'Remorseful' Saleh bids farewell, leaves Yemen - Kuwait Times

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Outgoing president heading to US, opponents rally
Former minister, envoy Sheikh Saud dies
KUWAIT: HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (center), family
members and other officials attend the funeral of Sheikh Saud Al-Nasser Al-
Sabah yesterday. (Inset) Then oil minister Sheikh Saud gestures during a press
conference in this Dec 29, 1998 file photo. — AP/AFP (See Page 3)
By B Izzak
KUWAIT: The election campaign has
heated up with just 10 days remaining
for election day. A majority of the candidates
have either opened their election
headquarters or are about to do so in the
coming few days. Opposition and progovernment
candidates traded accusations
on the intentions of each group
with the opposition warning that if the
“forces of corruption” win the election,
the consequences will be catastrophic
for Kuwait and its future. Pro-government
candidates openly charged that
opposition candidates were aiming to
destabilise the country and the regime
and urged voters to help support the
government to revive the economy and
development.
Former Islamist Salafist MP Khaled Al-
Sultan called on the government to stay
away from the election of the next
Assembly speaker, adding that the government
should not participate in the
election and leave it to MPs. No one has
so far openly announced he will contest
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012 SAFAR 29, 1433 AH www.kuwaittimes.net
‘Remorseful’ Saleh bids
farewell, leaves Yemen
Oppn, pro-govt
hopefuls clash
Candidates down to 321
in the
news
Top court clears
alleged Qaeda cell
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s supreme court yesterday confirmed
the acquittal of six nationals charged with
plotting attacks on a US military base in 2009 after
forming an Al-Qaeda cell, one of their lawyers said.
The ruling is final after the men were also acquitted
by a lower court in May 2010 and by the court of
appeal in November 2010, Abdullah Al-Kandari said
in a statement. The men, along with two other fugitives,
were charged with plotting to attack the US
military base at Arifjan, that is home to more than
15,000 American troops. The case of the two others,
who were tried and acquitted in absentia by the lower
courts, did not come up before the supreme court
because they are still outside the country. Five of the
men were arrested in August 2009 while the sixth
defendant was already serving a life sentence for a
2002 attack on the US military in Kuwait that killed
an American soldier.
the speaker’s post, but candidates like
Ahmad Al-Saadoun, Mohammad Al-
Sager, Abdullah Al-Roumi and former
minister and MP Ali Al-Rashed have been
tipped to run for the coveted post. All of
them declined to say they are running
but all of them said they will wait for the
election results before making their
intentions public. The government has
16 ministers and all of them can vote on
almost all issues like elected MPs
although they are unelected. As a result,
candidates who get the government’s
support are highly expected to win.
In another development, local satellite
television station Al-Erada which was
established just a few days ago to cover
the election has been shut down. The
government had been trying in vain to
close the station because it started
broadcasting without obtaining the necessary
license from the information ministry.
Owners of the station said that they
had established the station outside
Kuwait and started broadcasting on
Egypt’s Nilesat and accordingly they do
Continued on Page 13
Iraq, Kuwait mull
reparations ‘fund’
BAGHDAD: Iraq and Kuwait are considering a plan to
pay the war reparations which Baghdad still owes its
neighbour into a fund for Iraqi investments, the UN’s
envoy said yesterday. Iraq, which pays five percent of its
oil revenues into a UN reparations fund, is required to
hand over another $18 billion, the bulk of it to Kuwait.
“There is a proposal on the table that the amount still
outstanding is reinvested in Iraq,” Martin Kobler, the UN
chief’s special representative to Baghdad, said. “So that
this is in a kind of trust fund ...(and) the (UN) resolution
is fulfilled, however the money is reinvested in Iraq for
the benefit of the people of Iraq.” Iraq has so far paid
out $34.3 billion to claimants for Saddam Hussein’s
1990 invasion of Kuwait, of which around $25 billion
has gone to Kuwait. Iraq also owes Kuwait around $16
billion for loans which Saddam took out to fund his
1980-1988 war against Iran.
Legendary US
football coach
Paterno dies
WASHINGTON: Penn State’s iconic American football
coach Joe Paterno, who was fired last year in the
wake of child sex abuse charges against an assistant,
died early yesterday after suffering complications
from lung cancer. “It is with great sadness that we
announce that Joe Paterno passed away earlier
today,” the Paterno family
said in a statement. “His
loss leaves a void in our
lives that will never be
filled. He died as he lived.
He fought hard until the
end, stayed positive,
thought only of others and
constantly reminded
everyone of how blessed
his life had been.” Mount
Nittany Medical Center
said the sports hero died of
metastatic small cell carci-
noma. “Joe was surrounded by his family at the time
of his passing, and they request privacy during this
difficult time,” the hospital said in a statement.
Paterno, 85, won more games than any other toplevel
US collegiate coach in history and the fame of
Penn State University’s gridiron team helped enlarge
the school’s reputation and academic offerings. But
his storied coaching career ended under a dark
cloud.
Continued on Page 13
KUWAIT: A former oil minister and senior member of the Al-
Sabah ruling family, Sheikh Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, has died
after a long battle with cancer, said the Amiri Diwan. He was 68.
Sheikh Saud died late on Saturday night in a Kuwaiti hospital,
the royal court said in a statement. Sheikh Saud, who also
served as ambassador to Britain in the 1980s and later to the
United States, returned to Kuwait earlier this month after a year
in London receiving medical treatment for cancer.
During the 1990-1991 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, Sheikh
Saud played an important diplomatic role in helping form a
US-led international coalition that liberated Kuwait in Feb
1991. Following the first general election after the liberation in
1992, Sheikh Saud was appointed information minister in his
first ministerial post. In 1998, he was appointed oil minister
until 2001. His funeral was held yesterday.
A statement yesterday from former President George H W
Bush called Sheikh Saud a “trusted partner” during the occupation
and the US-led war in 1991 that drove Saddam’s military
from Kuwait. “Throughout that defining ordeal, he stood
proudly with the United States as our coalition ejected
Saddam’s forces from Kuwaiti soil and upheld international
law,” said Bush’s statement from Houston. “He was truly a good
man, and a joy with whom to work.” Sheikh Saud was a leading
voice calling for international help during Iraq’s occupation. But
he was forced to defend his tactics when it was revealed that
his then-teenage daughter, Nayirah, told US lawmakers in Oct
1990 that she had witnessed Iraqi soldiers yank newborn
babies from incubators. Several rights groups later questioned
the account, which helped galvanize US public opinion in favor
of war. In the past decade, Sheikh Saud played an elder statesmen’s
role with close ties to the White House and US officials.
He also was a strong opponent of anti-Western views by
Islamist hardliners in Kuwait. In 2003, he joined other Kuwaiti
leaders in endorsing the US invasion of Iraq and called it the
“beginning of the end” for extremists. — Agencies
Joe Paterno
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Capital Markets
Authority signed an agreement yesterday
with HSBC bank for the privatisation
of the Kuwait Stock Exchange and setting
up a new company to run the
bourse. The privatisation plan was outlined
in Kuwait’s new Capital Markets
Authority Law, which also set up the
state’s first market regulator. Under the
plan, 50 percent of the stock market will
be floated in an initial public offering for
Kuwaiti citizens. The remaining 50 percent
will be auctioned to listed companies,
each of which can only buy a 5 percent
stake in the market. The agreement
was for a period of six months under
which HSBC bank would begin the privatisation
process, KSE Company’s
Abdullah Al-Gabandi told a news conference.
“We are confident that the privatisation
of the stock exchange will be of a
great benefit to Kuwait’s economy,
investors and the listed companies,” he
said.
Parliament in 2010 passed legislation
to set up the CMA as an independent
regulator for Kuwait’s stock market with
an aim to boost transparency in the Arab
BANDAR ABBAS: Workers transport the body of a
capsized boat victim at this Iranian port city yesterday.
— AP
Max 15º
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SANAA: Yemen’s veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh
said he will head to the United States for medical treatment
as he asked his people for forgiveness in a farewell
speech delivered as he left Sanaa yesterday. “I will go to
the United States for treatment and will then return as
head of the General People’s Congress (GPC) party,”
Saleh said in a televised speech. “I ask for forgiveness
from all my people, men and women, for any shortcomings
during my 33-year-long rule,” he added. “Now we
must concentrate on our martyrs and injured.”
An official close to the presidency told AFP that “the
Yemeni president left Sanaa” without specifying Saleh’s
destination. Diplomats in Sanaa however said that
Saleh’s eldest son Ahmed - who commands the feared
Republican Guard - was “already in Oman” to prepare for
his father’s visit.
Continued on Page 13
SANAA: Outgoing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah
Saleh speaks to the press at the presidential palace
yesterday. — AP
CMA, HSBC ink deal
to privatise bourse
Global, KAMCO cut 100 jobs
world’s third largest bourse in terms of
capitalisation. The market has a capitalisation
of around $100 billion and lists
215 local and foreign companies. The privatisation
plan, if completed, would
make the Kuwaiti exchange the second
listed bourse in the region after the
Dubai Financial Market. Last year, the
exchange’s head said the IPO plan was
flawed and hurt its independence.
Continued on Page 13
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Capital Markets
Authority and HSBC bank officials sign a
deal for the privatisation of the Kuwait
Stock Exchange yesterday. —Photo by
Joseph Shagra
17 die as Iran boat
capsizes in Hormuz
TEHRAN: Seventeen people died when an Iranian passenger
boat capsized in heavy winds after running out of
fuel in the Strait of Hormuz, the official IRNA news agency
reported yesterday. The boat set sail Saturday evening
from Hormuz Island, the most northern piece of land at
the entrance of the Gulf, to the port city of Bandar Abbas
in southern Iran, said IRNA. The vessel ran out of fuel during
the 10-km journey and was caught in a heavy storm,
which also hampered rescue efforts, state television
reported. It then capsized and its 22 passengers, captain
and crew members were trapped underneath, IRNA said.
Rescue teams saved five people, a provincial sailing official,
Hossein Khoshbakht, told the agency. An eyewitness
told AP that most of the dead were senior citizens, members
of a visiting tour to the island. Every day dozens of
passenger boats travel between Bandar Abbas and nearby
islands near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, some 1,070
km south of the capital Tehran.

KUWAIT: Adel Al-Tukheim addressing the meeting.
By Nawara Fattahova
KUWAIT: Citizens gathered yesterday,
to discuss the current political
situation in Kuwait, in the diwaniya of
Abdulaziz Al-Ghannam in Abdullah
Al-Salem. A coordinating committee
read out a proclamation entitled ‘A
letter from the heart’ addressed to
fellow citizens. Citizens rejected the
recent political upheaval. “The past
behavior of some MPs digressed from
original Kuwaiti culture, traditions,
and principles. They acted against
democratic principles and the right
to express opinion excusing by fighting
corruption,” read out Adel Al-
Tukheim.
The country suffers from an unfavorable
situation due to government
negligence and the pressure placed
by some MPs’ un-parliamentary
behavior. “The government is not
serious about solving many issues,
especially the failure of Kuwait’s citizens,
and its negligence in enforcing
laws and fighting corruption.
Furthermore, development has halt-
ed in many fields,” he added.
“In the past, the opposition blocs
were responsible for passing legislations,
as they had Kuwait in their
heart. Today’s groups have made
vested interest their priority and their
goals have changed from building
the country to destroying it. They
wasted precious time and vexed people
with non-stop grilling motions for
personal reasons, hurling abuses at
each other. In the end, they went to
the street to promote strange slogans
and definitions that do not
2 LOCAL
match with our peaceful situation in
Kuwait,” stressed Al-Tukheim.
Anwar Al-Rifai, from the coordinating
committee explained the reason
behind reading out this message
addressed to voters. “HH the Amir
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-
Sabah called upon the citizens to
make the right choice. And we
believe in the important role played
by diwaniyas in the lives of Kuwaitis
in the past and present. We aim to
address this message as we approach
elections. We expect this to be the
crucial turning point to our parliament
history, as it will be held during
a very dangerous and complicated
regional circumstances. We need a
responsible Parliament with real and
clear vision,” he pointed out. Al-Rifai
demanded a new Parliament that
respects the Constitution and the
laws. “We hope that new MPs will
lead parliamentary work, correct legislation,
and honest control of the
governmental performance. This
should strengthen democracy and
develop reforms and developments.
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
‘Focus on Kuwait while choosing candidates’
Representatives of diwaniyas meet
Four likely candidates
for speaker post
KUWAIT: Speculations are heating up few
days ahead of election day about which of
the current candidates could possibly be
eyeing the speaker post in the upcoming
parliament. On that regard, a report published
by Al-Qabas yesterday suggests
based on observations that competition
for the post is likely going to be exclusive
to four candidates: Ahmad Al-Saadoun,
Mohammad Al-Saqr, Abdullah Al-Roumi
and Ali Al-Rashid - all of whom are former
lawmakers.
Ever since former speaker Jassem Al-
Khorafi announced he is not contesting in
the upcoming elections, many people
place former three-time speaker Al-
Saadoun as frontrunner to the post. The
opposition figurehead himself did not
hide in an earlier report his intentions to
run for speakership if elected “against
whoever is supported by the Cabinet”, but
added that he would shun away from the
post if the 50 elected MPs agree on a single
candidate.
Al-Saadoun still indicated in his statements
that the speaker’s post isn’t his top
priority. He assured he is focused on “saving
Kuwait from widespread corruption”.
Al-Saadoun’s main opponent for speaker-
KTA demands
explanation
from minister
KUWAIT: The Kuwait Teachers Association (KTA) demanded
that the Education Minister Ahmad Al-Mulaifi explain
the steps taken by the ministry on payment of recently
approved allowances to teachers, amid a flurry of contradicting
statements made by public figures, especially the
declaration made by Assistant Undersecretary for Financial
Affairs Radhi Al-Rashidi.
The minister stated that he did not receive any instructions
about payments made to teachers’ cadre, adding that
the financial sector in the ministry has not received any
instructions from any party concerning payment. Once
they receive necessary instructions, they are ready to begin
official procedures as per the financial sector’s regulations.
The Kuwait Teachers’ Association pointed out that such
a declaration reflects no seriousness on concerned authorities’
part, explaining what has been decided about this
matter, in accordance with the law number 28 for the year
2011 concerning teachers’ cadre. It was approved by His
Highness the Amir and published in the official gazette on
18, Dec 2011.
The Association stated that direct intervention from the
minister is required to explain the declarations made by Al-
Rashidi. — Al-Anbaa
ship is widely speculated to be
Mohammad Al-Saqr, who responded when
previously asked about the matter that it is
too early to talk about it now when elections
are yet to take place.
Similar statements were mentioned by
former Deputy Speaker Abdullah Al-
Roumi, who is considered to be the third
potential runner up to the speaker’s post.
In recent statements to Al-Rai daily, the
former MP said that his decision will be
determined after elections.
Former MP and minister Ali Al-Rashid
said when asked about the subject that he
didn’t even start thinking about running
for speakership, yet he didn’t rule out the
possibility of running when he said ‘everything
at its time’. The cautious answers given
by the likely frontrunners to the speakership
post is not surprising to many
observers especially that it would rather
be considered illogical for any candidate
to officially announce they are running for
the post when they can’t even assure they
are going to be elected in the first place.
In the meantime, the Al-Qabas report
mentions information indicating that the
Cabinet is likely going to give its sixteen
members freedom to vote for whoever
KUWAIT: Some of the attendees including Mohammed Al-Juweihel (middle). KUWAIT: Jawad Bu Khamsin delivering a speech. — Photos by Joseph Shagra
BEIRUT: The parliamentary
elections to be held in Kuwait
on Feb 2 will reflect will of the
people and enhance democratic
process in the country,
Lebanese ministers stated.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Adnan Mansour praised the
parliamentary elections in
Kuwait that became a choice
of the people of the Gulf state.
The election in Kuwait is
invoked by the people and is
an expression of their aspirations,
especially when practiced
with integrity and transparency,
he said.
Kuwaiti and Lebanese peoples
are similar in their passion
for freedom and democracy,
and Kuwait is considered a
leading country in freedoms,
especially the freedom of
they prefer during the voting process for
the speaker’s post, unlike previous terms
when the government unanimously voted
in favor of Al-Khorafi.
In other news, the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) is reportedly falling under
pressure to stop support to second constituency
candidate Abdurrahman Al-
Anjari. NDA now threatens the former MP’s
chances of reelection should he lose the
liberal group’s support.
A report by Annahar quoting a source
within the NDA with knowledge of the
subject cited “severe disputes” between
the two sides as the reason behind the
recent development. Moreover, the anonymous
source notes that that former MP
Meshari Al-Anjari tried to mediate
between in order to eliminate the rift
between Abdurrahman Al-Anjari and the
NDA, but his attempts so far went to no
avail. The report also hints that the NDA is
still weighing options on whether to support
second constituency candidate Dr.
Mohammad Al-Abduljader, adding that
their decision is likely to be based on how
effective the support would be to increasing
chances of their own candidates to win
the elections, reported Annahar.
Lebanese ministers praise
Kuwaiti democracy
media. Minister of
Environment Nathem Al-
Khouri recalled the role of His
Highness the Amir Sheikh
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-
Sabah played when he was a
foreign minister of the country
for reaching an agreement
among the warring Lebanese
factions.
Kuwait which contributed in
helping Lebanon in resolving
its crises, will not be hampered
to overcome some of its problems
through the democratic
means, he stated.
He hailed the security and
stability in Kuwait, highlighting
its political history and free
journalism. Kuwait will emerge
from the elections stronger in
the democratic performance,
he added. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Second Constituency candidate
Dr Abdullah Al-Arada said yesterday if he
was to be elected for the upcoming parliament
he would enforce security for everyone
in terms of education, health care,
economy and social services.
At the inauguration of his campaign for
the Feb 2 elections, Al-Arada said a good
education would result in good students
that would better serve their country.
Improving health care by building new
hospitals and clinics will also provide medical
security, he argued. Boosting economic
security through transforming Kuwait into
a regional commercial and financial hub
will increase investments and create more
jobs, he said.
Al-Arada said the cooperation between
legislative and executive authorities was
very important to bring about proper
implementation of the development plan.
The candidate called for addressing what
he called “corrupted media which is tarnishing
our national unity.”
Meanwhile, National Assembly candidate
in the Third Constituency Taleb
Shalash stressed the need for more care to
the economics of education and educational
planning as the means to guarantee
better qualified graduates in the future.
The candidate said his program focuses
on education, inspired by his own experience
as teacher, and would address issues
including public education, higher education,
and change of curricula toward a
more comprehensive model.
Other issues that he said interest him
include Kuwaiti citizens’ debt, the housing
problem, and he considered one option to
solve these is offering investment alternatives,
speeding up infrastructure construction,
and the private sector contributing to
the development process. These issues
require a “practical and viable” solution, he
said. The candidate said he would also
focus on improving legislation toward real-
So we call upon men and women to
realize the great responsibility and
their role in making a change to the
present and the future of Kuwait. We
ask them to think logically and to
make Kuwait their top priority while
choosing candidates. They should
remember the bad examples set by
former MPs who reached the
Parliament with our votes,” he concluded.
At least 48 representatives of
diwaniyas from different areas and
constituencies attended the meeting.
Call for comprehensive
development
KUWAIT: Kuwait will be hosting the 13th
International Energy Forum (IEF) from
March 12 to 14 under the patronage of the
Kuwaiti leadership, said a statement by the
Ministry of Oil here yesterday.
The ministry said in a press release that
the meeting would be the first ministerial
meeting for oil after issuing the IEF charter,
signed by 87 countries in the forum’s last
meeting in February.
Committees were assigned by the
Ministry and other institutes to organize
Dr Abdullah Al-Arada
izing the goal of rendering the state a
regional and international economic and
financial center.
In another development, the Interior
Ministry yesterday set Jan 25 as the deadline
to present names of candidates’ representatives
in the 2012 National Assembly
elections’ committees.
Head of elections affairs at the Interior
Ministry Colonel Mohammad Al-Adwani
said that the ministry would finalize the
names of the representatives by the specified
date. Deputy head of the department
Lieut-Colonel Salah Al-Shatti said, on his
part, that the estimated numbers of representatives
might hit over 10,000, affirming
that the department had taken the necessary
steps to receive representatives’
papers. Vote-day for the 2012 elections
will be on February second. Withdrawing
from the elections race will be open till
Jan 25. —KUNA
World Energy Forum in
Kuwait next March
the event, said the statement.
The IEF is the world’s largest recurring
gathering of energy ministers. It is unique
in that participants not only include IEA
and OPEC countries, but also key international
actors such as Brazil, China, India,
Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. The IEF
countries account for more than 90 percent
of global oil and gas supply and
demand. The IEF is promoted by a permanent
secretariat based in the Diplomatic
Quarter of Riyadh. — KUNA

local
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, ministers, sheikhs and Kuwaiti nationals attend the funeral of former oil minister Sheikh Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah
at the Sulaibikhat cemetery yesterday. —Photos by Joseph Shagra
Women should
grow beyond image
By A Saleh
KUWAIT: Fourth Constituency candidate
lawyer Thikra Al-Rashidi said: “Women did
occupy the post of minister until recently,
but the matter remained with the framework
of improving the image.” She added
that it is not possible to keep women, who
are more in number to remain represented
by few or like a “flower that must be there
to give the image of beauty.”
She wondered why are not there more
women in the government, as there are
more women than men in Kuwait society.
She said the woman may say that this does
not concern her a lot, but what concerns
her are lost rights that are related to daily
action and overlapping interests with men
and the patronizing imposed by men on
woman.
There is no political will to grant
women many rights until now, she said,
adding that “we are not getting answers
for this negligence”.
Al-Rashidi demanded that there should
be a ban on allowing the husband to
receive the savings and credits loans
alone, and buy a house without the participation
of his wife. She also asked for
allowing the woman who has custody to
process all what concerns the child, even if
that necessitates a legislation. Al-Rashidi
also called for a law to allow the custodian
of the children to receive an instant loan
from one of the accounts that can be
opened through establishing a fund for
support.
She said the Kuwaiti woman who is
married to a foreigner should have the
right for housing just like the man who is
married to a foreigner, and men should
understand such demands, because he
has a mother, daughter and wife and he
will not accept if their rights are to be lost.
Women represent half the society, and she
delivers the other half, and for that “we
will keep talking about women and
demand her rights because we believe
protecting women is a protection of the
family and in turn the society.
Kuwaiti cabinet holds
weekly meeting
KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Cabinet held its weekly
meeting at Seif Palace yesterday under the
chairmanship of His Highness the Prime
Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad
Al-Sabah. Emerging from the meeting,
spokesman for the government, Justice
Minister and Minister of Education and
Higher Education Ahmad Al-Mlaifi said at the
onset of the meeting, the ministers were
briefed on a letter recently sent to HH the
Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-
Sabah from Assistant Private Secretary to
British Queen Elizabeth II Samantha Cohen.
The letter included invitation to HH to attend
a huge military parade in May 2012.
The cabinet also eulogized late oil minister
Sheikh Saud Nasser Al-Sabah, who passed
away Saturday. The minister extolled Sheikh
Saud’s service for Kuwait in and outside the
country, especially during the Iraqi occupation
early 1990s. Minister of Oil and Minister
of National Assembly Affairs Mohammad Al-
Busairi presented to the cabinet the periodical
report on the achievements of the environment
projects program during the period
September-November 2011.
The cabinet also approved two draft laws
for Kuwait’s joining Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and
on joining Paris Convention for the Protection
of Industrial Property. The two bills were
referred to HH the Amir for final approval.
The ministers endorsed and referred to HH
the Amir a memo of understanding between
Kuwait and Morocco to exempt diplomats,
senior government members and royal family
members from entry visa. It also approved
two bills for opening additional credit for
Kuwait Ports Authority and Ministry of Higher
Education. The cabinet reviewed the latest
political developments on the local, regional
and international levels. —KUNA
‘Kuwait, GCC not ready
to face nuclear crisis’
By Ben Garcia
KUWAIT: Neither Kuwait nor the Gulf
Cooperation Council [GCC] countries are prepared
for any incident of nuclear disaster in the
Middle East, says environment activist Dr
Khaled Al-Hajery. Speaking with the Kuwait
Times, Al-Hajery, Greenline chairman, said his
group had advised and urged the Kuwaiti
authorities and other GCC countries many years
ago to act and be ready for any nuclear disaster
but still no one seems to listen. “The nuclear
problem has started way back from the beginning
of the Bushehr nuclear operation in
September 2011. Since then, there had been
nuclear waste coming out from the nuclear
facility but do we really care? We are dealing
and have been talking about nuclear issue since
the operation of the Bushehr Plant, but the government
didn’t do anything,” he said. Yesterday
reports from several Arabic dailies mentioned
the GCC’s ‘rapid deployment team’ to face
repercussions of a possible accident at Iran’s
Bushehr nuclear plant which is located just
across the Gulf water, or around 236 km from
Ras Al Zour in Kuwait. Aleqtisadia Arabic language
daily said, quoting Tariq Al-Obaid, secretary
general of the Geneva-based Euro-Arab
Environment Organization (EAEO), GCC countries
could be the first victims of any nuclear
radiation from the Iranian plant.
Obaid told the Riyadh-based paper that the
committees had started working on studies to
‘Iran will
defend
itself if
threatened’
KUWAIT: Iran seeks to
engage in more dialogue
with neighboring countries
to maintain stability
in the region without the
need for foreign intervention,
especially concerning
the strategic Strait of
Hormuz, said a top
Iranian diplomat to a
Kuwaiti daily recently.
Calling the process of
maintaining the region’s
security as “a collective
mission,” Iran’s Charge
d’Affairs in Kuwait Dr
Mohammad Shehabi told
Al-Rai daily that the
Islamic Republic considers
the Strait of Hormuz
“a key part of its defensive
strategy,” further
insisting that Tehran is
keen on maintaining the
strategic passageway
“safe, secure and free
from control of authoritarian
powers.”
Shehabi recognized
the Strait of Hormuz as “a
strategic passageway to
global trade,” and asserted
that Iran aims to maintain
stability that helps
maintain mobility at the
strait. While indicating
that Iran doesn’t plan to
block the strait, Shehabi
reiterated that Iran “will
defend its legitimate
right if threatened.”
Regarding an embargo
to be placed on
Iranian oil sale, Shehabi
urged Europe to “learn
from the lessons of history,”
explaining that previous
sanctions imposed
on Cuba and Iraq failed
to achieve their goals.
The Iranian diplomat said
that such plans would
leave a harmful impact
on all countries in the
region. “The absence of
Iran from the global oil
market will create an
imbalance that will lead
to economic clashes that
have dire consequences,”
Shehabi warned.—Al-Rai
Government playing politics
evaluate the environmental effects of Bushehr
given the plant’s proximity to regional countries
and its location along the coast. “This is long
overdue reaction from the part of the GCC governments.
They are playing politics on this issue,
the outstanding questions is why only now?
We’ve been trying to reach out every government
before but they haven’t done any,” he
asserted.
Al-Hajery told Kuwait Times that by now,
Kuwait and the GCC countries should be seeing
result such as establishing GCC crisis management,
however, even that simple coordination
haven’t been done as yet. “They only care and
take action when there is a clear disaster
already or perhaps during the accident. In fact,
the report which came out yesterday was
reported by Greenline long time back. Years
have passed, and no action was taken by any of
the GCC governments. We have identified that
GCC is a nuclear disaster zone, but we haven’t
done any, we have done nothing to prepare our
people or handle any nuclear disaster,” he reiterated.
“This time, they should be discussing the
solution not imitating or repeating the same
call we have done before. Their job is to take the
necessary action. We cannot solve the problem
by talking and repeating the same words we
have uttered before. I think it’s a reflection of
how the GCC countries work and what is instore
for us in the future,” he criticized. He said
he had been calling the GCC to talk or address
the nuclear issue in the Middle East and advised
the GCC governments to include the nuclear
facilities of Iran, Iraq and Israel.
“Why to deal only with the nuclear facilities
of Iran? Saudi Arabia is planning to operate
more than a dozen nuclear facilities; the UAE
have a plan, Kuwait has a plan but temporarily
hold and back to zero, but again, there had
been considerations. We continue to support
renewable source of energy like the wind and
solar energy,” he stressed. The report quoted
experts as saying nuclear radiation from
Bushehr could reach Kuwait within 15 hours at a
wind speed of five meters per second.
The construction of Bushehr Nuclear Facility
was started in 1975 by German companies, but
the work was stopped in 1979 after the Islamic
revolution of Iran. A contract for finishing the
plant was signed between Iran and the Russian
Ministry for Atomic Energy in 1995, with Russia’s
Atomstroyexport named as the main contractor.
The work was delayed several years by technical
and financial challenges as well as by political
pressure from the West. After that construction
was again in danger in 2007, a renewed agree -
ment was reached in which the Iranians promised
to compensate for rising costs and inflation
after completion of the plant. Delivery of
nuclear fuel started the same year. The plant
started adding electricity to the national grid on
3 September 2011, and was officially opened in
a ceremony on Sept 12, attended by Russian
Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and head of the
Rosatom Sergei Kiriyenko.

I dream of
party politics
In my view
By Fouad Al-Obaid
fouad@kuwaittimes.net
Twitter: @Fouadalobaid
While writing this article, my mind is not yet
set as to whether I should take part in the
upcoming election and vote, or mark my
abstention from a process that does not suit my
vision of democracy. In the past, I have lauded our
democratic experience - and it is to be noted that
when compared to neighboring countries, Kuwait is
the envy of many. And yet, when placing Kuwait’s
democracy in a global perspective, many shortcomings
appear , including the lack of formal political
parties.
Those that can point out the dangers of such an
idea and mention examples of countries that have
developed party politics only to see their country
degrade - I am thinking here of Egypt’s NDP or Iraq
and Syria Baath. Positive examples to counter such
claim exist in Europe, Asia and Latin America to
name a few regions. Democracy in such countries is
firmly established, and it would not be too great of a
digression to concur that Kuwait though its many
issues with democracy in the past, has established
democratic credentials.
The aim of party politics would not be to
strengthen social divisions, rather it would come as a
blender, bringing people together based on ideological
backgrounds - and most important, on political
platform agendas. Such a step should come within
the framework of a strong Parliament that is capable
of passing new laws paving the way for the next
elections to forward this agenda. It most certainly
needs some constitutional amendments that would
allow for a clearly defined Prime Minister post held
by the leader of the party to emerge with the greatest
number of votes. A unified government will not
secure the required majority.
With the streamlining of such laws, a most crucial
law needs to be passed - I hope in the upcoming
Parliament - the breaking down of a centralized
Municipality that would pave the way for the creation
of a strong mayorship, tasked with all matters
relevant to urbanization, construction and social
cohesion. Mayors ought to be elected directly by
suffrage, and local area election would come to form
the Municipal Council that should be held for a period
similar to that of Parliament (four years), but
should be independent of the Parliament.
Last but certainly not least, a new national advisory
council should be established based on merit criteria
that serves as an authority to ensure the laws
passed in Parliament and executive decisions
decreed by the executive authority are in the best
interest of the state. Such an advisory council should
comprise of all the living ex-presidents of
Parliament, ex-presidents of the Municipal assembly,
ex-members of the Cabinet based on criteria to be
decided at a later date.
The state of affairs today requires patriots both
willing and able to push towards meaningful reform
that would guard against sedition from within foreign
aggression. We need to ferment and cement
our society and help channel its energy towards the
productive building of a vibrant nation fueled by a
noble vision. Today, we need actions that will ensure
the stability and prosperity of our country for the
foreseeable future in light of the ever-changing
regional realities.
May God Almighty protect and bless us all.
kuwait digest
More appreciation,
less anticipation
By Nawaf Al-Arbash
Avery common approach in customer service
techniques is to under promise and over
achieve/provide.
Example: You’ve just bought your brand new exotic
car and cannot wait to get hold of it. So you ask the
salesperson to prepare it in two days, and he replies
“I’m very sorry, it cannot be done in less than four
days.” At that point you’d be very disappointed and
probably feeling a bit blue, and if you were hungry
your appetite would have been ruined.
Next day, the sun shining, and breeze sneaks from
your open window, blowing on your closed eyelids
whispering “wake up,” so you do. The moment you
wake up your phone beeps bearing a new text message
stating the following: Dear customer, your car is
washed and ready to be picked up from our showroom.
Please visit us to enjoy your vehicle before
sunset.
At this point, your day has been made.
In the same borders as that technique; We should
not build happiness on expectation. We should not
paint hopes and dreams and believe that they are
100% inevitable, because nothing is 100% certain,
and that is exactly how many people break down:
Build high hopes, until the bulldozer of reality breaks
them down.
Specialists use mathematical calculations to forecast
financial and economical future events, but they
can never anticipate the exact numbers, although
they appreciate if the results were within the range
(positive).
If we learn to appreciate what we have more, and
expect less, everything we encounter, receive, or
achieve will be “more.”
As many philanthropists, scholars, philosophers,
and people of experience and wisdom agree: Less is
more. And I as well agree, less IS more. — Al-Watan
On election night, it was
enough to take a walk in
downtown Cairo to
notice that the situation in Egypt
was puzzling. Existing security
forces were not enough and the
rule of law was neglected to the
extent that made political
observers and analysts expect a
failure in the parliamentary election.
Surprisingly, next day,
Egypt witnessed a historical
moment. Egyptians were waiting
in long lines to elect their
Parliament in a free and democratic
environment for the first
time in more than six decades.
After this successful election,
Egypt is moving now toward
drawing its future by framing a
new Constitution to frame and
structure its political system.
Two trends in the Egyptian society
are expected to play a major
role in this process: The Islamic
parties, which have won the
majority in the Parliament, and
the liberal parties which are
going to be the opposing side in
the Parliament. Each one of
them is trying to seize this historical
opportunity that might
not be available later on to draw
the Egyptian political and social
future based on its ideology and
vision.
The liberal group includes
several political parties from the
middle and left wings. Some of
these parties are new and have
little political experience and
popular support. They have
been established in a hurry after
January’s revolution. Some consider
Al-Wafd party as the leader
of this group since it is the oldest
liberal party in Egypt. Although
liberal parties have different ideologies,
they share the principle
of the importance of the citizens’
political rights, civil liberties and
social justice. These parties are
adopting the ideology of a secular
state and the idea of separating
religion and politics.
The Islamic group includes all
the Islamic parties such as Al-
Noor (Salafist) and Al-Wasat party.
The Muslim Brotherhood, represented
by their party Freedom
and Justice, is the leader of this
group. They all agree and focus
on Islamizing the political, social
and economic systems, and
almost all are against secularism.
Each group is trying to find
a model that fits its basic vision
to apply it in drawing the future
political system in Egypt. The liberal
group wishes to replicate
the secular Turkish model. They
do not hide their admiration of
Turkey’s successful economic
and political achievements.
They believe that there is a
strong relationship between
these achievements and secularism,
hence, the starting point is
to separate religion from politics
It is worth noting that this
idea is not accepted among
average Egyptian citizens.
Traditionally, Egyptians have a
unique and strong Islamic background.
They refuse the concept
of excluding religion from ruling
principles of the state. Analysts
LOCAL
Historical opportunity
for Egyptian parties
and commentators believe that
focusing on this point has led
liberals to lose the majority of
vote in the parliamentary election.
There are , of course, some
other factors which have contributed
to this result such as the
lack of political experience , relying
heavily on mass media to
approach voters with leftist
terms and ideologies most of the
Egyptians are not familiar with
and/or are even against them.
The Islamic parties refuse the
idea of separating state from
religion. It was not surprising to
any observer that the Islamic
parties have swept the majority
of votes in the parliamentary
election. They have better political
experience and were in touch
with the society for a long time.
Their services have been witnessed
everywhere and their
economic and social support has
reached many people and specially
the marginalized groups.
Their announced major goal is to
create an Islamic political system.
Analyzing the situation in
Egypt since February 2011, one
can notice how the Muslim
Brotherhood (MB) manipulated
the transition period and directed
the events to achieve its
goals. Although Muslim
Brotherhood never mentioned
its admiration of the Iranian
Islamic system, all following
steps and actions they have taken
revealed that their ultimate
goal is to create an Islamic system
similar to some extent to
the Iranian example but with
Sunni references:
First: It was clear that MB was
sure of winning the majority in
any free election, therefore, they
supported and pressured the
Military Council to conduct the
parliamentary elections as soon
as possible, even before laying
down the new Constitution.
Second: MB has established
the ‘Freedom and Justice’ political
party as a political wing to
their organization. MB argued
that this party will be independent,
yet all the party leaders are
MB members. It is true that
some members are Christians
and others with a secular outlook.
This does not mean that
the party will have a different
ideology. The party’s platform
and agenda are based on the
basic principles of the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Third: After January’s revolution,
MB leaders have supported
the parliamentary system to be
applied in Egypt. This system
gives the majority party the
opportunity to form the government.
The prime minister in the
parliamentary system is the
most powerful actor.
This could explain why they
announced that they will not
nominate anyone for the coming
presidential election. The system,
however, was opposed by
most political groups since
Egypt has had a bad experience
with it before 1952’s revolution.
MB is shifting to the new trend
of having a mixed system similar
in my view
By Dr Mohammed Hasanen, Assistant
Professor, Political Science, GUST
to the French political system
which includes an elected prime
minister and president, allowing
them as the majority parties to
involve in ruling Egypt. The
worst scenario would be that
the presidential system wins the
agreement of the Egyptian political
groups. In this case, MB will
insist on having some of its
members in any future government
appointments. They are
looking forward to having at
least Education, Health and
Social Affairs ministries.
Since MB has achieved its first
goal and has swept most of the
seats in the new Parliament, it is
obvious that the chance of
applying the Turkish model is
minimal. The road is open for
MB to apply its model. The
structure of the model will
include two parallel wings —
one is civil represented by an
elected government and/or
Parliament, and the other wing is
the religious that is represented
by the Guidance Office — the
highest office in the MB hierarchy.
The religious wing will work
as a filter through which decisions
and policies go if they are
in agreement with the Islamic
principles and according to their
interpretations. Otherwise, they
will be blocked. It is expected
that the MB and or the Freedom
and Justice party might deny
this scenario. However, the
Guidance Office members will
have the upper hand in ruling
Egypt while the MB controls the
parliament.
An important word should be
said here. Although the Turkish
and Iranian systems are, or might
be appropriate to Turkey and
Iran, they are definitely not suitable
for Egypt. It is completely
different historically, geographically
and socially. Importing pre -
made or copying other systems
with artificial modifications will
not work. All parties, social segments
and experts should be
given the opportunity to make
up a new system. Political systems
cannot not be cloned or
imported. They are a domestic
industry and should not be
adopted from Western models
on the basis of being successful
in their environment. Political
systems are a product of the
environment, like any herb that
grows only in its natural environment.
It is true that it can be grown
in greenhouses that provide a
natural climate, but that does
not guarantee its continuation
and ability to grow. Moreover,
one who studies the Western
system can note that they are
not identical. Each one of them
is in tune with the historical, cultural
and geographical background
of peoples. German history,
culture and geography, for
example, produced a political
system different from the French
one. We are entitled to say the
same thing about English and
American rules although they
are committed to the democratic
approach.
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Is national
unity facing
a threat?
By Muna Al-Fuzai
muna@kuwaittimes.net
Repeated calls being made to foster national
unity as part of election canvassing has
become a topic of concern.
If such jingoistic calls are being made to protect
someone’s interests and distract people from real
threat, it could prove detrimental to the country. I
doubt if it is their wish to serve their country! People
keep discussing it all the time although no one realizes
the repercussions involved..
Kuwait is a small country that is surrounded by
many neighbors. Some have violated Kuwait’s honor
like Iraq. Kuwait is now trying to maintain peace with
the current regime by forgetting the past. There are
no permanent friends or enemies in politics. I think
we should no longer be worried about an Iraqi threat
because it has its own concerns about national unity.
Iran is another neighbor. I think it has its own
objectives and ambitions. We have to consider the
fact that Iran never invaded Kuwait. It has been
threatening the entire region, in case it is attacked by
external forces.
Why do I think this way? Any aggressive retaliation
could put an end to all reform undertaken in the
region . Iran’s national unity could be in real danger.
Kuwaitis could argue about many issues but we
should not be fooled into believing that such heated
arguments can strengthen national unity. I completely
believe that some will never argue about the love
they have for Kuwait. The truth is that our national
unity will be jeopardized if brazen views are
expressed against the existing system.
Parents and
technology
kuwait digest
Satire Wire
By Sawsan Kazak
sawsank@kuwaittimes.net
As much as I encourage parents to advance
their knowledge in the technology field — to
start using Facebook, iPads and smartphones,
it has turned most kids into tech teachers
against their will. Parents buy gadgets they can’t use
and log on to websites they don’t understand, and
then rely on their kids’ knowledge to guide them
through.
Speaking on behalf of all
‘kids’ suffering with their parents’
tech tutorials, I would just
like to say that we appreciate
the efforts you are making, but
would like to see some improvement
on your behalf.
I’m all for teaching my parents how to What’s App
their friends or download a new profile picture, but
this should be used as a learning process and not as
a personal tech service that is available to them at
all times. Speaking to my friends and colleagues, I
have come to realize that parents around the world
have been driving their kids crazy trying to ‘learn’
these new technologies. Kids everywhere have had
to answer questions about deleting files, downloading
data and sound settings. And do you know how
hard it is to describe a tech procedure over the
phone ?
Yes, I understand that parents are from another
generation, and that they have not grown up with
such gadgets, but neither have we. I was not born
knowing how to use a touch screen and they did
not teach us in school how to tweet our thoughts. It
seems as though some people from the older generations
are intimidated to even try to learn on their
own. They would rather ask and ask again before
making a mistake. Parents have resigned to the
thought that the new technologies are hard to learn
and impossible to remember.
Speaking on behalf of all ‘kids’ suffering with their
parents’ tech tutorials, I would just like to say that
we appreciate the efforts you are making, but would
like to see some improvement on your behalf.
Otherwise, it just seems as though we are the bad
teachers that lose our cool, in reality, you are sometimes
too scared to learn. These new gadgets or
websites will not self-implode or crash if you try on
your own and make a mistake. I’m not saying you
need to learn how to launch your own websites or
develop new apps, just maybe know how to turn
your gadgets on and off without assistance is a start.
If you are a parent and find yourself asking the
same question to your kids over and over again,
maybe it’s not that they are bad teachers or lose
their patience too fast, maybe they have noticed
that you are not willing to improve your understanding.
Parents everywhere, don’t be afraid to
make mistakes, everything is fixable, simply read
carefully and try to remember what happened in
front of you last time; if your kids can do it, then so
can you.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
received at Seif Palace yesterday HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-
Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. A briefing on the results of the economic development
committee’s report was given by the Prime Minister during the meeting.
Residents complain against
illegal parking ‘rent’
KUWAIT: Several Farwaniya residents
complain against illegal practices carried
out by building janitors who reportedly
take monthly fees from tenants to park
in places near their buildings.
According to a report published by
Annahar yesterday, this issue can be
found in several locations around
Farwaniya, especially in block 6, where
state-owned zones are divided into parking
spaces that can only be used by
renters for a fee they pay to their building
janitor. The renters reportedly don’t
have much choice when their rightful
parking spaces are locked with steel
chain that can only be opened by the
janitors. Even if renters refuse to comply,
the janitors will find residents of nearby
building eager to get a free parking
space in the crowded area regardless of
the price.
“I pay KD10 each month to the janitor
in addition to the KD5 for carwash in
order to rent my own parking space”, said
renter Mohammad Mustafa, who
explained that his building’s janitor
always argues that all buildings in the
neighborhood are doing the same. And
while hoping to see an intervention from
the Kuwait Municipality to stop what is
technically considered an illegal use of
state property, Mustafa noted that he
had no other choice but to accept the
janitor’s stipulation “when I found out
that parking spaces are already running
out as soon as he put them for rent”.
Another renter, identified as Ahmad
Awad, says that he can’t park outside his
building because all of the parking
spaces are rented to other people;
including one resident who lives in a
nearby building. “One night I parked on
that certain space, but the janitor
warned me the next day that I could find
my vehicle with flat tires should I do the
same thing again”, Awad said. “[The janitor]
flat-out told me to pay him KD10 so
that he finds me a spot to park my car”.
KUWAIT: Envoy of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-
Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah left for
the UAE yesterday. Sheikh Ali’s visit is to convey greeting of HH the Amir to
member of the Supreme Council of the UAE and ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Dr
Sultan Bin Mohammad Al-Qasimi on the occasion of his safe return after having
treatment overseas.
Govt may bow to
legal staff demands
KUWAIT: The government seeks to
devise radical solutions to end the
financial troubles of legal staff members
employed in fifty two state
departments , subsequently ending
the months long strike, said Ahmad
Al-Kandari Media Coordinator of the
labor union representing legal staff
members in state departments in
statements made to Al-Jarida daily.
“Chairman of the Civil Service Council,
Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-
Khalid Al-Sabah, promised during a
recent meeting with union representatives
to find radical solutions that
end the suffering of legal staff members,”
Al-Kandari said.
According to Al-Kandari, Al-Sabah
has promised to adjust designations
of legal staff members in all state
departments to match those of legal
staff from the Fatwa and Legislation
Department, the Kuwait Municipality
and the Criminal Investigations
Department. These job titles entitle
their holders to special financial privileges
that other employees don’t
enjoy.
Meanwhile, Al-Kandari warned that
legal staff will continue to stage
strikes should the government fail to
fulfill their demands, reported Al-
Jarida.
In other news, the Ministry of
Information’s labor union reportedly
threatened to hold mass strike on
February 2, if the government fails to
meet financial demands. The union’s
head Yassine Al-Farisi explained statement
that this date was chosen
because a strike then would mean
that the state TV will not be able to
cover election day events.
Information Ministry
Undersecretary Sheikh Salman Al-
Hmoud was reportedly approached to
comment on the subject. He only
expressed faith that the Cabinet
would resolve the issue as soon as
possible, reported Annahar.
local
KUWAIT: Kuwaitis head to the ballot box
next month for the fourth time in six years in
a crucial poll, hoping to end lingering political
disputes and to put the oil-rich Gulf
state’s economy back on track. The polls will
be held against the backdrop of heightened
sectarian tensions between the majority
Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites, echoing
regional conflicts, allegations of widespread
corruption and non-stop crises since 2006.
The Feb 2 snap election was called after former
premier Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-
Ahmad Al-Sabah and his cabinet were forced
to resign in late November following massive
popular protests led by youth activists and
opposition MPs. Parliament was dissolved a
week later.
Youth activists led by opposition MPs
stormed the parliament building in mid-
November after riot police prevented them
from marching to the home of the ex-prime
minister following allegations of corruption.
At least 13 ex-MPs were interrogated by
the public prosecutor over a corruption scandal
and the opposition claimed that Sheikh
Nasser transferred millions of dollars of public
funds into his bank accounts abroad.
“The 2012 elections are the most crucial
and the most dangerous in Kuwait’s history,”
veteran opposition leader and former threetime
speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun told an
election rally last week.
“The next National Assembly is the most
important in Kuwait’s political history ...
Everyone is waiting to see the MPs whom
they hope will rescue Kuwait from further
deterioration,” independent candidate
Mubarak Al-Harees said.
Thirty-eight of the original 50 members of
the dissolved parliament, in addition to 17
former MPs and ministers, are among 330
candidates contesting the election.
Twenty-four female candidates are running,
including four who made history by
becoming the first Kuwaiti women to win
parliamentary seats in 2009. Women make
up about 54 percent of Kuwait’s 400,000 voters.
Candidates from various political affiliations
in this oil-rich emirate have set up hundreds
of fancy tents where they stage election
campaigns at night followed by buffet
dinners. The issue of corruption has dominated
the campaign trail, while calls for fundamental
political reforms, the independence
of the judiciary and reviving the sagging
economy are also prominent.
Despite massive wealth, development in
Kuwait has come to a near total standstill
due to non-stop political crises between the
opposition and the government, forcing the
cabinet to resign seven times in just over five
years.
Youth activists are also playing an important
role in the election campaign, siding
with the opposition. They have launched
their own reform plan known as “Kuwait
charter 2012” and have invited candidates to
participate in debates.
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Kuwait votes in elections
hoping to end deadlock
‘Most crucial and most dangerous’
By Hanan Al-Saadoun
KUWAIT: The use of shaving tools tainted
with blood, may infect a healthy person with
diseases like Hepatitis B and C, Mubarak
Bashir , Director of Inspections and
Municipality Services Follow Up Department
at Hawally Municipality said.
Inspectors intensified have raids on men
KUWAIT: Stateless residents in Kuwait reportedly
agreed to suspend weekly demonstrations in Jahra until
after the new Cabinet is formed following the upcoming
parliamentary elections. Instead, the gatherings are
to be replaced with public seminars featuring participation
of human right activists to shed light on bedoons’
suffering. “Several youth groups including the ‘Kuwaiti
Bedoons Assembly’ agreed during recent discussions to
suspend demonstrations in Taima and instead explain
the living conditions of bedoons through seminars
attended by human right activists”, said sources quoted
in an Al-Rai report published yesterday.
Moreover, the groups reportedly discussed the possibility
of requesting to meet Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior Sheikh
Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah “in order to complain about
police use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and
call for an end to the security siege imposed on Taima”.
Last Friday, heavy police presence was seen in Taima
and Sulaibiya since early in the morning as a preemptive
measure despite the fact that stateless residents
opted against going out for mass protest following a
week in which police used water cannons and smoke
bombs to disperse a gathering of hundreds of bedoons,
some of whom were put under arrest for illegal gathering.
The sources also hinted that the youth groups are
considering legal actions against the interior ministry,
but such procedure hinges on results of the meeting
with the minister.
Meanwhile, other sources are quoted in the same
report as saying that files of up to 150 stateless residents
will be referred to the Cabinet next month to
approve for naturalization. These files pertain with children
of Kuwaiti widows and divorced women, which
according to the report amount to 900 cases registered
in official state documents.
and women’s salons and health clubs, resulting
in the issuance of 120 citations against
the salons and workers who failed to obtain
health certificates or were in possession of
expired ones. At least ten health clubs and
women’s salons were closed down in
December for failing to comply with health
conditions.
He added that an agreement has been
Political parties are illegal in Kuwait, but
many groupings are operating freely and
some have fielded candidates.
The main battle appears to be between
the opposition, a loose formation of Islamist,
liberal, nationalist and independent candidates
on the one hand and candidates who
have been loyal to the former government
and premier on the other.
“It is a battle raging between the forces of
reform and those of corruption,” declared
Salafi Islamist candidate and ex-MP Khaled
Al-Sultan.
At stake is control over the 50-member
parliament. The cabinet is appointed by His
Highness the Amir from the ruling Al-Sabah
family, whose members also occupy the premiership
and key ministerial posts.
Prominent Shiite candidate and ex-MP
Hussein Al-Qallaf, an ally of the former premier,
however charged that the opposition
wants to share power with the ruling family
and that they will lead Kuwait into a state of
chaos. No one has ever challenged the ruling
family, in power for over 250 years, but political
groups and candidates are increasingly
pressing for deep democratic reforms,
including demands for a constitutional
monarchy.
The opposition is optimistic it will
increase its parliamentary seats from 18 to at
least 25, with Sunni Islamists forming the
main bloc, in a bid to control a house with
legislative and monitoring powers. — AFP
KUWAIT: The municipality inspection in progress.
‘Tainted equipment spread Hepatitis B,C’
Demonstrations of
bedoons on hold
reached in coordination with Municipality and
health ministry to only allow the use of medical
equipment after workers receive health
ministry licenses, with health certificates proving
that they are free from infectious diseases.
He urged citizens and expats to contact the
following telephone numbers in case they
feel unhygienic equipment are being used at
facilities : 25748341, 25717337, 25748340.

