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

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2010

A bitter end for US Pelosi

THULQIDA 27, 1431 AH

Octopus successor makes public debut

Al-Qaeda targeting Christians

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Leon last gasp leveller sends Real into last 16

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150 FILS

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No we can’t Republicans take over US House of Representatives

WASHINGTON: Tea Party Patriots celebrate as the television announces that Republicans have gained the majority in the House of Representatives yesterday. — AP

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said yesterday the sweeping Republican takeover in the House of Representatives was a humbling episode and he was at fault. At the center of the upheaval that also seriously diminished the Democratic majority in the Senate, Obama said, was his inability to move more quickly to create jobs for Americans who are living through a prolonged period of near-10 percent unemployment and deep economic anxiety.

The president said that his administration had made significant headway in pulling the economy out of its deepest downturn in decades, but conceded that “clearly too many people haven’t felt that progress.” Obama spoke at a White House news conference yesterday afternoon not long after Republicans vowed to roll back some of Obama’s biggest policy initiatives health care included - as they flexed their muscles the day after voters handed the president and democrats what he called a “shellacking.” “If Republicans have some Continued on Page 14

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama listens to a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House yesterday. —AP

Obama’s star fades in the Muslim world ISTANBUL: Euphoria swept the world after the election of President Obama, a symbol of hope and yearning for compromise after years of war and resentment toward his predecessor’s style and policies.

Today, af ter an electoral rebuke at home, Obama is still popular among America’s traditional allies, but his star power among Muslims - a focus of his international outreach - is fading. American unhappiness with Obama and

the government, evident in the staggering blow to incumbents in midterm elections Tuesday, stems largely from concern about the weak US economy, suggesting there will be a basic continuity in US foreign policy.

Still, Obama departs this week on a 10-day, four-country trip to Asia, his longest foreign trip as president, and pundits will keep a close watch for any signs that his weaker position at home is

recalibrating his approach abroad. The Afghan war, Mideast peace efforts, Iran’s nuclear activities, climate change and the prospect of a currency war rank among global challenges - with trade and finance topping the agenda at summits of world leaders in South Korea and Japan this month.

Democrats lost the US House to resurgent Republicans and suffered Continued on Page 14

MPs continue onslaught Kharafi Group accepts on the defenseless govt Etisalat’s offer on Zain

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: MPs yesterday continued their aggressive onslaught on the government that showed little defense, with some threatening to grill the prime minister, others blasting Sheikh Ahmad AlFahad and many focusing on information and interior ministers. Outspoken opposition MP Mussallam Al-Barrak vowed he will grill the prime minister if he signs a deal to purchase two transport planes for $500 million for the Amiri Diwan from an influential businessman.

He charged that Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was involved in the suspicious deal, but government spokesman and communications minister Mohammad Al-Baseeri categorically denied the allegation, insisting that the prime minister is playing no role.

He also said that no decision had

been taken on the issue. Baseeri acknowldged that some correspondence took place in the issue of the two planes but no decision had been made.

MPs warned last week that the influential businessman was trying to sell the two planes to the Amiri Diwan after he failed to sell them to the defense ministry. They warned to grill the prime minister over the issue.

Barrak said that we have completely lost confidence in this government. He also blamed the government for fomenting divisions in the society and promoting media that incites tensions, warning that if the prime minister continues to ignore this issue, things will become extremely worse.

MP Marzouk Al-Ghanem launched a scathing attack on deputy premier for economic affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, Continued on Page 14

KUWAIT: Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate Company LLC (Kharafi Group) yesterday accepted Etisalat’s offer in respect of a 51% stake in Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC (Zain) pursuant to a signing ceremony that took place in Abu Dhabi yesterday morning. Subject to a number of conditions, including the disposal of Zain’s shareholding in Zain KSA and the satisfactory completion of customary due diligence, Etisalat will acquire 46% of Zain’s total issued capital at KD1.70 per share, payable in cash, from a consortium of share-

holders led by the Kharafi Group.

The 46% shareholding to be acquired represents 51% of Zain’s total issued share capital excluding shares held in treasury.

Kharafi Group and Etisalat expect to have completed the due diligence process and to have executed definitive transaction documents by 15 January 2011.

BNP Paribas is acting as the sole financial adviser to the sellside. Allen & Overy LLP as international counsel and ASAR as local counsel are acting as legal advisors to the sellside.

Arab ‘cinema wars’ Hollywood stars the ‘latest weapon’

Kuwait inflation surges Food, housing costs jump DUBAI: Kuwait inflation climbed to an 18-month high of 5.3 percent year-onyear in September, mainly driven by soaring food and housing costs, the Gulf Arab country’s data showed. Inflation in the world’s fourth largest oil exporter has risen over the past months from a low of 1.6 percent in November 2009 as the oil-reliant economy recovers from last year’s sharp contraction. The September rate is the second highest in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia but is still well below a record high of 11.6 percent seen in August 2008. Consumer price growth stood at 4.4 percent in August.

On the month, prices in the OPEC member jumped 1.1 percent following a 0.4 percent rise in the previous month, data from the Central Statistical Office showed. “As long as international commodities prices stay reasonably steady, I don’t see this as a start of a broader inflationary process similar to the one we had in 2007 and early 2008,” said Daniel Kaye, senior economist at the National Bank of Kuwait.

“It is possible that the year-on-year rate of food price inflation would continue rising for another month, but if you look at the broader economy, there aren’t many signs of sustained price increases,” Kaye said. “Inflationary pressures should stay relatively well-

contained.”

Food prices, which account for 18 percent of the Kuwaiti basket, soared by 2.6 percent month-on-month in September, after a 1.2 percent rise in August.

Prices usually rise during the holy month of Ramadan, which ended in midSeptember, as families enjoy larger and more elaborate evening meals after the daylight fasting. “If they continue on the same path that would cause a little bit of a worry since it is food-related and that has a direct impact on the purchasing power of citizens and expatriates alike,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi.

Housing prices, which have the largest weight of 27 percent, rose 1.1 percent in September, after remaining unchanged in August. Transport costs, the third biggest component, were flat for the second month in a row. 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. Annual inflation in the United Arab Emirates edged up to a 16-month high of 1.2 percent in September, data showed this week, but pressures remain more benign there due to the impact of Dubai debt restructuring. — Reuters

DUBAI: The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (left) shows Tom Cruise how to balance a falcon on his arm in Dubai. Cruise is in Dubai shooting “Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol.” At third left is Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan. — AP

GAZA: Palm trees are reflected in a bus window carrying Muslim pilgrims on their way to haj in Makkah across the border between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt yesterday. — AP

Makkah revives pilgrim tourism MAKKAH: Rashed Abdullah displays Oriental perfumes on a glass table to late-night shoppers in his small shop in Makkah ready for what he hopes will be a sales bonanza during this month’s haj pilgrimage. He is confident of attracting customers after fears of a swine flu outbreak kept many away last year. “This year will be the best. There is really strong demand,” he said, stand-

ing behind an incense collection in one of dozens souvenir shops around the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Business has picked up in Islam’s holiest city since Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month which fell in August and September when many visit Makkah.

The annual haj is one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings, bringing together mil-

lions of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam.

In 2009, the number of pilgrims fell to about 2.5 million but a record 4 million are expected next week when the haj begins.

“We wanted to come last year but friends advised us to postpone so we came this year,” said Shaikh Habib, a pilgrim from India who came with four members of his family.

Continued on Page 14

ABU DHABI: In a stunning gold and black dress and the highest heels you’ve probably ever seen, Hollywood ‘A’ lister Salma Hayek struts across the red carpet. “I really like it, and I take it very seriously,” she tells reporters straining over the barrier for a comment about her role as a judge at this film festival. “It looks like they have built a great home for arts, culture and film.”

Who would believe she was talking about Qatar, a desert country of 1.7 million people, mostly expatriates, long seen as a cultural backwater even compared to its Gulf Arab neighbors.

Blessed with vast oil and gas reserves and tiny populations, Gulf Arab cities with cash to spare have been competing in recent years to establish themselves as cultural capitals. Doha has a prestigious Islamic art museum and Abu Dhabi is building offshoots of New York’s Guggenheim and Paris’ Louvre. But it is film festivals that have emerged as the prestige cultural event of choice since Dubai launched its version in 2004 - poster child for its drive to become a glamorous destination for the international jetset.

A week before Hayek strutted her stuff at the second Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Uma Thurman graced the red carpet at the fourth Abu Dhabi Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates. “For the first time I

felt energy coming from a festival in this region,” she told reporters in the UAE capital. The world’s thirdlargest exporter of oil, Abu Dhabi handed out prize money of nearly $1 million this year at a festival that boasted 13 world premieres. Dubai, beset by financial troubles that have taken much of the showy gloss off the city, will have its chance to hit back in December.

“The last time I’m aware of this kind of cultural competition occurring was between city states during the Italian renaissance,” said Cynthia Schneider, an art history expert and professor in diplomacy at Georgetown University in Washington. At this year’s film festival, stars mingled at glamorous afterparties in Abu Dhabi’s signature Emirates Palace hotel- the UAE capital’s equivalent of Dubai’s sailedshaped Burj Al-Arab.

The mood reflected a dramatic departure from the conservative profile Abu Dhabi maintained just a few years ago. “I can’t believe this. Look at the crowd, the ambiance is as good as any Western film festival.

Abu Dhabi has changed so much,” said Lina Bagersh, who teaches media studies in Dubai, sipping on a glass of champagne in the muggy night heat. Yet the frenzy of cinematic premiers and afterparty clinking of glasses contrasts with the stark Continued on Page 14

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NATIONAL

Thursday, November 4, 2010

kuwait digest

Development plan’s 1st year

By Waleed Al-Rujaib rivatization of public firms in any country usually comes at a social cost. More ordinary citizens are now required to carry the burden of paying taxes and increased fees for services. In Kuwait, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, State Minister for Housing and Development Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah announced the new measures. He recently said that the government is preparing a study to enforce taxes and increase fees in cooperation with the World Bank. It already has the bad reputation of creating more damage than garner good results.

There is no doubt that taxes are an important source of revenue. These become even more necessary when countries seek to diversify revenues.

However, the problem lies with the enforcement of unfair taxes. It will instead place more pressure on citizens that earn limited income.

This system will hurt ordinary citizens. Those that fall into the highincome bracket will not be affected much. The govern-

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KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah welcomes His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (left) and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah yesterday. — KUNA

15,000-plus haj pilgrims from Kuwait set to leave Kuwait Airport completes preparations

HOLY MAKKAH: Ali Al-Saq’abei, Kuwait’s consul in Jeddah inspects the location of Kuwait’s Haj convoys at Al-Naseem district in holy Makkah yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: A total of 15,626 haj pilgrims are expected to leave for Saudi Arabia from Kuwait International Airport (KIA) between today and next Saturday, November 13, on board 51 specially chartered flights. The figures were announced in a press statement issued yesterday by the head of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Essam Al-Zamel, who explained that, according to the bookings received so far, around 8,322 of the pilgrims would be travelling on board 34 Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) planes, while a further 7,044 are expected to travel aboard 15 specially chartered Saudi Airways aircraft, with another Saudi airline, NAS, to carry another 260 pilgrims on two scheduled flights.

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (MAIA) has revealed that it expects around 17,000 pilgrims to travel by air from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage.

In his statement, Al-Zamel said that all the necessary measures have been taken to provide the pilgrims with the best and most efficient services possible during their journeys.

Meanwhile, after the Saudi authorities confirmed on Monday that a total of 1,250 Bedoon (stateless) residents of Kuwait are to be allowed to make the haj pilgrimage this year, a number of local haj travel agencies sent the MAIA documentation for the Bedoon pilgrims so that they can be issued with visas in a timely

manner. The ministry will coordinate with the Saudi embassy in Kuwait on obtaining the visas as quickly as possible and it’s believed that the two countries have reached an agreement to expedite the visa process. It’s believed that the number of Kuwaiti pilgrims set to perform haj this year will not exceed 11,000.

It’s also been revealed that Saudi authorities are charging the haj travel agencies an additional fee of 250 Saudi Riyals (under KD 20) for each pilgrim in order to pay for special magnetic wristbands which will allow them to access the haj monorail train service travelling between the pilgrimage sites. Some of the agencies have asked the pilgrims travelling with them to pay these fees directly so that the agencies’ budget is unaffected.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Municipality has dismantled a number of illegally built structures constructed by the haj travel agencies near their offices, including housing quarters for staff, warehouses and outside toilets for materials.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Faisal Sadiq, the municipality’s Assistant Managing Director of Farwaniya and Ahmadi Governorate Affairs, said that the municipality had taken the necessary legal measures to deal with all the unlawfully erected structures and that they were removed after the agency owners failed to comply with the final warnings sent to them earlier.

ment, for example, can set a cap on taxes. It would focus on high-income earning groups.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad also indicated that KD 900 million out of the KD 5 billion allocated for the plan’s first year has been used to build the Sheikh Jaber Bridge, a hospital in Surra, a power plant and pass the health insurance law. This is good. Kuwait needs such projects. However, the question is how these projects can provide job opportunities for Kuwaitis?

The experiences of Kuwaitis with privatized projects have not been promising so far. Workers at the Kuwait Airways Corporation were neglected by the government. The education ministry’s school catering projects now faces serious questions following reports that spoiled food was served by catering companies.

Such cases were unheard of when the ministry provided healthy food for students at its central kitchens during the sixties and seventies. If these are the results of the first year of the development plan’s implementation, the situation is definitely not looking good in terms of the plan’s future. — Al-Ra i

MoH committed to transparency KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Ministry of Health reiterated on Tuesday night that all its administrative transactions were strictly transparent under the state’s supervisory bodies.

The Ministry hit back, in a statement, at recent press reports about irregularities in nominations and contracts between the Ministry and some local and foreign medical institutions. “The claims have no grain of truth,” the statement said, charging anybody who has evidence to the contrary to produce them to the concerned judiciary or supervisory authorities.

The contracts with global centers are subject to close scrutiny by the supervisory bodies. Nominations to posts

in the ministry must be approved by specialized panels according to legal institutional frameworks.

“The Ministry shows zero tolerance in handling any irregularity or misconduct involving any of its staffers whatever their posts might be; rules are rules,” it underlined.

Meanwhile, the Ministry said the coming period would see a remarkable improvement in the quality of healthcare nationwide as per the government plan of action which has a specific timeframe. The government attaches great importance to the healthcare and backs the Ministry’s efforts to improve the medical service and meet the aspirations of patients, the statement added. — KUNA

EPA team finds local firm guilty KUWAIT: A local firm has been accused of breaking Kuwait’s environmental protection laws by carrying out illegal excavation and removal work which caused extensive damage to a beach area near the main Ashairej beach.

Environmental Public Authority (EPA) inspectors visited the site after receiving information about the company’s activities there, discovering that the company had dredged large amounts of sand from the beach area without applying to do so or obtaining a license.

The same company had previously been responsible for other illegal actions, including moving large quantities sand to help create an artificial sandbar jutting into the Gulf waters from Ashairej beach opposite the island of Um AlNaml.

The EPA is authorized to take direct legal action against any individuals or companies which fail to comply with environmental regulations.

During a visit to the affected area, EPA Assistant Director Ali AlHaider told reporters that he holds Kuwait Municipality partially responsible for the company’s actions since it had failed to monitor the firm’s operations to ensure that it did not repeat its earlier violations.

NATIONAL

Thursday, November 4, 2010

KUWAIT: Renewable energy experts addressing a press conference held at the Sheraton Hotel yesterday. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

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KUWAIT: Dr. Fadhil Safar, Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipal Affairs, is pictured addressing a workshop on renewable energy held at the Municipality headquarters yesterday. —Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Kuwait to embrace renewable energy in 3 years: Dr Safar

By Ben Garcia and Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works is implementing an energy conservation strategy in all future projects, according to Dr. Fadhil Safar, the Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipal Affairs.

Speaking at a renewable energy workshop which took place yesterday at the Kuwait Municipality headquarters, the minister revealed, “We will introduce solar energy in all government buildings in the first phase. Later it will be also applied in the other buildings.”

Dr. Safar revealed that a number of the development plan-related projects currently underway will be harnessing renewable energy, including one innovative project in Abdally where the Japanese contractors will be introducing power-generating windmills to harness Kuwait’s wind energy potential.

Another example cited by Safar was a plan to introduce renewable energy in meeting householders’ domestic power

Renewable energy workshop discusses strategy needs. He stressed that the government is keen on seeing the expansion of renewable energy resources in Kuwait, revealing that the government has already “conducted a number of deals and treaties for transferring the technology for producing renewable energy to Kuwait.”

Yesterday’s workshop on renewable energy, which aimed to increase awareness of the issue, was organized by the Renewable Energy Development Organization (REDO), which works under the umbrella of the United Nations.

Many people are already working voluntarily in this field in Kuwait, Safar explained, with the experts from the UN visiting the country to disseminate information about this issue and how renewable energy can be harnessed locally.

“Kuwait is blessed with large resources of renewable energy, such as sun, wind, water and

others,” the minister said. “We have the resources to harness this energy and use it.”

Renewable energy has many benefits, Dr. Safar pointed out: “The best thing about renewable energy is that it’s environmentally friendly and its harmful or negative effects are almost nil.

Kuwait will definitely benefit from using these different sources, especially solar energy, in different projects.”

In another seminar on the same subject held at the Sheraton Hotel yesterday, one local renewable energy expert said that Kuwait is three years away from being able to commit itslf totally to relying mainly on renewable energy. Speaking to the Kuwait Times, the REDO’s Secretary General, Ghadeer AlSaqabi, said, “Kuwait has no time frame to engage itself in the issue of renewable energy, but Kuwait has to do so or it will be under attack from countries that produce oil but do not pay carbon

tax. “We need to see Kuwait fully embrace this renewable energy source in three years’ time,” he insisted. “It could be earlier, by maybe two years. We give them a maximum of three years. I expect Kuwait will adopt renewable energy within at least a three-year period.”

Kuwait’s massive oil resources have contributed to global productivity that fuels a high contemporary quality of life that is enjoyed in many countries. The use of oil also comes with disadvantages, however. At a press conference organized by the REDO during yesterday’s event at the Sheraton, Maria Mercedes Seidler, a Fellow and Transactional Advisor for Crisis and Energy Markets, pointed out that it is well-known that our modern fossil fuel-based economies have come at a high environmental price.

“Air quality in Kuwait is one example [of the] local consequences, and many governments

AUK holds ‘Stop Violence’ forum ‘Change will come from resisting violent acts’

By Nisreen Zahreddine KUWAIT: Violence, domestic partner abuse, family and violent behavior in children, recognizing structural violence, and practices that reduce violence in society were the main topics discussed in a seminar that was held at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) entitled ‘Stop the Violence’ on Tuesday.

Professors held presentations on the types of violence and ways to avoid and resist it. The key note speakers during the event were professors Jason Sullivan SCC mental health counselor, Juliet Dinkha, James Rose, Pellegrino Luciano, and Monica Matta.

The best manner of tackling violence is by creating boundaries and letting others understand that these cannot be overstepped. Dr Dinkha said that women who face abuse should not wait until unacceptable behavior is ingrained into the abuser’s unconscious mind and is treated as being ‘normal.’

Victims should seek counseling immediately. She added that awareness can create a marked difference in dealing with adverse situations. “It is not okay to denigrate a partner by calling them ‘stupid’ or verbally abusing them. She vehemently denied wife-battering as being part of Middle Eastern culture.

She added that video games and cartoon shows propagate violence among children.

Dr Peligrini stressed that structural violence depends on the results of a violent act more than the act itself. For instance, the harm caused by every violent act needs to be studied.

Structural violence by definition is the role of social norms and traditions and the background culture of every society in deter-

KUWAIT: The keynote speakers during the event professors Jason Sullivan - SCC mental health counselor, Juliet Dinkha, James Rose, Pellegrino Luciano and Monica Matta. —Photo by Joseph Shagra mining violent acts.

He added that usually poverty provides a conducive atmosphere that breeds violence. This is one of the reasons why most poor people join the military so that violent

‘energy’ can be spent. This, as he called it, is an escape from a violence-charged environment. Dr Dinkha summed up by saying that it is not necessary to tolerate violent acts based on societal condi-

tions or norms. “One must fight it and change will definitely come from resisting such acts, but such a process takes time as it is a social transformation of fundamental concepts.”

Doctors trained in antismoking drive KUWAIT: Thirty percent of smokers give up the habit following brief counseling sessions with doctors lasting only two to three minutes, according to a new Ministry of Health (MOH) report.

MOH Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Affairs Dr. Yousef Al-Nisf revealed the new finding in a speech delivered at the inauguration of a training course for medical personnel organized by the ministry in cooperation with the national antismoking program.

“Smoking is one of the most serious health problems in the world, killing millions and causing health problems for many others globally,” said Dr. Al-Nisf, noting that World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show that over 5.5 million people die annually from smoking-related diseases.

Another speaker at the event, Majid AlRoudhan, a member of the MoH’s antismoking committee, revealed another shocking statistic, telling the audience that the nicotine contained in the cigarettes produced worldwide in just one day would be enough to kill the entire global human population if it were injected directly into the bloodstream. He also revealed that the treatment of smoking-related illnesses costs the Arabian Gulf states $800 million annually.

On a separate issue, MOH Undersecretary Dr Ibrahim Al-Abdulhadi revealed that the health ministry has approved the establishment of a temporary committee to study a proposal for setting up a psychiatric health program to be incorporated into the MOH’s overall national healthcare program.

are in agreement that climate change is a global consequence,” she said. The visiting experts voiced hope that they will be able to contribute to the dialogue taking place within the Kuwaiti government. The REDO has been helping to move Kuwait toward a new direction in energy that will contribute to environmentally and economically sustainable power generation and consumption in the country.

“Energy is the master resource that is the productive and economic driver of society,” Seidler indicated, adding that she had been impressed by the Kuwaiti government’s efforts and its willingness to engage in dialogue with the REDO on these environmental challenges. “[The government] shares the belief in a need for a role for renewable electricity generation in order to develop a path to long term environment and economic sustainability for Kuwait,” she added. According to Seidler, a

group of United Nations members has determined that there must be a movement away from the use of oil and other fossil fuels which incurs a large carbon cost felt by both producers and consumers.

“Countries have been preparing for a new carbonbased economy, including countries that are not signatories to the Kyoto Protocol such as the US, by enacting renewable energy statues and adopting carbon reduction policies,” she explained.

Seidler suggested, however, that the first step should be formulating laws that will help implement such renewable energy initiatives.

“In drafting renewable energy laws, experts from other countries, both ethical, and legal are greatly needed to guide them to success,” she stated.

“Kuwait may appear to be behind in renewable energy deployment when compared to

other nations. In reality, Kuwait’s in a timely position to implement the legal and policy infrastructure that can build on the success of the other countries.” One point reiterated by all the speakers was the key nature of renewable energy as a solution to the current challenges facing the world.

In his presentation, senior energy consultant Dr Eric Rueland talked about several renewable energy resources which he said could be utilized to solve not just energy but environmental challenges, such as the use of wind, hydro (water), solar, biomass, biofuel and geothermal energy. Rueland focused primarily, though, on solar energy which, according to the REDO’s studies, remains by far the greatest untapped source of renewable energy.

According to Rueland, many countries which do not receive large amounts of daily sunshine, including Germany, now use

solar energy extensively, with Germany now considered the number one user of this natural energy resource.

Rueland said that the price of solar energy has drastically reduced from 15,000 euros per photovoltaic in 1980s to only 3,135 in 2009.

The REDO was officially established in New York at the beginning of this year. With three regional offices, in New York, Spain and Kuwait, the organization will promote the widespread and rapidly increasing adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy.

Acting as the global voice for renewable energies, REDO intends to facilitate access to all the relevant renewable energy information, including technical data, economic data and renewable resource potential data. The organization will also share experiences on the best practices and lessons learned regarding policy frameworks, capacitybuilding projects, available finance mechanisms and renewable energy related energy efficiency measures.

NATIONAL

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Egyptian found dead in Hawally apartment Citizen wounded in coffee shop fight KUWAIT: A 30-year-old Egyptian was found dead inside his apartment in Hawally, reported Al-Watan. Paramedics responded to the emergency after receiving a phone call from the vicFatal accident A 30-year-old citizen was killed in a car accident on King Fahad Highway, reported Al-Watan. The accident occurred when his vehicle lost balance and overturned.

Paramedics responded to the accident and the citizen died on his way to Adan Hospital.

Attempted assault Jahra police arrested two youngsters who attempted to sexually assault their friend, reported Al-Watan. The officers were driving on Jahra Road when they spotted a young man calling for help. The youngster informed them that he escaped from two thugs who kidnapped him in Qasr and brought him to a remote location on the side of the road with the intentions of raping him.

The kidnappers were apprehended after the victim provided authorities with a description of their vehicle. They were referred to the proper authorities.

Fight A 20-year-old Kuwaiti youngster was seriously injured after he was repeatedly stabbed during a fight in a coffee shop in Nugra, reported Al-Watan. The victim was first treated at a private hospital before being transferred to Mubarak Hospital. The victim explained to police that he was injured in a fight and authorities are searching for his assailants.

tim’s roommate who found him unconscious in his room.

Paramedics pronounced him dead of natural causes and an investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause of death.

Public shooting Police are currently investigating the reported case of a public shooting in Sulaibikhat, reported Al-Watan. Authorities received emergency calls from several residents informing them that an unidentified person fired an AK-47 into the air while driving through the area. Police responded to the incident but the suspect was nowhere to be found. Authorities found empty bullet shells at the scene of the incident and an investigation was launched in search of the suspects.

Contraband found Crime scene investigators found weapons, ammunition and explosives inside the apartment of a bootlegger who was recently apprehended. Among the weapons confiscated by authorities were 26 boxes of rifle bullets, five boxes of machinegun bullets, six bags of various types of ammunition, rifles, handguns, hand grenades and smoke bombs. Police also found 117 boxes of imported liquor and KD 50,000 in cash.

Attempted murder Two suspects were arrested before they could flee the country and held with a third suspect on charges of attempted murder, reported Al-Rai. An Asian man filed a case with authorities after three of his compatriots physically assaulted him and stabbed him

several times. Police arrested one of the culprits who, when questioned, admitted being responsible for the assault and provided authorities with the phone numbers of his accomplices. When police called the two suspects they discovered they were at the airport when they overheard a flight being called to board. Farwaniya police were dispatched to the airport who arrested the suspects a few minutes before they could catch their flight.

Weapon possession A GCC national was held for questioning after he was found to be in possession of a shotgun and ammunition while on his way into the country, reported Al-Rai. The weapon was found concealed underneath the man’s vehicle by customs officials at the Salmi Border checkpoint. When questioned, the man said he brought the weapon for hunting purposes.

Theft Farwaniya investigators are looking for a masked thief who stole KD 20,000 from a shop at a local mall after working hours, reported Al-Anba. When investigating the incident, authorities discovered a surveillance tape of the man wrapping his face in a shmagh (head dress) to hide his identity. A case was filed and investigators are searching for the suspect.

QASSEEM, Saudi Arabia: Prince of Al-Qasseem district in Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin AbdulAziz, welcomes the Kuwaiti ambassador to the Kingdom Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah. —KUNA

Kuwait stresses Palestinian refugees’ right of return UNITED NATIONS: Kuwait on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for Palestinian refugees’ right of return to their homeland.

Speaking at a UN General Assembly meeting on Tuesday evening, Musaid AlKulaib, the Assistant First Secretary of Kuwait’s permanent delegation, said, “Through this platform, we reiterate Kuwait’s commitment towards and support for the Palestinian people to get their full rights enshrined in relevant UN resolutions.”

He also called on Israel to comply with

UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, along with other relevant resolutions, the land-for-peace principle, the Arab peace initiative and the Middle East roadmap.

Al-Kulaib further urged Israel to pull out of all occupied Palestinian territories, and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He vehemently condemned Israel for continuously destroying Palestinian infrastructure, killing unarmed civilians and violating Palestinians’ rights.

However, he spoke highly of the great efforts exerted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in helping and supporting Palestinian refugees through its educational and health services. The Kuwaiti diplomat said that given his country’s absolute belief in the just Palestinian issue and the UNRWA’s significant role, Kuwait reaffirms its annual full financial commitment worth $1.5 million to support and maintain the agency’s activities. —KUNA

MP terms ‘alcohol in Regaining trust Kuwait hotels’ as joke kuwait digest

in parliament

By Abdulmuhsin Jamal

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KUWAIT: The Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Security Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah honored the Criminal Security Sector’s handball team. The ministry had recently organized a competition among its sectors. — Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

esults of the annual election for the parliament’s committees always sets the political tone of the National Assembly. The most recent elections have done just that; majority parties made sure to put the ‘right men’ on each panel in a manner that supports the notion that the parliament is going to continue its four-year term.

The most evident example of the above might be the financial and economic committee, one of the most important committees in parliament. Last year, this panel was able to pass the multi-billion-dinar development plan while also approving that the first seven billion of it be used in the first year. The same committee also enforced the privatization law, which greatly divided some political blocs.

In spite of the political differences between its members, the financial committee worked as a cohesive unit and reelected Dr Yousuf Al-Zalzalah as chairman unanimously.

This unanimous stance gives an impression that the committee members are serious about their work and are eager to pass further legislation.

Furthermore, the fact that the reporter’s post was given once again to Abdurrahman Al-Anjari, who opposed the panel’s report regarding the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is an indication that the panel members are ready to coexist and cooperate on different issues.

The legislative committee has taken a less confrontational approach by electing more moderate MPs while the interior and defense committee seems to be looking for a way to handle issues in a calmer way, away from media propaganda.

The most important aspect, and what voters are looking for, is for the parliament to further benefit citizens and implement projects to assist the development plan. A success in these fields would boost the public’s trust in the parliament.

—Al-Qabas

KHRS slams decision to reject building of church

KUWAIT: A fire broke out at a laborers’ camp in the metal scrap yard in Amghara. Occupational Jahra and Jleeb centers reached the scene and extinguished the flames. The fire was tackled in a record time. No casualties were reported. — Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) recently condemned a decision issued by the Kuwait’s Municipal Council to reject a proposal forwarded by the Foreign Ministry to build a Catholic Church in Mahboula.

They described the decision as being ‘unconstitutional’ and contradicts with principles of tolerance.

“The Constitution of Kuwait protects religious freedom as well as the freedom to practice the religious beliefs of people belonging to all faiths,” the KHRS’s statement reads. It outlined the contradictory nature of the decision pointing out at the requests made to Muslims living in the West to build places of worship. “The decision to reject the church’s proposal contradicts with the calls made from Muslim communities around the world in support of building a mosque in New York near Ground Zero, the area that was targeted by terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001,” the KHRS’s statement read.

Furthermore, the KHRS said that the same ideology with which the proposal was rejected, is being adopted by Muslim extremists who recently sent explosive packages targeting synagogues in

Chicago, as well as those that carried out terrorist operations at a church in Baghdad.

More than fifty innocent Iraqi civilians were killed.

The KHRS further urged the Cabinet to abide by the Constitution’s regulations, and intervene in the Mahboula church issue. It was to be re-discussed on Wednesday in a meeting with the Municipal Council. It was convened by Chairman Zaid Al-Azmi. Early reports made the day before suggested that the meeting could be avoided due to a lack of quorum as many members are currently outside the country.

Members who protested will appeal for a review.

Article 63 of the Council’s regulations allows a subject to be voted for if two thirds of the attending members approve of an appeal made during the same session, reported AlQabas. Protesting members can also make their appeal during the first session following the Eid Al-Adha holiday, if the previous one fails to garner enough quorum. An official clarified recently that members who left the hall during the previous session, did so because Al-Azmi rejected an appeal made by protesting members.

KUWAIT: MP Dr Waleed AlTabtabae commented on a directive issued by the Ministry of Commerce in 1977 regarding serving alcohol to westerners in Kuwait, reported Al-Watan. He was quoted as saying that the move must have been a joke.

Speaking at a press release,

Tabtabae said that he spoke with the Commerce minister and learned that there was no such directive. “Such ideas are totally rejected,” he said.

Officially, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Rasheed Al-Tabtabae strongly denied that the ministry

approved ministerial decision number 614/1967 regarding serving alcohol to westerners arriving to Kuwait on a visit or tourist visa in Kuwaiti hotels.

“This is completely untrue and unacceptable,” he added, underlining that alcohol abuse is banned both by Islamic Sharia and by Kuwaiti law.

Syrian Olympic panel visits KUWAIT: A Syrian delegation led by Muwaffaq Jumah, Head of the Syrian Olympic Committee General, visited Kuwait recently. He was accompanied by Secretary Feras Al-Mualla and Farouq Serriya, Head of the Syrian Football Association.

He arrived in Kuwait recently where they toured the newly established Jaber Al-Ahmad

International Stadium. The delegation was accompanied during the tour by the stadium’s supervising team, as they expressed great satisfaction at the facility’s preparations. This visit comes as the 60,000-capacity stadium hosts the final match of the AFC Cup between Kuwait’s Al-Qadsiya and Syria’s Al-Ittihad next Saturday.

kuwait digest

Govt, parliament must unite to defuse tension

By Talal Al-Haifi

A

ttacks on one local TV channel’s headquarters were not entirely unpredictable in light of local tensions, with critical feelings running high and having crossed the red line. The situation at present is volatile and could erupt like a volcano at any moment.

The events that have taken place are only the start, with the scenario expected to worsen and nobody able to predict what might happen in the future. Every morning we prepare ourselves for new tensions as if this were already decided for us.

This state of constant apprehension has become almost natural to us, but it is not.

I recall in previous articles writing that what has been happening is nothing but a vaguely directed anarchy which is manufactured and stirred up by those whose real interests lie elsewhere, who revel in causing confusion in order to ensure that we are kept unaware of what is really happening.

One of the tools employed by these agents provo-

cateur is exploiting sectarian and tribal sentiments, which helps them attract significant numbers of people to follow their agenda. This time, however, they have been shown up. Recent events show that the facts have been revealed, with near-disaster only just averted after brains became overheated and the language of violence prevailed. This led to a lack of any trust in the government’s performance after it apparently failed to control these elements and appeared almost unable to do anything or to seize the initiative. The government always seems to be reactive rather than proactive, acting after bad things have happened rather than preventing them in the first place. This failure to intervene when required means that the power has been taken from its hands, leaving us in our current situation. Given the great power invested in the media, I wish to call upon Kuwait’s two governing authorities to act quickly in combating the escalating political tensions, moving things away from individual interests and putting the public interest above all else. —Al-Anba

NATIONAL

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Abbas applauds ‘solid’ Kuwait-Palestinian ties KUWAIT: Visiting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas yesterday praised the “firm” ties between his country and Kuwait, lauding the Gulf nation’s support for the Palestinian people. “Kuwaiti-Palestinian relations are historical and excellent,” Abbas told KUNA. “It is a great honor for us that the Fatah movement [the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO] was launched in Kuwait.”

He also voiced great appreciation of the constant support for Palestinians from several Kuwaiti groups and charitable foundations.

On his talks with Kuwait’s political leadership, Abbas said he met on Tuesday with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlSabah in the presence of HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammed Al-Sabah, as well as National Assembly (parliament) Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi.

President Abbas said that the talks focused on the latest Palestinian developments, Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, inter-Palestinian dialogue and bilateral Palestinian-Kuwaiti relations.

He expressed complete satisfaction with the bilateral relations and joint cooperation between the two nations. On Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, Abbas said, “Efforts are being exerted by the US, the Quartet and the Arab Follow-Up Committee for just one thing - a resumption of direct talks should Israeli settlement in Palestinian territories be halted.”

If not, the Palestinian leader went on, the Palestinian side will go directly to the UN to demand a solution. Asked about inter-Palestinian reconciliation efforts, he said attempts are being made to persuade Hamas to sign an Egyptian reconciliation agreement, which has already been signed by Fatah.

He suggested, however, that Hamas’ decision on the matter might be swayed by external considerations, stating, “Hamas’s decision is in the hands of others.” — KUNA

‘Settlement still an irritant’

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah during the farewell of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas yesterday. — KUNA

Seven rotten cucumbers in kids’ meals KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced finding seven rotten cucumbers in the meals distributed to primary school kids in a catering program that started just this November, reported Al-Watan.

The MOE’s assistant undersecretary for administrative affairs, Ayesha AlRoudhan stressed that the ministry was keen on applying the conditions agreed upon in the contracts signed with catering companies. She also noted that penalties would be in accordance to the violations committed.

Notably, the ministry’s daily tour of various primary schools resulted in finding seven foul cucumbers and five inedible meals out of the total 140,000 meals served daily all over Kuwait.

The ministry issued a press release stating that the company responsible for providing fresh vegetables was summoned and will be held responsible for violating their part of the contract accordingly. The ministry stressed that the kitchens of the catering companies supplying meals to schools will continue to be inspected to make sure that meals are prepared in a healthy environment and safe.

Pilots’ union accuses minister KUWAIT: The Kuwait Aircraft Engineers and Pilots’ Association (KAEPA) has accused the communications minister, Dr. Mohammad Al-Busairi, of a number of serious offences, including personally intervening to block aviation safety investigations and bypassing civil aviation regulations in order to offer pilot training to some students who do not meet the necessary criteria.

In a press release issued by the association yesterday, it said that whilst it continues to follow the same policy of non-intervention in political affairs that it has pursued since its formation 37 years ago, Dr. Al-Busairi’s actions have caused widespread conster-

nation amongst members.

The association also accused the minister of obstructing investigations launched by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) despite the fact that these were being conducted in compliance with international air safety laws to ensure safety and avert accidents.

The KAEPA also accused the minister of requesting that the DGCA issue commercial aviation licenses to military pilots, despite these pilots not being eligible for such licenses without the requisite training and failing to meet other necessary conditions. The association stressed that military pilots’ experience is

limited solely to military operations, asserting that without the necessary training and experience they should not be licensed to fly civil aircraft. Despite this, however, the statement said, Dr. Al-Busairi continues to attempt to circumvent the regulations and ignore the rules in favor of his personal agenda.

The society emphasized its status as a purely technical body, recalling its distinguished 37-year history and its members’ contributions to Kuwait’s civil aviation sector since its establishment, adding that it is honored to have the Deputy Director of the National Guards, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad AlSabah, as its honorary chairman.

5 1 killed, many hurt in road accidents

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 65-year-old citizen was admitted to Adan Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. He sustained a head injury and bled profusely following a car accident that took place on Tuesday. In another car accident, a man was killed after being run over by a car near Wafra. His head was severed from the body. A 19-yearold female citizen fractured her left foot after being run over by a car near Kheitan multi-purpose social hall. She was admitted to Farwaniya hospital. In another case, a 30-year-old Egyptian sustained a compound fracture to his left leg in a car accident that took place near Kheitan. He was taken to Farwaniya hospital.

Also, two Indians, both 32 years of age suffered multiple injuries in a car accident that took place near Rigga and Mahboula bridge. They were admitted to Adan hospital.

Indian severly injured A 50-year-old Indian sustained a severe head injury and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Amiri hospital. The victim reportedly missed a step and fell from a height near Kuwait’s bourse.

NATIONAL

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Minister demands company’s closure KUWAIT: A top state official recently reiterated that the Commerce Ministry revoke the commercial license of a food supply company that has been accused of smuggling spoiled meat products into the local market.

The Minister of Public Works and State Minister Municipality Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar sent a letter to the Minister of Commerce and Industry Ahmad Al-Haroun urging him to take action

against the company. This is to ensure that no further violations are committed. The food products were sold in the market before test results were obtained - which tested positive for contamination.

Safar urged Al-Haroun in his letter to cancel the company’s license as per the law which permits this action to be taken as punishment for a violation that endangers the safety of citizens and residents.

This was done while emer-

gency teams from the Mubarak Al-Kabeer municipality branch were recently able to confiscate 24 carton of frozen chicken, which were later disposed after testing results from the Ministry of Health’s laboratories showed that the consignment is contaminated with salmonella, reported Al-Rai. The discovery was made during a raid that was carried out across several branches around the governorate’s areas.

KUWAIT: HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah welcomes the consultant to the Sudanese President, Dr Mustafa Othman Ismail. —KUNA

kuwait digest

GCC labor ministers thank Amir

Justice ministers endorse Kuwaiti legal document

MANAMA: Media consultant of the Bahraini king and chairman of Bahrain’s political development institute’s board of trustees Yaqoub Al-Hamar welcomes Kuwait’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain Sheikh Azzam Mubarak Al-Sabah. —KUNA

KUWAIT: The GCC Ministers of Justice have approved of a Kuwaiti draft document for judicial and legal cooperation among GCC member states, in terms of procedural matters.

During the meeting, which was held here late Tuesday, Kuwait’s draft document for uniform judicial inspection systems was approved, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Justice said in a news release yesterday. Abu Dhabi’s documents for settlement and the fight against human trafficking, Riyadh’s document for punitive procedures were also extended, the ministry added.

Earlier, Kuwait’s Minister of Justice, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Rashid Al-Hammad asserted that achieving unity between the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) states is a necessity, reported Al-Qabas.

He added that only by working together can the GCC better develop.

Al-Hammad made his statements during the inauguration of the 22nd meeting of GCC justice ministers. He also indicated that a unified comprehensive legal system is a shared goal of all the citizens of the region.

Meanwhile, members of the delegations taking part in the 27th session of the Ministerial Council of labor of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, currently being hosted by Kuwait, yesterday extended a message of thanks to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

In the message, the delegates expressed their pride on meeting HH the Amir and gratitude for his instructions on the importance of developing strategies to strengthen integration in numerous fields amongst the GCC member states.

In their message, the delegates also thanked the State of Kuwait itself for hosting the session and for the great hospitality shown to them, wishing for HH the Amir’s continued good health and for wellbeing and happiness for the Kuwaiti people under his leadership. —KUNA

Oil union accuses MPs of meddling KUWAIT: Chairman of the oil and petrochemical labor unions, Abdul Aziz AlSharthan criticized the intervention by MPs and others in the affairs of employees in the oil sector, reported Al-Anba.

He said that they should be told that the Petroleum Labor Union is the sole representative of employees in the oil sector and asked them not to interfere in their affairs.

Al-Sharthan said it is better for MPs to focus on the financial demands the labor union submits to the parliament, such as raising the retirement salary to KD 1,750 and implementing growth plans instead of trying to boost their popularity at the expense of laborers. He added that the union has been coordinating with Kuwait petroleum organizations to make a final draft of laborers demands. Al-Sharthan said that some of the press releases issued by some MPs and their critics have been uncivilized an unacceptable.

A tsunami of terrorism

By Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Duaij

I

t is obvious that the strategy adapted by the US and its Western and Eastern allies in confronting what is known as ‘terrorism’ or in their ‘war on terrorism’ launched in the aftermath of the 9/11. It was a complete failure despite the billions spent on this so-called war. This faulty strategy did not only fail to stop terrorism, but it also helped spread danger worldwide using more devastating methods and tactics. The scope of targets has expanded remarkably to include security forces and economic facilities in the US allies’ countries besides the US troops and their allies in Afghanistan. It also included journalists and members of the media who assist these troops in any manner, in addition to peaceful Muslim and non-Muslim civilians.

This frightening expansion of terrorism is really and seriously alarming. Four years ago, Pakistan was described as being more dangerous than Afghanistan for hosting an endless number of terrorists. This was later said about Somalia then. Recently, it reached Yemen, the host of the 20th GCC Summit. Al-Qaeda activities in Yemen are very threatening.

Simply enough, we can follow the steps of other political analysts in saying that unless the Palestinian cause was justly solved, unless Zionists crimes are exposed to the whole world.

This cannot be achieved unless over one billion Muslims worldwide and their sacred beliefs and holy sites are not ridiculed, humiliated and violated. Get ready for an endless unprecedented wave of terrorism with which all your armies, fleets, fighters or unmanned aerial vehicles or planes will not do you any good! You were the ones who warned of possible inter-cultural conflicts after the fall of the Soviet union. You were the ones who started this conflict and, yet, you were, and are still, the first to suffer its consequences. You have turned Muslim people, namely Arabs, into your enemies. Therefore, and unless, you do change your strategies in handling regional problems and issues, you, your allied regimes and the endless armies of journalists and media will not manage to stop and prevent terrorism.

Your war on terrorism is well-deserved due to your ‘stupid’ costing strategy. The recent booby-trapped parcels sent from Yemen proved this, and proved your fragility. A 28-year-old terrorist called Ibrahim Saad Aseeri managed to interrupt your tranquility and peace of mind and turn the whole world upside down. We do hope, for your own sake and the sake of the whole world, you sober down and give up all unintelligent strategies by leaving Afghanistan and stop being stubborn before ‘Taliban Lions’ force you flee it. —Al-Watan

KFSD holds fire drill

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD) conducted its second mock fire exercise at a gas station in Rumaithiya. The exercise included a fire caused by a fuel leak at a gas station ignited by

a lit cigarette. Mina Abdulla and Mubarak AlKabeer hazardous materials centers and technical rescue teams participated in extinguishing the fire. The fire was extinguished by firefighters using a special foam while two injured workers were evacuated. The fire was extinguished in 30 minutes.

Fishermen’s Association head criticizes PAAAFR KUWAIT: The Kuwait Fishermen’s Association (KFA) has issued a statement sharply criticizing the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) whose Deputy General Manager it accuses of refusing to cooperate in helping the fishermen provide the local market with a supply of freshly-caught local fish.

In a statement released on Tuesday, KFA head

Mohammad Al-Uraifan explained that the association had reached a compromise with the PAAAFR regarding recent disagreements, adding that PAAAFR Managing Director Jassem Al-Bader had personally vowed to resolve the outstanding problems between the two bodies that followed a fishing ban.

However, said Al-Uraifan, “four days passed after AlBader gave instructions [on the matter] to his deputy

manager, Haider Murad, and no action was taken.”

Thereafter, the KFA head continued, senior association officials met with the Minister of Public Works and Municipality Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar, who subsequently held a meeting with Al-Bader and Murad at which he instructed them to suspend the ban which the PAAAFR had implemented without giving any notice of when it was to be lifted.

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INTERNATIONAL

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Hariri court president appeals for acceptance LEIDSCHENDAM: The president of a UNbacked tribunal set up to prosecute the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri made an impassioned plea yesterday for Lebanese to give the court a chance to show it can dispense impartial justice. Italian Judge Antonio Cassese also told Lebanese journalists visiting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon he hopes prosecutors will issue an indictment

by December in the 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on Beirut’s Mediterranean waterfront.

However, he stressed the timing of the indictment is in the hands of prosecutor Daniel Bellemare. “It is just a hope, not a certainty, because I have no knowledge,”

he said. Cassese’s comments come amid increasing anger and suspicion in Lebanon about the tribunal’s work and mounting fears that indictments could re-ignite hostilities between rival Shiite and Sunni Muslims, particularly if Hezbollah Shiite militants are targeted.

In 2008, sectarian clashes killed 81 people and nearly plunged Lebanon into another civil war. “There are a lot of rumors in Lebanon that judges may be corrupt ... local judges cannot be trusted because they are under the influence of particular groups,” Cassese said of the court that is made up of Lebanese and international judges. “We want to show that our international tribunal can do justice in an impartial way, free from

any bias.” Last week, the leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, called on all Lebanese to boycott the tribunal, saying all information gathered by it was being sent to Israel.

But Cassese urged Lebanese to remain engaged with the court. “Please, even if you don’t like our tribunal, if you think we are a political tribunal, that the tribunal is paid by Israel, that I am actually the director of Mossad (Israeli secret service) ... come and challenge our tribunal, but do take part in proceedings. Make a case,” he said.

Nasrallah’s boycott call last Thursday came a day after a crowd of women attacked two UN investigators and a Lebanese interpreter as they gathered evidence at a pri-

vate gynecology clinic in Beirut. The doctor who runs the clinic has said the investigators wanted to go through some phone records. The women scuffled with the investigators and stole several items from them. Hariri was a five-time prime minister who had close ties with Western leaders as well as Syria and was credited with helping rebuild Lebanon’s capital after the country’s 1975-1990 civil war. In the last few months before his assassination, however, he had tried to limit Syria’s influence over Lebanon.

Many Lebanese blamed Damascus for the killing, but Syria has denied having anything to do with the assassination. The US announced yesterday it will give an addition

$10 million to the tribunal, bringing the total US funding to $30 million since the court’s inception. The court’s budget this year is more than $55 million (euro40 million). Lebanon pays 49 percent of the tribunal’s costs, with other UN member states providing the remainder.

In September, Hezbollah said it will use its position in government to try to block Lebanon’s funding for the UN court, which Hezbollah contends has been poisoned by lying witnesses.

Hezbollah also has argued that the tribunal is not legal because Lebanon’s Cabinet approved it in 2006 after the resignation of five Shiite ministers. Hezbollah and its allies say the government at the

time was no longer legitimate because the constitution requires that “all sects should be justly represented in the Cabinet.”

However Cassese said Lebanon’s government appeared to give the court legitimacy under international law by agreeing last year to turn over its assassination investigation files to tribunal prosecutors.

Hariri’s death in 2005 was followed by the rise of a US-and Saudi-backed alliance that became known as the March 14 coalition, named after a day of massive antiSyrian protests dubbed the “Cedar Revolution.” The demonstrations led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops, ending almost three decades of Syrian domination of Lebanon. — AP

Yemen Qaeda warned tribe against helping government Yemen clashes with militants in south

BOJNOURD: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech during a rally in the northeastern city of Bojnourd yesterday. — AFP

Iran: Russia gives in to ‘Satan’ with missile ban TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized Russia yesterday for banning the delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Tehran, accusing Moscow of having caved in to “Satan.” In comments broadcast on state TV, Ahmadinejad said the 2007 contract Tehran signed with Moscow for the S-300s remains valid and warned that Russia must pay compensation and penalties for unilaterally canceling the deal.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a decree in June banning all sales of the S-300 systems to Iran. He said then that the latest round of UN sanctions, imposed in response to Tehran’s nuclear program, prevent Moscow from delivering the missiles to Tehran.

The UN Security Council sanctions ban Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, investing in nuclear-related activities and buying certain types of heavy weapons. But they do not specifically prohibit Russia from supplying the S-300. The defense system is capable of shooting down aircraft and missiles at ranges of over 90 miles (144 kilometers) and at altitudes of about 90,000 feet (27,430 meters). The system could have boosted Iran’s ability to defend against airstrikes. Israel and the United States had objected to the deal.

“Some people are influenced by Satan. They thought the Iranian nation will be harmed if they unilaterally and illegally stop or cancel defense contracts they signed with us,” Ahmadinejad said. He did not mention Russia by name, but it was clear that he was referring to Medvedev and the Russian leadership. Ahmadinejad said Moscow must pay compensation for canceling the deal. “The contract is valid. They must implement it. If they don’t, the Iranian nation will obtain its rights, including compensation and penalties,” he said.

Sergei Chemezov, the head of Russia’s state-controlled Russian Technologies, said last month Moscow will return $166.8 million it received as payment from Iran. But he insisted that Russia owes nothing else to Iran, since the 2007 contract for the delivery of the S-300 missiles was canceled because of UN sanctions on Iran. Ahmadinejad said Iran’s security won’t be at risk without the missiles.

The Iranian president has had harsh words for Moscow since Russia backed the latest tough sanctions against Tehran. In the past, Iran had depended on allies Russia and China _ and their veto power at the Security Council, to block tough penalties. The change signals Russia has become impatient with its longtime ally in the nuclear standoff. — AP

Morocco ups pressure on Spain over disputed enclave BENI ANSAR: When Spanish police with snarling dogs raided the market where she sells aluminium pots and pans, Najia Berbish, a Moroccan mother of five, hurriedly packed up her wares. “Piety has deserted the hearts of these Christians,” she spat while gesticulating towards the police officers who were shouting out orders in Spanish at traders rushing to get away.

About an hour later, the police are gone and business is resuming at the illegal flea market in Melilla, a tiny Spanish enclave on the North African coast that adjoins Moroccan territory. The drama and disruption of the police raid is something Berbish has learned to live with because she has no choice.

“We are earning a decent living with the Spaniards. Does Morocco gives us something better now?” she asked.

This is the ebb and flow of daily life in Melilla, a spot where Europe and Africa, the rich world and the poor, rub up against each other in a way that is vibrant and chaotic and, increasingly, a source of diplomatic friction. France and Spain used to rule Morocco through colonial protectorates. These ended over 50 years ago but Spain has retained Melilla and a second enclave called Ceuta.

Morocco argues they should be under its sovereignty.

Tension flared this year when Morocco angrily accused Spanish police of using violence against Moroccan traders passing through Melilla. It was their worst row since 2002, when Spain and Morocco had a brief and bloodless military confrontation over a tiny disputed

island known to Spaniards as Perejil, or Parsley. Since then the repaired relationship between Madrid and Rabat has become crucial for the rest of the Europe in stemming the flow of illegal immigrants and containing Islamist militants — all of which could be jeopardised by a renewed dispute. But more than that, this year’s row appeared to signal a new resolve from Morocco’s leaders to, eventually at least, end Spanish sovereignty over the territories.

Morocco’s growing confidence plays a role. Since the reformist king Mohamed VI came to the throne in 1999, gross domestic product has gone up from about $35 billion to $145 billion now, multinational firms have made Morocco their regional base and a trade pact has been signed with Europe.

“Spain controls Morocco’s Mediterranean front through its control of Ceuta and Melilla and other isles. This is not acceptable any more,” said Mohamed Merabet, head of the Ashourouk Center, a Moroccan think tank.

Spain’s argument is that Melilla and Ceuta are not colonial possessions because they were Spanish settlements many centuries before Morocco existed. In any case, Madrid says the row over Melilla has now been smoothed over. “Relations between the countries are at a good level,” then Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told reporters during a visit to the Moroccan city of Marrakesh in October, shortly before he was removed from the post.

Policymakers in Madrid

know too that the Spanish presence is an economic lifeline for a poor part of Morocco that the government in Rabat cannot yet afford to cut. That is because Melilla functions like a vast duty free warehouse.

Every day about 30,000 Moroccans file through the nearby Moroccan settlement of Beni Ansar to border checkpoints and into the enclave.

Once there, they buy as much as they can carry- usually clothes, shoes, toilet paper, cleaning products-and file back out of Melilla.

They then sell the goods at markets and pavement stalls throughout Morocco. It is a profitable business because, with no tax or customs duty to pay, goods in Melilla cost about half the price charged in Morocco. Spanish customs officers patrolling the border generally let Moroccans through with their goods as long as they are not moving industrial quantities, which is why most of the packages are piled high on bicycles or carried on peoples’ backs.

The income from trading with Melilla is badly needed.

Gross domestic product per capita in Spain is $33,600. That compares to Morocco, where the figure is $4,700. The streets of central Melilla look like they could have been transplanted from Madrid or Barcelona. In the Moroccan villages nearby, many people live in hovels built of mud. “I thank Allah each day for earning some 300 dirhams,” said Ahmed Salmouni, who was carrying clothes and other goods out of Melilla on his bicycle. — Reuters

SANAA: Al Qaeda in Yemen has warned kinsmen of a US born radical preacher against collaborating with the government, according to a statement from the group that appeared to predate last week’s parcel bomb plot. The statement addressed to the Awlaki tribe, posted on an Islamist website late on Tuesday, made no mention of the plot to mail two parcel bombs from Yemen to the United States uncovered last week and thought to be the work of the group’s Yemenbased regional wing, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The government sealed a deal last month with tribesmen of preacher Anwar alAwlaki to help security forces in their quest to root out al Qaeda in their native province of Shabwa. Awlaki is wanted dead or alive by Washington for his links with al Qaeda and is now the target of a manhunt and a trial in absentia, both launched by the government on Tuesday after the parcel plot caused a global security alert.

