerated as comedian Benny Hill, just not so funny — Alonso and Ramos forced, nearly begged, referee Craig Thomson to book them. Alonso slunk off with barely a complaint; after his red card, Ramos went out of his way to shake the ref-

eree’s hand.

“It looks, frankly, terrible,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger later commented. “It gives a very bad image of our game that we don’t want.” But wonderfully convenient for Alonso and Ramos. Earlier in the match, both had already been shown yellow cards for fouling.

They both got a yellow in previous matches, too, so both now had an accumulated total of two yellows. That was bad for Real, because players who accumulate three cautions in three Champions League matches must then miss a game as punishment.

Mourinho doesn’t want to be without Ramos and Alonso when the next, even

Playing today Newcastle v Chelsea; Tottenham v Liverpool English Football League results Championship Barnsley 0 Watford 0; Bristol City 3 Sheffield United 0; Crystal Palace 1 Doncaster 0; Middlesbrough 2 Hull 2; Preston 0 Millwall 0; QPR 2 Cardiff 1; Reading 0 Leeds 0; Scunthorpe 0 Coventry 2.

Played Friday Swansea 1 Portsmouth 2

Division One Rochdale 1 Oldham 1 Division Tw o Morecambe 1 Crewe 2 German league results Bayern Munich 4 (Tymoshchuk 29, 88, Mueller 59, Gomez 61) Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (Gekas 33) Hamburg 4 (Trochowski 3, Pitroipa 29, Petric 36, Van Nistelrooy 60), Stuttgart 2 (Marica 9, Gentner 46); Hoffenheim 2 (Salihovic 38, Sigurdsson 90pen) Bayer Leverkusen 2 (Sam 8, Vidal 10-pen); Hannover 3 (Schlaudraff 15, Ya Konen 73, Hanke 89), Freiburg 0; Kaiserslautern 4 (Lakic 8, 56, Amedick 39, Ilicevic 76-pen), Schalke 0;Borussia Dortmund v Borussia Moenchengladbach - late kickoff.

Played Friday Mainz 05 3 (Schuerrle 27, Noveski 54, Allagui 86) Nuremberg 0 Playing today Werder Bremen v St. Pauli, Cologne v Wolfsburg

Playing today Norwich v Ipswich Playing tomorrow Leicester v Nottm Forest

Playing Sunday Dundee United v Rangers; Motherwell v Hearts

English Premier League table

Burton Accrington Bradford Gillingham Southend Oxford Lincoln Stockport Morecambe Northampton Barnet Hereford

English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man Utd Arsenal Chelsea Man City Bolton Tottenham Sunderland Stoke Liverpool Blackpool West Bromwich Newcastle Blackburn Birmingham Aston Villa Everton Fulham Wigan Wolverhampton West Ham

15 15 14 15 15 14 15 15 14 15 15 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15

8 9 9 7 5 6 4 6 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 3 2 3 3 2

0 4 4 3 2 4 3 7 5 6 6 6 7 4 6 5 4 7 9 7

35 32 28 20 28 21 19 19 16 23 20 22 18 16 17 17 15 11 17 14

16 17 9 12 22 19 18 19 17 29 26 21 25 18 24 19 18 26 27 26

31 29 28 26 23 22 20 20 19 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 15 14 12 12

0 5 6 6 7 6 3 5 6 5 4 7 8 7 7 8 8 7 8 9 11 11 11 12

35 34 24 32 27 32 21 27 30 28 28 24 26 32 21 20 22 17 23 16 23 23 19 23

9 20 16 21 23 32 16 25 29 22 22 29 27 30 21 22 28 23 31 27 32 35 29 38

41 36 33 30 30 29 27 27 27 26 26 26 25 24 24 24 23 22 22 22 20 20 18 15

6 5 6 3 2 8 8 4 6 2 5 2 4 5 7 4 7 4 6 6 1 18

2 4 4 6 7 3 3 6 5 8 6 8 7 6 6 8 6 8 7 7 10 3

30 31 36 26 29 27 25 26 26 36 27 25 21 20 26 23 21 19 25 28 21 6

13 24 20 12 20 21 23 16 18 39 31 30 21 24 24 29 28 26 25 32 28 9

36 32 30 30 29 29 29 28 27 26 26 26 25 23 22 22 22 22 21 21 19 19

3 2

11 20 36 15 12 17 32 14

6 5 4 5 7 7 7 5 7 4 9 7

2 3 4 4 3 4 4 5 5 7 4 6

7 2 1 5 8 4 8 2 4 4 4 3 3 8 5 7 9 5 3 6

English Football League tables Championship: QPR 19 11 8 Cardiff 19 11 3 Swansea 19 10 3 Derby 18 9 3 Coventry 19 9 3 Leeds 19 8 5 Nottm Forest 18 6 9 Norwich 18 7 6 Doncaster 19 7 6 Reading 19 6 8 Burnley 18 6 8 Barnsley 19 7 5 Portsmouth 19 7 4 Watford 19 6 6 Millwall 19 6 6 Ipswich 18 7 3 Bristol City 19 6 5 Hull 19 5 7 Leicester 18 6 4 Sheff Utd 19 6 4 Scunthorpe 19 6 2 Crystal Palace 19 6 2 Middlesbrough 19 5 3 Preston 19 4 3 Division One Brighton 18 10 Charlton 18 9 Bournemouth 18 8 Sheff Wed 18 9 Huddersfield 18 9 Oldham 18 7 Colchester 18 7 Southampton 18 8 Carlisle 18 7 Peterborough 18 8 Exeter 18 7 M’ Keynes Dons 18 8 Brentford 18 7 Hartlepool 17 6 Rochdale 18 5 Plymouth 18 6 Bristol Rovers 18 5 Tranmere 18 6 Leyton Orient 18 5 Swindon 18 5 Notts County 17 6 Dagenham & Redbridge 32 15 Yeovil 18 4 Walsall 18 4 Division Two Port Vale Chesterfield Bury Shrewsbury Rotherham Torquay Wycombe Cheltenham Crewe Macclesfield Stevenage Aldershot

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 18 18 18 18

10 10 10 9 8 7 7 7 6 7 5 5

18 18 18 18 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

5 4 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3

6 9 3 6 5 5 4 7 6 6 4 6

7 5 9 7 7 8 9 7 8 8 10 9

23 26 16 21 18 19 14 16 22 20 21 19

22 27 20 26 20 22 26 34 29 29 35 35

21 21 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 16 15

Scottish Premier League table Rangers 14 12 1 Celtic 15 11 2 Hearts 14 8 2 Inverness 15 7 4 Motherwell 14 7 2 Kilmarnock 15 6 2 Dundee Utd 14 5 4 Hibernian 15 4 3 St Johnstone 15 4 3 St Mirren 15 3 4 Aberdeen 15 3 1 Hamilton 15 2 4

1 2 4 4 5 7 5 8 8 8 11 9

34 35 22 26 22 24 15 17 10 14 15 11

15 12 13 18 16 18 20 25 22 26 31 29

37 35 26 25 23 20 19 15 15 13 10 10

Matches on TV (local timings)

26 38 36 31 31 29 27 25 37 21 20 16

9 23 21 18 23 20 21 26 25 24 15 22

36 35 34 32 31 28 28 26 25 25 24 22

harder, be a little rougher and play with less caution, safe in the knowledge that they are not so close to suspension. What cunning!

Blinded by his charisma, Real’s appeasers suggest that its apparent rulebending is further proof of Mourinho’s “magic.” They argue that Ramos and Alonso committed nothing more serious that the football equivalent of telling a white lie, naughty but ultimately harmless and without real consequence.

They say that because there are other, far bigger wrongs in football, the misdemeanor of deliberately earning a card isn’t worth bothering with. Let the petty criminals go. They are wrong. —AP

West Ham 3

Scottish Premier League results Celtic 2 (Ki 38, McCourt 65) Inverness 2 (Foran 70, Munro 83); Hamilton 0 St Mirren 0; Hibernian 0 St Johnstone 0; Kilmarnock 2 (Sammon 18, Hamill 51-pen) Aberdeen 0;

Playing later Burnley v Derby

with his right sock and similarly dawdled before taking a goal kick. So out came a yellow for both from Thomson which, because it was their second in the game, became a red.

They will now sit out Real’s last Champions League group game, a meaningless Dec. 8 fixture against French side Auxerre that Mourinho can afford to lose because his team has already qualified comfortably for the knock-out stage. Their slate of accumulated cards almost wiped clean (they now have just one yellow each), Alonso and Ramos will be able to worry less about the risk of missing a match in the knock-out stage. They will be able to tackle

Hammers save season with win over Wigan

Soccer results/standings Aston Villa 2 (Clark 52, 70) Arsenal 4 (Arshavin 39, Nasri 45, Chamakh 56, Wilshere 90); Bolton 2 (Petrov 76, K.Davies 89) Blackpool 2 (Evatt 28, Varney 57); Everton 1 (Cahill 45) West Bromwich 4 (Scharner 16, Brunt 26, Tchoyi 76, Distin og87); Fulham 1 (Dempsey 53) Birmingham 1 (Larsson 20); Manchester United 7 (Berbatov 2, 27, 47, 62, 70 Park 23, Nani 48) Blackburn 1 (Samba 83); Stoke 1 (Etherington 90) Manchester City 1 (Richards 81); West Ham 3 (Behrami 34, Obinna 56, Parker 75) Wigan 1 (Cleverley 86); Wolverhampton 3 (Foley 50, Hunt 81, EbanksBlake 89) Sunderland 2 (Bent 67, Wellbeck 77).

more financially lucrative knock-out phase of Europe’s top club competition starts in February 2011. Both played on Spain’s World Cup winning side. Mourinho needs Alonso to spray balls from the midfield to his goal-scorers up front. He relies on Ramos to guard Real’s back.

So it made more sense that Alonso and Ramos take their punishment now, rather than later, when the stakes will be far higher. Earn that third yellow against Ajax, get the automatic one-match suspension quickly out of the way. Which is what they did.

Alonso took an eternity to take a free kick, repeatedly stopping and restarting his run-up to run down the clock. Ramos fiddled

English Premier League New castle United v Chelsea FC .. 16:30 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5 Tottenham v Liverpool ..................19:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5 Italian League Inter v Parma ................................ 14:30 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD Bologna FC v Chievo ......................17:00 Al Jazeera Sport +2 La zio v Ca ta nia ...............................17:00 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD Udinese v Napoli .............................17:00 Al Jazeera Sport +4 Al Jazeera Sport 2 HD As Ba ri v AC Cesena ......................17:00 Al Jazeera Sport +5 Cagliari v US Lecce ........................17:00 Al Jazeera Sport +8 Brescia v Genoa ..............................17:00 Al Jazeera Sport +10 Pa lermo v AS Roma ........................22:45 Al Jazeera Sport +1 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD Spanish League Atletico v Espa nyol .........................00:00 Al Jazeera Sport 2 HD Mallorca v Malaga ..........................19:00 Al Jazeera Sport +9 Ra cing v Deportivo ........................19:00 Al Jazeera Sport +6 Hercules v Levante ....................... 19:00 Al Jazeera Sport +7 Sporting v Sociedad ........................19:00 Al Jazeera Sport +5 Bilbao v Osa suna .............................21:00 Al Jazeera Sport +2 Va lencia v UD Almeria ...................23:00 Al Jazeera Sport +2

Wigan 1

LONDON: West Ham reacted to their board’s statement that yesterday’s Premier League match with Wigan was ‘their save the season match’ in style with a 3-1 victory.

Thier first victory since beating Spurs on September 15 and only second in the league this term failed to lift them out of the bottom spot but took them to three points of safety while Wigan’s woeful away record worsened still with just one win in their last 15 away matches.

The Hammers took the lead to huge scenes of jubilation as Swiss international Valon Behrami slotted past Ali Al Habsi from the impressive Frederic Piquionne’s knockdown - Grant nonchalantly gave the Swiss scorer, who had only been passed fit late on after a hip injury, the thumbs-up.

The hosts took huge heart from that fillip and surged forward in search of doubling their lead before half-time as Wigan’s confidence ebbed away with even their best performer Frenchman Charles N’Zogbia fading away.

It was only two brilliant saves

by Al Habsi that thwarted West Ham, first turning away for a corner Junior Stanislas’s long range effort and from the subsequent corner he pulled off an even better one from Piquionne’s header.

However, the second-half belonged solely to the hosts as they shook off any nerves they may have felt as they doubled their lead with the lively Piquionne who along with Grant experienced the nightmare of Portsmouth’s Premier League season last term - setting up Victor Obinna, who slammed the ball past Al Habsi.

Any hopes the visitors had of getting back into the match evaporated when Mauro Boselli was bizarrely chosen to take a penalty - given when Tom Cleverly was brought down by Danny Gabbidon - just two minutes after coming on as a substitute.

The striker, who has thus far proved an expensive failure since signing in the summer, struck the ball weakly and former England goalkeeper Robert Green got down to save it.

The Hammers rubbed their advantage home when the outstanding Scott Parker added a third after playing a 1-2 with Obinna. Cleverly grabbed a consolation effort for the visitors but the hosts ran out deserved winners. — AFP

LONDON: West Ham United’s Victor Obinna (left) and Wigan Athletic’s Mohamed Diame battle for the ball during the England Premier League soccer match at Upton Park. — AP

Wolves grab victory over Sunderland Wolves 3

Sunderland 2

LONDON: Late substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake handed Wolverhampton a deserved and much sought-after 3-2 win over Sunderland with the winning goal in the dying moments of a thrilling match at Molineux yesterday.

Wolves’ fans have endured tough times of late with only one win in their last 13 matches leaving them deep in the relegation zone, five points from safety.

However, Mick McCarthy’s pre-match pep talk, which must have mentioned the fact Sunderland have a poor record away to Wolves, seemed to work wonders.

Wolves started the match energetically and harried the visitors throughout an opening half in which the goalscoring chances came thick and fast for both sides.

In the sixth minute Irish striker Kevin Doyle took the ball wide and ran past Anton Ferdinand to force Sunderland ‘keeper Craig Gordon into action.

The Black Cats hit back through Bolo Zenden minutes later, the Dutchman’s 20-yard shot flying past Hennessey’s left post. Wolves then missed a great chance to open the scoring when defender Richard Stearman saw

Celtic blow chance of top spot GLASGOW: Celtic blew a chance to top the Scottish Premier League as Inverness Caledonian Thistle fought back from two behind to extend their unbeaten away record to a year with a 2-2 draw yesterday at Celtic Park.

Ki Sung-Yeung’s first-half strike and a fine solo goal from substitute Paddy McCourt after the break looked to have sealed all three points.

However, Inverness pulled one back when Richie Foran capitalised on a defensive mistake before Grant Munro headed in eight minutes from time to snatch a point.

“When you are 2-0 down you are thinking ‘oh the record’s gone here’,” Inverness manager Terry Butcher said. “We just felt that if we showed more belief we could get something from the game and we got the goal from Foran from nothing and then the second goal as well.” It is the second successive weekend Celtic have drawn at home and leaves them two points behind rivals Rangers, who are away to Dundee United today.

“I’m absolutely livid with that,” groaned Celtic manager Neil Lennon. “It’s not the goals we conceded, it’s the manner of the goals as well from a very strong position and you can’t afford to do that at any level.”

Celtic made two changes to the side that drew against Dundee United with Charlie Mulgrew and Jos Hoovield replacing Emilio Izaguirre and Niall McGinn as the home side opted to play three in the centre of defence.

All eyes were on referee Alain Hamer and his linesmen from Luxembourg who had been flown in to cover for the striking Scottish officials and their first big decision was to rule out a goal for the hosts in the 23rd minute.

Gary Hooper played a through ball to Daryl Murphy, who rolled it past Esson but nearside linesman Francois Mangen had his flag up for offside.

The home side’s pressure paid off in the 38th minute when Ki fired Celtic into the lead. The South Korean latched on to a McCourt pass deep inside the box and turned to send a low drive in off the post to the bottom lefthand corner. A mazy run from Cha ended with the South Korean defender sending a fierce strike towards goal which Esson couldn’t hold but Inverness cleared the danger. The Inverness keeper then had to be alert to tip over a Ki cross from the left which looked to be dipping under the bar as Celtic started the second-half strongly. —AFP

his close range header from Matt Jarvis’s corner go wide.

Doyle spurned another chance on 17 minutes when he latched on to Stephen Ward’s cross only to blast it narrowly over Gordon’s crossbar.

Darren Bent then won a freekick for Sunderland after a handball by George Elokobi, which earned the Nigerian a yellow card.

Bent’s call almost paid off, with Kieran Richardson blasting the resulting freekick off Hennessey’s post. Wolves started the second half with the same vigour, with Ronald Zubar’s longrange effort whistling narrowly wide.

Moments later Wolves took the lead in the 50th minute, with

Irish defender Kevin Foley blasting past Gordon after the ‘keeper had parried a searing shot by Matt Jarvis.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce pulled off Zenden and took a gamble by sending on Asamoah Gyan, who has been troubled by a thigh strain.

His arrival seemed to spur the Black Cats and the Ghanaian played a direct role once the equaliser did come by flicking on a long ball from Gordon to Bent, who left Stearman flat-footed to beat Hennessey for 1-1.

The goal lifted Sunderland, who came close to stunning Wolves when on-loan Manchester United striker Dany Welbeck played in Bent, whose first-timer

hit the sidenetting.

Welbeck’s persistence finally paid off in the 77th minute when he met Phil Bardsley’s superb cross with a powerful header which beat Hennessey to put Sunderland ahead.

Wolves, however, fought back and once again had Gordon to thank when the Scottish ‘keeper spilled a header from Zubar into the path of Hunt, who tapped home for the equaliser.

McCarthy’s joy was complete when striker Ebanks-Blake, who replaced defender Michael Mancienne in the dying moments, produced a superb winner after connecting with Doyle’s inch-perfect cross from the left flank. — AFP

Bayern vault into top five BERLIN: Bayern Munich cruised to a 4-1 victory at home to Eintracht Frankfurt yesterday, leaping into the top five as they target a strong finish to the first half of the Bundesliga season.

During the week, Bayern’s bosses had demanded a minumum 10 points from the final four matches before the winter break, and Louis van Gaal’s men gained the first three in extending their undefeated streak to seven matches.

The reigning Bundesliga champions moved onto 23 points — five points from the Champions League qualification spot of third place and 11 points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk’s goal in the 29th minute for Bayern was swiftly cancelled out by Theofanis Gekas. But Thomas Mueller scored in the 59th minute and Mario Gomez made it 3-1 two minutes later before Tymoshchuk doubled his goal tally in the 88th minute.

Gomez said Bayern had to ensure their recent good form continues. “We know that we are way behind and are not the favourites and that we need the points,” the striker said.

“We cannot watch what Dortmund or Mainz or Hannover or Leverkusen are doing but just worry about getting our points and hope that we can be in a good spot over Christmas.”

Dortmund had a chance to regain their seven-point lead over Mainz later yesterday when they were hosting tailenders Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Mainz pulled to within four points of Dortmund with a convincing 3-0 victory at home over Nuremberg on Friday night to consolidate second place.

Bayer Leverkusen lost ground on Mainz, whom they

GERMANY: Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller (left) and Franck Ribery hug each other during a match of German First Division soccer match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt. — AP trail by four points after a 2-2 draw Saturday at Hoffenheim, who equalised four minutes into stoppage time with a penalty by Gylfi Thor Sigurdsson.

Leverkusen cruised 2-0 ahead inside ten minutes with goals by Sidney Sam and a penalty by Arturo Vidal. But Sejad Salihovic pulled a goal back in the 38th minute for Hoffenheim and Iceland international Sigurdsson blasted home the penalty to give Hoffenheim 22 points for sixth place.

“Usually if you lead after 93 minutes you want to leave the pitch as the winner. But you have to give Hoffenheim credit for coming back and getting a point,” said Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes.

Hannover are fourth with 25

points after a 3-0 victory at home over Freiburg with Jan Schlaudraff, Didier Ya Konen and Mike Hanke on target.

Hamburg are seventh, one point behind Hoffenheim, after a 4-2 victory at home over 10man Stuttgart. Hamburg went ahead after three minutes through Piotr Trochowski but Ciprian Marica equalised in the ninth minute only to get his marching orders with a red card after 16 minutes.

After Jonathan Pitroipa and Mladen Petric pushed the lead to 3-1, Christian Gentner pulled a goal back before Ruud van Nistelrooy hit the hosts’ fourth.

At the wrong end of the table, Schalke’s struggles continued with a 5-0 loss at Kaiserslautern with Srdjan Lakic scoring two goals. —AFP

www.kuwaittimes.net

Berbatov strikes five in Utd’s magnificent seven Man United 7

Blackburn 1

LONDON: Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart dives full length to make a save from Stoke City’s Matthew Etherington (left) during the English Premier League soccer match. —AP

Man City held to draw by Stoke STOKE: Stoke midfielder Matthew Etherington stunned Manchester City with an injury-time equalizer yesterday to salvage a 1-1 draw and put the visitors further adrift in the Premier League title race.

Etherington received a clever backheel from substitute Tuncay Sanli and put the ball past City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who got a hand to the ball but could not prevent it going into the net.

Micah Richards thought he had scored a late winner for City in the 81st minute when latched on to a ball from James Milner and rifled a shot into the corner.

City remained in fourth place with 26 points, five behind leader Manchester United which routed Blackburn 7-1.

Chelsea can go level with United when it

plays Newcastle today.

City found themselves under pressure for long spells in the first half and were lucky to be level going into halftime.

Stoke had its first chance in the fifth minute when a long throw from Rory Delap was flicked on by Ryan Shawcross.

Jermaine Pennant got on the end of it, clearing the bar with his effort before Delap caused further confusion in the City penalty area.

Ricardo Fuller found himself clear following a long throw, only to see his shot blocked by Vincent Kompany. The home side should have taken the lead in the 16th minute when Fuller and Kenwyne Jones played a neat one-two.

Fuller was released in the area but failed to test Hart, steering his effort

wide of the post. City were again forced on the back foot in the 22nd when Robert Huth cleared the bar from a good position. The visitors launched a quick counterattack in the 31st when David Silva released Carlos Tevez. The striker found James Milner but the move broke down following a timely challenge by Andy Wilkinson.

Stoke were nearly undone in the 42nd following a mistake by Danny Collins. He played a casual back pass to Begovic, unaware Tevez was lurking on the edge of the area. However, Begovic raced out of his goal to divert the ball to safety.

Mario Balotelli had started the half with purpose for City and showed good strength and pace to rattle in a shot in the 52nd that went narrowly wide. — AP

Dempsey’s equaliser rescues Fulham

West Brom hammer Everton Everton 1

Fulham 1 West Brom 4 Birmingham 1

LONDON: Fulham forward Clint Dempsey denied Birmingham their first away win of the season as the American’s equaliser earned a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage yesterday.

Alex McLeish’s side led through a 19th-minute strike from Sebastian L arsson but Fulham salvaged a point through Dempsey’s 53rd-minute header.

Fulham are still one place above the relegation zone and they are now without a win in their last five league games.

The Cottagers should have taken the lead in the fourth minute but a goalbound shot by Aaron Hughes was cleared off the line by Keith Fahey.

In the 11th minute, Dempsey tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but his shot flashed past the upright.

Birmingham took the lead against the run of play with their first threatening attack of the game.

A surge by Alexander Hleb took him into the penalty and he crossed for Larsson to control and fire into the far corner.

In the 31st minute the hosts carved out an opening when Zoltan Gera crossed for Diomansy Kamara to try a spectacular overhead kick. But the Fulham striker did not connect with the ball sufficiently to threaten Ben Foster in the City goal.

Birmingham continued to press forward and in the 40th minute Fulham defender Chris Baird had to make a last-ditch header to prevent Larsson from getting another chance at the far post.

But Fulham started brightly in the second-half and their pressure paid off in the 53rd minute when Birmingham failed to clear a corner and Dempsey climbed highest at the far post to equalise with a simple header.

The Cottagers were in the ascendancy and Birmingham’s frustration deepened when they lost Hleb through injury in the 61st minute. —AFP

LONDON: Birmingham City’s Sebastian Larsson (left) celebrates scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match against Fulham at Craven Cottage. ——AP

Bolton halt Blackpool charge Bolton 2

Blackpool 2

BOLTON: In-form Bolton battled back from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw against Premier League surprise package Blackpool at the Reebok stadium yesterday.

Two goals from corners from defender Ian Evatt and striker Luke Varney looked to be enough for the Tangerines, but late goals from winger Martin Petrov and midfielder Mark Davies ensured the points were shared.

Bolton now sit three points off fourth spot, and Champions League qualification, while Blackpool have accumulated 19 points, almost half the 40 total considered necessary for survival.

Both teams were on a high after big wins last Saturday, and the confidence showed as the match started at a lively pace.

In-form Trotters’ striker Kevin

Davies registered the first effort of note, but Richard Kingson in the away goal was equal to the England forward’s angled shot.

The Tangerines weathered a barrage, and had defender Stephen Crainey to thank for a last-ditch tackle which blocked winger Chung-Yong Lee’s goalbound shot.

The visitors clawed their way back into the contest and had a good chance of their own when DJ Campbell found himself free on the edge of the area but defender Gary Cahill deflected the resulting shot wide.

‘Pool did break the deadlock on the half-hour mark when defender Evatt stole in to direct Elliot Grandin’s corner past a helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Charlie Adam nearly claimed a goal-of-the-season shortly before the break when he beat Jaaskelainen with an audacious attempt from the half-way line, only to see it sail narrowly over the top.

Defender Neal Eardley pulled of a goal-saving interception to deny Kevin Davies, which became doubly important moments later when the away team scored a second. —AFP

LIVERPOOL: Everton’s stuttering Premier League campaign was dealt another hammer blow as West Bromwich Albion ran out 4-1 winners in a stormy encounter at Goodison Park yesterday.

Defender Paul Scharner and midfielder Chris Brunt put the visitors into a two-goal lead which was halved before halftime by Tim Cahill’s header.

The Toffees played the final 30 minutes with 10 men after Mikel Arteta was dismissed, and were further punished through substitute Somen Tchoyi and an own goal from Sylvain Distin.

Youssouf Mulumbu was dismissed late on for the Baggies, but it was far too late for the home team to capitalise. The two teams came into the game on poor runs of form with Everton winless in their previous four games and West Brom winless in five.

The home team made the brighter start and nearly opened the scoring after eight minutes but Scott Carson in the Baggies’ goal pulled off a fine save from winger Victor Anichebe’s curling shot.

Albion struggled to get a foothold in the game but from nowhere shocked their hosts to take the lead. A rare foray into the Toffees’ half forced a corner, which Brunt whipped in for Scharner to head powerfully past Tim Howard in the home goal.

Everton pushed for an immediate response, but despite some territorial pressure they were stunned again by a second Albion goal.

Australia midfielder Cahill dragged down Mulumbu on the edge of the area presenting setpiece specialist Brunt with a glimmer of a chance which he took with aplomb, curling the free-kick into the top corner.