Opinion polls helpful
in election process
KUWAIT: Surveying and studying the
public opinion is quite crucial for decision-makers
in advanced nations and
constitute a vital factor for supporting
democracy and guiding the politician as
well as facilitating flow of information
between decision-makers and masses.
Locally, citizens’ opinion regarding
necessity and effectiveness of mechanisms
and polling methods for measuring
and studying the public opinion vary;
with some arguing that Kuwait, being a
small country with a small population,
does not need opinion polling centers
and establishments but others affirming
necessity of pondering the views of the
public, although this process may not be
commonly rooted in the political experience
of the Kuwaitis in particular and the
Arabs in general.
Salah Al-Jassim, owner of an establishment
for computer systems, said his
foundation conducted the first electoral
public opinion polling ahead of the 1996
elections. Since then, the establishment
has been carrying out such surveys to
examine peoples’ political orientations
and trends.
In general, the Arab region lacks such
polling centers due to some repressive
ruling regimes and widespread negligence
of the importance of opinion polls
for promotion and studies. However, the
Kuwaiti society, is generally ready to be
involved in such processes, for the citizens
enjoy substantial freedoms of
expression, as compared to other Arab
countries where such liberties are
restrained or limited.
Salah Al-Jassim Computer Systems
Establishment conducts regular opinion
polls in response to requests by MPs who
pay the establishment to measure
impact of their stances among the voters.
The establishment plans to post
results of polling for the 2012 National
Assembly elections on its internet website
on the 31st of this month.
Opinion polls in Kuwait is generally
simple, compared to great nations, for
the number of voters in the constituencies
is low, thus the establishment selects
small samples for polling, and that can be
through the telephone. Dr Abdullah
Sahar, a professor of political sciences at
Kuwait University, indicated at the public
unawareness of the necessity of opinion
polls and desire of many citizens to
abstain from expressing their views freely
particularly on sensitive issues, in addition
to certain legal problems.
He cautions that some polling centers
may be politicized, thus their work lacks
credibility and may be biased.
Suliman Al-Subai’ee, in charge of studies
at the secretariat-general of the
National Assembly, said the opinion polls
process must be based on objectivity,
transparency and truthfulness.
The NA department of statistics studies
and analyzes polls, conducted by the
secretariat-general. Currently, the department
is carrying out a polling for the
upcoming parliamentary elections.
Results of elections can be initially
predicted by examining results of the
opinion polls, he indicated, noting that
such centers mushroomed in advanced
nations due to wide-spread electronic
and technological knowledge and presence
of a large number of media organizations.
Kuwaiti youth are particularly cooperative
when called to help or contribute in
holding a polling process, he said,
“because they are the most open-minded
segment of the society and aware of
the necessity of such a process.”
Nassar Al-Khaldi, Chairman at
Measurement for Political Services
Group, said the group started working in
2003 and that he had travelled to the
United States to enrich his experience in
this domain, noting that he held connections
with top public opinion polling
establishments, namely Gallup and
Ebsos.
Al-Khaldi indicated that his group
measures opinions of both voters and
nominees. But he also noted that
response to the group efforts for polling
is in the 10 percent range, also noting
that it favors telephone polling due to
the desire of majority of the polled citizens
and low cost, as compared to field
polling. Regarding his opinion on electronic
public opinion polling, Al-Khaldi
said such processes are generally guided,
non-professional and lack basic standing
rules. He urged the relevant authorities
to help his establishment to have easy
and free access to the citizens’ mobile
telephone numbers to facilitate the staff
tasks.— KUNA
local
KUWAIT: Three women were recently arrested
from a Salmiya cafe where they created a
scene with their indecent attire. Investigations
revealed that the women were promiscuous
and consumed alcohol. The women were
reportedly sitting at the cafe in a mall wearing
see-through abayas. This caught attention of
other people at the cafe. One concerned
mother immediately informed police, who
reached the location shortly. They arrested
the women although they refused to cooperate
initially. They were referred to Rumaithiya
police station. Two of them were sisters who
came to Kuwait from a GCC country, while the
other was a citizen. The three admitted to
spending the previous night in an apartment
where they engaged in immoral activities in a
drunken stupor. When police contacted the
two sisters’ father, he refused to come to
Kuwait saying that he was too busy with business
related issues. The women remain in the
custody of Criminal Investigations General
Department.
Mysterious death
Investigations are currently ongoing to
reveal the mystery behind the death of a
young citizen whose body was found in an
apartment. Police officers accompanied by
paramedics and crime scene investigators
headed to the location in Salmiya after a man
informed that he found a friend’s body in his
apartment. The man explained that he went
over to meet his friend two hours after a
phone conversation. He added that the door
was left ajar, and he entered after his friend
failed to answer the door, only to find his
motionless body lying on the floor. After para-
medics pronounced him dead, the body was
removed for an autopsy to determine the
cause and time of death. The news report
which quotes a security source did not specify
whether evidence of foul play was found.
Illegitimate child
A woman was arrested after she tried to
escape from the Maternity Hospital after she
gave birth to an illegitimate offspring. Medical
staff called police after they prevented the
Asian woman from leaving her newborn. She
tried to escape shortly after failing to issue a
marriage certificate. During investigations,
the woman admitted to being unmarried and
being in a relationship with a compatriot she
met at a baqala (small grocery store) near her
place of residence. The new mother remains
in custody pending further action while a
search is currently ongoing for her lover.
Girl flees
Police are on the hunt for a girl in her twenties
who fled from her family home in Ahmadi
following a dispute with her father. The girl
reportedly rejected her father’s decision to
accept her cousin’s marriage proposal.
Infuriated at her defiance, the man beat his
daughter up. She ran away from home the following
morning, and was reported missing
after attempts to contact her on a mobile
phone was unsuccessful.
Forgery case
Investigators from the General Migration
Department reportedly arrested three
employees from a local security company
involved in committing a major fraud. The
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Trio arrested in Salmiya
for indecent exposure
Body of youth found in apartment
KUWAIT: The Foundation of
Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain’s Prize
for Poetic Creativity is calling the
fifth session of the “Arab Poetry
Spring Festival” after the eminent
Kuwaiti poet Abdullah
Zakaria Al-Ansari and the
Tunisian poet Muhi-eddine
Kharif.
The foundation secretariatgeneral
said in a statement
issued on Sunday that it had
chosen the two poets for their
noticeable contributions in the
cultural sector, namely their role
in reviving the contemporary
poetic movement.
Al-Ansari (1922-2006) studied
at his father’s school, at Al-
Mubarkia school, served as a
teacher, an accountant, a diplomat
at the Kuwaiti embassy in
Cairo, and the head of the press
and culture department of the
three Egyptian men were reportedly detained
after weeks of monitoring, during which
detectives confirmed that they used stolen
stamps from the Municipality offices to forge
medical clearance documents necessary to
issue work permit. Investigations revealed
that the three would target offices they left
temporarily, quickly stealing stamps and
using them. The suspects admitted that they
forged nearly 100 transactions, giving KD 300
to accomplices who mostly work in restaurants.
Volunteer attacked
A volunteer from the election camp of
third constituency candidate Mohammad Al-
Juwaihel pressed attempted murder charges
against assailants who reportedly attempted
to run him over with their car. The victim told
police that the three suspects attacked him
while he was making his way out of the camp
and drove away with a car that carried no
license plate, in an attempt to run over him in
the process. Police are investigating if the incident
was politically motivated.
Suicide attempt
A woman was hospitalized after she tried
to end her life upon learning that her
boyfriend cheated on her. Police and paramedics
rushed to the location in response to a
Filipino man’s emergency call stating that his
girlfriend had overdosed on medications. She
was rushed in an ambulance to the Mubarak
Hospital. After her condition stabilized, she
told police that she attempted suicide after
learning about her boyfriend’s philandering
ways. —Al-Rai, Al-Watan, Al-Qabas
Al-Babtain Foundation honors two poets
2012 HORECA exhibition inaugurated
Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry.
The Tunisian poet memorized
the Holy Quran, served as a
teacher and composed poetry
books. He had earned several
awards including Al-Babtain’s
award in 1992. The poetry festival
is due in March. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Sheikh Nimr Al-Malik Al-Sabah cuts the ribbon to officially open the 2012 HORECA Kuwait exhibition yesterday at the Arraya Ballroom - Courtyard Marriott Hotel.
(Right) Culinary judges and organizers of the event pose in front of the chocolate creations. —Photos by Joseph Shagra
By Sawsan Kazak
KUWAIT: The 2012 HORECA Kuwait exhibition for
hospitality and food industry was inaugurated yesterday
at the Arraya Ballroom - Courtyard Marriott Hotel,
under the patronage of Ministry of Commerce and
Industry. Sheikh Nimr Al-Malik Al-Sabah, Assistant
Undersecretary for Foreign Commerce attended on
behalf of Minister of Commerce and Industry, State
Minister of Planning and Development, Dr Amani
Buresli. Dr Ghassan Al-Aeidi, President of the
International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IHRA),
as well as Dr Bassam Al-Numani Lebanese
Ambassador to Kuwait and Jumah Al-Abadi Jordanian
Ambassador to Kuwait made their presence felt. The
exhibition is a comprehensive event organized by the
Leaders Group for Consulting and Development in
cooperation with Hospitality Services of Lebanon, and
covers the hospitality, catering and food industry sectors
in Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC). The inauguration was attended by directors of
more than 40 leading companies in hospitality and
catering fields that will take part in the three-day
event.
Several activities are set to take place during the
three-day exhibition, including daily cooking competitions
featuring 90 chefs from top restaurants and
hotels, as well as the first ever Kuwait Barista
Competition. “The HORECA Kuwait exhibition offers a
platform for showcasing opportunities that meet
increasing demand in Kuwait’s tourism sector business,
in order to help this sector live up to its future
challenges,” said the Leaders Group in an earlier statement.
“The hospitality industry is a very important
one in Kuwait, and covers many aspects from food to
furnishings; which are all represented here in the
HORECA exhibition,” says General Manager of the
Kuwait Hotel Owners Association, Mohammad Najia.
“This year, the exhibition includes an exciting culinary
competition which will be judged by four international
judges and one local one; so five in total. Also, at
the exhibition, there will be live cooking demonstrations
and competitions ranging from sandwich making
to cake decorating and coffee making,” adds
Najia. Najia believes the exhibition is a great opportu-
nity for companies in the hospitality industry to mingle
and showcase their services to others. “The companies
participating in this exhibition are world
renowned and hopefully HORECA will allow them to
display their services,” Najia said of the hospitality
event. “This is the first time we are participating in the
event and it looks promising,” said Ahmad Serafi,
Hotel Manager of Crowne Plaza Kuwait. Serafi
believes the HORECA exhibition is the perfect location
to heighten brand awareness. “We have five
brands of restaurants, the most famous brands in
Kuwait. We will try to franchise the brands if people
are interested. This is the perfect venue to exhibit our
restaurants and hopefully expand them and increase
our brands,” said Serafi.
KUWAIT: Representatives of various booths participating
in the exhibition pose for a group photograph.
KUWAIT: Crowne Plaza representatives at their booth.

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Arab committee wants extended Syria mission
Page 8
Mubarak is still
president, defense
lawyer tells court
Page 8
Gingrich trounces Romney
COLUMBIA: Newt Gingrich trounced Mitt Romney in South
Carolina’s Republican presidential primary, upending the battle
to challenge President Barack Obama in November and
reviving a campaign that has twice been near collapse.
Gingrich, the fiery former speaker of the House of
Representatives, handily undid the notion that Romney, the
former Massachusetts governor, would coast to a victory in
the first Southern primary and become the prohibitive
favorite for the Republican nomination.
So far three Republicans have each won one contest in the
early going: former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum
squeaked out a victory over Romney in the leadoff Iowa caucuses.
Romney then rebounded to handily win in New
Hampshire and was building a sense of inevitability around
his campaign heading into South Carolina.
But Gingrich turned in perhaps his best of many good
debate showings Thursday night, turning the race around in
South Carolina and winning by a 41 to 27 percent margin
over, who was considered until now as the candidate most
likely to deny Obama a second White House term. The president,
while still popular personally, is battling weak approval
ratings for his leadership in pulling the US economy out of the
ravages of the 2007-2009 Great Recession. About 8.5 percent
of American workers remain unemployed, millions have lost
homes to mortgage foreclosures and the overall economy,
while improving in recent months, remains wobbly.
Gingrich said on CNN yesterday that his hardline conservative
views and sharp debating skills are needed if the
Republicans are to take back the White House. He dismissed
Romney as a moderate whose record on health care and other
issues are too close to Obama’s and will not invigorate party
voters. In a telling development yesterday, Romney told Fox
News that he will release his tax 2010 tax returns and 2011 tax
estimates tomorrow and said it was a mistake for his presidential
campaign to hold off as long as it did in getting them out.
He says the attention paid to the issue had become a distraction
for his campaign and he’s acknowledging it wasn’t the
best of weeks for him.
Romney has run his campaign under the banner of his success
as a venture capitalist and as a Washington outsider. He
remains the favorite of the Republican establishment, but his
wealth, moderate past positions on social issues like abortion
and gay rights and patrician bearing do not play well in an
increasingly conservative party. That was particularly evident
in South Carolina, one of the most conservative US states.
Next up in the long season of primaries and caucuses in all 50
states is the contest in Florida. Voters in the battle ground
state mark primary ballots on Jan 31.—AP
Romney set to release his tax returns
COLUMBIA: Republican
presidential hopeful former
Speaker Newt
Gingrich waves to the
crowd after acknowledging
his South Carolina
Republican Primary win
with his wife Callista at
his side at election night
headquarters January
21, 2012, at the Hilton
Hotel. —AP

BENGHAZI: A file photo shows Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the Libyan
National Transitional Council, addressing a press conference. — AFP
Libyan NTC head
quits after protests
BENGHAZI: The deputy head of Libya’s
National Transitional Council resigned yesterday
after angry protests, as the ruling
body faced its first serious challenge since
the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. The NTC
also postponed the adoption of the new
election law to January 28 after it met at a
secret location following attacks on
Saturday on its offices in Benghazi, the
eastern city which first rose up against
Gaddafi last year.
NTC deputy head Abdel Hafiz Ghoga
told AFP he had resigned from his post, as
thousands of students demonstrated yesterday
against him in Benghazi’s University
of Ghar Yunis where he was manhandled
three days ago. “My resignation shows that
the NTC is a tribune for fighting for a cause
and not a governing body. We are not looking
for posts,” Ghoga said, adding that his
decision was in the “best interests of Libya.”
He said “since the end of the war of liberation
an air of hatred had began to dominate
which does not serve national interest.”
“To prove that we are with the interest
(of Libya) and that we are a movement of
struggle, we decided to give way to other
patriots....the important thing is to preserve
the NTC... we do not want our country
sliding into chaos.” He told Al-Jazeera
television that his decision comes after
“recent events,” a reference to protests in
Benghazi where protesters chanted slogans
against him and opposed his presence
in the council.
Ghoga, who served as official
spokesman for the NTC, had come under
increasing opposition from Benghazi residents
who accuse him of opportunism
because of his belated defection from the
Kadhafi regime. He was mobbed by students
on Thursday and had to flee the Ghar
Yunis university after a tirade of abuse from
the angry crowd. Yesterday he was again
the target of about 4,000 students who
chanted anti-Ghoga slogans at the university
and condemned the arrest of 11 of
their colleagues for allegedly manhandling
him on Thursday.
The NTC has also faced the fury of angry
Benghazi residents for what they say is a
“non-transparent” body, marginalising
injured former rebels who fought Gaddafi
and choosing members who were previously
loyal to the slain dictator. The NTC
staunchly backed Ghoga after Thursday’s
incident, saying that “every attack or
aggression against the National
Transitional Council represents an attack on
the sovereignty of the Libyan people and
its glorious revolution.”
Ghoga represented the “highest legitimate
authority” until the election of a constitutional
assembly in June, an NTC statement
said on Thursday. But on Saturday the
NTC, which spearheaded the revolt against
Gaddafi and took full control of the country
after his death, itself became the target of
protesters when several home-made
bombs were thrown at its Benghazi offices.
Protesters armed with stones and iron bars
hurled the grenades and also stormed into
the building before setting its front ablaze,
witnesses and council members told AFP.
They threw plastic bottles at NTC chief
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who is respected across
Libya for his active role in the anti-Gaddafi
rebellion. He had to be escorted out of the
premises. — AFP
178 killed in
Kano attacks
KANO: More than 178 people were killed in
a series of coordinated attacks by a radical
Islamist sect in north Nigeria’s largest city,
according to an internal Red Cross document
seen yesterday by an Associated Press
reporter. Nigeria’s President Goodluck
Jonathan also arrived in Kano yesterday
afternoon to pay his condolences, as military
helicopters flew overhead. A spokesman at
Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in
Kano, the city’s largest hospital, declined to
immediately comment yesterday on the latest
count. But the toll of the attacks could be
seen all around.
Armed police drove by the hospital in a
pickup truck with a corpse wrapped in a
white burial shroud. Children outside the
hospital sold surgical masks. Once used only
for the heavy dust in this sprawling city, the
masks are now being used by responders
going into the hospital’s overflowing mortuary.
Soldiers in bulletproof vests carrying
assault rifles with bayonets stood guard at
roundabouts in areas where the sect had
attacked. At the regional police headquarters
in Kano, which sustained particularly
heavy damage, soldiers refused access to AP
reporters.
Friday’s attacks by Boko Haram hit police
stations, immigration offices and the local
headquarters of Nigeria’s secret police in
Kano, a city of more than 9 million people
that remains an important political and religious
center in the country’s Muslim north.
The coordinated attacks represent the
extremist group’s deadliest assault since
beginning its campaign of terror in Africa’s
most populous nation. UN Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon condemned the multiple
attacks, according to a statement.
“The Secretary-General is appalled at the
frequency and intensity of recent attacks in
Nigeria, which demonstrate a wanton and
unacceptable disregard for human life,” the
statement said. Ban also expressed “his hope
for swift and transparent investigations into
these incidents that lead to bringing the
perpetrators to justice,” according to the
statement. A Boko Haram spokesman using
the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed
responsibility for the attacks in a message to
journalists Friday. He said the attack came
because the state government refused to
release Boko Haram members held by the
police.
President Goodluck Jonathan also condemned
the attacks. But Jonathan’s government
has repeatedly been unable to stop
attacks by Boko Haram, whose name means
“Western education is sacrilege” in the
Hausa language of Nigeria’s north. The
group has carried out increasingly sophisti-
cated and bloody attacks in its campaign to
implement strict Shariah law and avenge
the deaths of Muslims in communal violence
across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of
more than 160 million people.
Authorities blamed Boko Haram for at
least 510 killings last year alone, according
to an AP count, including an August suicide
bombing on the UN headquarters in the
country’s capital Abuja. So far this year, the
group has been blamed for at least 219
killings, according to an AP count. Boko
Haram recently said it specifically would target
Christians living in Nigeria’s north, but
Friday’s attack saw its gunmen kill many
Muslims. In a recent video posted to the
Internet, Imam Abubakar Shekau, a Boko
Harm leader, warned it would kill anyone
who “betrays the religion” by being part of or
sympathizing with Nigeria’s government.
Also yesterday, police say 11 people were
killed in an attack in Nigeria’s north state of
Bauchi. Bauchi state police commissioner
Ikechukwu Aduba said the attack happened
overnight. He said the 11 dead included civilians,
police and army personnel who were
running a checkpoint. Aduba said at least
two churches were also attacked in a separate
incident in the state. He did not immediately
name who was responsible for the
attacks. Bauchi is also a region where Boko
Haram has staged attacks before. It is nearly
200 miles (320 kilometers) from Kano. — AP
KANO: A victim of Friday’s bomb blast
and gun attacks lies in Murtala
Muhammad specialist hospital. — AP
INTERNATIONAL
CAIRO: Saudi Arabia said yesterday
it was withdrawing its observers
from Syria after an Arab monitoring
mission failed to end 10 months of
bloodshed, and called on the international
community to exert “all
possible pressure” on Damascus.
Hundreds of Syrians have been
killed since the observers began
their work in late December and
political opponents of Syrian
President Bashar Al-Assad are
demanding the Arab League refer
the crisis to the United Nations
Security Council.
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby
recommended to Arab foreign ministers
yesterday that a monitoring
mission to Syria be extended,
expanded and get more technical
support. The Saudi comments suggest,
however, that the extension of
a mission Syria’s opposition has
described as toothless will not be
enough to satisfy everyone in the
22-member body and exposed a
growing rift over the best way to
approach the crisis that has shown
little sign of easing after months of
political pressure.
“My country will withdraw its
monitors because the Syrian government
did not execute any of the
elements of the Arab resolution
plan,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal told
Arab foreign ministers at a closed
door meeting in Cairo. The statement
was obtained by Reuters after
he spoke. “We are calling on the
international community to bear its
responsibility, and that includes our
brothers in Islamic states and our
friends in Russia, China, Europe and
the United States,” Prince Saud said,
calling for “all possible pressure” to
push Syria to adhere to the Arab
peace plan.
Saudi Arabia, the region’s political
and economic powerhouse,
exerts enormous influence over
other Gulf countries which tend to
fall in line with its policies. Arab
diplomatic sources have said in
recent weeks, however, that
Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman are
increasingly reluctant to step up
pressure on Syria when they are
facing protests at home. Qatar,
which has led calls for escalation
against Syria, said it was time to
review the whole mission and consider
dispatching Arab peacekeeping
troops to quell the violence
that United Nations says has killed
more than 5,000 people. Syria says
2,000 security personnel have been
killed in the violence.
“The reality says that the bloodshed
has not stopped and the
killing machine is still working and
violence is spread everywhere,”
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh
Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani said in a
statement. “What is needed now is
a full review of the work of this mission
and a look into what results it
achieved and if those results are
convincing enough to continue or
if the realities call for other options
and one other option is .... to send
Arab peacekeeping forces.” Qatar
and Saudi Arabia, regional rivals of
Syria and its ally Iran, are impatient
for decisive action against Assad
but military action against Assad
would need unanimous backing
and several states prefer a negotiated
solution, League sources say.
The Security Council is also split
on how to address the crisis, with
Western powers demanding
tougher sanctions and a weapons
embargo, and Assad’s ally Russia
preferring to leave the Arabs to
negotiate a peaceful outcome.
Suggestions to send in UN experts
to support the Arab observers
made little headway at the last
meeting earlier this month and
Damascus has said it would accept
an extension of the observer mission
but not an expansion in its
scope.
Arabs divided
The lack of a unified Arab
response will frustrate Syria’s opposition
which has demanded that
Arab countries clearly state Assad’s
failure to adhere to its peace plan,
withdraw monitors and hand the
file to the UN Security Council. Arab
states are divided over how to handle
the crisis in Syria and critics say
the monitoring mission is handing
Assad more time to kill opponents
of his rule. But Egypt, Algeria and
Tunisia told Elaraby, they would
oppose such a move, a League
source said yesterday. “The three
states support solving the Syrian
crisis inside the Arab League,” the
source told Reuters. Others worry
that weakening Assad could tip
Syria, with its potent mix of religious
and ethnic allegiances, into a
deeper conflict that would destabilise
the entire region. Some may
fear the threat from their own populations
if he were toppled.
Funeral procession
Two Syrian army officers, an
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Saudi urges pressure on
Syria, withdraws monitors
Arab League, UN Security Council split on Syria
CAIRO: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal (center) arrives at the Arab foreign ministers’
meeting yesterday.— AFP
CAIRO: In this Saturday, January 21, 2012 photo, former Egyptian president
Hosni Mubarak is wheeled into a court house. — AP
Mubarak is still president,
defense lawyer tells court
CAIRO: Hosni Mubarak is still the president
of Egypt and the court trying him
has no legal jurisdiction to do so, his
defense lawyer said yesterday, trying to
undermine the prosecution’s case
against the leader deposed in a popular
revolt last year. Lawyer Farid el-Deeb was
defending Mubarak for the fifth and final
day of his closing remarks in a trial that
Egyptians who rose up against Mubarak’s
30-year-rule hope will bring justice. The
prosecution is seeking the death sentence
on a charge that Mubarak was
involved in the killing of some 850 protesters
in the uprising.
Mubarak’s defense has denied those
charges and attacked the prosecution’s
case on other charges of corruption and
abuse of power. Many Egyptians who
want to see Mubarak held to account
worry the case is not as strong as it
should be. A light sentence or an acquittal
may fuel more rage and is likely to
lead to street protests. Activists are calling
for mass demonstrations on Jan. 25,
the anniversary of the uprising. “Is Hosni
Mubarak still the president? I say yes. In
accordance with the constitution, he is
still the president until this day,” Deeb
said to applause and chants of “God is
Greatest” among the defense team.
“We have a clear constitutional article
that stipulates that the president of the
state is to be tried by a special court.”
Citing texts from the 1971 constitution,
Deeb said the president can only be
referred to trial by two-thirds of parliament
and that only a special tribunal can
try him. “Any law that contradicts that
article is over-ruled,” Deeb said, as the
security officers who filled up the court
room, looked at each other in amusement
and shock.
Mubarak’s defense told the court, as
plaintiffs interrupted with verbal objections
and others walked out, that
Mubarak did not step down from office
in accordance with the constitution. He
would have had to send a written resignation
to parliament. Instead, his deputy
read out a televised statement in which
he avoided the word “resignation” and
said Mubarak was “handing power” to
the Supreme Military Council, a group of
army generals who have ruled Egypt
since Feb. 11. “There is no such thing as a
president of a state resigning just by
informing his vice president,” Deeb said,
raising the pitch of his voice and flaring
his arms in the direction of the cage
where Mubarak and other defendants
were. Some of the lawyers representing
about 850 protesters killed during the
uprising yelled “this is a revolution!”.
“Based on this fact, all the investigations
and the referral to court is void and
this court is not entitled to hear this
case,” Deeb said. “I call for a verdict in
which this court says it is not entitled to
hear the case,” he added, calling for a
preliminary innocent verdict to release
the defendants.— Reuters
infantryman, a rebel and two civilians
died in clashes yesterday in
Talfita, a village in the Damascus
region, said the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights. Intermittent
fighting continued in the town of
Douma, nine miles (14 km) northwest
of the capital, which had been
encircled by the military, said the
UK-based rights group. An opposition
activist and a rebel fighter in
Douma told Reuters by telephone
the fighting had eased and the
rebels held about two thirds of its
main streets.
Masked fighters had set up
checkpoints and a funeral procession
for five civilians killed on
Saturday was passing through the
town, they said. Angry cries could
be heard in the background as they
spoke.
The rebel fighter said there were
several casualties yesterday but no
confirmed deaths. Syrian forces
opened fire on a car near the
mountainous north Lebanese border
town of Wadi Khaled, leading to
an exchange of fire between the
passengers and the Syrians, a
Lebanese security source said.
Residents later said they found a
Syrian man wounded by landmines
placed on border.— Reuters
UN envoy urges
Iraqi bloc to ‘fight
in parliament’
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s main Sunni-backed bloc
should help resolve the country’s political crisis
within parliament rather than stage a boycott,
the UN’s envoy to Baghdad told AFP yesterday.
His remarks came more than a month after a row
broke out between the Shiite-led government
and ex-premier Iyad Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc after
authorities charged Vice President Tareq Al-
Hashemi, a Sunni and Iraqiya member, with running
a death squad. “The government should
work, the parliament should work,” Martin Kobler
said in an interview. “There is a separation of
power in this country.”
“I do not think that boycott is a good idea.
People have to sit together and they have to
fight their political differences in the parliament,
on the basis of the constitution.” He continued:
“That is the place, parliament is the place where
political disputes have to be solved.” Last month,
Iraqiya began a boycott of parliament and cabinet
to protest what it charged was Prime Minister
Nuri Al-Maliki’s centralisation of power, and has
since called for Maliki to respect a power-sharing
deal or quit.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for
Hashemi while Maliki, a Shiite, has said his Sunni
deputy Saleh Al-Mutlak should be sacked after
the latter said the premier was “worse than
Saddam Hussein”. Hashemi, who denies the
charges, has been holed up in the autonomous
Kurdish region since the crisis flared and Kurdish
officials have so far declined to hand him over to
Baghdad. The flareup came just as US troops
were completing their withdrawal.
The United Nations and United States have
urged calm and called for dialogue, but oftmooted
talks involving all of Iraq’s leaders have
yet to take place. “The current political stalemate
has to end,” Kobler said. “We are concerned about
a political stalemate, because the country
deserves better. It is a rich country with a still
poor population, and political problems should
not hinder economic progress.”
The crisis has also stoked sectarian tensions
and violence in the past month has killed more
than 200 people, according to an AFP tally. The
Sunni-backed Iraqiya, which holds 82 seats in the
325-member parliament, has so far held back
from pulling out its nine ministers from the
national unity government. The bloc won the
most seats in March 2010 elections but was outmanoeuvred
by Maliki’s alliance, which eventually
formed the government after a prolonged
impasse was finally broken in November of that
year. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL
Communist past catches up with Bulgaria’s Church
SOFIA: The ghost of communism has resurfaced in
Bulgaria, with 11 of the country’s 15 top bishops
exposed as former secret police agents, shaking
the Church and its image just as it readies to
choose a new patriarch. A list published by the
parliamentary archives committee on Tuesday singled
out 97-year-old Patriarch Maxim and three
other bishops as the only members of the Church’s
top authority, the Holy Synod, not to have collaborated.
The other 11 were listed by the committee
as agents of the most notorious part of the feared
Darzhavna Sigurnost-the political police which
spied on people for suspected “anti-communist
behavior.”
The archives law does not entail any legal consequences
for the former agents, but Prime
Minister Boyko Borisov was quick to declare himself
“shocked”. A handful of ordinary priests from
southwestern Bulgaria meanwhile slammed their
leaders in a declaration Friday, as “apostates” who
had opened “a festering wound in the Church” and
HELSINKI: Paavo Arhinmaki of the Left Alliance’s and candidate for the Finnish
presidential elections pulls his niece Nelli after casting his vote at a local school
yesterday. — AFP
Pro-European the favorite
to win in Finnish election
HELSINKI: Finns voted in a presidential
election yesterday and pro-European
candidate Sauli Niinistoe looked set to
lead in the first round after a campaign
centered on the country’s role in the EU.
The skies cleared after days of snowfall to
entice the 27 percent of voters who
remained undecided in the latest survey
published three days earlier to make
their choice at the ballot box. Niinistoe, a
veteran politician from Prime Minister
Jyrki Katainen’s conservative National
Coalition Party, has enjoyed a wide lead,
with the latest survey published Friday
giving him 32 percent support.
But ever since Finland introduced a
direct popular vote to elect the president
in 1994, no candidate has won outright
in the first round. Although well ahead of
his rivals, Niinistoe’s lead has slipped
from 51 percent in December, increasing
the chance of a run-off round next
month. Pekka Haavisto, the 53-year-old
EU-friendly Green candidate, has surged
into second place in recent weeks from
single digit obscurity to 13 percent in the
latest survey published Friday.
Eurosceptic Paavo Vaeyrynen, 65, of
the traditionally agrarian Centre Party, is
in third place with around 11 percent in
the latest poll. Populist and deeply
eurosceptic Finns Party candidate Timo
Soini, 49, has meanwhile seen his support
dwindle from double digits to six
percent. If no candidate obtains more
than 50 percent of the votes yesterday, a
run-off will be held on February 5.
The election campaign has been
dominated by the eurozone debt crisis
and the country’s role in the 27-member
European Union. Many Finns have
voiced frustration over pressure to help
bail out indebted Greece, especially after
Finns themselves endured severe austerity
measures in the 1990s to put their
own fiscal house in order. Finland, with
GIGLIO: Italian officials say divers have pulled
out a woman’s body from the capsized Costa
Concordia, raising to 13 the number of dead
in the Jan. 13 accident off the Tuscan island of
Giglio. Civil protection official Francesca
Maffini told reporters the victim was wearing
a life vest and was found in the rear of a submerged
portion of a ship by a team of fire
department divers. The unidentified body
was being removed from the ship. Before the
body was found yesterday afternoon, there
were at least 20 people missing. Earlier, Italian
officials said it was possible that unregistered
passengers had been aboard when the
Concordia struck a reef off Gigilio. Only eight
of the 13 bodies so far found have been identified.
Unregistered passengers might have been
aboard the stricken cruise liner that capsized
off this Tuscan island, a top rescue official said
yesterday, raising the possibility that the
number of missing might be higher than the
20 previously announced. Rescuers, meanwhile,
resumed searching the above-water
section of the Costa Concordia but choppy
seas kept divers from exploring the submerged
part, where officials have said there
could be bodies. “There could have been X
persons who we don’t know about who were
inside, who were clandestine” passengers
aboard the ship, Franco Gabrielli, the national
civil protection official in charge of the rescue
5.3 million inhabitants, is in an elite club
of eurozone members with a triple-A
credit rating and is key to any bailout
deals.
Vaeyrynen and Soini both favour a
return to the Finnish markka, with
provincial dailies reporting Saturday that
Soini had called for an investigation into
the cost of returning to the pre-euro currency.
Niinistoe-instrumental in leading
Finland into the eurozone during his
tenure as finance minister from 1996 to
2003 — has withstood the fiery debate
on Finland’s role in the euro club.
The president has traditionally played
a key role in Finland’s foreign policy, but
in October parliament voted to hand EU
policy to the cabinet with the prime
minister now the main representative in
EU affairs. Despite that change, the euro
issue has dominated the campaign
because it remains “pretty close to the
hearts of voters,” Helsinki University
political science professor Tuomo
Martikainen told AFP.
Polls will close at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT)
and official results are expected at 10:00
pm (2000 GMT). There was active voting
in Jyvaeskylae in northern Finland,
where by initial accounts voter turnout
exceeded the previous election year’s
activity by 50 percent, regional dailies
reported. Other reports indicated lively
voting in Turku, southeast Finland, as
well as the Helsinki suburbs of Espoo
and Tuusula. Among voters interviewed
by the Helsingin Sanomat daily in the
eastern Helsinki port of Vuosaari, some
had still to make up their minds. “I
haven’t chosen yet, I’m still thinking. I’m
in two minds,” Martti Lavinto said. Still,
with one third of a possible 4.4 million
ballots cast in advance, and a record
number of early overseas votes,
observers were expecting a high turnout
of up to 74 percent. — AFP
urged them to resign. For Kalin Yanakiev, a philosophy
professor at Sofia University and editor-inchief
of the religious magazine Christianity and
Culture, the Church was a victim of Darzhavna
Sigurnost, which “picked up, nurtured, promoted
and appointed the bishops.”
“Bishops are for life. They cannot resign,” he told
Bulgarian national television. But he urged the
clerics to repent. Theologist Nikolay Mihaylov
echoed the view. “It is inadmissible how they
agreed to collaborate in full consciousness that
they were in the Church to ruin it,” Mihaylov fumed
in a television debate on the subject. For both analysts,
the committee’s list of bishops who collaborated
may not even be complete.
Many in Bulgaria were surprised for instance
that the patriarch, who was appointed in 1971
under communism, was not on the list. “It’s up to
the Holy Synod to decide what to do. But I am certain
that if they repent, people will give them
absolution,” Emil Velinov, head of a special govern-
effort, told reporters at a briefing on the
island of Giglio, where the ship, with 4,200
people aboard rammed a reef and sliced
open its hull on Jan 13 before turning over on
its side.
Gabrielli said that relatives of a Hungarian
woman have told Italian authorities that she
had telephoned them from aboard the ship
and that they haven’t heard from her since
the accident. He said it was possible that a
woman’s body pulled from the wreckage by
divers on Saturday might be that of the
unregistered passenger. But the identity of
that body and of three male bodies, all badly
decomposed after days in the water, have yet
to be established. Gabrielli said they have
identified the other eight bodies: four French,
an Italian, a Hungarian, a German and a
Spanish national.
Until yesterday, authorities had said that
20 people are still missing. The search had
been halted for several hours early yesterday,
after instrument readings indicated that the
Concordia has shifted a bit on its precarious
perch on a seabed just outside Giglio’s port. A
few meters (yards) away, the sea bottom
drops off suddenly, by some 20-30 meters
(65-100 feet), and if the Concordia should
abruptly roll off its ledge, rescuers could be
trapped inside.
When instrument data indicated the vessel
had stabilized again, rescuers went back
MOGADISHU: Somali militants firing vehiclemounted
anti-aircraft guns clashed with African
Union forces for a second night in Mogadishu,
killing at least nine people including women and
children, an ambulance official said yesterday.
African Union (AU) troops launched a new
offensive against Al-Shabaab on Friday, seizing
rebel positions just outside the capital for the
first time. The insurgents, however, have
launched counter attacks. On Saturday night
they struck a government military checkpoint
known as ‘Ex-control’ in a northwest suburb of
the coastal city. Soldiers with the AU’s AMISOM
force repelled the assault, an AMISOM
spokesman said.
Caught in the crossfire were Somalis seeking
refuge in camps for displaced people, victims
already of the anarchic country’s two-decade civil
war, or famine. “At least nine displaced people,
mostly women and children died in the camps
near the former American embassy on Friday and
Saturday night,” Ali Musa, coordinator of the city’s
ment department dealing with religious issues,
told national radio. The Holy Synod has so far kept
mum but the patriarch promised to come up with
a statement soon.
The Synod tried to prevent the committee from
publishing its revelations, fearing they would open
a rift in the Church and predetermine the successor
after Maxim’s death. “A new schism grows in
the Synod,” “The Church is splitting again,” newspaper
headlines read last week. In the 1990s, many
priests challenged the validity of Maxim’s
enthronement under communism and elected an
alternative patriarch, creating a bitter rift in the
Church.
Fist fights erupted among rival groups of priests
in many churches as each tried to evict the other.
The death of alternative patriarch Pimen in 1999,
followed by Maxim’s recognition by former premier
Simeon Saxe Coburg settled the issue but
failed to heal believers’ tainted views of their
Church leaders. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, to
ambulance services, told Reuters.
Ex-control is a strategically important checkpoint.
On the outskirts of Mogadishu, it is the
final government-controlled roadblock on the
road that bends south to Afgoye, a rebel stronghold
about 30 km (17 miles) from the capital.
“These (two) nights Al-Shabaab came close with
anti-craft guns mounted on lorries, but we
repulsed them,” Ndayiragije Come, spokesman
for the AU’s Burundian contingent, said.
Air strike installs fear
Camp resident Mohamed Sidow buried his
mother yesterday morning in a shallow grave,
hours after a stray round killed her. “A bullet hit
her in the head as she slept in front of our shelter
last night,” Sidow told Reuters. Panic engulfed the
camp through the night, he said, as shells pounded
the area and bullets fizzed through the air.
Trapped, Sidow and others were unable to take
the wounded to hospital. “We could not carry my
mother to hospital last night. Al Shabaab’s anti-
ZAGREB: Croatians voted yesterday in a referendum
on EU membership seen as a definitive
break from the volatile Balkan region and vital
for consolidating peace and economic recovery
in the ex-Yugoslav republic. Surveys
showed around 60 percent would back EU
entry, with all the major political parties in
favour of the move, paving the way for Croatia
to formally join the bloc in 2013. “Croatia says
‘yes’,” a confident Prime Minister Zoran
Milanovic said as he cast his vote. He dismissed
fears from the anti-EU camp that Croatia,
which has a population of 4.2 million, would
be too small to make any impact in the 27member
bloc.
“We are not big, but we are not insignificant
either,” Milanovic told reporters. President
Ivo Josipovic was also upbeat, telling media he
was “looking forward to the whole of Europe
becoming my home”. At 1000 GMT, four hours
after voting started, the turnout was 11.44 percent,
the election commission said. Polling stations
were to close at 1800 GMT, with first
results due to be released within the hour. “It is
simply a matter of Croatia formally joining the
EU after the bloc has already entered Croatia”
notably through political, legislative and economic
reforms that Zagreb had to implement
to be eligible, the Zagreb-based political analyst
Zarko Puhovski told AFP. “The largest part
of Croatia’s political life during the past 20
years was focused on explaining that we are
leaving the Balkans and that we have always
belonged to Europe,” he said. Jasna Kozlovic, a
pensioner, voted ‘yes’ since: “We need order
and perspective, if not for us then for our
which 80 percent of the country’s population of
7.4 million belongs, has been losing its appeal, an
MBMD institute poll showed this month. Even if 70
percent of all Bulgarians declared themselves as
religious, only 10 percent saw church-going as key
to supporting their faith, the poll found.
Attending mass was scorned by the officially
atheist communist authorities. Once the regime
fell in 1989, people flocked to Easter and Christmas
masses out of curiosity rather than belief, while
church weddings and christenings became fashionable.
Traditionally, the patriarch also blesses the
government and president when they are sworn in
to office.
But people were put off by the lack of accountability
in Church finances and the tendency of certain
top bishops to flaunt their affluence compared
with the poverty of most ordinary clergymen. One
of the compromised bishops, for example, drove to
last year’s December 6 Saint Nicholas mass in a luxury
Lincoln MKZ hybrid car. — AFP
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Mogadishu clashes
kill nine Somalis
Al-Shabaab says US drone kills its senior militant
aircraft fire forced us to stay put. My mother died
from blood loss,” he said.
Meanwhile, scores of families fled Elasha town
and the surrounding area after Al-Shabaab said a
missile fired by a US drone had hit a car in the
town, about 13 km from Mogadishu, killing one
of its senior militants. In a statement emailed late
on Saturday, the insurgents said the militant was
British passport holder Bilal el Berjawi, also
known as Abu Hafsa. Of Lebanese descent, he
grew up in west London and joined Somalia’s
Islamist militants in early 2006. “Hafsa ... took on a
distinguished role in the fight against the warlords
that terrorized the city of Mogadishu at the
time,” the statement said. Asha Ibrahim, a mother
of five, said she and her children were fleeing the
town of Lafole, close to Elasha. “Mogadishu is no
paradise, but we believe air strikes are more
destructive than the shelling in Mogadishu,” she
told Reuters. “In Lafole, Al-Shabaab is everyone’s
neighbor, so we are vulnerable to the bombs
intended for Al-Qaeda.” — Reuters
Croatians decide on EU
entry in key referendum
ZAGREB: A little girl casts her father’s ballot at a polling
station in Donja Lomnica, some 40 kilometers from
capital Zagreb, yesterday. — AFP
in, but only explored the above-water section.
Choppy seas kept divers from exploring
the submerged part of the ship, including the
restaurant and evacuation staging areas
where survivors have indicated that people
who did not make it into lifeboats during the
chaotic evacuation could have remained.
Passengers were dining at a gala supper
when the Concordia sailed close to Giglio and
struck the reef, which is indicated on maritime
and even tourist maps.
There are also fears that the Concordia’s
double-bottom fuel tanks could rupture in
case of sudden shifting, spilling 2,200 metric
tons (almost 500,000 million gallons) of
heavy fuel into pristine sea around Giglio,
which is part of a seven-island archipelago in
some of the Mediterranean’s most pristine
grandchildren,” she said as she left a polling
station in central Zagreb.
Opponents of EU membership fear a loss of
sovereignty and national identity, while some
of the conditions imposed by Brussels, including
full cooperation with the UN war crimes
court, have angered many. “It’s like boarding
the Titanic. Croatia has the strength and
potential to be independent and in the EU we
would be second-class citizens,” lamented
Zorana Banac, a 57-year-old housewife, who
said she was voting ‘no.’
EU membership has been a strategic goal
since Zagreb won independence in 1995 after a
four-year war following its declaration of independence.
While other post-communist countries
in central and eastern Europe were
strengthening their democracies and paving
their way towards EU integration, Croatia’s EU
aspirations were halted by the 1991-95 war and
its legacy. It was not until 2000 that the election
of a pro-European government enabled
Croatia’s transformation into a genuine parliamentary
democracy eligible for EU candidate
status. However, enthusiasm for EU membership
waned after long and often thorny accession
talks that opened in 2005, notably with the
latest economic crisis within the bloc. For the
past three years Croatia, whose economy relies
on Adriatic tourism, has been mostly in recession.
The national bank sees the economy
shrinking by 0.2 percent this year. Croatian
politicians have repeatedly warned that EU
membership would not automatically resolve
all economic woes but stress it would give the
country new opportunities. —AFP
13th victim of shipwreck found in Italy
ISOLA DEL GIGLIO: People look at fire fighters operating on the stricken cruise liner
Costa Concordia yesterday. — AFP
waters and a prized fishing area. But Gabrielli
said pollutants found near the ship have
been detergents and other substances,
including chlorine, apparently from the wreck
of the ship, which carried some 3,200 passengers
and a crew of 1,000. Any fuel traces
found were “compatible with what you find in
a port,” he said.
Ferries and cargo ships regularly call at
Giglio’s port. Sophisticated oil-removal equipment
has been standing by, waiting for the
search-and-rescue operations to conclude
before workers can start extracting the fuel in
the tanks.
The Italian captain, Francesco Schettino, is
under house arrest as prosecutors investigate
him for suspected manslaughter, causing a
shipwreck and abandoning the ship while
many were still aboard.
Operator Costa Crociere, a subsidiary of
US-based Carnival Cruise Lines, has said that
Capt Schettino had deviated without permission
from the vessel’s route in an apparent
maneuver to sail close to the island and
impress passengers. Schettino, despite audiotapes
of his defying Coast Guard orders to
scramble back aboard, has denied he abandoned
ship while hundreds of passengers
were desperately trying to get off the capsizing
vessel. He has said he coordinated the
rescue from aboard a lifeboat and then from
the shore. — AP