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state is facing growing international pressure to crack down on militants operating in its territory and the Transport Ministry also said yesterday it planned to develop a new airport security unit. “Whoever decides to stand with them (the West and the government) and be subservient to their demands should be wary of God’s punishment,” the group said in the statement.

“Support us in our fight against the enemies of God, America and its agents, and distance yourselves from a position that pleases crossworshippers among rulers of the White House.” Yemen launched a security operation on Tuesday to arrest a Saudi bomb maker accused of being behind the foiled bomb plot, and said it also aimed to capture Awlaki. Suspected al Qaeda fighters blew up an oil pipeline, apparently in response.

Governments around the world have tightened aviation security after two the USbound parcels with explosive material, sent in air cargo from Yemen, were intercepted in Britain and Dubai last week. Yemen’s Transport Ministry said its new airport unit aimed to tackle the loophole in international cargo security the plotters had taken advantage of. The unit will hand search all parcels before passing them through bomb-detection equipment and x-ray machines, the ministry said in a statement.

A US technical team has arrived in Yemen to train Yemenis in the use of sophisticated airport screening equipment, a government official told Reuters on Monday.

In the southern flashpoint province of Abyan, clashes with militants reignited, a day after the government launched the campaign against al Qaeda operatives suspected of being behind the parcel bomb plots.

Violent clashes broke out in Abyan’s second largest city of Ja’ar on Wednesday, killing one soldier and wounding four. One suspected al Qaeda member was also injured, a local security official said. — Reuters

SAN’AA: A Yemeni man passes an Aramex office in the capital San’aa, Yemen yesterday. The head of Aramex says the Middle East-based shipping company has stopped accepting packages from Yemen after last week’s parcel bomb plot. — AP

Iraq parliament to meet, Maliki may form govt BAGHDAD: Iraq’s parliament will meet on Monday to elect a speaker, the chamber said yesterday, a move that could break an eight-month political deadlock and lead to Nuri al-Maliki’s reappointment as prime minister. Iraq has been without a new government since an inconclusive March election. The Sunnibacked cross sectarian Iraqiya bloc won the most seats, but Maliki’s faction has since combined with other Shi’ite groups and reached deals with minority Kurds, and that may keep him in power.

In a sign that some in Iraqiya no longer believe it can form a government, one of its lawmakers said a group of up to 30 of its parliamentarians intended to back a government led by Maliki.

“We are with whoever wins 50 percent plus one and he is the only one who has, so he has the

right (to form a government),” said the lawmaker, Ahmed alUreibi, who belongs to a mainly Sunni group of Iraqiya politicians from around the country.

Another member of that group said a final decision would likely be made on Sunday.

The country’s highest court last month ordered lawmakers to get to work and resume sessions, putting pressure on Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions to accelerate efforts to reach an agreement on a governing coalition.

Tensions have grown during the political deadlock, and Arab countries and US officials fear Sunni anger could boost a weakened but stubborn al Qaeda-led insurgency if Iraqiya does not play a major role in government.

Although violence has subsided since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07, Iraq remains torn along ethno-sectari-

an lines as US forces prepare to withdraw next year. At least 64 people were killed and 360 wounded from a series of bomb blasts in mainly Shi’ite areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, just days after 52 hostages and police were killed when al Qaeda-linked gunmen seized a Syrian Catholic cathedral.

Iraq’s parliament has sat only once-in June for 17 minutessince the March election. Jalal alDin al-Sagheer, a senior member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which is the one Shi’ite political group still resisting Maliki’s nomination, said it seemed likely Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd would stay in his position. But he said he was not confident that any of the other positions would be resolved.

“We need more than a miracle to say that by next Monday a real

solution will be achieved.

Anyway, I am not optimistic,” he said. Ureibi told Reuters the three top jobs-the speaker’s post, the presidency and the prime ministership-would all be decided in Monday’s parliamentary session. Shi’ite and Kurdish politicians have said for days that Maliki’s return as prime minister was all but assured but that he needed a Sunni component if the new government is going to try and heal sectarian wounds.

Iraqiya leader Iyad Allawi has resolutely refused to join a government led by Maliki. In an interview in Britain’s Guardian newspaper yesterday, he said he was contemplating going into opposition. Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani has called a meeting of all blocs in the Kurdish capital Arbil, which may take place on Sunday, to see if a final deal is possible. —Reuters

BAGHDAD: In this photo released by the Iraqi Government on yesterday Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, center, visits with a boy injured in a bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. — AP

INTERNATIONAL

Thursday, November 4, 2010

9

First woman to serve as US speaker of the House

Bitter end for Pelosi, the first female House speaker BRASILIA: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, shakes hands with Brazil’s President-elect Dilma Rousseff after a meeting at the Planalto palace in Brasilia, Brazil yesterday. —AP

So far, so good for Brazil’s prez-elect SAO PAULO: Dilma Rousseff might as well be reading from a Wall Street script in her first few days as Brazil’s president-elect. The left-leaning winner of Sunday’s presidential election seems to have made assuaging investors’ doubts her top priority as she promises in speeches and interviews to lower taxes, bring government spending under control and maintain the stability that has made Brazil’s economic boom possible.

In doing so, Rousseff has distanced herself from the more radical wing of her Workers Party and sounded every bit like the career economist she is. She has been mixing wonkish details on how to lower interest rates, for example, with a good-humored poise and air of authority that was sometimes absent during the campaign.

Rousseff’s next test will be choosing a chief of staff- probably the most powerful job in Brazil next to hers. Many investors are clamoring for Antonio Palocci, a key player in her transition team and a former finance minister who is seen by Wall Street as a guarantee of stability. Yet Rousseff has even capitalized on that pressure as an opportunity to show that she is in charge, telling a television interviewer that lower-level jobs ultimately do not matter.

“I’m the one who’s responsible here,” she said. “And I can assure you that whoever is in those posts, I will be the one who guarantees the country’s economic stability.” That and other messages have been calibrated for both Brazilian and foreign ears, and they reveal much about her strategy during her initial days and weeks in office.

First, Rousseff is eager to establish authority separate from that of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who plucked his former chief of staff from relative obscurity to be his successor, but is so wildly popular that he could be a permanent shadow over her presidency.

Rousseff also is taking a page from a playbook that worked wonders for Lula. She is cozying up to financial markets early in her term, and saying the right things about budget austerity and stability so that she can later reap the dividends of economic growth for her working-class base. “She’s

making a point of talking first to the people who have the biggest doubts about her,” said Alberto Ramos, a senior analyst at Goldman Sachs. “It’s still too early to tell a lot of things ... (but) that’s smart.”

It hasn’t all been rosy, of course. Rousseff continues to rule out sweeping budget cuts that could ease pressure on fiscal accounts or Brazil’s overvalued currency. She also has shown no interest in labor or pension reforms that many investors say are necessary to keep the economy growing at its current 7 percent annual pace. Yet Rousseff does seem willing to expend valuable political capital to reduce Brazil’s tax load, which is higher than virtually every other country in Latin America, as a way to stimulate growth-and extend an olive branch to business leaders who would have preferred her opponent, Jose Serra.

Meanwhile, she has carefully fended off pressure from her poorer constituency to pass a large increase in the minimum wage, telling reporters yesterday she might change the way such raises are calculated to ease strain on fiscal accounts.

This week’s biggest controversy was the irritation shown by some quarters of her main coalition partner, the PMDB party, at not having been included in initial transition meetings. But even that could be seen as a positive sign since the PMDB is widely seen as more interested in pork projects than economic orthodoxy.

In sum, Rousseff’s early moves put her in line with a wonkish, generally younger group of leaders in the Workers’ Party that is focused single-mindedly on economic growth- rather than the party’s leftist origins of the 1980s, when Lula brought together trade unions, Trotskyite intellectuals and other working-class groups under a sometimes awkward umbrella.

“All of us love Lula and we appreciate his story,” Miguel Correa, a 32-year-old Workers’ Party congressman, said in an interview last week. “But those of us who are young and more concerned with numbers and growth, the truth is that we identify more with (Rousseff) than we do with Lula,” Correa said. “I think you’ll see a focus on results when she takes charge.” —Reuters

Canada first lady urges Iran to free woman condemned to die OTTAWA: Canada’s First Lady Maureen Harper yesterday condemned Iran’s “senseless and continual” disregard for women’s rights and called for the release of a woman sentenced to death.

“We are deeply troubled by the flagrant disregard of women’s rights in Iran,” Harper said in an open letter. “In particular, the most recent and public case of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani is an affront to any sense of moral or human decency and is symbolic of the plight of Iranian women.”

In the letter, also signed by Indigo bookstore chain owner Heather Reisman, Harper expressed “grave concern” over what she described as “unfair,

Mexico violence kills 22, including four in Acapulco ACAPULCO: Four men were shot dead in the Pacific port city of Acapulco and at least 18 others were killed elsewhere in the latest gang-style violence in Mexico, officials reported Tuesday. More than 30 people have died in violent attacks in Acapulco the past 10 days, while a Canadian businessman disappeared there last week and is feared dead and 20 Mexican tourists were allegedly abducted there a month ago. Police found the bodies of four men aged around 18, all with multiple bullet wounds, on an Acapulco road, state officials said. The Reforma daily said they died during a shootout. Two other bodies with bullet wounds were found near the legendary beach resort, Guerrero state police director Fernando Monreal said later. —AFP

undue legal processes faced by women in Iran” and “repugnant sentences, such as death by stoning.” Addressing Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad directly, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote: “We urge you to take a progressive step towards improving the lives of Iranian women, mothers, daughters and sisters by unconditionally releasing Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani.

“Certainly, this would be welcomed by women around the world as seen as a deeply symbolic gesture toward the betterment of all Iranian women.

Mohammadi-Ashtiani was sentenced to death by two different

courts in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz in separate trials in 2006. The first death sentence, by hanging, for her involvement in the murder of her husband, was commuted to a 10year jail term by an appeals court in 2007.

But the second, by stoning, was on a charge of adultery leveled over several relationships, notably with the man convicted of her husband’s murder, and was upheld by another appeals court the same year. Exiled Iranian human rights activist Mina Ahadi triggered a new outcry in the West after voicing fears that Mohammadi-Ashtiani could be executed as early as yesterdaywhich Tehran denied. —AFP

WASHINGTON: Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as US speaker of the House, appeared out of a job Tuesday after a short but productive four years in office as Republicans retook the chamber she ran with gusto.

Pelosi, 70, won the distinction of being the highest woman ever elected to office in the United States. But while she earned the affection of Democrats for her strict and skillful running of the 435-seat House of Representatives, she swiftly became the woman the Republicans most loved to hate.

Always impeccably turned out, the representative from California is an influential and powerful lawmaker and a charismatic speaker. President Barack Obama has credited her with helping to push through some of his key reforms. Married to a millionaire and a mother of five, Pelosi won admirers in party ranks for her fund-raising abilities as well as her success in uniting Democrats against Republican legislation.

But some Republicans have spoofed her as Disney’s would-be Dalmatian skinner “Cruella de Vil,” and portrayed her as a “wicked witch” of high taxes in a television commercial that sees her challenger melt her down to nothing with a bucket of water.

Pelosi, whose office says she has raised 52.3 million dollars this election cycle and held 212 political events in 24 US states plus

WASHINGTON: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi poses for photographers at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) headquarters in Washington on Tuesday. —AFP Puerto Rico, recently shrugged off the attacks.

If “no one’s talking about you, you have to wonder what you were doing,” she said, calling the often personal criticism the “highest compliment” and stressing US politics requires “a suit of armor” and the ability “to take a punch.” She certainly

helped use her sway to push through key legislation. She powered an 800-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan to passage in February 2009, drove legislation to fight climate change through in June 2009, and led a Wall Street overhaul bill over Republican objections in June 2010.

Pelosi, who as House speaker

is technically second in line to the presidency, now looks set to be replaced by House Minority Leader John Boehner come January when the new House gathers for the first time.

Boehner has described himself as “hopping mad” over some of Pelosi’s hardball tactics-notably the 11th-hour unveiling of the

text of the controversial climate bill.

There have been many women advisers to US presidents, three women US secretaries of state, and two women US vice presidential hopefuls from major parties. But Pelosi was the first to be House speaker. Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro was born to a political family with roots in Venice, Genoa, Abruzzi, Campobasso and Sicily and raised in Baltimore’s “Little Italy.”

“We were devoutly Catholic, deeply patriotic, proud of our Italian American heritage, and staunchly Democratic,” she once wrote. She was first elected to Congress in 1987, joined the Democratic House leadership in 2001, became the first woman to lead a major US party in the House in 2002, rising to speaker after Democrats won a majority in 2006.

“Today, we have broken the marble ceiling. For our daughters and our granddaughters, the sky is the limit, anything is possible for them,” she said on taking office in January 2007. Asked once whether she was the most powerful woman in 100 years, Pelosi told ABC television: “That sounds good.” Pelosi has also been a force on US foreign policy, notably leveling forceful attacks on China’s human rights record, criticizing the war in Iraq and making frequent trips to Italy. —AFP

Mass held in Mexico chapel built by drug lord MEXICO CITY: A chapel where Roman Catholic priests celebrate Mass every Sunday bears a plaque thanking the donor who built it, the leader of one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels. The revelation has the church distancing itself from the property in central Mexico, while admitting it knows of other donations from drug traffickers. “We know that the narcos ... look for a way to redeem themselves in religious terms, by doing some good work.

Obviously, sins cannot be washed away by a donation or a collection,” said the Rev. Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico, the country’s largest. “We have examples of five or six cases of projects, generally in rural communities, where they don’t just build churches, they build roads and bridges and clinics,” he said.

On a wall of the brightly painted chapel in the village of Tezontle, a plaque says it was donated by the leader of the violent Zetas cartel. “Donated by Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, Lord, hear my prayer,” reads the bronze-colored marker, which says the chapel was built

in honor of Pope John Paul II. Lazcano, who is wanted in both Mexico and the US, has more than $7 million in reward money on his head.

The Rev. Juan Aguilar, spokesman for the Tulancingo archdiocese, where the chapel is located, said it was built last year as a community project and the money did not go through the church, which was unaware of who funded it. “We did not know the name, we did not know who it referred to,” Aguilar said, even though Lazcano , also known as “El Lazca” , has appeared on wanted posters and in countless news stories.

The 35-year-old drug lord was born in a poor farming town about 30 miles from Tezontle, an area now dotted with opulent homes, at least one of which belongs to a relative of Lazcano, residents say.

Lazcano deserted the army special forces in the late 1990s to join the enforcers for the Zetas cartel, which takes its name from a police radio code in which “Z” means “commander.” He is now considered its leader. The gang’s break with a former ally has ramped up

the violence this year in parts of Mexico, where the Zetas have been blamed for slaughtering police, elected officials, migrants and the family of a fallen marine in retaliation for his involvement in bringing down a drug lord. The federal Attorney General’s Office is investigating the funding of the Tezontle chapel for possible criminal charges, including money laundering or “use of illicit funds.” The Rev. Humberto Franco Carrasco, whose parish includes the chapel, said he doesn’t know Lazcano and has never seen anyone who looked like a drug lord in the chapel. “They are all simple people ... farming people from the communal farms,” he said. The church has distanced itself from the chapel, ordering Franco Carrasco’s predecessor, who was parish priest when it was built, into semiretirement, according to Valdemar. He said the archdiocese supports prosecuting priests who take drug money.

“If there is evidence, we would be totally in agreement with applying the law to a priest,” Valdemar said. “This would do the church

good, by freeing us from a priest who might have fallen into this kind of ties or links.” After a photograph of the plaque appeared in a Mexican newspaper, the Archdiocese of Mexico published an editorial on its website Sunday stressing that it prohibits donations from drug lords.

“To the shame of some Catholic communities, there are suspicions that donors connected to drug trafficking have helped with money from the dirtiest and bloodiest business, in the construction of some chapels,” it said. “This is immoral and doubly offensive, and nothing justifies it.” Valdemar said “under no circumstances” are priests allowed to accept drug money.

“Here we cannot accept the saying that the end justifies the means,” he said. “No, because behind that good work ... there is extortion, there is the blood of all the people who die in this battle.” More than 28,000 Mexicans have been killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon launched a national assault on organized crime in late 2006. —AP

10

INTERNATIONAL

Thursday, November 4, 2010

After Greek bombs, calls for tougher EU screening 48-hour ban on all package deliveries abroad takes effect ATHENS: Greece stopped all outgoing airmail packages and screened thousands of boxes yesterday in an attempt to stop a spate of bombings blamed on domestic militants targeting diplomatic missions and European leaders. A 48-hour ban on all package deliveries abroad took effect after mail bombs reached the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and halted flights for hours at Italy’s Bologna airport, w here a package addressed to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi caught fire.

ATHENS: Anti terrorism Police escort mail bomb suspect Gerasimos Tsakalos to a public prosecutor’s office in Athens on Tuesday. — AP

Kenya illegally forcing refugees back to Somalia NAIROBI: Kenya is forcing Somalis fleeing conflict back across the border in violation of international law, the United Nations’ refugee agency said yesterday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said some of the 8,300 Somalis stranded at a border post in north eastern Kenya had already begun crossing the frontier into noman’s land. It said most were women, children and elderly people.

“It is not a voluntary return,” Yusuf Hassan, a Nairobi-based regional spokesman for UNHCR, told Reuters.

Somalia has been beset by violence and awash with weapons since the overthrow of

dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Swathes of southern Somalia bordering Kenya are controlled by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebel group. Past weeks have seen an escalation in clashes between al Shabaab and Somali militia allied to the interim government in Mogadishu near the town of Balad Hawa as well as fighting between rival hardline Islamist groups.

Under the Geneva Conventions, it is illegal to deny sanctuary to people feeling their homeland in fear of their lives. “UNHCR appeals to the Kenyan authorities to immediately halt its returns of Somalis from the Border Point 1 camp at Mandera in north-

France approves transfer of Rwandan rebel to ICC PARIS: A French court agreed yesterday to send exiled Rwandan rebel leader Callixte Mbarushimana to the International Criminal Court to face charges that he mastermined war crimes from his hideaway in France. The 47-year-old former “executive secretary” of the Hutu guerrilla FDLR, who had been living in France as a computer technician, is accused of ordering murders, rapes and torture in the jungles of eastern Congo in 2009.

He could now be taken to The Hague to face charges at the international tribunal, although his lawyers have vowed to lodge an appeal. His arrest followed an international campaign by lawyers and activists to persuade France to extradite alleged Rwandan war criminals living on its soil.

Mbarushimana was present at the hearing-a short man with receding hair, round glasses and a black jacket-but did not react to the ruling.

The Paris appeals court ruled in favor of a warrant issued by the ICC on the condition that “under no circumstances should Mr Mbarushimana be taken back by any means to Rwanda”.

Mbarushimana denies the charges, and his lawyers claimed the ICC warrant could be a first step towards sending him back to Rwanda, where they argue he would not get a fair trial from a government led by his former foes.The accused has lived in France as a political refugee since 2002, occasionally releasing press statements defending the FDLR. Nevertheless, UN experts working in the Kivu region in the wartorn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo found evidence that the exiled rebel leader remain in touch with their rebel comrades. A report into militia violence, corruption and mineral smuggling in the region revealed satellite telephone calls between Hutu refugees in Europe and North America and fighters on the ground.

He was arrested last month after the ICC drew up an arrest warrant on five charges of crimes against humanity and six for war crimes in 2009. Since issuing the charge sheet in September, the court has also warned that Mbarushimana may also be charged with a series of mass rapes carried out on villagers as recently as late July and early August of this year.

The United Nations says a coalition of at least 200 fighters from the Mai-Mai militia and from Mbarushimana’s FDLR raped some 500 men, women and children in 13 villages in the Walikale region. Inside Rwanda, survivors of the 1994 genocide allege that Mbarushimana was also involved in those mass killings, in which forces unleashed by the Hutu-led government murdered more than 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi civilians.

Tutsi rebels overthrew the genocidal regime and the Hutu forces fled to neighbouring Congo, where the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) sprang up among the sprawling refugee camps.

Former Rwandan soldiers, Interahamwe militia and some younger refugees formed the gang that became the FDLR, launching attacks across the border into Rwanda and trying unsuccessfully to topple the regime in 2001. In 2009 UNbacked Congolese forces beat back the FDLR, which is accused of carrying out numerous atrocities against civilians.

According to international pressure group Human Rights Watch, the FDLR committed at least 630 murders of civilians between January and September 2009.

Rwanda’s current government would like to see alleged Hutu war criminals tried for genocide in Kigali, and some victims have called for them to be sent to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. — AFP

east Kenya,” UNHCR said in a statement yesterday.

Kenya says its refugee camps are already overcrowded. On Sunday a regional official said requests by aid agencies to move the thousands of Somalis at the border to refugee camps were not justified because they had not expressed any fear of being attacked.

“We would like assistance to resume and at the same time for the government to accelerate the process of removing them from this dangerous place for their security as well as for their health,” said Hassan. — Reuters

in the news Prez of Zanzibar sw orn in, to form unity govt ZANZIBAR: Zanzibar’s seventh president is promising to form a unity government on the semiautonomous island he now leads. Ali Mohammed Shein, 62, won the election with 50.1 percent of the vote and was sworn in yesterday.

“Peace, political stability and reconciliation, tranquility of Zanzibar will be my top priority,” said Shein. Previous elections in the East African island of Zanzibar, a tourist resort known for its white-sand beaches and Swahili architecture, have been marred by fatal clashes. This year’s vote, which took place Sunday, was praised by observers as free and fair. Zanzibar, which has its own constitution, has some degree of political autonomy from mainland Tanzania.

Niger passes new constitution after coup NIAMEY: Niger’s electoral commission says the country’s new constitution passed with 90 percent of the vote. The president of the National Independent Electoral Commission announced the results at a press conference Tuesday evening. Despite predictions of low voter turnout, 4.5 million of Niger’s 6.7 registered voters participated in the referendum vote. The approved constitution comes after a coup in February deposed then-president Mamadou Tandja. Tandja had forced through his own constitution the previous year that extended his time in office and removed term limits. The new constitution reinstates presidential term limits and pardons members of the military junta who staged the coup.

Portuguese parliament to endorse austerity plan LISBON: Portuguese lawmakers were set to approve the minority government’s contested austerity plan yesterday, bringing the country into line with other debt-laden eurozone nations aiming to restore market confidence in their economies.

Portugal is facing similar problems to Greece, Ireland and Spain, where a high debt load and anemic growth have worried international investors and threatened the stability of the 16-nation euro currency.

Portugal’s borrowing costs have surged as investors demand a higher return for risking their money on a country viewed as one of the bloc’s weakest members. The government paid an average interest rate of 1.8 percent on 3-month Treasury bills it auctioned yesterday, up sharply from a rate of 0.5 percent in April. The rate for 12month bills was 3.3 percent, up from 1 percent seven months ago. While Portugal has experi-

enced no difficulty raising money, the higher cost is an unwelcome drain on public finances at a time when tax revenue is falling and welfare expenses grow - unemployment is now at 10.6 percent. The center-left Socialist government plans to introduce tax hikes, steep curbs in expenditure and public sector pay cuts next year, despite an outcry from trade unions which have called a general strike for Nov 24. The main opposition Social Democratic Party struck a deal with the government last weekend to allow the austerity plan to pass. In return for a review of deals with the private sector on major infrastructure projects, which they say will worsen debt, the center-right Social Democrats agreed to abstain from yesterday’s parliamentary vote. Its abstention ensured the government a majority of votes for approval of the measures, which are part of the 2011 state budget. — AP

Officials in Greece and Germany said they supported a Europe-wide tightening of package-screening procedures.

“This incident and the problem that we had at the chancellery with a suspect package must give cause to better coordinate checks on cargo inside Europe ... and then as far as possible worldwide,” Merkel told the daily Passauer Neue Presse.

The device found in Berlin appeared identical in construction to those used in Greece, and seemed to contain a gunpowder-like substance, German officials said. The country’s Federal Criminal Police Office said it had sent investigators to Athens.

Germany will ask the Belgian EU presidency to put air-cargo security on the agenda of next week’s regular meeting of interior ministers, Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said The attacks, which followed an unsuccessful Yemenbased mail bomb plot, highlighted the difficulty of keeping bombs out of the international delivery system. Several European governments urged vigilance but didn’t say they were increasing measures already in place at leaders’ offices. At least 13 mail bombs were detected sent from the Greek capital on Monday and Tuesday, one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and eight to the Athens embassies of Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Chile, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Three of the bombs exploded or caught fire in Athens, causing minor damage and leaving one delivery service employee burned. Police investigators said none of the devices examined so far contained lethal amounts of explosives, unlike those used by the Yemeni militants. Government spokesman George Petalotis said that the Greek mail bombs had no link to Islamist groups.

Authorities have charged two suspects arrested Monday in connection with the bombings, and released the photographs of five other suspects believed to be associated with them. The suspects, most in their early 20s, have been linked to an anarchist militant group called Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire.

Greece has suffered a spike in militant attacks , including a deadly letter bombing earlier this year , since massive riots in 2008 triggered by a police shooting of a teenage boy. The country was plagued by far-left terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s, with more than 20 people killed in gunfire and bombing attacks. Although the deadliest of these organizations were eradicated over the past decade, their attacks have inspired several small radical anarchist or nihilist groups violently opposed to capitalism and all forms of state authority.

Believed to recruit from anarchists and students who often clash with police in Greece’s frequent protests, these groups have come to dominate domestic political violence, despite the arrest of more than a dozen suspected militants over the past year.

But they are seen as lacking the sophistication and tight organization of the older far-left groups.

“Clearly we are dealing with amateurs but those are amateurs who got worldwide attention,” Greek terrorism expert Mary Bossi told private Skai television. “The suspects are all young but I have some reservations on who might be guiding them.” Prime Minister George Papandreou said the government would be “unyielding” in its pursuit of the bombers, whose attacks he linked with the debt-ridden country’s financial woes.

“Democracies cannot be terrorized,” Papandreou said.

“These irresponsible and mindless acts were intended to harm the Greek people’s huge effort to set the country to rights, to set the economy on its feet and for the country to regain its credibility. They will not succeed. — AP

ABIDJAN: A combination of two pictures taken in October in Ivory Coast shows (at L) Ivorian president and presidential candidate Laurent Gbagbo and (at R) his main rival, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara. — AFP

Gbagbo leads poll with partial result ABIDJAN: Partial election results released yesterday gave President Laurent Gbagbo only a threepoint lead over the main opposition leader, portending a possible runoff in three weeks in this tense West African nation that remains divided after a civil war. Uncertainty and delays in releasing results from Sunday’s poll have fueled fears of possible unrest in the world’s No 1 cocoa producer.

Many stores and stalls in the main city, Abidjan, remained closed yesterday. Highways in the skyscraper-lined city were void of usual traffic jams and some university classrooms were only half full.

At a local Internet cafe, a few young men were checking the election results online, but manager Pakome Nanguy complained that people weren’t coming in like they normally do.

“They’re afraid,” he said. “But there’s no reason to be. Everything has been calm and orderly.”

Electoral commission spokesman Bamba Yacouba announced results from about half the country’s 5.7 million registered voters in a late-night state television broadcast that stretched into the early hours of yesterday. The figures indicated Gbagbo was ahead with nearly 37 percent the vote, while his main rival, Alassane Ouattara, had 34 percent, according to an Associated Press tabulation. Expresident Henri Konan Bedie was in third place with about 27 percent.

If no candidate wins a simple majority, the top two finishers will face off in a second round Nov 28.

The electoral commission is expected to continue releasing results later yesterday, culminating in a final tally by day’s end.

The vote, the first since a brief civil war split the world’s No 1 cocoa producer in two, is seen as a critical turning point in Ivory Coast’s history. The

2002-2003 war left rebels in control of the north.

The vote had been delayed for five years because of disputes over voter rolls. Gbagbo, whose five-year mandate officially expired in 2005, stayed in office.

The election could restore stability and reunify the country - or trigger unrest if political leaders reject the outcome. The head of the European Union’s 120-strong observer mission, Cristian Preda, said Tuesday the electoral commission was fueling tension among a nervous electorate by delaying the release of results. Election officials blamed logistic problems and heavy rains. Preda said the EU had detected no fraud in Sunday’s poll and praised authorities and voters for having carried it out peacefully. But he raised questions about transparency in ballot counting, accusing the electoral commission of barring 14 EU monitors from election centers, including the commission’s headquarters where national results were being released.

EU observers at the electoral headquarters confirmed separately that since counting began Sunday night, they had been unable to enter the room where national results are being tabulated.

Yves Tadet, an electoral commission official, said that although monitors could observe counting at polling stations and regional centers across the country, they were not allowed to observe the final tabulation of results at the independent electoral commission headquarters. The US-based Carter Center also said one of its monitors had been told to leave a vote counting center in the capital, Yamoussoukro. But others had no problems and the mission generally praised the electoral process, as did the African Union. The Carter Center said voter turnout had been higher than expected, at about 74 percent. — AP

Clinton promotes human rights in Papua New Guinea PORT MORESBY: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday warned the people and government of Papua New Guinea that human rights conditions must improve if the impoverished South Pacific nation, awash in rape, domestic violence and police brutality, is to develop.

The first secretary of state to visit the country in 12 years, Clinton also urged government officials in the capital, Port Moresby, to embrace a robust anti-corruption agenda amid concerns that a windfall from a massive natural gas find and vast mineral deposits will fuel already widespread graft and make matters worse, especially for women and children.

Without proper oversight and accountability, human rights activists and others fear revenue from mining and a $15 billion Exxon Mobil gas project could overwhelm the rural country, populated by more than 800 indigenous tribes. “If they are not handled the right way, they can actually end up making a country poorer rather

than richer,” Clinton said. She noted the paradox of what some have called a “resource curse” and praised the government for a plan to set up a sovereign wealth fund to handle the money.

Women’s empowerment is one of Clinton’s pet issues, and she lamented the particularly bleak situation in Papua New Guinea, where rights advocates have documented increases in witch hunts and killings of those suspected of sorcery. Rights groups have also noted sharp rises in physical and sexual violence, most of which goes unpunished, and soaring rates of HIV/AIDS. Clinton said the US would be working on a program with Exxon Mobil to “end the culture of violence against women and girls in Papua New Guinea.” “No country in the 21st century can advance when half its population is left behind,” she told a group of women’s rights activists.

Prime Minister Michael Somare denied the problem was as grave as reported. “We sometimes get a picture paint-

ed of how cruel we are to our women, and this is not true,” he said. “This is a perception from people like yourself and people who write about us.

That is what they like to print about this country.” After meeting with Somare, whose coalition came to power in 2007 elections that observers said were marred by bribery, voter intimidation and influence peddling, Clinton said the government must do more to serve and protect its people.

“There will have to be a commitment to good government, transparency and accountability” to achieve democracy, development and prosperity, she said. Papua New Guinea, north of Australia, is a mountainous, jungle-clad nation of more than 600 islands and some 7 million people.

UNICEF reported in 2008 that it has among the world’s highest rates of domestic violence, and said the police statistic that 8 percent of women reported they had been raped probably vastly understates the real number because the crime is underreported. — AP

SUBANG: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) laughs along with Malaysia Airlines Chairman Munir Majid (L) during an event to showcase American companies’ presence in Malaysia prior to her departure for Papua New Guinea at the Subang SkyPark Terminal near Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — AFP

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INTERNATIONAL

Thursday, November 4, 2010

US missile strikes kill 9 militants in Pakistan Washington wants Islamabad to launch offensive in region

HAT YAI: Thai military officers assist a woman during an evacuation from flood hit areas in Hat Yai city yesterday. — AFP

Floodwaters start receding in Thailand BANGKOK: Floodwaters that submerged a key southern Thai city, making it completely inaccessible by road, began to recede late yesterday, as relief workers continued to ferry aid to areas where water sometimes rose up to rooftops.

Soldiers and Thailand’s only aircraft carrier had earlier been sent to help victims of what Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had called “one of the worst natural calamities” the country has seen. Eight southern provinces were affected by severe flooding, but the damage was most visible in the commercial hub of Hat Yai, a large city where the road system was transformed into a murky waterway completely inaccessible by cars.

Power and cell phone coverage was wiped out in several areas and trains to the city were canceled. By late yesterday, however, the waters had receded, leaving only 10 percent of the city flooded, Danaivit Saibandith, the head of Songkhla province irrigation office, told The Associated Press.

“Water started to recede quickly during the day,” he said.

“It was still high this morning, but now the main roads in Hat Yai are dry and accessible by cars.” Danaivit said the highest

water level yesterday evening was around a foot (30 centimeters) high, falling from its peak of 10 feet (three meters) two days ago. A tropical depression that dumped constant rain on the area Sunday and Monday triggered the flooding, which forced the closure Tuesday of the airport on Samui island, a popular tourist getaway in the Gulf of Thailand. The small airport reopened yesterday, with both Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways resuming flights.

Thailand’s meteorological department said the storm was moving west, away from Thailand, but warned of 13-foot (four-meter) waves in some coastal areas and the possibility of landslides and flash floods for residents in low-lying areas.

While property damage from the disaster seemed massive, the number of fatalities appears to have been minimal, even though no official casualty toll has been released. The Nation TV cable channel reported that the body of a district official in Songkhla province who disappeared Monday during a flood relief mission was recovered yesterday, “I’m confident the situation has started to resolve itself,” Prime Minister Abhisit said yesterday. Asked about

reports that as many as 100,000 people had been trapped by the flooding in Hat Yai, he said, “It’s unlikely, but there remain several areas we haven’t been able to access.” Abhisit said that relief efforts had been complicated by rapid currents in flooded areas that prevented the use of regular motorboats. Instead, boats with bigger engines were mobilized to reach the troubled areas.

Thailand’s only aircraft carrier, which rarely leaves its berth, was deployed to help out and reached the coastal waters off Hat Yai by midday yesterday. It carried helicopters, marine amphibious landing craft and thousands of meals to distribute to residents. Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the army, navy and air force had deployed thousands of personnel for the rescue effort. The Education Ministry said that more than 1,100 schools in the south were closed this week by the floods, delaying the start of the new semester.

The deluge in Thailand’s south _ along a peninsula it shares with Malaysia _ followed two weeks of heavy floods in October, mostly in central and northeastern Thailand, that killed 107 people. — AP

PESHAWAR: Two US drone aircraft fired missiles into northwestern Pakistan just hours apart on yesterday killing nine suspected militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The strikes were targeting militants holed up in the North Waziristan tribal region, which is dominated by Afghans launching attacks on US forces and its NATO allies forces across the border.

Washington wants Islamabad to launch a military offensive in the region, and in its absence has been relying on the missile strikes to take out militants.

In the first attack, the unmanned aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in the Qutab Khel area of Miran Shah, the main town in the region. The slain insurgents were from Uzbekistan, the officials said. In the second attack, missiles struck a house and a vehicle in Khaso Khel village near Mir Ali, killing four other suspected militants.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said their agents were still trying to get more details. North Waziristan is too dangerous for outsiders to visit and independently confirm the attacks. US officials do not acknowledge firing the missiles, much less discuss who they are targeting.

There were at least 20 such US missile strikes in the region in October.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment. Pakistan has publicly denounced the drone attacks and urged Washington to transfer technology to Islamabad so that its military could launch any such attacks on its own. — AP

US to spend 500 m on Afghan embassy KABUL: The United States is bolstering its presence in Afghanistan with a 500 million dollar expansion of its Kabul embassy and the construction of two consulates, it announced yesterday. Washington’s Kabul embassy is already its biggest in the world, with about 1,100 employees, projected to rise to 1,200 by the end of the year, officials said.

Hundreds have arrived over the course of this year as part of a “civilian surge” bringing development experts into the country to compliment the military effort already in its 10th year. The United States and NATO have 150,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban-led insurgency, following a military surge aimed at speeding an end to the war. The embassy expansion contract was worth 511 million

dollars and had been awarded under US law to an American company, Caddell Construction Inc., ambassador Karl Eikenberry said.

Another two contracts, worth 20 million dollars each, have been awarded for the construction of consulates in Herat, the main city in western Afghanistan, and Mazar-I-Sharif in the north, he said.

Speaking to a gathering of Afghan officials, Eikenberry said the expansion would enable the United States “to carry out its pledge to maintain into the future its very significant security, government, economic and civil society programs”.

He said the projects currently employed 500 Afghans and that “once construction gets underway more than 1,500 Afghan workers will be employed through

Seven Kashmir rebels killed before Obama’s India trip SRINAGAR: Government forces have killed seven suspected Muslim rebels in four gunbattles in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said yesterday, just days before President Barack Obama visits India.

Officials fear the rebels could step up attacks to draw attention to the unrest in the disputed Himalayan region while Obama is visiting this week.

“They’re also trying to create a situation where they may blame security forces for their actions,” senior police officer Shiv Murari Sahai said.

Indian paramilitary troops were on alert. “We are in constant touch with the state police, and all necessary arrangements have been made to maintain law and order and to combat militancy,” said Anirudh Uppal, the force chief in Kashmir.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the majority Muslim region, where more than a dozen rebel groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence or its merger with neighboring Pakistan since 1989.

The seven militants killed by police and army troops this week across Kashmir were targeted based on intelligence

information, Sahai said.

No rebel group has commented on the latest battles, although an umbrella organization of more than a dozen Kashmiri rebel groups recently said it was limiting operations to border areas until after Obama’s visit to Mumbai and Delhi on Saturday through Tuesday. “We’ve reports that (intelligence) agencies are up to some mischief and if something untoward happens (during the President Obama’s visit) it should not be attributed to militants,” the United Jehad Council said in a recent statement.

With the rebellion largely suppressed, resistance to Indian rule has taken the form of near-daily street demonstrations over the past three years.

Anti-India protests and subsequent government crackdowns since June have left 111 people dead, mostly teenage boys and young men in their 20s.

Separatists have called strikes, and authorities have imposed curfews in an attempt to stop protests. Two clashes broke out yesterday in Srinagar between police and stonethrowing youths chanting proindependence slogans. — AP

the completion of the project in summer 2014”. The embassy project includes an office building with 302 desks, two apartment buildings with 433 beds and a parking garage with capacity for 300 vehicles, it said. It said the project would employ 600 Afghans and generate 150 million dollars in business for local construction companies.

It was due to be completed in June 2014, with the two consulates-each expected to generate six million dollars for local businesses and employ 150 Afghans-due to be finished in January 2011. “All combined over the last two years, the dollar value for our diplomatic facilities expansion contracts in Kabul, Mazar and Herat now will be at about 800 million dollars,” Eikenberry said. — AFP

HONG KONG: Hong Kong legislator Raymond Wong Yuk-man, right, speaks next to legislator Leung Kwok Hung, left during a parliamentary debate in the Hong Kong Legislative Council yesterday. —AP

China accuses peace prize supporter of subversion BEIJING: A Chinese man who handed out fliers in local parks about imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo has been detained on suspicion of subversion, a rights group and a fellow activist said yesterday.

It’s the first such action taken against a Liu supporter since the Nobel prize announcement last month though many Liu supporters have reported police harassment, the group China Human Rights Defenders said.

The move marks a serious turn for anyone inside China who shows open support for Liu, whom the government calls a criminal for his demands for

widespread political reform. It initially blocked news reports of his award and has been waging a campaign through state media to criticize both Liu and the prize.

Guo Xianliang, an engineer from the southern province of Yunnan, disappeared Thursday while on a business trip in the southern city of Guangzhou. He had been handing out fliers on the streets and in public parks there, the China-based rights group said.

Guo writes online about democratic reform but is not a well-known activist, and the group said he has not been in trouble before. “Most known

activists celebrated Liu’s peace prize among themselves. The government was already quite sensitive,” said research coordinator Wang Songlian. “Guo took it a step further by introducing Liu Xiaobo to the public.” She said Guangzhou authorities are already sensitive to anything they think disturbs public order because the city is preparing to host the Asian Games this month. The fliers were titled “Liu Xiaobo, a Name to Be Proud of,” said Guangzhoubased activist Ye Du, who is a friend of Guo. “They told the public who he was and what he did, and let people know a man

who had been fighting for Chinese democracy and who is respected by people all over the world is still in jail.” Liu is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion, a vaguely worded charge that is routinely used to jail dissidents in China.

Ye said the reaction of authorities was ridiculous. “Liu Xiaobo’s winning of the peace prize is a fact, and he was just letting the public know the truth,” he said. Wang said police told Guo’s wife on Tuesday that Guo had been criminally detained. The mobile phone of the wife, Yang Di, was turned off yesterday. — AP

OPINION

12

Thursday, November 4, 2010

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Possible Republican White House candidates in 2012 hile Republicans and Democrats pick up the pieces from Tuesday’s congressional elections, the 2012 White House race is already off to a vigorous start with President Barack Obama facing potential challenges from more than a dozen would-be Republican opponents. Following is a list of Republican contenders, many of whom have built robust fund-raising operations and paid repeated visits to the early battleground states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

MITT ROMNEY A leading candidate in the 2008 presidential race, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has carefully positioned himself for a return to campaigning for the White House with repeated visits to Iowa and New Hampshire, as well as a book tour. Known for his good looks and charm, Romney joins Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty as a leading Republican fundraiser. His Free and Strong America political action committee has raised more than $8.4 million in the current election cycle. But he continues to face claims of flip-flopping, a charge that detracted from his 2008 presidential bid.

A recent example came earlier this year when Romney assailed Obama’s healthcare reform package as an abuse of power. The remark quickly drew comparisons between the Obama legislation and state reforms implemented in Massachusetts during Romney’s governorship.

TIM PAWLENTY Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty first emerged as a potential contender in White House election politics in 2008, amid speculation he could become Republican John McCain’s running mate.

Though the mantle went to Palin, Pawlenty is now viewed as a leading Republican presidential hopeful. He has built up a presence in Iowa and New Hampshire by making repeated visits. His Freedom First fund-raising body has collected more than $3 million in the current election cycle. As a popular Republican governor in a traditionally Democratic state, Pawlenty eliminated a $4.3 billion budget deficit without raising taxes and has been a staunch voice against abortion and stem cell research.

SARAH PALIN Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has used lucrative television, book and speaker deals to emerge as one of her party’s biggest stars since being the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. She is a leading voice in the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement and has enhanced her influence this year by campaigning for Republican congressional candidates across the country. Those activities and her success at fund-raising are driving speculation of a possible White House run by Palin in 2012. Since the 2010 election cycle began, her political action committee has collected about $5 million. But the political journal Politico has reported that some Republican heavyweights may want Palin out of the spotlight

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for fear she could become a liability to the party.

MIKE HUCKABEE Distinguishing himself as a conservative who is “not angry,” the former Arkansas governor used a mixture of anti-abortion, anti-gay politics and regular-guy charm to win the 2008 Republican Iowa caucus against candidates with bigger names. A Baptist minister with strong ties to the Christian Right, Huckabee continues to poll strongly in Iowa and has been seen as a potential presidential frontrunner in 2012. But he is also dogged by controversy for granting clemency to Arkansas criminals, including a felon who later allegedly murdered four Washington state policemen and died in a gun battle with a Seattle officer.

NEWT GINGRICH The former speaker of the US House of Representatives was the main architect of the 1994 Republican midterm election victory and author of the Contract with America political manifesto. But the Georgia Republican ended his 20-year congressional career after his leadership was marred by big losses in the 1998 midterm elections.

Gingrich remains a leading conservative figure, political pundit and accomplished fundraiser whose political advocacy group has outstripped his Republican rivals by collecting more than $20 million during the 2010 election cycle.

BOBBY J INDAL Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal entered White House politics in 2008 when he was named as a possible running mate for McCain. Palin got the nod but the son of Indian parents won the coveted task of delivering the party response to Obama’s first address to Congress. Jindal, Louisiana’s first nonwhite governor since the Civil War era, skipped the chance to address the 2008 Republican presidential convention to oversee Louisiana’s successful response to Hurricane Gustav, a stark contrast to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster.

CHRIS CHRISTIE New Jersey Governor Chris Christie provides the Republican Party with a new bright spot for 2012. He drew national attention as a corruption-busting US attorney who won convictions or guilty pleas against scores of public officials. He has since proved a popular governor in a traditionally Democratic state, despite ardent stands against abortion and gay marriage, making him a potential magnet for independent voters in industrial swing states.

OTHERS Others seen as testing the presidential waters include Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, South Dakota Senator John Thune, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Representative Ron Paul of Texas-a former candidate for the Republican nomination.—Reuters

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

Weakened at home, Obama could look abroad for gains

By Timothy Heritage President Barack Obama could turn to foreign policy as a way to claw back popularity after his midterm elections setback, which has left him weakened in domestic politics. Obama will face pressure to adopt a more aggressive foreign policy, such as using more force in Afghanistan and keeping troops there longer, after Republicans made gains in the Senate and captured the House of Representatives.

But foreign policy is also an area where Obama could have a relatively free hand and he is likely to start efforts to rebuild his image abroad when he begins a trip to Asia tomorrow. Bill Clinton fought back to win a second term as president after heavy Democrat losses in midterm elections in 1994, but Obama can expect no easy victories in the foreign policy arena.

“One classic scenario would be that the president, having lost his majority in Congress, would focus more on foreign policy. This is something that Clinton did to an extent. The problem for Obama is that there is no low-hanging fruit on foreign policy,” said Thomas Klau, a Paris-based analyst with the International Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

“Afghanistan remains very difficult, more difficult domestically. Neither Iran or the Middle East conflict or indeed Pakistan or other geographical places suggest that a stronger, more sustained personal engagement from Obama would be very likely to usher in short-term breakthroughs or benefits.”

Global intelligence company STRATFOR said the United States remained the global superpower and a president who is weak at home is not by default weak abroad. “In fact, a weak president often has no options before him except foreign policy,” it said.

WHAT ARE OBAMA’S OPTIONS? It is not clear where Obama might choose to make his mark but he faces challenges and pressure to adopt tougher policies almost wherever he looks. Waheed Omer, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said the relationship with Washington

US

would continue regardless of the elections and Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the outcome would not affect its intention to keep fighting until all foreign forces leave Afghanistan. But Daoud Sultanzoy, a US-educated Afghan analyst, said Obama may have to take another look at strategy in Afghanistan, where USled NATO troops are bogged down fighting the Taleban. “Obama will need to reverse from some of the policies, use some of the Republicans’ values and basically reach out to them for a bipartisan (deal),” he said. “The Republicans want use of more force, longer (troop) presence and intense confrontation with terrorism.” Other analysts said the Republicans could also push for a review of policy on Pakistan.

Pakistani political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said Pakistan’s government would face new pressure to crack down harder on Afghan militants who cross the border to attack NATO troops in Afghanistan.

“They will be raising more questions about the government’s performance, about cross-border movements and about why the situation is not improving in Afghanistan,” he said.

Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and analyst, said: “The only fear that I have is that Republicans have a far more aggressive foreign and defense policy, which has already been demonstrated in (former President George W) Bush’s time.”

“Expectations from Pakistan will increase and I expect there will be greater demands from Pakistan to take tough action against militants and there will be greater scrutiny,” he said.

The Republicans could also try to push North Korea’s nuclear capabilities up the agenda. “If anything, North Korea might find it more difficult to get back into the negotiating framework with a stronger Republican representation in Congress,” said Paik Hak-soon of the Sejong Institute near Seoul in South Korea. A headache looms for Obama in the Middle East, where former Israeli diplomat Yoram Ettinger said the election outcome had strengthened pro-Israeli elements in Washington. “This is going to constrain

immensely the maneuverability of the president, who is generally pretty critical (even) negative towards Israel, which would require the president, in my mind, to limit his pressure on Israel,” he said. One country where the heat could be turned down is China because the elections delivered a business-friendly Congress. Democrats accused China during the campaign of

taking US jobs by suppressing the value of its currency and rigging its economy to favor Chinese state firms.

In Europe, the Republican gains could help sharpen the divergence with the US government on financial regulation, climate change and aspects of foreign policy. Ruprecht Polenz, head of the lower house of parliament’s foreign affairs committee in Germany, said it

would now be more difficult to secure US ratification of the START disarmament treaty with Russia and Washington would be more selfabsorbed. “It is on the whole not a good thing for the world. No major international conflict can be resolved without the United States. So we must be ready for Europe to engage more boldly (in global diplomacy),” he said. — Reuters

Obama’s loss could be Netanyahu’s win

By Jeffrey Heller or Benjamin Netanyahu, the view from Capitol Hill seemingly couldn’t get much better. A US midterm election rout by the Republicans, widely seen in Israel as staunch allies, could give the Israeli leader even more incentive to resist pressure from a weakened US President Barack Obama for concessions in Middle East peace negotiations. Several Israeli political sources said on Wednesday members of Netanyahu’s inner circle were cheered by the blow dealt to a Democratic president who is sharply at odds with the right-wing prime minister over Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinians, who broke off US-brokered direct talks with Israel in September after Netanyahu refused to extend a limited building moratorium in West Bank settlements, said they hoped Obama would stay the course in pursuing peace. “There is no doubt that the outcome of the election has strengthened tremendously the proIsraeli elements in the US at large, in the House of Representatives, in the Senate and throughout the political establishment,” said Yoram Ettinger, a

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former Israeli diplomat who served in the United States.

“This is going to constrain immensely the maneuverability of the president, who is generally pretty critical (even) negative towards Israel.

Which would require the president, in my mind, to limit his pressure on Israel,” he said. But some political sources said the US-educated Netanyahu was taking a more cautious view of the impact of Tuesday’s vote on Obama’s foreign policy and prospects for a second term. The sources said Netanyahu was well aware that Democrat Bill Clinton, who also tried to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace, had rebounded from a Republican sweep in a 1994 midterm ballot and won re-election as president two years later.

Under international pressure to bend, Netanyahu is also believed to be working on a possible resumption of the partial freeze of housing starts in West Bank settlements in return for a package of security-related incentives from Washington. A new moratorium could help Netanyahu avoid alienating Obama further as both Israel and the United States explore ways to deal with Iran’s nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at producing

atomic weapons, an allegation Tehran denies.

Obama is widely expected, now that the election is over, to boost US diplomatic efforts to revive IsraeliPalestinian peace talks. Time could be running out: the Arab League, on Oct 9, gave the United States one month-a period when the US election campaign was at a peak-to persuade Israel to halt settlement construction or risk the complete collapse of the negotiations.

Next week, Netanyahu will take a personal reading of the post-election scene during a 5-day visit to the United States, where he will address a US Jewish conference and meet Vice President Joe Biden to discuss the stalled peace process. The Israeli leader also plans to give a series of media interviews and officials said he was trying to arrange a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Obama will be on a trip to Asia at the time. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a Palestinian peace negotiator, voiced confidence the Republican victories would have no bearing on the White House’s Middle East policy. “The American interests in the region do not change as a result of midterm elections,” he told Voice of Palestine radio.— Reuters

US-China: From election bogeyman to business as usual?

By Paul Eckert hina served as bogeyman for US politicians wooing voters worried about hard economic times, but Tuesday’s election delivered a businessfriendly Congress that could lower the heat on the Chinese. Television networks projected Republicans would gain at least 50 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives, gaining control of House committees and poised to halt President Barack Obama’s agenda. From California across the central rustbelt to New Hampshire, Democrats accused China of pilfering US jobs by suppressing the value of its currency and rigging its economy to favor Chinese state companies against American investors.

In the most blunt of the China-linked attack ads that featured in some 30 campaigns, Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania said his Republican rival Pat Toomey, a free trade

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supporter, “ought to run for Senate in China.” The China jab did not stop Toomey from winning the Pennsylvania race. And in Illinois, Republican Mark Kirk won a senate seat after a contest in which he was attacked for getting backing from US firms that manufactured in China. US-China tensions flared up this year over business and trade, long the basic glue in a relationship between powers who differ sharply over human rights, climate change, and flash points such as Taiwan, Iran and North Korea.

In the last official business before they broke for the campaign, the House raised China’s ire by passing a law that would treat an undervalued currency as an unlawful subsidy that could be remedied by duties on selected Chinese goods. But Senate follow-up on the House action is far from certain when the outgoing Congress sits for a brief “lame duck” session later this month to conduct unfinished business.

Many analysts think the currency bill

will fall into limbo, lingering as a potential threat that Obama’s administration can point to while it tries to negotiate currency policy with China in the Group of 20 and other forums. “Most of the tough talk is election-year stuff that will subside after the election,” said Walter Lohman, director of Asia studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. “The rhetoric will die down and with it will go the possibility of anything getting pushed through on China,” he said. Under a consensus on the broad outlines of the USChina relationship, business-friendly Republicans have supported free trade with China’s fast-growing market as good for the United States and the best way to produce a more cooperative China.

But some legislators in both parties champion civil and religious rights in China and hold sympathy for the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader shunned

by China as a separatist. Taiwan, the selfruled and democratic island China claims as sovereign territory, has had more

Republican than Democratic friendswhich could mean that Taipei’s requests for advanced weapons get a sympathetic hearing in 2011. “I always trust the Republicans on free trade, but they may also sponsor pro-Taiwan legislation and push more on human rights issues,” said Tao Xie, a US politics expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University who advises the Chinese government. “On the yuan front, the Republicans will probably lower the heat,” he added.

What victorious candidates do is far more important than what they’ve said about China on the campaign trail, said Drew Thompson, a China expert at the Nixon Center. “Every two years, House members have to be very careful not to appear pro-China,” he said of the campaign attacks that used China as a foil.

“It’s a tricky ground to run on.” Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi perplexed China when she took office in 2009, because she had criticized Beijing’s human rights record since the 1989

Tiananmen killings. But she had generally positive dealings with Chinese officials.

“We’ve seen Pelosi have to basically represent the party rather than herself, and that’s going to hold true for Republicans in leadership positions,” said Thompson.

A Republican-led Congress is expected to support Obama administration efforts to beef up US alliances with Japan, South Korea and the Southeast Asian states. All of these states experienced friction with China in 2010 and look to US backing as a hedge against more assertive Chinese policies. Former US intelligence official Robert Sutter, now a China expert at Georgetown University, said Washington and Beijing will try to get along “for very pragmatic reasoning- not because they like each other or they’re friends.” “The administrations recognize that their governments and societies have become so interdependent that if they emphasize the negative with one another, they will hurt the other party, but also hurt themselves,” he said. — Reuters

ANALYSIS

Thursday, November 4, 2010

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Security alone not enough to foil parcel bombers

By Peter Apps

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ecurity measures alone may never be able to stop well concealed bombs being sent via air mail without prohibitive inconvenience and cost, leaving old-fashioned police work and intelligence essential. Two sets of parcel bombs in the past weekaddressed from Yemen to the United States and from Greece to several foreign governments-have focused attention on security in the air cargo industry and led Germany to seek action at European Union level. Some western governments have suspended air cargo shipments from Yemen and Somalia after the discovery in Dubai and Britain of suspected al Qaeda parcel bombs.

The devices were concealed in printer cartridges dispatched from Yemen and addressed to Chicago synagogues, though US and British officials said they appeared designed to be detonated in flight.

While these suspensions may stay in place, a halt to air shipment of mail and packages from Greece, after bombs were sent from there to leaders in France, Germany and Italy, is set to last just 48 hours. Experts caution that putting in more and more levels of security can swiftly go from being an irritant to becoming economically damaging in its own right, and a determined attacker may still find a way around.