The contest sparked back into life shortly before the break when prolific midfielder Cahill struck to half the deficit. Fullback Leighton Baines curled in an inviting corner which the exMillwall player rose to head past Carson. — AFP

MANCHESTER: Manchester United moved top of the Premier League as an incredible five goals from Dimitar Berbatov helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s side humiliate Blackburn Rovers 7-1 yesterday.

Wayne Rooney made his first Old Trafford start since he almost left Manchester United last month, but it was Berbatov who stole the show on a memorable afternoon for the Bulgarian striker.

He became just the fourth player since the inception of the Premier League to score five goals in one game following in the footsteps of Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and Jermain Defoe as United played beautifully from start to finish.

In a sign of what was to come, Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson failed to clear properly, as did Michel Salgado when he attempted a rescue act and their ineptitude allowed Nani to get the ball to Rooney who played in Berbatov and he swept past Robinson after 72 seconds. It was his first goal since netting a hat-trick against Liverpool on September 19 and set United up to totally dominate the encounter.

Nani had a fine start to the game as he ran repeatedly at the Rovers’ defence and Chris Samba almost turned the ball past his own goalkeeper after 15 minutes.

Blackburn were missing the influential Morten Gamst Pedersen who pulled his hamstring against Aston Villa last weekend and without him Blackburn just could not get on the ball. United’s midfield totally dominated proceedings and it was with little surprise when Park Ji-Sung superbly doubled United’s lead midway through the first half.

The South Korean brilliantly carved Blackburn open with an intelligent run to the edge of Blackburn’s box and after clever interplay with Rooney he slotted past Robinson to double the advantage.

Just four minutes later, and still before the half-hour mark, Berbatov secured his second goal when Pascal Chimbonda totally misjudged a back-pass and allowed him to calmly beat Robinson to underline that this match was already effectively over. United felt they were denied a penalty as the halftime whistle approached as Salgado tackled both the ball and Berbatov in the box but United’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

That was soon forgotten after the interval though when United scored twice within three minutes of the second half commencing and both goals were of the highest quality.

Firstly Berbatov started a passing move in his own half which eventually saw him receive the ball back from Nani close to the penalty spot and he thrashed past Robinson before Nani did exactly the same just 90 seconds later.

United were not finished there either as Berbatov then got lucky when a Park shot was blocked in the six-yard box which allowed him to poke home his fourth and United’s sixth. Despite having their ludicrously comfortable lead, United refused to rest on their laurels and continued attacking the now hapless and helpless visitors at will.

Blackburn had nothing left to give as United queued up to score and it was Berbatov who again managed to do so, slotting in from a tight angle after Ryan Nelsen had blocked his original effort. Blackburn did manage to salvage some pride as Samba headed home a Josh Morris cross to beat Edwin van der Sar with seven minutes remaining but by then Rovers’ humiliation was well and truly complete. — AFP

LONDON: Manchester United’s Dimitar Berbatov (left) celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal against Blackburn Rovers during their English Premier League soccer match at Old Trafford Stadium.—AP

Arsenal crush Villa to get back on track Aston Villa 2

Arsenal 4

BIRMINGHAM: Arsenal got back on track after a traumatic week as the Gunners romped to a 4-2 win at Aston Villa yesterday.

Arsene Wenger’s side avoided a third straight defeat and extended their incredible unbeaten record at Villa to 12 games to take over at the top of the Premier League ahead of yesterday’s later matches.

After the misery of letting a two-goal lead slip in the north London derby against Tottenham and the subsequent embarrassment of losing to Braga in the Champions League, Arsenal were delighted to find sanctuary at Villa Park.

Their record of seven wins and five draws in their previous visits made it an ideal venue af ter losing four of their previous six games in all competitions.

The Gunners answered their critics, who believe they do not possess the mental strength to match their obvious talents, by overwhelming Villa in one of the most onesided 45 minutes of Premier League action you could witness. “It’s a good weekend because we can relax now a

bit and look at the other results,” Wenger said. “You can only do your job and that’s what we did.

“It was a strong performance against a Villa side that’s dangerous. “With 2-0 at halftime, it was quickly back to 21, but this time we managed to find the resources to keep scoring goals.”

Thomas Rosicky, Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh were all guilty of missing a succession of chances, but Arshavin soothed the frustration of Wenger when he netted in the 39th minute after a dreadful mix-up between Luke Young and James Collins from Lukasz Fabianski’s long clearance.

Both Villa defenders missed their attempted intervention leaving Arshavin free to weave his way into the penalty and his curling shot squeezed through the legs of the retreating Collins before beating Brad Friedel.

Villa had not beaten Arsenal in 23 league meetings and any hopes of improving on that dreadful record evaporated further when Samir Nasri doubled Arsenal’s advantage on the stroke of half-time with a searing first-time shot from the corner of the penalty area, which took a slight deflection of Luke Young before finding the target.

These are worrying times for Villa boss Gerard Houllier.

A host of injuries to key players has meant exposing

youngsters who are clearly not up to the week-on-week demands and the emergency signing of 37-year-old Robert Pires, who, despite the added incentive of impressing against the club he served with such distinction for six years, looked hideously out of his depth.

Pires had to be withdrawn at half-time to spare him any further humiliation. He was still getting changed when Ciaran Clark chested down Sebastien Squillaci’s poor header and drove a powerful shot from the edge of the area beyond Lukasz Fabianski for his first senior goal.

Moroccan striker Chamakh re-gained their two-goal advantage, sliding the ball under Friedel after Thomas Rosicky’s through ball. Clark added a second with a clever back header with 20 minutes remaining, af ter Richard Dunne headed Ashley Young’s header into the danger area, but Jack Wilshere rounded off an emphatic Arsenal performance.

Wilshere’s first ever Premier League goal in stoppage time was an attractive way to round off a crucial win as started and finished a move involving Chamakh and substitute Denilson.

Houllier has won just twice in ten games since replacing Martin O’Neill and Villa are flirting dangerously with the relegation zone as they prepare to embark on a seasondefining mini-run. —AFP

LONDON: Aston Villa’s Ciaran Clark (left) and Arsenal’s captain Tomas Rosicky (right) fight for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match at the Villa Park ground. — AP

Dubai hosting WEF’s third Summit on Global Agenda

23

Al-Imtiaz raises shareholders’ rights, reduces debts

25

New Chevrolet Captiva to debut at Abu Dhabi

25

Sunday, November 28, 2010

www.kuwaittimes.net

Irish unions mount Dublin march against budget cuts EU-IMF bailout draws widespread criticism

DUBLIN: Thousands of protesters hold a rally outisde the General Post Office beside the statue of James Larkin, a famous trade union leader, in central Dublin, yesterday. Some 10,000 labor union supporters marched through Dublin yesterday in Ireland’s biggest demonstration yet against severe budget-cutting plans and a looming EU-IMF bailout. —AP

UAE GDP growth seen at 3-3.5% in 2011 DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates’ economy is expected to grow by 3 to 3.5 percent in 2011, the Gulf state’s economy minister said yesterday.

Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri also told reporters the UAE, which enforces global sanctions against Iran, hopes for a diplomatic resolution of the Western confrontation with Iran, a major UAE trade partner.

He said the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) should reach 1 trillion dirhams ($270 billion) in 2010.

Nominal GDP had fallen to 914.3 billion dirhams in 2009 from 934.3 billion

France, Qatar leaders met last week on Areva: Report PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Qatar’s prime minister in Paris last week in a bid to resolve the stalemate over nuclear reactor maker Areva’s capital increase, the Financial Times reported. The paper said Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr AlThani was in Paris for a stopover to discuss the terms of Qatar’s proposed investment in Areva.

An Elysee spokesman declined to comment. Areva, which is almost 90 percent owned by the French state, is planning a capital increase which it hopes will raise up to 3 billion euros to finance future development projects.

Areva has been talking to the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Kuwait and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in the hope of sealing their investment by the end of the year.

Qatar is seeking guarantees over the value of Areva, for example by having an option to take shares in its sensitive uranium mining division, even as tensions on the French side about the operation’s terms and conditions intensify, the FT said.

The FT cited people close to the situation as saying that the government would have to decide whether to go ahead with the capital increase in the coming days if it was to meet its target of raising funds by the end of the year. — Reuters

dirhams in 2008 after the global slowdown. “I am very optimistic about 2011. But I am concerned about other economies in the world,” Mansouri said, adding he hoped regions such as the European Union and North America could resolve their problems.

The UAE economy is expected to lag its Gulf peers this year as banks in the world’s third-largest oil exporter remain reluctant to lend due to a $23.5 billion debt restructuring by conglomerate Dubai World.

But Mansouri expressed confidence in UAE banks: “UAE banks are in a

very stable financial situation right now.” On Iran, he said: “Iran is a very important trading partner.

We will continue trade with them.

“The issue of Iran should be solved with peaceful negotiations. We will not want to lose the link (with Iran).” The UAE has signaled it will rein back its role as a trading and financial lifeline for Iran after the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran in June, over accusations it is developing a nuclear bomb.

In June, the UAE central bank told financial institutions to freeze accounts

belonging to dozens of firms targeted

by UN sanctions, also blacklisting 40 entities and one individual.

Mansouri expressed confidence that a solution would be found for troubled Dubai Islamic mortgage lender Amlak. “The Tamweel issue is solved and Amlak is in the process of being solved,” Mansouri said. He did not elaborate. In September, Dubai Islamic Bank raised its stake in rival Islamic mortgage firm Tamweel to more than 57 percent, in a move expected to help revive lending in Dubai’s hard-hit property market. — Reuters

‘Haircut’ risk repricing euro debt LONDON: Investors may be forced into a bigger re-appraisal of risks attached to holding euro zone government bonds, a process which could weigh on a wider group of risky assets as the year draws to a close. Uncertainty over a new euro zone crisis mechanism and whether newly issued bonds would include a clause that could force creditors to take losses is fanning fresh risk aversion.

The euro hit a fresh two-month low against the dollar while the cost of insuring debt against a default by peripheral eurozone countries and banks rose. World stocks are down about two percent in the past week.

A key European barometer of investor anxiety, VDAX-NEW volatility index, leapt 15 percent at one point on Friday to a seven-week high. An Irish Times report that the International Monetary Fund and the European Union are examining how senior bondholders could be compelled to pay some of the costs of rescuing Ireland’s banks also put focus on private sector burden sharing. “If you change the basis on which you issue debt, there will be an impact on debt. It is a signal that the private sector needs to price risk appropriately,” said Philip Poole, head of macro and investment strategy at HSBC Global Asset Management. “There was a perception that the euro zone umbrella protected creditors. There was mispricing of (peripheral) debt relative to Bund. And the mispricing led to more fiscal deficit which led to more problems.” Practically, Germany wants private investors to face “haircuts” or other debt payment restructure measures. In order to include them, newly issued euro zone bonds would include collective action clauses (CACs).

The CACs would allow for a country to restructure its debt repayments should it

MADRID: A broker works at the Stock Exchange in Madrid on Friday. Madrid’s Ibex 35 bourse continued its weeklong downward trend, dipping 1.89 percent by mid-afternoon.— AP be unable to meet them, either by extending the maturity of bonds, by reducing interest payments or by a so-called “haircut”-or writedown.

“This proposal, if implemented, could have a potentially negative impact on financial markets... As CACs would only be applied to new debt, it would essentially split the bond market into two and thus reduce liquidity,” Barclays Capital said in a note to clients.

“It could also make it more difficult for sovereigns such as Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece to issue new debt.” According to JP Morgan, European bond managers increased their underweights in peripheral bonds over the past two weeks close to levels seen in June.

For some bondholders of Irish banks

the restructuring process has already begun. Last Monday, a group of creditors holding subordinated debt of nationalized lender Anglo Irish Bank agreed to take an 80 percent writedown on the value of their holdings. In one possible scheme, bank debt would be converted into equity shares. In the second, investors would be given the choice of injecting fresh capital into the banks or face a cut in their investment.

The other risk for investors is a hawkish stance from some European Central Bank policymakers. The ECB, increasingly impatient with banks reliant on its crisis loans, will say next Thursday how much of its support- mostly ultra-easy loans for banks-will remain in place beyond midJanuary. —Reuters

DUBLIN: Some 10,000 labor union supporters marched through Dublin yesterday in Ireland’s biggest demonstration yet against severe budget-cutting plans and a looming EUIMF bailout.

The crowd seemed lower than organizers had anticipated.

The march began peacefully as organizers tried to keep confrontations to a minimum Union chiefs who represent a third of Ireland’s 2 million-strong labor force had predicted that tens of thousands would parade along the River Liffey to the capital’s central thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, to hear calls for Ireland’s 2011 budget to hit the rich and the banks, not average citizens already struggling with reduced wages and rising bills. Police said the crowd numbered “at least” 10,000.

The rally is the first major demonstration since Ireland last week opened negotiations with European Union and International Monetary Fund experts on a likely 85 billion euros ($115 billion) loan to save the country from bankruptcy.

“People are very unhappy, and this is their last chance to protest before the budget,” said Pat Kenny, a 45-year-old postal worker and labor union official, distributing bright blue banners as the march began. “But today is just the start of a campaign against the plan. This government doesn’t have a mandate to govern, they should allow for a general election and let the public say if they are in favor of the four-year plan.” Thousands of marchers-led by a traditional pipe band-crowded along the banks of Dublin’s River Liffey, banging drums and blowing whistles. Banners carried slogans including “It’s not out fault, we must default,” and “No country for young men,” a reference to the squeeze on jobs.

As part of the crisis negotiations, Ireland published a plan this week to slash 15 billion euros from its deficits over the next four years, with the harshest cuts and tax hikes earmarked for the next budget being published Dec 7. Prime Minister Brian Cowen admits that the slashing will lower the living standards of everyone in this country of 4.5 million. But he insists Ireland has no choice given that the nation’s 2010 deficit is running at 32 percent of GDP, the highest in Europe since World War II. Yesterday’s rally coincides with Irish media reports that the EU-IMF fund could charge interest rates of up to 6.7 percent, higher than the 5.2 percent that applied to Greece’s 110 billion euros bailout in May. Irish government officials insisted that the rate would be significantly lower than 6.7 percent, while analysts said the package was likely to include a range of interest charges dependent on which countries or organizations were providing particular funds.

The union umbrella group organizing yesterday’s protest march, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said it would lobby up to the last minute for the government to minimize its planned cuts to welfare, pensions and other benefits. Its activists distributed protest newspapers along yesterday’s parade route bearing the simple message “Stop!”

“It’s difficult to see any justification-either economic, social, or indeed moral-for what the government proposes to do, and we’ll oppose them in every way we can,” said David Begg, general secretary of the group. Cowen’s 2011 budget will seek euro 4.5 billion in spending cuts and to raise an extra 1.5 billion euros in taxes.

He has pledged to dissolve parliament and hold an early national election in February or March-but only once all the spending cuts and tax hikes have been passed. —AP

MUMBAI: In this photograph taken on October 19, 2010 the twenty-seven storey Antilia, the newly-built residence of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, is pictured in Mumbai. Indian billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani hosted on November 29, 2010 a lavish ‘open house’ party for his opulent new skyscraper residence believed to be the world’s priciest private abode. — AFP

Ambani shows off ‘world’s priciest home’ MUMBAI: Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has hosted a lavish housewarming party to show off his just-completed new skyscraper residence, believed to be the world’s most expensive private home.

Some 80 of India’s rich and famous attended the party on Friday night at the 27-storey building, which dominates the skyline above the sprawling slums and traffic-choked roads of Mumbai, the Times of India reported.

Indian novelist Shobhaa De, who attended the party, called the buildingreported to be the world’s priciest private residence costing over one billion dollars-”the Taj Mahal of the 21st century”.

Ambani, who heads India’s largest private company, petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, will need 600 employees to maintain the palatial residence, reports said. De described visiting “what has got to be the biggest, glitziest ballroom in Indiathe Palace of Versailles is a poor cousin” with groaning buffet tables lining “one of the unending walls”.

Ambani, his wife and three children are to live in the 174-metre (570-feet) tall home, which according to reports has six floors of parking, swimming pools and a cinema. It is named after the mythical Atlantic island “Antilia”. One newspaper said the residence epitomized “the swagger and confidence of India’s economically buoyant upper echelons”.

Ambani, 53, is India’s wealthiest man with a $27billion fortune, according to Forbes. Anti-poverty campaigners have highlighted the contrast between the home and the plight of many in Mumbai, where half of the estimated 18

million population live in slums, with sketchy or non-existent power and water supplies.

The gulf between rich and poor is visible just a short walk from Ambani’s residence on Altamount Road, where entire families can be found living under a flyover and on pavements near foreign consulates and exclusive boutiques.

Guests at the residence, which has a temple on the ground floor and a personal library on the top, included Bollywood stars Preity Zinta and Aamir Khan as well as Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla.

“It’s great to breathe fresh air at this height and leave Mumbai’s pollution down below,” one unnamed guest was quoted as saying about the vertical mansion with its panoramic views of Mumbai and the Arabian Sea beyond.

Designed according to Vaastu principles, an Indian tradition much like feng shui-said to move energy beneficially through the building-the building looks from the outside like a tall pile of books of varying sizes. Mukesh Ambani’s elderly mother also has quarters at the new home.

She will commute between Antilia and the 14-storey residence of her younger son Anil where all family members previously lived under one roof-albeit on separate floors, novelist De reported.

Ambani’s younger brother Anil held a “parallel party” at the family’s original Seawind residence the same night, De said. The siblings in May publicly ended a bitter feud arising from the division of the vast conglomerate left by their rags-to-riches father Dhirubhai, who died in 2002 without a will. However they are still rarely seen together. — AFP

BUSINESS

22

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Kuwait equities flat, investors on guard KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) moved almost sideways during the week with no major news affecting the market trend. Trading activity was also sluggish causing so many equities to end the week with no change, while investors interest was seen shifted towards medium-sized companies. Global’s weighted General Index. The equities ended the week almost flat (-0.01 percent) as it closed at 217.52 point, bringing the year-to-date gains to 16.80 percent. On the other hand, Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) price index was down, shedding 22 points (0.32 percent) from its value and closed at 6,928 point.

Total market capitalization dropped to KD35.17bn. Market breadth slightly skewed towards decliners with 37 stocks retreating against 30 advancing out of only 134 shares traded this week. The low number of traded shares is due to the KSE suspending 24 equities from trading for not submitting their quarter end results at starting from the first trading session of the week. However, by end of the week the suspended companies were down to 21. Trading activity was much lower, as investors stayed calm after the long Eid holiday, waiting for any encouraging news to get back into the market. Weekly trading volume dropped by 40.03 percent to 746.57mn shares changing hands, at a total traded value of KD153.81mn (40.16 percent drop compared to the week ending in November 11).

Trading volume was high on the Services Sector, which accounted for 27.32 percent (203.95mn shares) of the market volume distributed among the sector’s companies. On the other side, the services sector saw the most value traded this week, accounting for 33.02 percent (KD50.79mn) of the overall market volume.

High trading on Zain’s shares is still seen in the market, accounting for 15.60 percent of the total markets’ traded value with KD24mn traded on the scrip.

The Investment Sector was hardly hit this week as most of the suspended shares were for investment companies (14 companies are suspended by the end of the week). Global Investment Sector Index ended the week down by 1.54 percent. Only eight out of the 51 listed investment companies recorded gains, while nine others shed some of their values.

The remaining stayed flat. Ekttitab Holding Company recorded the biggest advance in the sector, adding 8.20 percent to its share value, while Al-Mal Investment Company lost 2.94 percent of its share price after announcing the sale of one of its assets. Global Banking Sector Index was also down by 0.38 percent as no gains were recorded among the Kuwaiti banks.

Global Food Sector Index was the biggest decliner, shedding 2.06 percent of its value, dragged down by the 2.56 percent drop in the share price of the biggest food company, Kuwait Foodstuff Company (Americana).

Only two sectors managed to achieve gain in their indices.

The Services Index was up by 1.16 percent with Al-Mowasat Healthcare Company’s share price being the biggest advancer in the market, adding 9.09 percent. The Non-Kuwaiti Index was also up by 1.03 percent, with only two gainers in the sector. Egypt Kuwait Holding Company and Gulf Cement Company added 3.26 percent and 1.69 percent, respectively, to their share prices. Global’s special indices had mixed results.

Global Islamic Sharia Index was up by 0.39 percent. Global Large Cap (Top 10) index also added 0.29 percent to its value while Global Small Cap (Low 10) Index went down by 0.64 percent.

O ther l oc a l new s

GLOBAL DALY MARKET REPORT

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Gulf Arab country’s sovereign wealth fund, announced that it will not be taking part in General Motors’ initial public offering. Earlier this month, KIA’s managing director, Bader Al-Saad, said the fund was considering taking in GM’s initial public offering if it is feasible, but a person familiar with the matter at KIA said they had decided not to invest due to the increase in the share price. GM raised $20.1bn last week, placing its shares at the top of a proposed range due to massive investor demand. The IPO values GM at about $63bn. Including an option that would allow underwriters to sell more shares, GM looks set to raise $23.1bn, eclipsing the record $22.1bn raised by Agricultural Bank of China in July.

Kuw ai t St oc k Excha nge

Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said. The drop of the crude oil price came as the US dollar rate increased versus other major currencies as a result of abstention between the two Koreas.

The price of Kuwaiti oil is still within the target of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), between $70-80 pb.

The production capacity of Kuwait’s northern oil fields will soon rise to 820,000 barrels per day (bpd), Sami Al-Rushaid, chairman of the state explorer Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) said. He added that the current output from an early production facility will add 120,000 barrels per day once it reaches full capacity. No more specific time frame for the increase was given. Kuwait, the world’s fourth largest oil exporter, plans to boost output capacity to 4mn bpd by 2020 from the current 3.3mn bpd. Al-Rushaid said KOC had relied chiefly on its own capabilities to raise crude production from its northern oil-

fields, with little help from international oil companies (IOC).

He added that Project Kuwait, a multibillion-dollar plan to develop northern fields would take a new form with the help of IOCs. A possible new form is still under discussion. Parliament has opposed the project for years, fearing foreign companies will get a share of the oil wealth. Al-Rushaid said, last month that new models were being considered for the project including enhanced technical service agreements with IOCs. Kuwait’s crude oil exports to China surged 170.2 percent in October from a year earlier to 839,000 tons, equivalent to around 199,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the five consecutive month of gain, latest official data by the Chinese government shows. Kuwait provided 5.1 percent of China’s total crude oil imports, compared with 1.6 percent in the same month of last year and 3.6 percent in September, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Ma cro eco nomi c news Kuwait’s annual inflation slowed to 5.1 percent in October from an 18-month high hit the previous month as food and housing cost pressure subsided, data showed on Tuesday.

Inflation in the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter had been accelerating this year as the oil-reliant economy recovers from last year’s sharp contraction, reaching a peak of 5.3 percent in September. Consumer prices in the Gulf Arab state fell 0.1 percent month-on-month in October after September’s 1.1 percent jump, statistics office data showed. Food prices, which account for 18 percent of the basket, fell 0.3 percent month-onmonth in October, after soaring 2.6 percent the previous month due to the impact of the holy month of Ramadan.

Housing prices in the OPEC member, which have the largest weight in the basket at 27 percent, were flat after rising 1.1 percent in September. Unlike its fellow Gulf Arab oil producers, Kuwait abandoned a dollar peg in favor of a currency basket in 2007 to counter a sharp spike in inflation.

Earlier this month, Kuwait’s Finance Minister Mustapha AlShamali said that inflation levels in the Kuwait were not worrying. A Reuters poll forecast average inflation in Kuwait at 4.2 percent for the full year of 2010, up from 4.0 percent last year.

National Bank of Kuwait was granted the approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on November 11, 2010, to buy back or divest 10 percent maximum of its issued shares for further six months till May 23, 2011. NBK should abide by CBK buyback rules and regulations, in addition to the provisions of Article No 115 bis of Corporate Law. It should also comply with the provisions of Ministerial Decree No. 10/1987 and its amendments, by virtue of Ministerial Decrees No. 11/1988 and 273/1999. Pearl of Kuwait Real Estate has restructured a debt worth KD9.38mn with a local lender over five years with a two-year grace period. The first payment will be made by January 2013.

Wataniya Telecom, which is 52.5 percent owned by Qatar Telecom, has signed the agreement to acquire 50 percent share in Orascom Telecom Tunisia (Tunisiana) for about $1.2bn. Wataniya already controls 50 percent shareholding in Orascom Telecom Tunisia, bringing its total share after the agreement to 100 percent.

Kuwait China Investment Co (KCIC) was granted the approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on November 22, to extend the period for repurchasing or selling 10 percent maximum of its issued shares at a total value of approx.

KD4mn for additional six months as of November 23, 2010.

(Source: KSE Website) Commercial Facilities Company (CFC) was granted the approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on November 23, 2010 to extend the period for repurchasing or selling 10 percent maximum of issued shares for additional six months till May 24, 2011.

National Petroleum Services Company (NAPESCO) has signed purchase orders for the third and sixth groups of Tender No. RFQ-1043049. It also inked other buy orders for the fifth group of the same tender, regarding the supply of differentsized drill pipes with related accessories to Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). Valued at KD4.17mn, the tender will last 40 weeks.

Al-Mal Investment Company has inked an agreement to sell its 40.82 percent holding, or 61.23mn shares of Petroleum Coal Industries Company to EXPO Swiss Holdings (GMBH).

Shares were sold at 512fils each, totaling KD31.36mn.

Accordingly, Al-Mal will generate KD20.54mn earnings from the divestiture, which will be reflected in its financial statements for Q4 that ends on December 31, 2010. Al-Mazaya Holding Company will effect a secondary capital call starting from Sunday, November 28, 2010 till Sunday, December 12, 2010. The company’s extraordinary shareholder meeting (ESM) had given a nod on May 26, 2010 to a 30 percent capital top-up from KD49.95 to KD64393 at 100fils par value plus 27fils issue premium per share. Shares will be offered to shareholders of First Dubai Real Estate Development Company and Waterfront Real Estate Company who are of record on Thursday, November 25, 2010, after original shareholders waive their priority rights. (Source: Local media) Burgan Bank announced this week that United Gulf Bank (UGB), the asset management and investment banking platform of the Kuwait Projects Holding Company group, having received the necessary regulatory approvals and following the conclusion of the sale of its commercial banking assets to Burgan Bank, it has now increased its shareholding in Burgan Bank to 17 percent.

Highli ghts o f the w eek Senior government officials recently stated that the government will soon establish two new shareholding companies, namely the Expatriates Health Insurance Company, and Free Stores and Border Exits Company. The officials added that the Public Authority for Investment has completed research in that regard, which will be forwarded to the Council of Ministers for discussion. In the meantime, the Cabinet is likely to approve the proposal in its first discussion. They reiterated that 50 percent of shares in the two companies will be allotted for citizens.