INTERNATIONAL
Alaskan farewell to Russian tanker after fuel run
NOME: A Russian tanker’s crew headed
for home Saturday-warmed by a pizza
sendoff-after delivering fuel in a dramatic
winter operation helped by a US
ice-breaker ship. Locals in Nome, on
Alaska’s western coast across the Bering
Sea from the Russian Far East, voiced
gratitude for the delivery to their 3,500strong
community, which is ice-locked
for months over the winter. “I am so sorry
to see them leave. It is so quiet in
here without them,” said Andrea Surina,
who works at the Polar Cafe, where the
Coast Guard gathered to eat during the
week-long mission.
The Vladivostok-based Renda followed
its escort the US Coast Guard
Healy into the mist, leaving Nome after
supplying 1.3 million gallons of fuel to
top off the ice-locked town’s winter fuel
supply. The Russian ship had arrived a
week earlier after battling for more
than 10 days across 300 miles (480 kilometers)
of Arctic ice to reach Nome,
having to be repeatedly helped by the
Healy, leading the way.
The remote town did not get its usual
pre-winter oil delivery due to a
storm, necessitating the unprecedented
operation to bring fuel in during
winter. A special waiver had to be
granted to allow the Renda to head to
the rescue, as under a 1920 law only
US-owned and operated vessels are
allowed to make such deliveries. The
two ships finally arrived near Nome late
USS ENTERPRISE: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (right) escorted by the
commander of Strike Group Twelve, Rear Adm. Walter E Carter Jr (left), watches
day flight operations from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise
on Saturday, Jan 21, 2012. — AP
Despite cuts, US to maintain
11 aircraft carriers: Panetta
ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE:
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told
sailors aboard the country’s oldest aircraft
carrier that the US is committed to
maintaining a fleet of 11 of the formidable
warships despite budget pressures, in
part to project sea power against Iran.
Panetta also told the crowd of 1,700
gathered in the hangar bay of the USS
Enterprise that the ship is heading to the
Persian Gulf region and will steam
through the Strait of Hormuz in a direct
message to Tehran. Iran has warned it
will block the Strait, a major transit point
for global oil supplies, and bluntly told
the US not to send carriers into the Gulf.
The US has said it would continue to
deploy ships there.
“That’s what this carrier is all about,”
said Panetta. “That’s the reason we maintain
a presence in the Middle East ... We
want them to know that we are fully prepared
to deal with any contingency and
it’s better for them to try to deal with us
through diplomacy.” There was speculation
that budget pressures would force
the Pentagon to scale back the number
of carriers, perhaps to 10, and Panetta’s
predecessor, Robert Gates, questioned
maintaining 11 ships.
But Congress has expressed strong
support for the current US carrier fleet
and has passed a law requiring the
Defense Department to maintain 11 of
the ships. After his speech, Panetta told
reporters traveling with him that the
department will be looking for cuts in
other areas. He added, “Our view is that
the carriers, because of their presence,
because of the power they represent, are
a very important part of our ability to
maintain power projection both in the
Pacific and in the Middle East.”
Keeping 11 of the warships, he said, “is
a long-term commitment that the president
wants to put in place.” Panetta’s
remarks came amid the roar of fighter
jets taking off and landing on the flight
deck above, as the Enterprise conducted
training operations about 100 nautical
miles off the coast of Georgia. Known as
the Big E, the warship and the other six
ships in the carrier strike group will
deploy to the Middle East in March. Its
presence there will allow the US to maintain
two carrier strike groups in the Gulf
region, where they can support battle
operations in Afghanistan, anti-piracy
efforts and other missions in the area.
“The Big E is going to be an important
symbol of that power in that part of the
world,” said Panetta, whose tour of the
ship included stops on the bridge and
the flight deck, as fighter jets catapulted
off the ship. This is Panetta’s first visit to a
carrier during operations at sea. He was
to spend the night on the ship. The decision
to maintain 11 carrier groups,
Panetta said, is part of the Defense
Department’s five-year budget plan that
will include $260 billion in savings.
Overall, the Pentagon must come up
with $487 billion over the next 10 years.
The USS Enterprise, which is based in
Norfolk, Va., was built 50 years ago as the
first nuclear-powered carrier, and is now
the oldest active duty ship in America’s
Naval fleet. The ship’s upcoming deployment
will be its 22nd and final tour, after
which it is scheduled to be deactivated.
It is being replaced by the USS Gerald R.
Ford, which is the first in a new class of
technologically advanced carriers. There
will be about a 33-month gap before the
Ford is commissioned, but Congress has
granted a waiver allowing the Navy to
drop to 10 carriers for that period of
time. — AFP
Horrific murder no great
surprise in meth capital
FRESNO: When a 23-year-old woman
fatally shot her two toddlers and a
cousin, critically wounded her husband
then turned the gun on herself last
Sunday, investigators immediately suspected
methamphetamine abuse in
what otherwise was inexplicable carnage.
It turned out the mother had
videotaped herself smoking meth
hours before the shooting. In family
photos, the children are adorable, the
mother pretty. They lived in a large
apartment complex near a freeway
with neatly clipped lawns and mature
trees. The father was recently laid off
from a packing house job.
“When you get this type of tragedy,
it’s not a surprise that drugs were
involved,” said Lt. Mark Salazar, the
Fresno Police Department’s homicide
commander. “Meth has been a factor in
other violent crimes.” A mother in
Bakersfield, California, was sentenced
Tuesday for stabbing her newborn
while in a meth rage. An Oklahoma
woman drowned her baby in a washing
machine in November. A New
Mexico woman claiming to be God
stabbed her son with a screwdriver last
month, saying, “God wants him dead.”
“Once people who are on meth
become psychotic, they are very dangerous,”
said Dr. Alex Stalcup, who
treated Haight Ashbury heroin users in
the 1960s, but now researches meth
and works with addicts in the San
Francisco Bay Area suburbs. “They’re
completely bonkers; they’re nuts. We’re
talking about very extreme alterations
of normal brain function. Once someone
becomes triggered to violence,
there aren’t any limits or boundaries.”
The Central Valley of California is a
hub of the US methamphetamine distribution
network, making extremely
pure forms of the drug easily available
locally. And law enforcement officials
say widespread meth abuse is believed
to be driving much of the crime in the
vast farming region. Chronic use of the
harsh chemical compound known as
speed or crank can lead to psychosis,
which includes hearing voices and
experiencing hallucinations. The stimulant
effect of meth is up to 50 times
longer than cocaine, experts say, so
users stay awake for days on end,
impairing cognitive function and contributing
to extreme paranoia. “Your
children and your spouse become your
worst enemy, and you truly believe
they are after you,” said Bob Pennal, a
recently retired meth investigator from
the California Bureau of Narcotic
Enforcement. Methamphetamine originally
took root in California’s agricultural
heartland in the late 1980s and early
1990s as a poor man’s cocaine. — AP
last week, although it took several days
to move the tanker into position and
start pumping fuel, a process that eventually
ended Thursday.
In a farewell gesture to 22 crewmen
on the Russian tanker-who were not
allowed to come ashore because of US
Customs regulations-Surina organized
a pizza delivery to the Renda. “I got the
idea to make them a pizza party to
show appreciation. I sent it out on a
snow machine and sled. “Here we are in
our houses warm and comfortable,
food on our tables, home for the holidays.
They were willing to do this, leave
their families through the holidays and
make this trip. “We appreciate the idea
that we have fuel now. Nome won’t run
BALTIMORE: Republicans in the US House of
Representatives, having seen their 2010 election
victory dissolve into a near-suicidal tax
fight, are promoting a repackaged jobs message
they hope carries them to victory in the
2012 elections. At a three-day retreat at a harborfront
hotel in Baltimore, an hour’s drive
from Washington, House Speaker John
Boehner mobilized prayer sessions, motivational
speakers, spin doctors and even colorful
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to
cheer up his 242-member House Republican
conference. House Republicans were ebullient
when they gathered last year for their annual
retreat after wresting control of the House
from Democrats in elections a few months
earlier. Twelve months later, the party faces a
tough fight to hold those gains.
Polls show that Americans blame
Republicans more than Democrats for the
gridlock in Congress that has paralyzed decision-making
on some of the toughest problems
facing the country - job creation and
dangerously high deficits. By the time the
retreat wrapped up on Saturday after gripe
sessions, policy discussions and lectures on
tactics and messaging, House Republicans
may not have figured out how they will handle
those problems, but Boehner proclaimed
to reporters that in 2012, “our focus will be on
the economy and jobs.”
With a national jobless rate of 8.5 percent
and millions of long-term unemployed people
losing hope, Republicans and Democrats
will both try to convince voters in the
November presidential and congressional
out.” She recounted how she spent two
days battling with logistics, customs
issues and security to deliver the tasty
gift-ending up by calling the governor’s
office, and finally getting permission.
“So we boxed up blueberry pie, apple
pie, vanilla bean and chocolate ice
cream. That took care of dessert. For a
main course we asked Bill Howell at
Airport Pizza to donate four huge pizzas.
He did. Howell himself added: “We
made those Russian guys some pizza
because it was the right thing to do.
They helped us out. They had a mission.
They accomplished their mission. I
wanted to express my thanks.” After
leaving Nome on Saturday, the Renda
and Healy will battle together through
elections that they hold the keys to an
improving economy. President Barack Obama
and fellow Democrats want to position themselves
as protectors of the poor and middle
class and a bulwark against Republicans who
want to enrich the already rich.
Republicans counter that a free-spending
president who racked up about $5 trillion in
government debt wants nothing more than
to overregulate job-creating companies and
drive the country into the same economic
ditch into which Europe is peering. Emerging
from the retreat, House Republicans plan to
tout the 30 pieces of legislation they passed
last year aimed at spurring job growth. While
it is unclear how many jobs those bills would
have actually created, Republicans will complain
the measures were killed by an uncooperative
Democratic majority in the Senate.
‘Party of small business’
The strategy is clear-to rebut Obama’s concerted
efforts to paint Republicans as obstructionist
for refusing to pass his own $447 billion
jobs bill. The 30 jobs bills will become a
staple of the Republican election rhetoric, but
that could open the party to the same accusations
they level against Obama - that they are
simply rehashing old ideas instead of proposing
new ones.
“We must be the party of small business,”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the No 2
House Republican, urged fellow lawmakers at
the retreat, which was held behind closed
doors. “If you say it once an hour, it’s not
enough, if you say it every 15 minutes, it’s still
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
the ice. Once out of it the ships will separate,
the Healy heading to Seattle for
maintenance.
Mark Smith, head of Vitus Marine,
the company that chartered the Renda
for the fuel delivery, said ice and wind
conditions could be favorable for the
ship’s return to Vladivostok. Forecasts
suggested 100-150 miles of open water
were opening up, he said before the
tanker and its US escort left. “They are
optimistic that if they can get away
from shore-fast ice they can make
some rapid progress,” he said. “It’s all
about ice conditions, but once the
Renda is free of the ice pack, they are
probably 10 days away from home port
in Vladivostok.” — AFP
US House Republicans look
to each other for rebirth
Leaders urge election-year unity during retreat
CHARLESTON: Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen Rick
Santorum, and his wife Karen, stand with cadets from The Citadel. — AP
Santorum ‘pressing’ on
to wowing Florida
CHARLESTON: Vowing to go forward,
Republican Rick Santorum cast his disappointing
third-place finish in this state’s
primary as a hiccup and pledged
Saturday to continue with a campaign
that he called “wide open.” Former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich claimed the top
spot in this state’s first-in-the-South primary
and former Massachusetts Gov Mitt
Romney claimed second. Undeterred,
Santorum did not acknowledge the
deficits he faces - chiefly money and
momentum - and insisted he would press
forward with a campaign that increasingly
looked to be on its last legs.
“Let me assure you we will go to
Florida and we will go to Arizona,” he said
before supporters interrupted him with
cheers of “We pick Rick.” “I ask you: it’s a
wide-open race. Join the fight,” he urged
them at an election night rally at the
Citadel. Santorum eked out a narrow win
in lead-off Iowa but lost in a blow-out to
Mitt Romney in New Hampshire.
Santorum had cast South Carolina as a
place where he could start a wellfinanced,
traditional campaign, yet he
came up well short to Gingrich.
“Three states. Three different winners.
What a great country,” Santorum said. For
months, Santorum has cast himself as the
candidate who can best compare his
record with President Barack Obama and
pitched himself as the most consistent
conservative in the race. The former
Pennsylvania senator urged Republicans
to stand up for social conservative values
and promised to continue his campaign
with that unapologetic and, at times,
aggressive message.
The disadvantages that plagued
Santorum early on - lack of money, shell
operations, negligible advertising - gave
way to a more professional campaign
here. He had the money to air ads, hire
staff and cover as much ground as possible
with a private airplane. Many of his
senior advisers had deep roots to the
state and in recent days he beamed confidently
that South Carolina could give him
his second win in an early state.
That win didn’t come Saturday and his
advisers were shuffling to reset the campaign
yet again, this time in costly
Florida. His aides planned for him to greet
voters near Fort Lauderdale yesterday
and then prepare for two debates in the
coming week. But Florida is a costly state
where the campaigns are fought on television
ads, not diners and storefronts that
were the center of Santorum’s strategy to
this point. The sheer size of Florida is a
challenge for candidates to navigate,
although Santorum’s tentative plans call
for him to focus on just one media market
a day. Santorum’s outside allies seemed
poised to bankroll supportive ads - at
least for now. “The longer we can keep his
candidacy going, the more people can
see his qualities,” said Foster Friess, a
Wyoming businessman and a major contributor
to the Red, White and Blue Fund,
an outside “super” political committee
supporting Santorum. “If you look at
Republicans, they always run these old
war horses. Santorum is different.” — AP
not enough,” Cantor said. Both parties cast
themselves as the champions of small businesses,
which economists say are the engines
of US economic growth and job creation.
Cantor, who has courted the often rebellious
85 first-term or “freshmen” congressmen,
many of them small-government Tea Party
activists, acknowledged their disappointment
with the slow pace of change in Washington.
Reflecting on his party’s year in control of the
House - which ended with the US budget
being about the same size as when
Republicans took power - Cantor told the rank
and file, “We learned this year that progress
must be more incremental than some of us
would have liked.”
Football and pollsters
To rally his troops, Boehner recruited former
Washington Redskins football coach Joe
Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl winner now
involved in NASCAR auto racing, to deliver a
pep talk. “He talked about football and
NASCAR and about his life. His message was
about the value of teamwork.
That is what we are all about, teamwork,”
said first-term Representative Chuck
Fleischmann. Teamwork is something
Boehner’s fractious caucus has struggled with
since Republicans won control of the House in
2010. Zealous freshmen aligned with the conservative
Tea Party movement repeatedly
frustrated the speaker’s efforts to negotiate
compromises with Democrats, raising questions
from some about his effectiveness as a
leader. — Reuters
Ukraine’s Yanukovich
refuses to relent in
Tymoshenko case
KIEV: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich appeared
yesterday to rule out any prospect of opposition leader
Yulia Tymoshenko being freed, saying those responsible
for signing a 2009 gas deal with Russia on “enslaving”
terms should be punished. Tymoshenko, in a statement
from prison where she is serving a seven-year jail sentence,
called on all opposition forces to unite to defeat
Yanukovich’s Regions Party in a parliamentary election
next October.
Her jailing last October for abuse of office, linked to the
2009 gas contract she brokered as prime minister, has led
to a crisis in relations between the ex-Soviet republic and
the West. The United States and the European Union say
the trial was politically motivated; in December the EU
withheld completion of agreements on political association
and a free trade zone with Ukraine in protest over her
jailing. Tymoshenko’s trial and conviction are widely seen
as a settling of scores between rival groups in the ex-
Soviet republic. Tymoshenko was a key player in the
“Orange Revolution” street protests in 2004-2005 which
overturned Yanukovich’s first bid for the presidency. He
made a comeback and narrowly defeated her in a run-off
vote in February 2010. Despite the EU pressure, justice
officials have opened fresh criminal cases against
Tymoshenko and she has been moved from police detention
in the capital, Kiev, to a remote prison camp in
Kharkiv, some 500 km (310 miles) to the east.
The Ukrainian leadership says the 2009 gas deal saddled
the country with an exorbitant price for gas and committed
it to importing volumes of Russian gas it does not need.
“Ukraine has become hostage to enslaving gas agreeements
... which have caused the country huge losses, billions
of losses. We have been left with a huge external
debt. Those who, regardless of their office, pushed Ukraine
to the abyss must bear responsibility before the Ukrainian
people,” Yanukovich told a ceremony yesterday. Several
thousand opposition supporters used a rally in the centre
of Kiev, marking the day when eastern Ukraine joined the
west of the country, to protest at the government’s policies
and call for Tymoshenko to be freed. — Reuters
KIEV: Supporters of former Ukrainian Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko take part in a rally yesterday. — AP

ABBOTTABAD: On Jan 14 at 8:12 pm, Khushal Khan’s
wife got a call on her cell phone. “Your son has been
martyred,” the voice said at the other end of the line.
The man then hung up. The end for Khan’s youngest
son, Aslam Awan, came when a drone piloted remotely
from the United States fired a missile at a house along
Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. Awan was among
four people killed, US officials said this week, describing
Awan as an “external operations planner” for Al-Qaeda.
British authorities say he was a member of a militant
cell in northern England who had fought in
Afghanistan.
The Jan. 10 strike in the militant stronghold of North
Waziristan that killed Awan was a victory for the CIA-led
drone program at time when relations between
Washington and Islamabad are very strained, in part by
the missile strikes. It was one of the first drone attacks
after a hiatus of some six weeks following a friendly fire
incident in which US forces killed 24 Pakistani border
troops, nearly leading to a severing of ties with
Islamabad.
The drone attacks generate anti-American sentiment
inside Pakistan, but have been credited with significantly
weakening Al-Qaeda in one of its global hubs.
For his family, the call came as a final curt word about
the fate of a son they had heard little from in over a
year. Awan grew up in the northwestern Pakistani town
of Abbottabad, a few kilometers away from the house
where Osama bin Laden was slain. His father worked in
a bank in Britain in the 70s and then in Abbottabad
until he retired a few years ago. His four other sons
remain in Britain, where they have prospered - one is a
surgeon, another is a doctor, the third an engineer and
INTERNATIONAL
In bin Laden town, father mourns another militant
MALE: In this photo, demonstrators gather outside the police and military headquarters
yesterday to protest against the arrest of the chief judge of the criminal court by
the military. — AFP
Maldives seeks
UN mediation
COLOMBO: The Maldives yesterday asked
the UN and the Commonwealth to send a
team of international legal experts to mediate
in a judicial crisis that has sparked street
demonstrations in recent days. Anti-government
activists have been protesting against
President Mohamed Nasheed, who initiated
the arrest last Monday of the head of the
country’s criminal court on charges of misconduct
and favoring opposition figures.
Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla
Mohamed’s arrest triggered a wave of street
protests and clashes with police in the crowded
capital Male. The island’s Supreme Court
and prosecutor general have called for
Mohamed’s release, but he remains in military
custody.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem wrote to
the UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) and the
Commonwealth asking them to “urgently dispatch”
a team of jurists, President Mohamed
Nasheed’s office said yesterday. “The letter is
a follow-up to suggestions made late last
week during phone calls between the president
and senior UN and Commonwealth officials,”
the statement said.
Opposition parties said police fired tear gas
to disperse hundreds of activists at a protest
on Friday night and that dozens were
detained, raising to 82 the number of arrests
in the past few days. Naseem said the judicial
impasse represented “a systemic failure” and
deeper structural reforms were needed to
restore judicial independence.
“This system-failure led directly to the
President’s decision, as the ultimate guarantor
of the Constitution and of rule of law in the
Maldives, to detain Justice Abdulla Mohamed,”
he said. Naseem said the government was
keen to resolve the crisis in an orderly and
peaceful manner. The government last week
raised fears that Islamic extremism were taking
hold in the Indian Ocean island nation,
best known for its upmarket tourism and as a
destination for honeymooners. — AFP
Taleban video shows
Pak soldiers’ killing
PESHAWAR: Taleban militants have
released a video showing the execution of
15 Pakistani soldiers whose bodies were
found earlier this month after they were
kidnapped in northwestern Pakistan. The
Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan had claimed
responsibility for the killings. The 15 FC
(Frontier Constabulary) personnel were kidnapped
late last month after a night-time
raid on a checkpoint in the northwestern
town of Tank. Pakistan’s seven tribal districts
near the Afghan border, including
North Waziristan, are rife with homegrown
insurgents and are strongholds of Taleban
and Al-Qaeda operatives.
The 2.38 minute video, a copy of which
was obtained by AFP, was released late
Saturday and shows the blindfolded sol-
diers sitting in three rows on a hillside. The
soldiers had their hands tied behind their
backs and were flanked by two masked
gunmen. A middle-aged soldier, who identifies
himself as Babar Khan, says in the
video that he was captured with the others
by Taleban militants who stormed their
outpost late at night.
Then an unidentified Taleban commander
wearing a leather jacket appears and says
the group was taking revenge for the killing
of 12 Taleban fighters in Khyber tribal district.
“We warn the government of Pakistan
to stop killing our people whom they have
arrested and if they continue to do so then
Taleban will (kill) them like this,” he says,
before he starts shooting the captured soldiers
with a Kalashnikov rifle. —AFP
MUKHTSAR: An Indian commando stands guard near a poster with a portrait of
Mayawati, chief minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and head of the
Bahujan Samaj Party, during an election rally yesterday. — AP
the fourth is a banker.
It seems doubtful Awan had any contact with bin
Laden in the town. But Awan’s background here reinforces
a striking association between this well-ordered,
wealthy Pakistani army town and al-Qaida militants,
which began before bin Laden was killed here in May
last year when a team of American commandos flew in
from Afghanistan.
Now 75 and recovering from a heart operation,
Khushal Khan answered questions Saturday from an
Associated Press reporter in the garden of his house,
making the most of some winter sun. He defended his
son’s memory against charges of militancy. “I don’t
believe this is true, my son was not indulging in these
things,” he said. “It can’t be correct.” Khan said Awan followed
his brothers’ footsteps and went to Britain in
2002 on a student visa. Awan lived in Manchester for
four years, during which time he joined a militant cell
that aimed to bring Muslims to Pakistan for militant
training, according to prosecutors at the time and a
British media report. He told his father he was studying
at Manchester University, but it’s unclear whether he
ever graduated.
The cell was headed by a British Al-Qaeda commander
called Rangzieb Ahmed who was captured in
Pakistan in 2006 and sent for trial in Britain, where he
was sentenced to life in prison for directing terrorism,
according to Britain’s Daily Telegraph. A letter he wrote
a to a longtime friend and fellow Pakistani, Abdul
Rahman, rhapsodized over the “fragrance of blood”
from the battlefield of jihad and his commitment to
militancy, according to prosecutors in the trial of
Rahman, who was sentenced to six years in jail in 2007
ISLAMABAD: The death of a senior Al-Qaeda
leader in a US drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal
badlands, the first strike in almost two months,
signaled that the US-Pakistan intelligence partnership
is still in operation despite political tensions.
The Jan 10 strike-and its follow-up two
days later- were joint operations, a Pakistani
security source based in the tribal areas told
Reuters. They made use of Pakistani “spotters” on
the ground and demonstrated a level of coordination
that both sides have sought to downplay
since tensions erupted in January 2011 with the
killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor in
Lahore.
“Our working relationship is a bit different
from our political relationship,” the source told
Reuters, requesting anonymity. “It’s more productive.”
US and Pakistani sources told Reuters
that the target of the Jan 10 attack was Aslam
Awan, a Pakistani national from Abbottabad, the
town where Osama bin Laden was killed last
May by a US commando team.
They said he was targeted in a strike by a USoperated
drone directed at what news reports
said was a compound near the town of
Miranshah in the border province of North
Waziristan. That strike broke an undeclared
eight-week hiatus in attacks by the armed,
unmanned drones that patrol the tribal areas
and are a key weapon in US President Barack
Obama’s counter-terrorism strategy.
The sources described Awan, also known by
the nom-de-guerre Abdullah Khorasani, as a significant
figure in the remaining core leadership
of al Qaeda, which US officials say has been
sharply reduced by the drone campaign. Most of
the drone attacks are conducted as part of a
clandestine CIA operation.
The Pakistani source, who helped target
Awan, could not confirm that he was killed, but
the US official said he was. European officials
said Awan had spent time in London and had
ties to British extremists before returning to
Pakistan. The source, who says he runs a network
of spotters primarily in North and South
Waziristan, described for the first time how US-
Pakistani cooperation on strikes works, with his
Pakistani agents keeping close tabs on suspected
militants and building a pattern of their
movements and associations. “We run a network
of human intelligence sources,” he said.
for spreading terrorist propaganda in Manchester. It
apparently referred to a stint fighting jihad in
Afghanistan, but when that occurred is not known.
The judge said then Awan was believed to have left
England for Afghanistan. “Awan was very well connected
to known extremists in the UK. It highlights that the
threat is still there,” said Valentina Soria, a terrorism
researcher at the London-based Royal United Services
Institute. “This group were not just wannabes, they
were active and with links to Al-Qaeda central.” There
are thought to be about 900,000 Pakistani Muslims in
England - many of them living in London and in northern
cities. British authorities have said nearly all the
plots and attacks on British soil have some connection
to Pakistan.
Awan returned to Abbottabad in 2007, around the
time that bin Laden was settling in to his large house,
though that doesn’t mean Awan was in touch with him
or any of his couriers. US officials have previously said
the Al-Qaeda leader was cut off from the rest of his network
and wasn’t meeting other militants for security
reasons. Awan began to associate with Sipah-e-Sahaba,
an extremist group that has a political wing as well links
to Al-Qaeda, according to a police officer in the town
who knows the family. The officer didn’t give his name
because he didn’t want to be seen as adding to Khan’s
pain. Khan said he last saw his son or heard his voice in
2010, when Awan asked for funds to build a house and
they fought over the fact he wasn’t working. “That was
the point when I had to forcefully ask him to go out
earn some money,” he said. “But my words hurt him,
and he left home with only the clothes he was wearing.”
Khan said he initially feared his son had been kid-
“Separately, we monitor their cell and satellite
phones. “Thirdly, we run joint monitoring operations
with our US and UK friends,” he added,
noting that cooperation with British intelligence
was also extensive. Pakistani and US intelligence
officers, using their own sources, hash out a joint
“priority of targets lists” in regular face-to-face
meetings, he said. “Al-Qaeda is our top priority,”
he said. He declined to say where the meetings
take place. Once a target is identified and
“marked,” his network coordinates with drone
operators on the US side. He said the United
States bases drones outside Kabul, likely at
Bagram airfield about 25 miles (40 km) north of
the capital. From spotting to firing a missile
“hardly takes about two to three hours”, he said.
Drone strikes a sore point with Pakistan
It was impossible to verify the source’s claims
and American experts, who decline to discuss
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
napped when he didn’t return or contact him.
But after a few months, Awan called his wife and
told her he was in Miran Shah, the largest town in North
Waziristan. He said he was running a general store and
dealing in second-hand clothes. Local intelligence officials
said Awan was known by the nom de guerre
Abdullah Khurasani, and was highly prized in al-Qaida
circles because of his education, computer skills and
foreign contacts.
Al-Qaeda, Taliban and other militants from around
the world congregate for training and networking in
North Waziristan, and Miran Shah is a key logistical base.
The town is too dangerous for reporters to visit, but
locals who have traveled there say hundreds of Pakistan
and foreign militants live there openly, unmolested other
than by the US missile attacks on its outskirts. The
Pakistani army says it doesn’t have enough resources to
launch an operation in the region. The missile strike program
began in earnest in 2009 and has been stepped
up by the Obama administration. Abbottabad is home
to the Pakistan army’s top military academy and hundreds
of officers and soldiers live in what is one of the
country’s more secure towns. The fact that bin Laden hid
there for so long in plain sight triggered intense international
suspicions that the military was sheltering him. Al-
Qaeda’s No 3, Abu Faraj Al-Libi, lived in Abbottabad
before his arrest in 2005 elsewhere in northwest
Pakistan, American and Pakistani officials have said. Five
months prior to the bin Laden raid, Indonesian Al-
Qaeda operative Umar Patek was arrested in the town
following the arrest of an Al-Qaeda courier who worked
at the post office. US officials have said Patek’s arrest in
Abbottabad was a coincidence. — AP
How Pakistan helps
US drone campaign
Targets hunted by network of Pakistani ‘spotters’
KABUL: A legendary question from the dying days
of the Vietnam war has taken on a new resonance in
Afghanistan as the United States-led coalition prepares
to pull out its combat troops. Vietnam veteran
and later US presidential candidate John Kerry
asked the question at a Senate hearing in 1971:
“How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in
Vietnam?” Forty years later, some Western officials
say privately the time has come to ask the same
question about Afghanistan, given the decision to
quit combat in 2014 — win, lose or draw.
And French President Nicolas Sarkozy, facing a
tough election battle in three months, warned
Friday that he might pull French troops out early
after four were shot dead on their base by an
Afghan soldier. France has about 3,600 soldiers
serving in Afghanistan alongside a total of 130,000
foreign troops fighting a decade-long Taleban
insurgency. Their deployment is deeply unpopular
in France.
Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson, chief
spokesman for NATO’s International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, says Kerry’s
question is probably “as old as warfare”. But in an
interview with AFP he said it was even more pertinent
in irregular types of conflict where “we all
know that the decision in Afghanistan will not be
achieved on the battlefield”.
Jacobson disputes overarching comparisons
between Vietnam and Afghanistan, but concedes
that “there are individual elements where you can
say this looks a little bit like Vietnam. “And one of
the big ones is that we have got not only Americans
but a coalition of 50 nations that has soldiers far
away from home where none of them can say this is
a war that really threatens my house and home.”
One big difference, though, is that Afghanistan
RAWALPINDI: A supporter of a Pakistani religious party shouts religious slogans during a rally
yesterday. Thousands of Islamists rallied against the US and India, demanding Islamabad cut
off ties with Washington. The rally highlighted the ability of hard-liners to bring their supporters
into the streets, as well as lasting anger over the Nov 26 airstrikes, which complicated US
efforts to enlist Pakistan’s cooperation on the Afghan war. — AP
doesn’t carry the “moral cost” that Vietnam did, he
said. While acknowledging civilian casualties
caused by NATO troops in Afghanistan, he said
there was not the “moral burden that Vietnam had
because of napalm, because of agent orange,
because of things that went wrong”. But he admits
that things have gone wrong in Afghanistan too,
like the failure to follow through on the swift victory
against the Taleban in 2001 with the training of a
strong Afghan army-a priority now, 10 years later.
the drone program, say the Pakistanis’ cooperation
has been less helpful in the past. US officials
have complained that when information on
drone strikes was shared with the Pakistanis
beforehand, the targets were often tipped off,
allowing them to escape. Drone strikes have
been a sore point with the public and Pakistani
politicians, who describe them as violations of
sovereignty that produce unacceptable civilian
casualties. The last strike before January had
been on Nov 16, 10 days before 24 Pakistani soldiers
were killed in what NATO says was an inadvertent
cross-border attack on a Pakistani border
post. That incident sent US-Pakistan relations
into the deepest crisis since Islamabad joined
the US-led war on militancy following the Sept
11, 2001 attacks. On Thursday, Pakistani foreign
minister Hina Rabbani Khar said ties were “on
hold” while Pakistan completes a review of the
alliance. —Reuters
Vietnam war question haunts Afghanistan
“There are a lot of people who say there were
mistakes made in the first years, and probably that’s
a fair judgment,” Jacobson said. The second sentence
in Kerry’s famous speech to the Senate was:
“How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for
a mistake?” That’s a question that haunts the British
cemetery in Kabul, where soldiers from two 19th
century invasions lie in snow-covered graves hidden
behind high mud-brick walls and an arched
wooden door. —AFP
KABUL: An Afghan woman clad in burqa waits for alms during a snowstorm yesterday. Despite
billions of dollars donated by the foreign countries, Afghanistan remains on the poorest countries
in the world. — AP