“There is a limit to what you can achieve by security,” said Fred Burton, a former US anti-terrorism official who is now vice president of risk consultancy Stratfor. “What you really need is human intelligence and the capability to analyze it.”

Air cargo firms are already warning that the cost of scanning every item of

SANAA: Packages seen at an Aramex office next to an unidentified Aramex employee in the capital Sanaa, Yemen yesterday. The head of Aramex says the Middle East-based shipping company has stopped accepting packages from Yemen after last week’s parcel bomb plot. —AP cargo would be prohibitive. Some see parallels to previous arguments over the scanning of sea containers, an obvious means of transporting weapons:

ultimately it was deemed impractical to scan or examine every single one.

Consumers around the world have got used to easy deliveries of goods

ordered over the Internet, and a couple of failed attacks will not change that.

“The question is whether it is enough for people to want to give up the convenience,” said Brooke Rogers, lecturer in risk and terror at King’s College London. “That means it has to be a big enough event to really change risk perceptions. 9/11 was enough to do that.

This almost certainly will not be.”

Key targets such as national leaders and ministries can be detected by mail screening. Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and Silvio Berlusconi were never in real danger from the Greek bombs. But protecting the wider cargo system is another matter. And there is evidence that intelligence is simply more effective than heightened security measures at disrupting plots. A study published last month by the Institute for Homeland Security Systems of 88 militant attacks within the United States between 1999 and 2009 showed more than 80 percent were detected through law enforcement or public tipoffs.

Roughly one in five were foiled “accidentally” in the course of regular law enforcement activities and investigations into apparently unrelated crimes. Around 40 percent were detected from tips from the local community, showing the importance of good relations and sources within key populations.

In the case of the parcel bombs, that means foiling repeats will come down mainly to how effectively Greek, Yemeni and Saudi authorities operate in their own backyards. The Yemeni packages were intercepted on a Saudi intelligence tip-off. “With a bombing campaign, the key thing is always finding the bomb maker,” said Burton. “If

you can do that, you may be able to shut down the entire operation or at least make them start from scratch.” In the Yemen case, US officials believe that means finding Saudi national Ibrahim Hassan Al-Asiri. Asiri is also suspected of building a suicide bomb used by his brother in a failed attempt to kill Saudi counterterrorism chief Prince Mohammed bin Nayef last year, as well as the device used in an attempted Christmas Day attack on an airliner bound for Detroit.

In both Greece and Yemen, success may come down to how likely informants are to come forward, and how trusted law enforcement authorities are in those communities. It also depends on whether intelligence agencies have the ability to join up the dots.

US authorities were tipped off by family members that Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab might be a threat well before he allegedly boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit last December with explosives hidden in his underwear. But the information was not passed on.

Whatever steps are in place, much comes down to the luck of both the bombers and those trying to stop them.

Northern Ireland, for example, has seen a rash of largely unsuccessful bombings this year blamed on dissident Republicans but experts warn a successful attack is only a matter of time.

“There are established security systems in place, the population is very aware of what to look for and there are networks of informers,” said Carina O’Reilly, European security analyst at IHS Jane’s. “But the reason they have not succeeded so far is largely down to the incompetence of the bombers. And that won’t last forever.” — Reuters

Donors strive to avert state failure in Yemen

By Alistair Lyon

A

foiled Al-Qaeda bomb plot has again highlighted the peril to the West posed by Yemen’s slide toward state failure, a fate that would also spell disaster for 23 million Yemenis already mired in hunger and poverty. Western and Gulf Arab donors have so far failed to brake that downward momentum. Galvanised by an attempt by Al-Qaeda’s Yemenbased wing to blow up a US-bound airliner on Dec 25, they met as “Friends of Yemen” in January to coordinate aid. Almost a year after those London talks, competing claims to foreign funds have hamstrung the effort.

Money is tied up in red tape, uncoordinated or misspent on side projects, officials and analysts say.

Donors meet again in Riyadh in February to have another go at nailing down priorities before it is too late.

“Yemen is running out of oil, it’s running out of water, and it may be running out of time,” Alan Duncan, a British minister for international development, told a conference this week at London’s Chatham House think-tank. “The security of the future of Yemen ... is about what all of Yemen’s friends do, and crucially, how we all act together.” Insecurity and corruption have scared many foreign investors away from Yemen, a modest oil and gas producer, crippling badly needed efforts to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons.

Yemen may become a net oil importer by 2017. One of the world’s most water-stressed countries, it already imports 75 percent of its food.

Its population is growing 2.9 percent a year. Nearly a third of Yemenis suffer from chronic hunger. Over half of Yemeni children aged under 5 are malnourished, according to the UN Children’s Fund. More than 40 percent of adults are illiterate. Women are especially badly off, with Yemen ranking bottom of UN gender disparity tables.

Such woeful figures illustrate the long-term failure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government to meet social needs or alleviate the poverty which fuels a daunting blend of security challenges: sporadic revolt in the north, southern secessionism and AlQaeda militancy, as well as tribal fights. “At least since 1997, the Saleh

regime has demonstrated repeatedly that it lacks the will and capacity to make Yemen viable and sustainable,” said US scholar Robert Burrowes.

Donors are mindful of the corruption that has pervaded Yemen and eroded state legitimacy during Saleh’s three decades in power, but have little choice but to deal with the long-serving leader.

“Economic reform, more than conventional economic development, is more likely to improve the lot of Yemenis and shrink the pool of AlQaeda recruitment,” Yemeni political analyst Abdul-Ghani Al-Iryani told Reuters from Sanaa. He said even Saleh himself had offered donors the option of implementing projects directly to cut corruption.

Yemen is again calling for help, but the Sanaa government’s priorities do not always coincide with those of donors, themselves divided over where to target limited resources. For the United States, security comes first, particularly after last week’s interception, thanks to a Saudi tip-off, of two parcel bombs en route to US destinations from Yemen. “We have a challenge in terms of picking which problems we’re going to address,” Janet Anderson, US deputy assistant secretary of state for the Arabian Gulf and the Maghreb, said at Chatham House. “But we have to address the security problem, because otherwise we can’t have aid workers on the ground who can deal with medium and long-term issues.”

Some humanitarian agencies complain of a funding shortfall. “Only about 50 percent of the funding requested through the UN humanitarian response plan has been committed.

There are still serious unmet needs,” said Ashley Clements, a policy adviser at Oxfam, calling for more money for food security. Yemen, which has managed to spend only a fraction of the $4.7 billion pledged by donors in 2006, acknowledges some of its own shortcomings in defining where it needs the most help. “We haven’t done a good job of articulating priorities,” said Jalal Yaqoub, Yemen’s deputy finance minister.

Yemen and its foreign friends all call for a comprehensive, coordinated approach, but, damagingly, can’t agree on specifics. “Fragmented donor flows have contributed to the fragmentation

of Yemen itself,” said Duncan, the British aid minister. The Riyadh meeting is “possibly a golden opportunity, and a chance to address Yemen’s problems before it’s too late”. Yet the magnitude of Yemen’s crises and the “kleptocratic” nature of Saleh’s rule

make it unlikely that foreign donors can achieve much, according to Burrowes, the US analyst. “Deflecting Yemen’s trajectory toward state failure requires complex coordination of external and domestic forces to effect massive changes in economic and

social policy and governance.

“The Friends of Yemen could have a major role, but it will have to use carrots and sticks more effectively and with greater resolve than the international community has in the past.” —Reuters

Qaeda threat to Egypt may stir militants

By Sarah Mikhail and Marwa Awad

M

ilitants may feel emboldened by an Al-Qaeda threat against Egypt’s Christians, even if the network itself might struggle to mount such an assault.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq, which launched an attack on a Baghdad church on Sunday that left 52 dead, has also threatened Egypt’s church. While there are no signs of a re-emergence of a 1990sstyle Islamist insurgency, Egypt remains alert to anything that could stir communal tension that sometimes boils up over issues such as cross-faith relationships and conversions. Egypt crushed a militant uprising in the 1990s and that experience should help it counter any new threat, Christians and Muslims said. Egyptian authorities were quick to condemn the Al-Qaeda threat and to boost security at churches in the country, where Christians make up 10 percent of the 78 million people, the biggest Christian population in the Middle East.

“This threat is not directed only at Christians but at the Egyptian state. Egypt’s security ended terrorism in the 1990s and it is capable today of eradicating these threats,” said Father Abdel Maseeh Baseet of the Coptic Orthodox church, the biggest Christian community in Egypt. The Iraq attack was against a Catholic church. The Egypt threat was directed against the Orthodox community - Al-Qaeda accused it of detaining two women converts to Islam. “I think those responsible for the (Iraq) massacre were looking for a justification for what they did by linking it to Egypt’s Church,” said Wasim Badia, an Orthodox Church deacon.

Egyptian Islamist protesters said the two women identified by the Iraqi group, both wives of priests, had converted to Islam and were being detained by the church. A priest denied this and said they were in monasteries for their safety. The Muslim Brotherhood, a banned group that long ago renounced violence to bring political change, condemned the threat and said security forces could stop militants. Its own members are regularly rounded up by the authorities. “Egypt’s security apparatus has three decades of experience in stemming jihadist activity and penetrating extremist groups. I doubt they would fail in handling such threats,” said senior Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh.

But even if the Iraqi group has no allies or network in Egypt to carry out its threat, some said it could stir radical Islamists into action against the Christian community. “That kind of call may find some receptive ears in Egypt but it won’t find the receptive ears of an existing organization capable of striking with the kind of sophistication that we see in Iraq,” said Issandr El Amrani, a Cairo-based political analyst.

Instead, he said it might be taken up by followers of the strict Salafi school of Islam, who have been vocal critics of the Coptic Church in the conversion row.

Orthodox Bishop Morkos of Shubra Al-Khaima in Cairo echoed the comments: “The (Iraqi) massacre will not lead to a rise in sectarian strife in Egypt but it could catalyze dangerous attempts by extremists.” Youssef Sidhom, editor in chief of the Coptic Orthodox community’s al-Watani newspaper, said militants were using different techniques than those used by Egyptian groups in the 1990s. “Handling Al-

Qaeda threats and its new technology requires higher levels of security monitoring and scrutiny,” he said.

“These groups see that they penetrated places like Iraq and think they can penetrate Egypt,” Sidhom added. He pointed to last week’s interception of two parcel bombs on cargo planes in Britain and Dubai.

Though analysts say the militant threat in Egypt has eased, tensions between Muslims and Christians periodically emerge. And frequent security sweeps against any Islamist activity reflect official concerns that, without vigilance, militants might regroup in Egypt, the home turf of many leading Islamist thinkers and also of Al-Qaeda’s No 2, Ayman AlZawahri. Analysts point out that sporadic bomb attacks like the one that killed a single tourist in Cairo in 2009 are likely. At least 1,200 people, including nearly 100 foreigners, died in the 1990s insurgency that targeted foreign tourists, banks, ministers and top officials, including a failed attempt against President Hosni Mubarak in 1994.

In the most brazen 1997 attack, Islamists with knives and automatic weapons killed 58 tourists, mainly Germans, Swiss and Japanese, at one of Egypt’s most popular pharaonic temples in Luxor. After the Iraqi threat, security was stepped up at several churches in Cairo and elsewhere. But some Christians, who often complain they get second-class treatment in Egypt, were dismissive of the state’s efforts to protect them.

“I didn’t hear about the Iraq massacre... But if you recall the one that happened in Nagaa Hamady, it’s enough proof of how ‘protected’ churches in Egypt are,” said a Christian woman who asked to be identified only by her surname, Girgis. — Reuters

Anglo-French defense deal could hurt Brussels goals

By David Brunnstrom

N

ATO, the European Union and the United States have all welcomed a defense pact between Britain and France, but military analysts say it could hurt EU efforts to promote greater defense cooperation in the bloc. In treaties signed on Tuesday, Britain and France-Western Europe’s biggest defense spenders-cast aside historical rivalry and agreed to set up a joint military force and share equipment and nuclear missile research centers. NATO, the United States, and the EU’s European Defense Agency (EDA), which have argued for greater defense collaboration as a way to maintain capabilities despite the financial crisis, all welcomed the move.

“Defense cooperation between NATO allies is always a good idea,” NATO spokesman James Appathurai said. “At a time when we need the most

value for what we spend on defense, increased cooperation like this makes all the more sense.” However, a former head of the EDA said that far from improving collaboration, the deal may be a blow to those wanting more defense issues handled on a pan-EU basis from Brussels.

“I think there’s a real issue as to whether this sucks the oxygen out of the air for wider EU cooperation,” said Nick Witney of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank. “You could have an interesting spectacle of a kind of European defense forming around an Anglo-French axis with no reference to Brussels,” he said. France has long championed greater EU defense cooperation but Britain has been skeptical and it remains in its infancy. British Prime Minister David Cameron stressed the agreement was not about pooling sovereignty or creating a European army.

In their summit declaration Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said NATO remained “the essential guarantor of European security” and limited themselves to “encouraging” all EU members to develop their military capabilities. Witney said the deal was awkward for Poland. The former Warsaw Pact country, which is still nervous about its giant Russian neighbour, had been looking to push pan-EU defense during its EU presidency in the second part of next year and had been discussing the issue with France and Germany. “There’s a big question mark now as to whether France would feel it’s willing and able to play two chess boards simultaneously-work across the channel with the Brits or try to do things under a European label in Europe,” Witney said. “The German reaction is going to be fascinatingwhether they want in, or turn up their noses and try to pretend it’s not hap-

pening,” he said. The Anglo-French treaties create the potential for the British and French defense industries to work together in areas such as drones, nuclear submarine equipment and satellites.

The allies will also work towards a “single European prime contractor” to develop a series of new missiles. and agreed to set up a joint force numbering around 9,000 soldiers with air and sea support, which could assemble as needed to take part in NATO, European Union, United Nations or bilateral operations. Elke Hoff, defense policy spokeswoman for Germany’s Free Democrats, junior coalition partners to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, said it was imperative states worked together across the whole bloc “and not just bilaterally”.

Robert Hochbaum, a lawmaker in Merkel’s Christian Democrats who sits in parliament’s defense policy commit-

tee, said it was good European states were working together, but “a bit unfortunate the British and the French are doing it without us”.

“It’s always harder to get involved when two states go on ahead than when joint talks are held from the outset,” he said. Poland’s Foreign Ministry said Warsaw was not worried. “I think this initiative enhances the Polish project of drawing closer EU’s attention to building European defense identity rather than weakens it,” said spokesman Marcin Bosacki.

“That is, of course, unless it is aimed to be purely exclusive, but we believe this is not the case.” He said Poland would soon discuss the issue with other European partners and would seek to engage EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is responsible for the EU’s common security policy and the EDA, more in the process. — Reuters

focus What are the main security concerns for G20 in Seoul?

By Jeremy Laurence

S

outh Korean authorities have ramped up security for next week’s G20 summit with 10,000 participants, including 32 heads of government and leaders of international organizations, expected in Seoul. Security forces have been put on high alert, anti-aircraft missiles are at the ready, shipping and air routes are under heightened surveillance and airport screening increased.

The following is a look at the threats and security measures in place for the Nov 11-12 summit.

WILL THERE BE DEMONSTRATIONS? Yes, and there probably will be some violence. Multilateral events involving developed economies, including G7/G8 summits and IMF meetings, traditionally attract hardcore anticapitalist protesters. Often the protests have turned violent.

Police and soldiers have used water canon, teargas and armored vehicles to control protests. In one of the worst instances of rioting, a G8 summit in Genoa was marred by the death of protester shot by police in 2001. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Italian city and the rioting caused millions of dollars of damage.

South Korean police say they are screening for international troublemakers at entry points but expect a few hundred hardcore activists to infiltrate protests and stoke trouble.

More than 200 foreigners, most of them protesters arrested during last year’s Pittsburgh summit, have been blocked from entering the country. A number of South Korean protests have also been planned, and going by past demonstrations by rural activists and unionists, violence can be expected. In the past, demonstrators armed with metal rods and bamboo sticks have smashed police buses, vehicles have been upturned and torched, and shops vandalized. There have been instances of protesters publicly committing suicide.

WHAT OTHER SORTS OF TROUBLE ARE ORGANISERS WORRIED ABOUT? President Lee Myung-bak said yesterday the government’s main security worry was North Korea and or an act of terrorism. He said authorities were thoroughly prepared.

South Korea is still technically at war with its rival North Korea, having only signed an armistice to end the 1950-53

Korean War. Given that it is on a war footing, missiles, aircraft and troops are at the ready. The heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone is only about 100 km north of the capital. The Defense Ministry is preparing for eight possible types of provocative acts by North Korea, including intrusions south of the Northern Limit Line, the disputed maritime border in the West Sea. The coastguard will defend the Han River in Seoul and the air force will be on the lookout for aircraft that may try to intrude into airspace over the summit.

The South’s police chief has said the military would be prepared to use anti-aircraft missiles in the capital should any invasion of airspace occur. The South’s armed forces will be assisted by a wide range of US reconnaissance assets. Nearly 30,000 US troops are based in South Korea. The United States has asked China to use its influence over North Korea to pressure it not to be provocative during the summit. Among the worst acts of violence blamed on the North are the bombing of a Korean Air flight in 1987, a 1983 bomb attack in Myanmar that killed South Korean officials and journalists, and a thwarted attack on the presidential Blue House in 1968. In recent years, the North’s has sunk a South Korean warship as well as tested nuclear devices and missiles.

WHAT ARE THE INCREASED SECURITY MEASURES? South Korea’s armed forces are on a “Level 3” alert, the highest level. About 50,000 police-more than one-third of the national force-will provide security, among them about 20,000 riot police. A special law has been enacted to give police greater authority to thwart demonstrations and deploy troops. Armored vehicles have been mobilized at major airports. Three days before the summit, police will erect a 2.2metre fence at the venue to keep out demonstrators. Private lockers at subway stations in Seoul will be closed to prevent storage of items that could be used in attacks and rubbish bins will be replaced with transparent ones. Seoul residents have been asked to avoid using their cars, more buses and trains will put into service, and city workers have been told to report to work an hour later than normal. South Korean officials say they have ample experience in holding such an event, noting the successful 2002 World Cup and the 2005 APEC summit.—Reuters

Fate of Iraq Christians will worsen: Experts

By Philip Pullella

W

ith Al-Qaeda declaring war on Christians in Iraq and no end to political instability in sight, Catholic experts on the Middle East fear the fate of the minority Christian community there will only worsen. The pessimism followed the bloodiest attack against Iraq’s Christian minority since the 2003 U.S.led invasion.

Fifty-two hostages and police were killed on Sunday when security forces stormed a church that had been raided by AlQaeda-linked gunmen.

The bloodbath struck fear deep into the hearts of remaining Iraqi Christians and confirmed some of the worst concerns of a Vatican summit on the Middle East held last month that warned of a continuing exodus of Christians from the lands of the Bible. “In Iraq, every attack prompts the exodus of thousands of Christians,” said Fr Samir Khalil Samir, an Egyptian Jesuit who is one of the Vatican’s leading experts on Islam. “They say they have no guarantees there. The Shiites have their militias, the Sunnis have their militias and the Kurds have a well-protected autonomous province in the north. The Christians have neither militia nor a region,” Samir said.

Gunmen seized hostages at the Our Lady of Salvation Church, a Syrian Catholic cathedral, during Sunday mass, demanding the release of women they said had converted to Islam but were being detained by the Coptic Church in Egypt. “As the terrorists themselves say, their purpose

is to eliminate the Christian presence from those lands either by physically destroying Christians or by terrorizing them into renouncing the faith or fleeing,” said Father David Jaeger, a Franciscan expert on the Holy Land and the Middle East. Two days after the Baghdad church attack, which Pope Benedict condemned as ferocious because it took place in a house of God, the al-Qaeda front in Iraq said Christians were “legitimate targets” wherever they are.

The group, which calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), ridiculed the pope as “the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican” and warned that Christians would be “extirpated and dispersed” from Iraq.

Iraq’s Christians once numbered 1.5 million out of a total Iraqi population of about 30 million. Church officials believe that hundreds of thousands have either left the country or been displaced to other parts of the country.

“The militants are trying to drive them out of the large cities like Baghdad and Mosul with attacks ... it’s almost done in Baghdad,” said Samir, the Egyptian Jesuit. A main theme of a two-week Vatican synod on the Church in the Middle East last month was precisely the fear that war, violence and political instability in the region would accelerate a worrying exodus of faithful from Biblical lands. It urged Christians not to sell their property even if they fled so they or their children would have a place to return to and also expressed a fear that the rise of political Islam would continue to pose a threat.— Reuters

NEWS

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Qaeda targets Christians BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda’s front group in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Christians after a siege on a Baghdad church that left 58 people dead, linking the warning to claims that Egypt’s Coptic Church is holding women captive for converting to Islam.

The Islamic State of Iraq, which has already claimed responsibility for Sunday’s assault on a Catholic Church Mass in downtown Baghdad, said its deadline for Egypt’s Copts to release the women had expired.

As a result, it said its fighters would attack Christians wherever they can be reached, raising the prospect of violence against Christians across the Middle East. “We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood,” the insurgent group said in a statement posted late Tuesday on militant websites.

The Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella group that includes AlQaeda in Iraq and other allied Sunni insurgent factions. It is unclear exactly what led the group to seize on arguments over conversion that have raised tension between Egypt’s Muslims and its minority Coptic Christian community.

In announcing its reasons for Sunday’s attack, the group said it was giving the Coptic Church 48 hours to release women it says are being held against their will after converting to Islam and being forced to return to Christianity. The group also demanded the release of AlQaeda-linked prisoners held in Iraq. With the deadline expired,

BASRA: Iraqi security forces stand guard outside the National Evangelical church in Basra yesterday. Al-Qaeda’s front group in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Christians following a bloody siege at a Baghdad church that left scores of people dead, saying that the “killing sword will not be lifted” from their necks. — AP the group said, “All Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers are legitimate targets for the muhajedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can reach them.” The group has specifically mentioned two Egyptian women who are married to Coptic priests. Some believe they converted to Islam to leave

their husbands since divorce is banned by Egypt’s Coptic Church.

Over the past few years in Egypt, arguments over conversions in both communities have worsened tensions already high over issues like the construction of new churches. The two communities generally live in peace, though clashes and attacks have

taken place. The conversion issue has become a rallying point for hard-line Islamists in Egypt.

The Baghdad church siege horrified Iraq’s Christian community, hundreds of whom gathered Tuesday for a memorial service in Baghdad. One of the officials read a letter from Pope Benedict XVI to the crowd. —AP

Israel cuts off special dialogue with UK JERUSALEM: Israel has suspended a special strategic dialogue with London as long as Israeli officials visiting Britain face possible arrest for suspected war crimes against Palestinians, officials said yesterday. The announcement came as British Foreign Secretary William Hague met with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem. Officials from both countries said the matter would be high on the meeting’s agenda, and the British Foreign Office said it was working to resolve the matter.

British officials also said Hague would repeat Britain’s criticism of West Bank settlements.

They said he would tell Israeli leaders that the “window for a two-state solution is closing” and that the US-led peace process is the best opportunity for the two sides to hold talks. The British officials spoke on condition of anonymi-

ty in line with government policy. The latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, launched at the White House in September, stalled quickly over Israel’s rejection of Palestinian demands for a continued freeze on West Bank settlement construction. Israel says the issue should be discussed in the negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament yesterday he will meet next week with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to discuss efforts to revive the talks. Netanyahu will be in the US for a meeting of Jewish leaders. Earlier it was announced he would meet Vice President Joe Biden. Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Washington’s role in the peace process. “I know that we have the desire to move it forward, and we have taken steps to do that. I am

sure that the US has such a desire,” he said. “I hope that the Palestinian Authority also has such a desire.”

The Israel-Palestinian conflict continues to cloud Israel’s relations with other countries, including Britain. A number of Israeli officials have been threatened with possible prosecution in Britain under the law of “universal jurisdiction,” which contends that crimes against humanity are so egregious that they can be prosecuted even if they were not committed in the United Kingdom. The two countries announced the dialogue two years ago to boost relations and cooperation on security and diplomatic issues, but Israel put them on hold after former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni canceled a trip to London for fear of arrest earlier this year. —AP

10-year-old gives birth MADRID: A Romanian Gypsy woman whose 10-year-old daughter just gave birth in Spain says she’s delighted to have a new granddaughter and doesn’t understand why the birth has shocked anyone - let alone become an international sensation. Spanish authorities have released few details about the case to protect the girl’s privacy. But in comments published yesterday, her mother told reporters the baby’s father is a 13-year-old boy who is still in Romania and is no longer going out with her daughter. The 10-year-old girl and her baby daughter plan to stay in Spain because the young couple separated, said the girl’s mother. She identified herself only as Olimpia and appeared to be in her 30s but did not give her age.

She also said she didn’t understand the attention the case was generating because she and her daughter are Romanian Gypsies, or Roma, and their custom is to allow girls to marry young even though that’s against the law in Romania. “That’s the way we get married,” the girl’s mother told reporters Tuesday outside the modest apartment building in the southern town of Lebrija where the family lives. Meanwhile, the story was going viral on the Internet and causing an uproar in Spain.

Baby’s father is 13-year-old “Mother at 10 years old” blared a headline in Barcelona’s La Vanguardia newspaper, which dedicated two pages to the story.

In contrast, news about the 10-year-old mother barely registered in Romania, with stories buried inside newspapers focusing on the controversy the birth had caused among Spaniards. The girl moved to Spain about three weeks ago, her mother said, and her baby was born in a public hospital last week in the nearby city of Jerez de la Frontera. There were no complications during the birth, and the 10year-old and her baby are doing fine, her mother said. “She’s doing well and is very happy with her daughter,” the woman said. The 10year-old and her baby are living with the new grandmother while Spanish social welfare authorities determine whether the family will be able to provide for the baby.

Under Spanish law, having consensual sex with someone under age 13 is classified as child abuse. But a Justice Ministry official said this particular case is complicated, because the alleged father is not in Spain and is also a

minor. It is not clear whether he could be charged, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of ministry policy.

Romanian law allows girls to get married at age 16 with parental consent, or at 18 without it. But arranged “marriages” between teenagers are relatively common among Roma, who make up about 1.5 million of Romania’s 22 million people. Families “marry off” daughters when they reach puberty, with the “husband” usually being a couple of years older. The marriages are not recognized by the state.

Roma girls are often not encouraged to pursue a full education, and Romanian authorities do not widely enforce education laws that require children to attend school until age 16.

In 2003, there was an international outcry after the European Union envoy to Romania, Baroness Emma Nicholson, demanded that a 12-year-old Roma girl and her 15-year-old common-law husband separate and cease all intimate relations until they were legally able to be married. The couple did separate for an unknown amount of time. — AP

While last year hotels had trouble filling rooms in Makkah and the nearby port city of Jeddah, where most arrive by air, this year hotels are almost entirely fully booked. “People are really interested and everyone is trying to make up for last year ... things will be much better this year,” said Walid Abu Sabaa, head of the tourism and hotels committee at the Makkah chamber of commerce. Makkah governor Khalid al-Faisal said 1.5 millions foreign pilgrims had already arrived, Saudi daily Al-Watan said yesterday. “Sales have been going well, many have arrived early,” said Salah al-Maqdad who sells prayer beads and perfumes.

John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi, said foreigners were

forecast to spend 8 billion riyals ($2.1 billion) during the haj, up from 7.2 billion last year, while locals would spend 3.6 billion riyals versus 3.3 billion riyals. “The multiplier effect from the haj season for the entire economy could surpass 35 billion riyals this year alone,” he said, adding last year it was 31 billion riyals. Tourism GDP would surpass 7.2 percent of non-oil GDP this year, up from 6.8 percent in 2009, and 2.8 percent of overall GDP, up from 2.6 percent last year, he estimated.

Although revenues from pilgrims are small compared to the massive wealth of the kingdom because of its oil and gas resources, it helps a sector the government is developing. Faced with a fast-rising population of 18 million Saudis, the government needs to create jobs and developing tourism is one area to do that. “The main

economic potential for the haj is encouraging pilgrims to visit elsewhere in the kingdom,” said Paul Gamble, head of research at Saudi bank Jadwa Investment in Riyadh.

So far pilgrim visas are limited to visit the two holy cities of Makkah and Medina but officials have said they are working on plans to allow visits to tourist sites as well.

“There are a variety of potential tourists sites in and around the Makkah region,” Gamble said. Even in the evening, the floodlighted Grand Mosque-home to the Kaaba, the ancient cube-shaped shrine that Muslims around the world face when they pray-is packed with worshippers, while dozens rest or picnic in the nearby streets.

“We want to stay as long as possible and we also want to see Medina,” said Shaikh Habib’s brother Fairouz, after performing evening prayers in the haram. — Reuters

MPs continue onslaught on the defenseless govt Continued from Page 1 accusing him of involvement in the sports sector to prevent the implementation of sports laws. Ghanem said “We have two governments in Kuwait, the official government and the shadow government. We have one government that tries to prevent tribal primary election while the other government organizes such primaries”. The lawmaker said that the shadow government is chaired by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad, adding that the shadow government is stronger than the official government because “it has wings like the state security department”.

At this point Baseeri protested saying

that the government has only one head who is Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah and that the government does not accept such allegations. MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari said that so far we don’t know anything about the development plan and everything is in the hands of Sheikh Ahmad AlFahad which is not right.

MP Daifallah Buramia vowed he will raise the issue of forcing the government to scrap interest on bank loans for Kuwaiti citizens after the Eid Al-Adha holidays, blaming the speaker for removing the issue from the assembly agenda. Responding to sharp criticism of the information minister, the minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said

No we can’t Continued from Page 1 ideas” for cutting costs of health care or making other changes in the bill, he said he would be glad to take a look. “There are going to be some examples of where we can tweak and make progress,” he said, but predicted the Republicans would hesitate before taking away major benefits provided in the law. Republican Rep John Boehner, who is destined to become the House leader in January, argued to the contrary. He declared the party had a mandate to roll back the reforms, calling them “a monstrosity.”

While Obama said he was willing to entertain Republican ideas to make the legislation better, political realities will make a repeal of the law nearly impossible. The Democrats still control the Senate and would not entertain such a move. What’s more, Obama also still holds his veto power, and the Republicans do not have sufficient numbers to override. Boehner pledged that Republicans will use their new House majority to seek a “smaller, less costly, and more accountable government.” He said he hoped Obama would join them.

“We hope he is willing to work with us on these priorities. But as I have said, our new majority will be the voice of the American people as they expressed it so clearly yesterday,” Boehner said at a late morning news conference. The elections also were the biggest test yet of the two-year-old ultraconservative tea party movement that was fueled by what it saw as voter anger over the excessive growth of government. It produced a crop of Republican candidates often at odds with the party establishment, and some of them won key races.

For the Republican Party, there was no historical precedent to guide them in

their dealings with these new tea partybacked members of Congress, who were likely to demand radically conservative legislative solutions to the country’s problems. Incomplete returns showed the Republican Party picked up at least 60 House seats and led for four more, far in excess of what was needed for a majority. About two dozen races remained too close to call.

The Republicans’ victory eclipsed the 54-seat pickup by the so-called “revolution” that retook the House in 1994 for the first time in 40 years and the 56-seat Republican gain in 1946.

On their night of triumph, Republicans gained at least six Senate seats - among them were tea party favorites Rand Paul in Kentucky, Mike Lee in Utah and Marco Rubio in Florida. All 435 seats in the House were on Tuesday’s ballot, plus 37 in the Senate. Also, 37 states chose governors. In the Senate, Republicans won at least six seats now held by Democrats. Among them was Obama’s old seat in Illinois, captured by a congressman, Rep Mark Kirk.

Democrats did win one of the mostclosely watched races, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid defeating Sharron Angle, a favorite of the tea party movement. Democrats also retained seats targeted by Republicans in West Virginia and California, where liberal incumbent Barbara Boxer defeated former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina. Republicans needed to gain 10 seats to take control of the 100member Senate. As of early Wednesday, Democrats had 51 seats, including two independents, to 46 for Republicans. Three races were not yet decided - in Alaska, Colorado and Washington state.

Among the Senate races yet to be called was one in Alaska, where Joe Miller, a candidate supported by the tea party and former Gov Sarah Palin, faces

a strong write-in challenge from the incumbent he defeated in the Republican primary, Lisa Murkowski.

Democrat Scott McAdams is trailing in third place. The two other races, in Washington state and Colorado, remain too close to call. Although international affairs had little role in the campaign, Obama’s global agenda also would be affected in areas such as arms control and climate change. Besides the congressional vote, Republicans were making gains in the 37 governors’ races at stake Tuesday, capturing at least 11 governorships from Democrats and several state legislatures.

Democrats gained four Republicanheld governorships - in California, Connecticut, Vermont and Hawaii. The vote count continued in three governors’ races that were too close to call.

The new Congress will begin its session in January. Later this month, the current members, including those voted out of office, will go back to work to finish out their terms in what is known as a lame duck session. While the newly empowered Republicans will likely want to delay major issues until the new Congress is seated, there are many important measures that are still pending, such as tax cuts set to expire this year and a proposal to reverse the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers.

One big foreign policy issue that is pending is the new START treaty signed by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April. It calls for big cuts in nuclear arms and would replace a similar treaty that expired last year. The Senate must ratif y the treaty with 67 votes. The Russians have said ratification is a key to the success of Obama’s desire to reset relations with Moscow, which deteriorated badly under former President George W Bush. — AP

Obama’s star fades in the Muslim world Continued from Page 1 setbacks in the Senate, an outcome that will make it harder for Obama, faced with a divided government, to push his policies. Some in China fear an escalation of conflict over trade issues if the president seeks to deflect tougher Republican criticism of economic recovery plans. “It is easier to accuse China of making that mess,” said Xiong Zhiyong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University who specializes in US-China relations.

There is uncer tainty, too, in the Middle East, where some Israelis believe he will have less leverage over them because of his party’s electoral losses. Many Israelis mistrust Obama, pointing to pressure on them to renew a slowdown on settlement construction as evidence that the United States is favoring the Palestinian side in its role as mediator. Obama’s legislative achievements, which include an economic stimulus bill and a landmark health care measure, failed to dissipate frustration fueled by a sense that he has lost the electrifying power to inspire that he displayed as a candidate.

Yet in many countries, his call for multilateralism, which runs parallel to a decline in American diplomatic and economic clout, remains a welcome departure from the era of President Bush, whose two-term presidency was largely defined by the war in Iraq and the divisive debates on which it hinged.

Obama’s brand has done much to repair America’s tarnished image, some citizens believe, even if concrete results have been lacking.

“People around the world were expecting him to be God,” said Mehmet Onol, a 29-year-old manager at the Istanbul branch of a New York-based consulting firm. “The great expectations are what make his term seem to be a disappointment.” A summer survey by the German Marshall Fund in the United

States found that 78 percent of respondents in the European Union approved of how Obama was handling international policy, a slight dip from last year. The same study showed Obama’s approval plunging by nearly half to 28 percent in Turkey, reflecting traditional antiAmerican sentiment in a predominantly Muslim country that is a NATO ally.

Opposition to the Iraq war was fierce in Turkey, whose parliament denied permission to US troops to use bases on its soil in the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Similarly, a survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, released in June, found that Obama’s approval ratings were generally positive outside the Muslim world, although not quite as high as in 2009. However, the poll found that in Egypt, the percentage of Muslims expressing confidence in Obama fell 10 percent to 31 percent over the same period; from 33 percent to 23 percent in Turkey; and from 13 percent to eight percent among Pakistani Muslims.

For many Muslims, American policies do not differ markedly from one president to the next, and represent the hegemonic designs of a Western superpower, or even a vendetta against Islam.

Obama has presided over the drawdown of US forces in Iraq, a plan set in motion

by Bush, but a troop surge in Afghanistan and obstacles to a deal between Israel and the Palestinians appear to have undermined outreach to Muslims, embodied in his “new beginning” speech in Cairo last year.

“I don’t respect Obama any longer since he’s done nothing for peace,” said Raheela Nawaz. a 25-year-old housewife in the Pakistani city of Multan. She asserted that American drone attacks on suspected Taleban and Al-Qaeda targets in Pakistani tribal areas were “increasing hate against America.” On his trip to Asia, Obama will visit India, where Bush was popular for ending a three-decade ban on civilian nuclear trade that was slapped on the country after its first

atomic test in 1974. Analysts anticipated closer cooperation on defense purchases and technology, but little if any changes in the alliance as a result of the American election.

“Notwithstanding the extreme partisanship in the United States on political issues, on foreign policy there is still a fair amount of cohesion,” said Prof Kanti Bajpai, professor of international politics at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehr u University. US policy aside, Obama’s extraordinary personal journey was a key part of what enthralled the world, for a time at least. People were ecstatic in Kenya, where his father was born. In this month’s Asia tour, he will likely get a warm welcome in Indonesia, where he lived as a child.

Obama is popular in Brazil, where half the population is black, and in him they continue to see inspiration although Latin America’s biggest nation has few blacks in top political posts. As a candidate, Obama attracted 200,000 cheering fans at a speech in front of Berlin’s Victory Column, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a year in office because of the belief that he had strengthened international cooperation.

Critics deemed the award to be premature, and even Obama expressed surprise at the honor, amid a growing sense that the international promise of his presidency could not possibly fulfill the lofty expectations of his fans.

Whether Obama encouraged that sense of promise to win office, or whether it sprang up around him, is a point of debate. In Europe, meanwhile, there is a sense of bewilderment as much at the divisive, logjam culture of US politics. “People here still don’t quite understand American politics, the idea of political majorities, Congress or the US Constitution,” said Steven Fielding, director of the Center for British Politics at the University of Nottingham.

“Obama is seen as the president and allpowerful.” — AP

ing a film culture.”

Despite the obvious hurdle presented by the widespread censorship of political and sexual material in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi’s government is sponsoring a drive to produce more home-grown films.

“Sea Shadow,” the UAE’s fourth featurelength film, is currently in production. It addresses the crucial theme that Gulf Arab societies are grappling with-rapid modernization that ruptures a world of sleepy fishing villages and pearl trading centers with futuristic cityscapes that for some are visionary but for others disturbing interventions.

The story moves from Ras AlKhaimah, one of the poorest of the emirates in the UAE, through Dubai and on to Abu Dhabi, the new metropolis-discretely promoting a narrative of Abu Dhabi primacy within the UAE federation. The film depicts a love affair-romantic rather than physical in this conservative Muslim region-between teenagers Kaltham and Mansoor. “The aim is to reflect a completely Emirati atmosphere, from the towers, buildings and modern cities to the old quarters where Emiratis still live,” writer Mohammed Ahmed Hassan said.

Daniela Tully, vice-president of the production firm Imagenation, said the idea was to transfer the expertise of international film-making to the Gulf.

“We want to build up the local film industry. We want to have eventually an entire crew that is Emirati,” she said. “We want to bring Hollywood to the UAE and the UAE to Hollywood.” The film stands in contrast to last year’s “City of Life,” a

Dubai film that celebrated the city’s cosmopolitan mix of foreigners, which underwent some revision by the Abu Dhabi-based National Media Council that must approve all scripts.

Scarlet, in Qatar for the Doha extravaganza after comparing events during his Abu Dhabi festival, said rapid changes to the urban, demographic and economic shape of society in a country like the UAE were themes ripe for the silver screen. “It’s clear that any film-making in the Emirates must deal with the fact that cultural change has been so instantaneous,” he said. “Everyone is concerned with taking a cultural past and adapting it to the rapidly changing face of now.”

He said film distribution was more of an issue than censorship in the region and held out hope that Gulf Arab attitudes to acting itself would change-the leading lady in “Sea Shadow” is of Syrian origin.

“I’ve heard of young women who couldn’t be in films. Part of that is tradition and part of that is the kind of process that Europe and America went through when what was a side show attraction for the lowest levels of society suddenly won legitimacy as an art form,” Scarlet said.

Schneider also held out hope that the Gulf Arab cinema wars would turn out to be more than public relations stunts fixated on the prestige associated with luring Hollywood stars. “It would be great if the proportion of money spent on bringing stars over and that spent on aspiring filmmakers were a little different, but the mentorship and competition aspects are both good things,” she said. — Reuters

Arab ‘cinema wars’

Makkah revives pilgrim tourism Continued from Page 1

Thursday, November 4, 2010

that the ministry has filed 650 complaints against different media for violating the law.

He also said that SCOPE satellite channel was given two months to appoint a new director with a university degree otherwise it will be closed down. That came after several MPs strongly lashed out at the station and at the government for not penalizing it while it has sacked Kuwaiti ambassador to Jordan Sheikh Faisal Al-Malek Al-Sabah and suspended his brother from work after a group of Al-Malek family stormed the SCOPE TV because of allegedly insulting their ancestors. At the end of the debate, speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi adjourned the session until next week.

Continued from Page 1 political and cultural realities that dominate Gulf Arab societies. There are no cinemas at all in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam where the dominant Wahhabi school of Islam forbids men and women from mixing and strict censorship pervades. Most Arab films that make it to film theatres in the rest of the Gulf Arab region, poorly promoted amid blockbuster American and Indian productions, are dramas and comedies made in Egypt.

On the cross-roads of Africa and the Middle East and across the Mediterranean from Europe, Egypt was already making movies a 100 years agowhen many people in the Gulf still lived in palm frond huts, their traditional way of life as yet undisturbed by the discovery of oil. Gulf drama is restricted to television series produced mainly in Kuwait and Bahrain. Even in that realm, more Arab TV dramas are produced outside the Gulf, in Middle East countries like Syria or Lebanon, which have more liberal societies and a longer history in the arts.

Peter Scarlet, executive director of Abu Dhabi Film Festival, said the festivals were playing a role in developing Gulf Arab arts, even if the region’s output remains lacking. “In Abu Dhabi the only films people can see when the film festival isn’t on is mid-level Bollywood and Hollywood,” he said. “At least 10 days a year there are films from the rest of the world. There is an opportunity to sample some of film history that people can’t access and that has to be all to the good and that’s a necessary element in found-

SPORTS

Thursday, November 4, 2010

15

NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Tuesday.

Ottawa 3, Toronto 2; Columbus 3, Montreal 0; Minnesota 1, San Jose 0; Vancouver 4, Edmonton 3.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W

L

OTL

GF

GA

Philadelphia

7

4

1

37

29

PTS 15

NY Rangers

6

4

1

34

32

13

Pittsburgh

6

5

1

35

28

13

NY Islanders 4

5

2

31

37

10

New Jersey

3

9

1

20

42

7

Montreal

7

4

1

29

28

15

Boston

6

2

0

24

11

12

Northeast Division

Toronto

5

5

1

25

26

11

Ottawa

5

6

1

29

37

11

Buffalo

3

7

2

30

38

8

Tampa Bay

7

2

1

35

30

15

Washington

7

4

0

34

25

14

Atlanta

5

4

2

36

40

12

Carolina

5

6

0

27

33

10

Florida

4

5

0

24

21

8

15

Southeast Division

Western Conference Central Division Chicago

7

6

1

41

40

St Louis

6

1

2

26

17

14

Columbus

7

4

0

27

29

14

Detroit

6

2

1

30

24

13

Nashville

5

2

3

23

25

13

Vancouver

6

3

2

31

27

14

Colorado

6

4

1

39

39

13

Northwest Division

Minnesota

5

4

2

27

27

12

Calgary

6

5

0

33

34

12

Edmonton

3

5

2

31

37

8

Los Angeles

8

3

0

34

25

16

Dallas

6

4

0

32

27

12

San Jose

5

4

1

29

26

11

Phoenix

3

4

3

23

29

9

Anaheim

4

7

1

29

42

9

Pacific Division

COLUMBUS: Jeff Halpern No. 15 of the Montreal Canadiens loses his footing while attempting to get a shot off on goaltender Mathieu Garon No. 32 of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus defeated Montreal 3-0. —AFP

Garon sparkles in Jackets’ win COLUMBUS: Mathieu Garon stopped 29 shots for his 17th career shutout to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Kyle Wilson had goals and Jake Voracek added two assists for the Blue Jackets, who have won six of eight.

Garon, a second-round pick by the Canadiens in the 1996 draft, played three seasons for Montreal. He improved to 8-0-4 in home games since joining Columbus as a

free agent in 2009.

Senators 3, Maple Leafs 2 At Toronto, Sergei Gonchar and Erik Karlsson scored power-play goals 2:26 apart in the second period as Ottawa beat slumping Toronto. Mike Fisher had the other goal for the Senators on a penalty shot.

Brian Elliott appeared poised to become the third straight goalie to blank the Maple Leafs until Francois Beauchemin trickled a

point shot by him at 5:15 of third period.

Clarke MacArthur also scored for the Maple Leafs. Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf left in the second period with an apparent injury to his left leg.

Wild 1, Sharks 0 At St. Paul, Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom stopped 36 shots and Andrew Brunette scored the game’s only goal as Minnesota shut out the powerful San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks held an 18-4 shots advantage midway through the second, but found themselves trailing after Brunette scored a 5-on-3 goal with 7 minutes left in the period. The Wild killed five power plays, highlighted by a key stop with 7 minutes remaining in the third. The Sharks entered as the top power-play team in the NHL at 31.6 percent.

Canucks 4, Oilers 3 At Edmonton, Alberta, Raffi Torres

scored a hat trick against his former team as Vancouver withstood a late charge to beat Edmonton for its fourth straight win.

Daniel Sedin also scored for the Canucks (6-3-2), who won for the first time on the road this season.

Vancouver plays seven of its next eight away from home. Dustin Penner, Ryan Jones and Gilbert Brule scored for the Oilers (3-5-2), who have one win in their past eight games after a 2-0 start.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Devils forward

Zach Parise will miss three months after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the NHL team said on Tuesday.

Parise, who led the Devils in goal scoring in each of the past four seasons, had exploratory arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday and a torn meniscus was repaired.

“As a result, he will be out of action for three months,” the Devils said in a statement. Parise had three goals and three assists in his 12 games with the Devils this season.—Agencies

Manager dismisses chance of cyclist Landis’ French trial

Briggs fined for ‘sham contest’ against Green

WELLINGTON: Floyd Landis’ team manager dismissed the prospect of the cyclist facing trial in France for hacking into a doping laboratory’s computers.

Landis, who originally won the 2006 Tour de France but was then stripped of his title for doping, is riding for the Orca Velo Merino team in the six-day Tour of Southland in New Zealand.

Team manager Wayne Hudson said yesterday that reports that Landis and coach Arnie Baker might be tried in France for hacking the computer system of the Chatenay-Malabry lab were “ridiculous.”

Landis was not available for comment after riding in the fourth and fifth stages of the nine-stage tour on Wednesday. He is fourth overall in the race, which concludes Saturday.

Hudson said the warrant against Landis and Baker was issued more than 18 months ago and came up this week for reconsideration.

Judge Thomas Cassuto in Nanterre, west of Paris, decided on Oct. 15 that Landis and Baker should face trial but no trial date was set.

“If nothing was done, (the warrant) would have lapsed. The question was whether the warrant should stay open or not,” Hudson said. “But the warrant was never served on Floyd. So the suggestion he will stand trial in France is a ridiculous statement because they still have to serve him.”

The prosecutor’s office had argued against sending Landis to trial, contending the inquiry failed to show he participated in the hacking or knowingly received internal lab documents that had been obtained fraudulently.

“It’s about his having somehow received some information that may have been obtained illegally from a computer in a laboratory in France and there’s been no substance to it,” Hudson said. “The prosecutor doesn’t want to push it but the judge disagreed. By making the decision the judge is keeping the case alive.

“He (Landis) is annoyed that it has escalated unnecessarily when there’s no substance to it. But he’s not losing any sleep over it and is focused on the race.” The case is part of a sweeping investigation into computer hacking, triggered by a complaint filed by the ChatenayMalabry lab denouncing intrusions into its computer system.

The Associated Press has seen judicial documents that say Baker is accused of having asked a consulting firm called Kargus Consultants to hack the lab’s computers in order to discredit doping test results showing Landis doped during the 2006 Tour de France.

French judicial officials also said Landis “could not fail to be aware” that the internal lab documents he had access to had been obtained fraudulently through hacking. Landis is to be tried for “receiving in the fraudulent intrusion.” A date for the trial has yet to be set.—AP

PERTH: An Australian state boxing commission has fined Paul Briggs $75,000 for turning his IBO world cruiserweight title bout in July into a “sham contest” against Danny Green.

The Western Australian Professional Combat Sports Commission yesterday released the findings of its investigation into the July 21 bout, sanctioning Briggs and his trainer Billy Hussein for failing to disclose that issues with the boxer’s nervous system meant he was not fit enough to participate.

Briggs received $200,000 for the fight but was heavily criticized for apparently going down very easily to Green’s glancing punch to the head after just 29 seconds.

Commission chairman Simon Watters told reporters in Perth that when Briggs stepped into the ring, he knew he wouldn’t be able to put up a genuine contest.

“Briggs knew due to his condition with his nervous system and his physical ability to mount a credible defense, he wasn’t a worthy and genuine competitor,” he said.

The commission cleared Green of any wrongdoing. It ruled that Briggs had failed to disclose the complete picture of his medical condition and, as a result, had “participated in a sham contest.”‘ Briggs said he disputed the findings “100 percent” and was consulting a lawyer about an appeal.

“A sham to me is one guy paying another guy to take a dive,” Briggs told the Australian Associated Press.

“They’ve just used me as a scapegoat. None of it makes sense, it’s a joke. How can I con medical people? They passed me with all their

Floyd Landis in action in this file photo.

Olympic champs edge world champs at rowing worlds CAMBRIDGE: Olympic champions Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter of Britain beat New Zealand’s world champions Peter Taylor and Storm Uru yesterday in a semifinal of the men’s lightweight double sculls at the rowing world championships on Lake Karapiro.

Purchase and Hunter, the Beijing gold medalists, completed the race in 6 minutes, 55.50 seconds, almost two full seconds ahead of Taylor and Uru, who won gold at last year’s world championships in Poland.

The first three crews in each semifinal progressed to Friday’s final. The third-place Portuguese crew of Pedro Fraga and Nuno Mendes also advanced.

In the second semifinal, China’s Zhang Fangbing and Wang Tiexin posted a faster winning time of 6 minutes, 54.81 seconds, two seconds ahead of Italy’s Lorenzo Bertini and Elia Luini. Canada’s Douglas Vandor and Cameron Sylvester were third.

Britain’s Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking won the first semifinal of the women’s lightweight double sculls in 7 minutes, 34.79 seconds, beating Christina Giazitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou of Greece. New Zealanders Lucy Strack and Julia Edward were third.

Goodsell and Hosking won a gold and two silver medals on the World Cup circuit this season and are

now among a lengthening list of top British medal prospects.

Canada’s Lindsay Jennerich and Tracy Cameron won the second women’s semifinal in 7:40.93, more than six seconds slower than the British pair.

Australians Alice McNamara and Hannah Every-Hall were second and Germany’s Daniela Reimer and Anja Noske third.

Greece, France, the United States and Italy progressed through repechages to the final of the men’s coxless four with the US crew of Guiseppe Lanzone, Henrik Rummel, Samuel Stitt and Silas Stafford posting the best time of 6 minutes, 15.59 seconds.

Italy and the United States reached the final of the men’s quad sculls while the United States, Germany, Australia and New Zealand advanced to the final of the women’s quad.

The United States, Czech Republic, Australia and Germany gained places in the final of the women’s double sculls after two repechages yesterday.

Australia’s Kerry Hore and Kim Crow had the fastest winning time of 7 minutes, 1.45 seconds.

Australia’s Nick Hudson and Jared Bidwell won their repecharge in the men’s double scull from Switzerland and Argentina, which also progressed to the final. Sarah Tait and Phoebe Stanley of Australia won the repechage in the women’s coxless pair. —AP

Paul Briggs exams ... and I’ve never been diagnosed with anything.”

Hussein was not fined, but was told his applications to be involved in any further fights in the state had been compromised. The Sydney-based

trainer has denied any wrongdoing.

The commission also referred concerns over betting on the fight to the police commissioner for Western Australia. —AP

SPORTS

16

Thursday, November 4, 2010

A true World Golf Championship in Shanghai SHANGHAI: The players and the props showed just how much the landscape of golf has changed at the HSBC Champions. A year ago, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson sat across from each other in a mock game of Chinese checkers to kick off the festivities in this final World Golf Championship.

They stood out as the top two players in the world. There was little argument about that. Now it’s a lot more crowded.

This time, tournament organizers brought Woods, Mickelson, Lee Westwood and PGA champion Martin Kaymer to Shanghai’s riverfront in the famous Bund district. They were equipped with swords, and they struck a pose to celebrate the ancient Chinese martial art of taichi.

It was a bit dramatic, but the point had been made. Golf finally has a real

battle for No. 1 in the world, and it figures to play out at Sheshan International over the next four days.

“It’s an interesting time for golf,” said Westwood, who ended Woods’ record reign at No. 1 in the world. “It’s a lot more interesting when it’s more volatile with who can become world No. 1. Martin has obviously played very consistently just recently. Tiger and Phil have been at the top of the world rankings for awhile, as I have myself.

“I think for the neutral (fan) who doesn’t normally watch golf, it’s captured their imagination.” This used to be a time of the year when players chase appearance money in exotic locations, wanting to win for their pride but not under the kind of pressure typically found during the summer months.

That might not be the case when the HSBC Champions gets under way today. “It’s exciting, I’m sure, for the public,” Woods said. “But as far as the players are concerned, I think everyone still has the same focus, and that’s to win tournaments.

That’s how we got into the position we’re at, how we got our ranking as high as the top four players in the world. We were able to win golf tournaments. “That’s why we’re here doing that.”

Woods is no longer No. 1 in the world ranking, nor has he looked like it for most of the year. He has gone 51 weeks and 12 tournaments without a victory, the longest drought of his career.

At stake this week is trying to avoid getting shut out on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career.

This also is the only World Golf Championship he has not won.

“I’ve come close,” Woods said.

“Unfortunately, I just haven’t done it yet.” He wasn’t particularly close last year, despite playing in the final group with Mickelson. Woods blew up on the front nine to fall out of contention, and Mickelson wound up holding on for a one-shot win over Ernie Els. Westwood hasn’t been playing much at all. He put himself in position to be No. 1 by finishing second in the British Open at St. Andrews, despite a calf injury that was affecting his ankle.

Since then, Westwood has played only six rounds in stroke play, and four matches in the Ryder Cup. If he doesn’t finish ahead of Woods or Kaymer — and possibly Mickelson — he most likely won’t be No. 1 by the end of the week. That wouldn’t be

such a disgrace. The first time Woods reached No. 1 in the world, he only lasted one week.

Kaymer had a chance last week if he had finished among the top two in Spain, but he wound up in a tie for 21st. What makes the German stand out are his wins this year — not only the PGA Championship in a playoff at Whistling Straits, but for three other titles on the European Tour that makes him the most prolific winner this year.

He also leads the European Tour’s money list, and has a chance to become the first German to win the Order of Merit since Bernhard Langer in 1984, a few months before Kaymer was born.

“I think Tiger, the last 10 years or last 12 years, he’s the No. 1 in the world,” Kaymer said. “I think in

everybody’s head, he’s still the best player in the world. Of course, he’s playing not so good at the moment.