O il rel ated new s Kuwaiti crude dropped by $3.86 per barrel during the last two weeks as it settled at $79.49 on Wednesday, November 24, compared with Tuesday’s closing of November 09, the Kuwait

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

.2765000 .4420000 .3730000 .280000 .2730000 .2720000 .0045000 .002000 .0761490 .7418950 .3920000 .0730000 .7272960 .0045000 .0490000

.2865000 .4510000 .381000 .2890000 .2820000 .2810000 .0075000 .0035000 .0769140 .7493510 .4120000 .0780000 .7346050 .0072000 .0560000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2805000 .4439750 .3758700 .2819660 .2753780 .0504130 .0402790 .2745810 .0361540 .2139420 .0033700 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0763890 .7442290 .0000000 .0748300 .7291400 .0000000

.2826000 .4472990 .3786840 .2840770 .2774400 .0507910 .0405810 .2766370 .0364250 .2155440 .0033950 .0062450 .0025460 .0033250 .0040370 .0769610 .7498010 .3997170 .0753900 .7345980 .0064590

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees

3.501 6.334

Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

3.270 2.508 3.968 218.810 36.220 3.975 6.622 9.458 0.267 0.310

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

GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

74.865 77.139 729.380 745.660 76.451

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

51.550 48.948 1.317 204.170 396.450 187.700 6.140 35.749

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 280.630 Euro 401.020 Sterling Pound 455.460 Canadian dollar 280.350 Turkish lire 200.450 Swiss Franc 292.020 Australian dollar 282.170 US Dollar Buying 279.895

Sterling Pound US Dollar

COUNTRY

SELL CASH 276.600 750.220 4.270 280.900 554.000 14.100 52.600 167.800 51.990 378.500

398.730 0.190 93.120 3.870 213.700 732.580 3.305 6.385 77.600 75.320 75.320 216.750 42.150 2.527 443.000 284.000 6.300 9.540 76.870 282.100

SELL DRAFT 275.100 750.220 4.005 279.400

216.800 48.985 377.000

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Cyprus Pound Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Indian Rupees

Pakistani Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees

Selling Rate 281.650 277.950 446.705 380.025 282.808 690.313 745.463 76.662 77.341 75.076 397.429 49.022 6.186

3.300 2.525 3.995 6.374 3.381 9.347 6.144 3.868

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Candaian Dollars

TRAVELLER’S CH EQUE 443.000 282.100

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Bahrain Exchange Company Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash

216.750 42.150 2.687 445.000 42.000 285.500 6.300 9.820 198.263 76.970 282.500 1.360

36.920 6.105 0.032

GOLD 1,441.080

10 Tola

GOLD 259.000 131.000 67.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

37.070 6.530 0.033 0.264 0.252 3.450 400.610 0.191 93.120 46.800 4.420 215.200 1.918 48.100 732.760 3.390 6.660 78.030

281.700 3.305 6.190 2.540 4.000 6.420 76.780 75.330 748.900 48.995 451.400 0.00003280 4.025 1.550 400.200 5.750 383.200 282.300

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

281.500 377.000 443.000 279.000 3.385 6.163 48.820 2.524 3.992 6.380 3.295 749.100 76.700 75.160

business

sunday, november 28, 2010

23

Dubai hosting WEF's third Summit on Global Agenda Summit to bring together 600 NGAC members DUBAI: The World Economic Forum yesterday announced the program of the Summit on the Global Agenda, which is held in partnership with the

Sami Dhaen Al-Qamzi

Arabian Business Power list

Yusuff Ali tops first Indian Power List usuff Ali MA, the managing director of Abu Dhabi-based retail giant the Emke Group, has taken the top spot in the first ever Arabian Business Power List featuring the most influential Indians in the Gulf.

The retail mogul sits atop a business empire that employs 22,000 people from over 29 countries, and which has a turnover of more than $3.5bn globally. It is one of the largest Indian-owned conglomerates in the Gulf.

Commenting on being selected as the Top influential Indian in the Gulf Yusuff Ali stated "though I have never considered myself as the most influential person here, I have always tried to use my connections and relationships with other influential people to do my bit for this great country, UAE and for India. Being in the Board of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry also gives me opportunity to use whatever little expertise and influence I have in strengthening INDO ARAB relationships both economic and socio-cultural."

Hot on the heels of Yusuff Ali comes the GCC's richest Indian, Mukesh - or 'Micky' to his friends - Jagtiani, head of the Landmark Group. Another trading maestro, Jagtiani oversees 900 stores in 15 countries and is hoping to post turnover of around $5bn within the next three years.

In third place comes V Shankar - who this year took on the key job of managing

Y

Standard Chartered Bank's operations in the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and Europe - while fourth position went to BR Shetty, the healthcare magnate and CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based New Medical Centre (NMC) Group.

Other notable performances in our diverse list include Maghanmal Pancholia, who first came to Dubai 70 years ago and has been applying his business acumen to good effect ever since, and Dr Zulekha Daud - the highest woman - who founded the Zulekha Hospital and Healthcare Group.

The list is dominated by

Indians working in the retail sector; fully a third of the hundred names selected made their names by selling products, not just in the Gulf, but all over the world.

The list also shows that Indians are playing a vital role in boardrooms of both international and local banks operating in the region, with 17 working in the banking and finance sector. But, if anything, the Arabian Business Indian Power List shows just how far the Indian Diaspora has become enmeshed in Gulf society, with the region's 2.5m expatriates working in every sector imaginable.

The Summit will bring together over 600 members of the Network of Global Agenda Councils, comprising global experts from 60 countries thought leaders from academia, business, government and civil society - to address some of the most pressing issues on the global, regional and industry agendas.

Together they represent over 72 councils, each focusing on an issue such as climate change, education, energy security, China, innovation, and logistics & transport.

During the three-day Summit, participants will engage in interactive workshops and sessions to discuss emerging trends and global risks that will shape the future. They will also develop ideas to address the world's challenges.

"The third Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai is being held at a pivotal moment as we move away from shortterm responses to the crisis to discussions on the long-term solutions in the post-crisis world," said Sherif El-Diwany, Senior Director, Middle East and North Africa, World Economic Forum.

"The Summit on the Global Agenda will examine, among other agenda issues, the implications of the G20 summit outcomes in Seoul and look into the opportunities and risks that the Cancun summit on climate change may present to the international community.

The Summit brings together top minds, thinkers and experts in the world capable of tackling the structural problems which underlined the crisis."

The co-chairs of the Summit are Sultan Bin Saeed Al-Mansoori, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates, and His Excellency Sami Dhaen Al-Qamzi, Director-General, Department of Economic Development of the Government of Dubai.

"The Summit on the Global Agenda is of critical relevance, especially as Governments across the world today are at a crossroads in addressing various challenges, following the global financial slowdown," said Sultan Bin Saeed AlMansoori. "In today's globalized world, joint discussions and collaborative brainstorming sessions are the way forward to bring about concrete action and tangible results.

The UAE was one of the few countries to show remarkable resilience to the financial crisis, thanks to the strength of our economic fundamentals, and the confidence boosting measures of our government.

By hosting the Summit, the nation is demonstrating our commitment to encourage problem-solving on a global scale."

"Dubai is proud to host the Summit on the Global Agenda for the third consecutive year and to provide a platform for these important discussions aimed at addressing fundamental global imbalances and achieving long-term sustainable growth," said Sami Dhaen Al-Qamzi. "Dubai looks forward to welcoming the global thought leaders who will contribute to redesigning the international system for the 21st century, and also to greeting members of the public at the first-ever Open Forum being hosted on the sidelines of the Summit."

China foreign currency inflows leap 79% in Oct BEIJING: China's foreign currency inflows increased by 79 percent in October over September to 519 billion yuan ($77.6 billion), according to figures released by the central bank yesterday.

As China seeks to rein in spiraling inflation, the sum injected into the economy through foreign exchange was the second highest in the country's history, according to the Beijing News daily.

The only higher figure was in April 2008, when foreign exchange inflows

totaled 525 billion yuan, said the newspaper. October's jump resulted only partially from an expansion in the country's trade surplus to 27.2 billion dollars, and in foreign direct investment to 7.7 billion dollars during the month.

An influx of speculative "hot money", attracted by higher yields in China than in developed countries, accounted for some $42.8 billion of the rise.

"China has entered a cycle of rising interest rates, increasing the pressure of

capital flows entering the country," Beijing News quoted Zhao Qingming, economist at China Construction Bank, as saying.

The central bank last month raised interest rates for the first time in almost three years, with many analysts expecting more rises in the near future.

In another sign of monetary tightening, reserve requirements for banks-the proportion of their deposits they must set aside with the central bank-were raised twice in November to 18 per-

cent, having already risen three times in 2010.

If capital continues to flow into China, another rise of half a percentage point will not be enough to curb the expansion in money supply, said Lu Zhengwe, economist at the Industrial Bank, also quoted in the Beijing News.

An increase of one to 1.5 percentage points would be needed, he said. China's foreign exchange reserves-the world's largest-in late September totalled $2.64 trillion, compared with $2.45 billion in June. — AFP

United Arab Emirates represented by the Government of Dubai. The Summit will take place in Dubai from tomorrow to December 1.

Sultan Bin Saeed Al-Mansoori

ExxonMobil joins efforts to protect Kuwait's maritime environment KUWAIT: ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Kuwait Limited yesterday announced its support for en.v's educational project on the protection of the Kuwait's marine environment. The project aims to increase public awareness, institute community-based educational programs, and cleanup activities. en.v will also lead protection and restoration initiatives, while documenting and tracking various aspects of Kuwait's marine life over a period of 12 months to measure the program's effectiveness.

ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Kuwait Limited President, John Hoholick, said: "Kuwait is home to a rich marine life, including sea turtles, diversified fish species and coral reef. Their protection is of great importance. We thank en.v for approaching ExxonMobil to become part of this great initiative, and we are proud to support en.v in this very important educational mission." en.v (a subsidiary of El Boutique Creative Group) is an initiative with a mission to raise awareness on key social and environmental challenges facing the Arab world today. The initiative promotes responsible living within communities.

Ultimately, en.v aspires to nurture the development of a new kind of citizen in the Arab world - one who is alert, aware, and conscious of the effects his or her decisions and actions have on society at large, and on the environment as a whole. en.v Managing Partner and CEO, Zahed Al-Sultan, said: "Kuwait's marine ecosystem is severely impacted by continued maritime pollution that could effectively endanger fish, sea plants, microscopic life, and reefs. The ramifications of accepting the status quo could potentially impact every

aspect of aquatic life in Kuwait, not to mention our local food cycle.

"This not for profit, social program aspires to bridge the gap between all the various organizations and groups in Kuwait working towards a common purpose: to protect and preserve Kuwait's natural marine habitats.

"ExxonMobil's recognition and support for this program further fuels our passion to address these challenges collaboratively and with a sense of community."

Through various resources and an ever developing network, en.v is implementing a multi-lateral action plan that will group and gather together individuals, organizations and corporations with similar goals of phil-

anthropy, sustainability and development towards achieving a unified ideal of social progress.

ExxonMobil is an active supporter of wild-life preservation, with activities and education programs across the world. In Kuwait, the company is a sponsor of the African Penguins' exhibition at the Scientific Center of Kuwait, a co-founder of the annual Kuwait Science Fair competition, which is Kuwait's largest math and science competition encompassing over 200 schools. ExxonMobil also organizes yearly educational trips for students in Kuwait where more than 50 students have visited ExxonMobil facilities in Qatar and the United Kingdom to date.

Kuwaiti customers most vocal about food and aviation services: Survey KUWAIT: Service Hero, Kuwait's first and most comprehensive satisfaction survey, yesterday announced that it has generated over 10,000 submissions from customers from all over Kuwait, with early results showing that customers in Kuwait are most vocal about the food and aviation industries. The full results and rankings of Kuwait's market leaders will be unveiled by Service Hero in December following a full analysis of the submissions.

Over 10,000 customer surveys were submitted between October 1 and October 31. Every single submission is currently being analyzed for integrity and quality. Once all surveys are analyzed, the information will then be aggregated to uncover Kuwait's true market leaders in 15 different categories as valued by customers and users of these industries.

The results will be unveiled in the Service Hero award ceremony in December.

Service Hero President Faten Abu-Ghazaleh said: "Staffed by a team of expert statisticians and market researchers and overseen by an Advisory Council comprising academic and consulting firms, this groundbreaking initia-

tive will, and for the first time, rank businesses and products in Kuwait based on how they are valued by customers, as opposed to industry peers.

At its heart and for the first time ever, Service Hero is giving customers in Kuwait a voice, and we're sure that organizations will hear what they have to say."

Service Hero has recruited an Advisory Council comprising an academic institution as well as leading business professionals.

As a neutral panel of experts, their function is to supervise the assessment to ensure fair and empirical findings. Members include: Abdulmajeed Al-Shatti, ex-Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, Dr Carol Ross, Dean of Student Affairs, American University of Kuwait, Dr Reinhold Leichtfuss, Senior Partner and Managing Director of the Boston Consulting Group, Nauman Sehgal, COO at Noor Financial Investment , and Yann Pavvi, CEO of Gulf Merger.

Service Hero licensee and operator, Khayal Consultants, initially targeted a threshold of 6,000 submissions in order to establish data integrity and quality, as well

as a sound scientific base for the research.

Faten Abu-Ghazaleh said: "Reaching 10,000 submissions exceeded our expectations by far

and it's a clear sign that customers see this initiative as a credible, structured platform for their opinions about products and services they interact with everyday.

BUSINESS

24

Sunday, November 28, 2010

KSE indices subdued amid lackluster trading KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended the week with variance in its indices performance. The price index ended last week with a decrease amounted to 0.32%, while the weighted index increased with 0.01%, compared to the closings of the week before.

Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover lessened by 40.16%, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 30.76 million whereas trading volume average was 149.31 million shares, recording decrease of 40.03%.

Moreover, the daily trading was characterized with a limited change, in the shadow of calm activities in the market, whereas the market didn’t show significant response to the Korean problem, which had a negative influence on the Far East markets, nor the Ireland economic problem.

On the other hand, the official period of the 9 months results announcements ended on Sunday, 11th November, where 185 companies disclosed its results, representing 87% of the total number of listed companies. The results were positive for most of the market

BAYAN INVESTMENT WEEKLY REPORT sectors, whereas all of them recorded increase for their respective companies except for Real Estate sector. The total listed company profits was KD 1.72 billion, compared to KD 809.13 million for the same period in 2009, with growth amounted to 112.6%. In addition, only 57 companies recorded losses, where the rest recorded gains and 97 companies recorded growth in its profits.

By the end of the week, the price index closed at 6,928.0 points, down by 0.32% from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.01% weekly gain after closing at 471.37 points.

growth rate as its index closed at 7.115.5 points.

Whereas, in the second place, the Banks sector’s index closed at 11,835.3 points recording 1.05% increase. The Industry sector came in third as its index achieved 0.35% growth, ending the week at 5,460.9 points. On the other hand, the Investment sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 1.66% to end the week’s activity at 4,934.6 points. The Real Estate sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 1.42%, closing at 2,375.7 points, followed by the Services sector, as its index closed at 14,962.5 points at a loss of 0.42%.

Sectors’ Indices Three of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone, while four recorded declines and Insurance sector remained with no change. Last week’s highest gainer was the Non Kuwaiti companies sector, achieving 1.51%

Sectors’ Activity The Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 203.95 million shares changing hands, representing 27.32% of the total market trading volume. The Investment sector was second in terms

trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 26.92% of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 201.01 million shares. On the other hand, the Services sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of K.D. 50.79 million or 33.02% of last week’s total market trading value. The banks sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 49.84 million represented 32.41% of the total market trading value.

Market capitalization KSE total market capitalization declined by 0.07% during last week to reach KD 33.87 billion, as five of KSE’s sectors recorded a decrease in their respective market capitalization, whereas two recorded increases and Insurance sector remain with no change. The Food sector headed the decliners list as its total market capi-

talization reached KD 747.14 million, decreasing by 2.06%. The Investment sector was the second in terms of recorded decline with 1.54% decrease after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 2.85 billion.

The third place was for the Real Estate sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 1.75 billion by the end of the week, recording a decline of 1.36%. The Industry sector was the least declining with 0.04% recorded decrease after its market capitalization amounted to KD 2.87 billion.

On the other hand, the Services sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached KD 9.48 billion, increasing by 1.09%. The Non Kuwaiti companies sector was the second in terms of recorded growth with 1% increase after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 2.18 billion. For further details, please visit our web site: www.bayaninvest.com Prepared by the Studies & Research Department Bayan Investment Co.

BUSINESS

Sunday, November 28, 2010

25

Strategic Investment Forum, London

Al-Imtiaz raises shareholders’ rights, reduces debts KUWAIT: The chairman of AlImtiaz Investment Company’s board of directors, Ghanim Bin Saad Al-Saad announced last week that the company has managed, within a few months, to increase the range of shareholders’ rights and reduce its debts in an unprecedented way.

He added that, in addition to this, it is engaged in attempting to achieve remarkable profits, which might enable the firm to distribute cash bonuses, despite the turbulence on the international money market.

Al-Saad was speaking at AlImtiaz’ first strategic investment forum held in London between November 24-26, with the chairmen and managing directors of the firm’s subsidiary companies also participating in the major event. The event was felt to be particularly significant given its timing during the midst of an international financial crisis which has hit economies around the world, AlSaad stressed.

The firm’s CEO further emphasized that Al-Barwa Real Estate Company, of which he is head, is a major strategic investor, examining its investments from an integrated perspective and considering its investments in Al-Imtiaz to be among the most important.

“Our investments in AlImtiaz have three dimensions:

Company eyes profits, plans to distribute bonuses: Ghanim Al-Saad

firstly, the value of the investment, its cost and its return; secondly, the importance of the Kuwaiti market to our investment strategy; and thirdly, the management team in regard to

Chairman of Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Ghanim Bin Saad Al-Saad

professionalism and administrative harmony,” Al-Saad said.

He explained that Al-Barwa had invested in Al-Imtiaz since it was convinced of the prudence of this investment and confident of the strength of the Kuwaiti economy and the Islamic investment sector.

“When I chaired the first board of directors meeting for Al-Imtiaz, I was committed to supporting the firm to overcome the remnants of the international financial crisis,” he said.

“Therefore, we concentrated on the settlement of all the company’s debts in the short term, which will be finalized and by the end of this year or, at the latest, by the end of the first quarter of 2011.”

The senior official continued, “We are working to emerge from this crisis in the best shape and build foundations to deal with comes after the crisis since this is the real challenge for the group’s management,” adding, “We are required in the short term to reschedule the ‘group’ financially, to qualify it to begin pioneering excellent returns in the medium term.”

He voiced optimism on the group’s chance of reaching its objectives, saying, “The shortterm goal, with Allah’s grace, will be achieved by the end of the current year,” but stressed, “Thereafter, extraordinary effort will be required from everyone to build up a strong reputation for the group, with a

new style of work that suits the position of each of the group’s companies.”

Al-Saad said that each of the companies within the group would need to achieve remarkable returns for 2011 in order for Al-Imtiaz to beat all its competitors, adding that moving from one era to another requires all those involved to abide by the group’s culture of commitment. The new business environment is against high-risk investments for a quick return, he said, instead encouraging real short, intermediate and long-term investment.

He also emphasized the need for all those involved in AlImtiaz to work in harmony with the other companies in the group, saying that the contemporary business environment brings great challenges to all those involved, demanding greater commitment to a more coherent form of administration and to transparency, as well as dedication to quick, high quality work.

Al-Imtiaz’ core values are part of an integrated system that should be fully implemented, said Al-Saad, stressing that the group is an economic one working in accordance with Islamic law. He emphasized that all those involved should do their utmost to achieve their profit and performance-related goals, as well as to reduce costs and appoint only the best candidates to all positions and to maintain

efficiency and provide added value.

In the five years of the group’s existence, Al-Saad said, it has not stopped achieving year-on-year profits, giving outstanding profit distribution to shareholders and investors.

Today, he continued, its members are discussing opening up new markets for the group and implementing new management

Yousef Al-Marzouq structures and new working practices in each of the subsidiaries.

Accordingly, he went on, AlImtiaz has changed from simply sponsoring its constituent firms to becoming a leader and controller in order to maintain its success and its reputation for excellence.

Al-Saad concluded by stating, “Today we have before us a his-

toric opportunity, which we cannot forfeit; we must achieve our goals.”

In his address to delegates attending the forum, Ali AlZubaid, Al-Imtiaz’ Deputy Chairman and Managing Director, said that the group is about to face a strategic turning point despite the ongoing international financial crisis.

“The aim of our forum is to acquaint ourselves with our upcoming plans and strategies, to strengthen our commitment and unify our policies and working strategies, and to ensure that we all understand our roles and responsibilities as part of this teamwork,” he explained.

“We want to pinpoint where we were, where we are now and where we’re going,” Al-Zubaid continued. “We also want to review some of the lessons we learnt from the economic crisis.”

The Deputy Chairman was positive about the major upcoming changes which he said are imminent: “Change is definitely coming and will be basic on the ground, including changes in [the group’s] activities and in its main production units [companies] and the mother company, Al-Imtiaz, across the group.”

The most important amongst these upcoming changes will be the transformation in the group’s internal management organization, which is to be run on the basis of an integrated approach rather than indepen-

dently as has been the system used to date.

Al-Zubaid explained that this new system will see new roles and new jobs being created, whilst some of the old-style posts will be cancelled or altered to come under new management.

New firms may also be created as part of this internal restructuring within the group, Al-Zubaid revealed, while new, professional management figures may come on board and other current executives may leave.

Based on all these planned changes, he said, “We shall form an integrated group and the mother company will coordinate with all the other subsidiaries to carry out its work will absolute cooperation and efficiency.”

Emphasizing the importance of this cooperative approach, AlZubaid asserted, “We shall unify our efforts in order to ensure that we all go in the same direction to achieve our goals, not only as one team but as members of one family; efficiency, loyalty and dedication to serving the group will be the focal point between one staff member and another.”

The senior Al-Imtiaz executive continued, “Our true capital is our human resources; our main priority will be building and reinforcing the available efficiencies and adding to these.

Capable and efficient human beings are the pillars of our success and keep us in the lead.”

He stressed that the changes being made within AlImtiaz are a result of the changes in the wider world, including those within the business and working environment and to investors’ practices and the culture of financiers. The recent crisis has resulted in greater supervision and more strictures on lending, as well as an increase in the popularity in the derivatives and commodities markets.

Al-Zubaid stressed that every company in the group must now prove that it is profitable, successful and able to stand independently and cover its expenditure from its income, achieving profitability for its shareholders and being an asset to the group as a whole.

These new circumstances and a more restricted liquidity flow require those involved in this sector to be circumspect in their behavior, with the current economic realities requiring that all those involved behave in a rational manner in running the group and use every available resource, said the Deputy Chairman.

Al-Zubaid concluded by asserting that all the group’s personnel should be fairly evaluated and provided with the necessary motivation and training, stressing that each company should prioritize the development of its human resources.

Another speaker at the forum, the Chairman of AlImtiaz’ Fatwa Authority Dr. Issam Khalaf Al-Enezi, praised the group’s continuing commitment to ensuring that all its business practices comply fully with Islamic regulations and Sharia law.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jassem AlSaadoun, the head of one of the group’s subsidiaries, Al-Shall Consulting Company, told those attending the forum that the economic crisis had affected the entire Gulf region, as well as the rest of the world, saying that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted growth of only 4.5 percent in the next year for the Gulf states. He added that the current economic crisis is in its initial stages, with the economy of the region shaped by the performance of the global economy.

Dr. Al-Saadoun said that the GCC governments should give the private sector a larger role in generating economic activity, adding that as a member state Kuwait could play the role of “mediator” among regional nations. The Al-Shall chairman also expressed his support for Al-Imtiaz’ new business strategy.

New 2011 Chevrolet Captiva to debut at Abu Dhabi International Motor Show ABU DHABI: Chevrolet will be launching the vastly enhanced 2011 Chevrolet Captiva at this year’s Abu Dhabi International Motor Show 2010, taking place from 7-11 December, 2010. The exceptional crossover with an enhanced look includes a range of upgrades, including: a new interior, exterior, chassis, in addition to acoustic advancements.

“The 2011 Chevrolet Captiva is truly a great car. What we’ve done is take the previous model and enhanced it drastically both form the inside and out. The result is an increasingly appealing exceptional compact cross-over that is a sportier version of the Captiva,” said Susan Docherty, GM Vice President, International Operations Sales, Marketing and Aftersales.

The all-new crossover carries a sportier exterior styling with an unmistakably strong, bold Chevrolet face, with a noticeably raked profile, a forward diving shoulder line, fast window shapes and broad shoulders. The Captiva also owns a well-planted and swept athletic stance - all of which give the car a great deal of consumer appeal.

The front of the car is marked by the prominent new centered Chevrolet bowtie insignia, which is approximately 10 percent larger than its predecessor, and includes a grained gold surface.

Meanwhile, the front lower fascia carries lower air intake outboard bezels which match the grille texture and house optional projector lens fog lamps in bright housings. The Captiva’s wellgrounded and agile capability is well conveyed with rounded offsets surrounding the wheel-house openings to actuate the tight tire-to-body relationship. The sleek aero profile is accentuated by the fast windshield and rear swept roof portion, while the car stands on four 17, 18, or 19-inch-alloy five-lug

Metallic, Switchblade Silver, Day Dream Beige Metallic, Thunder Grey Metallic, White Pearl Metallic, Poseidon Blue and Moulan Rouge Red Metallic.

Judiciously applied bright-work is found around the upper and lower grille and surround the front and rear skid plates (LTZ standard), while the brightwork can also be found on the body side moldings and door handles (LT and LTZ standard; optional on LS), in addition to the exhaust tips, and roof rails (LT available and LTZ standard).

2011 Chevrolet Captiva Exterior

2011 Chevrolet Captiva Interior wheels which carry a flangeless six- ingly disappear from profile and head-on spoke design with milled faces, painted vantage points.

An all-new exterior color palette is a pockets and Chevrolet insignia in the center hub. The new aluminum hood mix of Chevrolet-brand specific hues as incorporates an offset that sweeps well as tones specifically reserved for smoothly then flush with the front quar- Captiva. Color options for the car ter fender, making the hood line seem- include: Olympic White, Carbon Flash

Meticulously designed No detail was spared in upgrading the interior design of the 2011 Captiva.

With a new range of seat-fabrics, the Captiva also includes a re-designed shifter head and surrounding PRNDL area for more upscale appearance that includes an electric park brake - a premium cue more often reserved for vehicles in higher price categories. The incorporation of mid-silver painted bezels on the console area has resulted in enhanced ergonomics and an up-level and intuitive appearance to the interior’s front seats.

All New Engines The 2011 Captiva’s engine is one of all-firsts, coming in two options; the first is a 2.4-liter ECOTEC gasoline engine with variable valve timing (VVT) that delivers 169 hp, 216 Nm of torque.

Meanwhile, the second option is a 3.0liter VVT V6 engine with direct injection technology delivers 264 hp, 299.7 Nm of torque.

In terms of transmission, the Chevrolet Captiva will be equipped with an advanced four- or six-cylinder, sixspeed transmission powertrain lineup that offers outstanding efficiency, refinement, power and torque that ensures fun-to-drive characteristics.

Best deals only at GulfMart KUWAIT: GulfMart continues to serve its customers with the best deals yet again.

All the nine outlets of GulfMart across Kuwait have started a special promotion this week giving its customers some of the best deals. Serving the customers with lowest prices has always been the priority for GulfMart.

Great deals and special discounts on a wide range of grocery products has been made available at GulfMart.