MANILA: Communist guerrillas killed
about 100 government troops and
police and waged 447 attacks last
year despite a continuing decline in
their 43-year insurgency, the military
said yesterday. The attacks by New
People’s Army guerrillas included 31
assaults on mining firms, banana
plantations and other businesses
that damaged $27 million (1.2 billion
pesos) worth of equipment and
property, military spokesman Col.
Arnulfo Burgos said. The rebels
earned nearly $7 million (300 million
pesos) from extortion in 2011, he
said. Although the Marxist insurgency,
one of Asia’s longest-running,
remains the Philippines’ leading
security threat, rebel attacks have
declined in recent years. The number
of armed rebel fighters dropped 7.8
percent last year to 4,043, Burgos
said. The 447 rebel attacks last year
were 11 percent fewer than in 2010
and consisted mostly of small
assaults on remote detachments,
killings, kidnappings, bombing and
arson conducted as part of extortion
demands, Burgos said. He said only
69 were major assaults, including
simultaneous attacks in October on
three nickel mining complexes in
southeastern Surigao del Norte
province that involved more than
INTERNATIONAL
Filipino rebels killed 100 troops in 2011
MANILA: A fire breather performs in Chinatown a day before the Chinese New
Year yesterday. The Lunar New Year falls today and is the beginning of the
Spring Festival holiday. — AFP
Newspapers in Japan defy
West’s media depression
ISHINOMAKI: Printed newspapers may be
in crisis in the West but circulations remain
enormous in high-tech Japan-and its media
will even resort to medieval methods to get
copies to readers. When the March 2011
tsunami struck a great swathe of the northeast
coast, leaving 19,000 people dead or
missing and triggering the Fukushima
nuclear disaster, it also submerged the
Ishinomaki Hibi Shimbun’s presses. The
14,000-circulation paper had the biggest
story of its 100-year existence right on its
flooded doorstep, but no way of printing it.
So its reporters did what monks in
European monasteries did with the Bible in
the Middle Ages and copied out their message
to the people by hand. It is an example
of an intimate relationship between
newspapers and readers that has long
eroded in the West and means that Japan’s
print media have been less damaged by
the havoc wreaked by new media, analysts
say. “We had a meeting with our staff that
night to discuss what to do,” recalled
Hiroyuki Takeuchi, the Ishinomaki paper’s
chief editor.
“We agreed that any local newspaper
would lose its raison d’etre if it gave up
delivering a service when its community is
in crisis.” The back-to-basics approach was
the idea of Koichi Ohmi, the daily’s manager
and a columnist. “Come on!” he told the
staff. “We can still issue newspapers with
just pens and paper.” Ripping reams of
paper from useless printers, they seized
pens and wrote out what survivors needed
to know most of all-the status of each district,
ration schedules and medical services
information.
With their distribution network nonexistent
and no vehicles available, the
reporters walked to evacuation centers
where homeless victims had found refuge,
and pinned up their publication. Yukie
Yamada, a 44-year-old female survivor, said:
“All the people at the shelter flocked to the
wall paper every day and stared intently at
every single article. The newspaper gave us
what we really needed.” The wall papers
were delivered for six days, until electricity
was restored and the journalists were able
to produce copies on a standard computer
printer.
Takeuchi said: “Our newspaper was
being published by the victims for the victims.
No matter what, we should spearhead
our community. This is the social mission of
a daily hit by natural disasters.” The loyalty
works both ways. According to the World
Association of Newspapers, Japan has the
second-highest newspaper penetration of
any country, with readership of paid dailies
at 92 percent of the population, behind
only Iceland. Japan has the planet’s three
biggest-selling daily newspapers, it added,
led by the Yomiuri Shimbun.
The Yomiuri claims a monumental circulation
of 13.5 million copies a day including
its evening edition, and at 9.98 million, its
morning edition alone sells more copies
than all of Britain’s national dailies put
together. By contrast, in the US, the Rocky
Mountain News has shut down, the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer has gone online-only
and even major names such as the San
Francisco Chronicle and Boston Globe are
threatened with closure.
Newspapers are standard reading fare
for Japanese people on their typically
lengthy train commutes to and from work,
in a society that ascribes huge value to literacy
and learning. But Mitsushi Akao, a
lecturer on journalism at Meiji University,
said the major newspapers also face less of
a threat from Japan’s relatively underdeveloped
Internet news sites.
“Newspapers maintain higher public confidence...
A majority of young people collect
information from the Internet but its
sources are often newspapers. If the situation
continues like this, newspapers won’t
disappear.
“Newspapers traditionally boast networks
far bigger (than other media) and
have more reporters,” he said, adding
regional papers have a special place in their
readers’ hearts. The Japan Newspaper
Publishers and Editors Association told AFP
that total daily sales averaged 48.35 million
in 2011, down only 1.97 percent on the
previous year. “Circulation numbers
declined last year in line with recent falls,
but the decline was still limited,” said
Tsutomu Kanayama, professor of media
studies at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.
The business models of Japan’s newspaper
publishers are different to those elsewhere
in the developed world, he said.
“The Japanese newspaper industry relies
heavily on its solid home-delivery system,
which has long covered the entire nation
minutely, which is quite different from sales
at kiosks in other countries,” he told AFP.
“Another factor behind the strength of the
industry is their focus on securing people’s
trust in their newspapers. Local newspapers
in particular also try to maintain a
bond with their communities.”— AFP
Singapore PM hopes for
Year of Dragon baby boom
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong said yesterday he hoped “fervently”
that Singaporeans would boost the citystate’s
stubbornly-low birth rates in the
coming Year of the Dragon. In his Lunar
New Year message sent to the media, Lee-a
father of four-said growing Singaporean
families was an “important priority” and
that more local born babies were needed
to maintain Singapore’s national identity “I
fervently hope that this year will be a big
Dragon year for babies... This is critical to
preserve a Singapore core in our society,”
he said.
“We do not want to rely more and more
heavily on immigration, nor do we want to
see our population shrinking year by year.”
The Year of the Dragon is regarded as the
most auspicious to have a baby because it
is the only mythical creature among the
dozen animals that represent each year in
the Chinese cosmic cycle. Superstitious
Chinese believe children born during the
Year of the Dragon the symbol of ancient
emperors-will possess courage and wisdom
and bring luck to the entire family. Historic
data shows spikes of more than 10 percent
in the city-state’s total births during the
most recent dragon years, 2000 and 1988,
even as numbers declined in the interim
years. Referencing official data which
showed Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR)
dropping “steadily” from 1.60 babies per
female in 2000 to 1.20 in 2011, Lee said the
downward trend was “especially true” for
Chinese Singaporeans. Statistics showed
Chinese Singaporeans’ TFR dived from 1.43
in 2000 to 1.08 in 2011, the lowest among
the three predominant races in Singapore.
Although the overall TFR for 2011 was a
slight improvement on a record low of 1.15
two years ago it was far below the 2.1
babies needed for the population to
replenish itself naturally. “I do not think we
have reversed the long-term downward
trend,” Lee said. Singapore currently has a
population of 5.2 million, a quarter of
whom are foreigners. — AFP
200 guerrillas. About 100 soldiers
and troops were killed in rebel
assaults last year, down from 184 in
2010, he said. The Maoist rebels’
reliance on extortion from businesses
and even poor villagers reflects a
decline in their support from communities,
Burgos said. President
Benigno Aquino III has opened peace
talks with the rebels but the negotiations
have been stalled for months
over a guerrilla demand for officials
to release more jailed rebels.
Norway, which has been brokering
the talks, has tried but failed so far to
bridge the differences. Political analyst
Ramon Casiple said it is much
JAKARTA: A community in eastern
Indonesia has placed 1,000
pink adenium flowers outside the
local parliament, police station
and courtroom, not to say thanks,
but to send a message: leave our
kids alone. In recent weeks,
Indonesians outraged by reports
of children arrested for petty
crimes-some of whom were later
beaten by police-have been
mocking law enforcers with flowers,
coins and even used
footwear. Police are locking up
children for minor misdemeanors
while rampant official corruption
and theft of millions in public
funds is often punished with just
a slap on the wrist, protesters and
rights advocates say.
“There is a culture of arrogance
in the police force and it is
completely unprofessional to go
after children,” Neta Pane, director
of the campaign group Indonesia
Police Watch, told AFP.
“Indonesians are getting very
angry about how police focus on
tedious crimes while politicians
and business people walk free
from big corruption cases.” Earlier
this month, Indonesians across
the country dumped more than
1,200 pairs of sandals, flip-flops
and slippers at collection points
after a teenager was arrested and
beaten by police for stealing an
officer’s worn-out sandals.
The story of the 15-year-old
boy, who faced a stiff jail sentence,
turned into a cause celebre.
The case goes to the heart of
widespread public perception
that the real criminals are getting
away with it, Pane said. Days after
the sandals campaign, children’s
rights activists began collecting
coins to draw attention to the trial
on Bali island of a teenager
accused of stealing a wallet containing
1,000 rupiah (11 cents).
The 1,000 flowers were sent in
another case, that of a 16-yearold
boy charged with stealing
and selling eight adeniums from
his aunt’s garden in the city of
Soe, on Indonesia’s part of Timor
island. The orphan said he sold
the flowers for $1 each to raise
money for school fees. The
unusual demonstrations were
harder now for the rebels to win
political support from the people
under the popular Aquino, son of
revered pro-democracy figures, than
in the time of disgraced leaders like
former President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo, who has been detained for
alleged corruption, and the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos, who was
accused of plunder and massive
human rights violations.
“The rebels are dealing with a government
that they cannot isolate
politically like Marcos,” Casiple said.
“It’s also a political conflict, a battle
for hearts and minds.” The Maoist
rebels did not immediately comment
successful. All three teenagers
were returned to their families
after their cases came to the
attention of the media and police
were warned not to make more
noise than necessary over petty
crimes.
But there are still around 6,000
children in Indonesian jails, only
600 of them in children’s facilities,
the government says. Children,
like adults, are kept in police cells
as they await trial. After a rash of
similar cases in 2009 — including
the arrest of 10 shoeshine boys
for playing a coin-toss game that
police considered gambling-the
national police force conceded it
would seek alternative solutions.
“Obviously there has been no
progress. Judges are also to
blame, sending so many kids to
jail. It’s only when there’s a
protest that they side with the
public and acquit the accused,”
Pane said.
Despite a law that stipulates
jailing should be “the last resort”
for punishing a child, Indonesian
courts convict and imprison 90
percent of the children they try,
according to the United Nations
Children’s Fund. The boy who
stole the police officer’s sandals
was reportedly physically abused
by police and then locked up for
almost three months on dubious
evidence.
And a case in which two brothers
in police custody were found
dead with bruises covering their
bodies has deepened public distrust
of the law enforcement
agencies. For four years in a row
Indonesians have named the
police as the country’s most corrupt
institution, according to
Transparency International,
which found 50 percent of all
police interactions involved
bribes.
“Political pressure, especially
from parties and lawmakers, and
the financial security given by
large corporations mean police
turn a blind eye to important cases
and focus on these smaller
ones,” said Donny Syofyan of
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
on the military statement, but have
disputed such claims in the past as
propaganda amid escalating rebel
attacks. The Communist Party of the
Philippines last month dismissed as
“annual year-end empty bragging” an
announcement by officials that the
military had cleared 23 provinces of
communist insurgents, and threatened
more attacks in coming
months. The rural-based insurgency
has endured amid widespread poverty,
landlessness and faulty governance
in the country’s poorest
regions. Clashes have killed an estimated
120,000 combatants and civilians.—
AP
Indonesians deposit flowers,
flip-flops for child rights
15-yr-old boy’s story turns into cause celebre
YANGON: Myanmar’s army raped, tortured and
killed civilians in ethnic minority conflict zones
last year, Human Rights Watch said yesterday,
despite the government’s recent political
reforms. Bloody battles have raged since June
in Kachin State in the far north, marring the
progress of a new regime that has surprised
observers with a series of positive reforms in
the isolated nation, also known as Burma.
“The Burmese military continues to violate
international humanitarian law through the use
of anti-personnel landmines, extrajudicial
killings, forced labor, torture, beatings, and pillaging
of property,” HRW said. Its report on the
country-part of a worldwide review of human
rights in 2011 — also said sexual violence
against women and girls “remains a serious
problem”, while the army “continues to actively
recruit and use child soldiers”.
Ethnic minority rebels were also accused of
abuses, including using landmines near civilian
areas. HRW said over 50,000 civilians had been
internally displaced by fighting in Kachin State,
which shattered a 17-year ceasefire, while
around 500,000 people were internally displaced
due to conflict in the country’s eastern
border areas last year.
Myanmar’s government, still largely dominated
by former junta generals, has reached
peace deals with Shan and Karen rebels in eastern
states in recent weeks as part of efforts to
end civil war that has gripped parts of
Myanmar since independence in 1948. In
December, a presidential order was issued for
PALU: In this photograph, a child rights’ activist hands over to a police woman a box full of sandals as
a statement of support for a 15-year-old Indonesian boy who was arrested and beaten by police for
stealing an officer’s worn-out sandals. — AFP
the military to cease attacks against guerrillas
from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), but
it failed to stop heavy fighting in the region,
according to the rebels.
On Friday, Myanmar state media reported
that the government and Kachin rebels had
agreed to hold further ceasefire negotiations.
Resolution of the conflicts is a demand of
Western nations which impose sanctions on
the regime. The government has made
progress on other key areas including holding
talks with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi,
who has been allowed to stand in an April byelection,
and released hundreds of political
prisoners.
In another development, at least 34 Chinese
journalists were jailed last year for charges
ranging from “inciting subversion” to “revealing
state secrets”, a rights group said yesterday, as
Beijing tightened media restrictions.
Investigative journalism in China has gained
strength in recent years, despite a strict censorship
system aimed at rooting out information
deemed a threat to the ruling Communist
Party.
But in its annual report, the US-based
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said “censorship
restrictions continue to pose a threat to journalists
whose reporting oversteps official
guidelines.” “Ambiguous ‘inciting subversion’
and ‘revealing state secrets’ laws contributed to
the imprisonment of at least 34 Chinese journalists,”
the group said. It cited the example of
Qi Chonghuai, whose original four-year jail sen-
Andalas University in Padang city.
Since the media attention and
grassroots campaigns, Indonesia’s
parliament has resumed a revision
of the 1997 law on child protection,
which is riddled with
vague language.
The independent Indonesian
Commission for Child Protection,
which is funded by the government,
wants to see an end to jailing
children altogether, but as
progress is slow, it has recommended
lifting the age at which
children can be caged from 12 to
15. “We have some good childprotection
laws, but there’s a
problem in disseminating information
to all police and judges to
ensure they are implementing
them,” commission secretary
Muhammed Ihsan said. “The commission
should have an office in
all 33 provinces, but we are supposed
to run all of them on less
than $1 million a year, which is
impossible. “I think that shows
the government isn’t serious
about child protection.” — AFP
Abuses go on in Myanmar
rebel conflict, says HRW
34 Chinese reporters jailed in 2011: HRW
tence in 2008 for “extortion and blackmail” after
he exposed government corruption in the eastern
province of Shandong was extended by
eight years last year.
The state-run All-China Journalists
Association was not available for comment
when contacted by AFP. The report comes a day
after an international journalists’ association
said China had tightened restrictions on the
media in 2011 in response to domestic calls for
greater openness and popular uprisings in the
Middle East.
Authorities last year were spooked by
anonymous online calls for people to take part
in Arab-style protests in China in a so-called
Jasmine Revolution, and are also jittery about
an upcoming leadership transition in 2012. In a
move that sparked huge concern in the media
world in July, the China Economic Times-one of
China’s leading newspapers-shut down its
respected investigative unit.
Later that year, China’s propaganda authorities
placed two of Beijing’s most popular and
colourful newspapers-the Beijing News and the
Beijing Times under new management, in what
critics said was a bid to censor the news. HRW
said in its report that physical violence against
journalists who reported on sensitive topics
also remained a problem last year. In
September, Li Xiang, a 30-year-old reporter in
the central province of Henan, was murdered in
a crime widely believed to be linked to him
exposing a scandal involving the sale of tainted
cooking oil. — Agencies

Oppn, pro-govt hopefuls clash
Continued from Page 1
not need to obtain a license in Kuwait. They also said
that they were only showing recorded programs prepared
in Kuwait. Although the ministry could not close
the station, Nilesat authorities yesterday pulled the
plugs and stopped airing the station.
Meanwhile, the number of candidates running in the
Feb 2 general elections dropped to 321 after 10 hopefuls
pulled out of the race yesterday with just two days left
for withdrawals. More candidates are expected to drop
out of the race today and tomorrow before the door for
withdrawals closes. Twenty-four women candidates,
including all the former female MPs, are still in the race.
In a related matter, the administrative court yesterday
‘Remorseful’ Saleh bids farewell, leaves...
Continued from Page 1
A senior GPC official, Sultan Al-Barakani, said last week
that the president, who remains in office on an honorary
basis, would travel abroad. “In the coming days, he will visit
the sultanate of Oman and then Ethiopia before travelling
to New York for treatment” for wounds he sustained in a
bombing at the presidential palace last June, the official
told AFP. “Once he has completed his treatment in New
York, he will return to Yemen to continue leading the party.”
Saleh’s departure came a day after parliament adopted
a law giving him “complete” immunity from prosecution in
return for stepping down under a transition deal brokered
by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. The law, which
also grants limited immunity to his aides, has drawn wide
condemnation from young protesters, who have seen hundreds
of their compatriots killed by Saleh’s security forces
and loyalists since the uprising against his rule broke out in
January 2011. It has also been strongly criticised by
Western rights groups and the United Nations.
Saleh in his farewell speech defended the law, saying
that those who have benefited from it are “all those who
have worked with the president during a 33-year-long
rule”. “If there had been mistakes, then they were unintentional
as the president has immunity from his own people
to whom he had dedicated his life to serve for this nation,”
Saleh said as he called for “reconciliation” in the country.
“The poor youths (who have continued) sit-ins for 11
months, go back to your homes and families and open up
a new page with the new leadership. I feel sorry for you,”
Saleh said. Parliament on Saturday also adopted a law
approving Saleh’s long-time deputy, Vice President
Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who appeared sitting next to the
president during the speech, as the consensus candidate in
the election for Saleh’s successor, due to be held on Feb 21.
After that date, Hadi is to be “handed over the presidential
palace while Ali Abdullah Saleh will take his bag, bid
farewell, and leave to his own home,” the Saba news
agency quoted the veteran president as saying.
“I announce from here, out of respect and appreciation
for Hadi’s stances and efforts, his promotion to the rank of
marshal,” Saleh said. “I call onto all the people of the nation
to cooperate with him (Hadi) and with the unity govern-
rejected a lawsuit filed by a number of voters calling for
disqualifying ex-MP Khalaf Dumaitheer from running in
the election. The voters from the second constituency,
where Dumaitheer is bidding for re-election, told the
court that the veteran former pro-government lawmaker
was convicted by the cassation court in a forgery case
which is a felony and accordingly must be disqualified.
Kuwaiti electoral law states that people who were convicted
in crimes of dishonesty or a lack of integrity are
barred from contesting the elections unless they have
been rehabilitated. The interior ministry did not disqualify
Dumaitheer among 15 candidates who were barred
but later the court reinstated most of them. The most
prominent among them was Islamist opposition ex-MP
Faisal Al-Mislem.
CMA, HSBC ink deal to privatise bourse
Continued from Page 1
Separately, two of Kuwait’s largest
investment firms have cut nearly 100
jobs in cost-cutting measures, sources
said yesterday, as they grapple with difficult
market conditions. Kuwait’s
Global Investment House has laid off 17
percent of its staff, or 60 employees out
of 350, across the region as part of costcutting
measures at the debt-laden
firm, two sources said yesterday. Most
of the job cuts at Global, which is in
talks to restructure $1.7 billion in debt,
will be in Kuwait, one of the sources
said.
Meanwhile, Kipco Asset
Management Co (KAMCO) has cut 39
positions out of a 120-strong workforce,
two sources said. The departures
include the head of asset management
at the Kuwaiti firm. KAMCO is a unit of
the state’s largest investment company,
Kuwait Projects Co. “The cuts have been
pretty much across the board and no
particular team or department has
been spared,” one source said in reference
to KAMCO. “There are some people
who left before the redundancy
plan. Obviously, the market conditions
have not been helpful for most investment
firms in the region and that has
triggered the lay-offs.”
Kuwait is home to a large number of
investment firms which were hard hit
by the global financial crisis. That
prompted the government of the
world’s fourth-largest oil exporter to
approve a $5 billion rescue package in
2009. In May, the Central Bank told
investment firms that they need to separate
licences to operate their lending
and investment businesses as it eliminates
regulatory overlap with the market
regulator.
A company spokesman at Global
declined to comment yesterday. KAM-
CO officials could not immediately be
reached for comment. Global
Investment House had in December
agreed with creditors to defer principal
repayments on debt until June 10 to
allow for a renegotiation of the $1.7 billion
debt restructuring plan it agreed in
2009. Evercore Partners advised them
on the restructuring process. At the end
of September, Global, which reported a
wider third quarter loss, had repaid
$232.8 million of the total debt
amount. — Agencies
ment to correct and rebuild what has been destroyed during
the past” year, the 69-year-old said. “I thank our people
men and women for their honest stances and for all they
have tolerated during 11 months of hunger, power cuts,
and a lack of services as well as many other things. I salute
these steadfast and heroic people,” he added.
The White House and the US State Department declined
to comment yesterday. US officials have said the only reason
Saleh will be admitted to the United States is for “legitimate”
medical treatment for wounds sustained in the June
attack. But such a trip would open the US to charges of
harbouring a brutal ruler responsible for the deaths of hundreds
of demonstrators, and seem to present a direct contradiction
of its push for human rights. Officials believe the
trip could get the long-time strongman out of Yemen to
smooth the transition to the February elections. Analysts
have said Saleh would face stringent conditions in return
for admission to a New York hospital, possibly including a
ban on media interviews to deprive him of a political platform.
At the capital’s airport, dozens of members of Yemen’s
air force held a sit-in on the runway to demand the resignation
of their commander, Saleh’s half-brother, accusing him
of corruption. Air traffic was halted and riot police with
water cannon surrounded the protesters, witnesses said.
Reports from a pro-revolution website run by Saleh’s archenemy,
General Ali Mohsen, said about 600 members of
the air force were participating in the sit-in.
In Sanaa, opposition groups not involved in the power
transition deal brought thousands of their supporters onto
the streets and questioned parliament’s authority to
approve the immunity law. “We will continue protesting
until all of the revolution’s goals are achieved,” said Mani Al-
Matari, a leader of a committee set up by youths who led
the protests against Saleh. “The parliament has no legitimacy
and (instead) we are holding on to international law.”
The immunity law does not give full protection to Saleh’s
aides, leaving them vulnerable to prosecution for crimes
considered “terrorist acts”. The law does, however, give
them immunity for “politically motivated” crimes committed
while carrying out official duties. Abroad, Saleh could
find himself hounded by activists using national courts and
international law to try to prosecute him over the killings
of protesters and alleged corruption. — Agencies
NEWS
KHASAB, Oman: By dawn, the unmarked speedboats from
Iran pull into port. By dusk, they are racing back across the
Strait of Hormuz loaded with smuggled consumer goods
ranging from Chinese-made shoes to cut flowers from
Holland. Even as sanctions squeeze Iran ever tighter, there’s
one clandestine route that remains open for business: A short
sea corridor across the Arabian Gulf connecting a rocky nub of
Oman and the Iranian coast about 60 km away.
Yet even this established smugglers’ path is now feeling
the bite from the pressures on Iran over its nuclear program.
Business is sharply down, the middlemen and boat crews say,
as the slumping Iranian currency leaves fewer customers for
the smuggled wares. At the same time, the risks of interception
are higher as Iranian authorities step up patrols near the
strategic oil tanker lanes at the mouth of the Gulf.
The strait, which is the only access in and out of the Gulf,
has been the scene of Cold War-style brinksmanship between
Iran and the West after Tehran last month threatened to block
the passageway for about one-sixth of the world’s oil in retaliation
for new US sanctions. “We used to make two or three
trips across every day. Now, it’s maybe one,” said an Iranian
middleman, who gave only his first name Agheel to protect
his identity from authorities in his homeland. He watched
crews load up a pickup truck with bolts of fabric from Pakistan
and table-size boxes of cut flowers from the Netherlands,
before the trucks headed off through the treeless mountains
to Khasab port.
The operation smuggles in merchandise to avoid Iranian
tariffs and to bring in American and European products that
have disappeared from Iranian markets because of international
sanctions. Experts note that the consumer items post
no real challenge to efforts to block material with military or
nuclear uses. “Still, it shows you can’t close off all channels into
Iran no matter how hard you try,” said Paul Rogers, who follows
security affairs at Bradford University in Britain. “People
will find a way.”
On this side of the Gulf, the smugglers operate under a tacit
tolerance from authorities, even though Oman and the
United Arab Emirates are close US allies and have pledged to
enforce sanctions. The port lies in a sparsely populated peninsula
enclave belonging to Oman but encircled on land by the
UAE, a legacy of how the area was carved up in the final days
of British rule here in the last century that resulted in Oman
holding joint control with Iran over the strait.
The goods are legally imported into the UAE and truck
drivers take them across the border, paying the customary 50
dirham ($13.50) entry fee, according to the smugglers interviewed
by The Associated Press. In Khasab, the merchandise is
taken to warehouses and then piled on the docks less than
100 m from the port police headquarters. Omani authorities
did not respond to requests for comment on the traffic.
The Khasab speedboats are far from the only back channel
into Iran. Drug traffickers easily cross the hinterland borders
with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and black market networks
stretch across the frontiers with Iraq and Turkey. Authorities in
Iraq’s Kurdish region have been under pressure for years to
Continued from Page 1
He was sacked in November for
failing to take tougher action against
former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky
after being told about an incident in a
locker room shower in which
Sandusky allegedly molested a 10year-old
boy. Sandusky, on the Penn
State staff from 1969 through 1999, is
facing trial after being accused of
more than 50 counts of molesting 10
boys over an 11-year period. He has
denied the charges.
Despite the scandal, huge affection
remained for Paterno on the Penn
State campus at State College, which
his influence helped build into a place
its residents called “Happy Valley”. “His
ambitions were far reaching, but he
never believed he had to leave this
Happy Valley to achieve them,” his
family said. “He was a man devoted to
his family, his university, his players
and his community.” The university in
a statement grieved the death of “a
great man who made us a greater university.
His dedication to ensuring his
players were successful both on the
field and in life is legendary and his
commitment to education is
unmatched in college football.”
Students and other admirers had
gathered on Saturday night in an
impromptu vigil on the campus after
the Paterno family confirmed the
coach’s health was deteriorating.
Paterno sons Jay and Scott used
Twitter on Saturday night to deny
reports their father had died. The
Washington Post reported that
Paterno had been breathing with the
aid of a ventilator until yesterday, and
that the family had informed the hospital
of his wishes not to be kept alive
through extreme artificial measures.
A statue of Paterno at the campus
stadium was surrounded yesterday
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
ST JOSEPH, Michigan: Layers of ice and icicles slowly
melt along the North Pier on Saturday. — AP
Iran Gulf smugglers feel
blowback from tensions
crack down on fuel trucks heading into Iran in violation of US
sanctions. But Khasab stands out for its openness and for
lying on the highly sensitive Strait. A shipment arranged by
the Iranian smuggler Agheel this week was done with practiced
efficiency.
A pickup truck backed into a wood-floored warehouse
with hundreds of cases of cigarettes bundled three together
and wrapped tightly in gray plastic weave in total 3,000 cigarettes
under south Asian brands such as Ruby Menthol. The
truck was soon sagging under the weight of boxes piled five
high. Agheel did some quick calculations: Each three-case
load cost him about $1,200 and he could sell them to merchants
in Iran for the equivalent of about $1,350 under current
exchange rates. The truck pulling out of the warehouse
represented a potential return of about $4,500. “If we don’t
get caught,” he added.
The smugglers have their ways of avoiding Iranian
authorities. Spotters off the coast - on the island of Qeshm
and near the port of Bandar Abbas - call in coast guard movements
to Khasab. The speedboat drivers keep close attention
to the water conditions on the Strait and try to approach the
Iranian coast just after sunset. The trip can take as little as 90
minutes in calm seas and up to four hours in rough water in
the stripped down stripped-down 5-m fiberglass boats.
Agheel’s truck passed through the Khasab customs station at
midday and then down a strip of hardscrabble road.
At the port - almost in the shadow of a Costa cruise ship
making a day stop - dozens of boats were being packed and
secured for the trip. There were no names or markings on the
speedboats. But the items loaded on carried familiar logos: LG
42-inch flatscreen TVs, Discovery Channel DVDs, Panasonic
microwaves, Yamaha motorcycle parts. Also in the stacks were
textiles, satellite dishes and Chinese-made clothes and shoes.
One boat driver, who gave his name only as Aziz, had a
breakfast of eggs, beans and Mountain Dew as he waited for
the day’s shipment to be loaded for the return run to Qeshm,
a long arrow-shaped island near the Iranian coast and a main
waystation for the smugglers. Months ago, he could make as
many trips as possible because the merchants in Iran were
demanding goods. But now the struggling Iranian rial -
dragged down partly by US-led sanctions that could target
Iran’s Central Bank - has put many things out of reach for
Iranians, he said. “No one wants to buy because the (rial) rate
is not stable,” he said.
He also said the Iranian coastal patrols have been boosted
amid the escalating tensions over the Strait. On
Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the
American military is “fully prepared” to deal with any Iranian
effort to close the waterway. Next month, Iran’s powerful
Revolutionary Guard plans naval exercises in the area. If spotted
by patrols, Aziz said the two-man boat crews try to heave
the goods overboard. They then must pay back the smuggling
network, which can amount to thousands of dollars. But
it’s worth the risk, he said. “The situation is getting worse now,”
he said. “All the prices are up and Qeshm has nothing else”
except smuggling. — AP
Legendary US football coach Paterno dies
morning by flowers and mementos.
“He was more than half the reason I
came here because of who he is,” said
Katie Chwastyk, 21, a senior with tears
streaming down her face and wearing
a Penn State football sweatshirt.
Wearing a Penn State knit cap, freshman
Cara Kirman, 19, of Harrisburg
called Paterno “a father figure” and
said, “In my mind, he is always going
to be alive... It’s a very sad day.”
“In the minds of PSU students and
alums, Joe represents what we all
want to be -the icon who lives next
door,” said Andrew Scherff, a 1999
graduate who is now an adjunct professor
at a Penn State satellite campus.
“Humble enough to hand out
Halloween candy with his wife of 50
years, in the house he has lived in for
50 years, going to the same job for 50
years, who also just so happens to be
one of the most recognizable men in
America.” — Agencies

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Issues
Pak hurtling
towards polls
P akistan’s
By Nasir Jaffry
government has won temporary respite in
its bid to cling onto office but early polls are
inevitable as the army and judiciary plot to bring
down the unpopular president, analysts say. The power
struggle between Asif Ali Zardari’s government on the
one hand and the courts and military on the other is by
any standards toxic - even in a nuclear-armed country as
perennially on the brink of crisis as Pakistan. No elected
government in the history of the country has survived a
full term in office and almost from inception the daggers
have been drawn for the Pakistan People’s Party administration,
led by the most unlikely of presidents.
Yet Zardari has survived nearly four years through
nous and cunning. Polls in 2012 may satisfy an army desperate
to see the back of Zardari but his prime minister
has already become the longest-serving civilian premier
in Pakistan. “2012 is election year,” says political analyst
and author Imtiaz Gul, regardless of whether Prime
Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani survives contempt proceedings
initiated by the Supreme Court. Millions of voters are
fed up with crippling energy cuts, inflation and unemployment,
and exhausted by the unpopular US alliance
that is blamed for much of the Taleban and Al-Qaedalinked
violence sweeping the country. “All political parties
want early elections,” said Gul. “There is economic crisis
and social instability and the government will therefore
see early elections as the only way out.”
The Supreme Court judges demanding that Zardari be
reinvestigated for graft in Switzerland could ultimately
decide to convict Gilani of contempt, sentence him to jail
and disqualify him - as well as Zardari - from office. The
president is also under pressure from a judicial investigation
into a secretive memo seeking to overhaul the military
leadership after the army was humiliated by a covert
American operation on May 2 that killed Osama bin
Laden. But the court’s decision to adjourn until Feb 1 has
bought the government at least two weeks’ reprieve after
Gilani was summoned to face contempt charges on
Thursday.
Opinion is divided on whether the Supreme Court
was victorious in forcing the government to accept its
authority or whether the prime minister emerged triumphant
by standing his ground and refusing to apologise.
Gilani faced down a demand to ask Swiss authorities
to reopen corruption cases against Zardari by insisting
that the president has full immunity, but the prime minister
has gone out of his way to show deference to the
courts.
“We respect the judiciary and their mandate and we
will respect whatever courts decide in this regard,” Gilani
told reporters on Friday. “The crisis has been averted - for
now,” said Pakistan’s well-regarded English broadsheet
Dawn. “Both Zardari and Gilani have kept their nerve,”
Ayaz Amir, a lawmaker for the opposition Pakistan
Muslim League-N party, wrote in The News, before comparing
Zardari favourably to much-lauded prime minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. “Zardari... is a far better politician than
him. Bhutto had a knack for making enemies. Zardari has
a knack for making friends and keeping them on his side,”
Amir wrote.
Analysts are divided on whether the court will accept
the government’s position on immunity, force its hand or
whether a compromise can be reached in the wording of
a letter written to the Swiss authorities. Most believe a
solution can be found, saving Gilani the ignominy of
being convicted for contempt. Pakistan has been under
military dictatorships for about half its history since independence
in 1947, with civilian leaders thrown out in
three coups. But while the military - angry with government
ineptitude and still reeling from the bin Laden fiasco
- appears to have decided Zardari has to go, observers
say there is no suggestion of another coup in the offing.
Instead the powerful military seems content to engineer
elections by building pressure on the government
from behind the scenes and watch the rise of political
contender Imran Khan, rumoured to be the army’s
choice. What remains to be seen is how long the government
can survive, under what circumstances and when it
will be finally forced to call elections which are not due
until the beginning of 2013. Few believe the Supreme
Court, government or military want elections before
April’s expected completion of electoral roll reform that
offers the prospect of significantly cleaner polls.
Pakistan’s blazing summer starts early and elections
have never been held during the hottest months, making
September or October the most likely date. — AFP
All articles appearing on these pages
are the personal opinion of the writers.
Kuwait Times takes no responsibility
for views expressed therein. Kuwait
Times invites readers to voice their
opinions. Please send submissions via
email to: opinion@kuwaittimes.net or
via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat,
Kuwait. The editor reserves the right
to edit any submission as necessary.
By Selim Saheb Ettaba
B uffeted
14 opinion
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Gingrich bloodies Romney in White House fight
By Olivier Knox
R epublican
As region changes, Hamas shifts
by the winds of the Arab
Spring, the Hamas movement is
transforming, with power shifting
from its exiled leadership towards its
government on the ground in Gaza,
analysts say. Recent months have seen
the group forced to deal with the new
regional realities created by the Arab
uprisings, including the increasingly
precarious situation in Damascus,
where its leadership-in-exile is based.
The group has also moved towards reconciliation
with its longtime rival Fatah,
and its chief Khaled Meshaal has talked
about the need to focus on peaceful
protest.
But the shifts have created a new
tension within the Islamist group, with
the Gaza leadership appearing increasingly
emboldened to voice differences
of opinion with Meshaal and the leadership-in-exile.
On Saturday, Hamas
announced that Meshaal did not plan
to stand for reelection to the head of
the movement, a decision that comes
as the group experiences a fundamental
reshaping, according to Omar
Shaban, director of the Gaza-based
Palthink think-tank. “Hamas is going
through a transformational process,” he
told AFP, attributing the movement’s
reshaping to both internal and external
White House hopeful Newt Gingrich’s
shock victory in South Carolina’s pivotal primary
Saturday makes him the sharpest conservative
threat to longtime favorite Mitt Romney. The pugnacious
former House speaker ignited conservative passions
fueled by feisty debate performances to torch the
former Massachusetts governor and multi-millionaire
investor’s vaunted campaign riches and well-oiled
machine.
Gingrich, repeatedly declared politically dead over
the past year, must now harness his political momentum
heading into the vital battleground of Florida, a
more diverse state where Romney’s weapons were
expected to give him the edge. Gingrich cast his insurgent
victory here as a coup for Americans “who feel that
the elites in Washington and New York have no understanding,
no care, no concern, no reliability and in fact
do not represent them at all.”
The result here was a heavy symbolic
blow to Romney: No
Republican since 1980 has
won the nomination
without carrying this
conservative bastion,
now home to prominent
leaders of the
“Tea Party” movement.
And it was the
first time that different
candidates have
carried the first three
nominating contests
- Iowa, New
Hampshire, and
South Carolina - highlighting
the volatile
nature of the race. But
“beyond the media
impact, and some
momentum, the fundamentals
- money, organization, and
endorsements signifying establishment
support - still favor
Romney,” said Matt Dickinson, a
political scientist at elite
Middlebury College.
Still, after benefiting from seeing
factors. On the internal front, according
to Shaban, some within the movement’s
Gaza-based leadership believe
Hamas has suffered as a result of being
charged with improving the lives of 1.3
million people in Gaza. Externally,
Shaban says, Hamas is caught between
the differing fates of the Muslim
Brotherhood - the organisation that
gave birth to Hamas - in Egypt and
Syria. Hamas is caught between “the
hope of Egypt”, where the Muslim
Brotherhood has swept democratic
elections, and “the pressure of Syria”,
where a government crackdown is targeting
activists, including members of
the Muslim Brotherhood.
The situation in Syria has been particularly
problematic for Hamas, which
is eager to avoid being seen as interfering
in internal issues, but also finds it
hard to see the Muslim Brotherhood
being targeted. “The atrocities of the
Syrian regime are inflicted on the
Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas is no
longer able to maintain its presence in
Damascus,” said Mukhaimer Abu Saada,
a professor of political science at Gaza’s
Al Azhar University.
Internal rumblings and external
pressures have helped create a situation
in which Meshaal, long considered
a radical, now appears more pragmatic
than Hamas’s Gaza leadership, Abu
Saada said. “When Meshaal was getting
complete support from the Syrian
regime, from Iran, he connected himself
with this camp, so he could not make
compromises,” he said.
But the peaceful revolutions in
Tunisia and Egypt, along with his
detachment from Iran and Syria, appear
to have shifted Meshaal’s thinking, convincing
him that peaceful “popular
resistance” can be effective.”That is
something new,” Abu Saada said,
acknowledging that “there has been no
consensus within Hamas regarding this
issue”. Mahmud Zahar, one of Gaza’s
senior Hamas officials, notably responded
that “armed resistance can be popular”.
Zahar’s willingness to challenge
Meshaal, on issues ranging from resistance
to reconciliation, are another sign
of the shifting dynamics in the movement,
Abu Saada said.
“The balance of power is shifting
from outside to inside. Hamas’s leadership
in Gaza is on its own territory,” he
said, noting Hamas in Gaza is increasingly
less dependent on regional aid.
The Hamas government has a 2012
budget worth $769 million, a 22 percent
increase over 2011, based on an
expected intake of $174 million dollars
in tariffs and taxes, particularly from the
flourishing Egypt-Gaza tunnel industry.
The Hamas government is also
conservative voters fractured among several candidates,
Romney could face a real threat if Gingrich manages
to “establish himself as the anti-Mitt,” Dickinson
told AFP. Over the past year, conservatives have rallied
at various points behind candidates sometimes dubbed
“not-Romney,” only to see them flame out, while
Romney has struggled to push his support above 25
percent of Republicans.
“This race is getting to be even more interesting,”
Romney told cheering supporters packed into a room
dressed up as though for a victory rally before congratulating
Gingrich for “a hard-fought campaign”. “I don’t
shrink from competition. I embrace it. I believe competition
makes us all better. I know it’s making our campaign
stronger,” he added, as his campaign readied to
travel to Florida on Sunday.
There were signs Romney’s once-substantial advantage
at the national level may also be shrinking, with
pollsters Gallup saying Friday that his US-wide lead
over Gingrich plummeted to 30-20 percent,
compared with 37-14 a
week earlier. “The safe
money says Romney
still wins this,” said
Dickinson. But “his
biggest liability is
him. The more voters
look at him, the
less they like.” The
Republican party
establishment’s
favorite has “an
‘authenticity’ problem’
among conservatives,”
who regard
his moderate record as
liberal Massachusetts’
governor with suspicion,
said Dickinson.
But so far he has benefited
from the fractured
conservative field. Christian
conservative former senator
Rick Santorum and
Representative Ron Paul of
Texas, a small-government
champion and foe of overseas
military interventions, were
projected to come in third
wielding the freedom of movement
that has come with Egypt’s decision to
open its border with Gaza.
Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya
has already completed one major tour
to Egypt, Sudan, Turkey and Tunisia -
his first since taking office. He is reportedly
considering a second trip soon,
with stops in Qatar and Iran.
“Haniya’s visit has halted the political
siege on Gaza,” said Walid Al-
Mudallal, a political science professor
at the Islamic University of Gaza, noting
the movement’s parliamentary delegation
visit last week to Switzerland
to take part in the Inter-Parliamentary
Union meeting. According to Mudallal,
“Hamas is closing the gap with the
Palestinian consensus to achieve reconciliation,
and to be able to deal with
the international community.”
One wildcard in the movement’s
transformation is the future role of its
powerful armed wing, the Ezzedine al-
Qassam Brigades, once considered
largely under Meshaal’s direction.
According to Abu Saada, that allegiance
could be shifting.
“The armed wing of Hamas,
Ezzedine al-Qassam, gives loyalty to
whoever is giving the money to pay for
the weapons,” he said. “Ezzedine al-
Qassam has been showing more loyalty
to the Hamas in Gaza.” — AFP
and fourth, US media said. Paul, backed by a devoted
army of mostly young supporters, and Santorum,
whose narrow victory in Iowa has helped his fundraising
efforts, all planned to soldier on in Florida, which
holds its primary on Jan 31.
The impact of an extended Republican primary is
hotly debated: Some in the party fear a “circular firing
squad” that will leave the eventual nominee bloodied,
while others say the process trains and toughens the
survivor. Romney aides have made the argument that
charges he won his vast fortune while firing workers are
better aired and addressed in the primary, though they
will inevitably be weapons in President Barack Obama’s
general election arsenal. Romney said Gingrich’s attacks
on his business record were a “frontal assault on free
enterprise” and its supporters, telling the crowd “he’s
attacking you” and warning such a candidate was “not
going to be fit to be our nominee”. They also argue that
Gingrich’s bomb-throwing style will alienate independent
voters thought to decide US
elections.
But there were signs of concern:
After floating the idea that he
might skip the debates in Florida,
his campaign said he would take
part. That makes the televised
Florida face-offs “very critical,” said
Susan MacManus, a professor of
political science at the University of
South Florida. “Republicans are well
aware, not just Florida Republicans,
but elsewhere, that if a Republican
candidate cannot win Florida they
will probably not going to win the
White House,” she said. — AFP