When people say I’m playing like the No. 1 in the world at the moment, it’s nice to hear. But officially, Lee Westwood is the No. 1.” It can be tough to keep track, although it ultimately comes down to great golf.

The rough is thick again at Sheshan International, and the greens are relatively firm from a recent cold spell in Shanghai. And while there is so much emphasis on the current version of the “Big Four,” the field is strong as ever, typical of a world championship.

It features 15 of the top 20 in the world, with most of the absentees being Americans who choose not to play or travel this time of the year — Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Dustin

Johnson and Zach Johnson. The other is British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, still recovering from an ankle injury.

Mickelson has won the HSBC Champions twice in the last three years. He finally is fully healthy for the first time since he was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. And despite failing to get to No. 1 in the world over the last six months, he is still in the mix.

“I would love to accomplish that, but the only way to do that is play good golf,” Mickelson said. “And the only way to do that is to not worry about it and try to make some birdies. This is a tournament that has a lot of world ranking points, one of the strongest fields in golf, on a course that I’ve played well on in the past.-”I feel like I can put together a good week here and compete for the title.” —AP

Woods looking to rediscover winning habit after barren year

SHANGHAI: Tiger Woods of the US smiles upon arrival for a news conference for the Shanghai HSBC Champions golf tournament, which begins today. —AP

Zenyatta draws the eight post for Breeders’ Classic LOUISVILLE: Undefeated mare Zenyatta drew the eight post on Tuesday and was installed the early 8-5 favourite for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

“This is excellent,” said Zenyatta owner Jerry Moss.

“Eight is our lucky number.

We’re very happy to be here. If I didn’t think she was up to the task, we wouldn’t have brought her.”

Zenyatta, a dynamic California-based six-year-old who last year became the first female Classic champion, will face 11 rivals in Saturday’s mileand-a-quarter affair.

Rated second at 9-2 was Jockey Gold Cup runner-up Blame, followed by Florida Derby winner Quality Road at 51 and Lookin At Lucky, the Bob Baffert-trained 2010 Preakness champion who at 6-1 odds will

break from the outside 12 post.

Baffert painfully recalls finishing sixth in last year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs after starting from the dreaded inside post in a field of 20.

“It’s better than the one hole,” Baffert said. “He went to the extreme opposite from his Kentucky Derby post position.

It’s not that horrible, it’s not the end of the world. “I’m just glad he’s out of the one hole. If we’d drawn that I would have been getting bad vibes.”

Blame, with Garrett Gomez in the irons, will break from the five hole, while John Velazquez will be aboard Quality Road, the 2010 Woodward Stakes winner who will start from the one.

“It wouldn’t have been one of my choices but it is what it is,” Quality Road trainer Todd Pletcher said of his bay stal-

lion’s post.

“It’s probably less of a disadvantage in a 12-horse field than it is in the Derby going a mileand-a-quarter in a full field.”

Blame trainer Al Stall Jr. deemed the fifth post “just fine.” “How can you not be happy with that number?,” he asked. “I’m not a big post position person unless you draw the far outside so it’s one less thing to worry about.”

All eyes at Churchill Downs will be on Zenyatta, last year’s champion at Santa Anita who will retire following the race.

Hall of Famer Mike Smith will be aboard the unusually large mare as she tries for her 20th straight triumph.

The Breeders’ Cup card, offering purses of more than $25.5 million, will start Friday with six races followed by eight on Saturday. —Reuters

LOUISVILLE: Zenyatta arrives at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Zenyatta was made the early 8-5 favorite in a field of 12 for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, where she’ll try to end her career with a 20-0 record, on Saturday. —AP

SHANGHAI: Tiger Woods believes he has become a different person after suffering a year to forgot both on and off the course, but one thing the American insists will never change is his unerring desire to win.

Woods will tee off at the HSBC Champions today in the unfamiliar position of world number two after his 281-week reign was ended by Briton Lee Westwood last weekend and regardless of his ranking, the 34year-old has only one thing on his mind.

“I come to every event with the same intention and that’s winning a golf tournament, whether I’m ranked number one or not.

That has not changed and it never will,” Woods told reporters yesterday.

The world’s top fourWestwood, Woods, German Martin Kaymer and American Phil Mickelson-are all playing in Shanghai this week and a victory for any one of them would see them top the rankings when they are released on Monday.

Woods, however, is less concerned about trying to ensure a quick return to the top of the rankings and is more focused on getting back into the habit of capturing tournaments.

“I haven’t won an event in about a year,” Woods added. “I’ve gone through periods like this before in the past. It’s a matter of going out there and competing and winning golf tournaments, and winning enough tournaments. It (the ranking) will take care of itself.”

Woods was as bullish as ever when talking up his chances this week but when questioned about the events of the last 12 months that has led to the breakdown of his marriage, the loss of sponsorship deals and poor form, he was far more philosophical.

“I look at myself as a much better person than what I was,” he said. “All that I have gone through has certainly made me a better person and has enabled me and forced me to take a look at myself and have become a much better person because of it.”

The American has struggled with his game since the sordid revelations of serial philandering emerged late last year and ended the 2010 PGA Tour campaign without a victory for the first time since joining the circuit in late 1996.

“Unfortunately, I had to go through it to get to this point. But I’m looking forward to and working each and every day at trying to become the best parent I possibly can,” Woods said.

“Obviously the most important thing is to become a better parent. That’s my number one thing. I have two beautiful kids, and just trying to be the best parent I possibly can each and every day,” he added.

“I’m much more balanced and certainly a better (person). I had an introspective look at myself and where I was and where I wanted to go and how I was raised.

“I think everyone at some point in their lives has tried to do that. It’s not an easy process but it’s a process that once you come out the other side, you feel so much better.”

Woods enjoyed a strong showing at last month’s Ryder Cup and believes his revival of form was more down to the hard work he was putting in to improve his game than his change of outlook.

“I’m trying to get better at golf every day, and that’s been ever since I first started playing the game, for as long as I can remember and I started playing since I was 11 months, so it’s been a while,” he joked.

“It’s a hell of a field this week and it’s going to be a lot of fun going out there competing and trying to win.” —Reuters

One day to go for 2nd Red Bull Flugtag KUWAIT: Tomorrow the 2nd Red Bull Flugtag will soar in the Kuwaiti Sky. Preparations continue in the Marina Crescent area and are expected to finish tonight.

Meanwhile, competitors have moved their flying machines and parked them in the flight bay.

The participating teams are all from Kuwait and will be competing for the fun of the event and for a bevy of

amazing prizes.

Scrutineering will take place on Friday and all the crafts have to meet the regulations. Once the flying machine is cleared to take off the pilot’s license will be stamped. The event is open to the public and they are advised to show up one hour before the start of the event (1:00pm).

Meanwhile, the invitees will have special gates made

for them and a special Red Bull Flugtag on ground crew will guide the invitees to their designated areas.

Meanwhile, work continues at the Marina Crescent where the launching ramp is being built. The launching ramp is 30m long and 10m wide. There will be a 1m safety net from each side.

The height of the runway is 6 meters from sea level.

Have your boarding pass

ready because Red Bull Flugtag is set to launch soon and one of the 34 teams will be the brave successor of Leonardo Da Vinci, Ibn Firnas and the Wright Brothers.

Since 1992, this event has made the tour of more than 60 cities worldwide and has become internationally renowned.

So what are the rules? All flying machines must be launched from a 6m high runway using human power only.

Flying machines can be built using any material from paper to titanium. Dimensions are important as a maximum wing span of 8 meters and maximum weight 180 Kg is allowed.

All competitors must be over 16 and wear life jackets and helmets.

During the event teams are judged on three criteria: distance, creativity and best performance.

1) Distance - The further you fly, the better.

2) Creativity Incredible, over-the-top flying machines can score high.

3) Best performance Teams must remember that they have 60 seconds to impress the jury and spectators before flying.

Zain sponsors Run Q8 to support KU’s community KUWAIT: Zain the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, today announced its sponsorship of RunQ8, a 10 km race organized by Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) and Agility. The race, to be held on 6th November 2010, supports Kuwait University’s Community Eye Health Initiative — Vision 2020.

The Company stated in a press release, that Vision 2020 is a joint initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).

They are joined by other UN agencies, governments, eye care organizations, health professionals, institutions, and individuals all working in partnership to eliminate avoidable blindness.

The preliminary projects for eye care assessment in the elderly will be conducted in joint cooperation between the Kuwait University and the Kuwait Ministry of Health. All proceeds from RunQ8 will support the projects of the Eye Health Care Initiative in Kuwait.

Waleed Al-Khashti Corporate Communications & Relations Manager in the company said, as a part of the partnership, Zain will be funding many

projects related to eye health care and Zain will be funding a mobile care unit fully equipped with early check up facilities to detect eye diseases as part of the health awareness campaign “Shoof Zain” .

He highlighted, “By supporting RunQ8 we have the ideal platform to promote primary eye health care in Kuwait. Vision 2020 is a much needed initiative in the country and we are happy to service our local community by assisting medical experts achieve their goals.”

on improving the standards of health care in Kuwait and supporting preventative health care initiatives targeting the local population.

Dr Elham Al Hamdan, President and Medical Director at the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) stated, “The aim of the run, in partnership with Agility, is to raise public awareness on health issues in our society, support medical research and encourage healthy living. We welcome Zain’s sponsorship of RunQ8 and look forward to working closely with the ‘Shouf Zain’ campaign.”

Agility’s participation stems from its strong belief in giving back to local communities. Mariam Al Foudery, VP, Enterprise Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility at Agility explained: “At Agility we lay a strong emphasis on corporate citizenship. With RunQ8 we are investing resources and time to ensure local health care programs receive the required assistance and are promoted through as many channels as possible.

We look forward to participating in many more such initiatives and growing health awareness among the communities in Kuwait.” For registrations and other information on the run please visit: www.runq8.org

Health awareness campaign ‘Shoof Zain’ Al-Khashti added also that Zain considers CSR programs to be the true DNA of its operations. Zain shoulders a great responsibility being one of the largest companies operating in the area, and that it works to deliver this social message perfectly out of its strong conviction of the importance of this role in enhancing the relation between the company and the community FSRI and Agility have joined hands to organize this annual event. FSRI is a non-profit rehabilitation institute established on the pillars of service through clinical care, education, training and research, with the greatest focus being

Thursday, November 4, 2010

17

SPORTS

Nawaz advises Pakistan trio to look at CAS ISLAMABAD: Retired test cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz urged the Pakistan players accused of spot-fixing to take their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“When the suspended players have no confidence in the ICC, how can they expect a favorable decision when the final hearing will be held,” Nawaz told The Associated Press yesterday.

The International Cricket Council’s code of conduct commission rejected appeals by Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir against their suspensions last Sunday, with the next stage being a hearing by the anti-corruption tribunal into details of the fixing case. Fast bowler Mohammad

Asif withdrew his appeal.

Butt and Amir accused the ICC of not listening to their appeals against provisional bans last Sunday as code of conduct commission head Michael Beloff heard their appeals. Beloff will now form a threemember anti-corruption tribunal.

“In the first place the players should have directly gone to the tribunal instead of going through this appeal process,” Nawaz said.

Butt had said that the code of conduct commission’s decision was not based on a “single piece of evidence” against them.

However, Nawaz said the indications were clear that the ICC had some proof

against the trio when it suspended them on Sept. 2 after British tabloid The News of the World accused them of bowling predetermined no-balls during the test against England at Lord’s.

“I don’t think that when the tribunal meets they will have a soft corner for them and I believe they will hand them tough punishments,” Nawaz said. Both Butt and Amir had termed the spot-fixing accusations as a conspiracy against Pakistan and wanted the government and the cricket board to help them in the dealing with their cases.

“I don’t buy this theory. Government should not be involved in such cases,”

Nawaz said. “What surprises me most is why are their lawyers not speaking after Sunday’s hearing? I believe Beloff must have showed them something which these players are now hiding from the people of Pakistan.”

The ICC had already asked the Pakistan Cricket Board to keep a distance from the tainted cricketers and should not assist them in their cases.

The PCB will be naming 30 probables for next year’s World Cup on Nov. 30 and chairman Ijaz Butt had said that the trio will not be considered until they were cleared by the ICC. “The only place where I feel these

cricketers have some hope is CAS and I am more than willing to help them in preparing their case,” Nawaz said. “Otherwise I don’t think they could compete at next year’s World Cup.” Nawaz, who took 177 wickets in 55 test matches and was regarded as pioneer of reverse swing, criticized the ICC for not reacting in time to curb match-fixing in the past decade.

“Had they come down hard on players in the last 10 years by now they would have eradicated this menace of match-fixing,” he said. “There are so many players who were named in Justice Qayyum’s report, but most of them are now back in the cricket-

ing setups of various countries.”

Justice Mohammad Qayyum handed life bans to former captain Salim Malik and Ataur Rehman in 2001, while also fining several players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed for not fully cooperating with the commission.

Ahmed is nowadays associated with then England team while Younis is the head coach of Pakistan’s team.

Nawaz said he had met with former head of ICC’s anti-corruption unit — Paul Condon — in 2001 and had provided lot of information on match-fixing during a twoday meeting in London. “But they did nothing,” he said. — AP

Sri Lanka set record to flatten Australia

SPIKE IT! 2010 IS BACK! BIGGER! BETTER! MORE CHALLENGING! MORE FUN! KUWAIT: Volleyball enthusiasts can find all the excitement they are looking for at SPIKE IT! 2010, the Inter-Agency Beach Volleyball Tournament, on Friday, November 5th at Movenpick Hotel, Al Bidaa.

The event promises to give both the competitive and the novice players a chance to flex their muscles on the court, pitch their skills against each other, and take home cash prizes, trophies and loads of attractive gifts.

Whether you are a player or a spectator Spike It! 2010 has something special to offer everyone. Thanks to the generous support of the sponsors, and the tireless efforts of the organizer’s team, there are special spa services, and gifts for the ladies at the “Pamper Zone” and loads of music, games, activities and gifts for the kids.

With Movenpick Hotel, Al Bidaa as the perfect backdrop for the tournament, the players and spectators are in for a day of action and fun on the beach.

Freeze Energy, an energy drink that takes seconds to drink, minutes to feel, and lasts for hours, is the Platinum Sponsor for the event, supported by Go Sports, the biggest sports store in Kuwait, as the Gold Sponsor.

The event owes its successful media campaign to the generous support of Kuwait Times, as the official Media Sponsor.

Spike It! 2010 is organized

by MaYa Design Inspired, the young and dynamic event management company that always delivers beyond what it promises. With an eye for detail, and never leaving anything to chance, MaYa Design Inspired has to its credit an impressive list of highly satisfied clients, and successful events.

The event is co-sponsored

by Tri Kolor, Tristar, Recovery Spa, Moonlight Studio, Goal! Sony Ericsson, Gillette, SebaMed, Maki Restaurant, Mais Alghanim Restaurant, Edible Arrangements, Caesar’s Group and Paintball.

See you at Spike It! 2010 on Friday 9:00am! Come with family and friends, and don’t forget the sun tan lotion or sun block cream - whichever works for you! And finally, calling all volleyball fans and beach lovers, come prepared to feast and frolic under the sun, one last time, before the cold Northwesterly winds blow in!

MELBOURNE: Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga put on a one-day international record 132 runs for the ninth wicket to fire Sri Lanka to a remarkable one-wicket victory over Australia yesterday.

The Sri Lankans, who were chasing 240 for victory, looked dead and buried at 107 for eight before Mathews, who ended up with an unbeaten 77, and Malinga lit up the Melbourne night with some batting pyrotechnics to claim an unlikely victory.

The partnership was finally broken when Malinga was run out for 56 with the scores level at 239, leaving 10th man Muttiah Muralitharan to hit the winning boundary.

“I’m still catching my breath, it was awesome,” Mathews told reporters. “All credit should go to Lasith, it was very easy batting with him.

“What a performance, we had to fight for every run ... there’s nothing I can say but Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga, unbelievable.”

Australia have not tasted victory in nine matches in all forms of cricket going back to July and have the Ashes series against England looming at the end of the month.

“I honestly don’t know how we lost that game,” said Michael Clarke, who was captain in place of Ricky Ponting who missed the match to attend his grandmother’s funeral.

“Very disappointing ... just seems to be right at the end when we get close to winning matches, we just can’t seem to get that win over the line.”

It had looked like being left arm spinner Xavier Doherty’s night as he took four wickets and engineered a stunning run out on his debut to put the hosts in the driving seat.

Mathews and Malinga had other thoughts, however, and they sprayed the ball around the Melbourne Cricket Ground with abandon to exceed Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani’s ninth wicket stand of 126 for India against Zimbabwe in 1983.

Sri Lankan paceman Thisara Perera earlier took five for 46 but Michael Hussey belied his recent poor form with an unbeaten 71 as Australia rallied to 2398.

The Australians, beaten by seven wickets in a Twenty20 match against the Sri Lankans in Perth on Sunday, were cruising at 851 until Perera claimed three wickets in eight deliveries.

Clarke (27) and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (49) went to superb catches from Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan before Cameron White was skittled for a golden duck.

Doherty enjoyed his own eight-delivery spell to rival Perera’s, first trapping Mahela Jayawardene leg before in his first over and having Chamara Silva caught

by Shane Watson and bowling Sangakkara in successive balls in his second.

The second match is in Sydney on Friday and the series closes with a third day-night match in Brisbane on Sunday. The first Ashes test begins in Brisbane on Nov. 25. — Reuters

MELBOURNE: Australia’s Brad Haddin (left) watches on as Kumar Sangakkara from Sri Lanka is bowled by Xavier Doherty during their oneday international cricket match. — AP

SCOREBOARD MELBOURNE: Scoreboard after Sri Lanka beat Australia by one wicket in the first of three oneday internationals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday.

Australia won the toss Australia innings S. Watson c Silva b Malinga 10 B. Haddin c Dilshan b Perera 49 M. Clarke c Sangakkara b Perera 27 M. Hussey not out 71 C. White b Perera 0 S. Marsh c Sangakkara b Randiv 31 S. Smith c Sangakkara b Perera 12 M. Johnson b Kulasekara 10 J. Hastings b Perera 16 X. Doherty not out 3 Extras (b-1, lb-5, w-4) 10 Total (for eight wickets, 50 overs) 239 Did not bat: P. Siddle Fall of wickets: 1-30 2-85 3-88 4-88 5-155 6-178 7-204 8-235 Bowling: Malinga 10-0-39-1 (w-3), Kulasekara 10-0-60-1, Perera 8-0-46-5 (w-1), Muralitharan 9-0-36-0, Randiv 9-0-35-1, Dilshan 4-0-17-0.

Sri Lanka innings U. Tharanga run out 3 T. Dilshan c Hussey b Siddle 7 K. Sangakkara b Doherty 49 M. Jayawardene lbw Doherty 19 C. Silva c Watson b Doherty 4 A. Mathews not out 77 T. Perera b Johnson 0 S. Randiv run out 10 N. Kulasekera lbw Doherty 0 L. Malinga run out 56 M. Muralitharan not out 4 Extras (b-2, w-12) 14 Total: (for nine wickets, 44.2 overs) 243 Fall of wickets: 1-10 2-19 3-73 4-84 5-84 6-86 7107 8-107 9-239 Bowling: Johnson 10-1-68-1 (w-5), Siddle 8-051-1 (w-1), Watson 6.2-0-39-0 (w-1), Hastings 60-27-0 (w-3), Doherty 10-1-46-4 (w-2), Smith 30-8-0, Clarke 1-0-2-0.

Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0.

Brazil defeat Italy at worlds in Japan HAMAMATSU: Olympic champion Brazil defeated Italy 25-16, 25-19, 25-7 at the women’s volleyball world championship yesterday to finish the first round undefeated.

Natalia Pereira led the way with 25 points as the Brazilians improved to 5-0 in Group B. European champion Italy dropped to 3-2.

“I’m very happy with my team,” Brazil coach Jose Guimaraes said. “We did very good teamwork in serve, defense, blocking, and counterattack. It wasn’t a perfect match, but almost.”

Brazil, the Netherlands, Italy and the Czech Republic all advanced from Group B to play in the second round, which begins on Saturday in Nagoya.

In Group C, the United States defeated Cuba 30-28, 25-23, 2225, 25-23 to remain undefeated at 5-0. Destinee Hooker scored a team-high 20 points and Logan Tom added 19 for the Americans.

Host Japan defeated Serbia 2826, 29-27, 18-25, 27-25 to finish Group A with a 5-0 record.

Serbia dropped to 4-1 but had already advanced to the second round with Poland. Peru defeated Costa Rica 25-18, 25-18, 32-34, 25-19 to take the fourth and final second round spot in Group A. Defending champion Russia defeated China 25-22, 25-17, 2519 to improve to 5-0 in Group D. The victory clinched the group for the Russians, while China advanced to the second round with a 2-3 record. — AP

JAPAN: Brazil’s Thaisa Menezes (right) spikes the ball over Italy’s Valentina Arrighetti (left) during their Pool B preliminary round match at the world women’s volleyball championship. —AFP

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Wall leads Wizards over 76ers in OT WASHINGTON: John Wall starred in his home debut, leading the Washington Wizards to a 116-115 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday and getting the better of Evan Turner in the first clash of the two top picks in this year’s draft.

Cartier Martin caught Wall’s inbound pass and hit a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.

No. 1 choice Wall had 29 points, 13 assists, nine steals and eight turnovers, helping the Wizards to their first win of the season after two defeats.

No. 2 pick Turner, who came off the bench and wasn’t a factor until the second half, scored all of his nine points in the fourth quarter and finished with six rebounds for the 76ers, who are 0-4 for the first time since 2001-02. Lou Williams led the 76ers with 30 points.

Celtics 109, Pistons 86 In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rajon Rondo had nine points and 17 assists to lead Boston over Detroit. Rondo, who had a triple-double with 24 assists Friday against New York, has 67 assists through Boston’s first four games.

Kevin Garnett scored 22 points for Boston, which won easily despite Shaquille O’Neal’s absence because of a bruised knee. The Celtics hardly missed him against the undersized Pistons, who are off to their first 0-4 start since 1999-2000.

Charlie Villanueva scored 17 points for Detroit, which played without Richard Hamilton, who was out with a sore right foot.

LOS ANGELES: Lakers forward Pau Gasol (16) passes the ball as Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) follows during the first half of an NBA basketball game. — AP

NBA results/standings NBA results and standings on Tuesday.

Atlanta 100, Cleveland 88; Washington 116, Philadelphia 115 (OT); Boston 109, Detroit 86; Miami 129, Minnesota 97; Portland 90, Milwaukee 76; LA Lakers 124, Memphis 105. NY Knicks v Orlando - Postponed Western Conference Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Northw est Division W L PCT GB Portland 4 1 .800 Boston 3 1 .750 Oklahoma City 2 1 .667 1 New Jersey 2 1 .667 .5 Denver 2 1 .667 1 NY Knicks 1 2 .333 1.5 Utah 1 2 .333 2 Toronto 1 2 .333 1.5 Minnesota 1 3 .250 2.5 Philadelphia 0 4 .000 3 Pacific Division Central Division LA Lakers 4 0 1.000 Indiana 2 1 .667 Sacramento 3 1 .750 1 Chicago 2 1 .667 Golden State 2 1 .667 1.5 Milwaukee 1 3 .250 1.5 Phoenix 1 2 .333 2.5 Cleveland 1 3 .250 1.5 LA Clippers 0 4 .000 4 Detroit 0 4 .000 2.5 Southw est Division Southeast Division New Orleans 3 0 1.000 Atlanta 4 0 1.000 San Antonio 2 1 .667 1 Miami 4 1 .800 .5 Dallas 2 1 .667 1 Orlando 1 1 .500 2 Washington 1 2 .333 2.5 Memphis 2 2 .500 1.5 Charlotte 0 3 .000 3.5 Houston 0 3 .000 3

Danny Jordaan: South Africa colluded with WCup rivals LONDON: Senior FIFA official Danny Jordaan has admitted to clandestine collusion with competitors when he led South Africa’s World Cup bid team, unsuccessfully persuading England to withdraw from the 2006 race by offering Nelson Mandela’s support for 2010.

While South Africa did persuade Brazil to pull out of the vote in 2000, England stayed in the contest with South Africa and the 2006 tournament went to Germany.

Jordaan did successfully secure the 2010 World Cup for South Africa and has recently been part of the FIFA inspection team that toured the nations bidding for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments ahead of December’s vote.

Jordaan’s revelations about insider deals a decade ago come as FIFA’s ethics committee investigates claims that 2018 contender SpainPortugal and 2022 candidate Qatar have broken rules by colluding to swap votes.

Jordaan disclosed yesterday that he wanted Brazil and England out of the 2006 vote to give South Africa a “stronger chance” of winning.

“In the end we wanted a straight fight so we sent an emissary to the English bid, but the English believed they were going to win 2006,”

Jordaan told the International Sports Event Management conference in London.

Jordaan recalled that England was told: “If you withdraw we will get Nelson Mandela to come to London, to praise you and say nice things about you and then in 2010 you will be stronger because then you will have dealt with the difficulty of the debate of 1966-2006.

But of course we didn’t convince them.”

Jordaan later claimed that such deals would be harder to attempt now because bidding nations have lucrative deals with commercial partners that would prevent a late withdrawal.

“You can’t halfway through decide you aren’t running the race,” he told The Associated Press.

“It’s not good or bad. It’s the reality when you bid you work within the framework of the reality of the rules.”

FIFA executive committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Asian confederation president, conceded last week that “collusion will always have a chance to happen” because the 2018 and 2022 votes are taking place at the same time on Dec. 2. “We all pray that no corrupted collusion will find its way to the bids,” Bin Hammam wrote on his personal website. — AP

Lakers 124, Grizzlies 105 In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored all of his 23 points in the first half to set up Los Angeles’ win over Memphis. Pau Gasol added 21 points and 13 rebounds for unbeaten Los Angeles, while Bryant fell one minute short of matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the Lakers’ franchise leader in minutes played.

Rudy Gay scored 30 points for Memphis, and Mike Conley had 16 points and eight assists after agreeing to a five-year, $40 million contract extension earlier in the day.

Hawks 100, Cavaliers 88 In Cleveland, Atlanta became the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference by downing Cleveland. Marvin Williams scored 22 points, and Al Horford added 16 and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, which improved to 3-0 on the road and snapped a six-game losing streak in Cleveland. J.J. Hickson scored a career-high 31 points for the Cavs, who have dropped three straight since knocking off Boston in the season opener.

Heat 129, T’wolves 97 In Miami, the hosts rolled to their fourth straight win by crushing Minnesota. Dwyane Wade had 26 points, while LeBron James added 20 points and a game-high 12 assists — the most ever by a Heat forward, according to STATS LLC. Wade made 12 of 17 shots in just 24 minutes for Miami, which has outscored opponents by 22.8 points per game since losing the season-opener in Boston last week. Kevin Love led Minnesota with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

T Blazers 90, Bucks 76 In Milwaukee, Portland downed Milwaukee to end its four-game road trip on a winning note. Leading 47-45 at halftime, Portland capitalized on the Bucks’ poor shooting and porous defense to outscore Milwaukee 26-17 and take a 7362 lead into the final quarter. It was the first time that the Blazers led going into the final period this season.

Wes Matthews scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half while Brandon Roy added 17 points for a Portland team playing its third game in four nights.

Corey Maggette led the Bucks with 16 points.

Magic at Knicks, ppd In New York, the OrlandoNew York game at Madison Square Garden was postponed because of safety concerns after debris fell into the arena during overnight cleaning of asbestosrelated materials.

Saying it was using “an abundance of caution,” MSG released a statement said it wouldn’t reopen the building until it was assured the arena was safe. —AP

Sheikh Ali Al-Abdallah Al-Salem, Rami Ashour, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah, Sheikha Fadiya AlSaad and Amr Shabanah

Egyptian Ashour wins Kuwait’s late Father Amir Int’l Squash tourney KUWAIT: Egyptian Rami Ashour was crowned Champion of the late Father Amir Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah International Squash Championship after defeating on Tuesday his compatriot Amr Shabanah in a match held under the auspices of His Highness the Amir at the country’s Green island glass court.

Minister of Oil and Minister of Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, who represented His Highness the Amir in the ceremony, along with Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governor Sheikh Ali AlAbdullah Salem Al-Sabah and President of the Organizing Committee for the Championship Sheikha Fadiya Al-Saad Al-Sabah presented prizes for the winning players at the conclusion of the championship ceremony.

Sheikh Ahmad expressed to reporters pleasure and honor to represent the Amir at the concluding ceremony, praising all who worked to ensure success of the dear-to-heart cham-

Sheikh Ali Al-Abdallah Al-Salem and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah pionship.

For her part, Sheikha Fadiya thanked His Highness the Amir for sponsoring the championship, noting on the committee relentless efforts to ensure success of the championship.

Ashour, who is globally ranked top-second, managed to come from behind in the final match with first-half result (911) to a big victory after winning three consecutive sets (11-4, 12-10, and 11-1).

Ashour, expressed delight for

the win, “especially since defeating the four times champion of this tournament,” praising as well the organization of the tournament which has “become one of the most important tournaments to squash players.” — KUNA

Roddick defeats Querrey BASEL: Andy Roddick came out on top in a big-serving encounter with fellow American Sam Querrey 7-5, 7- 6 (6) while Roger Federer cruised into the quarterfinals at the Swiss Indoors yesterday. Fourth-seeded Roddick sent down 16 aces and dropped just six first-service points against 22nd-ranked Querrey, who served 13 aces.

Roddick, who next faces Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan in the second round, has returned to Basel after seven years in hopes of claiming one of the last three berths in the eight-man ATP World Tour Finals in London this month.

Roddick was currently eighth in the standings Federer, the No. 1 seed, eased past Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic, requiring a single break in each set to complete a 6-3, 6-4 win in St. Jakobshalle.

Federer served even more efficiently than Roddick, conceding just seven points in nine service games. He sealed the first set with an ace and clinched the match with a service winner.

The hometown favorite, and FC Basel fan, had his secondround match scheduled earlier in the evening to avoid clashing with the team’s Champions League match against AS Roma.

It was being played across the street at the St. Jakob. Park arena. Eighth-seeded John Isner of the United States paid for squandering all eight of his chances to break Robin Haase’s serve. The Dutchman closed out a 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 win to join Federer in the last eight.

In other first-round matches, France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu used his entry as a lucky loser in qualifying to beat Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-3. Three days earlier, Mayer lost to Federer in the final at Stockholm.

Wild card Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic beat Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 63, 7-6 (5), and Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen defeated Germany’s Daniel Brands 6-3, 6-2 in a match between qualifiers. — AP

BASEL: United States’ Andy Roddick returns a ball to United States’ Sam Querrey during their first round match at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors tennis tournament.— AP

Rivals eye Olympic hockey berth NEW DELHI: Former champions India and Pakistan stand in the way as South Korea defend their Asian Games field hockey title with a ticket to the London Olympics at stake.

Under International Hockey Federation rules, the winner — and possibly the losing finalist — in the 10-nation competition will get a direct entry to the 2012 Games.

The other teams will face a hazardous qualification system that saw eight-time Olympic champions India miss out on the 2008 Beijing Games for the first time.

India failed to win a medal at the Doha Asiad four years ago when they drew with South Korea 1-1 in a league match they needed to win to advance to the semi-finals.

The Koreans went on to take thegold medal with a 3-1 win over surprise finalists China, who knocked out Pakistan in the semi-finals. “We can’t afford another Doha,” said Indian hockey official Narendra Batra. “But our performance over the past year gives me hope that we will do well at the Asian Games.”

India, under Spanish coach Jose Brasa, have shown signs of a revival, securing second behind world champions Australia at the recent Commonwealth Games.

India delighed home fans by beating Pakistan 4-1 at the World Cup in February-March and then engineered a 7-4 thrashing of their arch-rivals at the Commonwealth Games, both wins coming on home turf in New Delhi.

But India’s most memorable win came in the Games semi-final against European champions England when they scored twice in the last 10

minutes to make it 3-3 before winning the penalty shoot-out.

“We were the best Asian team at the Games and want to build on that in China,” said captain Rajpal Singh. “The confidence-level of the team is high.”

Under-pressure Pakistan are desperate to win a medal in Guangzhou after finishing last at the World Cup and an embarrassing sixth at the Commonwealth Games.

Pakistan, who won the last of their seven Asian Games gold medals in Beijing in 1990, have not bagged a major title since the World Cup triumph in Sydney in 1994.

But Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Asif Bajwa was confident his team will shine in China under new Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel. “I am not too concerned about the recent setbacks, especially against India,” said Bajwa.

“Our main target this year is the Asian Games because our journey back to the top will begin there.” Pakistan have been drawn with India, Japan, Hong Kong and Bangladesh in Group B of the preliminary league with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals. The other group comprises South Korea, China, Malaysia, Oman and Singapore. The India-Pakistan encounter on October 20 will be spiced up by reports that the Pakistanis complained they were heckled and abused by Indian fans at the Commonwealth Games, a charge the hosts denied.

The Koreans go into the competition as the top side in the continent after adding the Asia Cup title last year to the Asian Games gold in Doha. —AFP

SPORTS

Thursday, November 4, 2010

19

City out to add spit and polish to poor form PARIS: Big spending Manchester City may have designs on dining with Europe’s elite in next season’s Champions League but recent league form means they may yet have to sample another year of the earthier fare of the Europa League.

Today, City will seek to steer way past Polish side Lech Poznan to consolidate their status as Group A top dogs in a game which will give coach Roberto Mancini a chance to give playing time to some of his fringe players.

At the same time the Italian will take a chance to sharpen the axe and wield it above some of those who under-achieved in successive Premier League losses to Arsenal and Wolves.

Those setbacks have left City hanging on in fourth place, eight points adrift of leaders Chelsea and three behind local rivals United, whom they face next week.

The losses also moved Mancini to state that “I do not feel the pressure” — but admit that his charges have to pull their socks up. City have won two and drawn one so far in Europe to establish a threepoint lead over Poznan with Juventus, who play whipping boys Salzburg, a point further back. The two sides of City’s coin are amply illustrated by Emmanuel Adebayor, who scored a hat-trick against the Poles a fortnight ago on a rare start.

But if the Togolese forward was smiling then, he was scowling after the woe at

Wolves and Tuesday he was forced to explain his difference of opinion with Vincent Kompany during that game.

“Sometimes you have to shout and bawl to try and get a reaction from your teammates and sometimes that means getting them worked up in order to do the right thing for the team,” Adebayor told City’s website www.mcfc.co.uk.

“That’s what great teams do. It is all about passion and desire to do well and if Vincent and I are guilty of that, neither of us have a problem with it.

“The press have treated it as though there has been some kind of massive fall out, but it couldn’t be further from the truth - these things happen all the time in

football.” Adebayor’s explanation came hot on the heels of teammate Gareth Barry’s apology for having a drinking session on a trip to St Andrews. Barry feels the knives are out for City.

“It is a bit sad really. Every little thing is getting scrutinised.” If City have had their fair share of bad publicity in recent days, they are at least in the hunt for a Champions League berth despite three defeats in their ten games to date.

Fellow Europa League travellers Liverpool went into their last European outing at Napoli joint bottom of the Premier League but their goalless draw in Italy means they have a two-point lead in Group K.

Buoyed by their win on Sunday at Bolton, which took Roy Hodgson’s men into mid-table, the five-time European champions will expect to wrap up their passage with a win at Anfield, even without Joe Cole, who went off at Bolton with hamstring trouble.

Full-back Glen Johnson is set to return against the Italians after four games out with a thigh injury but fellow defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos is doubtful with a groin injury and striker Dirk Kuyt is still out with an ankle problem.

The build up to the game in Naples was dominated by violence as a band of Napoli thugs randomly attacked Liverpool fans, resulting in five people being injured.

There will thus be a major police presence at Anfield for the return.

Also in Group K, bottom side Steaua Bucharest will meet FC Utrecht, level on points with Napoli and just two behind Liverpool, who have five from their three games to date.

Elsewhere, two-time European champions Porto should continue their domination of Group L by beating Turkey’s Besiktas, whom they beat away last time out despite having two men sent off. In Group J, leaders Paris St Germain host German giants Dortmund, who despite fine domestic form are three points off the pace and two behind Spain’s Sevilla, who host bottom side Karpaty Lviv. — AFP

Auxerre keep alive slim hope of knockout phase AUXERRE: Auxerre kept alive its slim hope of reaching the Champions League knockout phase by beating Ajax 2-1 courtesy of substitute Steven Langil’s late second-half winner yesterday.

Langil slotted home in the 84th minute with a shot between Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg’s legs after being set up

by Kamel Chafni’s deep free kick.

Frederic Sammaritano put Auxerre ahead in the ninth minute, and Ajax defender Toby Alderweireld equalized in the 79th with a powerful header from Luis Suarez’s cross.

Despite losing its first three matches, lastplace Auxerre has three points in Group G, just one less than Ajax. Real Madrid tops the group with 10 points, five more than AC Milan.

Champions League

SLOVAKIA: Sergio Vittor (right) challenges Marseille’s Mathieu Valbuena (left) during their Group F Champions League soccer match. — AP

Marseille demolish Zilina 7-0 ZILINA: Andre-Pierre Gignac’s hat trick helped Marseille earn a massive 7-0 victory over Zilina yesterday and retain a chance to advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Gignac opened the scoring with his first Champions League goal in the 12th minute and added two more in the 21st and 56th. Lucho Gonzalez scored twice in the second half to complete the rout.

Gabriel Heinze and Loic Remy had a goal each in the first half for Marseille. Marseille has six points from four matches in Group F with two more games to play.

Chelsea tops the group with 12 points after beating Spartak Moscow 4-1 in the other group match on Wednesday and qualified for the next phase while newcomer Zilina remains without a point and is eliminated. “It’s hard to comment,” Zilina coach Pavel Hapal said.

“We were terrible in every aspect of the game.” Needing a win, Marseille went on attack from the start while the Slovak champion proved harmless throughout.

Gignac, who scored only once in his previous 11 games since joining Marseille from Toulouse, deflected a Benoit Cheyrou free kick with his

right knee into the net through Zilina’s crowded penalty area for the opening goal.

Nine minutes later, Gignac latched onto a precise through pass from Charles Kabore before netting with a left-footer past goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.

With the visitors fully in control, Heinze rose in the area to head in a corner kick from Cheyrou in the 24th. Cheyrou again set up the fourth with a cross from the left for Remy to tap home from close range after two Zilina defenders failed to block the ball. Marseille continued its dominance after the break with Gonzalez scoring a header off a Mathieu Valbuena cross in the 52nd to make it 5-0.

Gignac completed his hat trick four minutes later when he headed in a cross from Cesar Azpilicueta. Gonzalez added his second with a left-foot low shot when he was left unmarked in the area in the 63rd. Substitute striker Tomas Majtan hit the crossbar three minutes before the final whistle in a lone chance for Zilina. Zilina can hardly hope for the first Champions League points when it travels next to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Nov 23. Marseille makes a trip to Moscow to play Spartak next. — AP

The game started with an intense fight for ball possession with Ajax pushing to score quickly. Ajax striker Suarez had a great opportunity in the 6th minute following a nice collective move on the right flank but he fluffed his shot wide. Left unmarked on the left after a swift counterattack, forward Urby Emanuelson drove his shot over the crossbar a minute later.

Ajax had the ball possession but Auxerre went ahead against the run of the play when Sammaritano, playing his first Champions League match, unleashed a deflected shot inside the post after Julien Quercia chested down the ball for him from Dariusz Dudka’s lofted pass.

Ajax responded in the 12th minute when Demy de Zeeuw missed the target by a few inches (centimeters) with an acrobatic volley from Rasmus Lindgren’s cross while goalkeeper Olivier Sorin looked beaten.

Ajax had the most of the ball possession with Auxerre players dangerous on the break and trying to threaten Stekelenburg with long-range shots. Sammaritano went close in the 37th after Ajax defenders failed to clear a cross but the inexperienced midfielder sent his 25-meter low shot wide. Suarez burst down the right flank and showed great technical skills one minute later before firing an angled-shot at the far post that swept wide. Auxerre dominated the end of the first half, with Birsa’s header forcing Stekelenburg to a good diving save in the 44th.

Auxerre kept pushing after the interval but defender Cedric Hengbart volleyed straight at Stekelenburg in the 49th.

Not long after Ajax woke up, with Sorin punching a ball to deny striker Mounir El Hamdaoui’s effort in the 60th just before Siem De Jong shot over the bar after a fine one-two with de Zeeuw. Suarez sent a header against the woodwork one minute later from Gregory van der Wiel’s cross before almost silencing the home crowd with a close shot that ended just wide.

Left unmarked in the area, Alderweireld finally opened Ajax’s account in the 79th but Auxerre fought back with a great last-gasp offensive display and was rewarded when Chafni quickly played his free kick to set up Langil behind the Ajax defense, with the substitute providing the winner with a clinical finish. —AP

Matches on TV (Local Timings) UEFA Europe League

Barcelona coach Guardiola loses cool in Copenhagen COPENHAGEN: Barcelona’s normally mild-mannered coach Pep Guardiola had an extremely uncharacteristic loss of cool after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Copenhagen in Champions League Group D on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old argued with his counterpart Stale Solbakken on the touchline after the whistle and slammed the Norwegian in his post-match news conference and television interviews.

“Ask him (Solbakken) what happened, he knows how to manipulate the media very well,” Guardiola told Spanish television when quizzed about the touchline incident. “I think he has behaved very badly in this situation.”

The dispute goes back to Barca’s 2-0 win over the Danish champions in the Catalan capital last month, when goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto tricked Copenhagen player Cesar Santin into believing he was off-

side.

Copenhagen made a formal complaint to European soccer’s governing body UEFA over the incident and Pinto was banned for two matches.

Guardiola took exception to comments from Solbakken on Monday suggesting Pinto’s punishment was not harsh enough.

“What he cannot do is ask for a four-match ban for Pinto and say that Pinto is a bad apple,” Guardiola said.

“Pinto is a player who goes in for fair play and he’s an important part of our dressing room,” the former Barca player added. “I don’t think a coach should do something like that.”

Solbakken, speaking to Spanish TV, said the club had reported the Pinto incident to UEFA to try to protect Santin and put the dispute with Guardiola down to a misunderstanding.

“I don’t care if Pinto is sitting on the bench or on the sofa

at home,” the 42-year-old said.

“We wanted to protect Cesar because he looked stupid and had a bad time after that.”

“After we had shaken hands he started to say something about UEFA and I think he meant the whistling incident,” he told a news conference.

“I said that he (Pinto) should have got five games, that was just a bad Norwegian joke.

“Maybe he doesn’t understand Norwegian humour, I’ll have to take that on me. “I really respect Guardiola, he’s one of the finest coaches but I think he was told something wrong.”

Tuesday’s result meant Barca missed a chance to qualify for the last 16 with two matches to spare. They top the group on eight points and Copenhagen are second on seven. Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos, who drew 0-0 in Russia earlier on Tuesday, have three and two respectively. —Reuters

KKS Lech v Man City ............. 21:00 Aljazeera Sport + 5 Aljazeera Sport + 3 J uventus v Red Bull ................. 21:00 Aljazeera Sport + 4 Rosenborg v Atletico ................ 21:00 Aljazeera Sport + 4 Leverkusen v Aris ..................... 21:00 Aljazeera Sport + 6 CSKA v Palermo ....................... 21:00 Aljazeera Sport + 1 PAOK v Villarreal ..................... 21:00 Aljazeera Sport + 9 Porto v Besiktas ....................... 23:05 Aljazeera Sport + 1 Liverpool v Napoli ..................... 23:05 Aljazeera Sport + 3 Aljazeera Sport + 4 PSG v Dortmund ........................ 23:05 Aljazeera Sport + 9 Eindhoven v Debreceni ............. 23:05 Aljazeera Sport + 6 Getafe v Stuttgart ...................... 23:05 Aljazeera Sport + 5 Sevilla v Karpaty ........................ 23:05 Aljazeera Sport + 2

BELGRADE: Paulo Cesar of SC Braga (center) challenges Sasa Ilic of Partizan Belgrade (right) as Ivica Iliev looks on during their Group H UEFA Champions League match. — AP

Braga see off Partizan BELGRADE: Moises scored in the 35th minute to give Braga its second straight Champions League victory with a 1-0 win over Partizan Belgrade yesterday.

Moises met a long cross from Luis Aguiar at the edge of the penalty area and sent a curving header into the upper left corner of the net, past stunned Serbia goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic.

Partizan had more possession, but Braga controlled the midfield although Aguiar and Paulo Cesar sent two good chances high over Partizan’s goal in the

first half.

Braga beat Partizan 2-0 at home in the previous round and has six points in Group H. Partizan is last with zero, in a group that also includes Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk. “Braga deserved the victory,” Partizan captain Mladen Krstajic said.

“We played more aggressively in the second half, but this was not enough.”

Partizan striker Ivica Iliev came close to equalizing in the 59th, but his shot from some 6 meters was blocked by Braga goalkeeper Felipe.

Partizan midfielder Almami Moreira missed two good chances in the last 10 minutes of the match.

Braga, which finished second in the Portuguese topflight last season, qualified for the group stage for the first time by beating Celtic and then Sevilla, but was humbled 6-0 by Arsenal in its first group game before a 3-0 defeat at home by Shakhtar. The Serbian champions are playing their first Champions League since 2003 when they were coached by Germany great Lothar Matthaeus. — AP

Quiet man Batista succeeds Maradona BUENOS AIRES: Sergio Batista, appointed Argentina coach in succession to Diego Maradona on Tuesday, was part of a tradition of commanding centre halves in the national team.

Following in the footsteps of Ubaldo Rattin in the 1960s and Americo Gallego in the 1970s, Batista helped Argentina win their second World Cup title with Maradona in Mexico in 1986.

A quiet man in complete contrast to Maradona, Batista was Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona’s choice as he sought to steer Argentina away from the controversies of the Maradona reign.

Batista, who turns 48 next Tuesday, also appears to have been the choice of 1986 coach Carlos Bilardo, for whom Batista was a mainstay at two World Cups, also helping Argentina reach the 1990 final in Italy.

He emerged at Argentinos Juniors, the modest Buenos Aires club that had launched Maradona, with astute tactical awareness and good ball control.

He reached a pinnacle in his club career when he helped Argentinos Juniors win domestic and South American titles and only narrowly miss out on being crowned world champions in 1985.

The death of Batista’s father contributed to his descent into drugs in his late playing career and, like Maradona, he fought a cocaine addition in the 1990s.

“The loss of my father coincided with my addiction to drugs,” Batista said in a recent television interview. “I felt lost, I lacked something pretty big and I fell down in all senses and even stopped playing football,” added Batista, who during a two-year spell with Tosu Futures in Japan had intensive treatment to deal with his drug dependency.

A coaching career mainly with second division sides in Argentina and Uruguay led to his appointment to the AFA juniors teams and in 2008 he steered Argentina’s under-23s to the Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games.

His Olympic side was the embryo of the senior team he might have taken over when Alfio Basile quit unexpectedly in late 2008 and if Maradona had not persuaded Grondona he was the right man for the job.

The team, who beat Brazil in the semi-finals, included former world under-20 champions Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero and Juan Roman Riquelme, one of the overage players, whom Maradona discarded but looks set for a return under Batista.

When Maradona was refused a new contract after his side were crushed 4-0

by Germany in the 2010 World Cup

quarter-finals in South Africa, Batista took charge in an interim capacity.

He has presided over a 1-0 win away to Ireland, a 4-1 defeat of world champions Spain in Buenos Aires and a 1-0 loss to Japan in Saitama.

Now officially the man to steer Argentina to the 2014 finals, his first match is against arch-rivals and World Cup hosts Brazil in a friendly in Qatar on Nov. 17.

His true test comes next year when Argentina host the Copa America, the South American Championship, having not won it since 1993 when they lifted their last trophy.— Reuters

Sergio Batista

www.kuwaittimes.net

Bale making name as Europe’s most exciting player PARIS: A shade over two months ago, in a packed auditorium in Monaco, Sisenando Maicon Douglas — known simply as Maicon by the opponents who fear him — beamed with pride as he was presented with a ball-shaped silver trophy for being the best defender in European club football for 2010. How quickly a reputation can be ruined.

Gareth Bale is the player making a name for himself now. On Maicon’s back. In two astounding nights of Champions League football that confirmed him as Europe’s most exciting footballer of the moment, Bale made Maicon look silly.

He did the same to Lucio, too. Simply astonishing when one remembers that the defensive partnership between those two imposing Brazilian internationals was a foundation stone for Inter Milan’s success

last season. They formed part of coach Jose Mourinho’s defensive fortress which broke Lionel Messi’s Barcelona and, in the Champions League final which followed, prevented Bayern Munich from lighting up the scoreboard at Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium.

Yet Bale blew past both defenders repeatedly on Tuesday night as though they were hardly there. Such speed. Even at full tilt, Tottenham’s wonder winger gives the impression that he could, if needed, run faster still.

He is impishly cheeky with his changes of pace, too. Allowing Lucio a tempting head-start to a ball only to leave him for dead was delightful. That eel-like run from deep in Tottenham’s own half and down the left side that Bale transformed into his own personal playground came four minutes

before the final whistle, so the 21-year-old has enviable stamina, too.

His manager, Harry Redknapp, joked ebulliently afterward that the post-match dope testers would be wise to take a look at Bale. Redknapp will laughing even harder if he can now fend off interest from European clubs bigger than Tottenham, and for whom money is no object, that are probably going to try to recruit such a fine creator and scorer of goals.

Based on this enthralling match, Alex Ferguson was absolutely correct in arguing this week that the Champions League offers more attractive football than the World Cup. Although, unlike the Manchester United manager, I would still rather watch even a poor World Cup match — and there were too many of those this year in South Africa — than visit the den-

Bayern demolish Cluj 4-0 CLUJ: German international striker Mario Gomez fired Bayern Munich into the last 16 of the Champions League yesterday, netting a hat-trick during a 4-0 Group E demolition of Romanian side Cluj.

Despite a injury crisis that deprived Bayern coach Louis van Gaal of Dutch World Cup star Arjen Robben and French midfielder Franck Ribery among others, last season’s runners-up never looked in danger against a defensively frail Cluj.

And with four wins of out four in Europe, the German champions sauntered into the knockout phase, leaving Cluj, AS Roma and FC Basel to battle it out for the second spot and throwing down the gauntlet to more high-profile teams.

After a cagey start, in which both teams seemed to be feeling each other out, Gomez broke the deadlock in the 12th minute.

German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger slotted the ball across the face of goal and Andreas Ottl saw his shot parried into the path of the 25-year-old Gomez, who tapped in his second Champions League goal this season.

Twelve minutes later, Bayern doubled their advantage, Schweinsteiger heading down a pinpoint cross from the right into the path of the predatory Gomez, who again tapped in from close range.

The Romanians showed some fighting spirit and nearly hit back immediately, with Italian striker Roberto de Zerbi forcing a save from Joerg Butt when he was one-on-one with the ‘keeper.

But after this scare, Bayern seemed content to play possession football until the interval, driving the hosts to defend ever deeper and allowing them precious few attacking chances.

After the break, Cluj enjoyed a brief period of dominance, forcing Belgian international defender Daniel van Buyten to clear off the line after his own defensive error.

Shortly afterwards, Cluj’s Argentina midfielder Juan Culio forced a magnificent fingertip save from Butt and the Romanians hit the post from the resulting corner.

But it was Gomez again who finally broke the Romanians’ spirit, latching onto a through ball from Schweinsteiger to register his first Champions League hattrick after 71 minutes, enabling Bayern to see out the game at a canter.

Thomas Mueller put the icing on the cake with a 90th minute tap-in. The win was a welcome relief from Bayern’s domestic difficulties which has seen the club make its worst start to a Bundesliga campaign in living memory amid internal strife and a crippling injury list.

With three losses so far this season, the 22-time champions find themselves seventh in the Bundesliga table, 10 points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Not helping the situation has been a high-profile spat between van Gaal and club Chairman Uli Hoeness who has publicly suggested the Dutchman was difficult to deal with and would not heed advice.

“I can’t understand this, because I think communication is one of my strong points,” van Gaal said before the game.—AFP

tist, which he suggested would be a better use of one’s time.

And based on this match, and the teams’ previous encounter two weeks ago where Inter nearly blew a 4-0 first-half lead by allowing Bale to score a second-half hattrick, the Italian side will not become the first Champions League winners to successfully defend that title.

Inheriting Mourinho’s team that won everything last season was always going to be risky for new manager Rafa Benitez, who seems likely to prove that the only way forward for Inter from their previous heights is down. The Spaniard who left Liverpool with memories both good and bad says that he wants to preserve the best parts of Mourinho’s legacy. But it’s a safe bet that Mourinho, now at Real Madrid, would have searched in his notebooks for a

better strategy to try to counter Bale’s quick feet.

As it was, Maicon was utterly overwhelmed. “He killed him,” said the scorer of Tottenham’s first goal, Rafael van der Vaart. “We have to keep this guy.” What makes Bale more dangerous than the likes of Chelsea’s Ashley Cole or Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, who also have speed, is the superior quality of his crosses.

His gift to Peter Crouch on 25 minutes, again after sprinting around Maicon, should have put Tottenham 2-0 up. Having humbled Lucio, Bale’s cross that Crouch’s replacement Roman Pavlyuchenko slotted in to make the final score 3-1 was also inchperfect.

Bale sprints with his head up, giving him vision across the pitch, and his speed gives him extra milliseconds of breathing space to

coolly decide where to best place his pass.

Perhaps Inter should have begged the referee to adopt the same handicap that Gwyn Morris, his former sports teacher, imposed on Bale when he was still just an athletic schoolboy in Cardiff, playing rugby as well as football and running cross-country and track. Morris says that in training games, he sometimes banned Bale from playing with his favored left foot. “Use his left foot and it was a free-kick against him,” Morris says.

Unfortunately, Bale plays his international football for Wales. It has not reached the finals of a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and, even with Bale, isn’t likely to any time soon. So, as with fellow Welshman Ryan Giggs, much of the world will not get to savor his skills on an international stage. What a pity.—AP

Leon last gasp leveller sends Real into last 16 MILAN: Substitute Pedro Leon scored deep into injury time to rescue a 2-2 draw for Real Madrid at AC Milan and send the Spanish team into the Champions League knock-out rounds.

Gonzalo Higuain had given the Spaniards a deserved first half lead but a Filippo Inzaghi brace lit up an otherwise uninspired performance from the hosts.

Champions League SWITZERLAND: Basel’s Valentin Stocker (right) fights for the ball with Roma’s Marco Cassetti, during the UEFA Champions League Group E soccer match.—AP

Roma beat Basel in uptight finish BASEL: AS Roma beat Basel 3-2 in a stirring Champions League match to rise from last and take control of second place in Group E yesterday.

Jeremy Menez’s well-placed shot in the 16th minute and Francesco Totti’s 25th-minute penalty helped the Italian side avenge a 3-1 home loss against the Swiss team two weeks ago.

Basel forward Alex Frei scored from a closerange header in the 69th, and Marco Streller shot against a post five minutes later.

Roma substitute Leandro Greco struck in the 76th, then teenager Xherdan Shaqiri’s sweeping shot in the 83rd ensured a tense finish. Victory lifted Roma to six points from four games. Leader Bayern Munich has 12, and ensured qualification to the knockout stage by extending its perfect record with a 4-0 victory over Cluj in Romania.

Basel and Cluj each has three points and meet on Nov. 23, when Roma hosts Bayern. Roma led after the hosts dominated early on, threatening three times in quick succession.