Products like rice, oil, fruits, vegetables, etc. will be avail-

able at prices lower than no other. It is the right time to shop for the winter too as GulfMart has discounts on the essentials for winter.

Low prices, convenient store sizes, easy and fast access are some of the reasons for GulfMart’s success and it will continue to provide its customers with more and more. Customer is the King at GulfMart and they always take extra efforts to serve them. GulfMart is a name that understands its customers and serves them the way they want to be served.

GulfMart stores are always located near its customers to make shopping a trouble free and time saving activity. GulfMart serves its customers via the nine outlets that included Shuwaikh, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Jleeb AlShuyoukh 2, Fahaheel, Hawally, Nugra Hawally, Salmiya, Farwaniya and Khaitan. After the grand opening of their latest outlet at Nugra Hawally, GulfMart plans to open more stores in the near future and achieve a target of 25 superstores by the end of 2012.

BUSINESS

26

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Euro bears jolt US bulls but jobs may help NEW YORK: There is no sign that investors’ headaches from Europe are going away, but early indications of strong holiday spending and an improving labor market could soothe Wall Street this week.

Fears that Europe’s debt crisis could spiral out of control have pushed stocks off two-year highs hit earlier this month. Since Nov 5, the S&P has fallen 3.1 percent after running up 17 percent over the two months before that. At Friday’s close, the S&P 500 was down 0.9 percent for the week, almost matching the Dow’s 1 percent drop.

However, those fears have been countered by signs of a gathering recovery in the labor market at home. The government’s nonfarm payrolls report on Friday is set to be another sign of a turnaround in hiring that could boost stocks through the end of the year.

Anecdotal evidence suggests holiday shopping got off to a good start. The S&P retail index rose more than 5 percent in the run up to “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving, when Americans traditionally take shopping malls by storm.

Retail stocks’ gains are a sign of an increasingly bullish view of the US consumer after a string of stronger indicators on jobs, sentiment and spending. “The con-

WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK

sumer is more confident and they are spending a bit more money, and I think retail as a whole is perking up,” said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, adding that

retail stocks “look relatively cheap to us, and I think sales are going to surprise to the upside.”

Friday’s payrolls report is expected to show the economy added 140,000 jobs in

November, according to economists polled

by Reuters. If that forecast is met, the jobs data will fit a pattern of growing strength in the labor market.

In October, companies hired at their fastest pace since April, the government’s payrolls data showed, while the latest weekly initial claims for unemployment benefits have dropped to their lowest in over two years. November consumer sentiment rose to the highest level since June.

October consumer spending also gained.

Early anecdotal evidence from Black Friday suggested shoppers were spending and that discounts were not as deep this year as last, potentially helping to lift retailers’ margins as they look for the best holiday season in three years.

Black Friday marks the start of the holiday spending when US retailers traditionally turn a profit, or go into the black for the year. The National Retail Federation said that nearly 60 million Americans plan to hit the stores over the weekend, while another 78 million might join the crowds of shoppers. The NRF will provide an update on Sunday.

Retailers on the front lines will publish same-store sales data on Thursday when they will likely comment on the weekend’s events. “It seems the American consumer

is back with a vengeance,” said Kim Caughey Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. “If we are to believe CEOs of retailers, they feel they can support margins with prices that are attracting consumers.”

Shares of Amazon.com, a favorite online retailer, have run up 12 percent since midNovember, and hit an all-time high of $177.25 mid-week.

Europe’s debt crisis could be the fly in the ointment, though. Pundits predicting the euro’s demise are getting serious attention. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso denied on Friday that a financial rescue plan was in the works for Portugal and called a newspaper’s report that Portugal was under pressure to seek a bailout “absolutely false,” while Spain said it did not need help to manage its finances.

But the market was less sanguine and stocks took a nose dive.

Kate Schapiro, who runs an international equity fund out of San Francisco, said the declines in European stocks this week had looked “really, really ugly.”

Her fund owns the New York-listed stock of Spain’s Banco Santander, which has fallen 15 percent last week. Schapiro says Santander and other European stocks

may be getting hit too hard and that strong companies are getting caught up in the general selling.

“At the end of the day,” she said, “I think we are going to muddle through this, and this could be a buying opportunitythat’s my gut” feeling, she added.

S&P 500 Periods of decline in November have worked off the S&P 500’s overbought condition. The index has been finding support at around 1,180 and resistance at 1,200.

That may serve as a short-term trading range. Manny Weintraub, president of Integre Advisors in New York, said low volume is likely to mark trading in the near term, keeping stocks in their recent range.

“We’re entering a period with a lot of days of very weak volume,” he said.

Bullish sentiment has been on the rise again, a factor that may worry contrarian investors who see bullishness as a “sell” signal. Bullish sentiment rose 7.4 percentage points to 47.4 percent, according to the latest sentiment survey by the American Association of Individual Investors. Bullish sentiment has now spent 12 consecutive weeks above its historical average of 39 percent despite some drops in November. — Reuters

Nicosia faces hard choices

Cyprus exposed but tipped to stave off euro contagion NICOSIA: Cyprus has hard choices to make if it is to avoid going capin-hand to international lenders like its debt-ridden euro-zone counterparts Greece and Ireland, economists say. Alarm bells rang last week when global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s lowered its longWith Ireland sinking in a mountain of bad debt acquired by banks, and needing an 85-billion-euro bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, there is growing speculation which euro-zone member will be next.

But despite having to rein in a fiscal deficit twice the EU-mandated ceiling of three percent, analysts say Cyprus should be able to weather the storm, although they warn the island needs to restructure in the long term.

“At the moment, there’s no comparison-Greece overstepped its borrowing criteria while Ireland’s banks have collapsed. That is not the case here,” economist Costas Apostolides told AFP. “Deposits families have with the banks are actually higher than the value of loans families have taken out. It’s not like the US where people had high debt and no savings. “The downgrade shouldn’t hurt too much and foreign deposits into the banks were actually increasing up until the beginning of November.”

Senior IMF official Age Bakker told reporters in Nicosia on Friday that Cyprus was in a good position to avoid a bailout crisis, but fiscal consolidation was paramount. “I think Cyprus has been lucky that the crisis hit less hard than in other countries,” said Bakker.

“Cyprus is in a strong position, the banking sector is in a strong position. What is needed is decisive fiscal measures for the medium term.”

Nevertheless economists are concerned the gov-

term sovereign debt rating for Cyprus from A+ to A with a negative outlook, expressing concerns about the banking sector. It noted the broad exposure of banks to struggling Greece and the Mediterranean island’s own relatively very high levels of domestic credit.

ernment is not getting to grips with the deficit and is delaying over making the tough decisions needed to put the economy on an even keel.

Economic consultant Symeon Matsis said there were three major structural problems: a bloated public payroll; an overly generous pension fund for civil servants and a 6.0-billion-euro ($7.94 billion) shortfall in the social insurance scheme because of government borrowing. “Certainly a lot of people, and I’m one of them, think the situation is not sustainable, and unless the government takes strict measures in the next cycle the situation will get out of hand.”

Matsis said Cyprus was not in the same boat as Ireland or Greece, but the economy’s overall competitiveness eroded over time with key tourism revenue falling and property construction coming to a standstill. “The potential growth rate is now much lower than the four or five percent it used to be, which raises the issue of fiscal discipline.”

He said he feared the “government is not reading the signs very well” as it opted for tax hikes rather than spending cuts.

Standard and Poor’s said that after a decade of rapid expansion, the banks’ balance sheets exceeded 700 percent of GDP, including both domestic and foreign institutions.

It said that at 280 percent of gross domestic product, the relative size of domestic credit in Cyprus was also among the highest in Europe.

Much of it collateralised with property assets,

which had suffered an overall decline in value over the past two years.

The government is aiming to cut its public sector wage bill by two percent in real terms to prevent more draconian measures being imposed by the European Union or other international organizations.

It also wants to secure agreement on other measures to reduce the deficit, including a new higher rate on bank profits as well as the introduction of a sales tax on food and pharmaceuticals.

Furthermore, Cyprus’s faltering economy could grow by one percent this year, according to the finance ministry. Improved tourism revenues have contributed to the moderate growth rate, although the key construction sector is still lagging. Last year, the holiday island saw tourist receipts fall by 16.7 percent, while foreign property investments also slumped.

With tourism and construction contributing around 30 percent of GDP, the recession in Europe has had a major impact on the Cyprus economy, which shrank by 1.7 percent in 2009, its worst result since 1974. Cyprus is on an austerity drive aimed at reducing its six-percent deficit to below the EU-accepted target of three percent by 2012.

Nicosia is under fiscal monitoring from Brussels, which demands the deficit be reduced to 4.5 percent of GDP next year, but it needs to find an estimated extra 150 million euros to reach that target. — AFP

MADRID: (From left): Planeta group president Jose Manuel Lara, Chief Executive of Repsol YPF Antonio Brufau Niubo, Telefonica CEO Cesar Alierta, Spain’s first Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain’s Finance Minister Elena Salgado, Chairman of Banco Santander Emilio Botin, ANFAC President Francisco J Garcia, and Chairman and CEO of Iberdrola Ignacio Galan attend a meeting with the chiefs of Spain’s top companies to discuss how to kick-start a revival of the economy at the Moncloa Palace, in Madrid yesterday. — AP

Spain’s PM meets with top business leaders MADRID: The Spanish prime minister met with the country’s top business leaders yesterday in a bid to stimulate a faltering economy and ease fears generated by the euro-zone debt crisis.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero chaired the gathering with the heads of 37 of the country’s largest businesses, including Emilio Botin of Santander bank, Cesar Alierta of telecommunications giant Telefonica and Florentino Perez of construction and services company ACS and Real Madrid football club.

Finance Minister Elena Salgado said the entities were “the tractors of our economy” and the meeting was “to discuss growth perspectives and the possibilities of stimulating that growth.” Spain is struggling to recover from nearly two years of recession with unemployment at a euro-zone high of almost 20 percent.

Third-quarter GDP growth was flat after two quarters of weak growth, although it was up 0.2 percent yearon-year — the first such rise in seven quarters. Zapatero was due to explain his government’s plans to bolster the economy and also to ask firms to increase their exports and investment, in a bid to create employment.

According to documents filed Friday with Spain’s stock market regulator, Botin has taken advantage of low market prices to buy 1.9 million shares in Santander at a value of §14.9 million ($19.7 million). Santander’s capital is currently set at 8.3 billion shares of which president Botin now owns 0.94 percent. — AP

Japan farm chief warns on ‘devastating’ free trade pact TOKYO: A Japanese farm industry leader warned that the nation’s farming sector would be “devastated” if it enters a US-backed trans-Pacific free trade pact advocated by Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Mamoru Moteki, chairman of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives, said giving farm giants such as the United States and Australia free access to the Japanese market would be destructive for domestic producers. “The scale of farming in the United States and Australia is so big, it overwhelms that of Japan,” Moteki told reporters. “Japanese farmers would never be able to compete.”

Japan has faced criticism for protecting its inefficient, ageing farm sector and especially its cherished rice farmers, but Kan said at a recent Pacific Rim economic forum that the country is now intent on reforms. Kan’s government is edging towards a USled plan to widen a regional free trade treaty known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but has

deferred until June a decision on whether to join talks on membership. Thousands of angry protesters converged on Tokyo earlier this month to oppose the pact. The administration is divided on whether to join the pact, with the trade ministry in favor but the agriculture ministry opposed, fearing cheap imports would decimate an industry badly in need of vitality.

The decision holds risks for Kan, as it risks a backlash from powerful rural voters.

Japan, citing food-security and cultural reasons, has long protected its now highly inefficient rice farmers against cheaper grain from big producers such as the United States, Australia and Vietnam. It has slapped a near 800 percent tariff on imported rice and up to 250 percent on wheat imports; taxes that would disappear under a TPP. Moteki said Japanese agriculture had been traditionally supported by individual farming households and lacked the corporate mindset of US or Australian farm firms.—AFP

NEW YORK: Trader James Doherty works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. — AP

GM IPO now world’s biggest NEW YORK: General Motors Co’s initial public offering became the world’s biggest at $23.1 billion after underwriters swiftly took up additional shares following last week’s IPO. The added shares vaulted GM past Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1 billion IPO in July and underscored the strong demand for the taxpayer-rescued automaker’s stock.

GM said on Friday that underwriters led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup Inc, exercised their full option on an additional 71.7 million common shares worth $2.37 billion. They also exercised an option to purchase 13 million preferred shares for $650 million.

Underwriters had 30 days from the IPO to exercise the options. GM last week had raised $20.1 billion in an IPO of common and preferred shares in what was the biggest US IPO ever. Without the preferred shares, GM’s IPO would have been smaller than China’s AgBank.

On Nov. 18, their first day of trading, the shares rose 3.6 percent. They closed on Friday up 33 cents at $33.81, or 2.5 percent above the $33 IPO price. The US government bailed out GM for $50 billion after the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy.

The IPO caps the first stage of a turnaround that has

taken the 102-year-old automaker from near-death to an unlikely Wall Street flotation favorite in 2010. A successful stock debut may help the Obama administration argue that the controversial taxpayer bailout of GM was worthwhile.

The White House has said US taxpayers are on track to recoup the full investment made by the administration and that it hopes to make substantial progress toward shedding the government’s stake entirely by mid-to-late 2012. The strong response to the stock sale reflects growing investor confidence that GM is moving beyond its unpopular, taxpayer-funded bankruptcy with sharply lower costs and higher profit potential.

The US Treasury remain GM’s largest shareholder after the IPO with a third of the shares outstanding.

Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Canada are GM’s other major underwriters. Lazard and Boston Consulting Group served as advisers to the Treasury. Evercore Partners advised GM. In the days before the IPO, the price range and the number of shares, including preferred, were all increased. GM last week sold 478 million common shares at $33 each, raising $15.77 billion, as well as $4.35 billion in preferred shares, more than the initially planned $4 billion. — Reuters

Metals, including gold, fall on worries over Korea NEW YORK: Gold and other metals fell on Friday on uncertainty over North Korean war threats and also worries that more European nations like Spain and Portugal could need a bailout in the coming weeks. “Whenever there’s unease, people take money off the table,” said George Gero, vice president of Global Futures at RBC Capital Markets. “There’s too much uncertainty- the possibility of bailout discussions with Portugal and Korean saber rattling.” Gold for February delivery fell $10.70 to close at $1,364.30 an ounce, while March silver contracts fell 83 cents to close at $26.77 an ounce.

Also Friday, China increased margins for futures traders as part of a wider government crackdown on commodity speculation. The Chinese government is trying to slow down growth after inflation grew at the fastest rate since 2008. China is the largest consumer of industrial metals. Palladium for December delivery fell $18.90 to settle at $676.50 an ounce. January platinum fell $13.20 to close at $1,645.20 an ounce and copper for March delivery was flat at $3.76 a pound.

North Korea warned Friday that plans by South Korea and the US to stage military maneuvers have put the Korean peninsula on the brink of war. North Korea fired artillery shells at a South Korean island on Tuesday, killing four people.

Meanwhile in Europe, even as the details of Ireland’s bailout were still being worked out, the markets fretted over the likelihood that both Portugal and Spain would also need a bailout.

On Friday, Portugal adopted a host of austerity measures aimed at reducing debt and restoring confidence in the markets. Leaders from both Spain and Portugal have said they won’t need a bailout. However the markets were less convinced.

The 16-nation euro slumped another 0.8 percent on the day to trade at $1.3231, slightly above its two-month low of $1.3199.

In agricultural commodities, wheat for March delivery rose 2 cents to $6.8725 a bushel; March corn fell .75 cent to $5.53 a bushel and January soybeans gained 16.5 cents to $12.38 cents a bushel.

Benchmark oil for January delivery fell 10 cents to settle at $83.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January heating oil slipped .8 cent to settle at $2.333 a gallon, while December gasoline gave up .33 cent to $2.2103 a gallon and natural gas gained 0.11 cent to $4.399 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Volumes in the US markets were thin on Friday, one day after the markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. — AP

Sunday, November 28, 2010

techNology

27

Tech industry insider makes waves in China BEIJING: It is just a simple piece of plywood, but it is a striking symbol of the frenzied adoration Kai-Fu Lee, perhaps China's most prominent technologist, elicits in this country. "One overanxious entrepreneur knocked down our door," said Lee, explaining why the plywood used to cover the damage is on display in his spaceship-like offices.

Few Chinese executives have the technology cred of Lee, who was tapped by Bill Gates to lead Microsoft's operations in China, personally wooed away by Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and turned down an offer

by Steve Jobs. His new venture, Innovation Works, a $115 million fund to back early-stage technology companies, is something of a laboratory to teach this nation of 1.2 billion people a course that could be best described as "Silicon Valley 101." His efforts tap into the ambitions of a rising economic giant to someday have its own world-dominating technology companies.

Illustrating the importance the country places on his efforts, the government subsidizes the rent of Innovation Works. And Lee's new headquarters was designed - for free - by one of the designers of Beijing's National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, constructed for the 2008 Olympics.

On a recent Saturday afternoon in October, he was mobbed by 100 wannabe entrepreneurs who won a competition sponsored by a local TV show that let them hear a presentation by Lee. They arrived at his office in formal business attire and cheered and squealed as if he were, well, Steve Jobs.

His musings on Tencent's Twitter-like service are followed by 5 million people, and by 2 million on Sina.com. "He is among the superstars," said Meng Chang, an intern at Lee's new fund, Innovation Works, who delayed beginning her MBA studies at Columbia University for the chance to work with Lee. In China, Lee said he believes he can "add value in a way that no one else can." He has a daunting task, observed Mark Natkin, managing director of Beijing-

Lee unveiled support of mobile technology with a strong emphasis on Google's Android

BEJING: Marketing intern Meng Chang, left, and product manager Mi Jinhua, of Photowonder, work in the Innovation Works office in Beijing China, October 15, 2010. — MCT based Marbridge Consulting.

"Lots of people, including investors, are very comfortable getting behind him," Natkin added. "What it will come down to is whether the companies he chooses to incubate fly or fail."

Lee, after all, had mixed results while at Google. During his tenure, Google China's market share jumped from 16 percent to 31 percent, but it always remained a distant second to Baidu, the locally owned and dominant search engine in China, Natkin observed.

Lee recently unveiled five of the companies Innovation Works is backing, four of which are mobile-phone technology startups with a strong emphasis on Google's Android operating system. None, though, is a company with revolutionary technologies.

But they are a start in a nation that is still new to tech startups.

Unlike Silicon Valley, where

many professionals are comfortable joining startups at virtually any stage of their career, most Chinese feel a clock ticking the moment they graduate from college, Lee said.

"Probably once you are 32, you have a family and a kid and you (need) to get them into a good school. Parents expect their kids to own a house, have a kid," he said. "That might suppress or kill your startup dream." But Chinese ambitions for creating change-the-world-businesses are growing. On the day he announced the launch of Innovation Works, he was swamped with 7,000 resumes.

While young Chinese entrepreneurs are willing to break down doors to get to him, tech giants have gone to court to fight over him. When Google lured Lee away from Microsoft, a legal battle erupted between the two corporate giants. In the end,

BEJING: Kai-Fu Lee, chairman and CEO of Beijing-based Innovation Works, an early stage venture fund, talks during an interview at his Innovation Works office in Beijing, China. —MCT

Microsoft failed to stop Lee from jumping to its competitor. Just as he signed on with Microsoft in the late 1990s, the charismatic Lee, 48, turned away another suitor - Jobs.

One day his wife told Lee, who worked at Apple before Jobs returned in the late 1990s, "Someone named Steve from Apple called you. He asked me to make sure you'll call him back."

"Steve?" Lee responded. "I don't know a Steve from Apple."

When Lee dialed the number, he was surprised to get Jobs, who told him, "All your former subordinates said you were a good boss.

They asked me to bring you back. Why don't you come back here to take a look before going to Microsoft?" But Lee resisted Jobs' overtures because he had already committed to work for Microsoft. Lee has generally refrained from talking about his

former Mountain View, Calif., employer, which clashed with government officials over censorship earlier this year before directing Chinese users to its Hong Kong site.

But a slide presentation prepared for his Innovation Works lists a litany of the failings of foreign multinationals to crack the world's largest Internet market by users: "Too short-term-profit focused; local team not empowered; insufficient attention to local market needs; 'global' product mentality; no willingness to tailor for China." Google's confrontation with the Communist government over censorship came months after Lee's departure from the company.

By defying the government's censorship rules, Google lost a number of partnerships with Chinese companies, such as China Unicom, as well as market share and high-level R&D

employees, who have left the company. Thus, Lee indicated, Google's Android mobile operating system faces a mixed future in the country. "If their goal is to have a broad Android adoption, that will happen with or without their participation," Lee said.

"The wave of developer support is tremendous. The hardware manufacturing (support) is phenomenal. But if they want Google services connected to these Android devices, they will have to do something to make it happen."

While most Chinese investors seek quick fortunes by sinking money in industries such as real estate, Lee is placing bets on ideas. "This is the Warren Buffett thing: You do the opposite of what everyone else is doing," he said. "We won't be vindicated for at least five years.

And this is someone who is an optimist speaking." — MCT

Computer meltdown leaves millions of Aussies without cash SYDNEY: A freak computer glitch at Australia's biggest bank froze cash machines and left millions of people struggling to access their money yesterday. National Australia Bank (NAB) said a corrupted file wiped out a huge number of transactions, including salary payments and transfers, and crashed some ATMs, angering many customers who were facing a weekend without money.

Spokeswoman Meaghan Telford said NAB was opening branches yesterday and today and bringing in extra call-centre staff as technicians scrambled to fix the problem. "We're very apologetic," she told AFP. "We recognise this has caused people a lot of inconvenience.

We're just working to resolve the problem." Telford said the rogue file knocked out transactions on Wednesday, including salary deposits, bill payments and transfers to other banks, and then work to fix the problem hit Thursday and Friday's business.

As the electronic system buckled, some ATMs had crashed, she said, without revealing how many. "There's been some issues with the electronic system because of the pressure the system has been under as a result of trying to resolve these issues," she said. "This has meant some ATMs have experienced issues." Customers using microblogging site Twitter reported chaos with their bank accounts as mystifying sums appeared and disappeared, leaving many unable to withdraw cash.

Telford said NAB had cleared most of the delayed transactions but could not predict when the system would be back to normal. She did not estimate how many of NAB's 11.5 million customers were affected. According to national news agency AAP, international banking giant HSBC's transactions to other banks, payroll deposits and direct debits were also affected, as NAB clears payments for HSBC in Australia.

NAB also warned on its website that its Internet banking was slow as millions of customers checked their accounts. The meltdown comes at a time of growing discontent towards Australia's "big four" banks over rising interest rates and a swathe of minor fees, with even Prime Minister Julia Gillard urging unhappy customers to switch lenders. Last week 250 investors brought a multi-million dollar lawsuit against NAB claiming it failed to properly disclose its exposure to toxic US debt during the financial crisis. —AFP

FarmVille creator Zynga builds on games’ success SAN FRANCISCO: Move over, Apple, Google, Facebook and company. Silicon Valley's hottest start-up could soon join the tech pantheon.

Few tech companies are hotter - or provoke more comments - than Zynga. The social-gaming behemoth that brought FarmVille and FrontierVille to tens of millions of people is valued at a gaudy $5.5 billion, besting industry icon Electronic Arts. In the next few weeks, it will roll out what it expects to be its next blockbuster game, CityVille. Yahoo just made Zynga titles available on its site, and Google is expected to follow. Zynga is readying a move next year to palatial new digs in San Francisco, after hiring 863 people this year. No lesser authorities than Internet icon Marc Andreessen and venture-capital superstar John Doerr see Zynga as the next big thing in tech. Hollywood royalty such as Jeffrey Katzenberg and J.J. Abrams are lining up to work with Zynga.

And investors are salivating for an initial public stock offering.

"This is a cocktail party," Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says. "Facebook is throwing the greatest cocktail party on Earth. We are creating mini-cocktail parties, at farms, cities, wherever. It affords a new way to be involved in an engaging way." Zynga Nation, the virtual world Pincus invented in 2007 as a place where PC users could gather on social networks and play casual games at their leisure, boasts more than 225 million active members a month. Zynga got its name from Pincus' beloved American bulldog, Zinga ("enzinga" is Swahili for "warrior princess"), who died in 2008. In all, 320 million people have played Zynga games at some point.

Six of the top 10 games on Facebook, where 200 million or more of its members play games each month, are from Zynga. And the cash is flowing in, as evidenced by Zynga's sizable slice of the $1.7 billion domestic market for virtual goods (20 percent to 25 percent), socialgame add-ons, such as weapons and farming tools, that can be purchased to enhance a user's playing experience. What is more, the lure for advertisers and marketers is undeniable. Zynga designs and updates its games daily, based on mountains of data it collects voluntarily from its members, Pincus and other executives say. "(Its) success demonstrates the power of building products to be social from the ground up," says Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships

and platform marketing at Facebook.

Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, says he sees vast potential for Zynga in its use of rich data analysis. Zynga has invested in big data warehouses, processing so much information it adds as many as 1,000 servers a week. "They are the best-positioned company in a gigantic market," says Andreessen, the Netscape Communications cofounder whose venture-capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, invested an undisclosed sum in Zynga last year.

He believes Zynga can be - if it isn't already - one of the most successful tech companies in the world.

"Think about how many addressable consumers you can reach through gaming: There are 2 billion people on the Internet, and that will reach 4 billion in a few years," Andreessen says. "Throw in the growth of mobile phones, and the numbers are staggering."

When Netscape started as a browser in the early 1990s, there were 50 million people online, he says. The ultimate goal is simple, Pincus and Team Zynga stress.

"Whoever it is, how can you fit fun

back into your life?" says Pincus, whose shaggy hair and boyish face belie his 44 years. "In the context of the Internet and computers, how can we redefine life for you?"

They're off to a good start.

Zynga's monthly audience is roughly the population of Indonesia. Jennifer Smith, 31, is one avid FarmVille user.

The Pennsylvania resident squeezes in time - usually less than an hour to play the game around her tasks as a college student and mother of a 2year-old, and her accounting job: "It's my little happy place to achieve goals and socialize. I have FarmVille friends across the country and in China."

"There can be a real mass market of games," says Bing Gordon, a Zynga board member who is also a partner at Kleiner Perkins. "The vision is: My PC has friends, and my friends' PCs have friends." In just three years, Zynga has become a darling of Silicon Valley, with loud whispers of a possible IPO (Zynga isn't commenting) and a sky-high market valuation of $5.5 billion that exceeds gaming pioneer Electronic Arts.

SharesPost, an exchange for shares

of privately held companies that came up with the Zynga valuation, pegs EA at $5.16 billion. EA, which bought Zynga rival Playfish for as much as $400 million last year, declined to comment. Zynga's Pincus says, "So much of what we do are bold beats (as in drumming), a new feature or twist in our game that will excite and ignite our users over the next 90 days."

The ambitions don't end there. In spring 2011, Zynga plans to move into a gleaming new 270,000-squarefoot facility. It has to because its current offices are bursting with 1,263 employees, half of them engineers.