Kagawa sees future
with Dortmund
BERLIN: Japan winger Shinji Kagawa has said he sees his future being with
German champions Borussia Dortmund and any reports of a move to
European giants Manchester United or AC Milan are just speculation.
“Right now, it’s just about me being successful here with Dortmund,”
Kagawa told German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday
having been linked to both European teams in the
German and Japanese media in recent months.
“There are rumours (about Manchester
United or AC Milan) again and again, but I
have no information about that. The talk
leaves me cold.” The 22-year-old joined
Dortmund in 2010 from Japan side Cerezo
Osaka for just 350,000 euros, but after helping
Dortmund win the German title last season,
his market value has soared to around 14
million euros. He has a contract at Dortmund
until 2013 and is back in form after missing
the first few months of 2011 after
breaking his foot while playing for Japan
at the Asian Cup last January. — AFP
NHL results/standings
NHL results and standings on Saturday. NY
Rangers 3, Boston 2 (OT); Philadelphia 4, New
Jersey 1; Vancouver 4, San Jose 3; Anaheim 2,
Ottawa 1; Florida 4, Winnipeg 3 (So); Montreal 3,
Toronto 1; NY Islanders 2, Carolina 1 (OT); Detroit 3,
Columbus 2 (So); St. Louis 4, Buffalo 2; Nashville 5,
Chicago 2; Tampa Bay 4, Phoenix 3; Minnesota 5,
Dallas 2; Calgary 6, Edmonton 2; Colorado 3, Los
Angeles 1. (OT denotes overtime win) (SO denotes
shootout win)
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
W L OTL GF GA PTS
NY Rangers 30 12 4 129 96 64
Philadelphia 28 14 4 154 134 60
Pittsburgh 26 17 4 145 122 56
New Jersey 26 19 2 128 134 54
NY Islanders 19 21 6 112 136 44
Northeast Division
Boston 30 13 2 162 92 62
Ottawa 27 17 6 154 153 60
Toronto 23 19 5 144 144 51
Montreal 18 21 9 123 132 45
Buffalo 19 24 5 117 148 43
Southeast Division
Florida 22 15 10 120 133 54
Washington 25 19 2 128 130 52
Winnipeg 22 20 6 123 138 50
Tampa Bay 20 23 4 132 163 44
Carolina 17 24 9 128 158 43
Western Conference
Central Division
Detroit 32 15 1 155 109 65
St Louis 29 12 6 121 96 64
Chicago 29 14 6 161 141 64
Nashville 28 16 4 133 125 60
Columbus 13 28 6 112 155 32
Northwest Division
Vancouver 29 15 4 155 120 62
Colorado 26 21 2 127 138 54
Minnesota 23 18 7 112 124 53
Calgary 23 20 6 120 136 52
Edmonton 17 26 4 118 138 38
Pacific Division
San Jose 26 14 5 129 108 57
Los Angeles 23 16 10 107 110 56
Dallas 24 21 2 125 136 50
Phoenix 21 20 8 127 132 50
Anaheim 17 22 7 121 141 41
Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the
standings and are not included in the loss column (L)
MONACO: French driver Sebastien Loeb poses after
winning the Monte-Carlo Rallye’s 80th edition,
opening event of the WRC championship yesterday
in Monaco. — AFP
Loeb wins Monte
Carlo rally
MONACO: Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb of
France in a Citroen won the Monte Carlo rally for the
sixth time yesterday to take up where he left off last
season atop the World Rally Championship standings
(WRC).
In what was the opening leg of the 2012 WRC season,
Loeb triumphed ahead of Dani Sordi of Spain (Mini)
and Petter Solberg of Norway (Ford Fiesta). It was the
68th rally win of his exceptional career.
The race, the 80th running of the Monte Carlo Rally,
marked its return to the WRC stage after three seasons
in the rival IRC camp. Loeb has won the last eight rally
world titles and is a hot favourite to make it nine in a
row this year.
Recently voted as the most popular sportsman in
France, Loeb, who hails from Alsace in eastern France,
opened the final day poised to grab overall victory having
led the classic rally race from the start. And he made
no mistake by winning the closing five kilometre-long
power stage on the Col de la Madone, high above
Monte Carlo, which accorded him three extra points
points to take him to 28 points for the race. — AFP
FRANCEVILLE: Captain Seydou
Keita could miss Mali’s opening
match at the African Nations Cup
finals as injury concerns mounted
for coach Alain Giresse yesterday.
Team officials said the
Barcelona midfielder, runner-up
in the recent African Footballer of
the Year poll, has a knee complaint
and sprained ankle and is
battling against time to be ready
for Tuesday’s Group D game
against Guinea in Franceville.
Cheick Tidiane Diabate, the
Girondins Bordeaux forward
expected to be Giresse’s first
choice in attack, has a hamstring
injury likely to keep him out of
the game. Mahamane Traore, the
midfielder from Ligue 2 club
BOSTON: Marian Gaborik scored twice,
the second on a third-try backhander
with 3.6 seconds left in overtime, as the
New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins
3-2 in a matchup of the top two NHL
teams in the Eastern Conference on
Saturday.
Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves for
the Rangers. Ryan Callahan also scored
for the Rangers, who lead the East.
Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for the
Bruins, who played most of the overtime
down a man, 4-on-3, after Andrew
Ference drew a five-minute major for
driving defenseman Ryan McDonagh
into the boards and was ejected. Ference
scored his fourth goal of the season and
second in two games for the Bruins.
Flyers 4, Devils 1
At Newark, New Jersey, Scott Hartnell
scored two power-play goals, and Wayne
Simmonds had a goal and two assists,
leading Philadelphia over New Jersey.
The Flyers remained four points behind
the Eastern Conference-leading New
York Rangers.
The Devils lost for the second straight
time in the middle of a six-game homestand.
Hartnell scored in the second and
third periods. Simmonds assisted on
Hartnell’s first goal and on Matt Read’s
second-period tally, and then added an
empty-netter. Ilya Bryzgalov made 30
saves to earn his 18th win of the season.
The Flyers lost forward Jaromir Jagr to an
undisclosed lower body injury in the first
period.
Ducks 2, Senators 1
At Anaheim, California, Jonas Hiller
made 31 saves, Corey Perry scored, and
Lubomir Visnovsky was credited with a
goal that Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson deflected
into his own net during Anaheim’s victory.
The Ducks (17-22-7) are 7-0-1 in their
last eight and 10-9-3 since Bruce
Boudreau took over from fired coach
Randy Carlyle on Nov. 30.
Craig Anderson made 27 saves for the
Senators, who got their only goal at 8:51
of the third period. Chris Neil, playing in
his 700th NHL regular-season game, converted
his own rebound. Ottawa, which
lost for the third time in 13 games, had
earned at least one point in a clubrecord,
11 straight road games.
Canucks 4, Sharks 3
At Vancouver,British Columbia, Cody
Hodgson scored his second goal of the
game with 4:17 left in Vancouver’s victory
over San Jose. Ryan Kesler and David
Booth also scored for Vancouver (29-15-
4), which is 1-1-1 halfway through its sixgame
home series. Logan Couture
scored a short-handed goal and added
another in a power-play, and Dan Boyle
also had a goal for the depleted Sharks
(26-14-5), who were without top-six forwards
Martin Havlat (hamstring) and
Ryane Clowe (facial injury).
With the game tied 2-2 late in the
third period, the teams combined for
three goals in a span of 1:32.
Islanders 2, Hurricanes 1
At Uniondale, New York, John Tavares
scored his second goal of the game 3:58
into overtime to help New York to its
third straight win. Tavares scored his 19th
goal of the season after extending his
career-best point streak to 12 games
with a second-period goal. Tavares has
eight goals and 13 assists during his
streak, the longest in the NHL this season.
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 32 shots
for the Islanders (19-21-6), who have won
four of five and five of seven. It was also
the fourth straight win for Nabokov, a
season high for Islanders goalies.
Jeff Skinner gave Carolina a 1-0 lead in
the first period. The Islanders won at
Philadelphia and Washington this week
after losing at home to Nashville today.
Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 2
At Detroit, Valtteri Filppula scored in
the fourth round of a shootout to give
sports
Keita doubtful
for Mali opener
Metz, has still not recovered from
a calf strain that limited his participation
in the pre-tournament
preparations.
Mali have already lost four
players to injury ahead of the
tournament. French-based
defenders Adama Coulibaly and
Amadou Sidibe were ruled out of
selection and both Mohamed
Fofana and Khalilou Traore had to
withdraw after being selected last
week for the final 23-man squad.
Keita only recently returned
from self-imposed exile from
the Mali side after the last
Nations Cup, persuaded back by
Giresse after previously complaining
of poor treatment by
officials. — Reuters
Detroit their 16th straight home victory,
3-2 over Columbus. The 16-game home
winning streak tied Detroit with the
1975-76 Boston Bruins for the fourthlongest
home winning streak in NHL history.
Niklas Kronwall and Nicklas
Lidstrom scored for the Red Wings in regulation,
and Jimmy Howard made 17
saves. Ryan Russell and Nikita Nikitin
scored for Columbus, and Curtis Sanford
stopped 29 shots.
Canadiens 3, Maple Leafs 1
At Toronto, Carey Price made 32 saves,
and Rafael Diaz and Lars Eller scored
third-period goals in Montreal’s victory
over Toronto. Rene Bourque also scored
for the Canadiens, coming off a 5-4 loss
in Pittsburgh on Friday night. Matthew
Lombardi scored for the Maple Leafs.
Panthers 4, Jets 3, SO
At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kris Versteeg
scored two goals and added an assist for
Florida, which ended an eight-game,
road-losing streak with a shootout win
over Winnipeg. Mikael Samuelsson
scored the Panthers’ winning goal of the
shootout, which used 14 skaters. Mike
Santorelli also scored in regulation for
Florida (22-15-10), which also ended a
four-game losing streak. Winnipeg (22-
20-6) got two goals from Nik Antropov,
Alexander Burmistrov added one, and
Kyle Wellwood had two assists. Scott
Clemmensen stopped 41 shots for the
win. Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec made 23
saves.
Predators 5, Blackhawks 2
At Nashville, Tennessee, Sergei
Kostitsyn, Kevin Klein and Patric
Hornqvist each had a goal and an assist
to help Nashville beat Chicago.
The Predators have won seven of their
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Berdych booed
MELBOURNE: After winning a grueling, tightly contested match that lasted
nearly four hours, Tomas Berdych didn’t expect to be met by a stadium full
of booing and hisses. Berdych, the seventh seed from Czech Republic, was
jeered by the crowd for refusing to shake hands with his opponent, No. 10
seed Nicolas Almagro, because he believed the Spaniard had deliberately
struck him with a ball during a point at the
end of the fourth set.
Berdych was initially cheered by the
spectators at Hisense Arena following
his 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) win in
the fourth round of the Australian
Open on Sunday, but the crowd
turned on him in an instant when he
refused to shake Almagro’s hand at the
net. The booing drowned out his postmatch,
on-court interview and continued
until he walked off. “I think when you
have a point and someone wants to hit you
straight to your face, I don’t see this as a nice
moment,” Berdych said during the interview,
struggling to be heard over the noise from the
crowd. — AP
Rangers beat Bruins in
top table NHL showdown
Red Wings win 16th consecutive home game
last eight and 10 of 12. Nashville also
ended Chicago’s winning streak at three.
The Blackhawks have earned points in
seven straight games. Craig Smith and
Colin Wilson also scored, and Pekka
Rinne made 20 saves for Nashville.
Marian Hossa scored twice for Chicago.
Blues 4, Sabres 2
At St. Louis, David Backes had two
goals and two assists, and Jaroslav Halak
made 19 saves to lift St. Louis over
Buffalo. The Blues are 8-0-1 in January,
earning 17 of 18 points, and Halak is 11-
0-3 in his past 14 starts. St. Louis is an
NHL-best 21-3-3 at home and has 64
points overall, one fewer than Western
Conference-leading Detroit. Buffalo,
which dropped its 12th straight on the
road and fifth in a row overall, is 2-7-1 in
January. B.J. Crombeen and David Perron
also scored for the Blues, and Alex
Pietrangelo and T.J. Oshie each added
two assists for St. Louis. Ryan Miller made
23 saves for Buffalo, which got goals
from Mike Weber and Tyler Myers.
Lightning 4, Coyotes 3
At Glendale, Arizona, Steven Stamkos
scored his NHL-leading 32nd goal, Martin
St. Louis and Steve Downie each had a
goal and an assist, and Tampa Bay beat
Phoenix for its third straight victory.
Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves and
improved to 7-10-2 with his first win
since Nov. 17 against Pittsburgh.
Teddy Purcell also scored for Tampa
Bay. Lauri Korpikoski, Keith Yandle and
Ray Whitney scored for Phoenix.
Wild 5, Stars 2
At St. Paul, Minnesota, Cal
Clutterbuck, Chad Rau and Kyle Brodziak
scored goals during a 59-second span of
the second period in Minnesota’s win
over Dallas. Dany Heatley added a goal
and two assists, and Devin Setoguchi
also scored for Minnesota (23-18-7), 3-
11-4 over the past 18 games. Josh
Harding made 22 saves. Eric Nystrom and
Philip Larsen scored for the Stars (24-21-
2), who are 1-5-1 the last seven games.
Kari Lehtonen, who was pulled after giving
up four second-period goals, made 15
saves. Richard Bachman stopped six
shots in the third period for the Stars.
Flames 6, Oilers 2
At Edmonton, Alberta, Lee Stempniak
WINNIPEG: Bryan Little #18 of the Winnipeg Jets and Matt Bradley #22 of the Florida Panthers collide on the ice in NHL
action at the MTS Centre on Saturday, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. — AFP
scored a hat trick and added an assist to
lead Calgary’s rout of Edmonton.
Blake Comeau and Jay Bouwmeester
each had a goal and two assists, and
Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary.
The Flames are 5-1-1 in their last seven
games to improve to 23-20 -6. Andy
Sutton and Ryan Smyth scored for
Edmonton. The Oilers are 17-26-4. They
have only one win in their last nine games
and just five of their last 25 outings.
Avalanche 3, Kings 1
At Los Angeles, Peter Mueller scored
the winning goal in the fifth game of his
inspirational comeback, Cody McLeod
scored on a breakaway and Jean-
Sebastien Giguere made 25 saves, leading
Colorado over Los Angeles.
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick came up
short on his 26th birthday after stopping
28 shots. Colorado’s other goal was by
Gabriel Landeskog on a power play with
1:57 to play. The Kings have scored fewer
than three goals in 20 of Quick’s 21 losses
this season, including overtimes and
shootouts. The regulation loss was only
the second by the Kings in 16 games
since Darryl Sutter replaced Terry Murray
as coach (8-2-6). — AP

16 SPORTS
Stenson resists urge to comeback from injury
DUBAI: Henrik Stenson is in no hurry to
rush back into action after undergoing
knee surgery late last year, the Swede
resisting the temptation to play at next
week’s Abu Dhabi Championship if he is
not ready to compete.
The 36-year old world number 216
underwent keyhole surgery on his left
leg in Stockholm and has been slowly
working his way back to fitness by practicing
at the Emirates Club in Dubai.
“The knee seems to be okay but then
there is a few things I still can’t do, like
squatting down, so I can only do half
squats in reading putts,” he told Reuters.
“It means for the time being, that I am
putting most of my weight on my right
knee.
“But it was an operation that I needed
to have done and I have been fortunate
in my career not to have had any
real serious injuries like a lot of players.
“However, while I want to be competing
in Abu Dhabi later this week, in an event
with such a great field and huge world
ranking points, I won’t be tempted to
rush back onto the tour and will consult
with specialists before deciding to tee
up.”
Stenson has not competed since
November’s European and Asian Tour
co-sanctioned Iskander Johor Open,
where his 48th place finish saw him end
2011 down in 136th place in the Race to
Dubai for his poorest European season
in a decade.
“Last year was very disappointing
with just one top-10 in 14 events and I
hadn’t played that poorly since 2002,”
Bosh bags 30 as
Heat torch 76ers
Ex-Knick Gallinari leads Denver to victory
MIAMI: Chris Bosh scored 30 points,
LeBron James added 28 points and
nine rebounds and the Miami Heat
remained unbeaten without Dwyane
Wade in the lineup this season,
defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 113-
92 on Saturday night.
Mario Chalmers scored 11 and
Joel Anthony finished with nine
points and nine rebounds for Miami,
which outrebounded Philadelphia
52-31 and moved into a tie with
Orlando for first in the Southeast
Division. The Heat are 6-0 this season
without Wade, who missed his third
straight game with a sprained right
ankle. Lou Williams scored 22 points
and Evan Turner added 16 for
Philadelphia, which has lost eight of
nine against Miami since the start of
last season, including a five-game
defeat in the opening round of last
season’s playoffs.
Hawks 121, Cavaliers 94
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 25
points and Atlanta responded from a
disappoitning last outing to rout
Cleveland. Johnson scored 19 of his
points in the first half for Atlanta,
which sat all its starters in the final
quarter. Jannero Pargo, who opened
the fourth with back-to-back 3-pointers,
had a season-high 14 points. Jeff
Teague added 14 points as the Hawks
moved past Friday night’s 90-76 loss
at Philadelphia. After the loss, which
ended a four-game winning streak,
coach Larry Drew said “It got tough
for us and we quit.”
Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 18
points to lead the Cavaliers, who
have lost three straight and six of
eight.
Pistons 94, Trail Blazers 91
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rodney
Stuckey scored 28 points and Detroit
won for only the second time in 12
games. Portland were down three
after Felton made two free throws
with 37 seconds remaining. Stuckey
missed a wild driving attempt, and
Portland rebounded and called a
timeout with 15.6 seconds left.
Jamal Crawford drove for a layup
with 8.4 seconds to go, and Stuckey
answered with a pair of free throws.
Detroit fouled Felton at midcourt,
preventing Portland from trying a 3point
attempt. He made both free
throws, but Stuckey made two of his
own with 4.4 seconds left for a threepoint
lead. Raymond Felton lost control
of the ball at midcourt as
Portland was trying to tie it in the
final seconds.
Grizzlies 128, Kings 95
At Memphis, Tennessee, Rudy Gay
had 23 points, Mike Conley and O.J.
Mayo added 22 apiece and Memphis
won their sixth straight.
Marc Gasol had 20 points on 8-of-
11 shooting and grabbed 11
rebounds, while Marreese Speights
contributed 12 points and 15
rebounds for Memphis. Jimmer
Fredette led Sacramento with a season-high
20 points and six assists,
while Donte Greene and DeMarcus
Cousins scored 19 apiece. Cousins
also had 11 rebounds and Tyreke
Evans had 13 points.
The Grizzlies led by only eight at
halftime, but opened the second half
with a 12-0 run to push the lead to 20.
The Kings trailed by as many as 39 in
the fourth quarter.
NEW ORLEANS: Dallas Mavericks power forward Lamar Odom, left, drives to the basket past
New Orleans Hornets center Emeka Okafor in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New
Orleans, Saturday. The Mavericks won 83-81. —AP
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
W L PCT GB
Philadelphia 11 5 .688 -
NY Knicks 6 10 .375 5
Boston 5 9 .357 5
New Jersey 4 12 .250 7
Toronto 4 12 .250 7
Central Division
Chicago 15 3 .833 -
Indiana 10 4 .714 3
Cleveland 6 9 .400 7.5
Milwaukee 5 9 .357 8
Detroit 4 13 .235 10.5
Southeast Division
Miami 11 4 .733 -
Orlando 11 4 .733 -
Atlanta 12 5 .706 -
Charlotte 3 13 .188 8.5
Washington 2 13 .133 9
NBA results/standings
Thunder 84, Nets 74
At Newark, New Jersey, Kevin
Durant had 20 points and a seasonhigh
15 rebounds as Oklahoma stifled
New Jersey. Playing in his first game
since signing a five-year, $80 million
contract extension, Russell Westbrook
added 21 points and six assists and
James Harden had 16 points and nine
rebounds off the bench.
Coming off a loss to lowly
Washington, Oklahoma City (13-3)
limited New Jersey to 31 percent
shooting from the field, including 3 of
23 from 3-point range. The Thunder
also blocked 10 shots, with Serge
Ibaka getting a season-high five.
Kris Humphries had 12 points and
16 rebounds to lead the Nets. Deron
Williams and MarShon Brooks had 14
points apiece and Jordan Farmar
added 13.
Bulls 95, Bobcats 89
At Chicago, Carlos Boozer scored
17 of his 23 points in the second half
to lead injury-depleted Chicago over
struggling Charlotte. Luol Deng
added 22 points and eight rebounds
as the Bulls won their seventh straight
NBA results and standings on Saturday.
Atlanta 121, Cleveland 94; Denver 119, NY Knicks 114 (OT); Detroit 94, Portland 91; Miami 113,
Philadelphia 92; Oklahoma City 84, New Jersey 74; Chicago 95, Charlotte 89; Dallas 83, New Orleans
81; Houston 105, San Antonio 102; Memphis 128, Sacramento 95; Utah 108, Minnesota 98.
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Oklahoma City 13 3 .813 -
Denver 12 5 .706 1.5
Utah 10 5 .667 2.5
Portland 9 7 .563 4
Minnesota 7 9 .438 6
Pacific Division
LA Clippers 8 5 .615 -
LA Lakers 10 7 .588 -
Phoenix 6 9 .400 3
Sacramento 6 11 .353 4
Golden State 5 10 .333 4
Southwest Division
Memphis 9 6 .600 -
San Antonio 10 7 .588 -
Dallas 10 7 .588 -
Houston 9 7 .563 0.5
New Orleans 3 13 .188 6.5
at home and improved to an NBAbest
15-3 despite the absence of two
starters and two key reserves. Richard
Hamilton added a season-high 18
points for Chicago.
The Bulls played their fourth
straight game without reigning NBA
MVP Derrick Rose (sprained left big
toe). They also were missing starting
center Joakim Noah, a late scratch
because of a left ankle sprain.
Gerald Henderson Jr. led Charlotte
with 22 points, but the Bobcats lost
their fifth consecutive road game.
They have dropped nine of 10 overall.
Rockets 105, Spurs 102
At Houston, Kevin Martin scored
25 points, Kyle Lowry had 14 points
and eight assists and Houston took
advantage of Tim Duncan’s absence
to beat San Antonio. Goran Dragic
scored 14 and Samuel Dalembert
added 12 points and a season-high
six blocks for the Rockets, who have
won six in a row.
Tony Parker had 24 points and a
season-high 13 assists for the Spurs,
who were playing their fourth game
in five nights. San Antonio coach
Gregg Popovich rested Duncan, who
played 25 minutes in Friday night’s
loss to Sacramento. Tiago Splitter
had a career-high 25 points and 10
rebounds for the Spurs. The Rockets
shot 56 percent (44 of 79) to make
up for the Spurs’ 43-32 edge in
rebounds.
Mavericks 83, Hornets 81
At New Orleans, Lamar Odom
scored 16 points in his first start of
the season and Dallas overcame the
absence of Dirk Nowitzki to send
New Orleans to a seventh-straight
loss. Delonte West scored 16, while
Shawn Marion had 14 points and a
season-high 12 rebounds for the
Mavs. Jason Terry added 12 points,
including two free throws in the final
seconds that made it 83-80 before
Jason Kidd made sure to foul Jarrett
Jack before he could attempt a
game-tying 3.
The foul gave Jack two free
throws. He missed the second on
purpose, but could not convert a
quick putback for the tie. Emeka
Okafor tied a season high with 16
points and grabbed a season-best
17 rebounds for New Orleans.
Nuggets 119, Knicks 114
At New York, Danilo Gallinari outplayed
Carmelo Anthony in the first
meeting since they were swapped
in a blockbuster trade, scoring a
career-high 37 points as Denver outlasted
New York in double-overtime.
Al Harrington, another former
Knicks forward, scored 22 of his 24
points after halftime for the
Nuggets, allowing them to withstand
Anthony’s attempt to rally the
Knicks after his poor shooting had
them behind until the final minutes
of regulation. Anthony finished with
25 points and 10 rebounds, missing
20 of 30 shots in the Knicks’ sixth
straight loss. He missed 14 of his first
17 shots, then made his final four of
regulation to nearly help New York
pull it out. Anthony spent the first 7
1/2 years of his career with the
Nuggets before they trading him to
New York.
Jazz 108, Timberwolves 98
At Salt Lake City, Paul Millsap
scored 12 of his 26 points in the
fourth quarter to power Utah past
Minnesota. Matched up against
Kevin Love, Millsap shot 6 of 7 in the
final period on a variety of fall away
jumpers and shots at the rim to help
the Jazz win for the ninth time in 11
games. Ricky Rubio, who had 17
points and 11 assists, made a jumper
with 5:01 to play to cut the Jazz lead
to 100-96. But Minnesota ran out of
gas one night after a dramatic win in
Los Angeles against the Clippers.
The Timberwolves missed six
straight shots and had two
turnovers down the stretch as
Millsap and the Jazz clinched the
victory. —AP
Stenson added. “I haven’t won on the
European Tour since 2007 and my last
victory on the PGA Tour was the Players
Championship in 2009.
“I’m exempt on the European Tour
and my Sawgrass win means I am still
exempt on the PGA Tour. Like any player,
when you win a number of big tournaments
like I have, you miss winning.
“If I can start playing solid again and get
those processes working again I am
very confident I can get myself up the
world rankings and back into the
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
majors and WGC (World Colf
Championships) events for the next five
or six years.”
Stenson does have an exemption for
the US Masters in April courtesy of his
Players Championship win but his ranking
is not high enough to guaranteee him a
spot in the other three majors. “I will need
to play well at the Qatar Masters and the
Dubai Desert Classic to give myself chance
of getting back inside the top-64 to at
least play in next month’s WGC Match Play
Championship,” he said. —Reuters
BIARRITZ: Biarritz’s Imanol Harinordoquy, top, jumps for the ball during
their Heineken European Cup rugby union match against Osprey in Biarritz,
southwestern France, yesterday. —AP
Saracens preserve English
honour in European Cup
PARIS:- Saracens ensured there was one
English representative in the last eight of the
European Cup yesterday coming away
unconvincing 26-20 winners over Italian side
Treviso. The win ensured they finished top of
Pool Five but while they are guaranteed a
home draw in the quarter-finals their display
in Italy will not have thrown up much for
their opponents to fear as they were outplayed
for most of the game.
Biarritz thrashed Ospreys 36-5 in the other
pool match with their Zimbabwe-born
American international wing Takudzwa
Ngwenya scoring three of their five tries
while Benoit Baby and former England international
back Ian Balshaw got the other.
That saw them end on 18 points and
holding onto a last eight place ahead of the
final two games of the weekend in Pool Two
as Cardiff Blues and Edinburgh, who have 17
points, host Racing-Metro and London Irish
respectively.
Treviso scored the first try as No8 Robert
Barbieri - born in Canada but selected for the
Italy Six Nations squad - brushed aside Matt
Stevens and former Ireland scrum-half Peter
Stringer to touch down in the 13th minute -
Kris Burton converted to make it 7-3.
However, Saracens went back into the
lead as South Africa-born England international
lock lock Mouritz Botha - fed by
Stringer - went over and was converted by
Owen Farrell, who had opened the scoring
with a penalty.
The hosts, though, were far from cowed
by that and a sensational move prompted by
Barbieri and involving Brendan Williams and
KITZBUEHEL: Defending champion Ivica
Kostelic returned to the top of the overall
World Cup standings yesterday, after coming
third in a men’s slalom won by Italy’s Cristian
Deville. While main rival Marcel Hirscher of
Austria went out in the second run, Kostelic
racked up a total of 160 points in his bid for
the title - 60 for the slalom result and 100 for
winning the combined event, which adds the
slalom results to those from Saturday’s downhill.
“I was not thinking about the combined
event, just about the slalom,” said Kostelic,
who now has 855 points to Hirscher’s 725.
Austria’s Mario Matt, the 2001 and 2007
slalom world champion who led after the
opening run, finished second, 0.72 behind
Deville. Kostelic said he was determined to do
well after the Austrian ski federation admitted
before the race that Hirscher had straddled a
gate while winning the Jan. 5 night slalom in
Zagreb, Croatia.
“That struck me deeply. I was very disappointed
and it motivated me highly,” said
Kostelic. “It’s just one race, but the shame lasts
Italy fly-half Burton set up wing Tommaso
Iannone who went in and Burton converted
for 14-10. Burton was in impressive form and
he edged them further ahead in the 26th
minute with a drop goal and all Saracens
could find in replay was a penalty from
Farrell three minutes from the break which
was also the moment that Irish referee Alain
Rolland had to call it a day with a calf muscle
injury.
However, they got themselves ahead
from the second-half kick-off as wing David
Strettle benefited from a block and he went
over - Farrell converted to make it 20-17 to
the visitors. Burton brought Treviso level
shortly afterwards but Farrell showing the
accuracy that has brought him an England
call-up slotted a penalty of his own to make
it 23-20.
The hosts, though, kept banging away
and making inroads into the Saracens
defence and were unfortunate to be denied
a third try when South African scrum-half
Tobias Botes touched down but it was ruled
out after several minutes review for a Treviso
infringement in the build-up.
Instead it was Saracens who extended
their lead as Farrell added another penalty
with 18 minutes remaining and just managed
to hold on agaisnt some late Italian
pressure. However, any cause for celebration
will be dampened by their Scottish
backrow forward Kelly Brown having to be
taken to hospital after going off in the firsthalf
with what looked like a serious injury
and which could threaten his Six Nations
campaign. —AFP
Deville wins slalom, Kostelic
takes combined event
KRANJSKA GORA: Michaela Kirchgasser
of Austria poses after her victory in the
FIS women’s World Cup slalom in
Kranjska Gora yesterday. —AFP
forever.” Austrian coaches studying footage of
Hirscher’s second run in Zagreb after the race
saw that one of his skis hit a gate and then
passed it on the wrong side, Austria’s head
coach Mattias Berthold said.
The incident went unnoticed during the
race, and results will not be corrected because
the International Ski Federation only accepts
protests within 15 minutes of a race ending.
Kostelic, who won three slaloms this season,
was 0.01 behind Matt after the opening run
on the Ganslern course, which was softened
by overnight rain and was further damaged
during the race.
Kostelic skied very aggressively in his second
run, when he was unaware of Hirscher’s
disqualification. “I attacked more than I normally
do,” said Kostelic. “The course was very
hard to race. I almost fell twice. With these
holes, it’s hard to race and to find your balance.”
Matt held back in his final run in an
attempt to avoid the risk of skiing out because
of the difficult course conditions. “It was really
hard with all these holes and bumps,” Matt
said. “For a win, you have to attack in your second
run as well. I could not do that as I was in
need of good results. Now I’ve made some
points and will go out attacking again the
next race.”
Deville was meanwhile delighted with the
first victory of his career. “It’s fantastic. I have
not being skiing that well since the start of the
season but my second run was a dream,” the
Italian said. “I was in the right rhythm from the
start and the risks I took have paid off.”
Deville had never been on a World Cup
podium before this season, but came second
in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in November and
third in Flachau, Austria, in December. “I am 31
years young, not old,” he said. “What happened,
I don’t know. I have been training just
like in previous years. Maybe it’s experience
that counts.”
In the combined event, Swiss duo Beat
Feuz and Silvan Zurbriggen came second and
third respectively.The men’s World Cup travels
to nearby Schladming for a night slalom
tomorrow. —AP

17 SPORTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
India face humiliating whitewash in Australia
MELBOURNE: Struggling India are desperate
to avoid the ignominy of another 4-0
series wipeout in the fourth and final Test
against Australia starting at the Adelaide
Oval tomorrow.
It has been a tour from hell for the
Indians, collapsing to heavy defeats in
Melbourne, Sydney and Perth and with their
skipper M.S. Dhoni suspended for the
Adelaide Test for a slow over rate in the
abject third Test defeat.
India, who relinquished their top Test
ranking when they were crushed 4-0 in
England last year, face their eighth consecutive
away defeat if they cannot prevent the
rejuvenated Australians from inflicting
another drubbing. Test cricket’s greatest
runscorer, Sachin Tendulkar, is still seeking
his 100th international century and has the
chance to reach the mark at the Adelaide
“home” ground of cricket legend Don
Bradman.
It has been a frustrating time for
Tendulkar, 38, and probably on his farewell
tour of Australia, missing out on his elusive
ton in six innings in the series so far.
Tendulkar, stuck on 99 Test and one-day
international hundreds, has now gone 10
Tests and 20 innings without a hundred,
one of the longest waits for a Test century
in his 187-Test career.
But while fingers have been pointed at
India’s ageing batsmen for their role in
India’s sorry series, Tendulkar has been sol-
id, scoring 249 runs at an average of 41.50.
The Adelaide Test looms as a crucial one for
senior batsman V.V.S. Laxman, who at 37 is
under extreme pressure over his Test future
after a miserable series in which he has
scored just 102 runs at an average of 17.
Laxman reportedly batted for nearly two
hours in the Adelaide Oval nets on Thursday
in a desperate bid to regain his touch with
indications that he will play in the final Test.
The pressure is also on Virender Sehwag,
who will lead India, still ranked number two
in the world, in Dhoni’s enforced absence.
Sehwag has not lost a Test in his three
matches at the helm but he is another senior
batsman out of form and needs a typical
buccaneering knock to galvanise his team.
Sri Lanka triumph
in thrilling climax
Win 5th ODI with 6 on second-last ball
JOHANNESBURG: Sachithra
Senanayake struck a six off the
penultimate ball to give Sri Lanka
a two-wicket triumph over South
Africa yesterday in the final match
of a five one-day international
series won 3-2 by the hosts.
Captain AB de Villiers and
predecessor Graeme Smith (125
each) struck tons as South Africa
made 312-4, but a century from
Kumar Sangakkara (102) led the
tourists to 314-8 at the Wanderers
and a second win within three
days. Sri Lanka appeared to be
cruising until Sangakkara became
the fourth wicket to fall with 275
runs on the board and a late
JOHANNESBURG: Sri Lankan batsman and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan (R) plays a shot as South
African wicketkeeper and captain AB de Villiers tries to make a catch during the fifth One Day
International match (ODI) between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Wanderers Stadium in
Johannesburg yesterday. —AFP
South Africa
G. Smith c Chandimal b Malinga 125
A. Petersen c Mathew b Malinga 6
F. du Plessis c Mathews b Senanayake 24
AB de Villiers not out 125
A. Morkel run out (Dilshan/Perera) 18
JP Duminy not out 5
Extras (2lb, 7w) 9
Total (4 wkts, 50 overs) 312
Did not bat: C. Ingram, W. Parnell, R. Peterson, M. Morkel, L.
Tsotsobe
Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Petersen), 2-70 (Du Plessis), 3-256
(Smith), 4-269 (Morkel)
Bowling: Kulasekara 10-1-46-0, Malinga 10-0-79-2 (1w),
Mathews 3-1-16-0 (2w), Perera 7-0-64-0 (2w), Senanayake
9-0-50-1, Dilshan 2-0-12-0, Herath 9-0-43-0 (1w).
Sri Lanka
U. Tharanga c Duminy b Tsotsobe 46
T. Dilshan c De Villiers b Tsotsobe 41
Scoreboard
JOHANNESBURG: Scores in fifth one-day international between South Africa and Sri Lanka at the Wanderers yesterday:
K. Sangakkara c Peterson b Duminy 102
D. Chandimal c De Villiers b Parnell 20
L. Thirimanne c A. Morkel b Peterson 69
A. Mathews c Peterson b Parnell 6
T. Perera c Du Plessis b Duminy 2
N. Kulasekara b Peterson 0
R. Herath not out 1
S. Senanayake not out 6
Extras (12lb, 8w, 1nb) 21
Total (8 wkts, 49.5 overs) 314
Did not bat: L. Malinga
Fall of wickets: 1-72 (Tharanga), 2-119 (Dilshan), 3-175
(Chandimal), 4-275
(Sangakkara), 5-294 (Mathews), 6-307 (Perera), 7-307
(Kulasekara), 8-308 (Thirimanne)
Bowling: M. Morkel 9.1-0-49-0 (2w), Tsotsobe 7-0-54-2
(2w), Duminy 6.5-0-44-2, Parnell 10-0-51-2 (2w), A. Morkel
10-0-66-0 (1nb, 2w), Peterson 6.5-0-38-2.
Result: Sri Lanka win by two wickets
Series: South Africa win 3-2
South Africa rally saw them grab
two wickets within three balls
during the final over. It left the
tourists needing five runs from
two balls to succeed and
Senanayake hit Robin Peterson
for a six to snatch victory in a
thrilling climax to the two-month
tour.
Sangakkara struck 10 fours in a
maiden ODI ton against South
Africa and there were also valuable
contributions from Lahiru
Thirimanne (69), Upul Tharanga
(46) and skipper Tillakaratne
Dilshan (41). De Villiers and Smith
excelled as South Africa recovered
from a sluggish early run
rate having being sent in to bat
by Dilshan in a match delayed for
one hour by rain early in the Sri
Lankan innings.
De Villiers finished unbeaten
after facing 98 deliveries while
Smith received a standing ovation
from the sell-out 30,000
crowd after being caught by
Dinesh Chandimal at mid-wicket
off the bowling of Lasith Malinga.
While the Proteas skipper confirmed
his position as one of the
best stroke players in the world
today with 10 fours and four sixes,
Smith could not contain his
joy as he walked off after a timely
first ODI ton in three years. There
was a media and public outcry
against him just a week ago after
innings of six, 28 and two in the
first three matches of the series
before he stopped the rot with a
brisk 68 in Kimberley two days
ago. Smith embroidered his
innings with nine fours and four
sixes off 143 balls during a 203minute
stand and the sundrenched
crowd revelled in his
change of fortune.
South Africa lost opener Alviro
Petersen (6) with only 10 runs on
the board and were 70-2 when
Faf du Plessis (24) departed
before De Villiers and Smith took
charge.
The Proteas stood at 133-2
after 30 overs and a run rate of
4.43 needed improvement on a
good batting track, which the
captains past and present duly
did with 44 runs coming during a
power play soon after. —AFP
Five-goal Dortmund
hammer Hamburg
BERLIN: Defending champions
Borussia Dortmund hammered
Hamburg 5-1 on Sunday to join
Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 at
the top of the German league.
All three sides have 37 points,
but Bayern, who slipped to a
shock 3-1 defeat at fourthplaced
Borussia
Moenchengladbach on Friday,
stay top by virtue of a superior
goal difference.
“We wanted to finish with 37
points and we did that in impressive
style,” said Dortmund coach
Jurgen Klopp. “We played our
football and the lads were merciless.”
Dortmund took the lead
when Japan winger Shinji
Kagawa slipped a pass through
the Hamburg defence to allow
Germany’s Kevin Grosskreutz to
fire home on 16 minutes.
“We played really good football,
that was unbelievable,” said
Grosskreutz. Poland striker
Robert Lewandowski scored his
13th goal in 18 league games
when he held off Germany
defender Dennis Aogo to score
on 37 minutes. Dortmund midfielder
and Poland captain Jakub
Blaszczykowski-known as Kubamade
it 3-0 on 58 minutes
before netting a 76th-minute
penalty.
Lewandowski then danced
through the defence for the fifth
goal on 83 minutes.
Dortmund featured 23-yearold
Australian Mitchell Langerak
in goal, with the former
Melbourne Victory shot-stopper
stepping in for veteran Roman
Weidenfeller, who failed to
recover from back pains.
Langerak was making only his
second league appearance, having
made his Bundesliga debut
against Bayern in Dortmund’s 3-
1 victory last February as
Borussia went onto win the title.
Hamburg grabbed a consolation
when Langerak managed to
deny Zhi-Gin Lam, but Peru strik-
er Jose Guerrero pounced on the
loose ball to net on 86 minutes.
Having taken over in October,
this was the first defeat for
Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink.
“We played badly, we gave
Dortmund too much respect and
I don’t know why,” said Fink. “We
were missing a bit of bravery and
that is something we must work
on this week.”
On Saturday, Schalke coach
Huub Stevens admitted he was
in dreamland as the Royal Blues
also drew level with Bayern after
their 3-1 win over Stuttgart. A
goal after just three minutes
from 20-year-old Cameroon midfielder
Joel Matip put Schalke
ahead against the 2007 champions
before Greek defender
Kyriakos Papadopoulos headed
home on 57 minutes.
Schalke’s 18-year-old midfielder
Julian Draxler then scored
his side’s third with 10 minutes
left after being set up by
Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan
Huntelaar.
Stuttgart’s Japan striker Shinji
Okazaki scored a consolation
goal three minutes from time.
“I know we have the same
amount of points as Bayern and
it’s nice to dream,” said Stevens.
Werder Bremen remain fifth
after a goalless draw at
Kaiserslautern, while Nuremberg
beat Hertha Berlin 2-0 and
Wolfsburg striker Sebastian Polter
scored his second goal in two
games to give Wolves a 1-0 win
over Cologne. Hoffenheim against
Hanover finished goalless.
Freiburg proved there is life
without Senegal striker Papiss
Demba Cisse, who joined
Newcastle United during the
winter break, when they earned
a 1-0 win over Augsburg
through a late header from
Matthias Ginter. With both sides
in the relegation places, the
result lifted Freiburg up to 17th
and put Augsburg on the bottom
of the table —AFP
“Ultimately, I have always believed that a
captain is only as good as his team,” opening
batsman Gautam Gambhir said. “M.S.
(Dhoni) has done a great job, but it is the
entire team that has not performed and
that needs to take the blame.”
Little has gone right for India-thrashed
by 122 runs in Melbourne and by an innings
and 68 runs in Sydney, both inside four
days, before an abysmal innings and 37-run
defeat inside three days in Perth.
Australia’s bowlers have dominated, with
swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus taking 23
wickets in the series at 16 apiece and Peter
Siddle 17 wickets at under 20. While India’s
decorated batsmen have yet to score a century
in the three Tests, Australia have scored
four, including skipper Michael Clarke’s 329
not out.
“As Michael Clarke said after the game (in
Perth), celebrate your win, but at the end of
the day we want to try and beat the second
team in the world four-nil,” opening batsman
David Warner said.
“That’s a massive thing for us. Our goal is
to become number one again (in the world)
by the next Ashes in 2013. If we can keep
working towards that, our goals will be
achieved.”
Adelaide is regarded as a batting wicket
and spinner Nathan Lyon is expected to
come into Australia’s team after being left
out on the pace-friendly WACA pitch in
Perth. —AFP
MELBOURNE: Belgium’s Kim Clijsters makes a forehand return to China’s Li
Na during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship
in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday. —AP
Clijsters through,
Federer thumps Tomic
MELBOURNE: “Built Belgian tough”
might become a badge of honour for
future tennis generations after courageous
Kim Clijsters’ win over Li Na yesterday,
while Roger Federer dashed the
dreams of home fans by crushing young
gun Bernard Tomic.
On a day when the clouds cleared, the
mercury bubbled and temperatures
soared, Rafa Nadal won a battle of
Spanish lefties against Davis Cup team
mate Feliciano Lopez, and Tomas
Berdych was booed mercilessly for a
petulant show of bad sportsmanship.
Defending champion Clijsters crumpled
to the court at 3-3 in the first set
after her left ankle rolled sickeningly
over. The Belgian, bidding farewell to the
Australian Open in the final year of her
career, had her ankle heavily strapped
and Li took advantage to win the first set.
The 28-year-old Belgian clawed her
way back into the match to win the second
set in a tiebreak as the crowd began
to believe she could pull off the win.
Clijsters closed out the match 4-6 7-6 6-4
to keep her hopes alive of a fifth grand
slam title.
However, she conceded the injury
had made her think about quitting
against Li, whom she beat in the 2011
final. “It definitely crossed my mind at
some point, but I knew if I could just try
to let the medication sink in ... the pain
would go away a little bit and maybe
with the adrenaline I could just fly
through it,” she said.
Clijsters was joined in the quarterfinals
by number three seed Victoria
Azarenka, who endured her traditional
late-game hiccup before beating Iveta
Benesova 6-2 6-2. World number one
Caroline Wozniacki endured a nervy second
set against Jelena Jankovic before
clinching a 6-0 7-5 win. Still giddy from
Lleyton Hewitt’s heroics against Milos
Raonic, Australian fans could barely
believe they had two players in the
men’s fourth round, but hopes that 19year-old
Tomic could depose four-times
champion Federer proved wide of the
mark.
Teen Tomic had already come
through two five-setters to reach the
fourth round while 30-year-old Federer
looked as fresh as a daisy in securing a 6-
4 6-2 6-2 win. The Swiss, bidding to
match Roy Emerson’s record of five
Australian Open titles, will face former
U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del
Potro in the quarter-finals.
Federer agreed Tomic had the potential
to win silverware. “I think he has had
a wonderful tournament and there’s
much more that’s going to come the
Australian way,” he said. “It’s going to be
tough against Del Potro. I don’t look
beyond that because he’s coming up
strong. He has had a good year, played
all the top guys again and pushed us all.”
World number two Nadal, with heavy
strapping on knee, ankle and foot,
huffed and puffed his way past Lopez
with little Spanish sparkle but was happy
to go no more than three sets. Memories
of his last eight withdrawal against Andy
Murray two years ago, and defeat at the
hands of David Ferrer last year, still haunt
him. “Hopefully it won’t happen this
time,” said Nadal after his 6-4 6-4 6-2 win.
“Every year is different. I had a bad experience
for the last two years here. It’s
tough to have to go out of a tournament
like Australia in quarter-finals.” —Reuters
LEVERKUSEN: Leverkusen’s Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok (C), Mainz’ defender
Malik Fathi and Mainz’ Macedonian defender Nikolce Noveski vie for the ball
during the German first division Bundesliga football match Bayer 04 Leverkusen
vs FSV Mainz 05 in the western German city of Leverkusen yesterday. —AFP