Benjamin Huggel’s shot from three meters (yards) was blocked by goalkeeper Julio Sergio,

Streller was denied a clear chance by defender Juan’s interception, then Shaqiri shot too high from inside the penalty area. Menez then pounced when Mirko Vucinic was muscled off the ball to score from 16 meters. Nine minutes later, Totti’s spot-kick went through the hands of Franco Costanzo diving to his right. The penalty was awarded after Basel winger Valentin Stocker dragged down John Arne Riise with an outstretched arm and was booked.

Basel started the second half aggressively and defender David Abraham fired a long-distance shot just high and wide. Frei made it 2-1, exploiting poor communication in the Roma defense, before Streller’s fierce low shot was deflected on to the left post. Greco killed Basel’s rally with a cross-shot from 10 meters one minute after entering the field. Shaqiri gave the home side late hope and midfielder Yapo Gilles Yapi almost leveled, but his shot was pushed aside by the diving Sergio. Basel finished with 10 men when Stocker fouled Totti in stoppage time and was shown a second yellow card.—AP

Chelsea thrash Spartak to progress LONDON: Chelsea progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League by beating Spartak Moscow 4-1 yesterday. Branislav Ivanovic scored two of the English champions’ four secondhalf goals as Chelsea remained undefeated at home in Champions League group play for 22 games.

Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring from an acute angle in the 49th minute before Didier Drogba, who was Chelsea’s cap-

tain for the match, doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 64th after being brought down by Evgeni Makeev.

Drogba then sent over the free kick that was put away by Ivanovic four minutes later and the center back grabbed his second in injury time, securing the Blues a fourth successive win in Group F. Substitute Nikita Bazhenov’s consolation for Spartak was sand-

LONDON: Chelsea’s Didier Drogba (left) goes for the ball with Spartak Moscow’s Evgeni Makeev during their Champions League Group F soccer match. —AP

wiched between Ivanovic’s brace.

Chelsea, tournament runnerup in 2008, was without injured midfielders Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda, while manager Carlo Ancelotti chose to start captain John Terry on the bench and left out Michael Essien completely with qualification almost wrapped up.

With four of its key players absent, it was perhaps unsurprising that the English champions were slightly off the pace early on against a side they beat 2-0 in Moscow two weeks ago.

But they gradually asserted their authority after a slow start, Anelka curling wide in the 15th and Alex miskicking in a goalmouth scramble minutes later.

Drogba, playing his first match in the Champions League this season after serving out a threematch suspension, had a low drive saved by Andriy Dykan and then headed over Yuri Zhirkov’s corner.

Spartak was far from being outplayed, though, and looked lively going forward, with fit-again captain Alex fizzing in a drive that was punched clear by goalkeeper Petr Cech. The final, and best, chance of a low-key first half fell to Chelsea’s Alex, who contrived to scoop the ball over the bar from two yards after latching onto Ivanovic’s glanced header.

Chelsea came out firing for the second half and Anelka finally put away a chance to give the hosts the lead, clipping in superbly from a narrow angle on the right after being played in by Salomon Kalou’s throughball. —AP

Leon’s last gasp heroics saved Real coach Jose Mourinho from suffering defeat on his return to the San Siro, where he coached Inter Milan for two years.

Real are through to the second round while Milan are now a point ahead of Ajax, who lost 2-1 at Auxerre. In a feisty start Madrid carried on from where they had left off in the Bernabeu, where they won 2-0, creating many scoring chances.

Higuain had a low shot on just three minutes that Christian Abbiati tipped around the post while Pepe’s downward header from Xabi Alonso’s free-kick on nine minutes bounced up and over the bar.

Milan’s Kevin-Prince Boateng sent a volley too close to Iker Casillas and Alonso’s speculative long-range volley went wide.

Angel Di Maria got behind Milan’s backline on 13 minutes but Gianluca Zambrotta battled away to put him off and the Argentine scuffed his shot wide.

World Cup final referee Howard Webb had his hands full at times trying to keep a lid on a tetchy affair that almost spiralled out of control when Cristiano Ronaldo rolled around on the floor theatrically after contact with Ignazio Abate.

Real came within inches of taking the lead on 20 minutes but Andrea Pirlo twice headed off the line, first from Higuain’s header and then Di Maria’s volleyed follow-up.

Boateng played Ibrahimovic in one-on-one with Casillas but his weak shot from an angle hit the keeper’s legs.

After a brief lull, Ronaldinho clipped in Ibrahimovic on 37 minutes but his chip over Casillas went well wide. Abbiati spilled a fierce Alonso drive from distance before Real scored in the final minute of the half.

Di Maria ran at the defence and slipped in Higuain as Alessandro Nesta tried to play offside but stepped up too late, allowing the Argentine to finish coolly from seven yards.

It was more of the same after the break as Ronaldo stung Abbiati’s hands with a rasping shot from distance. Milan were getting nowhere so coach Massimiliano Allegri sent on 37year-old Inzaghi who immediately injected some passion into the side.

And it was he who brought the home side level after a comedy of Real errors on 68 minutes.

Pepe slipped when favourite to reach a Gennaro Gattuso through ball, allowing Ibrahimovic to run in on goal from the left, the Portuguese centrehalf even tripping up team-mate Sergio Ramos when trying to do likewise to the big Swede.

Ibrahimovic then slipped as he went to cross but Casillas had already committed himself to come out and as the ball went behind him, he let it slip through his hands, presenting Inzaghi with an easy header home from three yards.—AFP

ITALY: Real Madrid forward Angel Di Maria of Argentina (left) vies for the ball with AC Milan Brazilian forward Ronaldinho during a Champions League, Group G soccer match.—AP

Champions League table Champions League group stage tables after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Group E

Group G

Bayern

4

4

0

0 11

3

12 qualified

Real Madrid 4

3

1

0

7

2

Roma

4

2

0

2

6

8

6

AC Milan

4

1

2

1

5

5

5

CFR Cluj

4

1

0

3

5

10

3

Ajax

4

1

1

2

4

6

4

Basel

4

1

0

3

7

8

3

Auxerre

4

1

0

3

3

6

3

Chelsea

4

4

0

0 12

2

Arsenal

4

3

0

1 15

4

9

Spartak

4

2

0

2

6

6

Shakhtar

4

3

0

1

7

6

9

Marseille

4

2

0

2

8

3

6

Braga

4

2

0

2

3

9

6

MSK Zilina

4

0

0

4

1

15

0

Partizan

4

0

0

4

1

7

0

Group F

10 qualified

Group H 5

12 qualified

Eduardo returns to haunt Arsenal DONETSK: Eduardo da Silva ended Arsenal’s 100 percent start in the Champions League as the Croatian’s clinical strike gave Shakhtar Donetsk a 2-1 win over his former club yesterday.

Eduardo spent three injury-ravaged years at Arsenal before moving to Shakhtar in July and the 27-year-old forward showed his old team-mates he is still a force to be reckoned with by driving in the goal which dented their charge towards the knockout stages.

Arsene Wenger’s side had taken the lead through Theo Walcott’s superb finish early in the first half at the Donbass Arena, but Craig Eastmond’s own goal drew Shakhtar level before Eduardo won it for the Ukrainian champions.

It was a bittersweet moment for Eduardo, who retains fond memories of Arsenal for the way he was cared for in the aftermath of the horrendous injury he suffered in a challenge with Birmingham’s Martin Taylor in 2008.

But, while he refused to celebrate his winner, Eduardo was the toast of Donetsk for a goal that

lifted his side level on points with group leaders Arsenal with two games to play.

After romping through their first three group matches, Wenger knew a victory here would have secured Arsenal’s place in the last 16.

But that always looked a tricky task as the Gunners had never won in four previous visits to the Ukraine and Shakhtar have a formidable home record, with no defeats in their last 48 games in front of their own fans.

Injuries to midfield trio Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Andrey Arshavin were also a significant blow, yet Wenger’s men initially seemed set to silence the vociferous home support. The Gunners were quickly into their stride and Samir Nasri hit a post before Walcott embarked on a scintillating counter-attack to open the scoring in the 10th minute. Jack Wilshere laid the ball into the path of Walcott as Arsenal broke from a Shakhtar corner and the England winger sprinted clear of the home defence before sliding a low finish past Andriy Pyatov from just outside the penalty area.—AFP

KSA & Turkmenistan on route double for flydubai

22

Gulf Bank hails success of forum sponsorship

23

World Bank warns China

25

Thursday, November 4, 2010

www.kuwaittimes.net

Stalemate seen in US Congress on banking WASHINGTON: Republicans grabbed the steering wheel of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, but weren’t expected to get out of the driveway when it comes to restraining Wall Street reforms and fixing housing finance. A political standoff lies ahead for two years on key banking and housing issues as election returns showed Democrats losing control of the House, but retaining a narrow majority in the US Senate, as widely expected. President Barack Obama’s veto and Democratic Senate power will likely block any attempts by Republicans to roll back the landmark Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that Obama signed into law in July.

Similarly, there was little expectation of a comprehensive fix for the broken US mortgage market before the 2012 presidential election.

Lawmakers are expected to blame each other for the mess in numerous public hearings, however. “I believe we are looking at legislative gridlock,” said Chris Dolan, an assistant professor of political science at Lebanon Valley College. Gridlock will reduce regulatory uncertainty for the financial markets by preventing new legislative initiatives, but it could have a darker side, as well, analysts said.

If the economy runs into serious trouble again, a stalemate on Capitol Hill could restrict the government’s ability to intervene decisively to maintain stability. “When you need Congress to act quickly, this kind of divide is going to complicate that,” said Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst at the Washington Research Group, an advisory firm. Still, Seiberg said, Republican gains in Congress are broadly good news for banks because they “frustrate those who want to see further expansions of the government’s authority ... The ability of this administration to get major new programs done was already limited.

This just seals the deals.”

With conservative Tea Party activists coming to power, Republicans could push for confrontation on financial reform, possibly by trying to strangle Dodd-Frank with Congress’ purse strings. Depriving regulators of funding needed to implement the law would be one way to undermine it, aides said. But even on this front, only incremental changes will be attainable and mostly at the administrative level where DoddFrank is already being implemented, analysts said. “While we would not categorize large banks as ‘losers’ we do not expect that they will benefit from a change in control of Congress as much as some investors might expect,” said Brian Gardner, analyst at investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Meanwhile, despite heavy election losses for his party, President Barack Obama will now likely face an easier time promoting free tradeincluding a deal with South Korea he hopes to seal in the next week. Obama’s Democratic Party suffered a wave of losses in Tuesday’s election for Congress, despite attempts by some incumbents to highlight unfettered free trade as a culprit for high unemployment in the United States. Leaders of the rival Republican Party have largely supported free trade. The last Republican president, George W. Bush, negotiated trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama that have stalled in the Democratic-led Congress. Obama himself criticized the trade pacts before his election as president but has since pledged to move ahead on the agreement with South Korea, despite opposition from some Democrats and labor unions.

On the eve of the elections, Obama telephoned South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and voiced hope for finalizing the agreement in time for Obama’s visit to Seoul for the November 11-12 summit of the Group of 20 economies. “The president underscored that we hope to use the next week to make progress toward an agreement. If we can reach a satisfactory agreement on the key issues for American workers, we will have a deal,” a White House statement said. The Obama administration has pressed for greater access into Asia’s fourth largest economy for US autos and beef. Lee has been reluctant to renegotiate the pact, which set off major protests by South Koreans who worried about the safety of US beef.

Obama announced in June that he would work to complete the free trade deal with South Korea, partially in a bid to show support for Leea stalwart US ally who has faced down crises with communist North Korea. “Obama has been freed from a protectionist, trade-reluctant Congress. A burden is lifted as he does not not have to listen to the congressional mood,” said Anthony Kim, a policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “In this election, free trade hasn’t been a thorny issue as much as the Democrats wanted,” he said. Kim expected Obama to seek more advances in free trade as the United States prepares to host the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in 2011.

The election has turned up an odd couple in Ohio, the Midwestern state often seen as a bellwether. Ohio voters on Tuesday elected Rob Portman, a Republican who negotiated free trade agreements under Bush. The state’s other senator is Democrat Sherrod Brown, one of the staunchest critics in Congress of free trade deals. But some critics of free trade say that the election was not an endorsement of trade agreements but rather a more general sign of anger over the economy-and that trade deals could become a future liability. Todd Tucker, research director of advocacy group Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, said that many voters who sided with the Republicans were even more critical of free trade deals. —Agencies

Election over, Obama sets sights on trade deals Islamic finance taps into women scholars Women sharia advisers a small, growing breed in Malaysia

KREMLIN: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (left) shakes hands with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani during their meeting yesterday. Al-Thani is meeting with Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for talks on energy and economic cooperation. — AFP

Russia, Qatar agree to boost energy cooperation MOSCOW: Leaders from Russia and Qatar, two of the world’s largest natural gas exporters, agreed on Wednesday to step up cooperation in energy production. Russian

President Dmitry Medvedev the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said both countries wanted to bolster ties. “We want to develop economic cooperation with

Russia,” Sheikh Hamad said. “I have had interesting talks on this topic, notably with the head of Russian gas giant Gazprom Alexei Miller,” he added. The Sheikh and Miller dis-

cussed in particular possible joint investment products, a Gazprom statement said. Qatar is ranked world number three behind Russia and Iran for natural gas reserves. — AFP

Ahmadinejad warns as Iran subsidies cut $100bn subsidy cuts ‘biggest economic plan in 50 years’

ALLAHABAD: An Indian woman tries a necklace as another holds a mirror for her as they shop during Dhanteras festival yesterday. Hindus consider it auspicious to purchase gold, silver and utensils during Dhanteras, which marks the beginning of the five-day Diwali festival. — AP

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that anyone trying to profiteer from his policy of slashing subsidies would be punished and publicly humiliated. Ahmadinejad says “the biggest economic plan in the past 50 years”-eliminating the $100 billion subsidies which have kept prices of food and fuel in Iran artificially low for decades- will lead to a fairer, less wasteful and richer society.

Opposition politicians and foreign economists agree that reform is needed but say that, if handled badly, it could cause massive inflation and possibly reignite the street unrest which followed Ahmadinejad’s contested re-election last year.

Ahmadinejad has said cash payments to poorer families will soften the blow and that any problems will be the fault of criminals and “economic seditionists”-the government’s opponents at home and abroad who want to bring him down.

“It is possible that Satan tempts some people in the country, for example a factory owner, to put up the price of his products. He might tell himself that no one would notice,” he told a crowd in Bojnurd, northeastern Iran.

“Our agents will catch him and fine him and if necessary will announce the names of these people or factories on television, so anyone who wants to abuse the situation will regret it forever.” Headline inflation rose for the second month running, to 9.2 percent from 8.9 percent, Iran’s Central Bank announced yesterday. Consumer prices were up 1.8 percent on the previous month and 11.9 percent year-on-year, Mehr news agency reported. But many politicians and clerics doubt official figures and Ahmad Tavakoli, the head of parliament’s research centre, has said inflation could reach 50 percent this year.

Police Some Iranians have already seen huge electricity price increases and motorists are waiting for a likely 400 percent increase in the price of gasoline. Huge queues have been forming at gas stations when rumors of price rises spread. In 2007, riots erupted when the state started rationing subsidized fuel, which can still be bought for 1,000 rials (around $0.10) per liter.

Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said the police would put down any protests over the subsidy cuts. “If a few people want to oppose the whole nation and seek to protest, (police) will firmly and legally deal with them,” he was quoted as saying in the Tehran Times daily.

Iran’s police chief said he held a special session with Ahmadinejad “to clarify our tasks regarding the plan”. Under a first phase, $20 billion of subsidies should be cut in the second half of the Iranian year, which started in September.

By chance, that has coincided with tighter economic sanctions imposed by countries which fear Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.

The sanctions have caused some foreign companies to pull out of Iran’s vital oil and gas sector and have made international financial transactions harder.

Mirhossein Mousavi, who lost the June 2009 presidential election to Ahmadinejad in a vote the opposition says was rigged, said eliminating wasteful subsidies was the right policy but that the government would implement it wrongly.

“Generally no one is opposed to the subsidy reform plan, our main point is that there is no one in power who can manage this plan and the majority of the famous and capable experts have been sidelined,” he was quoted as saying on an opposition website. — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: When Malaysian Aida Othman signed up for the new law program at the Islamic university, she did not expect to become one the few women with their hands on the levers of the world’s $1 trillion Islamic finance sector. Rising global demand for scholars who can advise firms on compliance with Islamic legal principles called sharia is behind the quiet and almost accidental way in which women are growing into a small but powerful force in a male-dominated business.

“There are not many women involved my job,” Aida, who manages the sharia advisory practice at Malaysia’s biggest law firm, told Reuters.

“I’m glad to be able to show to young graduates and young scholars in my field if you’re interested enough there is a way into sharia advisory,” the 41-year-old, who went on to study at Cambridge and Harvard, said.

Islamic finance has embraced women relatively rapidly in its 30-year modern history, as burgeoning demand for expert lawyers and growing female education rewrite the rules of the business.

As Islamic finance expands 15-20 percent a year and enters new markets from Australia to South Africa, so the need has grown for more sharia advisers who can structure financial transactions according to Islamic rules that crucially include a ban on interest. Sharia advisers are typically Islamic law scholars who are able to marry sharia with international banking and legal practices to help banks devise sharia-compliant products ranging from mortgages to hedge funds.

There are 221 Islamic finance scholars globally but only a handful are in high demand, with the top six occupying almost a third of the 1,054 board positions open to Islamic experts, a Funds@Work report issued this year shows. This small circle of men dominate the boards of Islamic banks but there are now about 10 women sharia advisers in Malaysia, home to the world’s largest market for sukuk, or Islamic bonds. The number of women sharia scholars in Malaysia has more than tripled in the last five years according to some estimates.

There are no official figures, but practitioners say there are no women sharia advisers in the Middle East.

Mideast lags Malaysia While the culture has opened the way to the rise of female advisers in Malaysia, more conservative social mores have kept women sidelined from the Islamic finance industry in the Gulf Arab region, experts say. “The need for sharia advisers will increase,” said Mohamad Safri Shahul Hamid, deputy chief executive at Malaysia’s MIDF Amanah Investment Bank, a sukuk arranger. “Will we see more women? In Malaysia, we will because they will want to follow the footsteps of noted women scholars. I’m not so sure about the Middle East. I still think they have to address the cultural issue. But they are moving in the right direction as, at least commercially, there are a lot more avenues for women to join the workforce.” More than half of Malaysia’s 27 million people

are Muslim and follow the Shafi’i branch of Sunni Islam, which is regarded as taking a more moderate stand on many issues. The Middle East is home to different strands of Sunni and Shi’ite Islam which mean Muslim women enjoy varying degrees of freedom. In the United Arab Emirates, for instance, Muslim women face few restraints compared to Saudi Arabia, where they are forbidden from driving and travelling unchaperoned.

Malaysian Muslim women face little, if any, restrictions on their movements, have equal educational opportunities and women comprise about half of the country’s total workforce. Muslim women in Malaysia routinely hold political office, run large corporations and the country’s central bank and capital market regulator are both led by women. EONCap Islamic, the sharia banking arm of Malaysian financial group EON Bank and the local unit of Kuwait Finance House both have women chief executives.

Women scholars also advise Bank Rakyat and Bank Islam, which is Malaysia’s second largest sharia-compliant lender, as well as AmIslamic Bank and the local Islamic banking arms of HSBC and Standard Chartered. The rise of women sharia advisers in Malaysia was partly due to a central bank ruling that a scholar can only advise one bank and one insurer at a time to avoid conflicts of interest.

A significant minority?

Men still outnumber women five to one at sharia scholar conferences in Malaysia, but women have had a hand in major controversial rulings such as approving the bai inah sale, which fed into fierce theological debates that divide the industry. With or without women, different legal schools of Islam mean some deals are acceptable to some Muslims but not to others.

“Sometimes banks have no other options,” said Shamsiah Mohamad, a Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia adviser who has sanctioned the use of the Islamic sale and buyback structure. “Based on the Shafi’i school of thought, inah is sharia-compliant but it is not accepted in the Middle East. We gave our approval reluctantly.” Shamsiah, who wears a headscarf and traditional Malay dress, speaks only a smattering of English and utters her views in barely audible tones, but confidently fields questions on complex topics like foreign exchange forward contracts.

The 43-year-old is part of an 11-member team of national level sharia advisers, which issues rulings governing the world’s largest sukuk market.

But she says her career ambitions take into account her family and her limited grasp of English.

“In Islam, we need our husbands’ approval,” Shamsiah, who has a fiveyear-old son, told Reuters at the university where she teaches Islamic banking. Most women advisers say they have not experienced gender discrimination although some say they are not always taken seriously at conferences, for instance. —Reuters

BUSINESS

22

Thursday, November 4, 2010

South Africa’s Treasury eyes more bang for buck Too many costs, few taxpayers JOHANNESBURG: The massive funds South Africa sets aside to fix its schools and heal its health care system might be more effective if bureaucrats spent the money on properly run programs and not on luxury cars. In its three-year budget policy statement last week, the National Treasury said too much money was lost due to incompetence, suspected corruption and inefficiency, harming the long-term prospects for Africa’s largest economy.

“South Africa needs a culture of responsible stewardship of public resources geared toward obtaining better quality frontline services for every rand spent,” it said. The Treasury, widely praised by economists for its fiscal prudence, has tried to set an example of efficient operations and the government has set up a task force to cut costs, but few think the country can quickly change its ways. “There is not enough management skill or general policy implementation skill in government ministries and local departments to effectively use the money,” said Gary van Staden, political analyst with NKC, a group of independent economists.

But the Treasury needs maximum efficiency because some basic numbers do not stack up in its favor. It has to provide money for the nearly 14 million receiving social grants and welfare services. But with about 13 million in the workforce and only about 6 million earning enough money to pay income taxes, its sources of revenue are constrained. It spends about 40 percent of its tax revenue on personnel costs for state employees, leaving little over for other priorities.

Even so, the government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars since the end of apartheid 16 years ago to provide houses, electricity and basic schools to millions living in crippling poverty. The results have not been promising. The African economic power ranks near last in the world in terms of the quality of its education system, health care provision and its police, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report. “There are too many departments where administrative capacity is excessive or inefficient,” Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan told parliament last week.

Costly rides The committee to slash state spending said it sees low-hanging fruit of at least 27 billion rand a year it can cut, with additional savings coming from greater fiscal discipline. The country has also had its share of white elephants costing billions of dollars, such as a postapartheid plan to overhaul the curriculum at its schools that was dropped earlier this year despite the hefty spending on its implementation.

Wasteful spending by ministers has caused outrage among the public, and President Jacob Zuma earned some praise this week by sacking seven ministers seen as not up to the job or as being financially irresponsible. Those removed included Siphiwe Nyanda, a communications ministers who has been lambasted in the media for spending more than 1.1 million rand ($160,000) each on two, top of the line German sedans for his use. Even when the Treasury allocates money, it still faces the problem of having some of the funds returned because local officials cannot draw up plans to spend the cash. During 2009/10, some 12.4 billion rand allocated for capital projects was unspent, the Treasury said. —Reuters

KSA and Turkmenistan on route double for flydubai KUWAIT: Flydubai, Dubai’s first low cost airline, made another double route announcement yesterday to take the airline’s network to 28 destinations. Flights to the Saudi city, Abha, and the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, will begin later this month.

Flydubai CEO, Ghaith Al-Ghaith, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce the expansion of our route network today to these two very different but significant points. flydubai’s flights to Abha in the South West of Saudi Arabia will be the first direct flights from the city to the UAE and we are confident there will be a significant demand for this route. People travelling from Abha have had very few direct international flights to choose from and the addition of this new flydubai service will ensure the time and cost taken to travel from Abha to the UAE and beyond will be significantly reduced.

“These flights also mark our introduction to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which we are very excited about, and mean we can now count flights to every country in the GCC in our network.” Abha is the capital of Asir province, in south west Saudi Arabia. The city is a burgeoning tourist destination, with the summer Abha Festival a draw for visitors, as well as the incredibly impressive Al-Habala village, located some 2,000 meters above sea level.

The stunning site features stone and mud houses built precariously on the side of a steep slope, only accessible by cable car.

The moderate climate is a major attraction to the city especially in the summer months - Abha sees the highest rainfall in the Kingdom, and is significantly cooler than other parts of the country, meaning it is a great place to escape the summer heat.

Al-Ghaith continued: “Our second new route is Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Situated across the Caspian Sea from Baku, Azerbaijan, which has proven to be a good route since its launch last year, we believe Ashgabat will also develop into a successful route for flydubai.

Central Asia is a growing market, and the nations in the region are beginning to flourish, attracting international business and tourism.

“Turkmenistan is perhaps best known for its wonderful carpets and rich gas reserves, so there is tremendous business potential in the area. The introduction of flydubai’s low cost quality travel will help entrepreneurs on both sides to take advantage of the opportunities which exist for trade and tourism between our two countries.” The Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, is a relatively new city, but the historically important Silk Road ran through the country, meaning there has been much activity and history in the area for many centuries.

The Parthian Empire was found in the area that is now Turkmenistan, and the Persians had a great influence on the region, meaning a trip to the Ashgabat National History Museum is well worth the effort.

Flights from Dubai to Abha begin on November 23, offering thrice weekly flights

on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, until January 17, 2011 when flights will operate daily. Flight FZ811 departs Dubai at 0100hrs, arriving in Abha at 0255hrs local time. The return flight FZ812 takes off for Dubai Terminal 2 at 0340hrs, landing in Dubai at 0715hrs UAE time. Flights to Abha begin at AED450 per person, including one piece of hand luggage weighing 10kg. Flights from Abha to Dubai start at SAR460, with a 10kg piece of hand luggage included.

The service to Ashgabat begins on Tuesday November 30, flying twice a week.

Flight FZ731 departs Dubai on Tuesday at 0810hrs touching down in Turkmenistan at 1140hrs local time. Return flight FZ732 leaves on Tuesday at 1225hrs, reaching Dubai Terminal 2 at 1400hrs. FZ731 leaves Dubai on Friday at 1150hrs, landing in Ashgabat at 1520hrs. FZ732 departs Ashgabat on Thursday at 1605hrs and lands in Dubai at 1740hrs local time. Flights to Ashgabat start at AED1,025. Flights from Ashgabat to Dubai start at USD285.

UAE Exchange opens new branch KUWAIT: UAE Exchange, one of the leading exchange houses in Kuwait, inaugurated their 17th branch in the country at Tunis Street, Hawally. The new branch was inaugurated by Mohammed H M Al-Humoud, Director, UAE Exchange, and Pancily Varkey, Country Head, UAE Exchange Center, Kuwait. UAE Exchange Company, which operates under the Group’s catchphrase of ‘where service is the currency’, is the first exchange company in Kuwait to be certified as an ISO 9001-2008 certified company, and offers online remittance “money2anywhere”.

Flydubai secures $320m finance on four planes DUBAI: Dubai’s budget carrier flydubai has secured a sale and leaseback agreemen.t for four Boeing 737 planes worth 320 million dollars with Ireland’s Avolon leasing group, a joint statement said yesterday. The government-owned no-frills airline said the agreement comes five weeks after sealing two other sale and leaseback deals for nine aircraft with GE Capital Aviation Services and BBAM, taking the total financing secured to one billion dollars.

“Our next 13 aircraft are now completely financed, which takes us through to December of next year,” said flydubai chief executive officer Ghaith Al-Ghaith. “This is a further indication that the international financing community views

flydubai and Dubai itself as a good investment for the future,” he added. John Higgins, the president and chief commercial officer of Avolon, which was launched in May this year, praised flydubai saying that his company’s “strategy is to identify airlines that are long-term ‘winners’ and to back them in scale.” “We look forward to further developing our relationship with flydubai and our presence in the Gulf over the coming years,” he added. Flydubai was established by the Dubai government as a sister firm of airline giant Emirates in March 2008, but it did not take off until June last year. It now has a fleet of nine Boeing 737-800 planes and flies to 24 destinations. —AFP

Nasser Sports Center to open 60th branch at Egaila KUWAIT: Nasser Sports Center opens its 60th branch in Kuwait today at 6 pm, at Awtad Mall-Egaila, next to Albairaq Mall. This branch is the biggest branch yet to open for NSC on 4000 square meters on a very easy and reachable location. The opening ceremony will be attended by a group of well known members of the Kuwaiti society.

Omar Wazir Ahmad the marketing manager at NSC said that the number of branches were increasing year after year till they reached this distinguished number and there are big hopes to open more and more branches due to our awareness of the importance of reaching our clients in all over Kuwait through a distinctive branch network which we are proud to be the only one to own in Kuwait specially with the big developments that the market is witnessing which require more and more expansions.

Wazir added that this opening comes with NSC’s investment and marketing plan to expand inside and out-

Omar Wazir Ahmad side Kuwait which we put in order to be in front of the other Kuwaiti companies that offer all of the customer needs in sports equipments, women, men and children’s fashion and beauty and perfume departments as well as shoes, furniture and home appliances. Wazir concluded that the opening ceremony

will include many chilling surprises, offers and discounts that fit this huge event, and many give a ways like 5 ipads, 10 BlackBerrys, 10 treadmills, 20 exercise bikes, free shopping coupons and more than one thousand gifts for kids, plus many entertainment shows for the kids as well.

Egypt mulls dollar ‘century bonds’ CAIRO: Egypt is considering offers from international investment banks to launch 100year “century bonds” that would help demonstrate appetite for longer-term Egyptian debt, the finance minister said yesterday. Egypt has relied mainly on domestic debt to finance its budget deficit, which was equivalent to 8.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the financial year to end-June, but has occasionally dipped into international markets. “I don’t need the money, but we are thinking about it,” Finance Minister Youssef BoutrosGhali told Reuters by telephone.

He added that a number of investment banks had offered to manage the bond issue, which would be denominated in US dollars.

The government has gradually been lengthening the maturity profile of its international debt, and in April sold $1.5 billion in

Eurobonds with maturities of 10 and 30 years.

“Before, we couldn’t issue a five-year note. In 2004, we tested the market and they said ‘forget it’. Then we got a 10-year note, then a 30year note,” Boutros-Ghali said. Egypt’s reform-minded government has been working to reduce the country’s budget deficit since it came into office in 2004, but was set back by the 2008 global economic crisis which prompted it to adopt a series of economic stimulus packages. “We have a very careful borrowing policy that the government has set out,” Boutros-Ghali said. Egypt’s economy, which was spared the worst of the global economic crisis that began in mid2008, was buoyed last year by a resurgent tourism industry and Suez Canal receipts, along with resilient construction and gas exports. —Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds 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 US Dollar Sterling pounds Swiss Francs Saudi Riyals

.2770000 .4470000 .3880000 .2800000 .2740000 .2770000 .0062950 .0020000 .0760270 .7407080 .3900000 .0720000 .7261310 .0045000 .0480000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2800500 .4495360 .3899840 .2825650 .2767290 .0523010 .0419120 .2792380 .0361240 .2172280 .0034760 .0063290 .0025170 .0032750 .0040010 .0762660 .7430350 .3961100 .0747100 .7279700 .0065890 TRANSFER CHEQUES RATES .2821500 .4523600 .2871290 .0752080

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.508 6.334

.2860000 .4570000 .3950000 .2900000 .2830000 .2850000 .0074170 .0035000 .0767910 .7481520 .4100000 .0770000 .7334290 .0072000 .0570000 .2821500 .4529070 .3929080 .2846840 .2788040 .0526930 .0422270 .2813320 .0363950 .2188570 .0035020 .0063760 .0025360 .0033000 .0040310 .0768380 .7486070 .3990810 .0752700 .7334290 .0066390

Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

3.274 2.515 3.973 218.700 36.307 3.984 6.574 9.430 0.267 0.310 GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal 75.065 Qatari Riyal 77.345 Omani Riyal 731.330 Bahraini Dinar 747.660 UAE Dirham 76.656 ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 51.550 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 48.700 Yemen Riyal 1.321 Tunisian Dinar 203.160 Jordanian Dinar 397.510 Lebanese Lira 188.200 Syrian Lier 6.157 Morocco Dirham 35.394 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 281.380 Euro 393.090 Sterling Pound 453.020 Canadian dollar 279.510 Turkish lire 197.820 Swiss Franc 285.090 Australian dollar 280.540 US Dollar Buying 279.985 GOLD 20 Gram 260.000 10 Gram 131.000 5 Gram 68.500

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 10 Tola Sterling Pound US Dollar

SELL CASH 284.700 747.430 4.250 282.300 552.000 14.100 53.300 187.800 50.960 398.600

36.780 6.340 0.032

397.250 0.189 93.220 3.990 219.800

SELL DRAFT 283.200 747.430 3.982 280.800

219.400 48.676 397.100

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

280.950 279.929 451.434 395.938 285.953 688.595 743.609 76.470 77.149 74.889 396.442 48.667 6.342 3.282

Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees

2.514 3.985 6.600 3.490 9.430 6.128 3.964

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency

729.860 3.285 6.605 77.310 75.040 219.360 43.450 2.513 453.500 288.500 6.200 9.640 76.590 281.000

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash

36.910 6.480 0.033 0.264 0.246 3.580 399.130 0.190 93.220 47.200 4.400 221.300 1.911 48.700 730.040 3.400 6.680 77.740 75.040 219.360 43.450 2.677 455.500 42.600 290.000 6.200 9.750 198.263 76.690 281.400 1.350 GOLD 1,435.730 TRAVELLER?S CHEQUE 453.500 281.300

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

281.000 3.290 6.350 2.525 3.980 6.640 76.590 75.140 747.000 48.630 456.200 0.00003280 4.025 1.550 399.200 5.750 399.500 284.300

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer rate 280.700 396.000 453.500 280.500 3.490 6.340 48.645 2.512 3.978 6.598 3.281 746.500 76.520 74.950

Thursday, November 4, 2010

BUSINESS

23

Gulf Bank hails success of financial forum sponsorship Financial forum focuses on global economy recovery

KUWAIT: Mohammed Al-Mefleh, Director of Product Management, RIM Middle East speaks at the launch event at the Al-Corniche Club yesterday.

— Photo by Joseph Shagra

RIM introduces latest BlackBerry Torch 9800 Combines touch screen experience with easy-to-use keyboard KUWAIT: Research In Motion (RIM), the designer and manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones, yesterday launched the BlackBerry Torch 9800 at the Al-Corniche Club, providing Kuwaiti journalists with a first-hand experience of the latest BlackBerry smartphone. The new BlackBerry Torch features a large capacitive touch screen and optical trackpad with a 35 key full QWERTY backlit slide-out keyboard. It supports high-speed 3G (UMTS/HSDPA) networks around the world, includes the latest generation in Wi-Fi (b/g/n) connectivity and built-in GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging. Its 5 MP camera takes exceptional pictures with continuous auto focus, image stabilization, scene modes and zoom, as well as video recording. It also comes with a combined 8 GB of media storage out-of-the-box, including a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that can bring the total storage memory to 32 GB for customers that want more. Mohammed Al-Mefleh, Director of Product Management, RIM Middle East said: “The new BlackBerry Torch is our first combination

QWERTY and touch-screen smartphone, catering not only to our traditional enterprise users but also to consumers who like the convenience of a touch screen.” The launch session included a brief introduction to RIM’s new operating system, BlackBerry 6. BlackBerry 6 features a redesigned interface that seamlessly works with a touch screen and trackpad, expanded messaging capabilities that simplify managing social media and RSS feeds, an advanced multimedia experience that rivals the best in the industry, a convenient new Universal Search tool, and a new and efficient WebKit-based browser that renders web pages quickly and beautifully for a great browsing experience. Al-Mefleh concluded: “The BlackBerry 6 user interface provides a range of multimedia and social networking tools to help users stay in touch with their networks and keep up with hectic lifestyles and work schedules. Let’s face it - work and play increasingly overlap in today’s society. At RIM we recognize this and have come up with a great solution to both needs in the BlackBerry Torch.”

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has successfully completed its platinum sponsorship of the second Kuwait Annual Financial Forum, which was held from October 31 to November 1, 2010, under the patronage of the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The two day forum was attended by prominent figures, including Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmad Al-Haroon Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Ali Thunayan Alghanim, Chairman of Kuwait’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Gulf Bank’s senior management team attended the conference and Michel Accad, Gulf Bank’s CGM and CEO, addressed the audience in a keynote speech “How Will Arab Banks Face up To the Next Phase?”

In his speech Accad commented that Kuwait’s banking sector is recovering well in the aftermath of global financial crisis supported in part by projects which are key to Kuwait’s long term development and prosperity.

This year, the financial forum highlighted topics that focused on the near term prospects in global economy recovery, the challenges presented in the development of Arab economies, the requirements as well as priorities for enhancing the international financial system, future reform implications of Arab banks, opportunities for greater investment projects across regional markets, and Kuwait’s development plan.

The forum built on the success of the first financial forum held in 2009, attracting a prominent range of VIP figures in the finance and banking industry, Arab finance ministers from around the region, central bank governors, senior economists, bankers, and executive managers and heads of many banks and financial institutions in the Arab world.

KUWAIT: Michel Accad, Gulf Bank’s CGM & CEO with Ahmad Al-Haroon Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Ali Thunayan Alghanim, Chairman of Kuwait’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other prominent figures.

KUWAIT: Michel Accad, Gulf Bank’s CGM&CEO with Gulf Bank’s team and some of the prominent figures visiting the booth.

24

BUSINESS

Thursday, November 4, 2010

KSE price index ends action in red

MIDEAST STOCK MARKET

GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT

Markets buck global gains

KUWAIT: Volatile trading dominated Kuwait Stock Exchange by the end of yesterday’s session driven by the decline of Zain’s share price. The investors are still awaiting for more details about Etisalat deal. Early in the day, Al-Kharafi Group, major shareholder of Zain, through its unit National Investment Company an agreement to start the due diligence for a deal to sell 46 percent of Zain to the UAE telecoms operator. While Etisalat has mentioned after the market close that Zain offer is conditional on Zain disposing of entire Saudi assets, and that proposal will be terminated if definitive transaction is not agreed by January 15, 2011. Etisalat says to acquire 51 percent of Zain’s total issued share capital, excluding shares in treasury, and voting rights. The company noted that it does not expect Zain transaction to close before end of 1Q2011.

Market indices Global General Index (GGI) closed 0.20 points down (0.09 percent), at 222.68 point as the market capitalization decreased reaching KD36.06 million. On the other side, Kuwait Stock Exchange Price Index closed in the red zone shedding 10.80 points (0.15 percent) from its value and closed at 7,118.5 point.

From a technical over view, the index is still supported by the area of 7,080 point - 7,100 point.

Therefore, It is looking quite solid as long as it is traded above this zone.

Market breadth During the session, 138 companies were traded.

Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 38 equities advanced versus 64 that retreated.

Daily trading activity Trading activities ended on a mixed note. Volume of shares traded on the exchange increased by 10.19 percent to

reach 583.88 million shares, the value of shares traded decreased by 20.52 percent to stand at KD68.84 million.

The services sector was the volume leader yesterday, accounting for 36.13 percent of total shares and the Investment Sector was the value leader, with 20.52 percent of total traded value.

Company-wise, National Ranges Company was the volume leader, with a total traded volume of 78.0 million shares changing hands. Al Mal Investment Co. was the value leader, with a total traded value of KD6.70 million.

Top gainers and biggest decliners In terms of top gainers, AlMazaya Holding Company was

the biggest gainer for the day, adding 8.62 percent and closed at KD0.126. There is a rumor that Al-Mazaya Holding Company have won a case in UAE on a land ownership. On the other side, Alargan International Real Estate Co. came in as the biggest decliner, dropping by 10.42 percent and closed at KD0.172.

Sectors wise Sector-wise, seven out of eight indices went down yesterday, Global Investment index was the biggest loser which shed 1.20 percent to close at 119.40 points. The index’s drop is caused by National Investment Company, which lost 3.57 percent to close at KD0.540.

Global Non-Kuwaiti sector

was the second biggest loser as it shed 0.91 percent to close at 57.01. This was a result of Gulf Cement Co and Ras Al-Khaimah Co. For White Cement & Construction, Materials Co which dropped 1.49 and 1.03 percent, respectively.

Regarding the advancers, Global’s Food Index took the lead with a 0.90 percent gain.

Global Banking Index followed posted a 0.82 percent gain backed by Commercial Bank of Kuwait, which was the biggest gainer in the sector. The bank gained 2.25 percent to end the day at KD0.910.

During the session, Global Special indices ended the day on a mixed note, Global High Yield Index was the biggest decliner as it shed 1.19 percent. Global

Small Cap was the biggest advancers as it rose 0.21 percent.

Oil news Price of Kuwaiti crude oil increased by $1.76 to $80.26 per barrel in trading on Tuesday compared to $78.50 pb of Monday’s transactions, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on yesterday.

Corporate news The Kuwaiti dinar was traded KD0.280 against the dollar yesterday while its rate against the euro was up to KD0.392. The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) said on its website that the rate of the national currency stood at KD0.449 against the sterling, KD0.003 against the yen, and was KD0.285 against the Swiss franc.

DUBAI: Most Middle East markets fell yesterday, bucking gains on emerging and global bourses as local investors waited for international funds to return to the region.

“We have underperformed for the past few weeks and tend to be correlated more to the downside for both oil and global markets,” said Matthew Wakeman, EFG-Hermes managing director for cash and equity-linked trading. “It seems local investors are waiting for internationals to come in lead the market up. Developed and emerging markets are doing well, so internationals don’t have a shortage of places to put their cash, but with MENA (Middle East and North Africa) underperforming they should return sometime and locals don’t want to risk buying too early.”

World and emerging equities hit a two-year high as investors anticipated more US monetary easing would support its economy, while oil reached a six-month peak. The US Federal Reserve is expected to resume purchases of longer-term treasuries, with economists forecasting it will spend around $500 billion over six months. “The Fed will print more money to buy assets and so we

should see a decline in the dollar in the long term,” said Hesham Tuffaha, Bakheet Investment Group head of research in Riyadh. “It will be very risky to be in cash-if you are not putting your money into equities, bonds, commodities or oil, for example, then you lose as the dollar debases.”

Saudi Arabia’s index fell 0.5 percent, its first decline for five sessions and Tuffaha urged investors to be cautious, despite possible asset appreciation globally as the Fed program kicks in. “The overall market is over-valued because of some large-cap companies that are still suffering losses or lower profits, which has raised the overall PE (price to earnings ratio), so investors should stay away from these names and focus on companies showing earnings growth,” said Tuffaha.

He named petrochemicals, building and construction, agriculture and telecoms as attractive, plus select banks.

Abu Dhabi’s index slumped to a two-week low and Dubai fell for a second day. “Q3 earnings are out and we didn’t see exceptional results, apart from maybe in Qatar - for Saudi, the UAE and Oman the numbers have mostly come in line or below expectations,” said

Adel Nasr, United Securities brokerage manager. “So there’s not much motivation to get into the market, although if oil prices go up, our equity markets should continue to do well. Such a move wouldn’t be supported by financial results, however, so we’ll be vulnerable to any negative sentiment from global markets.”

Yesterday’s highlights Abu Dhabi The benchmark slipped 0.07 percent to 2,762 points.

Dubai The index fell 0.4 percent to 1,735 points.

Egypt The index rose 0.9 percent to 6,714 points.

Saudi Arabia The measure fell 0.5 percent to 6,344 points.

Kuwait The index fell 0.2 percent to 7,119 points.

Qatar The measure rose 0.4 percent to 7,799 points.

Oman The index rose 0.3 percent to 6,500 points.

Bahrain The measure eased 0.01 percent to 1,460 points. —Reuters

BUSINESS

Thursday, November 4, 2010

25

Asian stocks up, dollar on backfoot before Fed MSCI ex-Japan up 0.9 percent, HK leads gains

SYDNEY: Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan speaks during a press conference at Sydney’s International Airport before departing for China yesterday. —AFP

Australia vows to crack down on ‘arrogant’ banks SYDNEY: Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan vowed to crack down on “arrogant” banks in an extraordinary attack yesterday as major lenders face mounting anger over rising interest rates and fees. Swan promised sweeping reforms to loosen the grip of Australia’s “big four” lenders, slamming the Commonwealth Bank’s move to lift borrowing rates above the official 25-basispoint rise. “The behavior of the Commonwealth Bank has been arrogant in the extreme,” Swan told reporters.

“They have moved in defiance of the analysis of the Reserve Bank (central bank) which says that their debt interest margins have returned to pre-crisis levels.” The comments follow simmering discontent over Australia’s comparatively high lending rates, which are set to rise further after the Reserve Bank of Australia moved the official cash rate to up to 4.75 percent on Tuesday.

Commonwealth Bank responded by putting its rates up 45 basis points, in a move which Swan called a “cynical cash grab”.

The other big banks have yet to announce rate hikes. Westpac also reported a mammoth 84 percent rise in annual profit to 6.34

billion US dollars on Wednesday, rounding off a bumper earnings season for the big four.

Commonwealth’s earnings are up 20 percent, ANZ’s grew up 53 percent and the National Australia Bank climbed 63 percent.

Swan said the global financial crisis had significantly consolidated Australia’s banking sector, killing off smaller lenders and putting too much power in the hands of the now “highly profitable” four major banks. He said reforms would be announced next month to boost regulatory powers and give consumers more freedom and choice, warning the banks not to “underestimate for one moment” how serious he was about shaking up the sector.

“The fact is Australian banks are highly profitable and their net interest margins have returned to levels they were prior to the global financial crisis,” he said.

Australia’s banks were credited with helping the country stave off recession during the crisis after they eschewed risky lending and investment practices seen in the United States and Europe. But a series of seven rate hikes since October 2009 has hit home-owners, while thousands of customers are expected to join a

potential multi-billion dollar class action against a swathe of unpopular minor banking fees.

“The government is putting in place further reforms to keep the big banks honest, because clearly they have behaved in an arrogant fashion, and clearly what we will do is make the system more competitive,” Swan said. “I think consumers should have a good hard look at their bank and have a look around to see where there may be better options... I think it pays for customers to think about going to another bank,” he said. Swan’s statement follows calls from shadow treasurer Joe Hockey to regulate banks’ interest rate rises, which was mocked by the government and reportedly criticized by his own party.

Australia was the only major advanced economy to buck recession during the global slump and led the Western world in lifting rates, raising them off 49-year lows with six rapid hikes between October 2009 and May. Growth surged 1.2 percent in the three months to June —- the biggest jump in three years-with unemployment at 5.1 percent as the country rides a once-in-acentury resources boom on rapacious demand from Asia. —AFP

in the news India low-cost airline Spice to buy 30 Bombardier jets NEW DELHI: Low-cost Indian carrier Spice Jet said yesterday it plans to buy as many as 30 planes from Canada’s Bombardier in a deal worth up to 900 million dollars intended to help boost its fleet. The airline’s board approved the order for 15 turboprop planes along with an option to buy 15 more as part of a drive to boost services to smaller cities in India as demand for air travel expands. “The enormous potential in the Indian domestic market can be further tapped by enhancing regional connectivity in the country by focusing on” smaller cities, said SpiceJet chief executive Neil Mills. The budget carrier, partly owned by media magnate Kalanithi Maran, is “buying the Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft from Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. to facilitate this objective,” he said. The Q400 is rated “the quietest, most vibration-free” turboprop in the skies and uses up to 40 percent less fuel than comparable regional jets, Mills said in an emailed statement. The company, which has a 13 percent market share with its 22 aircraft, is looking “at an aggressive addition to our fleet”.

Deliveries of the Q400, the first ever to India, are due to begin in the first half of 2011, SpiceJet said. Low-fare carriers increased their share of the passenger market to 71 percent from 61 percent in the three months to September from a year earlier. The plane purchase announcement came as the airline reported it swung to a profit of 101 million rupees (2.30 million dollars) in the three months ended September from a loss of one billion rupees a year earlier.

Japan’s MUFG in talks to buy RBS assets LONDON: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is in talks to buy project financing assets from Royal Bank of Scotland for 4.0 billion pounds, a source close to the matter said yesterday, confirming media reports. Tokyo’s Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday that MUFG planned to take RBS’ loan assets, particularly infrastructure loans in Europe, Middle East and Africa, as well as some of the bank’s sales force. RBS is in discussions over sale of selling project financing assets, rather the entire business, the source told AFP. The assets are worth the equivalent of 4.6 billion euros or 6.4 billion US dollars. An RBS spokesman declined to comment. MUFG and the British government, which controls 84 percent of RBS, are trying to sign an official deal by year-end and complete the transaction in the first half of 2011, the Nikkei newspaper also reported. The Japanese group has been trying to expand its overseas operations to generate stable profits, as the domestic economic landscape has long been bleak. The Japanese

yen’s recent appreciation against major currencies has helped move the deal forward, according to the Nikkei. Project financing is considered relatively low-risk lending because the loans are backed by future revenue from the financed projects and are not affected by the borrower’s credit standing, the business daily said. MUFG was the leader in US project financing in 2009 in terms of new loans, but is ranked 10th globally for the January-September period of this year, the Nikkei said. The group aims to become the world leader in this field through the latest acquisition, it said.

HK bid raises hope of market cool-down HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s latest land sale fell below analysts’ forecasts yesterday as the government ramps up measures to rein in soaring property prices in the densely populated metropolis. Chinachem Group, one of the city’s biggest developers, snapped up the residential site in the Kowloon district for 2.17 billion Hong Kong dollars ($280 million). That was below a prediction of 2.69 billion Hong Kong dollars made by six analysts and surveyors polled by Dow Jones Newswires. New property rules and a maximum height restriction on the 7,000 square meter (75,000 square foot) site were probably behind its lower-than-expected sale price, said Yu Kam-Hung, a senior managing director at CB Richard Ellis. “I think developers will start to take a more conservative view of the property market,” he told AFP. “This shows the government measures are working.” A clamor of public protest at soaring property prices has pushed the financial hub’s government to take action over the past year.

It has staged nine land sales to boost supply and cool the market amid fears of a housing-price bubble in the former British colony. Some lawmakers have called for the resumption of a subsidized housing scheme due to concerns about the city’s growing income gap. Last month, Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang outlined a fresh batch of measures to rein in the property market, which included setting out new rules on flat sizes. The measures also halt automatic residency for rich property buyers from outside the territory.The latter move is expected to affect wealthy mainland Chinese investors, who account for as much as half of luxury homes sales in Hong Kong, stoking claims that speculators are adding to the sharp price rise.

SINGAPORE: Asian stocks rose yesterday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street while the dollar was under pressure ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting that is expected to provide more stimulus to spur a flagging recovery. European shares also opened higher as a swing towards the Republicans in US elections lifted investor sentiment. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan was up 0.9 percent helped by gains in materials and energy in line with Wall Street.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led the gains in Asia leaping to their highest in 28 months spurred by gains in banks, property and oil counters. The index jumped higher after breaking above a key Fibonacci retracement level.

South Korea’s KOSPI closed up 0.9 percent on foreign buying with banks and insurers up amid strengthening expectations for an interest rate hike after the Australia central bank’s surprise decision to increase rates.

Japan’s financial markets are closed because of a public holiday. The dollar stayed on the backfoot in Asia with the euro holding around $1.4000 and the Aussie just off parity ahead of the Fed meeting.

Traders said the market was unwilling to make new bets ahead of the US central bank’s policy decision.

“The announcement itself could well be a non-event, since so much is priced in, but in the mediumand longer-term, Asia looks increasingly set to be on the receiving end of a lot more capital inflow,” DBS said in a research note.

“Inflows are likely to be strong for the next 5-10 years as Asian demand growth outpaces that of the G3,” it said.

“Currencies will remain under upward pressure and ditto for equities.” Due at around 1815 GMT, the Fed is expected to announce plans to buy hundreds of billions of dollars in US government debt in order to foster a stronger economic recovery. Markets are generally priced for the Fed to initially commit to buying at least $500 billion in Treasuries over five months, although much uncertainty surrounds the scope and pace of bond purchases.

“Should the Fed deliver a bigger outcome, say in the region of $1 trillion or above, the US dollar will likely come under renewed pressure.

However, a more cautious amount of asset purchases will be US dollar positive,” said Mitul Kotecha, head of global FX strategy at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong. “If we see a more cautious Fed, euro/dollar will slip back below $1.40, cable below $1.60. We’re going to see Aussie give up some of its gains.”

Markets have also kept an eye on the results of US midterm elections on Tuesday.

Television networks projected the Republicans would seize control of the House of Representatives although the Democrats were likely to maintain the Senate. A divided Congress is typically seen as bullish for stocks as it makes passing new laws harder and lessens uncertainty for business. Some analysts have said a Republican victory could be positive for the U.S. currency on market hopes for increased fiscal austerity and less government regulation. But the main market focus is still on the Fed. Gold inched down despite the weaker dollar as investors stayed on the sidelines on the last day of the Federal Reserve’s meeting. Gold eased $2.40 to $1,354.60 an ounce, off a two-week high at $1,365.49 hit on Monday. Gold struck a record around $1,387 last month. Oil climbed to a six-month high above $84 for a second straight session after an industry report showed declines in US inventories across fuel categories, a sign chronic oversupply may subside in the world’s top user. US crude for December rose 36 cents to $84.26, after touching $84.50 earlier yesterday, the highest intraday price since May 4. ICE Brent rose 30 cents to $85.71. —Reuters

TOKYO: Against a backdrop of a snow-capped Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain, skyscrapers soar at Yokohama port yesterday. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit will be held in Yokohama on Nov 13 and 14. —AP

China’s dream for uncommon earths rests on grim costs Villagers complain of sickness, lost crops BAOTOU: China’s quest for a green future built on rare earths metals seems a world away from Ren Limin as he casts lumps of one of the metals in a chemical-spattered shed thick with acrid fumes. Ren tends cauldrons of sputtering acid, additives and ore in a shed in north China’s Inner Mongolia region, smelting lanthanum, one of the 17 rare earths that Beijing hopes will power the nation up the clean technology ladder. Yet Ren and a workmate use few safety protections as they stir and poke the red-hot cauldrons. Holes in the roof and windows act as main ventilation.

“This place doesn’t have anything but it’s got mines. We live off the rare earth mines,” Ren, who gave his age as 32 but looked years older, told Reuters journalists who visited Baotou, a city of 1.8 million people about 650 kilometers (404 miles) west of Beijing that calls itself the “capital of rare earths”. “It’s not that dangerous.

You get used to the smells, but there’s also the heat,” he said. China says it must curb rare earth ore sales abroad for the sake of its environment, though its own rare earths industry is marked by pollution and primitive production that tightening export quotas alone appears unlikely to staunch.

China supplies 97 percent of the world’s rare earths, used in computers and clean energy tech-

nology such as wind turbines and electric cars.

The battery of a Toyota Prius hybrid car uses 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum. Beijing has sparked international concerns by curbing exports of rare earths which it says it needs for its own green growth. Ren was unaware of the diplomatic fuss and met questions about environmental and health problems linked to production with gruff bemusement.

“We sell it on. That’s all I know. I’m not sure who buys it or what it’s for,” he said of a pile of lanthanum bricks lying on the floor, among discarded cotton gloves and scrap. He worked without a mask but wrapped a towel around his face and donned a visor when pouring the molten compound into molds. He said they made 1,100 yuan ($165) a ton, working 12-hour days, with a few days off every two weeks. The plant he works in lies in a northern corner of Baotou, a city and surrounding expanse of Inner Mongolia that produces more than half of the world’s rare earths, especially the lighter ones, from the fenced-off Bayan Obo mines.