Thirteen "studios" - teams, to the rest of us - work on games in five countries. In June, Zynga launched FrontierVille, in which players cultivate a homestead as an Old West pioneer. The game has quickly become Zynga's third-most-popular title, behind FarmVille (56.6 million users) and Zynga Poker (36 million). Some 30.9 million play FrontierVille.

CityVille is Zynga's latest, and most ambitious, big bet. It plays out on the largest virtual board designed by Zynga and lets gamers not only cre-

ate cities but contribute to the cityscapes of other CityVille users. A bevy of digital tools allows players to build skyscrapers, parks, roads, homes, railroads, monuments, shipping ports - almost anything associated with a metropolis. Once a city fills up, its players are required to add community services, such as police, fire departments, schools and hospitals. "It's Monopoly meets Main Street," says Sean Kelly, general manager of CityVille.

"Is CityVille the next FarmVille?"

Gordon says, mulling the answer.

"It's riskier, because there is nothing like it. I think it could be the next FrontierVille." The game's success could well rest on Zynga's ability to export its popular farm and frontier motifs to the city, says Joost van Dreunen, founder of SuperData Research, which tracks virtual goods globally. CityVille could, in turn, benefit from coming technology that links it to other Zynga games, so a CityVille player can leave his or her "city" to visit a farm on FarmVille.

The real upside of CityVille could come from branding deals, in which companies such as Starbucks and

Holiday Inn advertise on the game board - just as State Farm's blimp and a McDonald's farm recently appeared on FarmVille, says Kelly. CityVille, for example, could eventually add sports franchises and stadiums to reflect the civic spirit of a city, Pincus says.

There appears to be no ceiling to Zynga's aspirations, say gaming analysts and executives. "The only growth opportunity for them used to be Facebook," says Atul Bagga, an analyst at market researcher ThinkEquity. "Now, it's much bigger with a huge opportunity overseas especially in Asia - and on other (computing) platforms like mobile devices, TV consoles, iPad." Bagga estimates the virtual-goods market could reach $3.6 billion in the USA by 2012.

As Zynga tweaks games each week, it often does so to spur sales of virtual goods, says Alex Rampell, CEO of TrialPay, an online-payment service. The fledgling market has, so far, been a sweet spot for Zynga, which gleans 95 percent of its revenue from virtual-good sales. Still, just a tiny fraction of Zynga's mem-

bers buy such goods - it won't say how many - leaving plenty of room for growth.

That should improve as more consumers snap up virtual goods through gift cards such as Zynga Game Card and Facebook Credits.

"The upside is huge," says Pincus, who notes up to 20 percent of social gamers in Japan, and 10 percent in China, buy virtual goods.

Zynga's magic touch has drawn noted storytellers Katzenberg and Abrams, both of whom have huddled with Pincus about potential collaborations. "What these guys are doing is the future," says DreamWorks cofounder Katzenberg, an admirer of Zynga and Pincus. "What they do seems so simple, but it really isn't," says Katzenberg, who dabbles in FarmVille and Zynga Poker. Zynga teamed with DreamWorks on its first global ad campaign and movie advertising deal for the latter's animated movie, Megamind. "We want to do something with (Lost co-creator) J.J. Abrams and Katzenberg one day," an excited Pincus says. "They are great storytellers."

Pincus is especially enamored of plot devices used on Lost, including the use of time loops to advance a storyline with several nods to the past. "The traditional game industry builds a game, puts it on shelves and crosses its fingers," says Kenny Rosenblatt, CEO of social-game developer Arkadium. "Social games are based on immediate feedback and updated constantly. It's not as much of a risk."

Zynga's games retain a freshness because they are updated several times a week, based on voluminous data and comments from their millions of avid users, says Cadir Lee, Zynga's chief technology officer, who has worked with Pincus at two other companies.

Sometimes, the sheer volume of data - useful as the information is to Zynga - has set off alarms among privacy experts, many of whom question how much data it gathers about its users and with whom it shares that data, says Rajiv Bhat, co-founder of Mertado, a shopping site that helps social-game developers make money.

Lawsuits in California and Rhode Island claim Facebook and Zynga, which is Facebook's largest application maker, broke federal law by sending identifying information about their customers to advertisers and Internet tracking companies. But Pincus says, "Let me be clear: We have never sold anyone's data. That's not our business model." —MCT

28

HEALTH & SCIENCE

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Taiba Hospital launches campaign for international patient safety goals KUWAIT: In this era of ‘Quality Healthcare’, hospitals across the world are trying their best to achieve the highest Quality standards in all services delivered and to monitor it by an International accreditation Agency. Taiba hospital, a leading Private hospital in Kuwait recently launched a Mega Campaign to promote patient safety, among all its staff members. The campaign educated the doctors, nurses and other Para medical staff on how to effectively pursue International Patient Safety Goals (IPSG) set by the

internationally acclaimed Hospital Accreditation agency, Joint Commission International (JCI) and to improve patient safety while the patient is under hospital’s care.

The three day campaign organized by the IPSG Chapter Team Members was great success in creating awareness about International Patient Safety. During campaign period Taiba Hospital staffs were briefed about Patient safety, through One to One Presentations, Posters, Banners, and Pamphlets and were also presented

with Gifts specially designed with Slogans of Quality and Patient Safety.

‘International Patient Safety Goals’ represent proactive strategies to reduce risk of medical error and reflect good practices proposed by leading patient safety experts around the world. The purpose of ‘International Patient Safety Goals’ is to promote specific improvements in patient safety and it highlights problematic areas in health care and describe evidence and expert based consensus solutions to such problems. Recognizing that sound system

design is intrinsic to the delivery of safe high quality health care and the goals generally focus on system wide solutions wherever possible. The International Patient Safety Goals are: 1. Identify Patients Correctly.

2. Improve Effective Communication.

3. Improve the Safety of High Alert Medications.

4. Ensure Correct-Site, CorrectProcedure, Correct-Patient Surgery.

5. Reduce the Risk of Health Care-

Associated Infections.

6. Reduce the Risk of Patient Harm Resulting from Falls.

In Taiba Hospital, we believe, Quality and Patient Safety should be rooted in the day to day work of every health care professional and all other Para medical staff.

Integral to overall improvement in quality is the ongoing reduction in risks to patients and medical staff alike. As an organization, Taiba Hospital defines Quality as “Degree to which health care

services for individuals and populations increase the probability of desired health outcomes and are consistent with the current professional knowledge of best practice.”

For Taiba Hospital, Quality in Health Care is always * Focusing on process and systems * Working as a Team * Patient-focused * Data-driven decision making Based on these principles and goals, Taiba Hospital is marching ahead.

One scientist’s hobby: Recreating the ice age CHERSKY: Wild horses have returned to northern Siberia. So have musk oxen, hairy beasts that once shared this icy land with woolly mammoths and sabertoothed cats. Moose and reindeer are here, and may one day be joined by Canadian bison and deer. Later, the predators will come — Siberian tigers, wolves and maybe leopards.

Russian scientist Sergey Zimov is reintroducing these animals to the land where they once roamed in millions to demonstrate his theory that filling the vast emptiness of Siberia with grass-eating animals can slow global warming.

“Some people have a small garden. I have an ice age park. It’s my hobby,” says Zimov, smiling through his graying beard. His true profession is quantum physics. Climate change is felt most sharply in the Arctic, where temperatures are warming faster than anywhere else on the planet. Most climate scientists say human activity, especially industrial pollution and the byproducts of everyday living like home heating and driving cars, is triggering an unnatural warming of the Earth. Tomorrow, negotiators representing 194 countries open a two-week conference in Cancun, Mexico, on reducing greenhouse gases to slow the pace of climate change.

Zimov is trying to recreate an ecosystem that disappeared 10,000 years ago with the end of the ice age, which closed the 1.8 million-year Pleistocene era and ushered in the global climate roughly as we know it.

He believes herds of grazers will turn the tundra, which today supports only spindly larch trees and shrubs, into luxurious grasslands. Tall grasses with complex root systems will stabilize the frozen soil, which is now thawing at an ever-increasing rate, he says.

Herbivores keep wild grass short and healthy, sending up fresh shoots through the summer and autumn. Their manure gives crucial nourishment. In winter, the animals trample and flatten the snow that otherwise would insulate the ground from the cold air. That helps prevent the frozen ground, or permafrost, from thawing and releasing powerful greenhouse gases. Grass also reflects more sunlight than forests, a further damper to global warming. It would take millions of animals to change the landscape of Siberia and effectively seal the permafrost. But left alone, Zimov argues, the likes of caribou, buffalo and musk oxen multiply quickly. Wherever they graze “new pastures will appear ... beautiful grassland.” The project is being watched not only by climate scientists but by paleontologists and environmentalists who have an interest in “rewilding.” “This is a very interesting experiment,” said Adrian Lister, of the Natural History Museum in London. “I think it’s valid from an ecological point of view to put back animals that did formerly live there,” he told AP Television News. He disapproved of suggestions to rewild nonnative species _ for example, relocating elephants and rhinos to the American plains.

Zimov began the project in 1989, fencing off 160 square kilometers (40,000 acres) of forest, meadows, shrub land and lakes. It is surrounded by another 600 square kilometers (150,000 acres) of wilderness. It is an offshoot of the Northeast Science Station, which he

founded and where he has lived for 30 years. Already icebound by October, the park is 40 kilometers (25 miles) inland from the station, accessible only by boat in summer and by snow vehicles after the rivers freeze. A 32-meter (105-foot) tower inside the park gives constant readings of methane, carbon dioxide and water vapor. The data feeds into a global monitoring system overseen by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Zimov’s research on permafrost, greenhouse gas emissions and mammoth archaeology has attracted world scientists to his laboratories, a small cluster of cabins and a tiny chapel on a rocky bluff above a channel of the Kolyma River. A 20-bed barge is used for field trips in summer, and a $100,000 hovercraft is on order. Zimov sometimes uses an old Russian tank to bring supplies from the Chinese border, 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. Part of the station’s attraction _ and deterrence _ is its remoteness. It is 6,600 kilometers (4,000 miles) and eight time zones east of Moscow. The nearby town of Chersky, with some 5,000 people, has few amenities, and the nearest city, Yakutsk, is a 4-1/2 flight. Many researchers, particularly Americans, prefer to work in Alaska or northern Canada, which are more accessible.

“Most of the Arctic is in Russia, and yet most of the Arctic research isn’t,” said Max Holmes, of Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, director of the Polaris Project, which has sent undergraduates to the station for the last three summers.

Zimov started the park with a herd of 40 Yakutian horses, a semi-wild breed with a handsomely long mane that is raised by Yakuts and other native people for their meat. Short, sturdy and broadbacked, they survive harsh Siberian winters with the help of a furry hide, thick layers of fat and the ability to paw through a meter (3 feet) of snow to forage. Of his first herd, Zimov said 15 were killed by wolves and bears, 12 died from eating wild hemlock that grows in the park, and two slipped through the perimeter and made their way back some 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to their original pastures. But he bought more. Now the horses have learned to avoid poisonous plants and to resist predators. Over the last three years, more colts were born and survived than horses lost.

The challenge is to find the right balance between grazers and predators, and how to help his animals get through their first winters. His workers still give occasional buckets of grain to the horses to supplement their diet with salt. About half the horses come regularly to the cabin where a caretaker stays yearround. The other half are rarely seen except for their tracks. Zimov also has had problems with the moose that he brought inside his enclosure. Moose still live in small numbers in surrounding forests, and the males jump back and forth over the 6-foot-high fence.

In September he traveled to a nature reserve on Wrangel Island, about five hours by boat across the East Siberia Sea, and brought back six 4-month-old musk oxen. One died a few weeks later.

The others are kept in a small enclosure and fed hay until they can fend for themselves. —AP

PARIS: Tuna balloons are displayed by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) members on Friday. — AP

Crunch time at bluefin tuna meet Environmentalists say a 40-percent chance of failure is too high PARIS: Ten days of backroom dealing came to a head yesterday when fishing nations announce new catch quotas for Atlantic bluefin tuna, a species many scientists say is teetering on the brink. Hanging in the balance is not only the long-term viability of bluefin stocks, but the credibility of the 48-member body that has, by its own reckoning, done a miserable job of managing them.

“I do hope, and I believe, that ICCAT’s ‘dark ages’ are in the past,” said Fabio Hazin, chairman of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. “Up to 2008, commissioners were not listening to science.

It was a disgrace,” he said going into the meeting. In the end, all the haggling over catch limits will come down to a single number.

The fishing industry and the countries that back them are in favor of rolling over the 2010 quota for bluefin tuna caught in the Atlantic and Mediterranean — 13,500 tons-for another year. An October report by ICCAT’s scientific committee says this would put the species on track for a 60-percent chance of recovering to “maximum sustainable yield” by 2022.

Right now, its population is estimated to be at less than a third of that mark. Environmentalists, along with some member states and scientists, say a 40-percent chance of failure is too high, and

that even this estimate is based on optimistic assumptions and incomplete data. “We are uncertain about the past, and probably more so about the future,” acknowledged Gerald Scott, head of ICCAT’s scientific committee.

The United States wants to cut current limits, while the 27-nation European Union is officially calling for a “stable or partially reduced quota.” But the EU is, in fact, sharply divided. While the bloc’s major bluefin playersFrance, Spain, Italy and Malta-are pushing for the status quo, the European fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki, backed by Britain, has openly called for a catch limit of 6,000 tons. The endpoint numbers floating in the corridors of the closed-door meet Friday ranged between 10,000 and 13,000 tons.

France, meanwhile, is lobbying furiously behind the scenes for an amnesty on its “tuna debt”, incurred in 2007 when it surpassed a national quota of 5,000 tons by more than 100 percent.

Without relief, it’s bluefin haul for 2011 will drop from about 2,000 to 500 tons, barely enough to keep a couple of commercial vessels busy during the one- or two-month long fishing season.

The ultimate arbiter may be Japan, which consumes more than 80 percent of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the form of gourmet sashimi

and sushi costing up to 20 euros (25 dollars) a mouthful in high-end restaurants. After years of looking the other way, Tokyo is pushing ICCAT to crack down on rampant illegal fishing and tighten compliance measures put in place over the last two years. “Japan is saying the right things, but has not put its cards on the table yet,” said Remi Parmentier, a Madridbased consultant for the Pew

Environment Group.

Tensions this year are running especially high because Mediterranean rim nations-which account for almost all of the region’s authorized catch-are renegotiating how to divide up the quota. Libya, Turkey and Egypt are lobbying particularly hard to get larger slices of the shrinking tuna pie, according to sources sitting in on the discussions. Any

gains would likely come at the expense of the EU, whose 2010 allocation was more than 50 percent. A proposal to create spawning sanctuaries in the Gulf of Mexico and six Mediterranean zones has failed to gain any traction, these sources say. Industrialscale fishing during the breeding season has been a major factor in driving down stocks, according to marine biologists. — AFP

Hunters may have delivered fatal blow to mammoths CHERSKY: During the last Ice Age, shaggy mammoths, woolly rhinos and bison lumbered across northern Siberia. Then, about 10,000 years ago — in the span of a geological heartbeat, or a few hundred years — the last of them disappeared. Many scientists believe a dramatic shift in climate drove these giant grazers to extinction. But two scientists who live yearround in the frigid Siberian plains say that man _either for food, fuel or fun — hunted the animals to extinction.

Paleontologists have been squabbling for decades over how these animals met their sudden demise. The most persuasive theories say it was humanity and nature: Dramatically warming temperatures caused a changing habitat and brought a migration of men armed with deeppiercing spears. No one knows for sure what set

off global warming back then — perhaps solar activity or a slight shift in the Earth’s orbit. But, in an echo of the global warming debate today, Sergey Zimov, director of the internationally funded Northeast Science Station, and his son Nikita say man was the real agent of change. For the Siberian grasses to provide nutrition in winter, they needed to be grazed in summer to produce fresh shoots in autumn. The hooves of millions of reindeer, elk and moose as well as the larger beasts also trampled choking moss, while their waste promoted the blossoming of summer meadows. As the ice retreated at the end of the Pleistocene era — the final millennia of a 1.8 million yearlong epoch — it cleared the way for man’s expansion into previously inaccessible lands, like this area bordering the East Siberia Sea. —AP

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WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT

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Dr. Ahmad Al-Muhaisen, Abdulwahab Al-Ameer, Fawaz Al-Othman and Nayef Al-Hajri

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Badr Al-Humaidi with Salem Al-Owayed, Abdurrahman Zaman and other attendees

Salem Al-Owayed welcomes Ibraheem Al-Kharraz.

Al-Owayed, Zaman and Al-Muhaisen

Issam Al-Nisf and Ali Al-Dabous with a number of attendees.

Essa Al-Oun and Tariq Al-Mansour

Mohammad Al-Mutair and Ali Al-Zubaid

Mahmoud Al-Zubaid and Abdullah Al-Muhaisen

Al-Imtiaz Co holds reception l-Imtiaz Investment Company held a reception this past Wednesday for participants at the first strategic forum that is set to be held in London for a three days period to discuss the company’s future strategies. The event featured a speech that discussed the main issues which the forum is set to discuss which will include the changes required in the aftermath of the world economic crisis. After that, the attendees discussed the subjects on which the forum will be focusing, A which include the company’s goal to shift its activity from an investment firm into a holding company. The event ended with discussing money laundering counter measures.

Sivaranjani Fine Arts

Relief Efforts elief Efforts Kuwait is hosting a R dinner for Abrar-Ul-Haq to help rehabilitate the Pakistani flood victims on Friday, December 3, 2010. Please call 65840229 for more information.

Aware he AWARE Management is glad to inform you that Winter 1 Arabic language courses will begin on November 21st until December 29th, 2010. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight: • Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics • Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic • Combine language learning with cultural insights • Taught in multi-nationality group settings • Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information, call 25335260/80 ext 105 or 104 or e-mail: Htaware.hassan@gmail.com or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.”

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ivaranjani Fine Arts is organizing a cultural Sevening evening with students and a memorable with the world famous professional EMBASSY OF BANGLADESH The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait has taken up an initiative to update the database of Bangladesh nationals residing in the State of Kuwait. For inclusion in the database all the Bangladesh nationals are requested to collect the Registration Form from the Labour Wing of the Embassy. The forms can also be collected sending request to bdoot@kems.net e-mail address. The filled-in forms can also be submitted by hand, by email or by fax (number 24913204).

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, AlMutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday.

Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday. Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home.

The Embassy of Canada encourages all

Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca.The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week. Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor com-

plaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday.

Embassy of India would like to inform that application forms for passport/visa services and labor contracts that are on its website, www.indembkwt.org, have been upgraded to include the facility for online data entry. Affidavit forms on the embassy website have had this facility since May 6, 2009.

EMBASSY OF THE US The United States Department of State announces the increase in various visa fees to ensure sufficient resources to cover the increasing cost of processing nonimmigrant visas (NIVs).

US law requires the Department to recover the cost of processing non-immigrant

visas through the collection of the application fees. The increased fees are to take effect June 4, 2010. Under the new rule, applicants for all visas that are not petition-based, including B1/B2 tourist and business visitor visas and all student and exchange-visitor visas, will pay a fee of $140. Applicants for petition-based visas will pay an application fee of $150, as each of the below categories requires a review of extensive documentation and a more in-depth interview of the applicant than other categories, such as tourists.

These categories include: H visa for temporary workers and trainees L visa for intra-company transferees O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors R visa for religious occupations The application fee for K visas for fiance(e)s of US citizens will be $350. The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treaty-investors will be $390.

EMBASSY OF THAILAND All foreigners who apply for Tourist Visa at the Royal Thai Embassies and the Royal Thai Consulate General worldwide, including eligible foreigners who apply for Visa on arrival at designated checkpoints, will be exempted from tourist visa fees until 31 March 2011.

Such arrangement is for Tourist Visa only.

troupe of Rajhesh Vaidhya from Chennai.

Rajesh was awarded the title ‘Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peeta Aasthana Vidwan’, for his splendid rendering on the VEENA. Rajhesh Vaidhya and his troupe from Chennai will perform on Friday, the 3rd of December, 2010 at Carmel school auditorium, Khaitan along with variety of musical rendering by the students of the fine arts. All are welcome. But if you would like to be a special invitee and have the privilege of meeting and dining with Shri Rajesh Vaidya, please send the names of the person who will attend the program along with you to info@shivaranjanifinearts.com for further details.

Rajhesh Vaidhya was brought up in a rich musical environment. His father Sri K M Vaidyanathan was a stalwart both in Mridangam and Ghatam. His tutelage under Smt Jeyalakshmi started at the tender age of six. He continued learning the finer nuances of music from Smt Rama Nambinarayanan and his advanced training from the world-renowned carnatic veena maestro Shri Chitti Babu.

Rajhesh Vaidhya is not only a renowned musician in India, his fame and popularity spreads in all the musical stages around the world including Europe, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Canada, USA and many more.

RajheshVaidhya was introduced as a Film Music Director in the movie “VEGAM” by Shri.S.Ve.Shekher, starring Ashwin Shekher.

Many Albums and Audio CD’s re composed and recorded by Rajhesh himself like, Temptations, Hurricane, Rampage etc. He has also composed music for some of the famous Tele serials. His website: www. http://www.rajheshvaidhya.com/profile.php

Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT

Sunday, November 28, 2010

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Children’s Day celebration at ICSK Senior ndia celebrates November 14 the birthday of its first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as Ichildren’s day every year because of his ardent admiration for childhood. ICSK Senior School, Salmiya celebrated the children’s day organized by the school senate and the cultural committee headed by Usha R and Prasanna Rajkumar. The day’s events began with the lighting of the lamp by the respected Vice-Principal Dr Sam T Kuruvilla and the senior teachers. In his speech

Dr Sam emphasized the need for spreading fragrance, beauty and sweetness like a rose adorned

by Chacha Nehru.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous speech, in the constitutional Assembly of India on the eve of India’s Independence, ‘The tryst with destiny’ was reread. As a rare treat, the teachers rendered group songs. The students of standard XI presented a pulsating fusion dance rendering a vibrance to the whole atmosphere. A carefully programmed pow-

er point presentation on Jawaharlal Nehru, his vision, ideas and appreciation of childhood was executed by the school senate members. Senior teachers Galhotra, Gita Menon and Sindhu Ajaykumar and senate president Arwa Hussain spoke on the occasion. As a culmination to the program the students of class XII sang the famous patriotic song by Lata Mangeshkar that offered a tribute to the soldiers of our mother land.

The program of the day offered immense

Kuwait Chamber of Commerce notice

Aware announcements he AWARE Center corTdiwaniya dially invites you to its presentation about, “The ideal yet unpopular role of women,”

by Sharifa Carlo. “The French Economic Philosopher, Jules Simon said, Women have started to work in textile factories and printing press etc.

The government is employing them in factories, where they can earn a few francs. But on the other hand, this has totally destroyed the bases of family life. Yes, the husband may benefit from his wife’s earnings, but apart from that, his earnings have decreased because now he is competing with her for work.” What is the ideal role of the woman?

Should woman work? Can woman work? Should a woman be a housewife?

What is the best role for a woman? Come by and find out what Islam has to say about the role of the woman in society on Tuesday November 30, 2010 at 7:00 pm. For more information, call 25335260/80.

Arpan to present ‘Tune & Taste-2010’ rpan Kuwait will present ‘Tune & Taste2010’-a festival of food, music and heritageto mark the 11th anniversary of the association at the Indian Community School (Senior Girls), Salmiya on December 3. The celebration presenting a potpourri of cultural programs will start at 9:30 am and conclude at 6.30 pm.

Rajkalesh, the versatile television anchor and the producer of popular TV show, “Taste of Kerala” and “Taste of Dubai” will supervise cookery shows and competitions as part of the celebration. Rajkalesh, who presented stage and television shows in and outside India, will adjudge the winners of the cooking competitions that will be held in major centers in Kuwait prior to the final on December 3. Also a magician, trained under world famous magician Gopinath Muthukad, Rajkalesh will mesmerize the audience with his spellbinding ‘Magic and illusions’ show.

The added attraction of the day-long celebration will be a musical extravaganza to be presented by well-known Idea Star singers Roshan, William Issac and Neelima along with upcoming playback singer Uma. Classical and folk dance performances, folk song presenta-

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Asst Director General of Kuwait TSaudheChamber of Commerce & Industry, Khalid Al-Zaid declared that the chamber will start membership renewal of the companies for the year (2011) from December 1, 2010 onwards, also the approval to take ‘possession of signature should be addressed to the department and Government, in order to save time and effort after co-ordination with these agencies in this regard.

Al-Zaid also stated that the working time of the Chamber Head Office, the

A date with dates Join us for a cultural event to taste a variety of dates and learn more about their wide use. “Dates: Staple of the Arab Diet”: Dates have always been associated with Arab and Islamic traditions. They are the most popular food in the Arab world, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. Dates are a staple that can be eaten raw, cooked, baked into cakes or pressed into delicious syrup or paste. Join us to learn more and sample a variety of dates. Dates will also be available for purchase call 25335260/80.

Ministry Complex and Jahra branch will be from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm and the working time of chamber at the Liberation Tower (Government Mall), Khaitan branch and Jaber Ali branch will be from 8:00 to 1:30 PM and 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Al-Zaid also requested the members to update their information by filling the form available at the above chamber offices or send the filled up form directly to the chamber fax no. 22438090 or email: kcci@kcci.org.kw or by registering through www.Kuwaitchamber.org.kw.

‘A Dance with the Sun’ ntroduced for the very first time in Kuwait, the Filipino Cultural Club in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy along with Filipino organizations in Kuwait will be holding a Physical Fitness Program dubbed as “A Dance with the Sun by the Sea” and a Beach Clean-up at the Mc Donald’s seaside which will run for three months. Part of the activities will be a on -the- spot painting and photography contests. Let us therefore make this day a special event to remember. Come, join us and tag along your family and friends. Also please bring along with you, Western Union receipts for a raffle draw. For details, please contact Claire (67037497), Mildred (66915361), Marie (99079341) & Bong (99530665).

I Kerala Association holds Ghazal evening irst time ghazalisation of late Indian poet and lyricist Vayalar poems was held yesterday at United Indian School, Abbassiya. The music team Shaheer Kochi, Sunil Thanoor, Prathapan FMannar and Manoj enthralled the audience with their rendering of ghazals of poems that are ever loved by art lovers of all kind. Kerala Association, Kuwait, the organizers of such a program ever welcomed all music lovers. Shaji Raghuvaran and Semin Asmin spoke on the occasion, followed by a talk of appreciation by John Mathew.

tions etc will add spices to the unique program ‘Tune & Taste -2010’. For details and participation in cooking competitions, email to: arpankwt@yahoo.com Comedy night at AUK he American University of Kuwait (AUK) Drama Club is hosting a comedy program entitled Sketches and Sets; an evening of original standup and sketch comedy tomorrow at 7 pm at AUK Auditorium. All the performers are students and staff of AUK. For further information please contact Zaid Al-Kazemi at 99666153 or email- s00012695@auk.edu.kw.

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Lulian Rusu’s first clarinet concert in Kuwait! nternational acclaimed Romanian Clarinetist Iulian Rusu will perform a clarinet concert at Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a! The Clarinet Concert will take place on November 25th at 7pm at the Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a: first appearance of lulian Rusuinternationally acclaimed Romanian Clarinetist, in Kuwait. Rusu has toured throughout Europe and performed in many countries including: Spain, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. This performance will be the first appearance in Kuwait and he will be accompanied by Marius

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V. Songs and music flourished the occasion.