LIBREVILLE: Tunisia are plotting to come
out on top against Morocco for a third
time in a major international competition
when the two sides meet in today’s
Maghreb derby at the Africa Cup of
Nations.
Tunisia came out on top when they
defeated their neighbours in the final at
the 2004 Nations Cup final on home turf,
and again when they denied the
Moroccans’ a place at the 2006 World Cup
by finishing top of their qualifying group.
Tunisia’s captain Karim Haggui, speaking
at the team hotel in the Gabon capital
yesterday, said: “It’s only normal they
(Morocco) see this as a chance for
revenge, we beat them and won the title
in 2004 and then came out on top in
qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.”
The Hannover 96 defender who was
part of then coach Roger Lemerre’s 2004
Cup winning side, added: “Tunisia have
the advantage because we are the ones
who have won at the big championships.
This is our chance to continue that tradition.
“Of course winning the title in 2004
was important, but that’s history, we
have a new generation now, we want to
write a new page in our history.”
Tunisia coach Sami Trabelsi was anxious
not to overstate the importannce of
today’s meeting between two sides fancied
to make it into the quarter-finals
from a Group C that also includes cohosts
Gabon and first-timers Niger.
“The Morocco game is very important,
but it won’t be decisive. The games
between the two countries are special,
they know us, we know them, I hope we
get the result we’re looking for.” Tunisia
and Morocco are based in the same hotel
on the Libreville waterfront, a sign of the
friendly rapport and mutual respect that
exists between them.
Morocco coach Eric Gerets is predicting
yet another tight encounter at the
L’Amitie stadium, the Belgian observing:
“It’s all about the team that’s better prepared,
the one that has better discipline...
“Tunisia have lots of talented players,
they are a very good team, but I have a
good team too.” Speaking at an earlier
press conference he defended his decision
to keep the faith with veteran 35-
BATA: Zambia’s midfielder Nathan Sinkala (L) vies with Senegal’s
Mamadou Niang (R) during their Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football
match between Senegal and Zambia at the Bata stadium in Bata on
Saturday. Zambia won the match 2-1. — AFP
sports
year-old keeper Nadir Lamyaghri, who
has only narrowly recovered in time from
a shoulder injury.
“There’s no question that he’s not our
number one keeper. He’s experienced, he
speaks to his defence, he’s never disappointed
me. There’s no reason to say he’s
too old, or lacks competition, or is
injured. He’s got lots of qualities.”
Gerets is expected to lead his attack
with Marouane Chamakh, who has been
sparingly used by his club boss Arsene
Wenger at Arsenal. He believes Chamakh
and other players in his predicament will
be motivated to show their club managers
what they can do on the Cup stage.
“Players who don’t play regularly for
their European clubs will be motivated
not only to do well for their country but
also to show their capabilities to their
(club) coaches,” he suggested.
“I’m certain they will want to give that
something extra to show their good
qualities to their managers. In a way they
are also playing for their places at club
level.” “He is capable of taking the
chances against Tunisia.” — AFP
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Football: Tunisia plotting more misery for Morocco
Zambia shock Senegal
after surviving onslaught
BATA: Zambia survived a second-half Senegal
onslaught to triumph 2-1 in Group A Saturday
and create the first shock of the 2012 Africa Cup
of Nations on the opening day. Emmanuel
Mayuka and Rainford Kalaba gave the Copper
Bullets a two-goal lead within 20 minutes and all
Senegal had to show for their dominance after
half-time was a Dame N’Doye goal which set up
a tense climax.
Senegal entered the tournament as 4/11
bookmakers’ favourites to win the mini-league
and now face a make-or-break midweek clash
with co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, who snatched
a 1-0 win over Libya earlier at Estadio De Bata.
Victory was a personal triumph for Franceborn
coach Herve Renard, who has vowed to
win the tournament and honour the 1993
Zambian national team whose plane plunged
into the sea near Bata killing all 30 on board. “It’s
fantastic to beat Senegal. This is not a surprise,
it’s the result of a lot of hard work,” said Renard.
“But there are still two games to play. We have to
keep our feet on the ground and not get carried
away as when you beat Senegal you think you
can beat anybody.” Senegal coach Amara Traore
chose his starting line-up from an embarrassment
of attacking riches and opted for captain
Mamadou Niang, Demba Ba and Moussa Sow
with new Newcastle United signing Papiss
Demba Cisse on the bench.
“The first half was a calamity,” said Traore.
“Zambia caused us a lot of discomfort and did
more running. But we still have a chance to get
through. Tonight changes nothing.” Zambia
went for Switzerland-based striker Mayuka, leav-
ing James Chamanga on the sidelines, and the
youngster repaid the faith of Renard just 12 minutes
into the match.
A Copper Bullets’ free kick was nodded across
the six-yard box and Mayuka headed past Bouna
Coundoul to give his side a shock lead over rivals
rated third favourites for the title by pundits
behind Ivory Coast and Ghana.
The Senegalese defence was all at sea and
after a narrow escape the Teranga Lions fell further
behind on 20 minutes when Christopher
Katongo set Kalaba free and he ran across the
goalkeeper before slotting the ball home. Traore
could not believe this was the same side that
qualified at the expense of four-time champions
Cameroon and reacted by sending on a fourth
striker, N’Doye, at the expense of midfielder
Remi Gomis with only half an hour gone.
Senegal finished the first half stronger, forcing
a number of free kicks and a corner, and Ba
was unlucky when his close-range shot was
bravely blocked by Stoppila Sunzu.
Zambia were forced into their own half after
the interval and Senegal twice came close to
pulling a goal back through a Mohamed Diame
header and a snap Ba shot as the midway point
approached.
Traore brought on Issiah Dia during the
break and made his final substitution on 67 minutes,
replacing Sow with Cisse, before Ba saw a
header come back off the crossbar.
The relentless Senegalese pressure finally
told when N’Doye controlled a deep cross with
his chest and then rifled a low shot past
Kennedy Mweene at his near post. — AFP
Co-hosts Gabon enter Cup fray
LIBREVILLE: Gabon will not want to be outdone
by their neighbours and Africa Cup of
Nations’ co-hosts Equatorial Guinea when they
tackle competition first-timers Niger here
today. This opening Group C clash at the brand
new L’Amitie stadium has been earmarked as a
must win game by both teams hoping to
upset the formbook and sneak into the quarter-finals.
With previous winners Morocco and
Tunisia in the mix, a first or second place finish
looks tricky, but by no means out of the question.
Gabon were given timely encouragement
when their neighbours Equatorial Guinea got
their campaign off to a dream start with
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat of Libya across the border
in Malabo.
Niger cannot be underestimated after finishing
top of their qualifying group, casting
contintental kings Egypt, winners in 2006,
2008 and 2010, aside. But as Libya found out to
their cost, home advantage is a major factor.
Gabon were quick out of the blocks in
Angola two years ago, stunning one of the
Cup favourites Cameroon 1-0 in their first
game, with former Hull City striker Daniel
Cousin the scorer. Cousin, now attached to a
locally-based side, commented: “Can we win
the Cup? That’s hard, but we’ll go out and do
our job. We’ve got a good mix of experienced
players and youngsters who add power to the
side. “We started well in Angola and we have to
do the same here, if we beat Niger and win our
second match who knows what can happen.”
Gabon’s German coach Gernot Rohr showed
no signs of the pressure piled on his shoulders
by his team’s number one fan, Gabon
President Ali Bongo, who has identified the
title as his team’s target, at a training session
on Friday. “We’re well prepared, solid both on
the pitch and mentally, there is a slight lack of
confidence but we are all motivated and want
to exploit all the chances we have.” The 58year-old
is relishing his first taste of the
Nations Cup, telling AFP: “My first Nations Cup
- it’s a beautiful adventure, I’m happy to live
through it. — AFP
MALABO: Africa Cup of Nations favourites Ivory
Coast won a tense Group B opener against
Sudan here yesterday, Didier Drogba earning the
star-studded Elephants a 1-0 win.
For a side ranked 102 rungs below the
Ivorians in FIFA’s ranking, Sudan covered themselves
with glory, yet Drogba’s decisive intervention
leaves them struggling and sets the 1992
champions on course for the quarter-finals. After
a fraught first half in which Sudan more than
held their own, Drogba calmed Ivorian nerves
six minutes before the break.
The Chelsea striker broke the deadlock
against the Nile Crocodiles when he rose to head
in a superb cross from his club team-mate
Salomon Kalou. But Ivory Coast almost found
themselves back on level terms on the stroke of
half-time, with only goalkeeper Boubacar Barry’s
brilliant reaction tipping the ball over the crossbar
to deny Mudather Elteib’s menacing strike.
Sudan came out for the second half and continued
in the same vein, defending stoutly and
trying to catch their illustrious opponents out on
the counter-attack. The footballing millionaires
went close to doubling their lead just before the
hour, only for Sudan keeper Mahjoub El Moez to
be up to the task of repelling Gervinho’s low
attempt. The Arsenal forward had the Sudan
defence trembling again in the 76th minute
when running onto a long lob and charging into
the area, only to squander a clear opportunity to
put the match to bed. Ivory Coast skipper
Drogba struck a relieved figure afterwards, saying:
“I don’t know what’s better than taking the
three points. Overall it’s a decent start. We displayed
positive things and other things less
good, but the most important aspect for us was
to get off to a winning start.”
The Ivorians, while relieved to escape with
three points, looked far from potential champions
and will have to improve markedly if they
are to fulfil their massive potential and shed
their unwanted reputation as chokers.
That moniker has been attached to them
after they lost the 2006 final to hosts Egypt, who
stopped them again in the semi-finals in 2008,
LIBREVILLE: Tunisia national football team coach Samir Trabelssi (R)
and striker Saber Khelifa give a press conference yesterday in
Libreville ahead of his team’s African Cup of Nations match against
Morocco today. — AFP
Drogba saves Ivory
Coast blushes
MALABO: Angola’s Contreiras Alberto (front)
vies with a Burkina Faso’s player during their
Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), group B, football
match at the Malabo stadium in Malabo yesterday.
— AFP
while in 2010 they were stunned by hosts
Angola in the quarter-finals.
Francois Zahoui, the winning coach, said he
hadn’t been surprised by the stiff Sudanese
resistance. He added: “I was expecting an ultramotivated
team against us, they produced a
very very good game. “We’ve come here with
ambitions for this competition. I’m already satisfied
that we didn’t concede a goal. We are always
waiting for the Ivory Coast to produce fireworks
but our aim is to win the Cup. “We’ll go step by
step, there are areas to improve in terms of the
substance but it was a positive beginning.
Mentally this win will relieve some of the pres-
sure.” Sudan’s coach Mohamed Abdalla understandably
reckoned his bunch of youngsters had
acquitted themselves well. “When you play a
team like the Ivory Coast with numerous stars
you can’t make mistakes. But after the goal and
in the second half we shed our reserve and produced
lots of chances.
“I think overall it’s a positive sign for the next
match.” That is against Angola where Sudan will
continue their quest for their first Nations Cup
match outside Sudan since 1963. Next up for
Drogba and company are Burkina Faso with
both matches scheduled for Malabo on
Thursday. — AFP
MALABO: Ivory Coast national football team midfielder Yaya Toure (C) fights for
the ball with Sudan’s Ala Eldin Yousif Hado (R) and Balla Gabir Kortokaila yesterday
during a Group B match of the Africa Cup of Nations in Malabo. — AFP
Ex-United striker Manucho
gives Angola perfect start
MALABO: Former Manchester United striker
Manucho scored the decisive goal as
Angola defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 to lift the
Black Antelopes’ level with Ivory Coast at
the top of the Africa Cup of Nations Group
B here yesterday.
Manucho’s goal earned the 2010 Cup
hosts the important win after Alain Traore
had cancelled out Angola’s opener from
Mateus. These two sides were desperate to
get points on the board after Ivory Coast’s
1-0 victory over Sudan earlier in the
Equatorial Guinea island capital.
Coach Jose Vidigal’s Angola arguably
edged the encounter up to the break, passing
crisply and trying to find room down
the wings, but both sides were in need of
injecting more venom to their finishing. Up
front Flavio and Manucho, now in Spain
with Real Valladolid, were linking up well
enough. In the 26th minute Belgian-based
defender Gilberto failed to make the most
of a charge into the box, his muted attempt
comfortably smothered by Burkina Faso
keeper Daouda Diakite It was by no means
all one way traffic as down at the other end
the Angolan defence was called into service
to block a shot from the lively Paul Keba
Koulibaly.
Flavio was handed a gift-wrapped
opportunity after the half hour but failed to
do justice to Gilberto’s freekick. Burkina
Faso put together a neat three-player move
just before the interval but like a lot of their
attempts it came to nought.
The goal the game badly needed came
two minutes after the restart. Sloppy
defending in particular by Koulibaly let in
striker Mateus who, after toying with the
ball to get it on to his favoured right foot,
struck low from the right of the box past
Diakale to put Angola in command.
Koulibaly payed the price for his error,
being hauled off by Burkina Faso coach
Paulo Duarte with Mady Panandetiguiri
coming on in his place. On 57 minutes,
Auxerre midfielder Traore put Burkina Faso
back on level terms with his freekick curling
around the Angolan wall, the ball flying
into the bottom far corner of the unsighted
and hence motionless Carlos’ net.
That was his country’s first Nations Cup
goal since 2004. Vidigal responded by
replacing Flavio with midfielder Dede.
Manucho too responded in the best possible
way, putting Angola back in front with a
peach of a shot from outside the area after
outfoxing Burkina Faso defender Bakary
Kone. His 68th minute strike would have
brought a smile to the face of his former
Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Angola, who had to survive a frenetic
closing ten minutes, will seek to wrap up a
quarter-final spot against Sudan on
Thursday with Burkina Faso facing Didier
Drogba’s Ivory Coast the same day. — AFP

LIVERPOOL: Blackburn manager
Steve Kean insists Christopher
Samba will be at Ewood Park
when the transfer window closes
despite continuing speculation
over the Congo defender’s
future. Samba, who handed in a
transfer request earlier in the
week, was left out of the Rovers
side which earned a 1-1 draw at
Everton on Saturday.
The Congolese player has
been the subject of two offers
from one Premier League club,
thought to be QPR, who are
managed by former Blackburn
boss Mark Hughes, while
Tottenham are also interested.
But Rovers have rejected QPR’s
offers and Kean once again
insisted after his team’s battling
point at Goodison Park that
Samba is going nowhere during
the current transfer window.
Blackburn face Newcastle in
their next league game on
February 1 after the window
closes, and Kean expects Samba
to feature. Explaining why
Samba did not play at Goodison,
Kean said: “It’s been a tough
week because we’ve had a cou-
ple of bids for Chris from one
club.
“We put out a strong statement
and he handed in a transfer
request, so all those things
put together I thought it was
best he was not involved. “This is
the last game for us before the
window closes. He’ll be back in
next week and we can move on.
“We’re trying to keep Chris. If
Chris is going to move it’s not
going to be in this window. “It’s
not a case where we’re trying to
get teams bidding against each
other to get the figure up. We
SPORTS
Kean insists Samba will stay at Blackburn
NOVARA: AC Milan’s Brazilian forward Robinho (C) fights for the ball during the Seria
A match Novara against AC Milan yesterday in Novara. — AFP
AC Milan beat Novara to
remain hot on Juve’s heels
ROME: Strike pair Zlatan Ibrahimovic and
Robinho scored the goals as AC Milan
emerged with a 3-0 victory from their
trip to Novara yesterday and remain hot
on the heels of league leaders Juventus.
Juve won 2-0 at Atalanta on Saturday
and had briefly put daylight between
themselves and the rest but Milan’s success
closes the gap to a single point.
Udinese are also hanging on in third,
three points behind Juve, after their
comfortable 2-1 win over Catania, whose
consolation came five minutes into time
added on.
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri
insisted he was happy with his team’s
position at the halfway mark of the season.
“We needed the three points after
the three we lost in the derby and that’s
what we were concenrated on,” he said.
“We’ve got 40 points which is the
same as we had at the same stage last
season. Juve have done better, they have
one more point but there are 19 matches
left.”
Ibrahimovic scored a brace and is now
level with Udinese captain Antonio Di
Natale at the top of the goalscoring
charts. Unlike the Italian Cup meeting
between the pair on Wednesday - which
Milan squeaked through 2-1 after extratime
- Novara couldn’t make life particularly
difficult for the champions.
Almost all the pressure in the first half
was put on the Novara goal but the hosts
managed to hold firm. Ibrahimovic hit a
vicious free-kick that Samir Ujkani couldn’t
hold but Robinho fired the follow-up
from a tight angle across the face of the
goal.
The big Swede had another free-kick
from a good position that he hit with
venom and again it was too hot for
Ujkani to handle but the ball spooned up
and over the bar. From the resulting corner
Philippe Mexes teed up Thiago Silva
but his close range header was miraculously
cleared off the line by Andrea
Caracciolo.
Allegri wasted little time in trying to
inspire his team, throwing on young forward
Stephan El Shaarawy at half-time in
place of full-back Luca Antonini. And the
hosts cracked just 12 minutes after the
re-start as Milan captain Massimo
Ambrosini picked out Ibrahimovic at the
back post with a short, dinked cross.
The Sweden forward had lost his
marker and had time to control the ball
on his thigh before volleying past Ujkani.
El Shaarawy should have sealed the
points 20 minutes from time when
played in by Robinho but having skipped
around Ujkani he sliced his finish wide.
But moments later Robinho slid in at
the back post to divert in El Shaarawy’s
shot that appeared to be going wide.
And the coup de grace came from
Ibrahimovic in the final minute with a
clever flick that fooled Ujkani and three
defenders before trickling over the line.
Udinese were comfortable in dismissing
Catania to contain their stunning
campaign in which they have now
proved they are no flash in the pan.
Colombia wing-back Pablo Armero
opened the scoring on 20 minutes and
enigmatic striker Di Natale added the
killer second eight minutes into the second
period.
They did concede with virtually the
last kick of the game but it was too little
too late. Napoli, however, appear definitely
out of the title running and probably
also Champions League contention
as they drew 1-1 at Siena.
Emanuele Calaio opened the scoring
for the hosts midway through the second
period before Goran Pandev rescued
a point four minutes from time for Walter
Mazzarri’s men. The game of the day was
in Sicily where Palermo trumped Genoa,
who have now conceded 16 goals in
their last four games, in a 5-3 thriller.
Inter Milan will look for their seventh
straight win as they host Lazio, one point
and one place above them in fourth, in
the late game. — AFP
Lyon toil to reach
French Cup last 16
PARIS: Late goals from strikers Bafetimbi
Gomis and Lisandro Lopez gave Lyon a
laboured 2-0 win over fourth-tier underdogs
Vendee Lucon yesterday, taking
Remi Garde’s side into the French Cup
last 16.
In a game played at Nantes’ Stade de
la Beaujoire, Lucon held out until the
75th minute against their illustrious
opponents, who broke the deadlock
when Gomis’ shot was deflected past
goalkeeper Damien Leclere.
Lisandro made the game safe nine
minutes from time, finishing off a Lyon
counter-attack with a right-footed shot
into the roof of the net. “We found ourselves
in danger a few times, but we’d
been warned,” said Garde.
“I wasn’t surprised. Lucon are a CFA
(Championnat de France Amateur) team
of quality, whose desire to play football is
commendable. “They played their match
of the year, but we qualified.”
In-form Marseille will bid to extend
their winning run to six games in all competitions
at home to Ligue 2 Le Havre later
on Saturday, while Montpellier visit
another second-tier outfit, Tours, today.
On Saturday, holders Lille required an
extra-time header from substitute Gianni
Bruno to overcome fourth-tier side
Compiegne 1-0.
“To go far in the French Cup, you also
need to know how to squeeze through in
certain matches,” said Lille coach Rudi
Garcia. “The door wasn’t wide tonight
but we managed to pass through it all
the same.” Bordeaux had a similarly narrow
escape, with goalkeeper Cedric
Carrasso saving two spotkicks as they
beat Creteil 4-3 on penalties after the
National (third division) outfit had twice
equalised to force a 2-2 draw.
Ajaccio and Auxerre were not so fortunate,
as the Corsicans fell 3-2 to fourthtier
Bourg-Peronnas and Laurent
Fournier’s Auxerre lost 2-1 at home to
Chateauroux of Ligue 2. Ligue 1 leaders
Paris Saint-Germain booked their place
in the last 16 with a 4-0 victory at fifthtier
Sable-sur-Sarthe on Friday.
PSG had needed an injury-time goal
from Diego Lugano to see off fifth-division
side Saint-Colomban Locmine in the
previous round, but a brace each from
Nene and Kevin Gameiro gave them a
more comfortable margin of victory at
the MMArena in Le Mans. — AFP
MADRID: Lionel Messi scored his
14th Barcelona hat-trick as the
champions cruised to a 4-1 win
at Malaga yesterday to close the
gap on Real Madrid at the top of
La Liga to just two points.
Messi found the target in the
33rd, 50th and 80th minutes to
take his season’s goal tally to 22,
one more than Real’s Cristiano
Ronaldo whose side can restore
their five-point advantage when
they face Athletic Bilbao late yesterday.
This was only Barca’s fourth
league victory on their travels
and Messi’s goals also brought to
an end a poor personal run as of
his 19 goals going into the game
only one had come away from
home.
Barcelona coach Pep
Guardiola left Carles Puyol, Cesc
Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez on
the bench with one eye on
Wednesday’s King’s Cup quarterfinal
second leg clash with Real,
where his side defend a 2-1 lead.
Still it was a sluggish first half
from the Catalan side and
Malaga had the better openings
notably for Isco Alarcon, who
had a shot well-saved by keeper
Victor Valdes.
He was denied twice more by
the shot-stopper with a header
and a close range strike. But
Messi then headed home an
Adriano cross to put the visitors
ahead after 33 minutes.
After the break Barcelona
raised the tempo with Alexis
Sanchez and Messi both scoring
within five minutes and the
Argentine in particular had
clicked into gear.
He hit a free-kick against the
woodwork before out-running
the defence to slot in his third of
the night. With five minutes to
go, substitute Jose Rondon
claimed a consolation for
Malaga. Real take on Bilbao
just want to keep him - simple as
that. “He felt he wanted to put in
his request. He has done that
and it’s been refused. Today,
you’ve seen we can put other
players in and we’ve got real
competition for places in that
position. “We need Chris and I
want my best players at the
club.”
Blackburn, rooted to the foot
of the table at Christmas, have
now lost one in five games to
give themselves hope of avoiding
relegation. They produced a
battling performance at Everton
needing to perform more like
the side which has won admirers
for their attacking football, that
has led to 63 goals in the league
so far, rather than the defensive
side that played Barca in the
King’s Cup.
Coach Jose Mourinho’s main
concern is that they stop leaking
goals. “The statistics show that
we have conceded two goals
against Malaga, one against
Mallorca and another against
Barcelona which is too many,” he
said.
Valencia continue to struggle
as they could only draw 1-1 in a
scrappy game against Osasuna.
But they still hold a five-point
lead over Levante, who face
and recovered to secure a point
through David Goodwillie after
Tim Cahill had ended his 13month
Premier League goal
drought by firing Everton ahead.
It was a bitter-sweet day for
Cahill. The Australian was at fault
for Blackburn’s late equaliser,
while his goal was shrouded in
controversy as team-mate
Marouane Fellaini clearly handled
the ball before Cahill forced
the ball over the line.
Everton manager David
Moyes also claimed that
Blackburn’s equaliser should
Zaragoza later Sunday, in the
fight for third place.
A late goal from Roberto
Soldado with five minutes to go
looked as though it would give
Valencia a victory they did little
to deserve. But, in injury time,
midfielder David Albelda was
given a straight red for a rash
challenge and from the resulting
free-kick Osasuna equalised.
Keeper Diego Alves could
only knock the ball back into
play after a header from Dejan
Lekic and substitute Lolo Ortiz
rammed it home from close
range.
Valencia were looking to
bounce back from a home defeat
by Real Sociedad last weekend
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
have been disallowed for offside.
The Merseyside club started the
day 11th in the table but
dropped to 14th after failing to
win for the fourth successive
league game.
However, Moyes was pleased
Cahill ended his goal drought.
“Tim has looked more likely to
score in recent weeks,” he said.
“He’s looked as if he has been
playing better and coming into a
little bit of form.” On his team’s
performance, Moyes added: “We
just needed a little bit more in
every department.”—AFP
Messi hat-trick inspires
Barca triumph over Malaga
Barca close to within two points of leaders Real
MALAGA: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi from Argentina, center, scores against Malaga during his Spanish La
Liga soccer match at Rosaleda stadium in Malaga, Spain, yesterday. — AP
VALENCIENNES: Valenciennes player’s Gregory Pujol (foreground) vies for the ball
against Bastia’s player Maka Mary during their French League Cup soccer match yesterday
at the Hainaut stadium in Valenciennes. — AFP
MADRID: Jose Mourinho was facing a Real
Madrid revolt yesterday after he claimed his
players were stabbing him in the back,
sports daily Marca reported. Marca claimed
the combustible Portuguese coach had
accused some of his stars of trying to betray
him by conducting a whispering campaign
in the press.
“You killed me in the mixed zone,”
Mourinho was reported to have said to his
players, referring to the bustling area where
media get the opportunity to talk to players
after matches. “Obviously, as you Spanish are
the the world champions, your friends in the
press will protect you.”
The fall-out between the coach and his
team came in the aftermath of Madrid’s 2-1
defeat by Barcelona in the King’s Cup quarter-final
first leg on Wednesday. Marca said
that Mourinho had rowed with defender
Sergio Ramos, who he claimed had not
marked Carles Puyol closely enough, allowing
the veteran Barca player to score the
equaliser in Wednesday’s tie.
but chances were few and far
between in a cagey first half.
After the break the Valencia
keeper did well to repel a header
from Raul Garcia and then a freekick
from Javad Nekounam, and
the game was petering out until
the dramatic finale.
Mallorca eased their relegation
fears with a second half Ivan
Ramis header giving them a 1-0
win away to Rayo Vallecano.
The home side had the better
of the openings with Piti
Luna, Michu Perez and Jose
Casado all going close in the
first half but Ramis snatched
the victory for Mallorca after
jumping highest at a corner
after 56 minutes. — AFP
Valencia squander lead
to draw 1-1 at Osasuna
MADRID: Third-placed Valencia dropped points for
the fourth time in five matches when they conceded
a goal in added time in a 1-1 La Liga draw at
Osasuna yesterday. Roberto Soldado looked to have
secured victory for Unai Emery’s side when he nodded
his 12th league goal of the campaign six minutes
from time at the Reyno de Navarra stadium in
Pamplona.
However, Valencia captain David Albelda was
shown a straight red card moments later for a badly-timed
lunge on David Timor and defender Lolo
scrambled the ball home from the resulting freekick
to rescue a point for the home side. The draw leaves
Valencia six points behind second-placed
Barcelona, who can stretch the gap to nine and
close to within two of leaders Real Madrid, at least
for a few hours, with a win at Malaga late yesterday.
Real, who host Athletic Bilbao in the late game
(2030), need to pick themselves up following
Wednesday’s 2-1 home defeat to Barca in a King’s
Cup quarter-final first leg amid reports in local
media of a rift in the dressing room.
Sports daily Marca carried quotes yesterday from
what it said was a row between coach Jose
Mourinho and defender Sergio Ramos and the
paper said some of the Real players had lost confidence
in the former Inter Milan and Chelsea manager.
— Reuters
Mourinho faces Real Madrid revolt
The newspaper even reported the pair’s
heated exchange. “Ramos: ‘We decided to
change the marking positions (with Pepe).’
“Mourinho: ‘So you are trying to be the
coach?’ “Ramos: ‘No, but sometimes you
have to change the marking in a match. As
you have never worn the shirt as a high-level
player, you wouldn’t know that this situation
sometimes presents itself.’”
Madrid were due to host Athletic Bilbao,
when they will bid to re-establish their fivepoint
lead at the La Liga summit. —AFP

MONDAY, JANUARY 23 , 2012
Drogba saves Ivory Coast blushes Page 18
LONDON: Arsenal’s English striker
Theo Walcott (C) vies with Manchester
United’s Danish goalkeeper Anders
Lindegaard (L) during their English
Premier League football match
against Manchester United at the
Emirates Stadium in London, England
yesterday. — AFP
Man Utd win 2-1 at Arsenal
Man Utd 2
Arsenal 1
LONDON: Manchester United’s
Antonio Valencia gave his best
impression of Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday,
scoring one goal and setting
up another to give his side a 2-1 win
at Arsenal that keeps the pressure
on Premier League leader
Manchester City.
Rekindling memories of
Ronaldo’s seven stellar years with
United, Ecuador winger Valencia
headed United into the lead in first-
Welbeck keeps United hot on City’s heels
half injury time and darted into the
area with nine minutes left to present
Danny Welbeck with the chance
to smash a winner past goalkeeper
Wojciech Szczesny.
Robin van Persie’s 71st-minute
equalizer - his 19th league goal of
the season - counted for little. The
result kept the defending champions
within three points of City and
further threatened the
Gunners’ chances of qualifying
for next season’s Champions
League. “We created an amazing
amount of chances and to only
score two is a bit disappointing,”
United manager Alex Ferguson said.
“We should have rammed home our
advantage in the first half. “We were
really adventurous, positive and had
a great belief in ourselves.”
Arsenal is five points behind
fourth-place Chelsea and 18 behind
City. Home fans jeered manager
Arsene Wenger’s decision to substitute
Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain with
the score at 1-1, and many left after
watching the young winger’s
replacement - Andrey Arshavin -
decide not to challenge Valencia as
he broke forward to set up the winning
goal.
“I can understand that fans are
upset about the substitution, especially
when it doesn’t work,” said
Wenger, adding that Oxlade-
Chamberlain was tired and carrying
a calf problem. “People pay their
tickets and are free to express their
emotions and we have to deal with
that.
“That doesn’t mean they are right
always.” Wenger also left fan favorite
Thierry Henry out of the squad, and
the on-loan New York Red Bulls
striker watched from the stands
while Ryan Giggs showed the difference
a veteran can make to big
games.
The 38-year-old former Wales
international showed a glimpse of
his old pace by twisting and turning
up the inside right channel to win a
free kick on the edge of the area.
That chance amounted to nothing
but his next significant contribution
was to float in the left-wing cross
that Valencia headed in at the far
post.
United enjoyed plenty of possession
with Michael Carrick probing
patiently from deep and Giggs, in
his 48th game against Arsenal,
Super Mario sinks Spurs
Man City 3
Tottenham 2
LONDON: Mario Balotelli struck a dramatic injurytime
penalty as Manchester City overcame a
brave Tottenham fightback to win 3-2 and take a
six-point lead at the top of the Premier League
yesterday.
Substitute Balotelli blasted in his spot-kick
deep into injury time after the Italian striker had
been bundled over by Ledley King for a clear-cut
penalty. But the City forward’s winner was tinged
with controversy after television replays suggested
he was lucky not to be sent off in an earlier
tangle with Scott Parker where he appeared to
stamp on the Spurs midfielder’s head. The finale
capped a remarkable game which had seen Spurs
recover from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 with goals
from Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale after City
had taken the lead through Samir Nasri and
Joleon Lescott. Spurs’ agony was compounded by
a chance missed by Defoe moments before City’s
winner which might have given them a 3-2 lead,
the striker just failing to tuck away a low cross
from Bale. The result saw City take a six-point lead
at the top of the table although second-placed
Manchester United can reduce the deficit if they
win at Arsenal in Sunday’s late match.
Assistant City manager David Platt hailed
Balotelli’s composure in striking the winning
penalty but declined to comment on the player’s
earlier flashpoint involving Parker. “Mario has got
that ability to put a penalty like that away,” Platt
said. “With penalties he’s got full confidence in
himself, he looks at the keeper and tries to make
the keeper make a mistake.
“I haven’t seen the incident with Balotelli so I
can’t comment on it until I see it. If we continue to
amass points and carry on winning we’ll be tough
to beat, but it doesn’t change anything in terms
of the title race.”
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp was fuming following
the incident however. “Balotelli has kicked
Scott Parker in the head purposely. He’s backheeled
him in the head,” Redknapp said. “I don’t
know why you would do that on a football pitch.
It’s there for everybody to see.”
After a scrappy first half where neither side
managed to get a grip on the game, the contest
exploded into life shortly after the restart with
four goals inside nine minutes. City drew first
blood with a wonderfully worked opener on 56
minutes, David Silva releasing Nasri with a perfectly
weighted through ball which took the
French international beyond the Spurs defence.
The former Arsenal star ghosted away from
Kyle Walker and Younes Kaboul and unleashed an
unstoppable first-time shot that flew past Brad
Friedel. City looked to have taken a stranglehold
on the match within three minutes when Lescott
made it 2-0.
Edin Dzeko rose to flick on from a corner and
Lescott was on hand to bundle the ball home
after outmuscling Scott Parker near the goal-line.
But City’s goal celebrations had barely subsided
before Tottenham were handed a way back into
the game after a mistake by Stefan Savic.
A hopeful clearance forward from Kaboul was
headed back towards the City goal by the
Montenegrin defender but fell only as far as
Defoe, who coolly rounded Joe Hart before
stroking home to make it 2-1.
Five minutes later and Spurs were level.
Aaron Lennon glided in off the left flank and
laid off to Bale on the edge of the area, who
unleashed a curling shot into the top corner
beyond Hart. —AFP
showing mobility and vision to consistently
put the ball into dangerous
areas.
Wayne Rooney was too deep to
be a real goal threat, and Nani wasted
United’s best first-half chance
when he rolled the ball across goal
with both Rooney and Welbeck
unmarked and screaming for a pass.
Van Persie made United pay for
its missed chances, atoning for an
uncharacteristic earlier miss with a
first-time finish across goalkeeper
Anders Lindegaard and in at the far
post.
That roused the home fans but
Valencia showed quick feet to cut
into the area, exchange passes with
substitute Park Ji-sung and lay the
ball off to Welbeck. The striker, who
had few opportunities to impress
until then, thrashed the ball into the
net. Van Persie was largely isolated
by Wenger’s decision to play a fiveman
midfield and the only time
winger Theo Walcott looked truly
menacing was when United right
back Phil Jones collapsed with what
looked like a serious injury and left
his opponent unopposed.
When he next got the ball in a
promising area, Walcott leaned back
and smashed Oxlade-Chamberlain’s
25th-minute cross high over the bar
and into the crowd. But United’s victory
came at a cost, with Jones carried
off the field in the 17th with
what appeared to be an ankle
injury, Nani limping off in the second
half and Rooney hobbling at
the end following a heavy challenge
from Alex Song. — AP
MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s Gareth Barry (L) challenges Tottenham Hotspur’s
Gareth Bale during their English Premier League football match at The Etihad
Stadium in Manchester, north-west England yesterday. — AFP