The government says it wants to end unfettered exploitation of rare earths, and has been shutting unlicensed mines and smelters. But China’s biggest producers still pollute at levels

far beyond what would be allowed in the United States, Australia and other countries now looking to ramp up production as Beijing curbs exports.

Near Baotou city, where Baotou Steel RareEarth Group processes the metals on a vast scale, villagers said the resulting toxins were poisoning them, their water and air, crops and children. At least one official has backed that claim.

“If we take into account the resource and environmental costs, the progress of the rare earths industry has come at a massive price to society,” Su Wenqing, a Baotou rare earths industry official wrote in a study published last year.

The “Middle East” of rare earths Baotou wants to remake itself as a crucible of China’s ambitions to turn its rare earths into green-tinged gold. The city has a rare earths high-tech zone, a shiny Rare Earths Tower for officials and investors, and Rare Earths Street.

The city’s Rare Earths Park features carvings of scientists and leaders who pushed China to turn its reserves into an engine for economic growth, including Deng Xiaoping, the revolutionary veteran who guided the nation to market economic reforms. “The Middle East has oil, and China has rare earths,” a carving records Deng as saying in 1992. —Reuters

World Bank warns China of global trade discrepancies BEIJING: The World Bank yesterday boosted its 2010 growth forecast for China to 10 percent, but warned that global tensions over trade imbalances could cast a shadow over the rosy economic outlook. The bank based its new prediction on the “still surprisingly strong” 9.6 percent growth in gross domestic product seen in the third quarter, and said the prospects for the world’s second-largest economy “remain sound”. The Washington-based bank forecast 2011 growth of a more modest but still robust 8.7 percent, slightly up from its previous estimate of 8.5 percent, in its latest quarterly update on China.

It suggested that a more flexible exchange rate mechanism would allow for more policy options such as further interest rate hikes, which would help Beijing contain mounting inflation. “Coming from this very strong growth that we have seen recently, China should be able to ease gently into a more sustainable rate of growth in 2011 and the medium term,” the report’s main author, Louis Kuijs, told reporters.

But the bank warned: “The combination of large current account surpluses in some countries, including China, and large current account deficits in other countries, notably the US, poses financial and economic risks, including from possible tension and contentious policy responses to them.” It said those risks were “probably the key ones for China”, adding: “In this connection, a lack of success in rebalancing China’s growth pattern would be among the more serious medium-term risks, for China and the world economy.”

Global trade woes and the prospect of a looming “currency war” are expected to dominate dis-

BEIJING: Two people chat outside a luxury hotel in a popular shopping area yesterday. —AFP cussions at next week’s Group of 20 summit in Seoul. G20 finance ministers vowed to move towards more market-determined exchange rate systems and “refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies” when they met last month in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.

The United States and Europe accuse China of deliberately holding down the value of the yuan to benefit exporters. The currency has appreciated about two percent against the dollar since Beijing pledged in June to loosen its grip.

The World Bank’s lead China economist, Ardo Hansson, said China should target the yuan’s value against a basket of currencies rather than one bilateral exchange rate-and seemed to be doing so.

“Having a basket, or to at least target it, is a good direction,” he said, noting that otherwise China

would suffer a lot of “shocks” as a result of being tied to one particular currency, an apparent reference to the dollar. China says that irresponsibly loose US monetary policy is causing a wave of speculative cash to flood emerging markets in search of higher non-dollar returns, given current exchange rates.

The World Bank said those capital inflows would “add to the upward pressure on the renminbi”, or yuan, but should be “more manageable” in China, adding they “should not be a reason not to raise interest rates”. China’s central bank last month raised one-year lending and deposit rates for the first time in nearly three years as Beijing ramped up efforts to contain rising inflation and cool the red-hot real estate market. However, Kuijs said there was no major risk of a rise in consumer prices, adding the economy could easily digest

increases of three to five percent.

“In an emerging market like China ... when an economy undergoes such rapid change, it is quite OK for there to be reasonable inflation-three, four, or five percent is not necessarily very alarming,” he said. The World Bank, which provides financial and technical aid to developing nations, upped its 2010 growth forecast from 9.5 percent, much higher than the government’s own target of eight percent. China posted first-quarter economic growth of 11.9 percent and 10.3 percent expansion in the second quarter. The World Bank emphasized the need for China to wean itself off its dependence on exports and continue to boost domestic demand, saying: “China’s economy, its role in the world economy and its external surplus are now substantially larger than five years ago.” —AFP

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BUSINESS

Russia wants to enter Potash takeover battle Canada insists no decision yet on BHP’s Potash bid

FRANKFURT: The file photo shows BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer between an electric powered Mini (left) and a BMW Touring on the first press day of the Frankfurt Auto Show. Luxury auto maker BMW AG’s third-quarter profits surged as revenue increased by more than a third thanks to the global economic recovery and better selling prices, allowing the company yesterday to raise some of its full-year targets. —AP

Thorny problems could dog ECB meeting, analysts say FRANKFURT: A European Central Bank meeting today could be marked by emerging differences on monetary policy between German leaders and ECB executives that could spell trouble for the eurozone as a whole. The ECB, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and the German central bank have expressed clear differences on key questions and they could be in the spotlight as the ECB’s main interest rate stays at 1.0 percent, analysts say.

“In the absence of important news or changes to the ECB’s monetary stance, the Q&A (question and answer) session of today’s press conference will probably be dominated by other topics,” ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski said. They included “the European leaders’ agreement on the reform of European economic governance, the ECB’s bond purchases and the Weber-Trichet face-off,” he added in reference to ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet and Bundesbank chief Axel Weber.

Repeated public opposition by Weber to continued ECB purchases of eurozone government bonds-a stimulus measure taken last May to shore up financial marketsearned him a rebuke by Trichet and possibly compromised Weber’s chances of becoming the next head of the ECB. JeanClaude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup of

eurozone finance ministers, told the German daily Die Welt he wanted “the ECB to speak with one voice, stick to its decisions and not always try to nuance certain decisions.”

Weber says he will speak his mind and “if that’s going to have implications for my future career, then I’d be happy to live with those consequences.” Meanwhile, ECB executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi has taken aim at a German push for an “orderly debt restructuring mechanism” for eurozone members, and Trichet has warned it could hurt lending to countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal. “It can be easily seen that there can hardly be anything ‘orderly’ in such a process,” Bini Smaghi said in the printed copy of a speech delivered Monday in Abu Dhabi.

But German public opinion is fiercely opposed to repeated taxpayer bail-outs of eurozone partners and their creditors, and Schaeuble said Tuesday in Paris the “monetary union was never conceived as a model to enrich speculators.” Germany’s finance minister used a speech at the Sorbonne university to add: “Private investors and markets must no longer expect a rescue by European taxpayers that encourages indebtedness and irresponsible investments.” His remarks were made available in advance.

Trichet warned European Union leaders last week that a debate on forcing private lenders to take losses through debt restructuring would quickly raise the cost of borrowing by vulnerable eurozone governments. But German Chancellor Merkel shot back on Tuesday, replying “I don’t believe so,” she said when asked if the debate itself could increase the likelihood of a country having to seek help.

“We’re talking here, in an explicit manner, of a mechanism we want to introduce after 2013,” Merkel stressed. Capital Economics senior economist Jennifer McKeown agreed that proposals for a permanent crisis resolution mechanism could “have counter-productive effects on member countries’ fiscal consolidation efforts” because higher costs would make it harder to reduce debts.

But she acknowledged that “the establishment of a proper framework under which a country might default in an orderly manner is arguably a vital pre-requisite for the long-term survival of the single currency.” Finally, the ECB is unhappy with an agreement reached by eurozone finance ministers on reform of economic governance because it leaves the decision to slap sanctions on profligate governments in the hands of politicians. —AFP

Oil climbs to fresh high as US inventories tumble

Sarkozy to woo China’s Hu ahead of G20 summit

US crude inventories unexpectedly fell last week

BEIJING: French President Nicolas Sarkozy will woo his visiting Chinese counterpart this week with his bold agenda for global financial reform, although Hu Jintao may be wary of commitments.

President Hu’s visit to France and then Portugal will nonetheless be another opportunity for China to wield its growing economic clout to counter trade tensions with Europe and ensure Hu has Sarkozy’s ear as he takes up the G20 presidency.

“China hopes the talks between China and France will advance policy coordination and help stabilize its relationship with the European Union,” Chen Qi, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said in an email. “Advancing political relations with France will buffer against coordinated pressure from the US, the EU, Japan, South Korea, and other countries at the G20 summit.”

Seoul hosts the next G20 summit on Nov 1112, after which France assumes the presidency of the group. Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, struggling to rein in the country’s debt, will hope for a repeat of a Chinese performance in Greece that boosted the ailing Greek economy with promises of investment and debt buying.

European concerns about China’s human rights and climate change record appear muted compared with two years ago, when Sarkozy riled China by meeting the exiled Dalai Lama.

Sarkozy wants China, the world’s secondlargest economy, to back his plans to use the G20 platform to preach major shifts in how economies manage their currencies and trade balances.

China has its own complaints about the current financial system. But with its pile of foreign exchange wealth, Hu is unlikely to risk climbing aboard the Sarkozy reformist express. “I don’t think Hu expects a tremendous amount from the G20, and he is aware of the dangers of being pressured on currency revaluation and trade surplus,” said Francois Godement, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. —Reuters

SINGAPORE: Oil climbed to a six-month high above $84 for a second straight session after an industry report showed declines in US inventories across fuel categories, a sign chronic oversupply may subside at the world’s top user. US crude for December gained 32 cents to $84.22 at 0249 GMT, after touching $84.50 earlier yesterday, the highest intraday price since May 4. ICE Brent rose 23 cents to $85.64.

Expectations the Federal Reserve will yesterday announce a fresh round of expansionary monetary policy kept the dollar under pressure, helping commodity prices, while Republican gains in the US Congress lifted sentiment in Wall Street. US crude inventories fell by 4.1 million barrels in the week to Oct. 29, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday, before the Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases official statistics later yesterday. That compared with expectations for a 1.2 million barrel increase. [API/S] “Overall, it’s a bullish set of data, and sets a bullish outlook for the EIA,” said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ. “It could be the beginning of the seasonal downward trend as we enter the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere.”

Distillates stockpiles, including heating oil and diesel, fell 4.7 million barrels, more than four times the expected 1.1 million barrel draw in a Reuters survey, while gasoline supplies fell by 3.2 million barrels, against forecasts of little change.

Strikes at French refineries limited European exports of gasoline to the U.S., while west-to-east transatlantic distillates flows probably increased as shortages loomed because of the walkouts, analysts said. Oil prices at $100 a barrel would be

more comfortable for producing nations because of higher food prices and a weaker dollar, the top oil official for OPEC member Libya said on Tuesday.

The Libyan comments came a day after Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said oil prices in a $70-$90 range were comfortable for consumers, signaling a higher acceptable range from the $70-$80 range previously deemed comfortable. Qatar’s oil minister also said $70-$90 per barrel would be reasonable for consumers and producers.

Euro-zone manufacturing picked up its pace last month, a business survey showed Tuesday, one day after better-than-expected US and Chinese factory data increased optimism about the global economy and revived risk appetite. “What we are looking at is economic numbers improving, but how this translates into oil demand growth we may only see next year,” Lim said. “At the moment, the well-supplied story is still standing and we don’t see demand growth outpacing supply growth until next year.”

The dollar stayed on the backfoot early in Asia yesterday, with the euro holding above $1.4000 and the Aussie just off parity as the Federal Reserve looked set to provide more stimulus to spur a flagging recovery.

World stocks neared a two-year high on Tuesday on stronger-than-expected economic data while the dollar fell as investors anticipated the US central bank will open the money spigot to spur the flagging US economy. Republicans rolled up key early US election wins on Tuesday after a long and bitter campaign that could sweep Democrats from power in Congress and slam the brakes on President Barack Obama’s agenda. —Reuters

SYDNEY/MOSCOW: Russian fertilizer company Phosagro plans to bid for Potash Corp, according to a media report, rivaling BHP Billiton’s $39 billion offer awaiting a crucial ruling from the Canadian government. Phosagro Chairman Vladimir Litvinenko has asked Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to approve a potential deal and request financing from Russian banks, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported yesterday.

The report reignited speculation about a possible bidding war in the world’s biggest takeover for 2010 and came on the day Ottawa is expected to tell BHP whether it will approve or reject the deal.

Vedomosti cited a letter from Litvinenko to Putin, a close ally since Putin defended his 1997 PhD thesis at the St Petersburg institute where Litvinenko is rector. Privately held Phosagro was not immediately available for comment on the report while BHP and Potash declined to comment.

Analysts said it appeared unlikely Phosagro had the financial firepower to make a rival bid unless in conjunction with other Russian players Uralkali and Silvinit-being merged by potash tycoon Suleiman Kerimov.

“Only if Phosagro, Uralkali and Silvinit combined into a single $25-30 billion company and consolidated their funding capabilities would the remote potential to make a bid for PotashCorp appear,” Troika Dialog analyst Mikhail Stiskin said in a note.

He added that a successful bid would put Russia in control of 65 percent of global potash trade-a key component of world food supplies. Credit Suisse analysts said Potash Corp could have drummed up the Russia bid as a ‘white knight’ defense to the unwelcome BHP offer, adding there was “little likelihood” that a takeover would come about.

Phosagro, which Moscow’s VTB Capital said had 2009 sales of $1.8 billion, does not disclose its shareholder structure but market players say it is controlled by billionaire senator Andrei Guryev.

Eyes on Ottawa Two Canadian newspapers reported on Tuesday that bureaucrats were advising the government to allow BHP’s bid for the world’s largest fertilizer market although rumors swirled in the markets that Ottawa would block it. The federal Canadian government will announce its decision yesterday, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Ottawa has until the end of yesterday (0400 GMT Nov 4) to make its ruling public.

No serious rival bidders for Potash have emerged so far.

Potash has said it held talks with 15 strategic, financial and state-sponsored potential bidders and investors but admitted in a tough market, a white knight would need more time to raise financing. Potash has flatly rejected BHP’s current $130-ashare offer as inadequate and has repeatedly said it expects other offers. The Russian newspaper quoted Litvinenko as saying in the letter he knows well Canada’s government officials who make decisions on the matter as well as Potash’s senior management and that they were not against an alliance with Russia.

Phosagro has also secured preliminary agreements with Canadian banks over providing half of financing needed for the deal, while Russian banks should provide the rest, the paper said. Potash Corp shares ended 1.1 percent lower in New York on Tuesday, while BHP Billiton’s shares closed up 0.8 percent in Sydney yesterday.

BHP stock eased in London after rising the previous session on market talk that Canada would block a takeover of Potash or impose tough conditions that would scupper the bid.

A “yes” from Ottawa will likely prolong the takeover battle and it may well force BHP to raise its bid. Since BHP announced its bid in late August, the stock has held well above the offer price, as investors bet that a higher bid will eventually emerge.

Canada’s Conservative minority government risks alienating its political allies in Saskatchewan if it allows the bid. But the probusiness government risks sending a damaging anti-market message to the global investment community if it blocks the takeover.—Reuters

Thursday, November 4, 2010

R&D spending declines during 2009 recession Apple named most innovative company BOOZ & COMPANY GLOBAL INNOVATION REPORT DUBAI: Total R&D spending among the world’s top spenders on innovation dropped in 2009 for the first time in the 13 years studied, according to the 2010 Global Innovation 1,000, the sixth annual study of corporate innovation spending, released today by global management consulting firm Booz & Company. The study revealed that the 1,000 companies that spent the most on research and development decreased their total R&D spending by 3.5 percent to $503 billion in 2009. This followed a relatively strong 2008 during which R&D spending continued to grow despite the recession.

Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

(SABIC) is the only company in the Innovations 1,000 list from the Middle East and one of the Middle East’s strong counter cycle investment players. SABIC’s European campaign at “K-Fair”, the leading fair for the Global Plastics Industry, is based on the company’s technology, innovation, and R&D leadership.

SABIC holds slot number 501 in the 1,000 list and is one of the world’s top spenders in innovation, outperforming many of its competitors. Total R&D spend by SABIC in 2009 dropped by 7.3 percent going from $152.3 million in 2008 to $141.2 million in 2009. Other chemical companies had cut their R&D spend significantly more during the crisis period.

SABIC’s R&D constituted 0.51 percent of the company’s sales in 2009 and formed about 0.03 percent of the Innovation 1,000 R&D spend in 2010.

Revenues for the Innovation 1,000 plunged 11 percent from $15.1 trillion in 2008 to $13.4 trillion in 2009 - nearly three times the rate of decline in R&D spending. As a result, R&D intensity, or R&D spending as a percentage of revenue, actually increased from 3.46 percent in 2008 to 3.75 percent in 2009.

Compared to the 3.5 percent reduction in R&D spending, the 1,000 top R&D spenders cut much more deeply into both sales, general and administrative expenses (a 5.4 percent reduction), and capital expenditures (a 17.5 percent drop).

“It’s no surprise that the worldwide recession finally caught up with the world’s top innovation spenders in 2009, causing them to trim their innovation budgets. However, the relatively modest cuts in R&D spending compared to much larger declines in revenues demonstrates the continued importance of innovation as a critical component of corporate strategy to companies in every industry,” said Hatem Samman, Director and Lead Economist of Booz & Company’s Ideation Center. “As the recession draws to a close and corporate earnings rebound, 2010 will be an important test of their commitment to innovation. Indeed, the most forward looking companies will likely move quickly to restore the R&D cuts they made in 2009.”

Booz & Company analyzed the world’s top 1,000 public corporations’ research and development spending for 2009 in what continues to be the most comprehensive effort to assess the link between innovation and corporate performance. The study uncovers insights into how organizations can get the best return on their innovation investment.

This year’s study also examined the capabilities needed to maximize the impact of a company’s innovation efforts, in good times and bad, and highlighted the benefits of focusing on the short list of capabilities that generate differential advantage.

Among the 2010 Global Innovation 1,000 study’s key findings: More than half of all companies Booz & Company tracked cut their R&D spending in 2009 and nearly all the cuts came in just three industries: Auto, computing and electronics, and industrials. The other seven industries examined - health, software and Internet, telecom, chemicals and energy, aerospace and defense, consumer and industrials - all increased spending to some degree.

The auto industry alone accounted for fully twothirds of the $18 billion contraction in R&D spending: The industry’s 14.3 percent decrease in R&D spends slightly outpaced its 12.7 percent decrease in revenue. The computing and electronics industry reported similar, but less drastic, R&D spending reductions with no change in the industry’s R&D intensity:

Industry revenues were down by 6.7 percent from 2008 to 2009 as a result of the recession and accompanying drop in sales. The 6.7 percent decline in R&D for computers and electronics tracked the decline in revenue.

Despite a decline in R&D spending, computing and electronics retained its top spot as the industry that spent the most on innovation, while auto remained at number three. Healthcare took the number two spot, increasing R&D by 1.5 percent, much slower than the industry’s revenue growth rate of 6.0 percent. Japan saw the largest percentage drop in spending by region in which a company was headquartered. Given the recession’s overall effect on innovation spending, companies headquartered in regions hit hardest cut R&D spending the most, on average. R&D spending by companies headquartered in Japan dropped by 10.8 percent, North American spending declined by 2.8 percent, while Europe’s declined by just 0.2 percent.

In contrast, companies headquartered in China and India boosted R&D spending by 41.8 percent, although from a small base, as they account for only 1 percent of total Global Innovation 1,000 corporate R&D spending.

Changes in the world’s top 20 spenders Pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding took the top position for innovation spending, having boosted its R&D spend 11.6 percent to $9.1 billion, replacing Toyota Motor, which cut spending nearly 20 percent and fell to fourth place. In fact, healthcare companies took 5 of the top 10 spots on the list and 7 of the top 20. Microsoft (#2), Nokia (#3) and Pfizer (#5) rounded out the top five.

Study analyzes capabilities to successfully innovate For the first time, this year’s Global Innovation 1,000 provided a deeper look at the capabilities required for companies to innovate successfully. To do so, Booz & Company conducted a Web-based survey of more than 450 innovation executives from 400 leading companies representing more than $150 billion in annual R&D spending - 40 percent of total Innovation 1,000 company R&D spends for 2009.

Respondents represented all nine industry sectors, and were asked to evaluate the innovation capabilities they believed were the most important in the value chain as well as their performance in each of these capabilities.

In 2007, the Global Innovation 1,000 study identified three distinct innovation strategies that companies deploy to create and take products to market Need Seekers, Market Readers, and Tech Drivers.

This year’s survey and corresponding analysis outlined a set of distinct innovation capabilities that are essential for success in each of the three strategies.

The survey found that companies that focus on a set of innovation capabilities most consistent with their innovation strategy and tightly aligned with their overall corporate strategy outperform their rivals. Companies in the Global Innovation 1,000 that take such a coherent approach to capabilities reported higher profit margins than their competitors, by up to 22 percent.

“There is no statistically significant relationship between financial performance and the amount spent on innovation. What really matters are the particular combinations of talent, knowledge, team structures, tools and processes that successful companies put together to enable their innovation efforts,” said Chadi Moujaes, Principal at Booz & Company. “Our study found that innovators who achieve this state of ‘corporate coherence’ consistently outperform their rivals on several financial measures.”

The survey further asked innovation leaders to name three companies they consider to be most innovative in the world. Apple far and away led the Top 10, named by 79 percent of those surveyed, followed

by Google with 49 percent. 3M followed next with 20 percent. Only three of the companies on the “ten most innovative” list also appear on this year’s top spenders list: Toyota, Microsoft and Samsung, reiterating the lack of correlation between the magnitude of R&D spending an innovation results.

Lloyds bank picks Santander UK head as chief executive LONDON: Britain’s state-rescued Lloyds bank picked Antonio HortaOsorio, the head of Spanish-owned rival Santander UK, on Wednesday as chief executive to strengthen its recovery. “Lloyds Banking Group plc announces the appointment of Antonio Horta-Osorio to succeed Eric Daniels as group chief executive,” the lender said in a brief statement. “Antonio will join the group early in 2011 and will take over as group chief executive on 1 March 2011,” added LBG, which is 41-percent owned by the government after a massive bailout.

The confirmed departure of Daniels means that all the top management at Britain’s major banks have now been swept away following the devastating global financial crisis. Portuguese national Horta-Osorio, who has been Santander UK chief since 2006, oversaw the group’s rapid expansion in recent years as it bought rival Alliance & Leicester, as well as the savings division of Bradford & Bingley. In a separate statement, Santander UK said that Horta-Osorio would resign on December 31 to allow an orderly handover to a new successor.

“I would like to thank Antonio for his significant contribution over the last four and half years as chief executive,” added Santander UK chairman Lord Terry Burns. “He has been at the heart of the successful turnaround and transformation of the bank under Santander’s ownership. “He has built a strong management team at Santander UK and consequently the bank is well-positioned for the future.”

The group added it will make

LONDON: A file picture shows Antonio HortaOsorio, addressing the annual Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference. —AFP another announcement “in due course” over the appointment of his successor.

Daniels, 59, had faced criticism after overseeing the 2008 government-brokered takeover of former rival Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), which was saddled with toxic or high-risk investments in the property sector. Lloyds had suffered huge losses in 2008 and 2009, as bad debts rocketed in the wake of the HBOS rescue and a deep recession. However, it bounced back into profit in the first half of 2010, as bad debts fell

sharply. The appointment comes one day after Lloyds said that it had experienced a “good” third quarter thanks to rising revenues, falling costs and reduced impairments, as the group continued its drive to recover from the crisis.

However, the bank also warned that impairments, or charges for problems and bad loans, remained at a “high” level, particularly because of ongoing problems in Australia and Ireland. Daniels had already announced in September that he intended to step down next year. —AFP

TECHNOLOGY

Thursday, November 4, 2010

27

Obama hails ‘important milestone’ in space WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has hailed the 10th anniversary of crews aboard the International Space Station as an “important milestone” in the history of human space exploration. His statement came ahead of the fourth and final US shuttle flight of the year to the orbiting ISS, scheduled for today. It will also be the last planned for Discovery, the oldest in the three-shuttle fleet being retired next year.

“Today marks an important milestone in the history of human exploration,” Obama said in a statement. “Truly an international endeavor, the space station has brought disparate nations together for a common purpose-to better our lives on Earth.” Thanking the astronauts who contributed to “this historic achievement,” Obama said he was looking to the future of “America’s continued leadership in space” and considering steps for space exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.

After scrapping plans earlier this year to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020, Obama insisted he was “committed to ensuring that NASA continues along a sustainable path as an international leader in space exploration and as an inspiration to a new generation of explorers.”

Men and women from 15 countries have lived and worked over the past decade aboard the station some 200 miles above Earth, conducting more than 600 experiments in what Obama called an “amazing laboratory.” The ISS, a joint project involving 16 countries, has cost around 100 billion dollars, mostly funded by the United States. Obama recently signed into law legislation extending the life of the floating research station until 2020. Hailing the ISS’s “extraordinary value,” Obama said the move will allow the US space agency NASA to “pioneer new frontiers in education and international cooperation that will maximize the scientific return of this important foothold in space.” “As we look to the next 10 years, we can only imagine what’s in store for our future astronauts, engineers and scientists,” he added.

Discovery’s six-member, all-American crew is due to take off at 1929 GMT today to deliver a pressurized logistics module and Robonaut 2, the first human-like robot in

More delays for Discovery shuttle launch

FLORIDA: (From left) Mike Moses pre-launch MMT chair and Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director, hold a news conference at Kennedy Space Center November 2, 2010 to announce that the Space Shuttle Program Mission Management Team decided to delay by at least one day the launch of shuttle Discovery to begin its 11-day mission to the International Space Station. — AFP

FLORIDA: Space Shuttle Discovery sits behind the protective rotating service structure on launch pad 39-a November 2, 2010 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. — AFP space, a permanent ISS addition and spare parts. The three US shuttles-the other two are Atlantis and Endeavour-are due to be sent off to become museum pieces after a final shuttle mission to the space station in late February That means Russian Soyuz spacecraft, a modernized version of which recently dropped off three fresh crew members to the ISS, doubling the crew to six, will for several years be the only vehicle for transporting humans into space. However, NASA’s recently approved 2011 budget has left the door open to an additional shuttle

flight in June.

Meanwhile, the launch of the shuttle Discovery was delayed today, the latest in a series of glitches that have set back its final mission to the International Space Station.

An electrical malfunction forced the US space agency to announce Tuesday the third delay so far, this time due to a problem with a circuit-breaker in the shuttle’s cockpit. The new launch time is set for 1929 GMT today (3:29 pm local time), but the weather forecast was gloomier than before, with just a 30 percent chance of favorable conditions for

iPhone-controlled drone fun but expensive RICHMOND: You can pretty much do anything with your iPhone these days - control your digital video recorder from afar, unlock your car, and now, fly a drone. Parrot, a company known more for its Bluetooth handsfree car speakerphones, has launched a small, unmanned aircraft that can be controlled using an iPhone or another of Apple Inc.’s Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets, including the iPod Touch and the iPad. After reading about it online, I felt compelled to take the drone for a test drive because, honestly, what gadget geek wouldn’t want one?

The $300 ARDrone is a quadricopter - a helicopter with four separate propellers made of carbon fiber and strong plastics. Weighing less than a pound, the gadget can fly up to 11 mph, controlled from up to 150 feet away. The drone has two built-in cameras that stream video of what it sees directly to your iPhone, or another Apple device. You then control aspects of the flight by tilting the iPhone from side to side, using the gyroscope in the device.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a good cellular or Wi-Fi connection. The drone has its own Wi-Fi system to communicate directly with the iPhone without needing to go through an outside Wi-Fi hotspot. The setup was quite easy. After downloading the free app from Apple’s iTunes store and charging the battery for the ARDrone, I was ready to fly.

With one touch of a button on the screen, the ARDrone was hovering about three feet off the ground. Landing is just as simple, with one on-screen button that slowly lowers the drone to the ground.

Admittedly, the controls take a while to master. The easiest way is to tilt your iPhone to control the flight.

There’s also an advanced mode, which lets you control the drone with a virtual joystick. It’s possible to guide the drone by looking at the video feeds, but I found it much easier to look at the aircraft itself.

Make sure your first test drive is in an open area like a field or big backyard that gives you room to experiment with the controls without crashing into everything. When the drone arrived at my office, colleagues were excited to see it fly. We regretted our haste when initial flights bashed the drone into filing cabinets.

During our outdoor field tests, the drone ended up in a nearby forest. Thankfully, the cameras on the drone gave me an idea of where it crashed.

While the drone was noticeably affected by the wind outside, it has technology that tries to minimize the drifting.

You can fly the drone inside buildings more safely by attaching the included plastic foam bumpers, which protect the drone and anything you may run it into. (And trust me, you will run it into things.) If you get into trouble, there’s also an emergency landing

button that completely shuts off the motors and drops the unit to the ground.

I was able to master flying it after a couple of sessions, but was always cautious about where I flew it. As fun as the ARDrone is to fly, there are a few downsides. The battery only lasts about 15 minutes when fully charged, so if your flight requires a long drive to an open football field or parking lot, it might not feel worth it. You can, however, buy extra batteries for $30 each.

And, for now, the app used with the ARDrone only controls flying movements and displays feeds from the onboard cameras. But I find the future possibilities exciting.

Parrot plans to update its app with augmented reality games. You can race other actual drones or chase and shoot virtual enemies that appear superimposed on the video feed from the drone.

Parrot also has made its technology for the AR.Drone open source, meaning any programmer can build his or her own games or find other ways to use and control the drone.

I could see one that lets users record the video feed or take screen shots while flying.

While it comes with a hefty price tag, the open platform puts the AR.Drone in the category of promising gadgets for those with extra cash to spend. It’s fun to play with now, but you might want to wait until you can do more with it. — AP

launch, forecasters said.

The latest electrical malfunction centers around the back-up controller for engine three, which failed to turn on as expected.

Engineers have narrowed down the issue “to either a cockpit circuit breaker or switch that provides power,” NASA said. “We are getting very close to have a very good understanding of the problem but we need to polish it, we need to organize it, to make sure that we are not wrong about it,” said mission management team leader Mike Moses.”We are taking an extra day to do that,” he said, adding

however that circuit breaker problems have appeared before on the shuttle fleet without causing major concerns. He said the management team met yesterday at 1800 GMT to decide whether or not to green-light today’s launch. “We don’t fly with unknown risks and right now this risk is a little bit unknown to us... we want to truly understand the risk we do fly with,” said Moses.

Should the Discovery need a repair, Moses said, it would likely take several days, making it difficult to set a new launch date before the mission window closes Sunday or Monday. He said the next launch window for the mission would come on December 1 and last only a few days.

Earlier delays were announced so that Kennedy Space Center technicians could repair quick-disconnect fittings in the sys-

tem used to pressurize one of Discovery’s orbital maneuvering rocket engines.

Discovery’s all-American six-member crew on this voyage, including female mission specialist Nicole Stott, will deliver a pressurized logistics module called Leonardo, which will be permanently attached to the space station to give it more storage space.

The shuttle will also bring Robonaut 2, the first human-like robot in space, and a permanent addition to the orbiting space station, as well as spare parts.

Two space walks, for maintenance work and component installation, are scheduled.

The flight to the orbiting ISS is the fourth and final shuttle flight of the year, and the last scheduled for Discovery, the oldest in the three-shuttle fleet that is being retired in 2011. — Agencies

Swedish hotel replaces room keys with mobile phone STOCKHOLM: Visitors to a Stockholm hotel will be able to use mobile phones instead of keys to unlock the doors to their rooms. Assa Abloy AB, the world’s largest maker of door locks, has launched a pilot in which Clarion Hotel Stockholm will lend customers mobile phones with close-range radio chips, much like devices used for contact-less payments at gas stations.

Repeat visitors during a four-month trial will be able to check in through their phones before arrival and have their phones activated as “keys.” They will then be able to skip the registration desk and unlock the door by holding the phone next to it.

The short-range radio technology, known as Near Field Communication, is expected to be built into smart phones in the coming years. It is also envisioned for ticketing and card payments. Assa Abloy says it wanted to test the system before expanding it to other hotels, commercial buildings and homes.

Greger Johansson, a telecommunications analyst at research firm Redeye, said NFC is a hot technology in the mobile phone market. But he said few models have incorporated it so far and it will take “several years” before it becomes widely used.

“It’s not just a matter of incorporating the technology into the phones,” he said. “You need someone

who can read it too. There are quite a few players involved so it will take a while until it works well.”

The head of Assa Abloy’s mobile keys division, Daniel Berg, acknowledged that participants in the trial may find it cumbersome to have an extra mobile phone.

But once people have the technology in their own phones, he said, it will save them time at check-in and improve security because the access credentials in a lost phone can be revoked remotely.

He said the phone technology works with existing radio-enabled locks, so hotels can continue giving key cards to visitors who don’t have the new technology in their phones. — AP

Broadcasters ‘misunderstand’ Google TV, exec says LOS ANGELES: Attempts by US broadcasters to seek payment for allowing their online video to be viewed through Google Inc ‘s new Web-connected TV platform represents a “misunderstanding” of what it is, a Google executive said Tuesday.

Broadcasters ABC, NBC and CBS have blocked full episodes of their shows from being accessed through Google TV’s Web browser since the product became available last month.

Google TV is a software platform that allows users to access websites and online videos through their televisions.

Rishi Chandra, Google TV’s lead product manager, likened the broadcasters’ payment requests to a network demanding fees from Microsoft Corp. so video would work on its Internet Explorer browser. Analysts have said the broadcasters’ blockade was intended to discourage people from canceling their monthly subscriptions with cable and satellite TV service providers by eliminating the option of watching online episodes for free on their Web-connected televisions.

Later, Chandra clarified his remarks to say that although Google TV would not pay to access online shows, another Google subsidiary, YouTube, could extend its advertising revenue-share model to the living

HANNOVER: In this March 2, 2010 file photo, a woman decorates a camera car of Google at the CeBIT in Hannover, northern Germany. — AP

room. “The way we would pay for content is through a similar mechanism that we pay for content through YouTube,” Chandra said in a phone interview. “This is the difference between Google TV and YouTube.

YouTube is a service.

Google TV itself is literally just a platform.” Chandra, who made the initial remarks on the sidelines of the Streaming Media West conference, said it’s up to content providers to decide how much to charge consumers. He said Google TV is meant to supplement the cable and broadcast TV business model by adding Web access. He also said Google TV is preparing to provide access to Hulu Plus, the $10-per-month online video subscription plan that allows users to access the back episodes of many current TV shows from News Corp’s Fox, NBC Universal and The Walt Disney Co’s ABC, such as “Glee,” “30 Rock,” and “Modern Family.”

CBS and NBC declined to comment.

ABC did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Sony television that came pre-installed with the Google software package can still access their channels like any other TV, such as with an antenna or a cable or satellite TV subscription. The Logitech set-top box that comes with Google TV also does not interfere with regular TV signals. — AP

Don’t put us on the Google map, says German village

This product image provided by Parrot, shows the ARDrone. Parrot, a company known more for its Bluetooth hands-free car speakerphones, has launched a small, unmanned aircraft that can be controlled using an iPhone or another of Apple Inc.’s Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets, including the iPod Touch and the iPad. — AP

BERLIN: A day after a small town became the first in Germany to welcome Google’s controversial Street View service with open arms and cake, a tiny northern village responded yesterday with a resounding “nein.” The hamlet of Parum, population 70, has got together to sign a petition addressed to Federal Data Protection Officer Peter Schaar to get the village wiped off the Street View map, due to be rolled out by the end of the year.

If this does not work, all 25 households intend to apply individually to Google to have their houses pixilated, a special concession the US Internet giant made in Germany, sensitive to privacy issues for historical reasons. “Parum is a no-Google village,” retired teacher Wilhelm Meier, who lives in the tiny farming community, told AFP. Street View, which allows users to “walk” through towns and cities using photos taken by specially equipped vehicles, is already online in around 20 countries but ran into fevered opposition in

Germany. As a special concession to these concerns, Google allowed people to “opt out” of the service, promising to pixelate their house. The firm announced on October 21 that nearly a quarter of a million Germans had done this.

Although Germans are avid users of Street View images from other countries, the planned roll-out here caused alarm in a country especially sensitive to privacy concerns due to the gross abuses under the Nazi and communist regimes.

On Tuesday, Google launched its disputed Street View service in the small town of Oberstaufen in Bavaria, southern Germany. Delighted their tourist-dependent town was the first in Germany to be visible on the navigation service, the townsfolk even baked a brightly colored cake proclaiming “Welcome Google.”

Google plans to roll out the service for Germany’s 20 largest cities later this year, including Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg. — AFP

BERLIN: Handout picture released by Google on November 2, 2010 shows the chancellery in Berlin, one of the first sites made visible by Google Street View in Germany. — AFP

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Landmark Group launches ‘Beat Diabetes’ Walkathon KUWAIT: Landmark Group, the region’s leading retail and hospitality conglomerate, today announces the launch of ‘Beat Diabetes’ walkathon. The walkathon, which is supported by Ministry of Health and Dasman Diabetes Institute, is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative aimed to further spread awareness about the condition and its causes among the wider community. The walkathon will take place on Saturday, 27th November 2010; it will begin from The Yacht Club and end at Green

Island. Registration is free; forms are available at Landmark Group outlets (Centrepoint, Max, Home Centre and New Look stores).

This campaign is currently in its second edition, last year it was launched in the UAE. This year’s campaign expands to Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and India, in addition to the UAE. In 2011, the campaign will also move to other countries where Landmark Group has a presence. The ‘Beat Diabetes’ campaign this year will host

walkathons and free blood glucose screening across all the six participating countries.

In Kuwait the screening will take place on 24th and 25th November across the 11 outlets of Landmark group.

Vipen Sethi, CEO Landmark Group, said: “The aim of Beat Diabetes is to raise awareness of the rising prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, especially in children and adolescents, while also educating the population about the common risk factors that it may lead to. We are confident that the

‘Beat Diabetes’ campaign will positively impact the community at large and inspire people to lead active lifestyles and adopt a balanced diet to reduce the risk of acquiring this medical condition. I urge everyone in the community to come forward on 27th November to support this cause. Awareness is the first step in the battle against this condition” Saibal Basu, COO, Landmark Group, Kuwait said: “Diabetes is growing at an alarming rate across the globe. When we

Turkish court reinstates 30-month YouTube ban Ban draws criticism of EU candidate’s Internet laws ANKARA: A Turkish court has reinstated a 30-month ban on YouTube just days after it was removed, as a dispute continued over the video-sharing website’s refusal to remove content deemed illegal in the EU candidate country.

Access to YouTube, a unit of Google Inc, has been blocked by the Turkish government since May 2008 after users posted videos Turkey says are insulting to the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Holographic video takes step forward with updated display PARIS: Optical scientists said yesterday they had taken an important step nearer towards 3-D holographic video, a technology with innumerable outlets in entertainment, conferencing, telemedicine and advertising. Holographic images that 30 years ago were static can now be updated in “quasi real time,” according to the research carried out at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Holograms are created by shining a laser on an object, whose image falls on a photosensitive screen.

Bathed in a red or green laser light, the image has a “parallax,” or a 3-D effect, that is deep, up-and-down and side-toside. In that regard, a hologram far outperforms stereoscopic pictures which have to be viewed with special glasses.

Two years ago, the Tucson team scaled up holography from static to mobile with technology which enabled the image to be updated on a small screen every three to four minutes. Refinements have now

enabled a screen refresh that is nearly 100 times faster, with an update every two seconds. In addition, images can be recorded and transmitted. “We can record a three-dimensional image in one location and show it in another location, in real time, anywhere in the world,” said lead researcher Nasser Peyghambarian.

The image is recorded using an array of ordinary cameras, which are positioned to view the object from different perspectives-the more cameras that are used, the more complete the final holographic presentation. The data is then encoded onto a fast-pulsing laser beam which crosses with another beam to create a so-called interference pattern, or a compression of the image in 3-D form. The pattern falls upon a special film called a photorefractive polymer, which contains molecules of dye that respond to light and rotate and line up in response to an applied electrical field. The hologram that results fades

away within a few minutes or alternatively can be erased and overwritten by a new image. “Let’s say I want to give a presentation in New York,” Peyghambarian explained.

“All I need is an array of cameras in my Tucson office and a fast Internet connection. At the other end, in New York, there would be the 3-D display using our laser system. Everything is fully automated and controlled by computer. “As the image signals are transmitted, the lasers inscribe them into the screen and render them into a three-dimensional projection of me speaking.”

In its prototype form, the device uses a 10-inch screen, but a larger, 17-inch version is in the works. Right now, the system can only transmit images in green, but the team have already demonstrated multi-color 3-D displays and are confident it can be incorporated in the setup in the near future.—AFP

A court in Ankara last Saturday lifted the ban, which has drawn widespread criticism of Ankara’s restrictive Internet laws, after a Germanbased firm at the request of Turkish authorities removed the videos by using an automated copyright system designed by Google to protect copyrighted material.

YouTube later said it had reinstated the videos, arguing such videos did not violate users’ copyright. But a separate court in Ankara ruled late on Tuesday that the ban should be reinstated-this time over a secretly taped video purportedly showing the former chairman of the opposition in a bedroom with an aide. State-run news agency Anatolian said the court had notified the telecommunications authority of its decision.

“The court has ruled that the ban on video sharing website Youtube be reinstated.

The Telecommunications Board will ask YouTube to remove the videos or otherwise the access to the website would be blocked,” Anatolian said.

Telecommunication Board officials could not be reached for comment. Google representatives in Turkey said they were checking the reports. Turkish visitors to the YouTube site have been able to circumvent the ban by using proxy websites. Human rights groups and media watchdog associations have long urged European Union membership candidate Turkey to reform its Internet laws. Turkey has cited offences including child pornography, insulting Ataturk and encouraging suicide as justification for blocking websites.

Analysts have criticized the ease with which citizens and politicians can apply under Turkish law to have an Internet site closed down. In June, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Turkey’s Internet law had been expanded to bar access to more than 5,000 sites. The YouTube ban has attracted particular criticism, and even President Abdullah Gul has used his Twitter page to condemn it, urging authorities to find a solution. Google Inc’s legal chief has called for pressure on governments that censor the Internet, citing China and Turkey, arguing that their blocking access to websites not only violates human rights but unfairly restrains US trade. —Reuters

reviewed the research figures about its impact on this region last year, we realized that a high percentage of the individuals who are living with Type-2 diabetes are not even aware of the fact that they are suffering from this condition. This prompted us to take up the cause and help spread awareness about diabetes. “As a retail network of over 900 stores across 15 markets, we realized it is our responsibility to communicate to our customers the need for regular medical check-ups, adopting the right lifestyle and

help increase awareness levels in the community. At this stage, we are focused on relaying this message through partnerships with specialist organizations and like-minded corporations.” In 2009, the Landmark Group ‘Beat Diabetes’ walkathon attracted over 5,000 people and offered free blood glucose testing service to all the participants.

Landmark Group has a presence across all categories within the retail sector and has diversified to areas such as hospitality and leisure.

Elephant smuggling gang busted in India GUWAHATI: Police in northeast India said yesterday they had busted an elephant smuggling racket which is suspected of selling nearly 100 animals across the country and to Nepal. Two elephants, a mother and a calf, were seized when a police team swooped on a truck travelling across the state border from Assam to West Bengal at the weekend. “The ringleader of the gang was arrested in Guwahati (Assam’s main city) and later four other men were also apprehended,” P K Dutta, police chief of the Assam district of Kokrajhar said.

He estimated 91 elephants had been smuggled out of the state during the past five years to the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, as well as to Nepal. A conservation group, the Green Heart Nature Club, provided the tip-off to the police. The gang is suspected of capturing wild elephants and taming them, before passing them off as off-

spring of India’s many trained elephants.

The animals were thought to have been heavily drugged while in transit. The smuggled elephants are either bought as status symbols by wealthy businessmen or as tourist attractions. Some local news reports suggested an animal can cost up to 90,000 dollars.

Activists say that guards at border checkpoints are often bribed to allow trucks carrying the elephants through. It is illegal to sell elephants in India and moving them across state borders is strictly regulated. “The Assam wildlife department is doing very little to stop trafficking of elephants although it is a flourishing business going on for many years now,” Bablu Dey, director of the Green Heart Nature Club, said. Some experts say that many tame elephants are being sold as they are now no longer used by timber merchants where they were previously employed to move heavy materials. —AFP

Indigenous Colombians shun turtle meat to save species PUNTA AGUJAS: Indigenous Wayuu people living on South America’s northernmost tip are dropping their age-old tradition of eating turtle meat as a main protein source because the reptile is dying out. “This really is rejecting the culture of my ancestors,” 72year-old Olegario Choles said. “I grew up eating turtle, and raised my kids on the money I make hunting them. “But now the turtles are scarcer and scarcer.

The nets come back empty,” he said. “The time has come to save them, in order to save ourselves,” conceded Choles, the leader of the Wayuu on Colombia’s impoverished La Guajira peninsula, one of the poorest regions in South America according to the website of The Wayuu Taya Foundation, an NGO helping the Amerindian group.

Choles, standing next to his canoe, watched as a group of local children released 200 Caguama turtles, also known as Caretta or Loggerhead sea turtles, though all six kinds of sea turtles native to the region are endangered. This mass release took place at a beach on Bahia Hondita, one of the outcomes of months of negotiations by hunters, restaurant owners and cooks who all agreed it was time to take turtle meat and eggs off restaurant and home menus.

Some efforts are being handled by volunteers.

Selected by the community for their understanding of the task, one group will make rounds at local beaches three times a day to monitor nests and protect baby turtles from natural predators.

Other volunteers will visit local restaurants that serve turtle soup-often for about 12 dollars a bowland try to persuade them not to serve the dish, to help save the species. But it is not all easy, in a

region the website of the Wayuu Taya Foundation, a non-governmental organization helping the Amerindian group, says is one of the poorest in Latin America. ‘Dramatic situation’ - Lina Baez, an environment analyst at the multinational coal concern Cerrejon-which sponsors the campaign-said “the Wayuu eat the meat of almost all the animals in the area, yet changing their customs is a major effort and requires reaching deals with them.” The ethnic group numbers about 430,000, according to The Wayuu Taya Foundation website which said about one-third live in Columbia and the rest in Venezuela, though migration between the two countries is common.

Baez said turtle catchers, who agree to stop catching the sea turtles, are offered compensation of about half what they would get for selling turtles to local restaurants. In addition, funds are channeled to programs that benefit their communities, such as helping schools or libraries. “Only one out of 100 hatchling turtles makes it to reproductive age due to their animal predators, including humans,” Baez explained. “This is a really dramatic situation that led us to warn the indigenous people that they need to either change their traditions, or the species will die out.” Gabriel Bustos, an environmental management expert with the mining concern, says local children have embraced the educational campaign aimed at them with gusto. “Wayuu children are starting to use their influence to have turtle meat taken out of their diets. They refuse to eat it and back it up with a conviction that is really surprising,” said Bustos. — AFP

San Francisco approves law requiring healthier meals SAN FRANCISCO: For some veggies-hating children, Happy Meals won’t be so happy anymore.

City lawmakers on Tuesday approved legislation that they hope will force fast-food chains such as McDonald’s to make their children’s meals healthier or stop selling them with toys. The Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to preliminarily approve an ordinance that would limit toy giveaways in children’s meals that have excessive calories, sodium and fat. It also requires servings of fruits or vegetables with each meal. The measure drew enough support to overcome an expected veto by Mayor Gavin Newsom. The supervisors are expected to vote again to override the veto.

McDonald’s Corp representatives, who say the law would take the joy out of the Happy Meal,

derided the approval outside of lawmakers’ chambers at City Hall. Supervisors and activists who support the measure said they hoped efforts like this would make San Francisco the first major city to take this action to curb childhood obesity, perhaps starting a trend that would spread to other cities, states and the country. “From San Francisco to New York, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making people sick, making our kids sick, particularly kids from lowincome neighborhoods,” said Supervisor Eric Mar, who proposed the law. McDonald’s has said the law threatens business and restricts parents’ ability to make choices for their children. They also said proponents lack the evidence to support the claim that the nutritional standards would do anything to reduce obesity. — AP

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

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Obama to help Indonesia save forests and seas Indonesia could become major source of CO2 offsets JAKARTA: When US President Barack Obama flies over the vast Indonesian archipelago next week, he will see first hand the size of two of the nation’s greatest and most threatened resources: its forests and seas.

Both are widely expected to be at the heart of efforts to boost ties between the United States and Indonesia and to step up the fight against climate change, officials and sources say. Indonesia has some of the world’s most complex and diverse forests but also one of the highest deforestation rates.

Saving them from illegal logging and unsustainable clearing for agriculture and mining could help Indonesia meet its goals to cut greenhouse emissions-the third highest globally according to the World Bank when taking into account deforestation and land use. It would also help the United States in its aims to fight climate change, and help Indonesia become a source of tradeable forest carbon offsets that would help polluting US industries meet future targets to cut emissions. The reasoning is simple. Forests, particularly tropical rainforests, soak up huge amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide, acting as a brake on climate change. Clearing and burning forests accelerates the pace of global warming.

During his trip, Obama could announce

how some of the $700 million allocated to Indonesia by the Millennium Challenge Corporation can be used to fund climate change and forest conservation programs, a source said. The MCC is a US foreign aid agency set up under the Bush administration. “It will be quite substantial. It’s safe to say it will be north of $100 million on an annual basis,” said the industry source. That comes on the heels of Norway’s $1 billion climate deal with Indonesia announced earlier this year. “The US doesn’t want to compete directly with the Norwegians but they do want similar big headline news.”

The visit could also reveal details about implementing a four-year program worth between $35 million and $40 million on fighting deforestation, reducing loss of biodiversity and improving land use management. The scheme was announced earlier this year. Details may also emerge on a further $20 million pledged for marine conservation, a source said, while steps to promote clean-energy development could also be announced. USAID, the overseas aid agency, is working on a proposal to fund a program named the “Indonesian Forestry and Climate Support Project” to run until 2014 and the presidential visit could generate details on the project’s implementation as

well. Among the project’s aims are halving the rate of forest degradation and loss from conversion, illegal logging, over-harvesting and fires for at least 6 million hectares in targeted areas. It also plans to boost training, funds for forest management, development of low-carbon growth plans in at least 8 districts and steps to improve management of high-conservation value forests that also include large areas of orangutan habitat.

Indonesia needs cash to save its dwindling forests and sees a natural role as a major player in a future carbon market trading forestry carbon credits. The country is also under intense international pressure to fight deforestation and the burning of its forests that regularly smothers its neighbors in smoky haze.

The United States could eventually become a major buyer of forest carbon offsets under a UN-backed scheme called reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). REDD aims to reward developing nations for protecting, restoring and sustainably managing rainforests.

Projects that set aside large areas of forest for decades would earn tradeable credits for the CO2 locked away by the trees-a trade potentially worth billions of dollars a year.

The US has an interest in protecting

Indonesia’s forests not just because of the valuable role they play sucking greenhouse gases out of the air, but also as a key part of a potential future forest offsets trading industry, observers say. “They are trying to find a way to protect their future offsets but they have also seen how important Indonesian forests are for the global climate crisis,” said Jakarta-based Greenpeace forest campaigner Bustar Maitar. “Indonesian forests are as important as forests in the Amazon and the Congo.” The climate bill passed last year by the US House of Representatives allowed imports of REDD credits but the legislation has been since been shelved.

Undeterred, the United States, Norway, Japan and dozens of other countries created a REDD partnership worth about $4 billion earlier this year aimed building up REDD pilot projects and national institutions in developing nations over the short term.

Indonesia’s seas are also a key resource, its coral reefs some of the richest in the world and vital for fisheries but also under threat from overfishing and warming seas. US cash is also likely to help the Coral Triangle that stretches from the Solomon Islands northeast of Australia to Bali, Borneo and the Philippines. — Reuters

First hi-tech pancreas transplant PISA: Italian doctors have carried out the world’s first robotically-assisted pancreatic transplant in an operation that could help diabetes sufferers everywhere, they said yesterday. The robotically-assisted operation “creates new prospects for the treatment of diabetics,” because its “mini-invasive” nature strongly reduces post-operation complications, the team at the university hospital in Pisa said.

The robotic technique allows surgeons to car r y out the transplant through three small holes and a sevencentimeter incision, the hospital said.

“This will put an end to the decadesold dilemma of whether it’s possible to do pancreatic transplants because the operation is so invasive when done in the traditional way,” Ugo Boggi, who heads the team, said at a press conference. The transplant was carried out on September 27 on a 43-year-old

mother of two who had suffered from type one diabetes since she was 24 years old and had already had a kidney transplant.

The patient suffered no complications from the three-hour operation and left the hospital on October 3 0 . Pa n c re a t i c t r a n s p l a n t s h a v e been very invasive until now b e c a u s e o f t h e o rg a n ’ s v a s c u l a r structure and the fragility of diabetic patients, who in 50 percent of cases develop post-operative problems, a hospital statement said. The medical team carried out the operation with the assistance of the “Da Vinci SHDI robot”-a large machine with several arms-designed in the multidisciplinary Robotic Surgery centre in Pisa. The world-renowned c e n t re a l s o c a r r i e d o u t t h e f i r s t robotically-assisted kidney transplant in Europe in July. —AFP

WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Experiencing a new cosmetic shopping ambiance MAKE UP FOR EVER opened its first exclusive new concept boutique in the Middle East at The Avenues Mall. The boutique is created by makeup professionals to give consumers the feeling of being in an exclusive backstage studio environment and to provide them with a whole new cosmetic shopping ambiance. The boutique focuses on education and meeting the high demand of women asking for makeup courses; there are personalized makeup lessons and application techniques according to preferences.

These include: eye makeup techniques, face makeup techniques, evening makeup sessions, bridal makeup sessions and many more.

ala Kuwait “NIRAM-2010” ‘Tiffani’ painting K competition would be held at Indian Community School, Khaitan tomorrow at

Team Challengers bags title in sixth Onathanima 2010 tug o’ war ndian Central School Open Ground at Ipoint Abassiya turned out to be a celebration for the large number of expatriates

St George Syrian Orthodox Church celebrates Harvest Festival St George Universal Syrian Church celebrated TitsheOrthodox 14th Harvest Festival on Friday 29th October at Integrated Indian School, Abbassiya with variety entertainment programs.

Ajay Malhota, Ambassdor of India, inaugurated the festival and His Grace Mor Theodosius Mathews Metropolitan presided over the general meeting. Rev Abraham Corepiscopa, Rev Binchu Varghese, Rev Fr Elias George, Rev Fr George Kottapuram, Rev Thoams Varghese, KP Koshy and Philip Koshy delivered felicitation speeches. During the meeting, the souvenir prepared in connection with the festival was released by the HG Mor Theodosius Mathews Metropolitan and Publicity Convener Abraham Jacob, by presenting a copy to Philip Koshy, Country Manager for Western Union the main sponsor. Vicar, Rev Fr Jyothis Potharay welcomed the gathering and the Church Secretary John C. Thomas proposed the Vote of Thanks. Various entertainment programs were held

during the day. The Ganamela led by Rimi Tomy and mimics show by the Mimics team led by Kalabhavan Jinto enthralled the audience. The other programs included Shinkari Melam by Shaiju and party, and a variety of programs by members. Raffle draws were conducted during the program by the Raffle convener Koshy Kuruvilla.