Children listened eagerly to the Eid message delivered by Ayesha Fhamy, one of the senior teachers. She reminded them of all the goodies and pleasant things that happen during festivities and in turn they were also told of the importance of self sacrifice, ability to sympathize and share with the fellow beings. The festive mood of the occasion was enhanced by Eid Mubarak songs and various stories and anecdotes.

enjoyment and joy to the children. As the highlight of the day they came in a multitude of coolers giving a day off to their uniforms. Sweets were distributed by the management making the day more sweet and special.

Eid celebrations Eid Al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice was celebrated at Indian Community School Senior branch in the most befitting manner. A resplendent assembly was conducted by the students of Class

Rusanu and Harriet Bushman on Piano. The program will include some of the World’s most famous clarinet songs such as:- Mendelssohn: “Double Concerto with Piano”; Martian Negrea: “Martie” ; Bela Bartok: “Homage A De Falla” ; Verdi: “Fantasy from Rigoletto Opera”. Join us on Thursday, November 25th from 7pm until 9.30pm in Al Bida’a Ballroom and enjoy an evening to remember. “In our never - ending quest to be little bit different and to bring more entertainment and culture to Kuwait we have arranged what promises to be a very enjoyable musical evening” said Gary Moran. General Manager of Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a Kuwait.

Filipino Badminton Committee he Filipino Badminton Committee is inviting all badminton enthusiast to join its 20th Badminton Tournament. The event which is held for a cause will start on November 5 and will last until December 10 at the Kuwait Disabled Club, Hawally every Friday from 8 AM until 5 PM. The tournament will be a team event of 5 players. Each team must have Level 1 & 2 (Men’s), Level 1& 2 (Ladies’) and Level 3 (Ladies’). The deadline for submission of line up will be on October 15. Special prize will be

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given for Best Uniform, Best Team. For more information, call 97197268.

TIES Center announces Winter schedule IES Center announces its schedule of Winter Arabic Courses which will extend from October 29, 2010 through December 23, 2010. The courses are offered with the following options: Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 The Arabic courses at TIES Center are designed according to the students’ needs and requirements. These courses are intended for all expatriates who wish to learn the Arabic language and culture. Upon completion of these courses the student will have a) Confidence in conducting basic Arabic communication (speaking, reading & writing) b) A basis for developing Arabic as a second language c) A better understanding of Arabic Culture d) Ability to interact with their classmates and learn about their background and culture For more information please contact us on 97144138 or visit our website www.tiescenter.net.

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Annual ESF Winter Fayre he English School Fahaheel will bring in the festive season this year with their successful Annual Winter Fayre on Saturday 4 December from 11am to 2 pm at the school’s spacious premises which also offer ample parking. ESF is located just off Highway 30 in Mangaf. The Fayre is the perfect place for a family day out with stalls offering a variety of Christmas gifts and treats, carols sung by the ESF Choir and great raffle prizes including air tickets, electronics and more!. Don’t miss bargains on furniture, books, Exercise equipment, electronics and toys! To book a stall call 23711070/23717263 today!

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German Board of Oral Implantology n cooperation with Kuwait Dental Association in its third year, and after graduating 33 dentists in the past two years from Kuwait and abroad, with Kuwait becoming the regional center for the German Board of Oral Implantology (GBOI) in the Gulf. We like to announce to all dentists in Kuwait and abroad that registration for the third batch 2010 - 2011 is being held at Kuwait Dental Association to begin study on December 3, 2010.

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TV PROGRAMS

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Orbit / Showtime Listings

00:00 Ellen de Generes 01:00 Kathy Griffin 02:00 GMA Live repeat 03:00 Burn Notice 04:00 The Invisible Man 05:00 Ghost Whisperer 06:00 GMA Live repeat 07:00 Kathy Griffin 08:00 Glee 09:00 Psych 10:00 Ellen de Generes 11:00 The Philanthropist 12:00 The Invisible Man 13:00 Burn Notice 14:00 Glee 15:00 Kathy Griffin 16:00 GMA Live 17:00 Psych 18:00 Ellen de Generes 19:00 Momma’s Boys 20:00 Eureka 21:00 Criminal Minds Scoundrels 22:00 Dollhouse 23:00 Janice Dickinson

00:50 Shark Attack Survivors 01:45 Untamed And Uncut 02:40 The Most Extreme 03:35 Untamed And Uncut 04:30 I Was Bitten 05:25 Animal Cops Philadelphia 06:20 Untamed And Uncut 07:10 Wildlife SOS 07:35 Sspca: On The Wildside 08:00 The Crocodile Hunter Diaries 08:50 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 09:40 Project Puppy 10:05 Project Puppy 10:35 Planet Wild 11:00 Dogs 101 11:55 Gorilla School 12:20 Sspca: On The Wildside 12:50 Animal Precinct 13:45 E-Vets: The Interns 14:10 Pet Rescue 14:40 Animal Cops Philadelphia 15:35 Wildlife SOS 16:00 Sspca: On The Wildside 16:30 Into The Pride 17:25 Dogs 101 18:20 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 19:15 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 19:40 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 20:10 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 21:10 Wildest Africa 22:05 World Wild Vet 23:00 Whale Wars 23:55 Maneaters

00:15 Taking The Flak 00:45 Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show 01:10 Robin Hood 01:55 Eastenders 02:25 Eastenders 02:55 Eastenders 03:25 Holby City 04:30 The Roly Mo Show 04:45 Fimbles 05:05 Penelope K, By The Way 05:15 Tellytales 05:25 Me Too 05:45 Forget Me Not Farm 06:00 The Roly Mo Show 06:15 Fimbles 06:35 Penelope K, By The Way 06:45 Tellytales 06:55 Me Too 07:15 Forget Me Not Farm 07:30 Forget Me Not Farm 07:45 Fimbles 08:00 Penelope K, By The Way 08:10 Tellytales 08:20 Me Too 08:45 Forget Me Not Farm 09:00 The Roly Mo Show 09:15 Penelope K, By The Way 09:30 Fimbles 09:50 Tellytales 10:00 Me Too 10:20 Forget Me Not Farm 10:35 The Weakest Link 11:25 Casualty 12:15 Casualty 13:05 Holby City 14:05 Robin Hood 14:50 Holby City 15:50 The Weakest Link 16:40 Last Of The Summer Wine 17:10 Doctors 17:40 Doctors 18:10 Robin Hood

18:55 Doctors 19:25 Doctors 19:55 Doctors 20:30 Last Of The Summer Wine 21:00 The Weakest Link 21:50 Monarch Of The Glen 22:40 Heart And Soul 23:35 Holby Blue

00:20 Masterchef 02:20 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 02:45 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 03:10 Living In The Sun 04:00 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 04:45 The Home Show 05:30 Cash In The Attic 06:15 Fantasy Homes In The City 06:55 Masterchef 07:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 08:20 Cash In The Attic 09:10 Cash In The Attic 13:00 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 13:25 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 13:50 Living In The Sun 14:40 The Home Show 15:30 Cash In The Attic 16:15 Fantasy Homes In The City 16:55 Cash In The Attic 17:40 Cash In The Attic 21:20 Come Dine With Me 21:45 Come Dine With Me 23:25 Masterchef 23:55 Masterchef

00:00 The Garfield Show 00:25 The Scooby Doo Show 00:50 Wacky Races 01:15 Dastardly And Muttley 01:40 Top Cat 02:05 Popeye 02:30 King Arthur’s Disasters 02:55 Droopy: Master Detective 03:20 Looney Tunes 03:45 The Flintstones 04:10 The Jetsons 04:35 Pink Panther And Pals 05:00 Tom And Jerry 05:25 Popeye Classics 05:50 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 06:15 Tom And Jerry Kids 06:40 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 07:05 Yogi’s Treasure Hunt 07:30 Tex Avery Show 08:00 Star Of The Month 17:00 Johnny Bravo 17:20 Dexter’s Laboratory 17:45 Tom And Jerry 18:00 Top Cat 18:30 Wacky Races 19:00 Dastardly And Muttley 19:30 The Scooby Doo Show 20:00 Looney Tunes 20:20 Duck Dodgers 20:45 The Garfield Show 21:10 The Flintstones 21:35 The Jetsons 22:00 Yogi’s Treasure Hunt 22:25 Tom And Jerry 22:50 The Scooby Doo Show 23:15 Droopy: Master Detective 23:40 Top Cat

00:15 Out Of Jimmy’s Head 00:40 Chowder 01:05 Cow And Chicken 01:30 Cramp Twins 01:55 George Of The Jungle 02:20 Adrenalini Brothers 02:45 Eliot Kid 03:10 Ed, Edd N Eddy 03:35 Ben 10: Alien Force 04:00 The Powerpuff Girls 04:15 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 04:40 The Secret Saturdays 05:05 Codename: Kids Next Door 05:30 Ben 10 05:55 Best ED 06:20 Samurai Jack 06:45 Cramp Twins 07:10 Eliot Kid 07:35 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 08:00 Casper’s Scare School 08:25 Chop Socky Chooks 08:50 Chowder 09:15 Ben 10: Alien Force 09:40 Bakugan: New Vestroia 10:05 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 10:30 Cartoon Toon Toon!

11:30 The Secret Saturdays 11:55 Best ED 12:20 Eliot Kid 12:45 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest

Heroes 13:10 Megas Xlr 13:35 Samurai Jack 14:00 Ben 10 14:25 Codename: Kids Next Door 14:50 Flapjack Sundays 17:00 Robotboy 17:25 Squirrel Boy 17:50 Chowder 18:15 The Secret Saturdays 18:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:05 Bakugan: New Vestroia 19:30 Chop Socky Chooks 20:00 Best ED 20:25 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 20:50 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 21:05 The Powerpuff Girls 21:30 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 21:45 Ben 10: Alien Force 22:10 Ed, Edd N Eddy 22:35 Robotboy 23:00 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 23:25 Samurai Jack 23:50 Megas Xlr

01:30 Inventing The Abbotts-18 03:15 Chocolat-PG15 05:30 Rachel Getting Married-PG15 07:30 Meet Dave-PG 09:00 Shine A Light-PG15 11:15 The Good Heart-PG15 13:00 Martian Child-PG 15:00 The Madness Of King George-PG 17:00 The Golden Compass-PG 19:00 The Talented Mr. Ripley-PG15 21:30 Cold Mountain-PG15

00:00 Icon 00:30 Earth’s Frontiers 01:00 The Best Of Backstory 01:30 World Sport 02:00 World Report 02:30 Inside Africa 03:00 World Report 03:30 News Special 04:00 Your $$$$$ 05:00 Larry King Live 06:00 The Best Of The Situation Room 07:00 World Sport 07:30 Icon 08:00 World Report 08:30 The Best Of Backstory 09:00 World Report 09:30 Earth’s Frontiers 10:00 World Report 10:15 CNN Marketplace Africa 10:30 News Special 11:00 World Report 11:15 CNN Marketplace Middle East 11:30 Icon 12:00 Political Mann 12:30 Talk Asia 13:00 Larry King Live 14:00 World Report 14:30 World Sport 15:00 World’s Untold Stories 15:30 Inside Africa 16:00 Fareed Zakaria Gps 17:00 State Of The Union With Candy Crowley 18:00 World Report 18:30 News Special 19:00 Icon 19:30 World Sport 20:00 Prism 20:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East 21:00 African Voices 21:30 Earth’s Frontiers 22:00 World Report 22:30 Talk Asia 23:00 World Report 23:30 World’s Untold Stories

00:40 Inside The Aryan Brotherhood 01:35 True CSI 02:30 Extreme Machines 03:25 Motor City Motors 04:20 How Stuff’s Made 04:50 How Do They Do It? 05:15 Deadliest Catch 06:05 Mythbusters 07:00 Fifth Gear 07:25 Wheeler Dealers 08:15 Motor City Motors 09:10 I Could Do That 09:40 I Could Do That 10:05 How Stuff’s Made 10:30 Dual Survival 11:25 Deadliest Catch 12:20 Ultimate Weapons 16:55 Ultimate Weapons 17:50 How Stuff’s Made 18:15 Science Of The Movies

19:10 Space Pioneer 20:05 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 21:00 Mythbusters 21:55 Wreckreation Nation 22:50 Worst-Case Scenario 23:20 Eyewitness 23:45 Pit Bulls And Parolees

00:40 The Future Of...

01:30 Nextworld 02:20 Mission Critical: Hubble 03:10 How The Universe Works 04:00 Space Pioneer 04:50 The Future Of...

05:45 What’s That About?

06:40 How Does That Work?

07:10 Superships 08:00 Thunder Races 09:00 Scrappy Races 10:00 Sci-Fi Saved My Life 10:55 Brainiac 11:50 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 16:25 Sci-Fi Science 16:55 The World’s Strangest Ufo Stories 17:50 The Gadget Show 18:45 Stephen Hawking’s Universe 19:40 Invisible Worlds 20:30 Perfect Disaster 21:20 Engineered 22:10 Stephen Hawking’s Universe 23:00 Nasa’s Greatest Missions 23:50 Invisible Worlds

06:00 Kid Vs Kat 06:50 American Dragon 07:40 Phineas & Ferb 08:00 Have A Laugh 08:05 Aaron Stone 08:25 Have A Laugh 08:30 I’m In The Band 09:00 Kick Buttowski 09:25 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 09:50 New Spiderman 10:15 Zeke & Luther 11:30 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 12:00 Minute Men 13:30 Phineas & Ferb 14:00 The Super Hero Squad Show 14:25 Kick Buttowski 14:50 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 15:15 Phineas & Ferb 15:40 Have A Laugh 15:45 I’m In The Band 16:15 Zeke & Luther 16:40 Zeke And Luther 17:05 The Super Hero Squad Show 17:30 Pokemon 17:50 Have A Laugh 17:55 Suite Life On Deck 18:20 Phineas & Ferb 18:45 Phineas & Ferb 19:10 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 19:35 New Spiderman 20:00 Aaron Stone 20:30 Kick Buttowski 21:00 Zeke And Luther 21:20 Have A Laugh 21:25 Zeke & Luther 21:55 Shreducation 22:20 Pokemon

00:40 Dr 90210 01:30 Fatal Beauty 03:15 Extreme Hollywood 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 05:30 Streets Of Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:45 Behind The Scenes 08:35 E! News 09:25 E!es 10:15 E!es 11:05 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 12:00 E! News 12:50 Fashion Police 13:15 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 13:40 E!es 14:30 Giuliana And Bill 15:25 THS 17:10 E! News 18:50 Holly’s World 19:40 E!es 20:30 The Spin Crowd 21:20 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:45 Fashion Police 22:10 E! News 23:00 Chelsea Lately 23:25 The Soup 23:50 Extreme Hollywood

00:10 Strikeforce 02:30 Fight Girls 04:10 Winter Dew Tour 09/10 05:50 Winter X Games 13 07:30 I-Ex 09:00 Quattro Int Events: Swatch Profile Beach Volleyball 09:25 Quattro Int Events: Nissan Outdoor Games 09:50 Quattro Int Events: Rb Surftrip Mentawais 10:15 Quattro Int Events: Profile Robbie Maddison 10:40 Quattro Int Events: Red Bull Cliffdiving: La Rochelle 11:05 Quattro Int Events: O’neil Cwc, South Africa 11:30 Quattro Int Events: Red Bull Hare, Scramble 11:55 Quattro Int Events: Pkra World Cup Mondial Du Vent 12:20 Winter Dew Tour 09/10 14:00 Winter X Games 14 15:40 Winter Dew Tour 09/10 17:20 Bad Boy Racers 19:00 Winter Dew Tour 09/10 20:40 Winter X Games 14 22:20 Legend Of Spiderman 1 23:25 Jaws Underground

The Wrestler on Show Movies

00:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:00 Iron Chef America 02:00 30 Minute Meals 02:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 03:00 Iron Chef America 04:00 Barefoot Contessa 04:30 Unwrapped 05:00 Chopped 06:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 06:30 Guys Big Bite 07:00 Food Network Challenge 08:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 08:25 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 08:50 Guys Big Bite 09:15 Barefoot Contessa 09:40 Everyday Italian 10:05 30 Minute Meals 10:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 11:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 11:30 Barefoot Contessa 12:00 Unwrapped 12:30 Paula’s Party 13:30 Guys Big Bite 14:00 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 14:30 Paula’s Best Dishes

15:00 Barefoot Contessa 15:30 Everyday Italian 16:00 30 Minute Meals 16:30 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 17:00 Iron Chef America 18:00 Barefoot Contessa 18:30 Unwrapped 19:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 19:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 20:30 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 21:00 Iron Chef America 22:00 Barefoot Contessa 22:30 Everyday Italian 23:00 Chopped

00:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Rose Garden: Duke at Oregon 02:00 Golf Central International 02:30 Golf Channel - TBA 03:00 Sport Express 05:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Rose Garden: Duke at Oregon 07:00 ACC: TBA at TBA 10:30 Golf Central International 11:00 European Tour Dubai World Championship Final Rd. Dubai, UAE 16:00 NFL Game Day 16:30 Big Ten Football 19:30 NFL Game Day 20:00 FOX NFL Sunday 21:00 NFL TBA at TBA

00:40 A Haunting 01:30 Psychic Witness 02:20 The Haunted 03:10 A Haunting 04:05 A Haunting 05:00 Psychic Witness 05:55 Amsterdam Vice 06:20 Ghost Lab 07:10 Real Emergency Calls 08:00 Diagnosis: Unknown 08:50 Real Emergency Calls 09:40 Forensic Detectives 10:30 Impossible Heists 11:20 Accident Investigator 12:10 FBI Files 13:00 On The Case With Paula Zahn 13:50 Murder Shift 14:40 Diagnosis: Unknown 15:30 Real Emergency Calls 16:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn 17:10 Forensic Detectives 18:00 FBI Files 18:50 Impossible Heists 19:40 Diagnosis: Unknown 20:30 Real Emergency Calls 21:20 Ghost Lab 22:10 Murder Shift 23:00 Ripped From The Headlines 23:50 On The Case With Paula Zahn

Crossing Over on Super Movies 00:20 Sonic Underground 00:45 Nancy Drew 01:10 The Hardy Boys 01:30 Inspector Gadget 02:00 Sabrina The Animated Series Marathon 07:00 New Adventures Of Madeline 07:25 Rupert 07:45 Jass Time 07:50 Dennis The Menace 08:00 Dino Squad 18:15 The Beach Crew 18:25 S Club 7 In La 18:50 The Hardy Boys 19:10 Nancy Drew 19:35 Inspector Gadget 20:00 Groove Squad Cheerleaders 21:20 Fat Dog Mendoza 21:45 Sabrina The Animated Series 22:10 S Club 7 In Miami 22:35 Beverly Hills Teen Club 23:00 Groove Squad Cheerleaders

01:15 Network 03:15 Liebestraum 05:00 Coffy 06:30 Soldier Boyz 07:59 Strictly Business 09:20 Far North 10:45 The Legend Of Johnny Lingo 12:15 Movers & Shakers 13:35 Canadian Bacon 15:10 Spring, The 16:35 Wuthering Heights 18:20 Maxie 19:55 Asteroid 22:00 Criminal Law 23:50 Seven Hours To Judgement

00:00 New adventures of Old Christine 00:30 Scrubs 01:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (repeat) 01:30 The Colbert Report (repeat) 02:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 03:00 SNL one hour version 04:00 Family Guy 04:30 Tonight Show with Jay Leno 05:30 Eight simple Rules 06:00 Hope & Faith 06:30 Ten things I hate about you 07:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Brothers 08:30 Eight simple Rules 09:00 Hope & Faith 09:30 Ten things I hate about you 10:00 Parks and Recreation 10:30 How I met your mother 11:00 Eight simple Rules 11:30 Hope & Faith 12:00 Tonight Show with Jay Leno 13:00 Scrubs 13:30 Eight simple Rules 14:00 Hope & Faith 14:30 Kath & Kim 15:00 New adventures of Old Christine 15:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (repeat) 16:00 The Colbert Report (repeat) 16:30 Ten things I hate about you 17:00 Best of Late night with Jimmy Fallon 18:00 The Simpsons 18:30 Billable Hours 19:00 Better Off Ted 19:30 Kath & Kim 20:00 Entourage 20:30 Curb your Enthusiasm 21:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (repeat) 21:30 The Colbert Report (repeat) 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:30 Better Off Ted

07:00 Lazytown 07:25 Imagination Movers 07:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:15 Handy Manny 08:30 Special Agent Oso 08:45 Handy Manny 08:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:20 STANLEY (SCANDI) 09:40 Imagination Movers

10:05 Handy Manny 10:25 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 10:50 Special Agent Oso 11:05 Imagination Movers 11:30 Jungle Junction 11:55 Special Agent Oso 12:20 Little Einsteins 12:45 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 13:10 Handy Manny 13:35 JO JO’S CIRCUS (SCANDI YR1) 14:00 Higglytown Heroes 14:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:50 Special Agent Oso 15:05 Imagination Movers 15:30 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 15:55 Lazytown 16:20 Handy Manny 16:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 17:10 STANLEY (SCANDI) 17:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 17:50 Imagination Movers 18:10 Handy Manny 18:35 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 19:00 New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 19:25 Handy Manny 19:40 Special Agent Oso 19:50 Jungle Junction

00:00 Adulthood-18 02:00 Defiance-PG15 04:15 45 R.P.M.-PG15 06:00 500 Days Of Summer-PG15 08:00 Beneath The Blue-PG15 10:00 Under The Mountain-PG 11:45 Defiance-PG15 14:00 It Might Get Loud-PG15 16:00 Beneath The Blue-PG15 18:00 Smart People-PG15 20:00 Battlestar Galactica: The Plan-18 22:00 The Wrestler-18

01:00 Psycho-18 03:00 Rush Hour 3-PG15 05:00 The Italian Job-PG15 07:00 Arlington Road-18 09:00 Panic Room-PG15 11:00 The Yards-PG15 13:00 Nightfall-PG15 15:00 Panic Room-PG15 17:00 Hancock-PG15 19:00 Tailor Of Panama-18 21:00 The Tripper-18 23:00 Feast 3-18

00:00 Americanizing Shelly-PG 02:00 How To Be-PG15 04:00 The Match-PG15 06:00 Angus Thongs And Perfect Snogging-PG15 08:00 Married To It-PG15 10:00 Bustin’ Loose-PG15 12:00 Son Of Rambow-PG 14:00 Lock And Roll Forever-PG 16:00 Americanizing Shelly-PG 18:00 Clerks-18 20:00 Chasing Amy-18 22:00 Jay And Silent Bob Strike BackPG15

00:00 Felix 1-FAM 02:00 Little Hercules In 3-D-PG15 04:00 Green Lantern: First Flight-PG 06:00 Papelucho And The Martian-FAM 08:00 The Missing Lynx-PG 10:00 Green Lantern: First Flight-PG 12:00 Columbus III: The New World-PG 14:00 Little Hercules In 3-D-PG15 16:00 Tommy And The Cool Mule-PG 18:00 Open Season 2-FAM 20:00 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-PG 22:30 Columbus III: The New World-PG

00:00 CSI 01:00 Treme 02:00 Martha Stewart 03:00 House 04:00 The View 05:00 Downsize Me 06:00 Emmerdale

06:30 Coronation Stree 07:00 House 08:00 Martha Stewart 09:00 Downsize Me 10:00 House 11:00 The View 12:00 Emmerdale 12:30 Coronation Stree 13:00 Martha Stewart 14:00 CSI 15:00 Treme 16:00 Downsize Me 17:00 The View 18:00 Emmerdale 18:30 Coronation Street 19:00 CSI: NY 20:00 Kings 21:00 House 22:00 The View 23:00 Downsize Me

00:45 International Rugby Union 03:00 Live Cricket Test Match 10:00 International Rugby Union 12:00 International Rugby Union 14:00 Futbol Mundial 14:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 15:00 Live Scottish Premier League 17:15 Live Scottish Premier League 19:30 European PGA Tour

02:00 European PGA Tour 07:30 Premier League Snooker 11:00 Live European PGA Tour 16:00 The Ryder Cup Official Film 17:30 Live International Rugby Union 19:30 Live Aviva Premiership 21:30 ICC Cricket World 22:00 World Sport 22:30 Live Premier League Snooker

00:00 FIA GT1 World Championship 01:30 FIA GT1 World Championship 03:00 WWE Smackdown 05:00 UFC Unleashed 06:00 UFC Unleashed 07:00 FIA GT1 World Championship 08:30 FIA GT1 World Championship 10:00 WWE Vintage Collection 11:00 WWE Bottom Line 12:00 WWE NXT 13:00 WWE Smackdown 15:00 Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 16:00 V8 Supercars Extra 16:45 FIA GT1 World Championship 18:15 Live FIA GT1 World Championship 20:00 UFC 123 23:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter

01:00 Staten Island-PG15 03:00 It’s A Free World-PG15 05:00 Suburban Girl-PG15 07:00 Hannah Montana Movie-PG 09:00 Ye Olde Times-PG 11:00 Captain Drake-PG 13:00 Bride Wars-PG15 15:00 Operating Instructions-PG15 16:45 Ye Olde Times-PG 18:45 Crossing Over-PG15 21:00 Enemies Among Us-PG15 22:45 Fireflies In The Garden-PG15

00:35 Slither 02:10 The Screening Room 02:35 Cannery Row 04:35 The Screening Room 05:00 The Screening Room 05:30 Sweet Bird Of Youth 07:30 The Screening Room 08:00 Elvis On Tour 09:30 To Have And Have Not 11:10 Sunday In New York 12:55 Viva Las Vegas 14:20 The Sunshine Boys 16:10 Hearts Of The West 17:50 Elvis: That’s The Way It Is 19:30 Silk Stockings 21:25 Born Free 23:00 Shaft

00:00 Growing Up Fabulous 00:30 Mel B: It’s A Scary World 01:00 Homes With Style 02:00 My Celebrity Home 03:00 How Do I Look?

04:00 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

05:00 Married Away 06:00 Style Her Famous 06:30 Area 07:00 How Do I Look?

08:00 Millennium Fashion: The Year In Fashion 09:00 Clean House 10:00 My Celebrity Home 11:00 Homes With Style 12:00 Tacky House 13:00 Jerseylicious 14:00 My Celebrity Home 21:00 Fashion Police 22:00 How Do I Look?