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
KSE shares end mixed
Emerging markets will help
rebalance global growth
Euro finance chiefs
seek turning-point
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Fed to enter
tricky waters
Global rating agencies under scrutiny
PARIS: Financial markets that waited a
month for euro-zone sovereign debt downgrades
quickly ignored the news from
Standard & Poor’s once it came, raising the
question of just how pertinent international
ratings agencies are.
Aside from a couple of jittery hours on
Friday the 13th, investors took the downgrades
of nine euro-zone countries in their
stride, and most of those concerned did
not appear to have suffered much, if at all,
from the development.
Stock markets in London and Frankfurt
posted four straight sessions of gains
before giving up a bit of ground on Friday
as investors locked in gains ahead of the
weekend. On government bond markets,
Spain and Italy found that the rates they
had to offer to borrow money had stabilized
and declined respectively, even
though both suffered two-notch S&P
downgrades.
In fact, all of the downgraded countries
New oil find in
Gulf of Suez:
Kuwait Energy
KUWAIT: Kuwait Energy Plc, one of the fastest growing
independent oil and gas exploration and production companies
in the Middle East, announced a new oil discovery
in Egypt’s Ahmad-1X well, located in the Gulf of Suez’s
Area A concession.
The company’s press release said, “the newly discovered
Ahmad-1X well was drilled to 2,110 meters depth.
The initial test recorded a flow rate of 890 barrels of oil
equivalent per day from the Kareem formation level. This
discovery brings the total number of oil, gas, and condensate
discoveries made by Kuwait Energy in Egypt,
since 2008, to 14 discoveries, three of which were made
in Area A.
Kuwait Energy is the lone operator of Area A and
holds a 70 percent working interest. Omani independent
Petrogas E&P holds the remaining 30 percent share.
Kuwait Energy Plc Deputy Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, Sara Akbar, said, “This is a further contribution
to the productive capacity of the Egyptian energy
sector and we are glad to play a part in this success.” Akbar
added the company would continue testing and developing
in the area, which is believed to hold great promise
still. Egyptian operations contribute the largest share to
Kuwait Energy’s working interest production, comprising
17,700 barrels of oil equivalent by the end of 2011. Kuwait
Energy is the operator of three blocks in Egypt, namely the
Area A, Burg El Arab development, lease and the Abu
Sennan concession. It also has interests in two other nonoperated
blocks: Mesaha concession and the East Ras
Qattara development lease.—KUNA
Markets cold-shoulder S&P downgrades
that sought to borrow money last week
were able to do so at better rates than
before the hatchet fell. “The markets
donned their rose-colored glasses,”
remarked Fabrice Coustie, managing director
of the online brokerage CMC Markets
France.
“It was generally expected,” agreed
Philippe Brossard, chief economist at at
AG2R La Mondiale, in reference to the
downgrades, and “it did not change anything
fundamentally.”
The S&P decision came “in a very troubled
context in which everyone was
already downgraded in fact,” Coustie said.
The event was also sandwiched between
an exceptional European Central Bank loan
of funds for three years, which occurred in
late December, and an announcement by
the International Monetary Fund last week
that it would raise an additional 500 billion
dollars to ensure the euro-zone debt crisis
did not scupper the global economy.
“The IMF is more credible than any
European structure” created to provide
financial support to sovereign states such
as the temporary rescue fund EFSF or the
future European Stability Mechanism
(ESM), Coustie noted. Context and anticipation
thus appear to have weighed heavily
in advance against the sovereigns, making
it hard to say whether international ratings
agencies have lost a lot of their influence.
“They have relatively little impact on sovereign
debt assessments because we have a
pretty good idea of our own regarding the
countries’ financial situation,” said Gunther
Capelle-Blancard, deputy director of the
Paris-based economic institute CEPII.
“We knew that Germany offers more
guarantees than France, which in turn
offers more than Italy,” Capelle-Blancard
said. Brossard noted that “the only country
that really suffered (from the S&P downgrades)
was Portugal, which fell below BBB-
” or into speculative grade territory.
“That might spark an exit by some
investors” who are obliged by internal regulations
to hold investment-grade debt, he
said.
Portugal nonetheless managed to place
some shorter-term paper at better conditions
than before its downgrade, but the
rate on Lisbon’s 10-year debt climbed two
percentage points from 12.5 percent to
around 14.5 percent. By comparison, the
rate on reference German 10-year Bunds
was just 1.782 percent last week. Ratings
agencies should not be “the sole reference,
it is absolutely inappropriate to saddle us
with this systemic risk” role said Carole
Sirou, head of the French branch of
Standard and Poor’s.
Systemic risk is that which can do lasting
damage to the financial sector as a whole.
It remains to be determined however
the usefulness of ratings agencies that
“pass their time running after the markets,”
Brossard said. —AFP
WASHINGTON: A view showing the Occupy DC encampment in McPherson Square on a cold morning in
Washington, DC yesterday. — AFP
UAE approves $1.3bn Etihad Rail borrowing
DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates’ cabinet
has approved plans for Etihad Rail,
the developer of a railway network in
the country, to borrow 4.7 billion
dirhams ($1.28 billion) to finance part of
the construction, Dubai’s ruler said yesterday.
“We also approved during the
meeting for Etihad Rail to borrow 4.7
billion dirhams to finance their new line
to Al Ruwais,” Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also UAE
vice-president, posted on his official
Twitter feed. No other details were provided.
The rail network, which will cover
1,200 kilometres across the UAE and is
projected to cost around $11 billion, is
being built in three stages. The line to
Ruwais is part of the first phase.
In October, a contract worth 3.3-billion
dirhams was awarded to an Italian-
UAE joint venture, consisting of Italy’s
Saipem , Tecnimont and UAE-based
Dodsal Engineering & Construction PTE
Ltd, to design, procure and construct
the first stage’s infrastructure. The first
stage of the rail network will link the
western region cities of Habshan and
Ruwais by 2013 and join Shah and
Habshan by 2014.
Phase two of the project will connect
Abu Dhabi to Jebel Ali in Dubai while
the third phase will connect the northern
emirates. Contracts for the second
stage are earmarked to be awarded in
the third-quarter of 2012, its chief executive
said in November. — Reuters
Page 25
KARACHI: A Pakistani street
vendor displays birds of
prey for sale at a market in
Karachi yesterday. More
than 700 species of birds
are native to the South
Asian nation. —AFP
UAE CB thwarts
website hacking
DUBAI: The central bank of the United Arab
Emirates has fended off an onslaught from hackers
trying to bring down its website, the bank’s head
of information technology (IT) told Reuters yesterday.
Israeli hackers were apparently behind the
attack, having vowed to target various state-linked
websites in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates in revenge for a wave of credit card code
thefts by a hacker who claimed to be operating
out of Saudi Arabia. The websites of Israeli institutions
have also been targeted.
Hackers launched the denial-of-service (DoS)
attack - usually flooding a Web server with false
information to make it crash - against the UAE central
bank website on Thursday, said Bob Thomson,
chief manager of IT. In response, UAE telecoms
operator Etisalat, which provides fixed line services
to the bank, blocked access to the website from
abroad and this thwarted the hackers, Thomson
said.
“There was no damage done to the website,” he
added. “Etisalat was ultra careful, which was the
right approach.”Hackers calling themselves the IDF
Team, an apparent reference to the Israel Defense
Force, said on Wednesday in an online post they
would disable the UAE central bank website.
Hackers claimed last week to have disrupted the
websites of the Saudi Arabian and Abu Dhabi stock
exchanges. Both bourses denied their websites
had been breached.
Rashed Al-Baloushi, acting director general of
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), said its website
was not specifically targeted. “We have been
checking the database and no abnormal access
took place,” he added. Cyber crime in the Middle
East is soaring. “There are multiple forms of cyber
crime - one could be stealing confidential data,
another could be ‘hactivism’, which is a group of
hackers attacking a corporation, institution or government
because they didn’t agree with their policies,”
said Bulent Teksoz, Symantec chief security
strategist for emerging markets. “We’re seeing
more focused attacks on organizations.” Teksoz
said cyber crime in the Middle East could be more
widespread than thought because of low levels of
disclosure in the region.
“Hactivism has been a major threat in 2011 and
we expect it to be so again in 2012,” said Teksoz.
“The threat is real - we have targeted attacks coming
into the region and they are designed to get
intelligence and confidential information and create
chaos.” — Reuters

22 business
Emerging markets will help
rebalance global growth
AIM & Economic Outlook
DUBAI: As the second Annual Investment
Meeting in Dubai veers towards finalizing its
preparation, an accrued number of international
delegations including governments, SOE and private
sector companies from all key developing
economies are rushing in to formalize their
attendance and secure their participation in the
most anticipated FDI-focus and emerging markets-led
event of the year.
The momentum built around this unique and
exceptional investment focused event keep
growing by the hours, asserting thus, the incommensurable
value of this international platform
for its current and prospective participants.
Invited to comment on his participation, Dr
Nouriel Roubini, economist, advisor for the IMF
fiscal committee and chief executive officer of
Roubini Global Economics who joined AIM 2012
as Global Economic Research Partner - commented
on the state of the current economies and
shared his perspective on emerging markets
prospects. “Looking forward in 2012 and beyond,
the state of the global economy looks gloomy
with high unemployment rates, mounting sovereign
debt and limited economic growth in
mature markets. Emerging Market economies are
slowing down but continue to grow strongly,
and have strong long-term prospects, particularly
those that have improved macroeconomic
management, better use of foreign capital and
stronger education. South-South trade and
investment is on the rise. The next step will be
policies that improve coordination and increase
final demand in both Emerging Markets
economies, to help rebalance global growth and
increase global demand. We will be discussing
these realities at the Annual Investment Meeting
in Dubai.”
Economic Integration
The perfect recipe for economic prosperity,
exponential growth and strategic governance
EXCHANGE RATES
Commercial Bank of Kuwait
US Dollar/KD .2730000 .2815000
GB Pound/KD .4270000 .4370000
Euro .3550000 .3640000
Swiss francs .2940000 .3030000
Canadian Dollar .2730000 .2820000
Australian DLR .2870000 .2960000
Indian rupees .0040000 .0070000
Sri Lanka Rupee .0020000 .0035000
UAE dirhams .0754990 .0762570
Bahraini dinars .7355610 .7429540
Jordanian dinar .3810000 .4020000
Saudi riyals .0710000 .0770000
Omani riyals .7210850 .7283320
Philippine peso .0040000 .0072000
Egyptian pounds .0430000 .0520000
CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES
US Dollar/KD .2781000 .2802000
GB Pound/KD .4291080 .4323490
Euro .3576090 .3603090
Swiss francs .2960720 .2983070
Canadian dollars .2752380 .2773160
Danish Kroner .0480910 .0484540
Swedish Kroner .0406660 .0409730
Australian dlr .2891270 .2913100
Hong Kong dlr .0358180 .0360890
Singapore dlr .2176230 .2192660
Japanese yen .0036230 .0036510
Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0056040
Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0024680
Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0031150
Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0033580
UAE dirhams .0757460 .0763180
Bahraini dinars .7379590 .7435320
Jordanian dinar .0000000 .3963220
Saudi Riyal/KD .0741800 .0747400
Omani riyals .7226190 .7280760
Philippine Peso .0000000 .0065140
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.
ASIAN COUNTRIES
Japanese Yen 3.598
Indian Rupees 5.337
Pakistani Rupees 3.154
Srilankan Rupees 2.436
Nepali Rupees 3.341
Singapore Dollar 213.250
Hongkong Dollar 35.672
Bangladesh Taka 3.580
Philippine Peso 6.336
Thai Baht 8.873
Irani Riyal - Transfer 0.271
Irani Riyal - Cash 0.273
has yet to be found, however, alternatives that
help build stronger economic alliances, foster
international trade and engage investors are the
most viable and tangible options.
The key imperatives to encourage inward
Dr Nouriel Roubini
investments in emerging economies include
establishing economic blocs to enhance regional
trade. The causality between enhanced trade
and FDI has long been recognized. Emerging
economies trade has increased substantially and
so has their economic achievements.
A new breed of developing economies borne
in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis present now
new economic architecture with more com-
GCC COUNTRIES
Saudi Riyal 74.150
Qatari Riyal 76.402
Omani Riyal 722.230
Bahraini Dinar 738.540
UAE Dirham 75.715
ARAB COUNTRIES
Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.500
Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.282
Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.272
Tunisian Dinar 189.860
Jordanian Dinar 392.670
Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.865
Syrian Lier 6.003
Morocco Dirham 33.814
EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES
US Dollar Transfer 277.950
Euro 370.650
Sterling Pound 431.930
Canadian dollar 268.420
Turkish lire 153.940
Swiss Franc 300.620
Australian dollar 277.000
US Dollar Buying 277.750
GOLD
20 Gram 315.500
10 Gram 159.000
5 Gram 81.500
Bahrain Exchange Company
COUNTRY SELL CASH SELL DRAFT
Australian dollar 296.800 295.300
Bahraini dinar 742.130 742.130
Bangladeshi taka 3.870 3.330
Canadian dollar 279.200 277.700
Cyprus pound 548.100
Czek koruna 44.500
Danish krone 49.600
Deutsche Mark 167.800 221.000
Egyptian pound 48.230 46.244
Euro Cash 365.400 363.900
Hongkong dollar 36.640 36.490
Indian rupees 5.720 5.540
Indonesia 0.032 0.031
Iranian tuman 0.206
Iraqi dinar 0.247
Japanese yen 3.730
Jordanian dinar 395.740 395.420
Lebanese pound 0.189 0.188
Malaysian ringgit 93.240 93.240
Morocco dirham 46.200
Nepalese Rupees 4.290 3.490
New Zealand dollar 228.800 227.300
Nigeria 1.808
Norwegian krone 48.400
Omani Riyal 724.840 724.660
pelling value propositions to help accelerate an
inclusive economic integration of their markets
and achieve exceptional competitiveness on the
global stage.
The activation of reliable mechanisms of economic
and financial cooperation starts with
building firm foundations to strengthen relationships
between key stakeholders. 2010 witnessed
a wide-spread movement towards consolidating
partnerships to circumvent the negative impact
of mature markets cyclic depressions and support
emerging countries’ transition to maturity.
Pondering on the need for more economic integration
or cooperation, Walid Khaddour, Director
at the Arab-Argentina Chamber of Commerce
who will be helming the Argentinean delegation
(that include the participation of Argentinean
Minister of Tourism) at AIM shared his thoughts.
Khaddour stated that the Argentina-Arab
Chamber of Commerce sees in the Annual
Investment Meeting a great opportunity to further
economic cooperation between one of the
fastest growing economies in Latin America and
the GCC region.
We are here to build hope-for synergies as we
strongly believe in expending trade and business
avenues across continents. We are confident that
sustaining our partnerships and strengthening
our ties with the GCC will translate into viable
economic opportunities for both regions, which
now are much more linked and connected thru
the new routes Dubai-Buenos Aires developed
by the Dubai¥s most successful story, Emirates
Airlines. Further strategic discussions on cooperation
between the BRICS bloc, MERCOSUR,
Southern Europe, ECOWAS, GCC and Korea will
be staged at the regional integration and trade
cooperation morning ministerial panel discussion
of the first day of AIM Conference on May 1,
2012 with ministers of economy, industry and
trade representing Argentina, Ghana, South
Korea, Turkey and UAE.
Pakistani rupees 3.200 3.100
Philippine peso 6.760 6.450
Qatari riyal 77.190 76.760
Saudi riyal 74.510 74.510
Singapore dollar 220.960 220.960
South Africa 37.840 37.840
Sri Lankan rupees 2.647 2.448
Sterling pound 438.700 436.700
Swedish krona 42.300
Swiss franc 302.300 300.800
Syrian pound 4.400 4.400
Thai bhat 9.210 9.060
Tunisian dollar 198.263
UAE dirham 76.080 75.980
U.S. dollars 279.400 279.000
Yemeni Riyal 1.280
GOLD
10 Tola 1,741.630
TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE
Sterling Pound 436.700
US Dollar 279.000
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd
Rate for Transfer Selling Rate
US Dollar 278.500
Canadian Dollar 275.585
Sterling Pound 436.990
Euro 366.765
Swiss Frank 298.040
Bahrain Dinar 737.505
UAE Dirhams 75.800
Qatari Riyals 76.445
Saudi Riyals 74.225
Jordanian Dinar 392.025
Egyptian Pound 46.238
Sri Lankan Rupees 2.441
Indian Rupees 5.241
Pakistani Rupees 3.106
Bangladesh Taka 3.401
Philippines Pesso 6.331
Cyprus pound 683.150
Japanese Yen 3.675
Thai Bhat 8.935
Syrian Pound 5.865
Nepalese Rupees 3.370
Malaysian Ringgit 92.510
UAE Exchange Center WLL
Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)
Australian Dollar 296.90 297.00
Canadian Dollar 279.93 280.00
Swiss Franc 303.41 305.00
Euro 364.15 365.40
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
No rate cut for India
despite growth fears
Central bank meets tomorrow
NEW DELHI: India’s central bank will
keep interest rates at close to four-year
highs when it meets tomorrow despite
mounting anxiety over cooling growth
in Asia’s third-largest economy, analysts
say. While other developing nations
from Brazil to Indonesia have cut rates to
shield their economies from the global
downturn, India’s worries over inflation
are likely to leave the cost of borrowing
unchanged.
The Reserve Bank of India has
“emphasized that upside risks to inflation
remain” and it would be “premature”
to begin cutting interest rates at
the policy-setting meeting, said HSBC
economist Lief Eskesen. The bank has
hiked rates 13 times since March 2010 —
the most aggressive pace of monetary
tightening among its global peersbefore
going into pause mode late last
year amid concerns over faltering
growth. Inflation has dropped from
near-double digits to 7.47 percent, but
economists say the downward trend is
not entrenched enough to prompt a rate
rollback. The bank is, however, expected
to strike a more dovish tone with
“growth concerns now predominating”,
says Moody’s Analytics economist Glenn
Levine, who echoed other analysts in
predicting a possible rate cut in March.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in
the past week insisted that India’s “economic
fundamentals are strong” but
warned the economy faced a “difficult”
period.
The government is now projecting
growth of around 7.0 percent for the
financial year to March 2012, down from
the 9.0 percent forecast in the budget.
The economy grew by 8.5 percent last
year. Some economists believe the final
growth figure will be slightly lower-in
the mid to upper six-percent range.
ATHENS: A massive debt writedown for
Greece will stabilize the euro-zone by
removing a threat posed by its “weak link,”
a strategist with investment bank Goldman
Sachs said in an interview published yetserday.
Greece needs a so-called PSI, or private-sector
involvement, deal to be ironed
out, as well as a second EU bailout, if it is to
be able to make a debt repayment of 14.4
billion euros on March 20.
With those two deals in place, a “systemic
danger in the euro-zone, which
comes from the weak link, that is, Greece,”
will be removed, Francesco Garzarelli was
quoted as telling the Greek daily To Vima.
Garzarelli, head of the US bank’s macroeconomic
research section, said that by
2014 much of Greece’s debt will be transferred
from the private sector to euro-zone
institutions, while a new balanced budgets
treaty will apply to all member states. He
said the sovereign debt of Greece, Italy and
Spain, for example, would become a debt
for the entire euro-zone, dissipating the
previous threat, adding: “The euro-zone
Sterling Pound 437.55 438.75
Japanese Yen 3.68 3.70
Bangladesh Taka 3.305 3.700
Indian Rupee 5.538 5.700
Sri Lankan Rupee 2.449 2.660
Nepali Rupee 3.471 4.250
Pakistani Rupee 3.086 3.260
UAE Dirhams 76.95 76.50
Bahraini Dinar 742.13 742.00
Egyptian Pound 46.19 48.23
Jordanian Dinar 396.93 395.70
Omani Riyal 725.10 729.00
Qatari Riyal 76.93 77.20
Saudi Riyal 74.50 75.90
Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.
Currency Rate per 1000 (Tran)
US Dollar 279.300
Pak Rupees 3.093
Indian Rupees 5.570
Sri Lankan Rupees 2.460
Bangladesh Taka 3.330
Philippines Peso 6.485
UAE Dirhams 76.145
Saudi Riyals 74.635
Bahraini Dinars 742.500
Egyptian Pounds 46.209
Pound Sterling 436.400
Indonesian Rupiah 3.190
Yemeni Riyal 1.550
Euro 364.900
Canadian Dollars 282.300
Nepali rupee 3.690
Al Mulla Exchange
Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)
US Dollar 278.950
Euro 363.000
Pound Sterling 433.800
Canadian Dollar 278.700
Japanese Yen 3.630
Indian Rupee 5.550
Egyptian Pound 46.205
Sri Lankan Rupee 2.449
Bangladesh Taka 3.255
Philippines Peso 6.452
Pakistan Rupee 3.096
Bahraini Dinar 742.800
UAE Dirham 76.000
Saudi Riyal 74.500
*Rates are subject to change
India’s economy has staggered under
the brunt of the 13 rate rises that have
pushed the central bank’s benchmark
interest rate to 8.5 percent-its highest
level since July 2008. The increase in borrowing
costs has dampened demand at
a time when growth is already being
impacted by the struggling US economy
and Europe’s debt crisis. Although
India’s projected growth remains enviable
by Western standards, it is too slow
to fulfill government pledges of significant
poverty reduction and to create
enough jobs for a soaring young workforce
in the country of 1.2 billion.
The slowdown is also playing havoc
with Mukherjee’s fiscal deficit reduction
targets. Economists say public finances
are deteriorating with a rising subsidy
bill, lower-than-expected tax revenues
and privatization earnings, as well as
mounting public borrowing. The government
has raised just three percent of
its 400-billion-rupee ($7.9 billion) target
from the sale of holdings in state-owned
firms this financial year-partly due to a
bearish stock market.
The government’s top financial adviser
C Rangarajan says it will now be a
“Herculean task” to cut the budget
deficit to the targeted 4.6 percent of
Gross Domestic Product. The deficit,
which stood at 6.7 percent of GDP in the
first half of 2011-12, has emerged as a
key concern of economists who say it
could be as high as seven percent for the
full year-spelling higher borrowing and
bigger interest payments. The deficit
was 4.7 percent a year ago. Adding to
the gloom is perceived paralysis in the
Congress-led government, which has
postponed major economic reforms as it
fights numerous corruption scandals
that have damaged the reputation of
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. — AFP
Orascom rises; Gulf markets mixed Deal for ‘weak link’ Greece will
MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS
stabilize euro-zone: Goldman
CAIRO/DUBAI: Egypt’s Orascom
Telecom (OT) soared yesterday following
an eight-week suspension,
while Qatar’s bourse slumped to a
three-month low as investors disappointed
with proposed dividends
continued to sell while other
Gulf markets were mixed.
OT’s shares, suspended since
Nov. 24, jumped 56.1 percent as
the company spun off assets
owned by Egyptian businessman
Naguib Sawiris. The purchase by
Russia’s Vimpelcom of most of OT
in April resulted in it being split
into two companies. “The Djezzy
sale was the catalyst,” said Ahmed
Abu Taleb of Pharos Securities,
adding that he believed the surge
in OT’s share price was an overreaction.
Egypt’s index rose 1.3 percent.
Other shares declined ahead of the
Jan. 25 anniversary of the uprising
that pushed aside Hosni Mubarak
last year. Many investors are worried
an outbreak of violence could
set back the political process. In
Qatar, banks fell, with Masraf Al
Rayan down 3.4 percent and Qatar
Islamic Bank down 0.6 percent .
“Although the results were
good, dividends didn’t meet
expectations, but the fall is unjustified
in my opinion on the long
haul,” said Amer Khan of Shuaa
Asset Management.
“There is obviously appetite
when these equities get to certain
levels. By no means do I think that
valuations in Qatar are stretched or
at a point that deserves a sell-off.”
Doha’s index fell 0.2 percent to
its lowest close since Oct 23. In
Saudi Arabia, petrochemical stocks
weighed on the index , which lost
0.2 percent as investors digested
the last of the fourth-quarter earnings.
Regional bellwether Saudi
Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) fell
1.1 percent, after posting a 10-percent
drop in quarterly profit last
week, missing forecasts. Declining
global demand has weighed on
petrochemical prices. “SABIC drove
the market down and investors are
still digesting the earnings,” said
Turki Fadaak, head of research at Al
Bilad Investment. “(By) the end of
the week, the short-term picture
will become clear as to the direction
of the market.”
National Industrialization
dipped 1 percent, Advanced
Petrochemical shed 2 percent and
Nama Chemicals dropped 3.8 percent.
Contractor Mohammad A
Mojil Group extended losses, dropping
6.5 percent, after saying last
week its fourth quarter losses
exceeded 10 percent of its total
assets. In Dubai, Union Properties
rose 5.8 percent. The developer
has named Ahmad Khalaf Al Marri
acting general manager, a bourse
statement said. Dubai’s benchmark
ended 0.5 percent higher. In
Oman, Renaissance Services
climbed 3.5 percent, recovering
from Thursday’s three-year low
after a company issued a bourse
statement about concerns over its
re-financing issues.
“The company has finished
2011 with a positive liquid balance
sheet and all financial commitments
continue to be met on
schedule,” chief executive Stephen
Thomas said.
Renaissance said in November it
was seeking $380 million to
finance loans and consolidate facilities
for unit Topaz Energy and
Marine.
“The company announced a refinancing
initiative, which we anticipated
should be completed by
now,” the statement added. The
index added 0.2 percent, up from
Thursday’s six-week low. — Reuters
will be stabilized.” Negotiators from the
Institute of International Finance, which is
representing banks and financial institutions
owed money by Greece, and the
French bank BNP Paribas began crunch
talks with Athens last Wednesday. The
negotiations on cutting around 100 billion
euros ($129 billion) from Greece’s massive
debt of more 350 billion euros were
adjourned Friday with both sides expressing
optimism about the outcome.
IIF managing director Charles Dallara
and Jean Lemierre, a representative of
French bank BNP Paribas, left Athens on
Saturday but experts stayed on to continue
talks in the Greek capital. Technical details
remain to be worked out, the Greek press
said yesterday, notably the interest rate to
be applied to the remaining debt after the
writedown, an issue that torpedoed talks
held on January 13. The International
Monetary Fund and Berlin want to set the
rate at about 3.0 percent, while the IIF has
proposed a rate of 4.35 percent, according
to the Kathimerini daily. — AFP

By Markus Schomer
GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Political changes
to weigh on
economy
Globally, 2012 will be another year where politics
takes precedence over economics. We are
still dealing with the fallout from the 2008
recession and any prospects of global growth will
depend largely on political decisions. Presidential
elections in the US, France, Russia, Mexico and Turkey
are likely to have a major impact on economic
prospects. There will be a change in China’s leadership
to a new political generation, which will have
knock-on effects for the rest of Asia. Whilst the full
impact of these events will not be felt until 2013 and
beyond, expectations of changes in the political
landscape will influence investor sentiment well
before that.
We expect global GDP growth to slow to 3.5% in
2012. This is down slightly from 3.7% in 2011 and significantly
down from 4.9% in 2010. However, the
coming year should also mark the low point in the
current economic cycle and the global recovery
should reaccelerate in 2013. The main driver of the
slower growth forecast is the developing world,
where we see growth decelerating from 6.2% to
5.6%. Despite the undoubted influence of developing
nations, we must remember that the US is still
the biggest economy in the world and what happens
there has consequences elsewhere, especially as the
US provides a strong stimulus to export oriented
economies around the world. There has been a
recent pick-up in employment growth, evidence that
business sentiment is improving, which is not just
good news for the US, but for markets elsewhere as
well. US macro trends should continue to improve in
2012, particularly in the very profitable and productive
corporate sector, which was the bright spot in
2011. At year end, profits were on track to grow 9%,
and we expect the sector to improve on that in 2012
with profit growth closer to 12%. Despite the
appearance of tight credit conditions, US companies
do not lack the financial ability to grow, rather the
confidence in the economic outlook.
Across the Atlantic, the outlook is not so positive.
Even if the euro-zone debt crisis is heading for a solution,
Europe is now facing renewed economic problems.
Apart from those countries affected by the crisis,
recession risks are most acute in France and the
UK. Fiscal policy there will turn even more restrictive
in 2012, in contrast to Germany, where the unemployment
rate has fallen to a generational low and
disposable household income is increasing at the
fastest pace in nearly two decades.
Across the Middle East and North Africa, the picture
is somewhat better. In contrast with other
emerging markets, PineBridge forecasts that MENA
growth is expected to pick up, to 4.1%, in 2012, suggesting
the fallout from political instability in some
MENA countries has not impacted overall growth
prospects. This puts the region in a strong position
globally, and whilst the consequences of political
events in countries such as Libya and Egypt are still
yet to fully play out, MENA can look ahead with confidence
to the future. From an investor perspective,
those MENA countries that are better understood
and perceived to be politically more stable will continue
to benefit from capital inflows compared to
more unstable nations.
—Markus Schomer is Global Economic
Strategist for PineBridge Investments.
ONTARIO: People gather for a rally dubbed a
“London Day of Action Against Corporate
Greed” in London, Ontario, Canada on
Saturday. The workers were locked out after
they rejected a contract offer that would have
cut wages in half and slashed benefits at a time
Caterpillar is reporting record profits. —AP
VW may complete
takeover of
Porsche this year
BERLIN: Europe’s biggest automaker Volkswagen will likely
this year complete its takeover of luxury car group Porsche
after clearing key hurdles, according to a German media
report yesterday. News weekly Der Spiegel writes in its
upcoming issue that VW, which owns 49.9 percent of Porsche,
may buy the 50.1-percent stake in the manufacturer of the
iconic 911 car for 3.9 billion euros ($5.0 billion) in 2012. The
report cited unnamed VW executives.
Porsche has built up massive debts as it looked to seal a
tie-up with VW and Spiegel said two previous obstacles now
look surmountable. Volkswagen will avoid having to pay more
than 1.0 billion euros in taxes for completing the deal before
2014 by creating a holding company to buy and maintain the
stake in Porsche, according to the report.
VW would also meet Porsche’s demands for independence
by signing a contract giving the sports car maker control over
its investments and models, Spiegel said. Porsche spectacularly
tried to take over VW in 2008 but the attempt failed and the
luxury car maker was in turn saved by Volkswagen.
A VW spokesman declined to comment on the details of
the report. “But in principle, we aim to complete the transaction
as quickly as possible,” he said.— AFP
BRUSSELS: European finance ministers
launch another week of talks today,
after which they hope a deal with banks
to slash Greece’s debts and agreement
on a new balanced budgets treaty will
mark a turning-point in the debt crisis.
There are fresh headaches, with ministers
also called to decide how to deal
with non-euro Hungary’s bid to secure a
new line of credit from the International
Monetary Fund, and disagreement
remaining over future government rescue
funding both at European Union
and IMF levels.
But in the run-up to a January 30
summit of EU leaders, with the fear that
Europe is lurching back into recession,
domestic political pressures are also
weighing heavily. This is especially true
for those seeking re-election, such as
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and
the goal is to turn broaden the debate
from austerity only towards how to generate
growth. The discussions begin at
1330 GMT with ministers from the 17
currency partners that make up the
Eurogroup primarily concerned with
news from Athens, where the Greek
government and private sector creditors
are trying to settle terms for a massive
debt write-down. Diplomatic sources do
not expect the Eurogroup to take decisions
regarding a planned second Greek
bailout, which hinges on the outcome
of these negotiations. The target for
putting to bed the issue of so-called PSI,
or private-sector involvement, is the
summit, and “there’s a long way to go
yet,” said one well-versed EU official. The
real crunch date for Greece itself is a
March 20 bottleneck for sovereign debt
business
Euro finance chiefs
seek turning-point
Another week of talks begins today
repayments. Without a deal on PSI, it
won’t get a second bailout, and without
the second rescue, it won’t make those
payments.
Into Monday evening, and the eurozone
ministers will be joined by the
European Union’s 10 other finance ministers
plus European Parliament negotiators
for what they hope will be final
discussions on the budget pact to be
signed by all save Britain, as well as a
discussion on rescue funding arrangements.
With Italy, Spain and France each
holding successful bond auctions since
S&P’s downgraded nine of the 17 euro
states-France and Austria falling out of
the Triple-A category-the pressure on
ministers to bump up emergency
bailout funding has receded. The IMF is
now taking the lead here, prospecting
among Group of 20 major economies
for loans to boost its resources after
euro-zone states pledged a combined
150 billion euros ($190 billion) last
month. And after a G20 ministerial
meet in Mexico in February, it will be the
next EU summit on March 1-2 before
the subject of how much the successor
to the European Financial Stability
Facility, the European Stability
Mechanism, should have at its disposal
on entry into force come July.
“Rescue packages and short-term
liquidity are not a solution to the crisis,”
German Foreign Minister Guido
Westerwelle said at the weekend. The
budgetary pact is already all-but
agreed, even if not everyone sees its
value.
In the view of former Belgian prime
minister Guy Verhofstadt, one of the
Parliament negotiators, it “does not provide
a response to the current crisis at
such a crucial juncture with Europe on
the edge of a recession.” Tuesday’s talks
at EU level will likely move onto discussing
the sort of growth primers
France and Germany will be pushing at
the two upcoming summits which
include plans to use public initiatives to
put young unemployed everywhere to
work or into training. But Hungary
should dominate proceedings, not least
with Prime Minister Viktor Orban also in
Brussels for meetings with the trio of
figures that head the EU Council of governments,
its executive Commission and
the elected European Parliament.
Measures announced by Hungary to
get its deficit back under control “are
not sufficient,” said one senior EU diplomat.Orban
is battling threatened legal
action from Brussels over new laws
some say threaten the independence of
its central bank, but the key issue for
finance ministers will be whether to follow
EU economy commissioner Olli
Rehn in condemning Budapest’s management
of its public finances. As
Hungary is not in the euro-zone,
Brussels cannot hit Budapest with the
sort of financial sanctions that new laws
allow elsewhere. That means the only
real stick which partners can use is a
threat to withhold EU grants for poorer
regions. This is tricky, with Hungary
leading a majority among the 27 EU
states rejecting Commission proposals
to cut these cohesion funds-worth some
40 percent of all spending in the EU’s
annual 130-billion-euro-plus budgetover
the rest of the decade. — AFP
JAKARTA: Skylines and huts are seen side by side to fulfill Jakarta’s downtown. Indonesia’s designs
on joining the top table of global economies has been boosted by its upgrade to investment status,
but corruption and an egregious infrastructure are hurdles to full membership.— AFP
China’s drive for ‘green’
cars hits roadblocks
SHANGHAI: Foreign and domestic car
makers are struggling to sell environmentally
friendly vehicles in China, the world’s
largest auto market, even as Beijing
pumps billions into clean energy. China
wants five million “new energy” vehicles
on the streets by 2020 to ease chronic pollution
and reduce reliance on oil imports,
but high prices, lack of infrastructure and
consumer reluctance are creating major
roadblocks. The number of electric and
hybrid vehicles currently in the country is
tiny at about 100,000, mostly in government
fleets, according to an industry estimate.
A salesman at the main Shanghai
showroom of Chinese car maker BYD said
the dealer sold only one electric car and
two hybrid cars-which combine a conventional
internal combustion engine and an
electric motor-last year. BYD, which is
backed by US investment titan Warren
Buffett, launched a fully electric vehicle for
private buyers in October priced at
370,000 yuan ($60,000), though subsidies
cut the cost by at least 16 percent.
“People hesitate to choose cars with a
high price,” said BYD sales manager Zhang
Jiankun. “Although the government can
provide subsidies for alternative-energy
cars, the lack of charging stations is a main
concern.” China had an estimated 243
charging stations at the end of 2011, but
Beijing plans to invest 100 billion yuan
over the next 10 years to build up the
new-energy vehicle sector as a whole,
focusing on electric models. Foreign auto
makers are also promoting the new tech-
LONDON: Profit warnings from
British companies jumped more
than 70 percent in the final three
months of 2011, the biggest quarterly
rise for a decade, as markets were
rocked by economic uncertainty,
Ernst & Young said yesterday.
Companies quoted on London’s
main list and junior AIM market
issued 88 profit warnings in the final
quarter, up from 51 in the third quarter,
the accountancy firm said. “As
evidenced by the sharp jump in the
number of warnings, 2011 was a
tough year for many companies and
this year is likely to continue in the
nology in China. US giant General Motors
imported its first Chevrolet Volts into
China in December and will begin selling
the hybrids in early 2012 at 13 dealerships
in eight cities. But the Volt could suffer a
potential image problem even as sales get
under way in China as the vehicle faces a
US government probe after damaged
lithium batteries caught fire following
crash tests.
GM says it has addressed the safety
issue by reinforcing the battery. The company
is also developing a separate electric
vehicle with its Chinese partner, domestic
auto giant SAIC Motor, which itself
launched five new energy vehicles in
November. “It seems every major company
has its own electric-vehicle program,”
Ray Bierzynski, executive director for electrification
strategy of GM China, told
reporters last year.
China overtook the US to become the
world’s top auto market in 2009 and is
increasingly important for global players
as economic turmoil hits demand in
developed markets. But the push for
clean-energy cars comes as China’s overall
sales slow. Auto sales rose just 2.5 percent
to 18.51 million units last year, compared
with an increase of more than 32 percent
in 2010. China had hoped to vault its car
companies into the top ranks of electricvehicle
producers but in recent months
has reconsidered that strategy given the
technological lead of foreign firms, and is
now focusing more on hybrids.
The government is keen to build up its
domestic auto industry so it has slapped
same vein with the gap between the
winners and losers widening,” said
Alan Hudson, head of Ernst &
Young’s UK restructuring practice.
“Many businesses are still
expanding profitably, but others the
zombie companies - remain moribund
by debt or defunct business
models, unable to build value or
gain momentum in these challenging
economic conditions.” The hardest
hit sector was retail, where an 8
percent fall in consumers’ disposable
income led to the worst Christmas
since 2008 for many shop groups.
Retailers issued 39 profit warn-
import tariffs on some US passenger cars
and sports utility vehicles, and said it
would “withdraw support” for foreign
investment in the sector. “At the beginning
the objective was, literally, to
leapfrog. They have realised this is far too
over ambitious,” said Klaus Paur, director
for automotive analysis at market research
agency Ipsos in China.
“Currently, the government is re-visiting
the strategy on (fully) electric vehicles.
This is why they push more into the
hybrids,” he said. However, one industry
executive said the move did not indicate a
“dramatic shift” in China’s commitment to
electrification.
“As we move down that path, there’s a
more realistic view of how quickly people
can move and how some of the challenges
can be addressed,” Kevin Wale,
president and managing director of GM
China Group, told reporters. The challenge
includes building the infrastructure for
charging batteries and convincing consumers
to trust the technology. China has
set up 15 pilot zones for electric vehicles
across the country to this aim. But in a
country where car culture is only two
decades old and fuel prices are controlled
by the government, flashy luxury brands
carry more appeal. “To me, the performance
of a car is the top priority, including
how powerful it is,” said marketing manager
Gu Jiahuan, who is shopping for a
car.
“Alternative-energy cars are not
mature enough. And pure electric cars
cannot go very far.” — AFP
UK profit warnings rise at
fastest rate in 10 years
ings in 2011, more than in the whole
of 2009 and 2010 combined, it said.
The pain has not eased in the early
weeks of 2012, with clothing chain
Peacocks calling in administrators,
and Tesco issuing its first profit warning
in living memory. Support services
and software and computer services
also suffered from weaker end
markets, Ernst & Young said. The leap
in warnings could mark the start of
an upward trend that could continue
well into 2012, Hudson said,
although he added that recent highprofile
warnings had lowered profit
expectations. — Reuters
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT
business
KSE shares end mixed
KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange
(KSE) stocks ended yesterday’s
trading session on a mixed note.
Despite a slim decline recorded
by KSE Price Index that ended the
day 1.40 points (or 0.02 percent)
lower, good performance of the
markets blue-chip stocks pulled
Global General Index to end the
day in positive territory.
Global General Index (GGI)
ended the day up by 0.02 percent,
at 178.17 point. Market capitalization
was up for the day,
reaching KD29.15bn. On the other
hand, KSE Price Index closed at
5,797.1 point, shedding 1.40
points (0.02 percent) from its previous
close.
Market breadth
During the session, 98 companies
were traded. Market breadth
was skewed towards decliners as
32 equities retreated versus 28
that advanced. Yesterday’s
advance was accompanied by
mixed trading activity. Volume of
shares traded declined by 0.19
percent, reaching 355.04mn
shares. On the other hand, value
of shares exchanged on the KSE
surged by 10.89 percent, reaching
KD30.76mn. Trading was
intense on the counter of Hits
Telecom Holding Company with
48.12mn of the company’s shares
changing hands. Buying interest
pushed the scrip 6.49 percent
higher, to close at KD0.082.
In terms of top gainers,
Ekttitab Holding Company was
the top gainer for the day, adding
7.25 percent to its share value
and closing at KD0.74. On the
other hand, share price of
Industrial & Financial Investments
Company retreated by 8.77 percent
and closed at KD0.026, making
it the biggest decliners in the
market.
Sectors
Among sectoral indices, only
three indices managed to end
today’s session on a positive note.
A gain of 1 percent on the stock
of Kuwait Finance House (KFH),
pushed the Global Banking Index
0.15 percent higher. Sources said
that, board of Kuwait Finance
House (KFH) met and endorsed
FY1201 financial statements. The
sources added that 4Q2011 will
extend the bank’s previous success,
expecting positive results.
Meanwhile, Global Non-
Kuwaiti Index posted 0.64 percent
in daily gains, on the back of
a 1.06 percent advance on the
counter of Ahli United Bank.
Fujairah Cement Industries
Company was the top gainer in
the sector. The scrip closed up by
7.07 percent at KD0.53.
Global Investment Index
added 0.04 in daily gains buoyed
by positive performance by several
component stocks. Al-
Madina for Finance & Investment
Company and Al Deera Holding
Company were up 5.71 percent
and 3.57 percent respectively.
Food Index spearheaded decliners
today, with 1.41 percent in
daily losses.
Share price of Kuwait
Foodstuff Company (Americana)
recoiled by 1.35 percent, to end
the day at KD1.460. Similarly,
Danah Al Safat Foodstuff
Company shed 7.41 percent of its
value, and closed at KD0.100.
The Real Estate Index shed
0.54 percent of its value, on the
back of 2.33 percent drop on the
counter of Mabanee Company.
Share price of Al-Mazaya Holding
Company and National Real
Estate Company was down 3.08
percent and 1.75 percent respectively.
Corporate news
Kuwait’s Capital Markets
Authority said yesterday it has
hired HSBC to advise on plans to
privatize the Gulf Arab state’s
stock exchange and sell a stake in
an initial public offering. The privatization
plan, if completed,
would make the Kuwaiti
exchange the second listed
bourse in the region after the
Dubai Financial Market.
The price of OPEC basket of
twelve crudes stood at $111.59pb
on Thursday, compared with
$111.78pb the previous day,
according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
MADRID: Spain’s public deficit target for
this year should be changed because it
is based on outdated growth forecasts,
Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro said
in an interview published yesterday.
Spain’s new conservative government
has raised taxes and slashed spending
since coming to power last month to try
to meet a 2012 target agreed with the
EU of cutting the deficit to 4.4 percent of
gross domestic product.
It says the deficit hit around 8.0 percent
of output last year, down from 9.3
percent in 2010 but way above the official
6.0-percent target agreed with
Brussels by Spain’s previous socialist
government. “It is obvious that when the
target was set to reduce the deficit from
6.0 percent to 4.4 percent, it was based
on a scenario of economic growth and
not of recession as we find ourselves in
now,” Montoro told daily La Vanguardia.
“When Brussels said that Spain should
reduce the deficit to 4.4 percent it was
because it predicted growth of 2.3 percent.
“That scenario would suppose a rise
in tax revenues, but with a recession tax
revenues will once again fall.” Spain’s
new government expects the country
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro
Spain eyes change in
2012 deficit target
will go into recession this quarter. Last
week the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) said it expected the Spanish economy,
the euro-zone’s fourth largest,
would shrink by 1.7 percent this year
after rising by an estimated 0.7 percent
last year.
“The scenario has changed as the IMF
has said, and the government is waiting
for Brussels to also change its scenario
and adapt it to the new situation,”
Montoro said. The government, which
came to power after November 20 elections,
has announced spending cuts of
8.9 billion euros ($11.5 billion), including
a public sector wage freeze, and tax
increases on income, savings and property
to bring in 6.3 billion euros. It has
vowed to implement further measures
to rein in the deficit leading many economists
to believe that the government
will raise Spain’s sales tax rate which at
18 percent is low by European standards.
But Montoro ruled out a sales tax
hike, saying it would hurt the lower
classes and add to a reduction in consumer
spending. “By how much has consumption
fallen? Why would we raise
the sales tax, so that it keeps falling?” the
minister said. — AFP