Sunny Thomas and Mathew Tharakan were the General Convenor and Joint Convenor respectively for the Mega Event.

Food stalls arranged by Varghese T Chacko, Giby Sushil and Vanitha Samajam members served popular mouthwatering Kerala dishes.

The other conveners of the event were Anoop Abraham Thomas (Organizaing), Kurian Mathew (Reception), Mathew Moolayil Varghese (Sponsorship), Bechu Mathen (Event Management), Eldo K Abraham and Moncy Chacko (Games) & Dinu Punnoose Thomas (Volunteers) The festival came to an end by the Vote of Thanks proposed by the Program Convener, George K John.

for the 6th National Tug O’ War Championship organized by Thanima. In the tight final, Coolpex Challengers under their professional coaching, bag the San Celia Ever Rolling Gold Cup championship trophy. Gulfmart Team Abbasiya won Blueline ever rolling trophy for the second place. Jiju memorial ever rolling trophy for the third place is won by Apsara Bazar Challangers B Team. More than 15 teams from all around the country will take part in the championship.

The Tug O’ War contest conducted by Thanima, an organization that exists for the human and nostalgic interaction of the Malayalees Abroad, has been approved by the international federation of Tug O’ War (TIFW). This Thanima Tug O’War contest is the only one that is held in the whole of Kuwait. The championship which was organized as per the rules of Tug of War International Federation was controlled by D K Dileep as chief referee and Ramesh Kumar and Anitha Pillai as an associate member of referee panel. National Championship is

the biggest Tug of War Fest in the Gulf region with the participation of around 300 athletes.

Earlier, Tug O’ War organized as part of Onathanima ‘10 was inaugurated by His Excellency Ajai Malhotra, Ambassador of India to Kuwait. Famous Malayalam Film director Mr. Sasikumar was the Chief Guest for the day. The inaugural function was blessed by the presence of other dignitaries and eminent personalities from different walks of life including ICS Principle Shantha Mariam James, BEC Managing Director E D Titus, Raghunathan Nair, UAE

Exchange country head Pancly Varkey, Caesars Travels General manager Sri PN J Kumar, Frontline Logistics regional Director Sri B P Nasar, Balu (Homaizi), etc . Gulfmart country manager Sri T A Remesh flagged off the championship. On the occasion, Onathanima, Souvenir that carried the directory of the Kuwait Malayalee Associations was also released. Besides, the function also paid tributes to the eminent cultural and social personalities of Kerala.

Commencing the inaugural ceremony, cultural procession and March past of tug

of war teams were taken place. The procession that highlighted with Mahabali, Thalappoli, Chenda Melam, Muthukuda, Theyam, Kavadi, Karakattom, Pulikali and elephant figure with caparison turned into a visual banquet.

As part of the celebration, an Interschool girls’ tug of war contest was also held in which four teams from Indian central School participated with full spirit. To provide more entertainment to the public, a musical program also was held by well known musicians in Kuwait. The traditional food stalls also was a big crowd puller.

Writers’ Forum, Kuwait monthly meeting of Writers TOct’heForum, Kuwait was held on 29 10 at residence of Gobind Rani Sethi at University Campus.

The meeting was presided over

by Gurbakash Singh Dogra, the noted Punjabi poet and the Chief Guest was Tajwer Sultana; the renowned Hindi and Urdu poetess.

In the beginning of the meeting, all the members congratulated Tajwer Sultana for her participation in Mushaira held in Baharain on 22 Oct ‘10. Ve P Mathiyazhagan and Rajesh Verlekar were also congratulated for their participation and winning consolation prizes in English Poetry recitation competition held at Jamaican Embassy on 22 Oct ’10.

This was followed by the poetry recitation by the members of forum in different Indian Languages like Mathiyazhagan in Tamil, Dr Navniit

‘Niram-2010’ children’s day painting competition

Gandhi & Mrs. Gobind Rani Sethi in Hindi, Jasbir Singh Dhiman in Punjabi and Rajesh Verlekar & Milind Chaubal in English.

Tajwer Sultana; the Chief Guest before presenting her poetry in Urdu shared her unforgettable experiences of Mushaira in Baharain where she got an opportunity to share the dais with world renowned Urdu poets.

The meeting was concluded with a speech of President of the meeting; Gurbakash Singh Dogra, and his poetry in Punjabi.

Dr SK Sethi and Au Chougle; the well wishers appreciated the joint efforts of all the members of the forum for noble cause of national integration. The meeting was convened by Sunil Sonsi; the General Secretary of the Forum. All members conveyed their heartiest thanks to Sethi for warm hospitability.

02.00PM, as a part of Children’s Day celebration marking the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.

Students have been requested to report to the venue at 1 PM and collect their chest cards, according to the organizers.

Children’s Day is a day to remember a great leader, who in his quiet but determined way, laid foundation to convert a nascent nation into a world power. His contributions to India and the world would always be remembered. He has hope of oppressed people of Asia, Africa and South America. He was a true democrat and a socialist. He was a writer, philosopher and secular. He was one of the strong pillars of NonAligned Movement (NAM). Above all he was an apostle of world peace, a tireless fighter to justice throughout the world. He lived for great causes. Further, it was Nehru who insisted that if the world was to exist at all; it must exist as one, Sam Kutty, General Convener of the NIRAM-2010 Organizing Committee, stated in a press release issued on the occasion.

For more details, please visit website www.kalakuwait.net or contact by e-mail at kalakuwait@gmail.com or the following telephone numbers 24891490, 99489078, 97449419, 97959072, 97982935, 67001038.

K Aboobakkar, President of Kala Kuwait & K Sadik, General Secretary of Kala Kuwait also sought the wholehearted cooperation of all parents to make the painting competition a great success.

Concert of Hope 2010 nder the patronage of the British Ambassador U Frank Baker and presented in association with the Kuwait Chamber of Philharamonia and the British Academy of International Arts (BAIA) tomorrow Al Hashemi Grand Ballroom Radisson Blu Hotel 7:30 pm.

Founded in 2003, the Dairy of Hope has raised funds for a number of charitable causes: Kuwait Red Crescent Society - Ruquaya Al Qatami Cancer charity (help for non-Kuwaitis with Cancer) - BACCH Bayt Abdulla (Hospice for terminally sick children). Sri Lanka: Help in postwar rehabilitation - provision of agricultural machinery, supply of goats for breeding. Egypt: Cancer hospital for children - known as 57357.

Amaar: (established by Baroness Emma Nicholson) - An international Charity assisting in the welfare of children in or from Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistan: A contribution to help alleviate the plight of victims of the flood in Pakistan will be made from the 2011 funds.

Excerpts from appreciation letters received following the Concert of Hope held in 2010: ● “Thank you very much for an amazing evening, it was so very entertaining and thoughtprovoking.” ● “The diaries are wonderful and we bought quite a few to give as presents for the New Year.” ● “Well done on a superb evening and a beautiful diary. Hopeful indeed!” ● The Concert of Hope was truly breathtaking and so well-presented.”

Tickets now available from: Radisson Blu Hotel and from BAIA - British Academy of International Arts - (Salwa area 1, St 1, Villa 32 from 9 am to 9 pm.

For further information please contact our team by email: doh11kw@yahoo.com

Aware EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA The Embassy will open a condolence book as follows: On Sunday, 31/10/2010, From 09:00 Am - 16:00 For the Diplomatic Corps and International Organizations Members accredited o the State of Kuwait and Kuwaiti Authorities. From Monday, 01/11/2010 until Thursday, 04/11/2010, From 09:00 am - 16:00 for the Argentinean community. The Embassy of the Argentine Republic in the State of Kuwait, at the meantime to thank this prestigious Newspaper and avails itself this opportunity to renew to the Kuwait Times the assurances of its highest consideration.

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).

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed from Friday, 12 November to Saturday, 20 November on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha. The embassy will re-open on Sunday, 21 November.

EMBASSY OF BRITAIN The Consular Section at the British Embassy would like to announce that it will open on Saturday 30 October 2010, 10:00 - 12:00 to provide notary services such as driving license attestations, legalizing seals or signatures and to allow British nationals time to go through our LOCATE registration process. Collection of the notary services submitted on 30 October Saturday will be on 31 October 2010, 0900 - 1200.

Please note that this will only be for 30 October and Consular Staff will not answer any visa enquiries.

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 complaints 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, AlAbraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday.

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the general public that it will remain closed on Wednesday, October 20 on the occasin of Mashujaa Day (formally Kenyatta Day). Office operations will resume on Thursday, October 21.

EMBASSY OF SLOVAK REPUBLI C The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Kuwait would like to announce to the public that due to technical reasons, the business hours will be only on Sundays and Tuesdays from 9 to 12. This will be effective starting October 24, 2010 until May 1, 2011.

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 pro-

cessing 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 petitionbased 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 FRANCE The Embassy of France in Kuwait will be closed on November 1st and November 11th because of French holidays. The Embassy of France will be closed also On the 1st day of Eid Al Adha.

EMBASSY OF NEPAL This is to inform all the concerned that the Embassy of Nepal, Kuwait shall remain close on 7 November 2010 to celebrate Happy Dipawali 2067 (2010).

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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Lecture You are cordially invited to our lecture entitled, “The Role of KFAS in Community Development,” tomorrow by Dr. Ali AlShamlan. Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) is a private, non-profit organization, established by an Amiri Decree issued on December 12th, 1976. The event begins at 7:00pm at the AWARE Center premises in Surra.

Dr. Ali Al-Shamlan will tell us more about this foundation, especially its achievements.

Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT

Thursday, November 4, 2010

31 American University recruiters visit Kuwait ecruiters from several American colleges and uniR versities answered questions

Pictured are the Coaching Team of the Premier GOAL Academy in association with Everton F.C. Front Row (left to right); Mohamed (Assistant Coach), Liam (U-14s Senior Coach), Roman (U-16s & Head Coach) Rob (U-18s & Director of Coaching), Baker (Executive Director), Mike (Academy Director), Daniel (U-13s & Director of Football), Craig (U-12s Senior Coach), Josh (U-9s Senior Coach), Ross (U-11s Senior Coach), Joey (Assistant Coach) and Khalid (Assistant Kit Manager and Coach). Back Row (left to right); David (Senior Coach), Yousef (Kit Manager and Coach), Dougie (Assistant Coach), Graham (U-12s Coach), Joe (U-13s Coach), Ageel ( U-18s Coach), Keith (U-10s Senior Coach), Mohamed (Freestyle Coach), Ahmed (Assistant Coach), Askar (Assistant Coach), Obeid (Assistant Coach), Keeno (Assistant Coach), Junior (U-6s Senior Coach), Saeed (Assistant Coach) and Bader (U-6s Coach.

PGA Everton Coaching Team brings Premier League opportunities to Kuwait he Premier GOAL Academy in association with Everton F C now have over 400 players attending football coaching courses and Centre of Excellence training at venues in Shaab, Hawally, Salwa and Hilton Resort, Mangaf. Players range from 3 to 16 years in the community coaching programs and selected players from 8 to 18 years attend the advanced coaching at the Centre of Excellence in Shaab. The program is designed by Everton FC from the English Premier League and now players in Kuwait can experience the same training that took Wayne

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Rooney from 8 years of age to his Premiership debut as a 16 year old with Everton. The PGA Coaches are all English qualified with UEFA and English FA coaching licenses, certified by the Everton FC Academy and experienced in coaching young players. It is their expertise and dedication which is providing Kuwaits’ next generation with this unique opportunity to develop their technique and skills. All coaching takes place in a safe, secure and supportive environment, carefully structured to enable players to progress whilst maximizing their enjoyment of

the game. Advanced players can look forward to competitive fixtures and tours to England, USA and within the Gulf region during the coming months. Senior Coaches from Everton FC will be visiting Kuwait in January 2011 to cast an eye over talented young players and support the coaching program.

For details of PGA courses contact” Academy Director, Mike Finn 99981327, Executive Director Baker Al Nazer 66918666.

Director of Football, Daniel Christensen 99128010. Email : premier_fa_kuwait@yahoo.com

from Kuwaiti students and their parents about educational opportunities in the United States on November 1, 2010 at the Marina Hotel in Salmiya. The three-hour educational fair was organized by Linden Education Services in conjunction with AMIDEAST and the US Embassy in Kuwait. Recruiters were on hand to promote study at their respective institutions and to provide information about degree programs, admission standards and financial aid opportunities. US Embassy staff was also present at the fair to answer questions from students and parents about studying in the US as well as about student visas.

US Embassy Kuwait’s Public Affairs Counselor Katharina Gollner-Sweet thanked the many American recruiters who traveled to Kuwait for the fair. The American institutions represented at the fair included: Fairleigh Dickinson University. Marist College, Miami University. Northern Kentucky University. Pace University, Portland State University, Rutgers. The State University Of New Jersey, Syracuse University.

University of California Merced, University Of Connecticut, University Of

Minnesota, University Of Missouri - Kansas City, University Of Portland. These institutions revealed the diversity of educational options available in the United States as they offer hundreds of various degree program options. They share the goal of recruiting Kuwaiti students to study on their campuses.

America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc, or AMIDEAST www.amideast.org), is a private, nonprofit organization that strengthens mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. Every year, AMIDEAST provides appropriate English language training, educational advising, and testing services to hundreds of thousands of students and professionals in the Middle East and North Africa: supports numerous institutional development projects in the region; and administers academic exchange programs.

Founded in 1951. AMIDEAST is headquartered in Washington. DC, with a network of field offices in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan. Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco. Oman, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen.

Additional information about studying in the United States can be found at the website: www.educationusa.state.gov

Angamali Pravasi Association formed he newly formed Angamali Pravasi Association Kuwait, an association for all expats who are in Kuwait from TAngamali constituency, invites new members and well wishers for its first public meeting on November 19th, at Hi Dine Auditorium, Abbassiya, at 4pm. For more details, please contact Saju Thachil: 66543281; Jacob Pynadath: 65007754; Babu Thomas: 99240368; Paulose Thekkedath: 97278916.

Property India 2010 - Indian property show roperty India 2010, a two-day Indian real-estate extravaganP za, is set to take place on Friday, 5th and Saturday, 6th of November, at the Ramada Hotel, Riggae from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm Organized by Future Exhibitions and Promotions (FEP), one of India’s exhibition and event management companies based in Bangalore, the Property India 2010 exhibition will showcase a wide range of properties by renowned builders and developers displayed at a single venue in Kuwait.

“Now, is an opportune time to invest in Indian real-estate; the prices are just right and properties are plentiful,” said D K Sreekar, Chairman, FEP. Explaining his confidence in the Indian realty sector, Mr. Sreekar

added, “Within the last decade the India Property scenario has gone through rapid changes, triggered by several factors including the IT / ITES boom years, government policy changes and changes to the global economy.”

“There were at least two peak periods during the last two decades in real-estate development, the first was witnessed in the 90s, during IT and Outsourcing boom years. When this phenomenal growth period began to slow down, the Government’s decision in 2005, allowing 100 percent foreign direct investment in the realestate sector, once again helped fuel rapid development. Then, for a while, during the global economic crises of 2008-2009, enthusiasm for real-estate investment damp-

Dr K J Yesudas to present Carnatic classical concert uch to the delight of Carnatic music connoisseurs in Kuwait, Padmabhushan Dr K J Yesudas will present a live classical concert titled ‘Gandharva Ganam’ on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at the American International School, Maidan Hawally. Dr Yesudas is presenting a musical program in Kuwait after a gap of eight years.

Venkataraman Potti of Udupi, the organizer of the mega event, told a press conference that the concert will be a memorable event for hundreds of ‘Dasettan’ fans in Kuwait who were eagerly waiting for a live concert by the ‘King of Carnatic Music’ as he is better known worldwide.

Winner of scores of accolades including the prestigious Padmabhushan and Padmashree awards, Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is better known as ‘Gana Gandharvan’. After recording over 40,000 songs and scoring seven national awards for the best playback singer, he is still enchanting music lovers the world over.

Dr Yesudas sings Indian classical music, devotional and popular songs. He has recorded thousands of songs in many Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tulu, Malay, Russian, Arabic, Latin and English through his long career.

Over the last few decades, Dr Yesudas has assumed the role of a cultural ambassador of India during his numerous performances abroad, promoting both Carnatic and film music. He has played a major role in popularizing Indian music and spreading Indian culture abroad.

Suresh Krishna, who was also present at the press conference said that the con-

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ened. But of late, with the economy recovering and India on an economic roll, real-estate is once again on an upward trajectory.”

Short-term boom and bust

cert of Dr Yesudas is organized by Udupi with a view to promoting Carnatic classical music in Kuwait. “There are a large number of ardent Carnatic music lovers in Kuwait. And this will be the right opportunity for them to listen to one of the greatest classical vocalists,” he added. Dr Yesudas will be supported by veteran artist Thiruvaroor Bakthavalsalam on Mridangam, Nagai Murali on Violin and Thripunithura Radhakrishnan on Ghatam.

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 given for Best Uniform, Best Team. For more information, call 97197268.

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Soorya festival 2010 oorya Kuwait Chapter, in association with UAE Exchange Centre is all set to stage “Soorya Fest 2010, on Thursday, November 18, 2010, at the American International School Auditorium, Maidan Hawalli, at 7 pm, according to officials.

Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra will inaugurate the festival aiming to promote international integration through Culture.

The concert “Sarod Duo”, the title itself tells about the combination of 2 the renowned Sarod players Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, the two sons

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periods notwithstanding, overall real-estate investment in India is expected to rise on account of the huge pent-up demand for quality residential requirements in the

and disciples of the Sarod Maestro Amjad Ali Khan, along with Ustad Rashid Mustfa on Tabla, will be the first of its kind to be staged in Kuwait, officials added.

Initiated into the fine art of Sarod playing at a very tender age, Amaan Ali Khan began his public performances as early as eight. He is now considered as one the finest young Sarod players and has attained very special place for himself to all music enthusiasts. Ayaan Ali Khan, stepped into the world of music at the age of eight, has been performing concerts worldwide ever since. Ayaan has won the hearts of music lovers both India and around the Globe. Recipients of the MTV’s Lycra Award for the most stylish person in Music in 2006, both were honored recently by the Mayor of the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Acknowledged for his solo performances and accompaniment to vocalists, instrumentalist and dances Rashid Mustafa is a top grade artiste of the All India Radio and Doordarshan.

Frequently featured at prestigious concerts in India and abroad Rashid Mustafa has been awarded the Thirakwa Award by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in 1984.

Playing Sarod, the most popular instrument in Hindustani (northern Indian) classical music along with Tabla creating a wide variety of different sounds will be a special feast to all arts lovers of Kuwait.

As usual, the entry for the show will be restricted with invitations. For more details, please contact 97977317, 66250037, 99293929, 97278029 or contact at Sooryakuwait@yahoo.com Soorya India, led by versatile mastermind Soorya Krishnamurthy, is present in 18 countries. It has been propagating the art of India outside the country for

country. On last count, there is a pending demand for 25 million housing units in urban India alone. While funds coming in from foreign investors helped fuel the initial real-estate boom, it is now being sustained more and more by domestic funds. With the arrival of domestic Real Estate Mutual Funds and Real Estate Investment Trusts into the fray, the real estate sector is replete with funds.

According to Venture Intelligence, which tracks private equity and mergers and acquisitions in India, since January 2010, domestic funds have put in $864 million (Rs3,950 crore) in 22 realty deals. During the same period, the contribution from foreign funds was a mere $126 million (Rs 575 crore) and in only three

the last 11 years with the active support of its Chief Patron Dr B.R. Shetty, Managing Director, NMC group of companies.

Global Goans Convention 2010 to be held in Kuwait nnouncing at the press briefing in Goa yesterday, Hon. Commissioner of NRI Affairs (Cabinet Ranking) and former Minister of External Affairs, Government of India, Eduardo Faleiro stated ‘the next annual Global Goans Convention would be held in Kuwait on November 16 and 17, 2010 was being organised by the Goan Cultural Centre, Kuwait during which the Vishwa Konkani Sammelan too would be held along with a cultural programme with the involvement of Konkani speaking expatriate communities of Goa and elsewhere in India”. The annual Global Goans Convention 2010 will be held in the State of Kuwait in coordination with the Department of NRI Affairs, Government of Goa and the Embassy of India, Kuwait on November 16 & 17 and will be hosted by the Goan Cultural Centre at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kuwait. The Global Goans Convention 2010, whose theme this year is ‘The NRI Goan’, will, in its annual debates, present the NRI Goan community with an opportunity to discuss various issues pertaining to them in their countries of domicile as well as back home in Goa, and will mainly deal with issues related to their social, financial, investment and cultural aspirations and development. It is expected that delegates and eminent speakers from over 10 countries will be participating in the convention this year.

“We are happy and proud to be associated with this prestigious event”, in a statement confirming the news on its website www.goanculturalcentrekuwait.com. “We are overwhelmed by the response to the

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deals. Latent local demand, domestic funding and a booming economy are together expected to ensure the stability and steady growth of the Indian real-estate sector into the future. Moreover, the economic slowdown affecting the western industrialized world has not dented India’s appeal as one of the most lucrative realestate investment areas in the world.

Visitors to Property India 2010 will be able to get first-hand information on the current Indian realestate scenario from the people directly involved in the industry on a day to day basis. They will get to sit down and discuss with the builders about their latest projects, facilities and amenities offered, and the pricing plans.

Property India 2010 will be an

press statement, GCC chairman, Carmo Santos remarked. Last year, Goan Cultural Centre had the largest delegation attending the Global Goans Convention held in Muscat, Oman, added Suresh Naik, GCC President and Advisor . It may be recalled that Carmo Santos was bestowed with the NRI Leadership Award at the hands of former Minister of NRI Affairs Valayar Ravi at a glittering ceremony in the presence of Goa’s Chief Minister, Digamber Kamat, in recognition of his efforts and dedication towards the Indian expatriate community. He was among a galaxy of Goan personalities chosen by Goa’s Department of NRI Affairs from Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Delhi. The Convention will be held in coordination with the Embassy of India at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Farwania. A special Brochure will be launched during the Convention.

Arpan Kuwait to present ‘Tune & Taste-2010’ rpan Kuwait will present ‘Tune & Taste- 2010’-a festival of food, music and heritage-to 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 6.30pm.

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,

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opportunity for Indians in Kuwait to meet under one-roof, builders, real-estate developers and property promoters from all over India, to deliberate in-depth on all issues related to real-estate in India.

With the participation of wellknown and reputable developers from across India, and properties on display specifically selected to be of potential interest to NRI clients, the Property India 2010 show is geared to be a not-to-bemissed event. For people looking to buy a home or invest in the lucrative Indian real-estate sector, the Property India 2010 exhibition could prove a golden opportunity, with choice of properties on offer at the exhibition ranging from high-end luxury villas to best value properties.

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 presentations etc will add spices to the unique program ‘Tune & Taste 2010’. For details and participation in cooking competitions, email to: arpankwt@yahoo.com 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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TV PROGRAMS

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Orbit / Showtime Listings 22:10 How The Universe Works 23:00 Weird Or What?

23:50 Science Of The Movies 00:00 Ellen de Generes 01:00 GMA Live Repeat 03:00 Without a Trace 04:00 Warehouse 13 05:00 Drop Dead Diva 06:00 GMA Live Repeat 08:00 Justified 09:00 Law & Order 10:00 Ellen de Generes 11:00 Desperate Housewives 12:00 Defying Gravity 13:00 Without a Trace 14:00 GMA Live 16:00 Justified 17:00 Law & Order 18:00 Ellen de Generes 19:00 Without a Trace 20:00 One Tree Hill 21:00 Survivor 21 22:00 The Tudors 23:00 Nip/Tuck

00:50 Tigers Attack 01:45 Untamed And Uncut 02:40 World Wild Vet 03:35 Planet Earth 04:30 Animal Cops Philadelphia 05:25 Tigers Attack 06:20 Untamed And Uncut 07:10 Wildlife SOS 07:35 Rspca: On The Frontline 08:00 Max’s Big Tracks 08:50 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 09:40 Beverly Hills Groomer 10:35 Animal Battlegrounds 11:00 Saving A Species: Gorillas On The Brink 11:55 Gorilla School 12:20 Rspca: On The Frontline 12:50 Animal Precinct 13:45 Vet On The Loose 14:10 Pet Rescue 14:40 Animal Cops South Africa 15:35 Wildlife SOS 16:00 Rspca: On The Frontline 16:30 Cats 101 17:25 Breed All About It 18:20 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 19:15 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 19:40 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 20:10 In Search Of The Giant Anaconda 21:10 Dogs 101 22:05 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 22:30 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 23:00 Cell Dogs 23:55 Animal Cops South Africa

00:30 The Keith Barret Show 01:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 01:30 The Weakest Link 02:15 Casualty 03:05 Eastenders 03:35 Doctors 04:05 Last Of The Summer Wine 04:35 The Roly Mo Show 04:50 Fimbles 05:10 Penelope K, By The Way 05:20 Tellytales 05:30 Me Too 05:50 Balamory 06:10 The Roly Mo Show 06:25 Tellytales 06:35 Penelope K, By The Way 06:50 Fimbles 07:10 Me Too 07:30 Balamory 07:50 Tellytales 08:00 Penelope K, By The Way 08:10 Fimbles 08:30 Me Too 08:55 Balamory 09:15 Penelope K, By The Way 09:25 Tellytales 09:35 Fimbles 09:55 Me Too 10:15 Balamory 10:40 Last Of The Summer Wine 11:40 The Weakest Link 12:25 Heart And Soul 13:15 Doctors 13:45 Eastenders 14:15 Casualty 15:05 Last Of The Summer Wine 16:40 Heart And Soul 17:30 The Weakest Link 18:15 Doctors 18:45 Eastenders 19:15 Casualty 20:10 Heart And Soul 21:00 The Weakest Link 21:45 Doctors 22:15 Eastenders

00:30 Masterchef 01:00 What Not To Wear 01:25 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 02:15 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 03:05 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 03:55 Superhomes 04:55 The Restaurant UK 05:45 Daily Cooks Challenge 06:45 What Not To Wear 07:10 Superhomes 08:00 Antiques Roadshow 08:50 What Not To Wear 09:40 Antiques Roadshow 10:30 Hidden Potential 10:55 Cash In The Attic USA 11:20 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 12:10 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 13:00 Superhomes 13:50 Come Dine With Me 14:40 What Not To Wear 15:05 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 15:55 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 16:45 Bargain Hunt 17:30 Masterchef 18:00 Masterchef 18:30 Cash In The Attic USA 18:50 Daily Cooks Challenge 19:50 Come Dine With Me 20:40 Masterchef 21:10 Indian Food Made Easy 21:40 Ching’s Kitchen 22:05 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 22:55 Superhomes 23:45 The Restaurant UK

00:40 Overhaulin’ 01:35 Dirty Jobs 02:30 Science Of The Movies 03:25 Extreme Engineering 04:20 Mythbusters 05:15 How Stuff’s Made 05:40 How Do They Do It? 06:05 Dirty Jobs 07:00 Fifth Gear 07:25 Extreme Engineering 08:15 Chop Shop 09:10 Mythbusters 10:05 Ultimate Survival 10:55 Overhaulin’ 11:50 The Gadget Show 12:20 How Stuff’s Made 12:45 How Do They Do It? 13:15 Mythbusters 14:10 Miami Ink 15:05 Ultimate Survival 16:00 Dirty Jobs 16:55 Overhaulin’ 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 Cake Boss 19:10 Border Security 19:40 The Gadget Show 20:05 How Do They Do It? 20:35 How Stuff’s Made 21:00 Ultimate Weapons 21:55 Miami Swat 22:50 Behind Bars 23:45 True CSI

00:40 Space Pioneer 01:30 The Gadget Show 01:55 Kings Of Construction 02:45 How Stuff’s Made 03:10 How Stuff’s Made 03:35 Engineered 04:25 How Does That Work?

04:50 Catch It Keep It 05:45 Brainiac 06:40 Weird Connections 07:10 What’s That About?

08:00 Junkyard Mega-Wars 09:00 Space Pioneer 10:00 The Future Of...

10:55 Stuntdawgs 11:20 The Gadget Show 11:50 Engineered 12:45 How Does That Work?

13:15 Catch It Keep It 14:10 Weird Connections 14:35 The Future Of...

15:30 Savage Planet 15:55 Savage Planet 16:25 The Gadget Show 16:55 Space Pioneer 17:50 Kings Of Construction 18:45 Brainiac 19:40 Weird Or What?

20:30 Science Of The Movies 21:20 How It’s Made 21:45 The Gadget Show

00:15 Pretty Wild 00:40 Dr 90210 01:30 Wildest TV Show Moments 01:55 Reality Hell 02:20 THS 03:15 25 Most Stylish 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 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Giuliana And Bill 09:50 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 10:15 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Fashion Police 13:15 Pretty Wild 13:40 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:05 Kendra 14:30 THS 15:25 E!es 16:15 Behind The Scenes 17:10 The Spin Crowd 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 19:15 Pretty Wild 19:40 E!es 20:30 Kendra 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:20 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10

00:00 Mantracker Series 2 00:50 Winter X Games Europe 2010 01:40 Man’s Work 02:05 Man’s Work 02:30 Eds Up 02:55 Eds Up 03:20 Mantracker Series 2 04:10 Fantasy Factory 04:35 Fantasy Factory 05:00 Ticket To Ride 2009 05:50 Man’s Work 06:15 Man’s Work 06:40 Eds Up 07:05 Eds Up 07:30 I-Ex 08:00 I-Ex 08:30 I-Ex 09:00 Ticket To Ride 2009 11:30 Ifmxf 2009 11:55 Harvest 1 12:45 Fantasy Factory 13:35 Mantracker Series 2 14:25 Man’s Work 14:50 Man’s Work 15:15 Eds Up 15:40 Eds Up 16:05 Harvest 1 16:55 Fantasy Factory 17:20 Fantasy Factory 17:45 Ticket To Ride 2009 20:15 Ifmxf 2009 20:40 Mantracker Series 2 21:30 Fantasy Factory 21:55 Fantasy Factory 22:20 Harvest 1 23:10 Eds Up 23:35 Eds Up

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 Food Network All-Star 04:00 Barefoot Contessa 04:30 Unwrapped 05:00 Iron Chef America 06:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 06:30 Guys Big Bite 07:00 Chopped 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 Food Network All-Star 22:00 Barefoot Contessa 22:30 Everyday Italian 23:00 Iron Chef America

01:00 No One Knows About Persian CatsPG15 03:00 Almost Famous-PG15 05:00 Frost / Nixon-PG15 07:00 Familiar Strangers-PG 09:00 The Sun Also Rises-PG15 11:00 Tribute-PG15 13:00 Escape To Victory-PG15 15:00 Disco-PG 17:00 Nights In Rodanthe-PG15 19:00 The Golden Compass-PG 21:00 Sexy Beast-18 23:00 Cass-18

00:40 Dr G: Medical Examiner 01:30 Ghost Lab 02:20 A Haunting 03:10 I Almost Got Away With It 04:05 Murder Shift 05:00 Forensic Detectives 05:55 Crime Scene Psychics 06:20 Dr G: Medical Examiner 07:10 Real Emergency Calls 08:00 Diagnosis: Unknown 08:50 Real Emergency Calls 09:40 Forensic Detectives 10:30 Guilty Or Innocent?

11:20 Extreme Forensics 12:10 FBI Files 13:00 Ghost Lab 13:50 On The Case With Paula Zahn 14:40 Diagnosis: Unknown 15:30 Real Emergency Calls 16:20 Extreme Forensics 17:10 Forensic Detectives 18:00 Guilty Or Innocent?

18:50 FBI Files 19:40 Diagnosis: Unknown 20:30 Real Emergency Calls 21:20 Ghost Lab 22:10 On The Case With Paula Zahn

00:00 Modern family 00:30 The Simpsons 01:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 01:30 The Colbert Report 02:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 03:00 State of the Union 03:30 Free Radio 04:00 South park 04:30 Tonight Show with Jay Leno 05:30 Everybody loves Raymond 06:00 Frasier 06:30 The Drew Carey Show 07:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 08:00 The Simpsons 08:30 Everybody loves Raymond 09:00 Frasier 09:30 The Drew Carey Show 10:00 Will & Grace 10:30 Modern family 11:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:30 Frasier 12:00 Tonight Show with Jay Leno 13:00 The Simpsons 13:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 14:00 Frasier 14:30 Modern family 15:00 Modern family 15:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 18:00 The Simpsons 18:30 Will & Grace 19:00 30 Rock 19:30 Til Death 20:00 Tonight Show with Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report

07:00 Lazytown 07:25 Imagination Movers 07:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:15 Handy Manny 08:40 Jungle Junction 08:50 Special Agent Oso 09:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:25 Handy Manny 09:50 New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 10:15 Little Einsteins 10:40 Special Agent Oso 11:30 Lazytown 11:55 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 12:20 Handy Manny 12:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:10 Little Einsteins 13:35 JO JO’S CIRCUS (SCANDI YR1) 14:00 Higglytown Heroes 14:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:50 Special Agent Oso 15:05 My Friends Tigger and Pooh 15:30 Imagination Movers 15:55 Little Einsteins 16:20 Handy Manny 16:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 17:10 New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 17:35 Special Agent Oso 17:45 Imagination Movers 18:10 Handy Manny 18:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:00 New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 19:25 Handy Manny 19:40 Special Agent Oso 19:50 Jungle Junction

01:19 Hidden Agenda 03:09 Straight Out Of Brooklyn 04:35 Soldier Boyz 06:04 Scandal 08:00 Man Of La Mancha 10:10 The Black Stallion Returns 11:55 Yours Mine And Ours 13:45 Bigger Than The Sky 15:30 Beat Street 17:15 Nothing Personal 18:55 Salt And Pepper 20:35 100 Films & A Funeral 22:00 Finding The Way Home 23:30 Mechanic

My Sister’s Keeper on Show Movies

00:00 The Garfield Show 00:25 The Scooby Doo Show 00:50 Wacky Races 01:15 Dastardly And Muttley 01:40 Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch 02:05 Popeye 02:30 The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop

02:55 Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo 03:20 Looney Tunes 03:45 The Flintstones 04:10 The Jetsons 04:35 Top Cat 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 Droopy And Dripple 08:00 Tom And Jerry 08:25 Looney Tunes 08:55 The Flintstones 09:20 The Jetsons 09:45 Tom And Jerry Kids 10:10 The Garfield Show 10:35 Duck Dodgers 11:00 The Scooby Doo Show 11:30 Wacky Races 12:00 Dastardly And Muttley 12:25 King Arthur’s Disasters

01:00 Golf Central International 01:30 Golf Channel - TBA 02:00 Inside the PGA Tour 02:30 MLB: World Series Game 6, Teams TBA (if necessary) 05:30 College Football Saturday Preview 06:00 NFL Replay Teams TBA 07:00 Rolex Spirit of Yachting Les Voiles de St Tropez 07:30 Nationwide Tour: Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island Rd. 2 Charleston, SC 10:00 MLB: World Series Game 6, Teams TBA (if necessary) 13:00 Golf Central International 13:30 Inside the PGA Tour 14:00 LPGA Tour: LPGA Hana Bank Championship Final Rd. 16:00 World of Athletics 16:30 Sport Express 17:00 College Football Saturday Preview

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 Codename: Kids Next Door 08:25 Chowder 08:50 Best ED 09:15 Chop Socky Chooks 09:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 10:05 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 10:30 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 10:55 Eliot Kid 11:20 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 11:30 Squirrel Boy 11:55 Robotboy 12:20 Camp Lazlo 12:45 The Powerpuff Girls 13:10 Class Of 3000 13:35 Ed, Edd N Eddy 14:00 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 14:25 Codename: Kids Next Door 14:50 Ben 10 15:15 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 15:40 Squirrel Boy 16:05 Eliot Kid 16:35 Casper’s Scare School 17:00 Skunk Fu! 17:25 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 17:50 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 18:15 The Secret Saturdays 18:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:05 Hero 108 19:30 Total Drama World Tour 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 Camp Lazlo

00:00 Road Trip : Beer Pong-18 02:00 My Sister’s Keeper-PG15 04:00 Sugar-PG15 06:00 It Might Get Loud-PG15 08:00 Mee Shee-PG 10:00 Appaloosa-PG15 12:00 My Sister’s Keeper-PG15 14:00 The Tale Of Despereaux-PG 16:00 Appaloosa-PG15 18:00 X-Men Origins: Wolverine-PG15 20:00 Role Models-18 22:00 Sleuth-18

01:00 The Bleeding-18 03:00 Shoot ‘em Up-18 05:00 Hush-PG15 07:00 Midnight Bayou-PG15 09:00 Vertical Limit-PG15 11:00 Enough-PG15 13:00 Boa-PG15 15:00 Vertical Limit-PG15 17:00 No Escape-PG15 19:00 Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonPG15 21:00 Goal III-18 23:00 Wild Things-18

00:00 Lucky Break-PG15 02:00 The Immaculate Conception Of Little Dizzle-PG15 04:00 Leatherheads-PG15 06:00 Bring It On 5: Fight To The FinishPG15 08:00 Will You Merry Me-PG15 10:00 A Simple Wish-FAM 12:00 National Security-PG15 14:00 Ghost Town-PG15 16:00 Lucky Break-PG15 18:00 Killer Bean Forever-PG15 20:00 Fanboys-PG15 22:00 Undead Or Alive-18

00:00 Last Of The Mohicans-PG 02:00 Rugrats In Paris: The Movie-FAM 04:00 Blank Check-FAM 06:00 Sing To The Dawn-FAM 08:00 Red Wall: The Movie-FAM 10:00 Blank Check-FAM

The Proposal on Super Movies 12:00 Simba Junior To The World CupFAM 14:00 Rugrats In Paris: The Movie-FAM 16:00 Doubting Thomas: Spies And LiesPG15 18:00 Robotech - The Shadow ChroniclesFAM 20:00 The Missing Lynx-PG 22:00 Simba Junior To The World CupFAM

00:00 Grey’s Anatomy 01:00 Private Practice 02:00 Martha Stewart 03:00 House 04:00 The View 05:00 Look A Like 06:00 Emmerdale 06:30 Coronation Street 07:00 House 08:00 Martha Stewart 09:00 Look A Like 10:00 House 11:00 The View 12:00 Emmerdale 12:30 Coronation Street 13:00 Martha Stewart 14:00 Grey’s Anatomy 15:00 Private Practice 16:00 Look A Like 17:00 The View 18:00 Emmerdale 18:30 Eat Your Self Sexy 19:00 My Own Worst Enemy 20:00 Drop Dead Diva 21:00 Lie To Me 22:00 The View 23:00 Look A Like

00:00 European Tour Weekly 00:30 European PGA Tour Highlights 01:30 World Hockey 02:00 Rugby Union ITM Cup 04:00 Spirit of a Champion 04:30 The Ryder Cup Official Film 06:00 Triatholn 07:00 World Pool Masters 08:00 Futbol Mundial 08:30 Brazil League Highlights 09:00 Sea Master 09:30 World Hockey 10:00 Spirit of a Champion 10:30 Spirit of Yatching 11:00 European Tour Weekly 11:30 World Pool Masters 12:30 ICC Cricket World 13:00 Scottish Premier League 15:00 Brazil League Highlights 15:30 Triatholn 16:30 Currie Cup 18:30 World Hockey 19:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 19:30 Brazil League Highlights 20:00 European Tour Weekly 20:30 World Sport 21:00 Total Rugby 21:30 Futbol Mundial 22:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 22:30 Live Premier League Snooker

00:30 Spirit of a Champion 01:00 Spirit of Yachting 01:30 Scottish Premier League 03:30 Brazil League Highlights 04:00 Rugby League Four Nations 06:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 06:30 European Tour Weekly 07:00 Live European PGA Tour 11:00 The Ryder Cup Official Film 12:30 European PGA Tour 16:30 Spirit of Yachting 17:00 World Match Racing Tour 18:00 Futbol Mundial 18:30 Brazil League Highlights 19:00 European PGA Tour 23:00 World Sport 23:30 Total Rugby

00:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 01:00 UFC 121 Prelims 02:00 UFC 121 05:00 Le Mans Classic 05:30 FIA GT1 World Championship 07:00 WWE Smackdown

09:00 WWE Bottom Line 10:00 FIA GT1 World Championship 11:30 UFC All Access 12:00 WWE Vintage Collection 13:00 WWE Bottom Line 14:00 V8 Supercars Championship 15:00 V8 Supercars Championship 16:00 Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 17:00 UFC 121 20:00 WWE NXT 21:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 22:00 UFC Unleashed 23:00 UFC Unleashed

01:00 Number 23-PG15 03:00 Witness To Waco-PG15 05:00 Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal-PG15 07:00 Ye Olde Times-PG 09:00 Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The DinosaursFAM 11:00 Captain Drake-PG 13:00 Aliens In The Attic-FAM 15:00 Michael Jackson’s This Is It-PG 17:00 Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The DinosaursFAM 19:00 The Proposal-PG15 21:00 Paranormal Activity-PG15 23:00 Forgetting Sarah Marshall-18

01:05 Brother John 02:40 Kelly’s Heroes 05:00 Anchors Aweigh 07:20 The Screening Room 08:00 Hot Millions 09:45 The Honeymoon Machine 11:10 An American In Paris 13:05 Anchors Aweigh 15:20 Kelly’s Heroes 17:40 Adam’s Rib 19:20 The Screening Room 19:45 The V.I.P.S 21:40 Across The Wide Missouri 23:00 Zebrahead

00:40 Declassified 01:30 Deep Sea Detectives 02:20 Extreme Trains 03:10 Cities of the Underworld 04:00 Clash of the Gods 04:55 Seven Deadly Sins 05:50 Battle Stations 06:40 Declassified 07:30 Deep Sea Detectives 08:20 Extreme Trains 09:10 Cities of the Underworld 10:00 Clash of the Gods 10:55 Seven Deadly Sins 11:50 Battle Stations 12:40 Declassified 13:30 Deep Sea Detectives 14:20 Extreme Trains 15:10 Cities of the Underworld 16:00 Clash of the Gods 16:55 Seven Deadly Sins 17:50 Battle Stations 18:40 Declassified 19:30 Deep Sea Detectives 20:20 Extreme Trains 21:10 Cities of the Underworld 22:00 Ancient Discoveries 22:55 Warriors 23:50 MonsterQuest

00:00 Jerseylicious 01:00 Jerseylicious 02:00 Model TV 02:30 Style Her Famous 03:00 How Do I Look?

04:00 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

05:00 Model TV 05:30 The Designers 06:00 Style Her Famous 06:30 Area 07:00 How Do I Look?

08:00 Millennium Fashion: The Year In Fashion 09:00 My Celebrity Home 10:00 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

11:00 Married Away 12:00 Peter Perfect

13:00 Ruby 14:00 Clean House 15:00 Clean House Comes Clean 15:30 Style Her Famous 16:00 Jerseylicious 17:00 Ruby 18:00 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

19:00 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

20:00 Peter Perfect 21:00 Clean House 22:00 How Do I Look?

23:00 Fashion Police

00:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 01:00 Hollywood And Vines 01:30 Sophie Grigson In The Souk 02:00 Travel 360 03:00 Planet Food 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 06:00 Chef Abroad 06:30 Flavours Of Spain 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Rudy Maxa’s World 08:30 Top Travel 09:00 Hollywood And Vines 09:30 The Thirsty Traveler 10:00 Chef Abroad 10:30 Floyd On Africa 11:00 Surfari 11:30 Raider Of The Lost Snow 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Planet Food 14:00 Flavours Of Spain 14:30 Top Travel 15:00 Hollywood And Vines 15:30 The Thirsty Traveler 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Rudy Maxa’s World 17:30 Chef Abroad 18:00 Flavours Of Spain 18:30 Floyd On Africa 19:00 Globe Trekker 20:00 Culinary Asia 21:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 22:00 Great Scenic Railways-Australia 23:00 Globe Trekker

00:00 New Adventures Of Ocean Girl 00:25 Sabrina The Animated Series 00:50 Sonic Underground 01:15 Fat Dog Mendoza 01:40 Tales From The Cryptkeeper 02:00 Fat Dog Mendoza Marathon 07:00 Dennis The Menace 07:25 Beverly Hills Teen Club 07:45 Pelswick 08:10 Jass Time 08:12 Boo And Me 08:15 Fat Dog Mendoza 08:40 The Fairly Oddparents 09:05 The Beach Crew 09:10 Cyberchase 09:35 Birdz 10:00 The Beach Crew 10:05 Heathcliff 10:30 Ned’s Newt 10:55 New Adventures Of Madeline 11:20 Rupert 11:45 Babar 12:10 Max And Ruby 12:30 Corduroy 12:55 Rupert 13:20 New Adventures Of Madeline 13:45 Ned’s Newt 14:10 Corduroy 14:35 Max And Ruby 15:00 Babar 15:25 Rupert 15:50 Ned’s Newt 16:15 Beverly Hills Teen Club 16:40 Sabrina The Animated Series 17:05 The Beach Crew 17:10 Boo And Me 17:15 New Adventures Of Ocean Girl 17:40 Dino Squad 18:05 The Future Is Wild 18:30 Rescue Heroes 18:50 Even Stevens 19:15 The Beach Crew 19:20 Boo And Me 19:25 Dennis The Menace 19:35 Fat Dog Mendoza 20:00 Sonic Underground 20:20 Dino Squad 20:45 The Future Is Wild 21:10 Rescue Heroes 21:30 Ace Lightning 22:00 Even Stevens 22:25 Sabrina The Animated Series

Thursday, November 4, 2010

33

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for bachelors in Salmiya, Amman street opposite Al-Rashid hospital.

Contact: 65515717.

(C 2835) Single room accommodation required for a 50+ executive bachelor to share with

a decent Muslim family.

Please contact: 66750417, 66674415. (C 2834)

4-11-2010 Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for one or two working ladies in a new C-A/C flat with Keralite family. Contact: 66013882. (C 2832) Sharing accommodation

in Sharq near Amiri hospital C-A/C, 2 bathroom, 3 bedrooms, kitchen, big hall, neat flat, preferred Indian family or two working ladies sharing with Keralite Christian family.

Call: 99849490. (C 2821) Mahboula room for rent in a flat, with A/C, kitchen and other facilities for a Christian couple or bache-

No: 14900

lor near ABC tower. Contact: 66216713/ 65135094.

(C 2822) 3-11-2010 C-A/C room available with a small Indian family for an executive Indian bachelor at Amman street Salmiya.

Call: 99408202. (C 2829) Room with attached toilet available in a 2 room, 2 toilet, C-A/C flat at Abbassiya to share with a Sri Lankan couple. Call: 66552905.

(C 2824) Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya, new building, separate bathroom and balcony, decent executive bachelors preferred, near Kalabhavan building & UI School. Call: 97208351.

(C 2828) Independent room with separate bath is available for a non-smoking Keralite executive bachelor or married couple in a very spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bath C-A/C apartment in Farwaniya (facing Sixth Ring Road).

Contact: 66629551.

(C 2830) One room is available for decent working ladies or

small family with small Indian family at Farwaniya opp big jamiya from Nov 2010. Call: 99051353.

(C 2827) 2-11-2010

Half lorry delivery van, Toyota Dyna diesel, 2004 model, Citroen Jumper diesel.

Ph: 66052331. (C 2814) 30-10-2010

SITUATION VACANT

FOR SALE Fridge KD 35, Sony Video camera no-TRV-330 KD 40, still camera Olympus KD 15. Contact: 66013882.

(C 2833) 3-11-2010

Maid wanted urgently. A decent housemaid is needed for a family in Mangaf.

Please call 60055305.

3-11-2010

MATRIMONIAL

2001 Nissan Pathfinder full option (sunroof - wood decoration - Zenon - CD) excellent condition, golden color, ready for checking, price KD 2000 (negotiable). Call: 55859325. (C 2817) 31-10-2010

Proposals invited, for a 28y.o. (172 cm) Nair professional boy working as a Graphic Designer in a reputable firm in Kuwait, from Nair girls aged below 25 based either here in Kuwait or in India. Please contact email: rajeshkwtimes@gmail.com

Mitsubishi Canter half lorry 2007, 85000 km. Call: 97231605. (C 2811)

Seeking suitable alliance for a Marthomite girl (5始5 tall, good looking), 25 years

old, BSc (N), hailing from Mallappally (Pathanamthitta dist) working in a private hospital in Kuwait, from parents of God fearing, good looking and professionally qualified Christian grooms.

Email:

respond to jaykrishna76@gmail.com (C 2818) 1-11-2010

mathewthomas102@gmail.com (C 2825)

Well experienced in office work, import/export, business correspondence seeking part time job morning or evening. Call: 66513057.

(C 2823)

NRI Marthoma parents invite proposals for their daughter 25/163, fair, B/B in Kuwait, B.E Computer Engineering employed in Bangalore. From parents of God fearing, good looking, well employed boys, brought up outside Kerala, belonging to Marthoma/CSI/Orthodox family. Respond with recent photograph and bio-data.

Email: mathewj23@gmail.com (C 2831) 2-11-2010 Proposals invited from employed Ezhava PG boys above 30 yrs for an Ezhava girl, 29 yrs, Chathayam, MBA, M.Phil, currently employed as faculty. Please

SITUATION WANTED

Young Indian storekeeper having 12 years experience and computer knowledge seeks immediate employment. Contact: 55424472.

(C 2826) 2-11-2010 Brilliant young B.Com graduate passed in first class knowing Peachtree and Tally having 2 years working experience in India seeking suitable job as Accountant. Tel: 97333492 / 65179245. (C 2819) 1-11-2010

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines Jordanian Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Wataniya Airways Bangladesh Turkish Ethiopian Egypt Air Jazeera DHL Emirates Fly Dubai Etihad Qatari Kuwait Falcon Jazeera Kuwait Jazeera British Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Iran Air Kuwait Fly Dubai Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Emirates Arabia Qatari Etihad Gulf Air Wataniya Airways Middle East Wataniya Airways Jazeera Syrian Air Kuwait Gulf Air Wataniya Airways Egypt Air Jazeera Kuwait United Jordanian Wataniya Airways Egypt Air Fly Dubai Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Jazeera Saudia Kuwait Nas Air

Arrival Flights on Thursday 04/11/2010 Flt Route 802 Amman 188 Bahrain 305 Cairo 211 Bahrain 408 Beirut 045 Dhaka/Bahrain 772 Istanbul 620 Addis Ababa 614 Cairo 267 Beirut 370 Bahrain 853 Dubai 051 Dubai 305 Abu Dhabi 138 Doha 802 Cairo 201 Dubai 503 Luxor 412 Manila/Bangkok 527 Alexandria 157 London 529 Assiut 613 Lahore 204 Lahore 605 Isfahan 302 Mumbai 053 Dubai 332 Trivandrum 676 Dubai 284 Dhaka 362 Colombo 855 Dubai 121 Sharjah 132 Doha 301 Abu Dhabi 213 Bahrain 182 Bahrain 404 Beirut 102 Dubai 447 Doha 341 Damascus 772 Riyadh 219 Bahrain 422 Amman 610 Cairo 457 Damascus 672 Dubai 982 Washington DC Dulles 800 Amman 432 Damascus 621 Assiut 057 Dubai 257 Beirut 332 Alexandria 257 Beirut 125 Bahrain 500 Jeddah 552 Damascus 745 Jeddah

Time 00:05 00:30 00:50 01:05 01:05 01:05 01:15 01:45 02:05 02:10 02:15 02:25 02:35 02:55 03:25 04:45 05:25 05:30 06:15 06:20 06:30 06:40 07:05 07:10 07:45 07:50 07:55 07:55 08:00 08:10 08:20 08:25 08:40 09:00 09:25 10:45 10:45 10:50 11:05 11:20 12:05 12:10 12:50 12:50 12:55 13:10 13:15 13:35 13:35 13:35 13:40 13:50 14:05 14:05 14:05 14:10 14:30 14:35 14:55

Qatari Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Mihin Etihad Emirates Gulf Air Wataniya Airways Saudia Kuwait Iran Air Arabia Jazeera Jazeera Srilankan Wataniya Airways Kuwait Wataniya Airways Rovos Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Wataniya Airways Jazeera Air Arabia Egypt Kuwait Kuwait Bahrain Air Jazeera Singapore Kuwait Fly Dubai Jazeera Jazeera Oman Air Middle East Wataniya Airways Rovos KLM Jet A/W Egypt Air Wataniya Airways Jazeera DHL Gulf Air Emirates Kuwait Qatari United Indian Jazeera Lufthansa Jazeera Egypt Air Bangladesh India Express Egypt Air Pakistan Wataniya Airways

134 546 678 118 403 303 857 215 402 510 562 617 125 493 129 227 304 104 106 093 502 542 618 786 202 177 555 674 614 344 433 458 774 061 459 433 647 402 612 081 0445 572 618 404 183 372 217 859 178 136 981 981 429 636 185 612 043 389 606 205 108

Doha Alexandria Muscat/Abu Dhabi New York Colombo/Dubai Abu Dhabi Dubai Bahrain Beirut Riyadh Amman Ahwaz Sharjah Jeddah Bahrain Colombo/Dubai Cairo London Dubai Kandahar/Dubai Beirut Cairo Doha Jeddah Jeddah Dubai Alexandria Dubai Bahrain Bahrain Mashad Singapore/Abu Dhabi Riyadh Dubai Damascus Mashad Muscat Beirut Sabiha Baghdad Amsterdam Mumbai Alexandria Beirut Dubai Bahrain Bahrain Dubai Geneva/Frankfurt Doha Bahrain Chennai/Hyderabad/Ahmedabad Bahrain Frankfurt Dubai Cairo Dhaka Kozhikode/Mangalore Luxor Lahore Dubai

15:05 15:30 15:35 16:15 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:15 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:40 17:40 17:55 18:00 18:35 18:35 18:45 18:45 18:50 18:50 18:55 18:55 18:55 19:05 19:15 19:20 19:20 19:25 19:40 19:25 19:25 20:05 20:10 19:40 20:15 20:20 20:20 20:30 20:40 20:30 21:30 20:50 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:35 21:55 22:05 22:10 22:30 22:40 22:55 23:00 23:10 23:15 23:55 23:55

Departure Flights on Thursday 04/11/2010 Airlines Flt Route Jazeera 528 Assiut Shaheen Air 442 Lahore Egypt Air 607 Luxor India Express 394 Cochin/Kozhikode KLM 0447 Amsterdam Indian 576 Goa/Chennai Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt Pakistan 216 Karachi Turkish 773 Istanbul Bangladesh 046 Dhaka Ethiopian 620 Bahrain/Addis Ababa Egypt Air 615 Cairo DHL 371 Bahrain Fly Dubai 052 Dubai Emirates 854 Dubai Etihad 306 Abu Dhabi Qatari 139 Doha Wataniya Airways 101 Dubai Jordanian 803 Amman Jazeera 331 Alexandria Jazeera 446 Doha Gulf Air 212 Bahrain Jazeera 456 Damascus Wataniya Airways 421 Amman Wataniya Airways 181 Bahrain Rovos 094 Dubai/Kandahar Jazeera 256 Beirut Wataniya Airways 431 Damascus British 156 London Kuwait 545 Alexandria Fly Dubai 054 Dubai Iran Air 606 Mashad Kuwait 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat Kuwait 671 Dubai Kuwait 771 Riyadh Kuwait 551 Damascus Arabia 122 Sharjah Kuwait 101 London/New York Emirates 856 Dubai Qatari 133 Doha Etihad 302 Abu Dhabi Jazeera 124 Bahrain Gulf Air 214 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 401 Beirut Kuwait 165 Rome/Paris Middle East 405 Beirut Wataniya Airways 303 Cairo Kuwait 541 Cairo Wataniya Airways 611 Sabiha Jazeera 492 Jeddah Kuwait 561 Amman Kuwait 501 Beirut Syrian Air 342 Damascus Kuwait 785 Jeddah Wataniya Airways 201 Jeddah Egypt Air 611 Cairo Jazeera 432 Mashad Jazeera 458 Damascus Wataniya Airways 105 Dubai Jordanian 801 Amman Fly Dubai 058 Dubai

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:25 00:30 00:50 00:50 01:10 02:15 02:15 02:30 03:05 03:15 03:20 03:45 04:00 05:00 06:50 07:00 07:30 07:40 07:45 07:45 07:50 07:50 08:00 08:05 08:10 08:25 08:35 08:40 08:45 08:45 09:00 08:55 09:10 09:20 09:30 09:40 10:00 10:10 11:15 11:35 11:35 11:45 11:50 11:50 12:00 12:05 12:15 12:25 13:00 13:05 13:30 13:45 13:55 14:00 14:00 14:30 14:30 14:35

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Egypt Air Jazeera United Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Nas Air Saudia Kuwait Qatari Kuwait Rovos Etihad Mihin Gulf Air Emirates Wataniya Airways Kuwait Arabia Jazeera Saudia Iran Air Kuwait SriLankan Jazeera Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Air Arabia Egypt Kuwait Jazeera Bahrain Air Jazeera Kuwait Jazeera Fly Dubai Singapore Wataniya Airways Kuwait Oman Air Middle East Jet A/W Egypt Air Wataniya Airways KLM Gulf Air DHL Kuwait Emirates Falcon Qatari Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera United Kuwait Kuwait Egypt Air

622 Assiut 458 Damascus 982 Bahrain 176 Dubai 128 Bahrain 673 Dubai 403 Beirut 673 Dubai 617 Doha 746 Jeddah 505 Jeddah 773 Riyadh 135 Doha 613 Bahrain 082 Baghdad 304 Abu Dhabi 404 Dubai/Colombo 216 Bahrain 858 Dubai 306 Cairo 543 Cairo 126 Sharjah 184 Dubai 511 Riyadh 616 Ahwaz 285 Chittagong 228 Dubai/Colombo 428 Bahrain 407 Beirut 433 Damascus 107 Dubai 556 Alexandria 283 Dhaka 266 Beirut 345 Bahrain 240 Amman 361 Colombo 512 Sharm El Sheikh 062 Dubai 457 Abu Dhabi/Singapore 321 Sharm El Sheikh 351 Cochin 648 Muscat 403 Beirut 571 Mumbai 619 Alexandria 187 Bahrain 0445 Bahrain/Amsterdam 218 Bahrain 373 Bahrain 675 Dubai 860 Dubai 102 Bahrain 137 Doha 301 Mumbai 205 Islamabad 526 Alexandria 502 Luxor 981 Washington DC Dulles 411 Bangkok/Manila 415 Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 613 Cairo

14:40 14:45 14:50 14:55 15:00 15:10 15:10 15:10 15:35 15:45 16:00 16:05 16:20 16:20 17:00 17:35 17:40 18:05 18:05 18:05 18:10 18:20 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:45 19:10 19:10 19:25 19:30 19:40 19:55 20:15 20:10 20:10 20:20 20:20 20:20 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:30 22:30 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:55

SPECTRUM

34

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Calvin

CROSSWORD 130

Aries (March 21-April 19) Things are changing in

your career or path and the good results depend on your own ambition and drive, which are strong now.