23:00 Go Fix Yourself 23:30 Mel B: It’s A Scary World

00:40 Cities of the Underworld 01:30 Ax Men 02:20 Battlefield Detectives 03:10 Tales of the Gun 04:00 Deadly Dust Storm 05:50 Investigating History 06:40 Cities of the Underworld 07:30 Ax Men 08:20 Battlefield Detectives 09:10 Tales of the Gun 10:00 Deadly Dust Storm 11:50 Investigating History 12:40 Cities of the Underworld 13:30 Ax Men 14:20 Battlefield Detectives 15:10 Tales of the Gun 16:00 Deadly Dust Storm 17:50 Investigating History 18:40 Cities of the Underworld 19:30 Ax Men 20:20 Battlefield Detectives 21:10 Tales of the Gun 22:00 America: The Story of the US 22:55 Life After People 23:50 Clash of the Gods

00:00 Working Holiday 01:00 Sophie Grigson In The Souk 01:30 Chef Abroad 02:00 Rivers Of The World 03:00 Essential 03:30 Skier’s World 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Working Holiday 06:00 Hollywood And Vines 06:30 Sophie Grigson In The Souk 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Swiss Railway Journeys 09:00 Great Scenic Railways - 175 Years 09:30 Skier’s World 10:00 Surfari 10:30 Essential 11:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Cruising The Spirit Of Adventure 14:00 Essential 14:30 Hollywood And Vines 15:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Sophie Grigson In The Souk 18:00 Culinary Asia 19:00 Planet Food 20:00 The Blue Continent 21:00 Word Travels 21:30 Essential 22:00 Travel 360 23:00 Globe Trekker

00:00 Saturday Night Fever 02:00 VH1 Music 06:00 Chill Out 08:00 Smooth Wake Up 10:00 Aerobic 11:00 VH1 Hits 12:00 Music For The Masses 13:00 Top 10 14:00 Cover Power 15:00 Soundtracks Weekend 18:00 VH1 Loves 19:00 The Album Chart Show 20:00 Guess The Year

Sunday, November 28, 2010

33 FLIGHT SCHEDULE

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines WAN JZR GFA ETH WAN BBC THY UAE DHX QTR FDB ETD JZR KAC JZR JZR KAC FCX BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE KAC QTR ABY ETD GFA IRA FCX JZR WAN JZR IRC JZR IRA MEA KAC MSR JZR KAC KAC FDB UAL SVA KAC QTR SYR ETD UAE GFA JZR SVA JZR RJA JZR ABY WAN JZR JZR WAN WAN KAC KAC KAC WAN KAC KAC KAC KAC WAN KAC KAC ALK AFG KAC FDB OMA JAI WAN DHX GFA VOS MEA QTR UAE WAN KAC IAC JZR JZR MSR JZR UAL WAN AXB DLH

Arrival Flights on Sunday 28/11/2010 Flt Route 306 CAIRO 267 BEIRUT 211 BAHRAIN 620 ADDIS ABABA 408 BEIRUT 46 DHAKA / BAHRAIN 772 ISTANBUL 853 DUBAI 370 BAHRAIN 138 DOHA 67 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 207 DAMASCUS 544 CAIRO 223 ALEPPO 555 ALEXANDRIA 546 ALEXANDRIA 201 DOHA 157 LONDON 412 MANILA / BANGKOK 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 382 DELHI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 676 DUBAI 284 DHAKA 855 DUBAI 286 CHITTAGONG 132 DOHA 123 SHARJAH 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 603 SHIRAZ 203 DUBAI 787 RIYADH 102 DUBAI 121 BAHRAIN 6801 AHWAZ 165 DUBAI 615 SHAHRE KORD 404 BEIRUT 772 RIYADH 610 CAIRO 257 BEIRUT 672 DUBAI 512 TEHRAN 57 DUBAI 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 500 JEDDAH 562 AMMAN 134 DOHA 341 DAMASCUS 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 215 BAHRAIN 481 SABIHA 510 RIYADH 213 DEIREZZOR 800 AMMAN 239 AMMAN 127 SHARJAH 432 DAMASCUS 177 DUBAI 511 SHARM EL SHEIKH 304 CAIRO 204 JEDDAH 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 618 DOHA 106 DUBAI 786 JEDDAH 614 BAHRAIN 744 DAMMAM 674 DUBAI 202 JEDDAH 166 PARIS / ROME 102 NEW YORK / LONDON 267 COLOMBO / DAMMAM 405 KABUL / DUBAI 552 DAMASCUS 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 572 MUMBAI 402 BEIRUT 372 BAHRAIN 217 BAHRAIN 81 BAGHDAD 402 BEIRUT 136 DOHA 859 DUBAI 322 SHARM EL SHEIKH 172 FRANKFURT 981 CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD 157 DOHA 185 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 135 BAHRAIN 981 BAHRAIN 186 BAHRAIN 389 KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE 636 FRANKFURT

Time 0:40 0:45 1:40 1:45 1:50 1:55 2:15 2:35 2:45 2:45 3:05 3:10 3:50 4:40 5:40 6:00 6:10 6:15 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:10 8:15 8:30 8:35 9:05 9:05 9:30 9:35 9:40 10:30 10:55 11:05 11:10 11:15 11:20 11:35 11:55 12:40 12:55 13:00 13:25 13:40 13:50 14:10 14:30 14:40 15:00 15:05 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:10 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:40 17:45 17:55 18:15 18:15 18:25 18:25 18:45 18:50 18:55 18:55 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:55 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:50 21:00 21:15 21:15 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:40 21:45 22:05 22:10 22:45 22:45 22:55 23:00 23:10 23:30 23:35

WAN RJA PIA WAN

422 802 205 108

AMMAN AMMAN LAHORE DUBAI

Airlines AXB UAL IAC DLH ETH BBC THY DHX FDB UAE ETD QTR JZR JZR RJA GFA JZR VOS JZR FDB BAW KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY KAC QTR ETD GFA IRA FCX JZR KAC JZR JZR IRC KAC IRA MEA KAC KAC JZR MSR FDB KAC KAC UAL KAC SVA SYR KAC QTR KAC ETD WAN GFA UAE RJA JZR ABY JZR SVA WAN JZR WAN JZR KAC KAC WAN FDB KAC JZR ALK OMA JAI DHX KAC GFA MEA KAC KAC FCX QTR KAC UAE JZR KAC JZR KAC JZR MSR KAC KAC

Departure Flights on Sunday 28/11/2010 Flt Route 394 COCHIN / KOZHIKODE 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 576 GOA / CHENNAI 637 FRANKFURT 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 46 DHAKA 773 ISTANBUL 371 BAHRAIN 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 164 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 803 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 786 RIYADH 94 DUBAI / KANDAHAR 120 BAHRAIN 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 171 FRANKFURT 671 DUBAI 480 SABIHA 511 TEHRAN 561 AMMAN 771 RIYADH 856 DUBAI 124 SHARJAH 117 NEW YORK 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 602 SHIRAZ 204 BAGHDAD 212 DEIREZZOR 541 CAIRO 510 SHARM EL SHEIKH 238 AMMAN 6802 AHWAZ 103 LONDON 614 SHAHRE KORD 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 58 DUBAI 551 DAMASCUS 673 DUBAI 982 BAHRAIN 617 DOHA 503 MEDINAH / JEDDAH 342 DAMASCUS 613 BAHRAIN 135 DOHA 743 DAMMAM 304 ABU DHABI 305 CAIRO 216 BAHRAIN 858 DUBAI 801 AMMAN 184 DUBAI 128 SHARJAH 156 DOHA 511 RIYADH 421 AMMAN 552 ALEXANDRIA 107 DUBAI 134 BAHRAIN 283 DHAKA 361 COLOMBO 185 BAHRAIN 62 DUBAI 351 COCHIN 528 ASSIUT 267 COLOMBO 648 MUSCAT 571 MUMBAI 373 BAHRAIN 675 DUBAI 218 BAHRAIN 403 BEIRUT 203 LAHORE 381 DELHI 102 BAHRAIN 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 860 DUBAI 502 LUXOR 343 CHENNAI 206 DAMASCUS 415 KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA 554 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 563 AMMAN 411 BANGKOK / MANILA

23:45 23:50 23:55 23:55 Time 0:40 0:45 0:50 1:30 2:30 3:10 3:15 3:45 3:45 3:50 4:00 4:55 6:55 7:00 7:00 7:15 7:40 8:00 8:20 8:25 8:55 9:00 9:00 9:05 9:15 9:20 9:20 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:15 10:20 10:20 10:40 11:45 11:45 12:00 12:00 12:10 12:15 12:30 12:35 12:55 13:00 13:40 13:50 13:55 14:35 14:40 15:10 15:25 15:35 15:45 16:05 16:20 16:30 16:40 17:40 18:05 18:05 18:10 18:15 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:45 19:15 19:40 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:25 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:30 23:35 23:45 23:45 23:45 23:50 23:55

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

ACCOMMODATION To let one spacious bedroom, with a separate toilet, in a 3 bedroom apartment, behind Safir International hotel. Single occupancy KD 75, double occupancy KD 100 for more details please call: 60046720. (C 2889) 27-11-2010 Sharing accommodation available in Farwaniya for decent working ladies near Crowne Plaza. Contact: 94026603. (C 2887) Sharing accommodation available for executive bachelor Muslim, furnished flat near Behbehani complex Sharq. Contact: 65627272. (C 2888) One furnished independent room with balcony available from Dec 1st for 2/3 months for a decent exec bachelor, new building C-A/C sat & kitchen facility W&E free.

Opp Appolo hospital Shara Amman st, Salmiya. Contact: 99761807. (C 2886) 25-11-2010 Room for rent in Hawally, family or bachelor, Tunis st. front side of Al Bahar center.

Contact: 99593486, 97672748. (C 2884) Room for rent in Farwaniya for a couple or two working ladies or a decent bachelor with kitchen facilities. Contact: 66021273, 97449272.

(C 2885) 24-11-2010

SITUATION VACANT

A well organized lady with a good experience in cooking and cleaning is needed to work for a single American/Arab in an apartment located in Salmiya working hrs 2 to 8 pm, salary KD 100.

Tel: 66417504, 25710714. (C 2891) 27-11-2010 A decent housemaid is urgently needed for a family in Mangaf. Please call 60055305 25-11-2010

No: 14922

SPECTRUM

34

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Calvin

CROSSWORD 152

Aries (March 21-April 19) You may have noticed

that your old zest is back and your social life is picking up—you will seek out new people, maybe even a new job. Being more involved with neighbors or sibling(s) satisfies a deep emotional need. A new cycle begins for you, signaling a greater than usual interest in relationships, social connections and the arts. A family squabble helps to show off your problem-solving abilities. You are able to see both sides of an issue. The situation calls for understanding and compromise.

Marriage and other close relationships come to your attention today as you express your appreciation for other people in your life. This is a time to enjoy and appreciate your ties to others, and to seek and promote harmony.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) It may be time to reschedule

some of your previous plans so that a loved one can get more attention. This could mean you cancel an activity so you can pay more attention to a young person today.

It could also mean that you just need more rest and you have agreed to entirely too many things. You may have noticed that a rigid timetable leaves you inflexible. If you cannot answer school questions for a young person, there are people that can. You can find the help that is needed at the library or a nearby junior college. You are a solid supporter, always gravitating to the heart of things. This evening you have some personal chores, perhaps a hobby to tend to and others had better step aside. You will find plenty of time to relax and communicate tonight.

Pooch Cafe

ACROSS 1. A fastener for a door or lid.

5. A slender double-reed instrument.

9. A rare chronic progressive encephalitis caused by the measles virus and occurring primarily in children and young adults.

13. A ruler of the Inca Empire (or a member of his family).

14. One-hundredth of a right angle.

15. Made agreeably cold (especially by ice).

16. A pointed instrument used to prod into motion.

17. Soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog v 1.

18. An aromatic ointment used in antiquity.

19. A bag used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women).

22. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

24. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.

25. 30 to 300 kilohertz.

27. A member of an extinct North American Indian people who lived in the Pit river valley in northern California.

32. Green algae common in freshwater lakes of limestone districts.

35. The compass point that is one point south of due east.

38. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

40. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

41. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

43. A member of the Mayan people of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.

47. The cry made by sheep.

50. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

51. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

54. An alliance made up of states that had been Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991.

56. A loose cloak with a hood.

58. Feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and being unable to roar.

59. The world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in North Africa.

61. Extremely pleasing.

62. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer.

63. Scarabaeid beetle considered divine by ancient Egyptians.

64. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN 1. Greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount.

2. Small buffalo of the Celebes having small straight horns.

3. Less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so.

4. A genus of Ploceidae.

5. A member of the Siouan people formerly inhabiting the Black Hills of western South Dakota.

6. (informal) Exceptionally good.

7. An implement used to propel or steer a boat.

8. A doctor's degree in education.

9. A mountain peak in the southern Sinai Peninsula (7,500 feet high).

10. A fraudulent business scheme.

11. A beautiful and graceful girl.

12. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

20. Common Indian weaverbird.

21. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

23. An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect.

26. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages.

28. (informal) Informed about the latest trends.

29. An informal term for a father.

30. A master's degree in business.

31. An informal term for a father.

33. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

34. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

36. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

37. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

39. Lac purified by heating and filtering.

40. (informal) Exceptionally good.

42. 1 species.

44. Bearded reddish sheep of southern Asia.

45. Social status or position conferred by a system based on class.

46. A ductile gray metallic element of the lanthanide series.

48. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

49. Jordan's port.

52. Slightly open.

53. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

55. Syndrome resulting from a serious acute (sometimes fatal) infection associated with the presence of staphylococcus.

56. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

57. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

60. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You could spend a lot of time planning about how to reach a particular goal or how you would encourage others to become involved with some project. There may be some difficulty in getting a plan formulated. Once you firm up your plans, you will see quick and positive outcomes. If all of this involves the betterment of a community, you may find yourself helping others. This could mean a neighborhood improvement plan or some charity drive. Dust off the old hobby; there will be a new interest among old friends regarding this hobby.

Meetings and long conversations present opportunities to learn new techniques and make demonstrations to show off these techniques. Clear up any misunderstanding with a loved one this evening. Enjoy music.

Non Sequitur

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Some things are slow today. Slow will seem fast to a snail, unless you are another snail. Things have to happen at their own pace and eventually, when you least expect it, a secret dream or wish will come true. You may feel inward and more like sharing some time with your lover or with close friends. You may be feeling more reflective than expressive. Close relationships will certainly take on more emotional depth now. Feeling cared for and needed is comfortable; the lack of these things can cause an instinctive feeling of uneasiness. You have the opportunity to help a friend this afternoon. There is a chance to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love tonight. General good feelings make for a pleasant time.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You have a high burn rate when it comes to questions of your independence and autonomy.

If you are the young person and expect to be granted some time away from home this evening, see to it your chores are out of the way before you begin securing your plans. If you are the parent, set a time limit and trust your insights. You may find a positive avenue for your energies today, possibly through some form of invention. Taking the time to think through big decisions today is a positive move. You make your way through ideas and concepts. With a calm attitude you can express your thoughts to others quite well; good results happen.

Your home environment, friends and surroundings receive your attention this evening. A young person will make you laugh.

Zits

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You might decide to rise early for an early morning run, especially if there is someone to run with you. Otherwise, it could be afternoon before anyone sees your lazy head. This is a great time to relax and plan the weekends ahead. Divvy up the chores so that no one person has too many things to do before a special occasion, and of course, you delight in doing your own share of any decorating. If you are traveling, there are still some arrangements to be made.

You may be sought after for your advice and counsel regarding gift issues. You will easily be able to handle this by setting financial limits for everyone. You may offer some help for a shopping expedition—ideas, really are all that is needed. There are some pleasant surprises this evening.

Libra (September 23-October 22) All of a sudden you realize that the people you have surrounded yourself with are different in personality and accomplishments than in your past. Perhaps they are from work or a hobby group or religious group. Do not forget some of the old friends in your process of growing and learning about new friends. The old friends are still an important part of who you are. Perhaps, if only a card each year, this is still important; keeping in touch is a good thing. A reunion other than the regular school reunion can be planned during the holiday season while people are visiting in their old hometown. Your relationships, social connections and the arts are on a more intellectual level than in the past.

Romance, the arts and other of life’s pleasures take center stage tonight.

Mother Goose and Grimm

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Now may be good for

setting aside some time for a physical checkup. If you have other family members to care for, you might consider fitting in eye exams on the same day for efficiency. Health, food and physical condition come under scrutiny and you work to give this much attention. At the grocery store, you can pick out those fat-free foods that will help you and your family feel good—careful, some of them are full of sugar that will eventually turn to fat. You can expect a little boost, some sort of extra support or recognition from those around you, for whatever you choose to do today. This evening you may feel that you are in touch and in harmony with others; the lines of communication are open. Relax with loved ones tonight.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) It is a wonderful time for a wedding and if you are not planning one for yourself, you could be planning a wedding for your best friend. Sharing some fun plans with some of your other friends may put you at your most imaginative, at least when it comes to ideas and thoughts. This is a wonderful time to add to a collection or to sell part of a collection. If you do not have kids, you could find yourself entertaining your friend’s kids. A city library could be having their annual sale and this may give you the opportunity to purchase some old edition for your own private book collection. Traveling a short distance with your loved ones to a craft or art show of some sort will fill your day with good memories for the future that will last a lifetime.

Yesterdayʼs Solution

Capricorn

(December

22-January

19)

Emotional security and a sense of belonging and nurturing are the issues felt instinctively now. You want roots and you crave a sense of intimate connection that will last. This may culminate in looking for a home instead of renting. Perhaps you have been feeling more secure in your job as well. You are a fireball of energy now. There are many things you want to accomplish and you do them all with great ease. Household actions are in focus and you are also busy with holiday activities. A romantic partner from your past is in touch and you consider rekindling old sparks. There is a chance to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love. General good feelings of support and harmony make this a happy time.

Yesterdayʼs Solution

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) A touch of financial genius can result in phenomenally successful investments.

One way or another, changes in your financial status are in the near future—taxes, investments, debts or legacies play a part in this. You have put off making a special phone call, but before they contact you or before you are embarrassed, it may be that now is the best time to dial that phone number. There is no time like the present to mend fences, so to speak, or to secure a relationship. The journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single phone call, says Confucius Bell. Charisma is highlighted today—you develop a deeper understanding of many of life’s mysteries and taboos. You have a clear vision into your own inner sense of values, how you appreciate and love.

INTERNATIONAL CALLS Kuwait Qatar Abu Dhabi Dubai Raas Al Khayma Al-Shareqa Muscat Jordan Bahrain Riyadh Makkah - Jeddah Cairo Alexandria Beirut Damascus Allepo

00965 00974 009712 009714 009717 009716 00968 009626 00973 009661 009662 00202 00203 009611 0096311 0096321

Tunisia Rabat Washington New York Paris London Madrid Zurich Geneva Monaco Rome Bangkok Hong Kong Pakistan Taiwan Bonn

0021610 002127 001212 001718 00331 004471 00341 00411 004122 0033 00396 00662 00852 0092 00886 0049228

Word Sleuth Solution

Pisces (February 19-March 20) This is a good day to get things done, especially around your living area. You have good eye-hand coordination and seem determined to give a sustained effort to whatever task you choose. There may be some repair or yard work to do today and you will want to do these things before the winter begins. You may also be close to finishing a project this weekend. If you are not tending to chores today, this afternoon is a good time to enjoy the out-of-doors and perhaps—exercise a bit. This is a remarkable time for you. It is almost as though some shakeup has been going on in your life. You feel good and you feel good about your life. Your realm of influence will widen and your house of pleasure will deepen and become more meaningful.

36

SPECTRUM

Sunday, November 28, 2010

he 36-year-old beauty reportedly dreams of being laid to rest alongside rocker Jamie Hince at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France because the site - where The Doors singer Jim Morrison, playwright Oscar Wilde and composer Frederic Chopin are buried - holds special meaning for the couple.

A source said: “A couple of years ago, Kate and Jamie went to visit the cemetery as it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

“They were told off by officials for kissing by the grave of Jim Morrison. It was a magical moment. Kate has since told friends that this is when she realized Jamie was the love of her life. “It’s a bit morbid but Kate told Jamie she’d love his ‘n hers matching plots, ideally in Pere Lachaise as she thinks it’s cool and rock ‘n roll.” However, Kate was left disappointed when officials told her the cemetery is full, so she is now looking for an alternative site for the couple, who started dating in 2007. The insider added to the Daily Star newspaper: “After visiting the cemetery again recently, Kate told Jamie her plan, but they were told the place is full. “It’s the first time Kate’s failed to get into a club, though she’s in no hurry to be there.”

T

rieda Pinto carries all her belongings in three suitcases because she has nowhere to live. The Mumbai-born actress - who shot to fame after starring in Oscar-winning movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in 2008 - travels so much for work she has no place to call home. She told Interview magazine: “I’d like to say I live somewhere, but right now I’m all over the world with my three suitcases that I’ve been carrying with me for two years. I just keep changing the clothes in the bags. “Literally, I have no fixed address. I call Bombay my home, but I moved to London a bit last year when I was doing the Woody Allen film, and I loved that as my second home. I love New York as

F

well.” Despite her lack of a permanent home, the 26-year-old screen beauty would hate to return to her life as a struggling actress and admits she was close to quitting the profession before she got her big break. Frieda - who is dating her ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ co-star Dev Patel - said: “You always dream of something magical happening, and when it happens to you, it’s almost difficult to accept that it actually happened. “Even though I was lucky, I had a lot of struggles before that. I said I was going to give up everything at age 25 and get into event management because nothing was going for me. I used to have a lot of nervous breakdowns.”

he ‘Get Him to the Greek’ star who tied the knot with singer Katy Perry in India last month -admits he is smitten with his new wife and hasn’t stop smiling since the pair tied the knot.

He said: “I love being married. Katy and I, all we do is laugh. That’s all I want to do, have a giggle.” The British comic also admitted the couple has discussed starting a family and the ‘Firework’ hitmaker believes her spouse will make a great parent. Speaking at the Pride of Britain Awards - which recognize the actions of members of the public - in London, he said: “Katy said I’d make a good babydaddy. You saw what I was like with those kids on stage, what do you think?” The 35-year-old star has previously spoken of how Katy has changed his womanizing ways, saying he feels he can be “normal” with her. He said: “I’ve found someone and I get on really well with her. I find it easy. It’s nice and when you find someone you get on with things like fame and celebrity cease to matter and it’s like having a mate and someone you get on with and can be normal with.”

T

he ‘Love and Other Drugs’ star - who is dating actor Adam Shulman dreams of owning homes all over the world with her family later in her life because she can’t imagine herself settling down in one place. She said: “I’d like to be a mother. I’d like to travel. I would like to own homes in lots of places, because I have the gypsy wanderlust within me. All actors have it; we don’t like to stay in one place too long.” Though her plans to own properties all over the world are some way off, the 27-year-old actress is planning to take the autumn off work as she wants to have some fun. She told the UK edition of Elle magazine: “I’m going to live a bit because I feel

T

my life needs some attention. I’ll hang out with friends, read more about physics. I want to learn to cook, I know how to make snacks but not meals.”

Anne also dreams of leading a normal life - but doesn’t think she would have to give up her acting career to do so. She explained: “Stephen Sondheim has one of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard, which is ‘Must it always be either less or more, either plain or grand, is it always or, is it never and?’ I hope I’m an actor and I have a shop. “I hope I have this fabulous life I’ve been able to enjoy thus far and I have a normal life where I go through the same stuff as everyone else.”

he 31-year-old singer - who is married to motorcross racer Carey Hart - is 12 weeks pregnant, and is “really happy” with the news. A source said: “She’s 12 weeks along. She wanted to do it between tours, when she has some time off.” The pop star - real name Alecia Beth Moore - broke up with Carey in 2008 but the pair reconciled in 2009, and the couple are believed to be stronger than ever. The source added: “Pink was determined to make the relationship solid.

Now she’s really happy, and she’s excited she got pregnant so fast! She’ll be a brilliant mother.” In recent days the singer has posted a number of posts on twitter hinting at a change to her usual pop star lifestyle. She wrote: “I got so much done today. i feel completely capable of domesticity. how long will this last til’ i’m climbing the walls? we shall see. (sic)” She also said: “Thinkin about hibernating for winter. (sic)” Pink has previously revealed she would love to have a child, saying earlier this year she couldn’t wait to have a baby.

She said: “At this point, we’re still trying not to, but I can’t wait to not try not to.”— Bangshowbiz

T

he 40-year-old singer - who announced she is expecting her first child with husband Nick Cannon last month - doesn’t plan to have any help when her new arrival comes. She said: “I’m going to be hands on, ‘I wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh, I’m a having a child, yay! Let me get a nanny so I can give her the baby. Take the kid.’ That doesn’t work for me. I don’t believe in that.” Mariah has also hinted she is planning to put her career on hold so she can completely focus on her child. She added to Britain’s OK! magazine: “You can get caught up in Hollywood-land and that’s maybe not the best thing for kids, because they didn’t ask for it. I don’t know that I always felt safe as

T

a child and that’s nobody’s fault. I feel like it’s important to be responsible and to think, well maybe if I do this it’s not the best thing for my child. You have to take a backseat a little bit, and as someone in the public eye you’re not used to doing that.” Mariah is confident she and Nick, 30, will make great parents, although she isn’t sure if she wants a big family. She said: “I think we will make good parents and that we will be able to figure out how to do it properly. We’d be happy with one. We’re so busy - if you have six kids running around no one gets what they need. What I want is to have children in a good way, with the right husband, with the right family life.”

SPECTRUM

Sunday, November 28, 2010

37

China broadcasters

strike gold with foreign formats

By D’Arcy Doran in Lei directed several copycat reality shows before striking gold with “China’s Got Talent”, and its success has him convinced that real deal foreign formats can drive local TV’s development. Shanghai Media Group’s “China’s Got Talent”-a licensed version of the British hit that made music stars of Paul Potts and Susan Boyle-has smashed ratings records in China. The success of the show, which found its own unlikely star in winner Liu Wei-an armless pianist who plays with his toes-also marks a shift in China’s television industry from copying to buying foreign copyrights.

“Our production team had tried many kinds of “Idol”-style selection shows in the past,” said Jin, who was previously best-known for his 2007 show “My Hero”. “Now, my team and I hate copycats.”

After years of under-investing in content, China’s increasingly market-oriented state-run broadcasters face growing competition from the Internet and each other to woo viewers and advertisers with more lively fare. China Central

J

Television (CCTV) has recently acquired its first foreign format, Japanese game show “Hole In The Wall”.

Shanghai Media Group (SMG), meanwhile, also bought an “Amazing Race” franchise and comedian Ricky Gervais says a Chinese version of “The Office” is in the works. SMG’s Dragon TV paid one million yuan (150,000 dollars) for the rights to “China’s Got Talent” for three years, Jin said, adding that Proctor & Gamble, the show’s global sponsor, helped encourage the deal. “Some small satellite TV stations had tried to copy the show before, but none were successful because they only copied the face, not the mind-and especially not the heart,” Jin said.

He said the production handbook, known in the industry as a “bible”, supplied by the show’s creators FremantleMedia enabled major leaps in story-telling, production techniques and overall quality. “We followed everything the bible said. For each contestant, from the start when he or she filled in the application until he or she left the show, there were always ten cameras shooting them,” he

similar 2009 program, “Shanghai Rush”, as they worked towards a deal for this year. The two sides eventually worked out a deal and the Disney-licensed version that

This photo shows Chinese contestants posing on the stage during the reality shows “China’s Got Talent” in Shanghai. — AFP

said. Viewers responded by making it SMG’s highest-rated show ever, with the October 12 finale capturing 5.7 percent of the nationwide audience and a 34.9 percent share in Shanghai.

It even supplanted CCTV’s Lunar New Year’s Eve Gala-a heavily patriotic extravaganza-as the

year’s most-watched show in the city. Buying the rights-and the show bibles-is key, said Li Yi, the executive at SMG’s International Channel Shanghai (ICS) in charge of “The Amazing Race: China Rush”. “Buy the copyright and learn the essence from that. That’s very important,” Li said.

Toyota

Feline media sensation Prince Chunk dies in US

Classic

A

Car Fest

A 1924 Bentley three-liter tourer leads the classic car parade during the 2010 Toyota Automobile Museum Classic Car Festival in central Tokyo yesterday.

Ninety-one vintage cars participated in the parade.

— AFP photos

Prince Chunk n enormously fat cat named Prince Chunk who became famous when he was found wandering in New Jersey after his owner lost her home to foreclosure has died. Prince Chunk’s adoptive owner, Vince Damiani of Blackwood, said the white tabby died in his sleep Sunday. He was about 10 years old.

Damiani said a veterinarian had diagnosed the cat with heart disease. Prince Chunk skyrocketed to fame in August 2008 after the Camden County Animal Shelter, which took him in, reported that he weighed 44 pounds (20 kilograms), just shy of a world record.

Damiani believes that estimate may have been somewhat exaggerated. He said Prince Chunk weighed only 22 pounds (10 kilo-

SMG approached Disney, which owns the rights to “The Amazing Race”, last year about producing an English-language China-based franchise for the one-year countdown to this year’s World Expo, Li said. When it became clear Disney needed longer to negotiate terms, ICS told Disney it would produce a

debuted in August drew an audience three times as big as “Shanghai Rush”, Li said.

Li declined to discuss terms but called it “very reasonable”, with Disney holding the rights to sell the ICS show outside China.

Disney saw it as part of a longterm China investment, he added.

The deal brought in Disney’s expert advice on travel planning, adjusting games to contestants’ strengths and maximizing suspense, he said. “One thing was very impressive: they gave the very huge amount of manpower required. That’s very important, so

we could see a very big difference between the West and China’s TV industry,” Li said.

The result was ICS’s most expensive program yet, but also one of its most profitable, as it used the foreign brand name to even attract overseas advertisers.

With advertising revenues at 114.74 billion yuan, according to Beijing RIC Information Consulting, China’s television industry outstrips the country’s film box office, which is expected to gross a record 10 billion yuan this year.

Programs like “China’s Got Talent” are also helping stateowned broadcasters claw back viewers lost to the Internet.

“China’s Got Talent” lured Websurfers back to TV screens, according to a pilot project by ratings agency the Nielsen Company that monitors TV and Internet use in 300 Shanghai homes, said Jed Meyer, Nielsen’s managing director of media services in China.

“TV was drawing attention away from the Internet as the telecast went on,” Meyer said. “It shows TV is still a very powerful medium.” — AFP

grams) when he brought the cat home from the shelter. He soon became a media sensation, appearing on popular TV shows, the covers of the New York tabloids and in People magazine. The Damiani family was chosen from among 500 applicants to adopt him.

The pet’s plight inspired the Damianis to establish the Prince Chunk Foundation, a nonprofit that helps financially distressed pet owners keep their animals.

The foundation operates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and California. Its mission is to prevent animal homelessness by providing temporary assistance to dog and cat owners, including free emergency vet care and pet food, Damiani said. —AP

Newborn steals the show at Vienna’s Burgtheater performance of Jean Racine’s 1677 play “Phaedra” at Vienna’s prestigious Burgtheater was upstaged by real-life drama late Friday, when a theatre-goer gave birth in the foyer, a newspaper reported. The daily Kurier said in its edition yesterday that a 40-year-old pregnant woman identified only as Miryam S went into labor shortly after the end of the performance. But before the ambulance could arrive, she gave birth to a baby boy with the assistance of the theatre’s doctor.

Mother and child were then taken to a hospital and both were doing well, the newspaper said. Vienna’s Burgtheater is one of the most prestigious theatres in the Germanspeaking world. The current run of Racine’s “Phaedra”-in a new staging by German director and Burgtheater chief Matthias Hartmann and starring German actress Sunnyi Melles in the title role-is completely sold out.

Hartmann described the dramatic turn of events on Friday evening as “an historic occasion”. “Maybe he should be called Hippolytus or Theseus after the two leading male characters,” Hartmann told the newspaper, adding that the boy would be honoured with lifelong free entrance to the theatre. — AFP

A 1956 Lotus 11 Mk.I Le Mans

A 1965-Toyota Sports 800, with the original engine removed and converted into a Toyota Sports “EV” or electronic vehicle takes part.

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A 1962 Hino Renault De Lux takes part in the start of the classic car parade.

A 1962 Triumph TR4 cruises on at the parade.

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Kuwait Times Special Report

Oman prospers under

man celebrated its 40th National Day Anniversary that fell on November 18, marking its modern resurgence under Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed. Oman’s impressive growth spanning a period of 40 years has grabbed international attention. This could not have been realized even in a hundred years, if not for the wisdom of the leader and his far-sighted vision that turned Oman’s soil into a paradise. Thanks to the wisdom of Sultan Qaboos, the patient, hardworking people have striven to create a new Oman in various social, political, cultural and economical fields. The Sultan’s insight can be also seen in the conversion of Oman’s once uninhabited landscape into a lush oasis.

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Oman’s experience serves as a role model for many nations that seek modernization. It proved that achievements can never be measured in terms of time, they can only be gauged by accomplishments as stressed by Sultan Qaboos’ speech while celebrating the 40th National Day Anniversary. He was keen on encouraging his subjects to work harder in order to continue building the new Oman and achieve top levels of progress in all fields.

Oman’s 40-years of achievements emphasize on the importance of the program envisioned by Sultan Qaboos to build its future based on large-scale construction operations as part of an ambitious development plan that highly depends on citizens’ wish to race against the clock to fulfill their aspirations. What Oman has achieved would have been deemed impossible if not for the wise leadership of the Sultan. How could anyone imagine that a new state that is only forty years old, could achieve such remarkable modernization and a tangible political, cultural, social and economical status? How would Muscat be rated as the Arab World’s cleanest capital if it were not for the support of the Sultan’s?

How would we view Oman as the only Arab state that does not have any border or security problems, and the only regional state that suffers from no sectarian, racial, class or tribal problems if it were not for the Sultan’s efforts?

Such accomplishments were not easy. One can only feel speechless while trying to describe how Oman managed to attain a glamorous image during the 21st century, particularly since many other countries had already begun modernization efforts earlier and trailed off along the way. This is really worth being studied as it is the fruition of the Sultan’s unique prowess.

Those that have witnessed ‘the Omani experiment’ can only but marvel at how its citizens managed to revive their traditional reputation as great builders and strengthen the great Omani civilization by harnessing natural resources. They took up the challenge of building modern Omani individuals, driven by a spirit of favoring public interests to personal ones, at all costs to create such a unique Sultanate that values social unity with its history that is deep-rooted in the heart of an Arabian tribal desert.

Omani development has overcome all obstacles by uprooting fanaticism and religious misinterpretations from its society, framing legislations to fight fundamentalism, backwardness; making citizens safeguard their own hard-earned gains and reviving the role played by Omani cultural establishments. This has led to the rise of a well-cultured and educated generation that has led the way, regardless of all sectarian threats.

Sultan Qaboos promotes scientific methods in achieving goals, at the same time, rejecting all subjectivity when arriving at judgments. The Sultanate can really feel proud of its enlightened leadership who, since his coronation in 1970, has been developing a clear vision of various

manner, we will regenerate that glorious past and will take a respectable place in the world.”

Has this not been achieved? The Sultan has actually revived Oman’s historical status and reputation. On November 18th this year, Omanis reported a high GDP rate that was accomplished with the help of a fiveyear plan. Oman’s development is unique in its traits and pace. Each phase utilizes enough time, and all obstacles have been overcome since the wise leadership was well-aware of them earlier. Its persistence, selfconfidence and vision, in addition to an abundance of scientific, religious and ethical practices are praiseworthy. He combined all this with a spirit of modernization and willingness to adapt the most up-to-date technologies. Oman’s development over the past forty years can be easily traced in various fields such as: The Basic Law of the State The Basic Law of the State, promulgated onNovember 6, 1996 and comprising 81 Articles lays down a legal framework of reference that governs the functions of the different authorities and separation of their powers. It also safeguards freedom, dignity and rights of the individual.

This historic document spells out Oman’s system of government and the guiding principles behind the state’s policies and also details public rights and duties. It contains specific principles covering the Head of State, the Council of Ministers and the judiciary. It is simple yet succinct.

Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed

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My people, I will proceed as quickly as possible to transform your life into a prosperous one with a bright future. Every one of you must play his part towards attaining this goal. Our country in the past was famous and strong. If we work together united in a cooperative manner, we will regenerate that glorious past and will take a respectable place in the world.

programs that are needed to ensure his people’s prosperity and progress. In the prime speech he made on July 23rd, 1970, Sultan Qaboos said, “My people, I will proceed as quickly as possible to trans-

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form your life into a prosperous one with a bright future. Every one of you must play his part towards attaining this goal. Our country in the past was famous and strong. If we work together united in a cooperative

The Council of Oman (Majlis Oman) The Council of Oman (Majlis Oman) is comprised of a member of the State Council (Majlis A’Dawla) and Consultation Shura Council (Majlis A’Shura) as stipulated in Article 58 of the Basic Law of the State.

It assists the government in drawing up the general policies of the state. The Council convenes at the request of Sultan Qaboos, to study and discuss matters raised by him, taking all its decisions on the basis of a majority vote. The Sultan addresses all the members of this Council on an annual basis.

The State Council (Majlis A ʻDawla) The State Council (Majlis A’Dawla) is a financially and administratively independent legal entity within the Governorate of Muscat. It plays an important role in national development by acting as a link between the government and the people. It’s Chairman and members are appointed by Royal Decree from Omani nationals of not less than 40 years of age with good social standing and reputation. Members have

See page 39 >>>

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

a wise leadership >>> From page 38 often included former ministers, ambassadors and undersecretaries.

The number of State Council members must not exceed the number of Consultation/Shura Council members. It is not permitted to combine membership of the State Council with membership of the Consultation Council or public office except under certain conditions where a member might be requested for his or her expertise in a particular field.

The State Council has an annual session with duration of no less than eight months. It reviews matters referred to it by the Sultan, drafts laws before promulgation and prepares studies on development related issues, including human resources. In 2006 the Majlis A’Dawla had 59 members, nine of whom were women. Membership is for a four-year period and renewable.

The Shura Council The launch of the State Consultative Council was in 1981. While the actual practice of consultation already had roots deep in the country’s history and traditions, in its present form it was inspired by the country’s leadership, which - in the words of the Sultan - wanted to see Oman embark on “its own enterprise in the field of democratic action in which its citizens play their part in taking national decisions.” This enterprise would be built up “brick by brick on firm foundations based on the realities of Omani life and the circumstances of the age in which we live.” As of its sixth term (2008-2011), the council comprises of 84 members. Its members represent their respective ‘Wilayats’ (States) and are elected by citizens aged twenty-one and over. Omani women enjoy the right to vote and run as candidates.

The Majlis has evolved over the years in terms of both its composition and its functions and today - the Sultan pointed out in his speech at the annual inauguration of the Council of Oman on November 14, 2006 it is “a ground-breaking enterprise and a strong building-block in the creation of the institution-based state, the pillars of which we are seeking to establish without abandoning the strong foundations of Omani society, while at the same time adopting those elements of the modern age that are useful.”

The Consultation/Shura Council (Majlis A’Shura) takes part in activities and meetings of Arab, Islamic and international parliamentary unions, as well as exchanges visits with parliaments and similar bodies in Arab and foreign states. In doing so its aim is to strengthen Oman’s relations with other countries and contribute toward dealing with issues of concern to the states and people of the region.

The Chairman of the Consultation Council attended the first preparatory session of the Arab Transitional Parliament at the Arab League on December 27 and 28, 2005 where Oman’s representatives were nominated for membership of the Arab Transitional Parliament.

Omani representatives also attended meetings of the Arab Parliamentary Union in Jordan in February 2006. The Council Chairman participated in both the eighth council session and the fourth conference of the Organization of Islamic Conference’s union of councils of member states in Turkey in April 2006. Council members also travelled abroad to promote Oman as a centre of regional stability and have enthusiastically received return visits from dignitaries from around the globe.

Oman’s foreign policy is based on a clearly defined set of principles that encourage the building of bridges with other nations and, wherever possible, the opening up of opportunities for increased cooperation. The Sultanate has sought to play a constructive and influential role in the international arena, applying principles which form the basis of international law and legitimacy, such as respect for sovereignty, noninterference in the internal affairs of other states, a commitment to good neigh-

Omani souq (market) — Photo by Velina Nacheva borly relations and the resolution of all differences and disputes by peaceful means.

By fostering peace, security, stability and confidence at home and with its neighbors, Oman’s foreign policy has evolved to become an instrument to promote economic and social development. The Sultanate enjoys a special relationship with its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), with which it shares strong traditional ties. The GCC Supreme Council’s advisory body is based in Muscat and the country enjoys the trust and respect of other member states.

The Sultanate supports joint Arab action through the Arab League and initiatives to improve the League’s performance and make it more effective. At the same time it attaches great importance to developing its own relations with other Arab states, whether bilaterally or collectively, and joint committees between the Sultanate and various other Arab countries play an important part in promoting this agenda.

The Sultanate believes it is essential to maintain contacts and dialogue with other states and people for the sake of continued mutual understanding and cooperation. It supports all sincere efforts to develop closer relations or resolve differences through dialogue and within the context of international law and legitimacy. The Sultanate believes that establishing peace and stability can best be achieved through tolerance and recognizing common interests.

The main features of the Eighth Five-year Development Plan (20112015) were determined by three major factors; the basic targets and principles of Oman’s long term development strategy (1996-2020), an assessment of the performance of the Seventh Five-year Development Plan and an evaluation of new developments scheduled to take place during the period covered by the eighth plan. The plan’s goal is to attain average annual economic growth rates (in fixed price terms).

The Eighth Five-year Plan’s goal is to speed up the process of diversifying the sources of the country’s national income by increasing non oil related activities. The development of human resources is another major priority of the plan. Accordingly, major importance is being attached to education, health, the creation of employment opportunities for nationals and the further development of Omanization programs.

The plan’s other priorities include the judicial sector, developing the information technology (IT) sector, expanding research and development and further supporting the Scientific Research Council. The plan also includes the development of a wide range of projects in various sectors under the civil ministry’s development programs.

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uscat is the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. It is also the largest city of this country. Besides the residential areas, the city of Muscat also has a bustling commercial area and several historical sites as well. Tourists get attracted to this place for various reasons. If you are at Muscat, you will get both the taste of the lofty mountains and the gurgling seas at the same time. Muscat is surrounded by volcanic mountains and the outstretched beaches of the Arabian Sea are a pleasure to be at. Other than these natural attractions, the city of Muscat is culturally very sound. The base of the culture of Muscat reflects typical Arabian traditions. The historic forts, Muscat museums and buildings reflect Muscat culture and the rich history that lies behind the city.

The rich culture of Muscat is one of the things that make this city a popular tourist destination. The extensive architecture of Muscat is well reflected through the various historical

buildings and forts of the city. Apart from the already existing, the modern buildings also speak of excellent architectural examples. The walls and gates that surround the city of Muscat are great places of tourist attraction. The three gates of Muscat are a sign of the rich traditions of Muscat in Sultanate of Oman and remind you of the olden times when these gates protected the city from invaders. There are a number of traditional mansions at the city which depict typical Arab culture in Muscat. The Bait Zariza, the Bait Al-Sayyid Nadir bin Faisal, the Bait Ratnisi and the Bait Al-Zawawi are to name a few. The forts of the city also give a taste of the culture of Muscat. These forts were built by the Portuguese during the ancient times. Muscat is called the Arab cultural capital. Different exhibitions held here give you a taste of the culture of Muscat and the various forms of arts and crafts.

Various types of music and dance also form a part of the rich culture.

he curved dagger, the khanjar is a distinguishing feature of the Omani personality as well as an important symbol of male elegance. It is traditionally worn at the waist. The shape of the khanjar is always the same and is characterized by the curve of the blade and by the near right- angle bend of the sheath. Sheaths may vary from simple covers to ornate silver or gold-decorated pieces of great beauty and delicacy. In the past the silver khanjars were made by melting down Marie Theresa silver coins.

Different types of khanjars are named after the regions in which they are made and vary according to size, shape, type of metal and the overlay. The top of the handle of the most usual khanjar is flat but the “Saidi” type, which takes its name from the Ruling Family, has an ornate cross-shaped top. However, all possess certain common features and have the same components:

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nown both for its endless expanse of deserts as well as scenic beaches and mountains, Oman is a much favoured tourist destination. Jebel Shams, the country’s highest peak, is ideal for camping and hiking. Apart from activities like mountain-climbing and camel racing, Oman opens up unique experiences before the visitors which come in the form of sand skiing, shopping, beach walking and many others. Not a few amongst the travelers to Oman miss the opportunity of visiting the picturesque R’as-Al-Hadd Beach, which is one of the most popular destinations in Oman. Some of the Popular Destination in Oman include:

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Bahla Recognized as a World Heritage Site, Bahla in Oman receives a regular stream of visitors every day. A third BCE town, Bahla boasts of seven miles of fortified walls which is a grand testimony to the town antiquity. Bahla is known throughout the ancient kingdoms for its pottery. Also located near Bahla is the scenic AlHamra village.

Jebel Akhdar Standing 3,000 meters above sea level, Jabel Akhdar’s beauty comes as a collage of tall date palm groves, verdant valleys and picturesque villages such as Bani Habib and Sharijah. Meaning ‘the Green Mountain’ in Arabic, Jebel Akhdar also has a fortress of Al-Hazm which was built in 1708. Visitors can also find the burial places of some of the early rulers of Oman in the town

known as Rostaq. Jebel Akhdar is one of the most Popular Destinations in Oman and must on the itinerary list of every traveler to Oman.

Nizwa Nizwa had served as Oman’s capital during the sixth and seventh centuries. Here the tourists can see the Oman’s oldest as well as the largest fort. Nizwa is known particularly for its gold and silver works. It is owing to its sheer grandeur that Nizwa is counted upon as one of the best destinations.

Salalah The fertile land of Salalah boasts of lush vegetation which includes numerous coconut groves and banana plantations. The city is also skirted by scenic beaches. Salalah is known for the Al-Balid ruins, which was once the prosperous city of Zafar.

Sohar Of all the places in Oman, Sohar remains a unique one. One of Sohar’s claims to fame is that it is the birthplace of the famous Sinbad the Sailor.

Sohar is an interesting town whose history of sailing goes back a long way. There is a nice little museum for the visitors to see.

Sur A town whose history is rife with tales of shipping adventures, Sur is an ideal place to go to if one is interested in the traditional art of shipbuilding. Sur seafaring days go back to sixth century CE, when a trade relation with Africa was forged.

— www.asiarooms.com

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• The hilt may be made of costly rhinoceros horn or substitutes such as sandalwood and marble • The blade determines the value of the khanjar according to its strength and quality • The sadr, or upper part of the sheath, is decorated with silver engraving • The sheath , the most striking part of the khanjar, is worked with silver threads Khanjars are supported on belts of locally made webbing, sometimes interwoven with silver thread or belts of leather covered by finely woven silver wire

istorically, Oman has been famous for its purebred Arab horses. Oman has been renowned for possessing the best pedigree of Arab horse with the reputation of being very reliable and healthy. Horse breeders knew how to preserve and maintain bloodlines by specifically breeding only top class animals, believing that the horse is the image of his master and a reflection of his courage, stamina and ability.

The Omanis studied the pedigrees of their horses as closely as they studied the ancestry of their tribes.

Horse breeding was a main source of income for centuries and large numbers were exported to India and Mauritius, particularly during the reign of Saeed bin Sultan in the 19th century who presented a grey mare to William IV and a black stallion to Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

However, during hard drought spells which became more common over the last few centuries, the number of horses decreased dramatically. In 1970, with His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed’s accession to the Omani throne, new directives were implemented pertaining to the breeding and care of Arab horses. The Royal Stud Farm was built in the mid-70’s in Salalah as a department of the Royal Stables designed to breed the best quality horses with the emphasis on Arabs and thoroughbreds. The Royal Stud continues to play an important role in horse breeding each year.

The perfect Arabian horse has a small head, propor-

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mani women have very colorful costumes which vary from region to region. The main components of a woman’s outfit comprise of a dress which is worn over trousers (sirwal) and the headdress, called the lihaf. There are numerous traditional styles of Omani costume seen in Muscat.

However, there are three main types which show vibrant colors, embroidery and decorations. One style of costume is rather flowing and resembles that worn by the women of the Interior, while another is decorated with distinctive silver bands. The embroidery on these dresses can take around two months to complete.

The jewelry worn by Omani women is fashioned mainly from gold, although the traditional metal was silver. Work is very intricate and elaborate patterns

with handsome silver buckles, and a knife with an ornate handle of silver thread is often stuck into a simple leather pouch behind the sheath. Khanjars are worn on formal occasions and at feasts and holidays, and almost all Omani men boast one. Once worn in self-defense, the khanjar is today both a fashion accessory and a prestige item much in demand.

tionate to the rest of its body; large eyes; small, pointed, erect ears; and a short, wide back. Due to their pure bloodlines, Arab horses maintain good health and rarely succumb to illness. They eat less than other breeds and have great endurance for long journeys. Arab horses

come in a variety of colors, but the most prized is the white. Each horse is given an Equine Passport by the Omani Horse Register (OHR) which is the equivalent of its identity card. Every horse has a unique name and Omanis go to great pains to ensure that each name is different. — www.omanet.com

and symbols, even Quranic calligraphy, is engraved into the metal. Traditional footwear was a type of platform shoe made from wood called the qurhaf.

However, most women now wear sandals or Westernstyle fashion shoes. Omani women have used natural cosmetics and beauty preparations for centuries and despite the supply of brand name cosmetics sold in department stores and supermarkets, the traditional products are still available at souqs all over the Sultanate.

Kohl, a dark powder used as an eyeliner made mainly from frankincense or the roots of the arvea jevanica, is still used to enhance the eyes and is applied with a small stick made from silver (marwat) or wood. As a ‘moisturiser’ women grind the seeds of the prunus mahled together with the yellow pigment

of the carthamus tincturius flower. Indigo is also used as a ‘skin wash’. The indigo is pounded into a powder and rubbed into the skin, to then be rinsed off with the crushed leaves of the becium dhofarense. This beauty treatment leaves the skin smooth and faintly tinged with blue which enhances the natural skin tone and is complemented by the colors contained within the vibrant dresses and scarves. Indigo is also applied to the face in decorative patterns for festivals and celebrations, such as weddings. Many women in Oman paint their hands and feet with henna, particularly before special occasions such as Eid holidays or weddings. Omani costumes are so varied, colorful and eyecatching, that the Post Office of Oman has produced postage stamps depicting men’s and women’s outfits from the different regions.

www.kuwaittimes.net

By Miwa Suzuki apan’s famed “maid cafes” featuring coy young girls serving tea in frilly aprons and bonnets have been given a new twist-a cafe of unsmiling, grim-faced grannies reflecting a fast-graying nation. Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district now boasts Cafe Rottenmeier, named after the disciplinary housekeeper in the hit 1970s anime series Heidi, Girl of the Alps, and has been drawing some 500 customers daily during weekends in November.

Patrons are greeted with a terse “welcome home” by an unsmiling Fraulein Rottenmeier lookalike before being scolded for slouching in chairs or for not removing their coats in the cafe’s warm, cozy environs. There are 30 “Rottenmeiers” who work shifts, including students, office workers and retired real-life grannies, as part of the Festival Tokyo contemporary

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arts gathering being held until the end of November.

Although the “grannies” range from 24 to 77 years-old-with the younger matriarchs sporting heavy make-up to look old-the woman behind the concept says she is making a statement on societal pressures to stay young. “Pressure on people to stay young is too heavy. It’s unnatural. I think people are exhausted under too much anti-ageing pressure,” 43 year-old artist Miwa Yanagi told AFP. Especially in a country that is rapidly graying, with one of the world’s lowest birthrates of 1.3 children per woman taking a dwindling population even lower, helping deflate an already sagging economy.

The average age of Japan’s farmers, for example, is 66. But Yanagi also sees Japan’s elders as a cause for celebration. “Japan is the world’s greatest nation of grannies,” she said, a reference to the nation’s average life expectancy of over 85 for women, the world’s

highest. Yet despite this, Japan “worships young women”, Yanagi said. “It loves young women, as you can see in maid cafes or images of women in subculture. Why can’t there be a grannies’ cafe?”

The grannies, selected from some 50 applicants through an audition, were enjoying being old as much as clients seemed to be enjoying being disciplined said Naomi Akamatsu, a 42-year-old actress wearing fake wrinkles. “Young boys and girls nowadays long to be scolded,” she said of the concept, which Yanagi says demonstrates the need for strong elders in a nation of small, two-generation families. Questions about the erosion of social bonds in Japan were raised earlier this year following a nationwide survey which found more than 230,000 registered centenarians were missing.

Japan launched the search after a string of grisly discoveries-including a mummified man in his bed and

an old woman’s remains in a backpack-sparked alarm over the fate of many elderly. The cases triggered a wave of soul-searching over elderly people living in isolation and public outrage at relatives of those missing who kept their deaths secret for decades in order to keep receiving their pension payments. But while the cafe remains a lighthearted meditation on Japanese society, it is also a celebration of the Heidi legend.

Many of the customers were children when the Heidi anime first enchanted audiences on Japanese television in 1974. The popular series, based on the 19th-century novel by Johanna Spyri, illustrates Heidi’s days in the Swiss Alps, with Fraulein Rottenmeier keeping a strict watch. “I wanted to look at the world of Heidi I feel nostalgic about,” said Akiko Nagahama, 44, as she sipped tea at the cafe.

“Rottenmeier left a very strong impression on me.”

Younger patrons such as Yui Tokunaga, 23, turn up

A Pakistani model walks as she wears a traditional costume during a fashion show in a Cultural Festival in Peshawar.

The show was organized by the Sarhad Tourism Department to promote cultural activities in Peshawar.

Models display creations of Pakistani designer Nomi Ansari during the Bridal Couture Week 2010 in Lahore on November 26, 2010. Bridal Couture Week 2010 will run till tomorrow. — AFP photos

just to see the older, hard-line contrast with Japan’s famous maid cafes, which usually feature young girls in skimpy outfits, bowing and kneeling as they stir drinks. “I associate the image of maids as being cute, but here it’s fun to see them being not so,” she said.

Kayo Ishikawa, 66, a real grandmother of three who started acting after she retired, also enjoys being an unsmiling, dour Rottenmeier and remembers her daughters watching the anime.

“I think she is a woman who devoted herself to her job... I have the impression that she is a woman who earns money by herself and provides for herself,” Ishikawa said. Yanagi, the artist, said it was great that “elderly women are ready to take on new challenges.”

And while she is too young to be a grandmother now, Yanagi said she is ready to embrace the challenges of old age when they arrive. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. — AFP