Communications are high this afternoon. You desire to be with friends that are stimulating and help you to stretch beyond your usual routine. The things you have in common and the way you listen and enjoy another person’s presence will be the staying power in these relationships. You and your friends will benefit by entering into a project that includes some type of charity or needy project such as toy bears for the police officers to give to children, rocking babies in the hospital, food for the elderly, etc. Bring meaning and excitement to your life now—in more than just one way. Good fortune and plain old luck surround you now.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You bring a lot of mental

insight to whatever you do and could help others to take a more independent approach on their life or career. You encourage others to be strong in their character and in their morals. Some of your friends and even co-workers may seek you out for your psychological insight and understanding from time to time. Today may be one of those days where you spend more time giving advice to others than in achieving results from your work. You may find yourself in overtime or taking a bit of work home with you this afternoon. Your inner resources and emotions are accented this evening when perhaps a young person presents you with some interesting challenges. It may take a while but you will achieve positive results.

Pooch Cafe

ACROSS 1. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

4. A bachelor's degree in architecture.

10. Having leadership guidance.

13. An edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle.

14. Earnest or urgent request.

15. The organ of sight (`peeper' is an informal term for `eye').

16. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.

17. Female ruff v 1.

19. A high-crowned black cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus.

21. (New Testament) One of the three sages from the east who came bearing gifts for the infant Jesus.

23. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

24. A state in northwestern North America.

28. Any of various plants of the genus Althaea.

31. A small cake leavened with yeast.

33. Botfly larva.

35. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing.

36. A form of address for a man.

37. (informal) Of the highest quality.

38. A very light brown.

40. Avatar of Vishnu.

43. A Loloish language.

45. Athletic facility equipped for sports or physical training.

46. Sour or bitter in taste.

50. Optical instrument consisting of a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision.

52. The vein in the center of a leaf.

54. Atlantic coast round clams with hard shells.

58. One of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.

59. Found along western Atlantic coast.

62. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

63. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep out the sea.

64. United States biochemist (born in Spain) who studied the biological synthesis of nucleic acids (born in 1905).

65. On or toward the lee.

66. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

67. Full of submerged reefs or sandbanks or shoals.

68. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

DOWN 1. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

2. Of or relating to or resembling an axis of rotation.

3. Made of fir or pine.

4. United States writer of poems and plays about racial conflict (born in 1934).

5. A detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work.

6. Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all.

7. Rate of revolution of a motor.

8. Of or like a cecum.

9. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 100 liters.

10. Australian moundbird.

11. Long-bodied long-tailed tropical American wildcat.

12. Dearly loved.

18. A dry scab formed on the skin following a burn or cauterization of the skin.

20. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

22. A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenal cortex.

25. A governor of a province in ancient Persia.

26. The compass point that is one point east of due south.

27. The compass point that is one point east (clockwise) of due north.

29. An annual award for outstanding achievements in television.

30. The biblical name for ancient Syria.

32. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

34. United States newspaper publisher (1858-1935).

39. Not equal in amount.

40. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 100 liters.

41. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.

42. To make a mistake or be incorrect.

44. A hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care.

47. A roll of tobacco for smoking.

48. Swelling from excessive accumulation of serous fluid in tissue.

49. Wild ox.

50. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

51. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

53. German organist and contrapuntist (1685-1750).

55. An interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open.

56. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

57. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology.

60. The 17th letter of the Greek alphabet.

61. A long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) It is you they are all writing or talking about—you are the new Senior Director or some other big name you always wanted. You are proud of your job and you work very hard to keep it. Make sure your boasting is only at the end of your name or in your return address. This afternoon you may find yourself in a long line, waiting to purchase some very much wanted concert tickets. This is a very lucky day for making plans or decisions and finding your way through just about any problem you may discover. A friend of yours is moving from one apartment to another and you want to make yourself available to help make that move easier. You might enjoy their company for an overnight visit. You learn easy and convenient storage ideas this evening.

Non Sequitur

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You enjoy conversations with young people before your day even begins. You exchange jokes with these young people and enjoy looking back into a more carefree time. The opportunity to use one of their jokes in order to lighten up the mood around the workplace is a pleasure for you today. Your current appreciation for just about everything may lead you to overspend while shopping this afternoon.

If you are trying to stay within a budget, check out the library close to you and look for books that talk about good buys in your area. Some people make their living by shopping for others and finding the best products. Most libraries would carry this book, magazine or pamphlet. Enjoy a borrowed movie or book this evening.

Leo (July 23-August 22) It is easy to move forward in projects around the workplace and in any other areas of your life. You are much-admired for your people-skills and your friendliness. Perhaps you are a plumber or an electrician or some other profession that gives you the opportunity to talk with customers in their own homes. As you make house calls, you always say or show the homeowners little tips that will make their life a bit easier. This will build up a customer list for you. Environmental contaminants connected with your work can be a problem and you may find yourself successfully convincing higher-ups of needed changes. Others appreciate your attention to better environmental conditions as well as better working conditions.

Zits

Virgo (August 23-September 22) This is a good day—most any task should move along quite well. You will enjoy the noon hour with a few of your co-workers as you help to execute some kind of a celebration for your boss or a co-worker. This afternoon brings with it lots of work and a great deal of mental activity. Do something different this afternoon, or find some Internet page that lists the entertainment in your city. Find something to do this coming weekend that you would not normally do, perhaps a barbershop quartet, square-dance club or a boat show that may be appearing in your city. Any one of these things will be just what is needed to bring you smiles and chuckles and that wonderful feeling of relaxation.

Tonight is good for planning and chatting with friends.

Libra (September 23-October 22) There is a more energetic and outgoing quality to your lifestyle now.

Besting others in the heat of competition and taking on a leadership role means more to you now than in the past: second best is not good enough! Financial gain and material well-being are among the brighter prospects looming before you now, particularly as you focus in on how much things really mean to you.

There may be a tendency to emphasize the material too much, which could lead to the feeling that the things you own, own you instead. This can be an expansive, creative and even romantic phase, a time you will look back on with pride and fondness. This is a great time to reflect and understand your own situation. Emotions and feelings of those around you are very clear.

Mother Goose and Grimm

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) A radio station

geared for children comes to your attention and you do everything to encourage the nurturing, advancement and advertisement of the station to others. If you are in the educational business, you will do everything you can to get the word out to others. You can demonstrate great understanding and sensitivity to the needs of others and you are in a good position to teach, guide or just enjoy the special personalities of the people around you. Your mind is ever on communication and how you present yourself to others so that you are understood. It is easy for you to express yourself in a crowd—you are a real smoothie. The sight of some wellneeded weather puts you in a good mood tonight; you might even cook.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) If you are retired and wondering how to fill your hours, there is a need for your experience to be taught through the junior colleges in your area. Just think, what you enjoyed as a hobby or a job can be taught to others. You might even want to teach or learn the art of rendering horoscopes. It is good to pass on some of your experience to others that are just now coming into your line of work. The loopholes and the shortcuts are things you would be able to help others understand. Perhaps you fly a plane or are a cattle rancher. A new animal comes into your life and may become a permanent guest. This will bring much laughter to you and it will never break a confidence. A relaxed evening with music can provide opportunities for you to meditate.

Yesterday’s Solution

Capricorn

(December

22-January

19)

Melodramatic behavior is not like you. When you see this behavior in others, you are able to bring about some semblance of peace and truth. Whatever has brought about some confused thinking can now be dealt with in a mature and compassionate way. Now is the time to encourage common-sense thinking and to not give in to the whatif way of thinking. You could be dealing with some form of law today and may find yourself comforting a relative, friend or neighbor. With little patience for red tape and superficialities, you insist on getting right to the heart of any question and putting the difficult behind you. Some sort of task force can be put together to do some detective work. You will look back on this time with pride and fondness.

Yesterday’s Solution

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) The work you do, the way you take care of health and other obligations are important keys to your best potentials now, in many respects. You have begun a routine of vitamins, exercise and a heart healthy diet that seems to suit you very well. There is a need for focus in this area of your life and you set up schedules and stick to it. You may experience some very high-energy days as you begin a new routine. You will also find that energies balance out quite nicely as time moves along. You move to complete some long-term projects that may have become tedious or boring. You could find that you are appreciated for your ability to act and get things done. A need to be the center of attention takes hold in your life this evening; a craving to be appreciated.

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) You may have to excuse yourself from some of the interactions with co-workers today in order to get your work accomplished. You may feel like talking a bit more than usual, happily becoming lost in conversations but this morning would be better served in concentration and focus. There will, however, be an urge to communicate more than usual. With your positive attitude, much can be accomplished.

This afternoon is a productive time to work in a group or team. After work you can be able to express your thoughts. You exchange information with neighbors or siblings. Others may find you especially witty and eccentric.

You are ready for big changes and may even seek advice for ways to proceed when looking to re-decorate or build an addition to your home.

INFORMATION

Thursday, November 4, 2010

35 FIRE BRIGADE Operation Room 112 Al-Madena 22418714 Al-Shohada始a 22545171 Al-Shuwaikh 24810598 Al-Nuzha 22545171 Sabhan 24742838 Al-Helaly 22434853 Al-Fayhaa 22545051 Al-Farwaniya 24711433 Al-Sulaibikhat 24316983 Al-Fahaheel 23927002 Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 24316983 Ahmadi 23980088 Al-Mangaf 23711183 Al-Shuaiba 23262845 Al-Jahra 25610011 Al-Salmiya 25616368

Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw

For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 HOSPITALS Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

POLICE STATION Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha始a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

24874330/9 CLINICS

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

4892674

Al-Omariya

4719048

N.Kheitan

4710044

Rabiya

4732263

Fintas

3900322

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988 AIRLINES

PHARMACIES ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE Ahmadi

PHARMACY Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

ADDRESS Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

PHONE 23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Hawally

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554

EMERGENCY 112

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists: Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea Dr. Masoma Habeeb Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy Dr. Mohsen Abel Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly

25622444 25752222 25321171 25739999 25757700 25732223 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari Dr. Abdel Quttainah

22617700 25625030/60

Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.

Zahra Qabazard Sohail Qamar Snaa Maaroof Pradip Gujare Zacharias Mathew

25710444 22621099 25713514 23713100 24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe 23729596/23729581 Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 General Surgeons:

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

(2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535 Dentists:

Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Neurologists:

Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 25339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555 Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324 Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari

25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr

25329924

Psychologists/Psychotherapists Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677 William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kuwait Airways Wataniya Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines

22433377 24379900 177 22924455 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22425566 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22417901/2433141 22456700 22412284/5 22453820/1

INTERNATIONAL CALLS Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK)

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044

Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Holland (Netherlands) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Ibiza (Spain) Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia

00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689 00241 00220 00995 0049 00233 00350 0030 00299 001473 00590 001671 00502 00224 00592 00509 0031 00504 00852 0036 0034 00354 0091 00873 0062 0098 00964 00353 0039 00225 001876 0081 00962 007 00254 00686 00965 00996 00856 00371 00961 00231 00218 00370 00352 00853 00389

SPECTRUM

36

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Jay-Z plans to run to be US President he rapper thinks he could do a great job as the leader of America with the help of future First Lady Beyonce Knowles but won’t put himself forward for another a few years yet. He said: “Give me a chance. Maybe in eight years, I’ll be the president.”

Although he is keen to enter politics, Jay-Z insists he isn’t disappoint-

T

ed with current President Barack Obama - whose Democratic Party have suffered heavy losses in the US midterm elections. He explained to BBC Newsbeat: “In order to judge someone, you have to judge what they inherit. He inherited the worst economy, war, just a horrible time in American history. So if we think he can solve that, I mean, we

don’t think he’s God, do we? “He’s a human being. He’s going to need time to figure that out. “In order to get to that sort of success and that dream, you have to go through some peaks and valleys. It’s been two years.” Jay-Z has met President Obama since he came to office and has dined with former leader Bill Clinton. The hip-hop mogul - real

name Shawn Carter - has previously admitted he finds it “mind-blowing” that American leaders even know who he is. Jay-Z - who grew up in a tough area of New York - said: “It’s unbelievable because it’s so far away from where I come from. We were the kids who were ignored by every politician. We didn’t have the numbers, the vote, to put anybody in

office, because no matter who was in the office, we didn’t think that it would affect change where we lived.

So nobody went out and voted. “For me, being with Obama or having dinner with Bill Clinton is crazy. It’s mind-blowing, because where I come from is just another world. We were just ignored by politicians - by America in general.”

ergie feels “blessed to be alive” following her addiction to crystal methamphetamine. The Black Eyed Peas singer - who developed a dependency on the drug in 2001 - is proud of her recovery from substance abuse, which she says she managed in her own way, which includes permitting herself to continue drinking alcohol, even though it is not recommended by addiction experts. Fergie real name Stacy Ferguson - explained: “I’m not claiming to be sober. I think that that would be misleading. I drink alcohol. My father has a vineyard, and the wine is really delicious, by the way.

“Anyway, for most addicts, they would advise never to have any sort of substance. I just have my own journey, and I am very blessed to this day to be alive.” The ‘My Humps’ hitmaker admits she always believed she would conquer her problems, even when other people started to doubt her. She said: “There were periods of my life when a lot of people didn’t believe in me. I still had faith in myself. I really had to ask myself life questions. Where do I see myself in five years? Create a ladder for yourself, and walk up the steps. Climb that ladder.” The ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ hitmaker - who married actor Josh Duhamel in 2009 - also admitted she chooses not to let allegations of infidelity surrounding the showbiz couple affect their relationship. She added to America’s Glamour magazine: “Our relationship was stronger than that. We live in a voyeuristic world, and it’s part of our business. But I like to focus on all the perks that I get in this business.”

F

Patel punched Pinto in the face

Knightley’s laptops stolen from her house eira Knightley has been left “mortified” after two laptops were stolen from her house. The 25year-old actress is said to be considering moving out of the London property after thieves raided her luxury apartment by entering through a faulty communal door and took the portable computers, which detectives fear might contain sensitive contents which could be sold on. A source told The Sun newspaper: “Keira is mortified to think anyone has been rummaging around her personal stuff. “She feels violated and doesn’t know if she wants to return to the flat.” The ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ star - who shares the property with her brother Caleb - was in Rome, Italy for the premiere of her latest movie ‘Last Night’ at the time of the theft. be worth £28million - was in Rome, Italy attending the pre-

K

miere of her latest movie ‘Last Night’. Police are now waiting for the actress - who is dating 29-year-old actor Rupert Friend - to return from holiday so she can list anything else missing from the flat. Thieves had previously broken into two flats in the same block the week before, quelling speculation the actress was deliberately targeted. A senior police source said: “Police do not think Keira, who has been stalked in the past, was targeted because of her fame.”

An official police spokesperson confirmed: “Officers from Westminster CID are investigating a residential burglary at the flat. “It is believed to have occurred between 9am and 9pm on October 26. “A forensic team from Westminster CID was dispatched to dust for any fingerprints or shoe marks left behind.”

Aniston loves having butterflies feeling ennifer Aniston loves “the feeling of having butterflies” in her stomach which comes with falling in love. The former ‘Friends’ actress - who has in recent years had a string of unsuccessful relationships with several famous men, including actor Vice Vaughn and musician John Mayer - admits the initial feeling of falling for someone is still her favourite thing, and she hasn’t given up on finding the right man.

She said: “I love the feeling of having butterflies in my stomach.

Love is the greatest challenge for all of us. You can’t control love, you don’t even choose it. On the contrary, I think love chooses you, you need to be open to love. I am, I think it should be spontaneous.” The 41-year-old actress insists she isn’t affected by media speculation about her love life, and insists she

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ev Patel once accidentally punched girlfriend Freida Pinto in the face. The 26-year-old beauty took a blow from Dev, 20, while the couple were promoting ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ - the multiple Oscar-winning movie that brought the pair together in 2008. Freida explained: “The only two people who can understand what happened on ‘Slumdog’ are the two of us.

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Even our families, who appreciate and support us, are still on the outside and that is why we hold it so very dear to our hearts. “Small things bring so much joy to us, like when we were first doing the interviews. There was one time when Dev punched me in my face by mistake!”

However, the Mumbai-born actress revealed she wasn’t the only object of Dev’s attention on the set of the film, as

he used to flirt with everybody. She added: “He had this typical British sense of humor, which is a funny, sexual kind of humor. He would flirt with everybody on the set - he’d just go up to all the women and say, ‘You’re looking very sexy today.’ “And they would get really happy because here was this boy trying to be a man, and trying to flirt with grown-up women.”

actually enjoys reading rumours about herself in magazines. She added in an interview in Britain’s OK! magazine: “I love reading about what my love life is like! I’ve been dealing with speculation about virtually every aspect of

Lady Gaga haunted by Ryan

Fergie feels ‘blessed to be alive’ ady Gaga believes she is being haunted by an “annoying” ghost named Ryan. The ‘Bad Romance’ hitmaker thinks she is being followed everywhere she tours across the world by the specter, who has “terrified” her with his constant presence. A member of her touring crew told the Daily Star newspaper: “She’s been telling us all for months that she has a male spirit called Ryan who travels the world with her. “She’s pretty terrified by this spirit, but more than anything he’s annoying her as he won’t leave her alone. “He’s hasn’t been doing anything too violent or scary but she’s freaked out by his presence. She’s a very spiritual person and in tune with the spiritual world but this is a step too far, even for her.” Although little is known about Ryan the ghost, or why he has chosen to haunt

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Gaga, she has held a seance while in Ireland for her ‘Monster Ball Tour’ over the weekend, in an attempt to get through and see him off. The source added: “She contacted a spirit medium and organized a seance so she could communicate with him and tell him to go away. “She gathered all her friends over the weekend in Belfast, Ireland, and held the seance to find out what he wants. She’s convinced she picked this up as a bad omen. “Although most of her friends were skeptical they agreed to take part.” It has previously been revealed that Gaga, 24, has spent thousands of dollars on ghostbusters and splashed out $47,000 on state of the art Electro Magnetic Field meters to detect specters. A source previously revealed: “She believes in paranormal activity and won’t take any risks when she is on the road. It’s important to her to be safe from spirits.”

Chung’s effortless look lexa Chung admits she doesn’t make much effort with her appearance. The TV presenter - who is often voted one of the world’s most stylish women - insists she doesn’t have a beauty routine and is glad boyfriend Alex Turner has the same attitude as her. She told Stylist magazine: “That’s because I’ve got lovely people who do my hair and make-up for me. If I’m on my own I’ll deliberate over my clothes but never my beauty regime. “I don’t make much effort with my appearance so it would disturb me if my boyfriend did. Vain men are gross!” However, while has no skincare routine, Alexa admits to being worried about getting wrinkles. The 26-year-old beauty said: “Recently I’ve been getting paranoid about wrinkles. I haven’t actually found any yet but every time I look in the mirror I search my forehead for the first signs.” Although she has received criticism for her tiny frame, Alexa insists she has a healthy attitude towards food and is no longer obsessed by exercise like when she was a model. She said: “I’m rubbish. I used to swim every day but now I can’t even get myself to Pilates class.” —Bang Showbiz

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my personal life for years.

I’ve grown indifferent to all stories. So much gets written that it begins to turn off the public and people stop believing all the crap.” Jennifer does her best to live “as quietly” as she can, and credits yoga with helping her “both physically and emotionally”.

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Music & Movies

Leonard Cohen postpones Cambodia gig indefinitely Indian singer Vasudha Sharma performs during the music launch of Bollywood actor, writer, director and playwright Makrand Deshpande’s upcoming Hindi film “Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hain Tu” in Mumbai on November 2, 2010. — AFP Leonard Cohen ans of Canadian singer Leonard Cohen reacted with disappointment yesterday after the artist delayed a plan for his first-ever concert in Cambodia indefinitely. The musical and literary giant known for songs such as “So Long, Marianne” and “First We Take Manhattan” was to perform at Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium on November 27 in the only scheduled gig in Asia on his world tour. The concert “has been postponed to a date to be announced due to logistical issues insurmountable in the given time prior to the performance,” organizers said in a statement on the Mekong Sessions website on Tuesday.

“Leonard Cohen remains committed to performing in Cambodia,” the statement added, without specifying a date. It said all ticket holders would receive full refunds.

Following the announcement, dozens of Cohen fans flooded online message boards to voice their dismay. “I can’t find words to express my disappointment and anger,” wrote an Internet user by the name of Gibbons on the Leonard Cohen Forum. Before the

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postponement, the concert had come in for criticism for its expensive tickets. Single tickets started at 282.50 US dollars-an eye-wateringly high price in a country where around 30 percent of the population lives on less than 50 cents a day.

Proceeds of the concert were due to go to local charities. “I wonder whether having set ridiculously high prices and therefore not selling enough tickets is the main insurmountable logistical issue,” wrote Internet user Sok Poupe on Khmer 440, a popular website for expats in Cambodia. Cohen returned to the stage in 2008 af ter a 15-year absence during which he spent time in a Buddhist monastery in California.

More than 1,000 renditions of Cohen’s work have been recorded by artists as diverse as R.E.M., Elton John, Willie Nelson and Tori Amos. Cohen is also a published novelist and poet.

The postponement of the Phnom Penh concert is not the first upset of Cohen’s tour. Promoters AEG Live recently announced the cancellation of his December 4 performance in Honolulu, Hawaii, also citing “logistical issues”. —AFP

Swift’s new album biggest opener in 5 years

Watchman charged with killing actor in Philippines olice filed homicide charges yesterday against a Philippine village watchman who allegedly shot a masked actor he mistook for a real gunman during the filming of a movie. Watchman Eddie Cuizon told investigators he was checking his neighborhood in central Cebu city for armed men when he tried to confront two masked men on a motorcycle and opened fire as they sped awayunaware that they were actors. Police investigator Roger Nedamo said Cuizon was charged with homicide and violation of a gun ban in the death of actor Kirk Abella, 32.

The gun ban was in place because

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of a local election. Normally, watchmen are not allowed to carry firearms in Philippines, where many street killings, including those targeting political activists and journalists, are perpetrated by motorcycle-riding gunmen. Abella was playing a vigilante in the low-budget movie “Going Somewhere” by British theater and film director Alan Lyddiard.

Dozens of people watching the filming late Saturday thought the gunshot they heard was part of the movie, said Parian district community police chief Alexis Relado. Lyddiard’s Filipino assistant, Beverly Tanedo, said in a cell phone text message to

The Associated Press that they were “baffled why it happened, having taken the necessary precautions and have asked the help of the police for security.” “Our immediate concern now is to help Kirk’s family get through this,” she said, adding that they were helping the family to hire lawyers. She did not respond to queries on plans for the movie.

Assistant Prosecutor Noel Sellona, who will review the police complaint before deciding whether to file a case in court, said the family wanted Cuizon to be charged with murder instead of homicide, a lighter crime punishable by up to 20 years in

prison. But police opted for homicide charges after determining the shooting was not premeditated.

“It wasn’t planned. It was plain stupidity,” he said. Victor Sablada, who played the motorcycle driver, said Cuizon introduced himself as a police officer. “I told him, ‘Buddy, we are just shooting,”‘ he said. Sablada said that as he revved up the motorcycle and started to move, Cuizon jumped on the seat behind Abella and shot him point-blank in the back.

Cuizon fell off the motorcycle and Abella, mortally wounded, slumped to the ground, his body hitting a lamp post, he said.

Spanish actress Emma Suarez poses during a photocall for the presentation of Spanish director Agusti Vila’s film “La mosquitera” (The mosquito net) yesterday in Madrid. —AFP

Taylor Swift

By Keith Caulfield aylor Swif t’s third album cracked the million-unit mark during its first week of sale in the United States, the biggest opening tally in more than five year, according to data issued on Tuesday. The country-pop star sold 1,047,000 copies of “Speak Now” during the week ended Oct 31. It’s the largest sales week for an album since rapper 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” bowed at No 1 with 1,141,000 in March 2005.

Since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991, there have only been 16 instances where an album sold at least a million copies in a week. The last artist to achieve this feat was rapper Lil Wayne’s, who sold 1,006,000 copies of “Tha Carter III” in June 2008. The record of 2,416,000 units is held by ‘N Sync’s 2000 release “No Strings Attached.”

A day af ter its Oct 25 release, industry pundits were projecting that “Speak Now” would sell between 800,000 and 900,000 copies by the end of SoundScan’s tracking week. Those predictions got even sunnier over the weekend, and by Monday,

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it seemed a sure bet that the 1 million mark would be met.

Swift’s previous album, “Fearless,” debuted at No 1 in November 2008 with 592,000 copies. It spent 11 non-consecutive weeks at the summit. A few more Swift milestones to note: “Speak Now” has the second-largest sales week of any country album since 1991. Only Garth Brooks’ 1998 effort “Double Live” moved more, when it started with 1,085,000. Thus, Swif t also achieves the biggest sales week of any female country act since 1991. Previously, the highwater mark was set by fellow crossover diva Shania Twain when her “Up!” started with 874,000 at No 1 in 2002.

And, “Speak Now” owns the biggest week for any album by a woman-regardless of genre-since 2000, when Britney Spears’ “Oops! I Did It Again” danced into the No 1 spot with 1,319,000. In total, just four albums by women have notched millionplus weeks. Aside from Swift and Spears, the Whitney Houston-fueled “Bodyguard” soundtrack moved 1,061,000 during the busy Christmas week of 1992 and Norah Jones’ “Feels Like Home” debuted at No. 1 with 1,022,000 in 2004. — Reuters

‘Cold Feet’s’ Nesbitt cast as dwarf in ‘The Hobbit’ o l d Feet” actor James Nesbitt has been cast as a dwarf in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit”, the director’s Wingnut Films said yesterday.

Nesbitt will play the dwarf Bofur in the two-part prequel to “The Lord of the Rings”, which is due to begin filming in New Zealand in February after an industrial dispute that had threatened the production was settled late last month.

“James’s charm, warmth and wit are legendary as is his range as an actor in both comedic and dramatic roles,” Jackson said in a statement. The statement said pre-production for the movies was in full swing and they were scheduled for release in December 2012 and December 2013. British actor Martin Freeman from “The Office” was confirmed as the lead character of Bilbo Baggins last month. — AFP

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Film academy to honor Godard’s art, not ideology mid concerns that Jean-Luc him for his contributions to film in the Godard may harbor anti-Semitic New Wave era. It didn’t look at his overall views, the Academy of Motion life.” “The academy has given awards to Picture Arts and Sciences is moving forother people who have not had all stellar ward with plans to honor the filmmaker at lifestyles,” Sherak added. The Jewish its second annual Governors Awards.

Journal and The New York Times have Godard is to be honored alongside film published stories questioning Godard’s historian and preservationist Kevin feelings about Jews, citing examples in his Brownlow, director-producer Francis films and in books about him that could Ford Coppola and actor Eli be interpreted as anti-Semitic.

Wallach at a private ceremoFormer academy President ny on Nov 13.

Sid Ganis, who is producThough the academy ing the Governors has received some Awards, said the recent complaints about reports and ensuing Godard being selected complaints haven’t to receive an honorary affected his approach to Oscar this year, acadethe event. my President Tom “The task is clear, and Sherak said the 79-yearit is about honoring him for old French-born director his art,” Ganis said, callis being recognized soleing Godard “one of the ly for his artistic contriIn this Sept 1, 1995 great poets of cinema.” butions. “The academy file photo, French Still, Ganis said, “no is a purist kind of organipossibility of any kind filmmaker Jean-Luc of anti-Semitism is tolzation,” Sherak said in Godard is shown in erated, artist or no an interview Tuesday.

“The award was given to Frankfurt. — AP artist.” —AP

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Cuizon, 52, told police he had been woken up by a concerned citizen who alerted him that armed men were seen around the neighborhood.

Volunteer watchmen help police keep the peace and patrol the streets. They are normally armed only with batons and are not supposed to carry firearms. Abella was dead on arrival at a hospital. Realizing what had happened, Cuizon surrendered to police.

He was remorseful and wanted to seek forgiveness from Abella’s family, police chief Relado said. Abella’s sister Cleofe Escanillan said her brother was a bit player and worked occasionally as a waiter. — AP

‘Lion King’ actress dies from leukemia hannon Tavarez, the 11year-old who starred on Broadway in “The Lion King” and whose battle with leukemia won the hearts of many, including Alicia Keys, Rihanna and 50 Cent, has died.

Shannon died Monday afternoon at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, on Long Island, of acute myelogenous leukemia, a common type of leukemia among adults, but rare among children.

“She was a remarkable and talented young lady who touched the lives of those she entertained, as well as those who cared for her over the past several months,” medical center said Tuesday in a statement. Shannon, who played the young lion Nala, had received an umbilical-cord blood transplant in August.

The procedure was performed as an alternative to a bone marrow transplant. Her doctor, Dr. Larry Wolfe, said that a perfect bone marrow match for Shannon could not be found.

The search for a match was especially daunting because Shannon’s mother is AfricanAmerican and her father is Hispanic, from the Dominican Republic. For bone marrow transplants, minorities and those of mixed ancestry have a more difficult time finding good matches because there aren’t as many people from those groups signed up as potential donors. Right now, 83 percent of African-American patients who need marrow transplants don’t find matches after six months of searching, according to the National Marrow Donor Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping patients receive transplants.

On her website, which includes a photo of Shannon as Nala and a video of her singing “The Circle of Life,” the 78pound actress said, “Some people think that the test for compatibility is scary! ... All it

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File photo shows actress Shannon Tavarez is seen backstage at the Minskoff theater in New York where she was playing the part of Young Nala in the Broadway musical, “The Lion King.” —AP really takes to get started is a cotton swab of the inside of your cheek. “So please get tested today. Who knows? You might be my match. Or, you may be able to help other young people with similar illnesses. And remember... ‘One swab will do the job.’”

Shannon was forced to quit the show in April. She beat out hundreds of other hopefuls last year to earn her spot playing Nala, the childhood pal and girlfriend of Simba, hero of “The Lion King.” She split the role with another girl, performing four shows a week for six months. In a hospital interview with The Associated Press after being diagnosed, the young actress talked about her love for the theater. —AP

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Fashion

Vera Wang:

20 tips learned over 20 years

By Samantha Critchell

because the reviewers are ignoring the bravery it takes on a designer’s part to churn out collection after collection, — on a strict schedule, — to an often fickle audience. A filmmaker, for example, often can reshoot something or extend a deadline when something is not working. A designer does not have that luxury.

16.Dressing athletes is a crazy winning, and losing, sport Skating was such an important part of her own life that she gets very emotional-

5. It is not about the money. It is about the money, always “We creative people don’t like worrying about it, but to be in business today, you have to face the reality of the business climate,” Wang declares.

“I’ve redefined my business model constantly.” Wang’s current partnerships include more affordable lines at Kohl’s and David’s Bridal. Business deals that make sense while maintaining integrity allow her to let the creative juices continue for her primary collection, which is costly, she says.

o make a name for yourself in fashion, especially a household name, there is a lot to learn about timing, trends, egos. Vera Wang has mastered many of those lessons in the 20 years she has led her own namesake company.

Wang made a list for The Associated Press of 20 nuggets of wisdom she has gained in her career, not only as her own boss but reaching back to her time competitive ice-skating (she was a contender for the 1968 US Olympic team), as a

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This Sept 20, 2002 file photo shows designer Vera Wang, center, as she is applauded by her models and the audience following the presentation of her spring-summer 2003 collection in New York. — AP photos pretty and sexy. Winning her over is all that matters.

13.Ready-to-wear: always out of my comfort zone The runway is Wang’s chance to show off who she is and her aesthetic. (Think artful and dramatic.) She says: “Designing this is a torturous process. It’s never easy for me, but

This March 5, 2006 file photo shows British actress Keira Knightley as she arrives for the 78th Academy Awards wearing a silky one-shoulder gown custom-made by Vera Wang in Los Angeles.

This Sept 14, 2010 file photo shows the Vera Wang spring 2011 collection modeled during Fashion Week in New York.

Vogue editor, and as a designer at Ralph Lauren. She remains on alert for new tricks and strategies (that seems to be tip No 21).

1. It’s not just about what you design, it is whom you dress Wang tackled the red carpet long before she launched her runway collection.

She was, however, already making bridal gowns and competition skating costumes, so it was not a huge leap.

“I jumped into celebrity dressing when it was pretty new. There had been a moment of Scaasi with Barbra Streisand and Bob Mackie with Cher, but not in more recent times, so I jumped in with Valentino and Armani, and there was an article in Women’s Wear about how I was dressing Sharon Stone,” Wang says. Stone’s 1998 Oscar-night combo of a purple skirt by Wang and white button-down shirt was publicity Wang never could have bought. Wang still has a strong awards-show presence, but, she says, it is tougher now. “Now it’s the fashion Olympics to get people to wear your stuff. ... The Oscars are killer.”

2. Timing is everything Even though her preference was for sportswear, the opportunity in fashion in the late ‘80s-early ‘90s was eveningwear and bridal because those were big, expensive show-stopping pieces in the spirit of Christian Lacroix. Now, Wang says, in this era of Theory and Topshop, she probably

would do the reverse and start with contemporary, everyday clothes.

3. Luck helps too: It is better to be lucky than smart Sometimes the big break comes from something out of your control. Wang points to Jason Wu, designer of Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown and many more outfits since then. He is a young talent worthy of all the hype and praise, but there are other stillundiscovered designers who are, too.

“Smart” comes into play when you recognize the lucky break you’ve been handed and make the most of it, Wang says.

4. Nothing is new in fashion; it is about how you reinterpret it There are only so many ways a garment can be sewn to be functional and flattering, Wang says. The challenge for the designers is to twist it and make it their own.

This April 17, 2008 file photo shows the Vera Wang spring 2009 collection modeled during Bridal Week in New York.

This product image released

by Kohl’s shows an outfit from the Simply Vera by Vera Wang line available at Kohl’s.

This Feb 29, 2004 file photo shows designer Vera Wang as she arrives for the 76th annual Academy Awards show in Los Angeles.

6. Relevance is relevant Right now, in 2010, women want clothes that move seamlessly within their lifestyle and within their budget. If you cannot mix a collection piece with something from a mass retailer, rarely will it see the light of day. “Women don’t run around in ball gowns, I’m sorry to say.”

7. Everyone deserves true fashion at any price No matter how much something costs, high or low, it is an investment by the shopper, and she should be getting something that looks good. Style should be democratic, Wang says.

8. Fragrance is about the most personal thing a person can wear “Fragrance makes a statement about who you are,” says Wang. You want to be a girlie girl? There’s a scent for that.

Rebel rocker? There’s a scent for that, too. City sophisticate? Check.

“Girls can attain fragrance and incorporate it into their daily lives and not spend a fortune.” (And the messaging incorporated into fragrance ads really helps define your brand to a larger audience, she adds.)

9. A pair of shoes or boots can create attitude in a second You are not wearing the same persona in ballet flats as heels, and clunky Uggs create a different aura altogether, says Wang.

10.Fashion is expressive Building on the shoe-attitude theory, use accessories to change your outfit

This Sept 15, 2005 file photo shows the detail on the back of a dress during the presentation of the spring 2006 Vera Wang collection in New York. depending on your mood, but keep the core pieces classic. Change proportions, wear fine jewelry with Tshirts or a chunky necklace with a gown, she advises. But then keep those pieces and wear them a new way next year. “Twenty years ago, fashion was all about rules: You wore a pump to a luncheon and a certain Hermes bag. Now it is about what works for you: be preppy, downtown or Goth, or be all of those on a given day.”

11.In design, all people have is their own barometer to guide them Yes, there are larger cultural trends that designers need to be aware of, but Wang says if she is not “feeling” a particular color or silhouette, no matter how popular, it will not work in her collection. If she does not believe in something, how can she persuade others to?

12.“I have spent my entire career styling, dressing and designing only for women. Never underestimate the client.” Wang says she does not give a thought to what men will think of women wearing her clothes. If the woman feels pretty and sexy, she is

Klum aims for ‘cool mom’ in New Balance line

By Samantha Critchell eidi Klum has a closet full of stylish clothes for her public life on TV, red carpets and the party scene. It was more difficult to find things to pull off the “cool mom” look, though, so she decided to start designing them herself. Klum already dabbled in design with jewelry, jeans and maternity, but, of course, she is best known for modeling and TV ’s “Project Runway.” Her New Balance collection, to be sold exclusively on Amazon, is her most complete design project.

“I definitely design with myself in mind,” Klum says. “I always have myself in mind with everything that I do. I think it’s all organic to me,” she says. “I shouldn’t have to wrack my brain of what I’m going to do next. It’s what I do with all my business; it

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Heidi Klum always comes out of something I love.” And, she says, she loves uncomplicated clothes that make sense and also pull your look together.

Being who she is, with the career she has had, Klum says

she cannot ever be “schlumpy,” even when she is not on official duty. “I asked myself, ‘How do I start my day?’, and then I worked in chronological order. These are the go-to pieces that are stylish and comfortable for running

errands. ... The collection will build out to other things; maybe someday there’ll be something for a sexy dinner with your husband.” But as she says, the pieces right now focus on active daywear: loose tunics over seam-

less leggings, microfiber hoodies over ruched, cropped pants, a boyfriend-sweater dress nipped with a belt at the waist.

On a recent episode of “Project Runway,” the aspiring designers were asked to create basic, wearable pieces, and Klum says that is when it hit her how hard it is to jazz up a hoodie compared to an evening gown. (She ended up buying some pieces for the New Balance line designed by the winner of that challenge, Andy South.)

“You can’t do feathers when you’re dropping the kids off at school, but you want to be a cool mom or a cool executive. I’m always looking for things that make you stand out and get compliments.” And, she adds, should you see someone pulling off a great, everyday style, tell her.

She does. “It’s nice to give compliments, too.”—AP

This March 23, 1998 file photo shows actress Sharon Stone, and director Mike van Diem as they pose for photographers backstage after he won an Oscar for Best ForeignLanguage film at the 70th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Sharon Stone is wearing a lavender Vera Wang skirt. that’s been good. I always push myself out of my comfort zone. I don’t see a reason to do it if I don’t.”

14.Bridal: conservative, flamboyant; you never know The bridal collection has to have much broader appeal and be targeted toward the client’s tastes, Wang says. Most brides are not as influenced by fashion trends as they are the vision of the wedding dress they always have dreamed of. She considers herself more of a costume designer in the spirit of Edith Head than a taste-maker when it comes to bridal.

15.It takes courage to put yourself out there Reviews can be hard to read, she says,

ly wound up with the skaters she has dressed, including Nancy Kerrigan, Michelle Kwan and Evan Lysacek, she explains. She wants the clothing to contribute to a performance instead of hamper it, which could happen if things are not cut perfectly.

17.You are not always successful “I had to learn to dust myself off and try again. That’s my real story. I went to Vogue, and I was not getting the big jobs, and then I went to Ralph Lauren. I didn’t feel like there was much more I could do at the time there, and I think that’s given me the opportunity to struggle. You have to struggle to appreciate the successes in your life. It is not real otherwise.”

18.You are only as good as your team No one can do it all, Wang says, herself included. Fashion is not unlike a team sport, where there are a handful of people who get the glory, but it took many to get them where they are.

19.Keep fighting. Do not sit on your laurels If you hang back, even just one season or one awards show, someone else is waiting to take your place, she says.

20.Everyone’s journey/route is different Wang says she tries hard not to compare herself to other designers, businesswomen, wives or mothers. Everyone makes choices based on their own situation, and no one else will ever understand those decisions fully, she says, they can only second-guess them. “I’ve tried to create a life for me that is complete. The truth is, everyone’s route is different. It doesn’t mean one is better than the other; they’re just different”—AP

Swiss seek spot on Europe’s fashion catwalk

By Andre Lehmann ore commonly awash with dowdy dark-suited bankers, the Swiss city of Zurich is bidding this week to join Paris and Milan as a capital of style as it hosts its first ever “Fashion Days”.”There is now a young generation of Swiss creators who deserve international attention,” said the Zurich-based blogger Play Hunter-a pseudonym-whose site playlust.net tracks new fashion trends. Some 40 designers from Switzerland and elsewhere put their creativity on show from yesterday on the catwalks of the northeastern economic capital. Adding a touch of glamour, A-lister Penelope Cruz’s sister Monica will unveil the line the sisters have designed for the event’s sponsor, high street Swiss clothes chain Charles Voegele.

“It’s the first time such an event has taken place in Switzerland,” said Anne Gorgerat Kall, spokeswoman for the fourday event. “We want to recreate what happens every year during the fashion weeks in London, Paris and New York, with the difference that in Zurich the event will be open to

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the public,” she told AFP. Switzerland has been slow to embrace the creative zest and glitz of the fashion world, even though its specialist textile makers have carved a discrete niche as creators and suppliers of high quality fabrics for upmarket foreign fashion houses.

The decade-old Swiss Textiles Award, whose 2010 laureate will be unveiled during the Fashion Days, rewards young international fashion talent every year. The Alpine country also has a pedigree in the clean-cut creative world of graphic design and produces world class architectural talent. But Zurich couturier Heiner Wiedemann, who specializes in evening dresses, says the fashion industry is still dismissed as “superficial” in Switzerland.

“It’s rather difficult to gain acceptance in Switzerland, there’s no fashion industry like in France for example and finance remains hard to come by,” he explained. Organizers are hoping that about 1,000 guests each evening and 150 journalists will help homebred creative talent find international recognition. — AFP

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Fashion

WWD picks 100 designers who shaped fashion

By Samantha Critchell rom Adolfo to Yohji Yamamoto, Women’s Wear Daily has recorded the A to Z of fashion over the last 100 years. There are the suffragettes, flappers, career women in pantsuits and, later, miniskirts. Fashion is an industry that’s always on the hunt for the next big thing. Yet, in researching a new book

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about a century of style, “WWD 100 Years, 100 Designers,” executive editor Bridget Foley found some constants. “So many designers, when they talk about their work talk about women first,” Foley says. “There’s an ongoing idea and a belief among the very best designers that you have to push forward, but also that you also always have to consider what women will wear.” For all the declarations

of trends, including hemlines, silhouettes and embellishments, Foley finds that most garments-be they skinny jeans or pencil skirts-are consistently available year after year, even when they’re not winning headlines.

And, she adds, however modern and urban we like to think black is, women have been wearing it-regularly-since the 1920s. The power of buzz has been

around even longer. Some of the designers included in the book were chosen because they literally changed the shape of fashion: Paul Poiret, Claire McCardell and Christian Dior, among them. But someone such as Gabrielle Chanel (known, of course, as Coco) really created an entire culture around a brand. A 1965 WWD quote about Chanel: “Chanel is more than a look-it’s an institution-it’s a

belief and a way of life-which this clever and very crafty artiste has done.

She knows that her ever hungry Fashion Barbies are women and girls who eat and drink and dance-and love.”

Winnowing down this list of most influential designers to 100 was harder than it sounds, especially balancing new talent like Jason Wu against Dior and Oscar de la Renta, Foley says. “Is this all good fash-

ion?” she wonders. “I’m not sure it’s all good fashion, but it’s all representative fashion, and much of it is really good.”

Others who made the cut: Giorgio Armani, Cristobal Balenciaga, Andre Courreges, Francisco Costa, Calvin Klein, Charles James, Norma Kamali, Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte, Donna Karan, Madeline Vionnet, and both Gianni and Donatella Versace. — AP

Models showcase creations by designer Leslie Variyan.

A model showcases a creation by designer Noraini.

Islamic

Models showcase creations by designer Amir Luqman.

Fashion Festival

A model showcases a creation by designer Jenny Tjahyawati during the Islamic Fashion Festival at the Malaysia International Fashion Week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday. — AP photos A model showcases creation by designer Aktif Bestari.

Models showcase creations by designer Tengku Marina.

A model showcases a creation by designer Itang Yunasz.

www.kuwaittimes.net

A big admission ahead of bigger mission for Batman

By Matt Moore atman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, is going public about his role behind the Dark Knight. After a lifetime spent wearing the cowland a scowl that’s made him the scourge of Gotham’s madmen-the fictional billionaire is taking full responsibility for keeping the caped crusader financed to fight crime.

The admission is unveiled yesterday in the final pages of “Batman and Robin” No 16 that marks the last issue in a run by Scottish writer Grant Morrison.

The acknowledgment in the final pages comes as Wayne holds a news conference where he asks those gathered: “Some of you may have wondered ... how does a man like Batman afford to constantly update his crime-fighting technology? Where does his money come from?

“Well, the answer is me.”

The confession, Morrison said, is part of a detailed effort that puts into motion a plan for Batman Incorporated, a

B

global network of Batmen from China to Argentina to fight crime worldwide.

Morrison told The Associated Press that the decision was made to protect Wayne’s secret identity by deflecting attention away from speculation it was he who wore the cape.

“We’ve sidetracked the media that he has actually been financing Batman all these years,” Morrison explained of the long arc he’s written that has seen the Dark Knight plunge through time and space and have his mantle taken up by former Robin Dick Grayson. “He is the man behind the Batman, but he is not Batman.” In doing so, Wayne is free to take his crime fighting international by building what Morrison calls a “global, international army of Batmen. Batman in China, Batman in Japan, Batman in Russia. Expanding the Batman brand to areas where he really hasn’t been before.” Those tales will unfold in full in the first issue of “Batman Incorporated,” due out Nov 17. —AP

Octopus Paul II, successor of the World Cup oracle Paul, makes his first public appearance in an aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany, yesterday.

—AP

Germany unveils new ‘pyschic’ octopus-and he’s French ctopus Paul II, successor to the tentacled tipster that wowed the world with his uncanny knack of correctly predicting World Cup football games, was unveiled amid great fanfare yesterday in Germany. The new cephalopod, also named Paul in honor of his world-famous predecessor who passed away last week, was lowered gently into his tank in a ceremony carried live on national television. Paul the younger initially appeared more publicity-shy than his media-hungry forerunner, sticking closely to the side walls of the tank as the TV cameras rolled. The aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany, limited the number of photographers allowed into the room, amid hefty interest from around the world.

“We got him from near Montpellier” in southern France, an aquarium employee told AFP. However, the German aquarium was keen to downplay the possibility that Paul II will inflict the same pain to bookmakers as Paul I did, to the joy of punters around the world. “No one yet knows whether Paul will be able to follow in his footsteps, or rather, his tentacle steps,” aquarium spokeswoman Tanja Munzig said in a statement. Paul I shot to fame by defying the odds to predict eight successive

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In this comic book cover image released

by DC Comics, ‘Batman and Robin’ No 16 is shown. In this edition, Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, is going public about his role behind the Dark Knight. —AP

Australia town seeks new residents with one-dollar rent n outback Australian town is bucking the country’s cut-throat housing market by offering farmhouses for rent at one dollar (99 US cents) a week to families prepared to move to the country. The town of Trundle, with a population of about 380, is seeking people from all over Australia to fill six homes, some of which have been vacant for years as the region suffered a long and devastating drought.

But with the town enjoying its best season in a decade and wheat and cereal crops flourishing, locals have banded together to bring in new people to reinvigorate the community. “It is an idea for people to have a tree change (move to the country) and come out to the Outback of Australia,” campaign spokeswoman Cherie Quade told AFP yesterday.

“Trundle is not dying but we just wanted to avoid that slippery slope where you lose vital services and the town sort of goes in a quick spiral downhill.

We are just doing what we can to preempt any disasters.” The notion of ditching busy city lifestyles, beset by increasingly unaffordable housing, for a “tree-

A

change” country life has taken hold in Australia in recent years, a counter to declining country populations. Primary school teacher Quade said the latest initiative hopes to bring 10 new families into the town some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northwest of Sydney to breathe new life into its schools.

“This scheme has really invigorated everybody, everybody’s really excited,” she said. “The kids are getting onboard, (saying) ‘Miss Quade, are there people coming to live in Trundle?’.”

Quade said a new family coming to the town would be “a really big deal”, joking that the local children were excited because it would mean they could play with other children and “not just their cousins”.

“We are offering that unique country, small community spirit,” she said. “Everybody knows you and says hello to you down the street-it’s that welcoming community.” There is a catch thoughsome of the houses have been vacant for a long time and are in need of renovation so applicants should ideally be handy with a paint brush and hammer. —AFP

Octopus Paul II

Harry Potter blamed for India’s owl crisis

games during the recent World Cup in South Africa, including Spain’s 1-0 triumph against the Netherlands in the final.

For the prediction, two boxes were lowered into the salty soothsayer’s tank, each containing a mussel and the flag of the two opposing teams. Watched by a myriad of reporters, Paul would head to one box, wrench open the lid and gobble the tasty morsel, with the box he plumped for being deemed the likely winner.

His astonishing ability made him a global media phenomenon. His later predictions were carried live on rolling news channels in Germany.

He died peacefully in his sleep aged nearly three on October 26, sparking hundreds of messages of condolence from his 60,000-strong Facebook fan club and some less serious comments.

“Paul the octopus is dead. Bet he didn’t see that coming,” wrote several users on microblogging site Twitter. It is unlikely, however, that around five-month-old Paul II will live to give predictions for the next World Cup in 2014 in Brazil, given that the life expectancy of octopuses in captivity is around three years.

Whether he will make the next European championship, in Ukraine and Poland in 2012, is also far from being a safe bet. — AFP

China bid to regain looted relics a tough task

By Sebastien Blanc hina’s call on museums and antique collectors around the world to return relics looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing 150 years ago is unlikely to yield any significant results, experts say. The Army Museum in Paris and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum are just two of the institutions that possess items taken from the former resort for Qing dynasty emperors-and are not about to give them up easily, they say. “As Western institutions and individuals are unlikely to respond, this call obviously targets domestic consumption, which the Chinese leaders hope will galvanise the nation,” said John Wong, history professor at the University of Sydney.

The Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, was pillaged by a joint British and French military expedition during the second Opium War on October 18-19, 1860. The event is seen as a national humiliation at the hands of Western armies, and every anniversary of the destruction of this “wonder of the world”-as French writer Victor Hugo described it-gives rise to a nationalistic push. Beijing estimates that at least 1.5 million relics were pillaged by the armies, but according to historian Bernard Brizay, author

C ndian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blamed fans of Harry Potter for the demise of wild owls in the country as children seek to emulate the boy wizard by taking the birds as pets. The hit books and films, which are popular in India, feature a snowy owl called Hedwig who is a feathered sidekick for the Potter character and used to deliver mail.

“Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls,” Ramesh said yesterday, according to comments reported by the BBC. His remarks came as wildlife group Traffic presented a report called “Imperilled Custodians of the Night” which warned about the declining owl population in India.

Researchers found that a growing number of owls were being trapped, traded or killed in black magic rituals. Traffic called for tougher measures to protect the bird ahead of Diwali, one of the biggest Hindu festivals, which starts on Friday. It said owls were sometimes sacrificed on auspicious occasions.—AFP

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Picture taken on October 19, 2010, shows a man taking photos of a woman in front of the ruins of Haiyan Hall at the Old Summer Palace, also called Yuanmingyuan, in Beijing. —AFP

File photo shows people visiting the Old Summer Palace, also called Yuanmingyuan.

of a book on the destruction of the palace, this figure is exaggerated.

He told AFP the raid was not as clear-cut as the official version indicates, saying: “There is what was stolen from the Yuanmingyuan and there is what was sold by Beijing antique dealers.” In other words, relics stolen from the resort-bits of porcelain, enamel, sculptures, furniture, silk paintings-were legally sold long after the raid. Two such items are bronze fountainheads that belonged to late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge, which were auctioned for about 20 million dollars each last year in a move that angered China.

The Yuanmingyuan park authority last week called for a boycott of auctions featuring looted relics, but experts say such a plea would fall on deaf ears.

“Every month in London, Hong Kong, Paris or New York, items from the Yuanmingyuan are sold.

And when people know that they come from the Yuanmingyuan, prices increase,” Brizay said. The expert added that the world’s top museums would never respond to Beijing’s call, noting: “Items that are in museums will never be returned to China.” Museums are “reluctant” to indicate where their collections come from, even if they sometimes have “identifiable characteristics,” he added. —AFP