25 business
US growth fears ease, euro-zone in focus
KUWAIT: We started the year with concerns
about Chinese growth, European
sovereign and bank recapitalization
risks and questions over the sustainability
of US economic growth. Those
fears seem to be fading so far in 2012
as balances on deposits with the ECB
dropped sharply this week and US jobless
claims fell to their lowest level
since March 2008. The ECB continued
supporting Portuguese bonds and
Spain has completed 19% of their funding
needs for 2012
The major news that the IMF will
attempt to increase its lending capacity
by $500 billion eased investors’ fears.
Consequently, markets responded
favorably despite the US Treasury denying
any intention to seek additional
resources for the IMF and the
Bundesbank head Weidmann mentioning
that he sees exceptional risks to the
Euro zone economic outlook and reiterated
his opposition to the ECB
unlimited bond buying.
The main driver for markets in shaping
sentiment remains the Greek debt
Private Sector Involvement negotiations,
which seem to be centered
around a proposal that would see a
haircut of around 68%, but the level of
holdouts remains a big sticking point.
As a result, Greek PM Papademos continues
to threaten the use of legislation
to force acceptance if necessary.
Last but not least, rating agencies
continued their assault on the
European zone on Thursday with
Moody’s affirming that global bank ratings
are likely to be lowered this year
and contended that most European
banks are vulnerable to the Euro area
debt crisis. Moody’s anticipates they
will put the ratings of several of these
banks under downgrade review in Q1
of 2012. On the foreign exchange side,
the Euro broke the short-term downtrend
and took out a number of stop
losses. After hitting a new low of 1.2626
Fed to enter
tricky waters
INTEREST RATE WATCH
WASHINGTON: The US
Federal Reserve enters
uncharted waters at its
policy meeting this week
as it reveals individual policymakers’
views on the
future path of interest rates.
Fed-watchers generally
expect the central bank will
leave monetary policy
essentially unchanged after
the economy has recently
shown some signs of an
improving recovery from a
deep recession. The Federal Open Market
Committee policymakers have pledged to keep the
key federal funds rate between zero and 0.25 percent
through mid-2013 to support growth. The
overnight interbank lending rate has been held at
that historic low since December 2008.
There is speculation, however, that the FOMC
may decide the economy needs extra juice to keep
growth humming, particularly as Europe veers back
toward recession amid the euro-zone sovereign
debt crisis. But most analysts discounted the notion
of the FOMC opting for further stimulus measures
at the two-day meeting that opens Tuesday. Still,
the FOMC meeting “should be eventful,” said Ryan
Sweet and Aaron Smith at Moody’s Analytics.
“We expect significant changes to the (FOMC)
statement and to the Federal Reserve’s quarterly
economic projections.” All eyes will be on Ben
Bernanke’s post-FOMC news conference. The Fed
chairman will present the central bank’s current
economic projections and discuss the panel’s monetary
policy decision.
But attention also will be fixed on the Fed’s new
communications policy which includes individual
committee members’ rate projections and the timing
of the first rate hike in the outlook reports.
“The immediate focus on Wednesday will be on
two things: the timing of the first rate hike and any
hints of QE3,” Societe Generale analysts said.
The Fed has undertaken two rounds of quantitative
easing (QE), or asset purchases, to stimulate the
economy. The Fed’s Beige Book report prepared for
the meeting said the economy was slightly improving
and growing at a “modest to moderate pace,”
though the rate was still too weak to spur inflation.
The Fed, with a dual mandate of maximum
employment and stable prices, has highlighted a
high unemployment rate-at 8.5 percent in
December-and the depressed housing market as
major obstacles to a sustainable recovery. Some
analysts predicted the Fed would push the first rate
hike back to 2014, noting that such an assumption
already had been priced into the markets.
The change in the Fed communications strategy
to include rate projections has been hailed as a
giant step toward enhancing transparency, even a
move toward setting a rate target. “The immediate
benefit is that it will allow the FOMC to replace the
implicit commitment of keeping rates near zero
until mid-2013 with more flexible guidance,”
Barclays Capital analysts said. But others warned
that the new strategy could backfire, only upsetting
markets, or prove a dud. “With all the new information
being released, the chance for some communication
miscue is high,” said Bank of America Merrill
Lynch analysts. “In time, enhancements to Fed
transparency should reduce market volatility, but
the transition period could be a bit rocky.” — AFP
at the beginning of the week, the Euro
moved sharply higher to end of the
week at 1.2930.
Despite the UK Nationwide’s consumer
confidence index dropping in
December, and the Guardian newspaper
reporting the UK’s national debt
level to 500% of GDP, the Sterling
Pound followed the Euro’s movement
and positive market sentiment to close
the week at 1.5576.
US job data
In the largest one-week decline
since the week of 24 September 2005,
applications for unemployment insurance
payments plunged by 50,000 to
352,000 in the week ended January 14,
less by 30k than economists had forecasted.
The Labor Department relies on
reports from state agencies, and
because many field offices were shut
down on Monday, Thursday’s report
represents an estimate. January is also
known as a particularly volatile month.
The previous week’s figure was revised
up to 402,000 from 399,000.
The Empire State Manufacturing
Survey indicated an expansion at the
fastest rate in nine months in January.
The general business conditions index
climbed 13.5 points from a revised 8.2
FRANKFURT: Crisis-hit euro-zone banks
are parking record amounts of cash at
the European Central Bank for overnight
storage, despite low interest rates, indicating
to some analysts the threat of a
new credit crunch. Every day seems to
bring a new record. On Wednesday, the
ECB revealed that banks had handed it a
staggering 528 billion euros ($682 billion)
although only earning 0.25 percent
on the cash.
In normal times, banks shy away from
depositing cash at the ECB, preferring to
lend any overnight surplus to other
banks, where they win a higher return.
But analysts say that the crisis has
spawned a lack of trust between banks,
meaning that institutions are opting to
store the money at the ultra-safe ECB
rather than take the riskier route of lending
it to their peers.
“The distrust between banks is certainly
one of the main reasons that the
ECB deposit facility is being used so massively,”
said Stefan Schilbe, an economist
at HSBC Trinkaus. The trend is all the
more baffling as the ECB offered banks in
NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT
in December compared to expectations
of 11. The index has been in a
strong upward trend after remaining
stuck below zero from June through
October. New Orders Index rose eight
points to 13.7 and the shipments index
inched up to 21.7. Employment indexes
were positive and higher, pointing to
higher employment levels and a longer
average workweek. Future indexes conveyed
a high degree of optimism about
the six-month outlook, with the future
general business conditions index rising
nine points to 54.9, its highest level
since January 2011.
Greece PSI negotiations
Greece and its private bondholders
continued negotiation last week in an
attempt to reach a vital debt swap deal
to avoid a messy default by Athens.
European leaders also agreed to keep
the combined ESM/EFSF capacity at
500 billion euros, but will review it in
March and may raise it by the permanent
fund’s board of governors once it
is operational, according to a draft
treaty.
Finally, the ESM treaty will aim to
create an incentive for the passage of
the ‘fiscal compact’. Only countries that
have started ratification of the compact
December three-year loans at very low
rates of interest, which they greedily
snapped up.
In total, 523 euro-zone banks borrowed
489 billion euros from the
Frankfurt-based ECB. Authorities had
hoped the banks would then lend on the
cash to businesses and consumers to
spark a recovery in the economy.
Politicians meanwhile hoped that the
banks would use the money to buy the
bonds of debt-wracked countries such as
Italy and Spain, pushing down their
unsustainable cost of borrowing.
But instead of this hoped-for distribution
to the real economy, banks appear
to be stocking the cash, perhaps to pay
off their own debts, said Gilles Moec, an
analyst at Deutsche Bank. “Maybe some
of them have been tempted to deposit
their cash at the ECB while waiting to pay
off some debts,” he said, adding that
banks had seen the three-year loans as a
“windfall”.
Euro-zone banks have some 200 billion
euros of debt to refinance in the first
quarter of the year and around 600 bil-
will have access to the ESM.
In parallel, the International
Monetary Fund announced Wednesday
that it was seeking as much as $500 billion
more to lend as it prepared to slash
its forecasts of global growth.
Fitch ratings
A Fitch Ratings director said Greece
will soon default on its massive debt,
according to a report by Reuters
Tuesday. The news agency quoted
Edward Parker, managing director for
Fitch’s as saying “it will happen,” but the
default will not be disorderly as some
have feared. The big risk, the analyst
added, is that of a “disorderly” default
by Greece, one that could rock markets
around the world and create tougher
credit conditions for other countries
trying to roll over existing debt.
In response to the recent downgrade
of France’s AAA credit rating,
French President Nicolas Sarkozy
attacked rating agencies this week by
mentioning they do not set the economic
policy of France and urged
instead a focus on boosting growth
and competitiveness to bring Europe
out of the crisis. At a press conference
following a Madrid meeting with
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy,
Sarkozy said “We must respond with
calm and put it into perspective. In my
view, these decisions do not change
anything. We have to reduce spending
and improve competitiveness”. Sarkozy
also pointed out that while France was
downgraded by one agency on Friday,
another agency confirmed on Monday
that France will retain its triple-A rating.
China’s growth
China real growth in GDP slowed
further to 8.9% Y/Y in Q4 from 9.1% Y/Y
in Q3, but stronger than market expectations
of 8.7% Y/Y. A 2.0% Q/Q expansion
shows the economy growth is stabilizing.
China’s economy expanded
lion euros over the whole year.
In addition, authorities are forcing 70
top banks around Europe to increase
their capital reserves in a bid to bolster
their defenses against the debt crisis,
another reason analysts say banks are
hoarding their cash. Moec added that a
certain amount of patience was required,
as it would take some time for better
financing conditions enjoyed by banks to
feed through into the economy.
“It takes three quarters for an
improvement in banks’ financing conditions
to be transferred to the non-financial
sector,” he said.
As for the president of the ECB, Mario
Draghi, he believes that the money is
indeed sloshing around in the system as
desired. By offering the unprecedented
three-year loans, “we think we have
avoided a major credit crunch even
though in some parts of the (euro) area,
this credit crunch is already on its way,”
he told members of the European
Parliament. “We really see evident signs
that this money does not stay in the
deposit facility, this money circulates in
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
9.2% Y/Y in 2011 in line with market
consensus, compared to a 9.4% Y/Y
gain in 2010. Both industrial production
and retail sales posted faster-thanexpected
growth last month due to relatively
strong holiday demand. There
was some external liquidity drained
from China’s banking system last
month as outstanding FX purchases
declined for the third consecutive
months in December. However, the
PBoC injected RMB 169 billion liquidity
into the banking system at the beginning
of the week.
Iran confronts Saudi
Crude oil remains at the mercy of
political events driven by the latest
development in the Middle East. Iran
issued a direct warning to Saudi Arabia
against increasing its production of oil
to compensate for any drop in Iranian
exports due to sanctions. Iran’s Foreign
Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi said “We
invite Saudi officials to further reflect
on and consider” their pledge to make
up for any cut in oil exports adding
such a move “will create all possible
problems later” and are “not friendly
signals”.
Gold positive
Gold prices rose this week, in tandem
with the general risk appetite, and
with political tensions rising in the
Middle East. Additionally, the weakening
Chinese growth fuelled investor
hopes for monetary stimulus from
China trying to boost productivity
through monetary easing.
On physical demand, India hiked its
gold import duty by 90% and doubled
its silver tax this week as the world’s
biggest consumer of gold sought to
increase revenues.
Kuwaiti dinar at 0.27835
The USDKWD opened at 0.27835
yesterday morning.
EU faces new credit crunch?
Crisis-hit euro-zone banks park bank deposits
BERN: A group of protesters is surrounded by riot police during an anti World
Economic Forum, WEF, demonstration in Bern. The WEF takes place from Jan 25
to 28 in Davos. —AP
Davos elites eye reforms
of ‘outdated’ capitalism
ZURICH: Economic and political elites
meeting this week at the Swiss resort of
Davos will be asked to urgently find ways
to reform a capitalist system that has
been described as “outdated and crumbling.”
“We have a general morality gap,
we are over-leveraged, we have neglected
to invest in the future, we have undermined
social coherence, and we are in
danger of completely losing the confidence
of future generations,” said Klaus
Schwab, host and founder of the annual
World Economic Forum.
“Solving problems in the context of
outdated and crumbling models will
only dig us deeper into the hole. “We are
in an era of profound change that
urgently requires new ways of thinking
instead of more business-as-usual,” the
73-year-old said, adding that “capitalism
in its current form, has no place in the
world around us.” Some 1,600 economic
and political leaders, including 40 heads
of states and governments, will be asked
to come up with new ideas as they con-
verge at eastern Switzerland’s chic ski
station for the 42nd edition of the fiveday
World Economic Forum which opens
Wednesday.
The euro-zone’s failure to get a grip on
its debt crisis and the specter this is casting
over the global economy will dominate
discussions. “The main issue would
be the preoccupation with the global
economy. There will be relatively less
conversation about social responsibility
and environment issues-those tend to
come to the fore when the economy is
doing well,” John Quelch, dean of the
China European International Business
School, told AFP. “The main conversation
will be about a deficit of leadership in
Europe as a prime problem,” he added.
The annual talk-shop comes barely a
week after the euro-zone’s reputation
took a further battering, as ratings
agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded
the credit-worthiness of nine euro-zone
countries, including stripping France of
its triple-A grade. — AFP
GUIMARAES, Portugal: Amid all the
gloom and doom over debt-stricken
Portugal there is a ray of light-shoemaking,
one of the oldest and most
traditional industries, had a record year
in 2011 on strong exports. The shoemaker
companies, which sell nearly all
their production overseas, registered
17 percent growth last year, according
to industry group APICCAPS. For the
nine months to September 2011, sales
totalled 1.23 billion euros ($1.6 billion),
“nearly as much in all of 2010,” it said.
Exports continue to drive growth,
with 95 percent of output going to
some 130 countries, especially in
northern Europe where Portuguese
footwear has established markets
under a slew of eye-catching brands.
Dkode, Nobrand, Camport, Eject, Mack
James, Softwaves, Fly London-the
names are all chosen to have an Anglo-
Saxon ring to them so they stand out
in a very competitive market.
Kyaia, which markets its Fly London
brand worldwide, posted sales of 50
million euros and employs over 500
people in a Portugal which was bailed
out last year by the EU and
International Monetary Fund, joining
Greece and Ireland on the euro-zone
casualty list.
“More than 90 percent of our production
is destined for export,” said
Fortunato Frederico, a former ordinary
worker who has made Kyaia one of the
country’s top shoemakers, standing in
front of a table covered with different
the economy,” he had said a week earlier
after the ECB’s monthly rate-setting
meeting. “By and large, the banks that
have borrowed the money from the ECB
are not the same that are redepositing
the money with the ECB,” added Draghi.
Indeed, Draghi can point to a slew of
positive developments last week that
suggest he might be correct and that
fears of a credit crunch are overblown.
First, hugely successful bond auctions in
Spain and Italy indicated that banks in
those two countries are indeed using the
windfall to snap up the instruments at a
good price.
According to analysis by Morgan
Stanley bank, it was precisely Spanish
and Italian banks that made most use of
the three-year loans. Second, some parts
of the crucial interbank lending market
have improved since the ECB’s gift of
cheap loans, said Schilbe, the analyst
from HSBC Trinkaus.
Draghi said that “we have also seen
the reopening of some unsecured bank
bond markets, which had completely
shut down” since the loans. — AFP
Portugal shoemakers offer
hope in economic gloom
models of the marque which mixes
classic with modern styling. The shoemaking
industry is concentrated in
northern Portugal’s Minho region and
is made up of mostly small- and medium-sized
companies which have managed
to survive despite the challenges
from Asian competitors.
Unlike the textile industry, which
has suffered badly from the economic
slowdown and cheaper products made
in Asia and other emerging markets,
‘Made in Portugal’ shoes have held up
well, fighting alongside their Spanish
and Italian rivals to hold on to market
share. — AFP
GUIMARAES, Portugal: Demonstrators
are seen during a 7 km march against
the government’s employment and austerity
measures Saturday in Guimaraes,
Portugal. — AP

26 business
The EC7 The Panda The EC 8
Geely - the global car from China now in Kuwait
KUWAIT: Kuwait Automotive Imports
Co WLL (KAICO) — Al Shaya & Al
Sagar— one of Kuwait’s leading automotive
company, with renowned
brands like Mazda, Peugeot, Mobil,
Michelin, Apollo, Eicher, BAW recently
signed the contract with Geely
Holding Group for Geely automobile
distribution in Kuwait.
Yousef Al-Shaya said “This is a historic
day for KAICO and we are
extremely proud to have joined hands
with GEELY, the fastest growing privately
owned automotive brand from
China - who are known to make quality
cars that are the safest, most environment
friendly and energy efficient”.
He Added “Geely are trying to
gain International stature and have
successfully sold around half million
units in the year 2011.We are constructing
a new 5000m≤ - 3S facility
for Geely in the Automotive hub of
Kuwait along the fourth ring road.
New models of Geely Cars will be
available in Kuwait by early 2012”.
Joe Xiong - Geely’s Vice GM said,
“Geely is very happy to have a professional
partner like KAICO. Geely Cars
are doing well all over the world”. He
added “We have acquired Volvo for
$1.8b and DSI - the second largest
automatic transmission company in
Australia.
“We have collaboration with
Johnson Controls - US and Dayee -
South Korea for spareparts. We have
six car assembly and powertrain manufacturing
plants all over China. We
have 900 dealers, 1000 service outlets
and over 19,000 Employees in China.
We plan to sell about 2 million units
by the year 2015, with a 5.8 percent
market share in China. It is an exciting
road for Geely moving ahead into the
future”.
Doha Bank achieves
commendable results
KUWAIT: Sheikh Fahad bin Mohammed
bin Jabor Al-Thani, the Chairman of Doha
Bank announced that the board of directors
in its meeting held on 18 January
2012 has approved the draft audited
financial statements for the year 2011. He
also announced that the bank’s net profit
reached QR 1,241 million in comparison
to 1,054 million in 2010, with a growth of
17.7%. He added that at the same meeting,
the board of directors has decided to
submit a recommendation to the
General Assembly to approve the distribution
of cash dividends to the shareholders
of 45% from the paid up capital
i.e. QR 4.50 for each share.
He further added that the audited
financial statements, declared net profit
and recommended distribution percentage
are all subject to the approval of the
controlling authorities and the General
Assembly of the Shareholders.
Sheikh Fahad also said that the bank
has achieved noticeable growth rates in
all financial indicators. The total assets
rose from QR 47.2 billion in 2010 to QR
52.4 billion in 2011 representing a
growth of 11.0%. The total loans and
advances rose from QR 26.5 billion in
2010 to QR 30.7 billion in 2011, representing
a growth of 15.7 %. Customers’
deposits grew by 2.8%, where the total
deposits rose from QR 30.8 billion in
2010 to QR 31.7 billion in 2011 and the
total equity of shareholders reached by
the end of the year QR 7.1 billion which is
an increase of 17.3% from the previous
year.
The earnings per share was QR 6.03.
The return on average shareholders’
equity and the return on average assets
were an impressive 22.0% and 2.49%
respectively.
Doha Bank’s successful results are
largely attributable to the Bank’s Strategy
to innovate, diversify and capitalize on
market synergies, as it continues to
increase shareholder value.
Highlighting Doha Bank’s contribution
towards the Qatar National Vision
2030, R Seetharaman, Group Chief
Executive Officer said, “Doha Bank is continually
striving to create job opportunities
for Qatari citizens and to fully participate
in the aims and achievements of the
Qatar National Vision 2030 set forth by
Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the
Emir of the State of Qatar. Doha bank
Management has adopted a five-year
strategy to increase the percentage of
Qatari employees in the bank in every
department by executing a number of
plans that aim at attracting and retaining
the national competencies through
enrolling them in training and development
programs that motivate and lend a
helping hand to them to progress to
higher job grades.
These programs have proved to be
very effective as the percentage of Qatari
employees has crossed 25% in 2011. In
line with the Qatar Central bank’s directive,
which prohibits conventional banks
from entering into any new Islamic banking
business, Doha Islamic services have
been discontinued by the end of 2011. In
2011 new Representative Offices were
opened in Abu Dhabi and Germany. The
Bank has also received the license for a
branch in Abu Dhabi and intends to
become fully operative in early 2012.
Doha Bank also inaugurated two new
branches at Umm Salal and Aspire Zone,
three new electronic branches in
Moaither, Qatar Petroleum Handassa,
Parco mall and the first Payroll Card
Centre e-Branch to cater to the employees
of corporate customers who benefit
from the Payroll Card solution package.
Doha Bank also inaugurated its new
Corporate Service Center which is
designed to offer a number of cash related
services. In addition to this Doha Bank
Assurance Company LLC (DBAC), a 100%
owned subsidiary of Doha Bank has been
awarded the Retail Insurance operating
license.
On the Retail front, R Seetharaman
highlighted that, “Doha bank launched,
the marvelous 25% cash back offer with
multiple opportunities for Free for Life
Dream Credit Cards holders. Similarly, Al
Dana with a total of 20.22 Kg of Gold a
mega prize, proved to be the greatest
engagement program running with distinction
and yielding the highest
chances with more winners and larger
than life prizes.
Ashish Tandon - KAICO’s General
Manager said “We are very pleased to
be associated with Geely”. He added
“We will be launching three models of
Geely Cars in Kuwait. They are The
Panda, The EC7 and The EC8. Panda is
Seated from the left - Yousef Al Shaya (Chief Executive Officer - KAICO) with
Joe Xiong (Vice General Manager - Geely); Standing from the left - Tanveer
Attaullah (Deputy General Manager - KAICO), Ashish Tandon (General
Manager - KAICO) and Scott Qiu (Sales Manager - Geely).
KUWAIT: Kuwait University and Shell yesterday
signed a sponsorship agreement to establish
a new Professorial Chair in Gas for the
College of Engineering and Petroleum. The
new chair, to be known as the “Shell Natural
Gas Chair” will focus on the development of a
research and teaching program for the safe
and efficient management of the natural gas
fields in Kuwait, the conceptual basis for which
was initiated by Dr Ali Akbar, the Chairman of
Petroleum Engineering Department at Kuwait
University, with long standing experience and
expertise in the field.
The signing ceremony was formalized in
the presence of Prof Abdullatif Al-Bader,
President of Kuwait University, Ahmad Atallah,
Chairman of Shell Companies in Kuwait, Prof
Hasan Al-Sanad, Vice President for Research,
Prof Husain Al-Khaiat, Dean of Engineering, Dr
Ali Akbar, Chairman of Petroleum Engineering
Department, and many other representatives
from Kuwait University and Shell Companies in
Kuwait.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Abdullatif
Al-Bader, President, Kuwait University, mentioned
that Kuwait University added a significant
new international dimension to its scientific
programs by launching the Research Chair
program during 2010, providing basis for
attracting world renowned scientists and
international experts who could strengthen
the institutional scientific foundations through
their expertise, experience and caliber. Today,
Kuwait University makes a strategic new
beginning in this direction, by entering into a
valued partnership with Shell, laying practical
grounds for the “Shell Natural Gas Chair” at
Kuwait University, to energize scientific
research in the sphere of sustainable energy
and strengthen institutional potential and
capabilities in the natural gas sciences,
through advanced research, training and
knowledge-sharing.
“I anticipate a new generation of Kuwaiti
engineers, nurtured in a scientific environment,
developing specialized skills in the field
of natural gas, and assuming key roles in
developing and advancing the local gas industry,
which is a vital energy resource for the
State of Kuwait.
With “Shell Natural Gas Chair”, we take our
first step in this direction, and express our sincere
thanks to Shell for providing our students
and researchers with opportunities for raising
the spectrum of scientific research in this critical
area at Kuwait University.”
Elaborating on the purpose and expectations
of the “Shell Natural Gas Chair” at Kuwait
University, Prof. Hasan Al-Sanad, Vice President
for Research, said that “our objective is to create
an enabling environment that could
encourage scientific research in the field of
natural gas, a valued energy resource for the
state Kuwait.
The intent is to bring home the benefit of
established scientists in the field of natural
gas, by offering a dedicated research chair,
which would critically involve them in advancing
research in the sphere of natural gas,
enriching our capacity and capabilities.
Kuwait University looks forward to the implementations
of the “Shell Natural Gas Chair” at
the College of Engineering and Petroleum in
partnership with Shell.”
Ahmad Atallah, Chairman of Shell
Companies in Kuwait said: “This new initiative
is part of our ongoing partnership with Kuwait
University and in line with our commitment to
supporting Kuwait lays the foundations for a
sustainable energy future. Natural gas is a crit-
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
a compact 1.3L car with an attractive
look & style, it can serve well as a
delivery car for local restaurants. The
EC7 is a beautiful mid-sized 1.8L Car,
which can serve as a low cost option
company car for staff in the service
industry. The EC8 is a flagship car
available in 2L & 2.4L with a Grander
look & feel, suited as a company car
for managers. All the above models
have been rigorously tested in harsh -
peak summer conditions in Kuwait &
Saudi Arabia. Geely cars meet the
toughest safety standards of the
European E-NCap.
All Geely cars are priced most
attractively & will definitely attract all -
especially the budget buyers.
KAICO always gives the best to its
customers through high quality products
and prompt services to gain customers
for life in line with KAICO’s philosophy
“Customer is #1”.
Shell initiative to expand
Kuwait’s gas industry
‘Natural Gas Chair’ at KU’s College of
Engineering and Petroleum
KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait concluded
its marketing campaign launched to its credit
and prepaid cardholders and which continued
for three months from 20th October to 20th
January 2012. The campaign was highly commendable
and appreciated by customers who
seized the opportunity to shop at Electrozan
and Al-Zaer showrooms, where they have made
their required purchases and cash-back up to
20% of the value of their purchases. The campaign
was not confined only to availing customers
the chance to receive a predetermined
percentage of cash-back on their purchases as
announced by Al-Tijari at the beginning of the
campaign, but the Bank increased the cash-back
percentage for a given number of days and
occasion throughout the campaign which
extended to three months, and this was positively
reflected on thereby Al-Tijari customers
KUWAIT: Ahmad Atallah, Chairman of Shell Companies in Kuwait and Prof Abdullatif Al-
Bader, President, Kuwait University sign the sponsorship agreement.
holders of these cards.
Commenting on the conclusion of this campaign
and the success it has realized Ramzi
Sabouri, Executive Manager, Sales and
Marketing Department at Retail Banking
Division said “Al-Tijari- has opted, through its
ongoing endeavors - to reward its credit and
prepaid cardholders by giving them chances to
benefit cash-back through such especially customer
tailored marketing campaigns, where
customer got the opportunity to shop at various
retailers and stores and enjoy discounts in the
form of cash-back to their accounts and this was
the case with the campaign launched recently
by the Bank in cooperation with Electrozan and
Al-Zaer showrooms and which was another success
owing to some reasons, among which is the
long period of the campaign which extended to
three months add to this the cash-back per-
ical resource for Kuwait; hence the successful
and efficient exploitation of this major
resource depends heavily on the use of
advanced technology and skilled engineers.
“The Shell Natural Gas Chair will establish a
specialized research program in Natural Gas,
and will provide a learning platform for young
engineers to gain valuable background and
knowledge needed to continue the future
development and growth of this important
industry in Kuwait. Shell is committed to helping
the next generation of Kuwaiti engineers
to tackle natural gas-related challenges professionally,
so that they are equipped with the
right skills when they enter the business
world.”
Shell’s contribution over three years aims at
establishing an academic and research program
in Natural Gas Studies. The “Shell Natural
Gas Chair” is intended to develop and sustain
an internationally recognized research program
in Natural Gas Studies, while overseeing
the long-term development and delivery of
related academic goals at Kuwait University,
and its wide recognition in the Gulf region and
beyond.
Al-Tijari concludes ‘Shop and Save’ campaign
at Electrozan and Al-Zaer
Ramzi Sabouri
centage which was increased for a number of
days throughout the campaign. Sabouri emphasized
that the Sales and Marketing Department
at the Retail Banking Division expends considerable
efforts to enhance means of communication
with Al-Tijari customers within comprehensive
and customized marketing programs
whose prime objective is to reward customers
when shopping using Al-Tijari cards.
Al-Sabouri concluded his press statement
confirming that Al-Tijari will continue its marketing
campaigns and programs launched to its
customers unveiling the fact that several surprises
and marketing campaigns are still
remaining in the pipelines which will work for
attaining CBK customer segments utmost stratification
and that cardholders will get the cash
back deposited in their accounts by the end of
the month.

ST LOUIS: Jim McKelvey, Co-Founder-Instructor for Third Degree Glass
Factory presents the Square, a new electronic payment system developed
by Twitter founder. —MCT
Will a tiny Square change
the way you shop?
MISSORI: Wallets may soon be going the
way of typewriters, pay phones and
videocassette recorders. Oh, they’ll still
be a great place to carry photos, receipts
and odd slips of paper, but technology
forecasters say we’ll soon be reaching for
cellphones when it’s time to pay or be
paid. It’s a dream that Kevin Stock is
ready to live. For nearly a year, Stock, of
St Louis, has been carrying around a
small white plastic device he can attach
to his phone at a moment’s notice, creating
his very own credit card terminal. All
he needs is someone willing to play
along.
“I’ve looked for opportunities, for
sure,” Stock said. “But I haven’t been too
successful.” So far, the only taker has
been his roommate. Once a month they
tally up their bills, and Stock collects
what he is owed through a swipe of his
roommate’s credit card. And while Stock
has been able to travel no further down
the mobile payment path, industry
experts say it’s only a matter of timemost
say it’s several years out-before we
witness a radical shift in the way we
exchange cash.
“I don’t think it’s going to go away
overnight or in the next year. But mobile
payments is where it’s headed,” said
Trevor Dryer, head of product management,
mobile payments and point-ofsale
for financial software maker Intuit.
Already, the financial sector is crawling
with companies hoping to carve out a
piece of a market that sees billions upon
billions of dollars changing hands every
year in the form of cash.
Much of that exchanging is done by
choice, with some people simply preferring
to deal in cash or checks. But there’s
also the fact that small businesses often
find it too expensive to maintain a merchant
account-required to accept credit
card payments. Getting around that was
the inspiration behind the Square device
carried by Stock. Square, whose founders
include St. Louis native and Twitter
inventor Jack Dorsey, offers credit card
processing services to pretty much anyone
with the right smartphone-most
iPhones and Android-based phones.
The service is easy to use. An application
links your phone and bank account,
while the small card reader (the company
gives them away) plugs into the
earplug jack. From there, you just need
someone willing to hand you a credit
card and sign the screen with their finger.
A day or so later, the money shows
up in your bank about, minus a 2.75 percent
fee.
The 2-year-old firm has shipped more
than 800,000 card readers and is now
processing $2 billion in payments annually.
But while that sounds like a lot of
money, keep in mind that the nation
rings up $2 trillion annually in credit card
charges. Square is proving popular with a
wide range of users, including musicians,
massage therapists, restaurants and craft
fair vendors.
“Right now, there are 26 million small
businesses (in the nation) that only
accept cash. It’s a huge market,” said
spokeswoman Lindsay Wiese. Until
September, that market included St.
Louis Osuwa Taiko, a traditional Japanese
drum group that now uses Square a couple
of times a month to sell CDs, T-shirts
and other souvenirs after shows.
So far, it’s tough to say how much of a
boost they’re getting from the device.
But Junsei Ito, the group’s treasurer, said
they made 20 credit card sales during a
three-day Japanese festival over Labor
Day Weekend.
“It seems like people buy more,” Ito
said. “They don’t tend to carry a lot of
cash these days. And they don’t carry
checks, either.” Similar to Square is Intuit’s
GoPayment system, which also uses a
card reader to send money either to a
bank account or a prepaid credit card.
Intuit’s mobile division is processing
some $5 billion a year in credit card
charges, said Dryer, the company’s
mobile payments chief.
And while it started as a way to offer
contractors, plumbers and electricians an
easy way to take credit cards, the company
loves to point out that Girl Scouts use
the devices while hawking their cookies
door to door. “They are probably using
their parents’ phones,” Dryer said. “But it’s
a testament to how simple this product is
that 9-year-old girls are using it.”
Other systems have looked for ways to
remove the physical credit card from the
equation. Among them are those using
what’s known as near field communication,
or NFC. Basically, it lets two devices
exchange money when they come into
contact with each other.
The technology is at the heart of
MasterCard’s PayPass system, in which
users tap their credit cards against a
PayPass terminal to complete a purchase.
In recent years, MasterCard has teamed
with Google and several phone and financial
services firms to create Google Wallet.
Phones equipped with the technology
can be used much like credit cards-they
make payments simply by tapping them
against an NFC terminal.
Several phone developers have included
NFC in their devices, with BlackBerry
and Nokia making plans to do so.
Google’s Android-based devices have it,
though the payment service suffered a
blow recently when Verizon Wireless
blocked its use in the new Galaxy Nexus
phone. Verizon is part of a consortium
called ISIS that is developing its own payment
system.
While MasterCard sees potential in the
technology-and the speed with which
these trends can catch on-the company
isn’t ready to sing the death of plastic.
There are, after all, some advantages in
having that physical card, said James
Anderson, group head of mobile for
MasterCard. Among them, he said: “The
batteries don’t go flat.”
One young startup in Des Moines,
Iowa, however, is trying to create a new
payment system in which credit cards
never enter the picture. Dwolla relies on
bank accounts and actually prohibits the
use of credit cards. Dwolla’s cost structure
is simple: You pay 25 cents for any transaction,
regardless of size.
Eliminating credit cards from the system
removes the need to collect the
types of fees-generally in the 3 percent
range-charged on every credit card transaction,
said Ben Milne, the company’s
founder. Without the credit card fees, he
said there’s no reason to base charges on
the size of the transaction. “The cost to
move $1 million is the cost to move a dollar,”
Milne said. Not that they come close
to moving that much money at any one
time. The company’s average transaction
is around $450, with a maximum of
$10,000 for businesses and $5,000 for
consumers. Still, Dwolla is on pace to handle
more than $350 million worth of
transactions over the next year. And with
$20 trillion spent every year in cash transactions,
Milne sees a lot of room for
growth: “It’s likely the biggest market in
the world.”
Still, for the Squares, Dwollas, Google
Wallets, clearXchanges and GoPayments
of the world to achieve widespread
acceptance, some things need to happen.
Among other things, experts say, there
are too many participants. And they
expect a wave of acquisitions and failures
to thin the herd. And many of the systems,
at least in their present incarnations, are
simply too cumbersome, they say.
Andy Schmidt, research director for
Commercial Banking & Payments for
TowerGroup, believes we’ll eventually get
to the point where payments are all
based on the simple exchange of phone
numbers and email addresses. As Stock
from St. Louis has seen, people are often
reluctant to go through the hassle of
pulling out their credit cards for minor
exchanges.
“It’s not so much that you might capture
my credit card information,” Schmidt
said. “It’s that it’s quicker to give you cash.
That’s what you are fighting.” There also
are concerns about the potential for identity
theft and credit card fraud as credit
card information is stored and transmitted
through cellphones. Michelle Jun, a
senior attorney for Consumers Union,
said consumers should make sure they
are protected against fraud.
In general, the best protections are
provided by those based on credit cards
and, to a lesser degree, debit cards. Both
offer caps on liability in the event of fraud
or identity theft. More vulnerable are
those that rely on prepaid cards or that
link directly to a cellphone account.
“Unfortunately, all of the different protections
aren’t the same,” Jun said. “Make
sure you know what you are getting into
before you start charging away.” —MCT
27
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK: In the brave new
world of MP3 players, compact
discs are dying, cassettes are
Stone Age, and old-fashioned
vinyl records... they’re back! It
might seem that nothing short
of a wind-up gramophone could
be more out of place today than
the nostalgia-laden, cracklysounding
33 and 45 RPM disc.
Yet in his Brooklyn, New York,
factory, 40-year-old Thomas
Bernich churns them out by the
tens of thousands, feeding a
vinyl revival that has record
decks-and cash tills-spinning.
“It’s my baby,” Bernich said in his
spartan office at Brooklynphono.
“It’s growing.”
The small plant in a blue collar
neighborhood hums with the
sound of machines and spaghetti-like
rows of pipes delivering
ground-up vinyl to presses
where the material reemerges as
shiny albums etched with nearinvisible,
music-filled spirals.
Bernich started on a shoestring
10 years ago. Now he has four
full-time employees and two
part-time, manufacturing a quarter
of a million discs a year, with
plans to double capacity. In an
age of near-instant music downloads
and entire libraries stored
in gizmos the size of a cigarette
lighter, the arcane process of
making records defies convention.
But the market is vibrant.
Alan Bayer, who runs the
online record store
vinylrevinyl.com, said records
refuse to go the way of the
crumbling cassette tape or passe
CD. “The only music stores that
have managed to stay in business
in my area are ones that
devote an important percentage
of their stores to vinyl records,”
he said in an email from
California. Purists swear that
music sounds better from
records than from compressed
digital files. Collectors love the
hunt for rare, scratch-free
recordings, not to mention the
art-filled sleeves. Young DJs, or
turntablists, turn their parents’
fusty old technology into the
hippest of night-club tools,
while bands looking to make a
name for themselves commission
records so that they can
stand out in the sea of YouTube
videos and downloads.
Labels take them seriously
“We give the band a record,
they make 300 records, then
drive around the country for the
summer playing and the records
all get sold out of the back of the
van,” Bernich said. Other than
helping to create a fan base,
fresh bands with a shiny record
often find the labels “take them
very seriously.” Scott Neuman,
president of ForeverVinyl.com,
an appraisal service and dealer,
said sales of newly minted
records were for the first time
overtaking those of pre-existing
records. Meanwhile, the pre-
owned market, he said, “is being
flooded” by people emptying
out their basements in search of
a quick buck. Retailers will pay
about 25 cents for a single, ordinary
record or sleeve, then resell
for between $1-$5, he said. But
more sought-after editions
quickly go for $100 or far more.
Neuman said he’d got $10,000
for a rare sleeve to the Rolling
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
It’s personal: You spend
more time with music
Vinyl records make world go around again
‘Conditional coupons’
and increasingly
malicious mass mailings
Kaspersky Lab announces the publication of its
spam report for December 2011. The last month
of the year was predictably quiet - compared to
November the share of spam in email traffic fell
4.4 percentage points and averaged 76.2% for
the month.
The lull in business in the run-up to the holidays
means botnets are hamstrung by empty
offices and silent computers, while the spammers
themselves often take a break for the festive
season. However, even the approach of
Christmas doesn’t prevent them from coming up
with new tactics to attract users to their mass
mailings. One of the latest ploys has been the
use of coupon services to boost demand for
products that are widely advertised in spam.
Distributors of German pharmaceutical spam
concluded that offering a ‘conditional coupon’
with a 10% discount would increase demand for
the medications they sell.
“We still have not detected any malicious
attachments disguised as coupons, although we
expect that these will show up in spam sooner
or later,” warns Maria Namestnikova, Senior
Spam Analyst at Kaspersky Lab. “Anything and
everything that is in demand on the Internet is
eventually added to the spammers’ arsenals in
one way or another. Primarily, new approaches
are typically used by the participants of affiliate
programs that send out spam advertising medications
and replicas of luxury goods. They are
later joined by distributors of malicious code.”
Malicious files, by the way, were detected in
4% of all email traffic in December, which was an
increase of 1 percentage point compared to
November’s figure. A third of all Kaspersky Lab
email antivirus detections were for mail emanating
from Russia and the US. The malicious program
most frequently detected remains Trojan-
Spy.HTML. Fraud.gen (11%) - a Trojan designed
to look like a registration web page for a financial
organization or some other online service.
When it came to spam sources in December,
India remained on top, accounting for 12.43% of
all spam, followed by Indonesia, Brazil and Peru.
Significant movers among this particular rating
in December were South Korea falling from second
to fifth place and the UK, which fell from
seventh to seventeenth. Remarkably, the latter
started the month as the eighth biggest source
of spam but had fallen to 53rd by the final week
of December.
NEW YORK: Thomas Bernich checks albums as they come out of
one of his vinyl pressing machines. —AFP
NEW YORK: Thomas Bernich checks one of his albums as it
comes out of one of his vinyl pressing machines. —AFP
Stones’ album “Street Fighting
Man”. The cover, depicting a
policeman beating a man, had
been withdrawn soon after
release because of complaints.
Although thousands were made,
only a handful survive. “You have
people who mine for gold and if
they get an ounce of gold after
digging in dirt for days and days
they’re happy,” he said. “It’s like
that.” Vinyl fans say there’s also
something in the physical attractiveness
of the record and the ritual
of using turntables that the
MP3, like the CD, cannot match.
“It’s personal. You get to
spend more time with the
music,” said Jeff Ogiba, who
opened Black Gold, a Brooklyn
records store and coffee shop, 18
months ago. “The last decade
and a half has been an information
age, so there are a lot of
things that are intangible. People
want to go out and have physically
tangible things because
now you press a button and a
package comes to your door,”
Ogiba said.
Bernich says making records is
not all fun. “It’s very over-worked
and underpaid,” he said. And he
likens the manufacturing
process, dependent on variables
such as air temperature and
inconsistent chemical components
in the vinyl, to “a moving
target, a shot in the dark”.
But there is magic, too. At
Brooklynphono all of last year’s
production was made from recycled
records-mountains of Neil
Young discs and their ilk pulled
from musty old cupboards and
shelves, then smashed, melted,
and reborn as the very latest
releases. When there are sound
quality problems, Bernich will
exchange the great, heaving
machines of his shop floor for a
microscope through which he
can examine the music-filled
grooves for flaws. A lifelong
mechanic with the heart of an
artist, Bernich says record-making
makes his world go round.
“I’m in a passionate state of
mind,” he said. —AFP

Bird flu kills second
person in China
BEIJING: A man in southwest China who contracted the
bird flu virus died yesterday, health authorities said, the
second human death from the virulent disease in the
country in just under a month.
The news comes after neighboring Vietnam, Cambodia
and Indonesia also reported deaths from avian influenza,
and after chickens tested positive for the H5N1 virus in
Hong Kong, prompting a mass cull of birds. The latest
Chinese victim fell ill on January 6 and was admitted to
hospital in Guiyang-capital of Guizhou province-where his
condition rapidly deteriorated, the provincial health
department said in a statement. Tests on the patient
before he died confirmed he had contracted the H5N1
virus, it added. “So far, 71 people who had close contact
with the victim have not developed abnormal symptoms,”
the health department said.
He is the second man to die from bird flu in China in
less than a month, after a bus driver in the southern
province of Guangdong passed away from the disease on
December 31. The latest death brings to 28 the number of
people in China who have died from the disease-which is
fatal in humans in about 60 percent of cases-since 2003,
out of 42 reported human cases.
The Hong Kong Department of Health said in a statement
yesterday it had been notified of the case by the
mainland’s health authorities, which said the patient was
39 years old. Authorities from Hong Kong and the mainland
have been working closely together since three
chickens in the Chinese territory tested positive for the
H5N1 virus in mid December.
Most human infections are the result of direct contact
with infected birds, and the virus does not pass easily
among humans. The World Health Organization (WHO)
says it has never identified a “sustained human-to-human
spread” of the virus since it re-emerged in 2003.
But according to the Hong Kong health department,
the Guizhou province victim, who has not been named,
had not reported any obvious exposure to poultry before
the onset of symptoms. The Guangdong victim, whose
surname was Chen, had not had any direct contact with
poultry either in the month before he was taken ill, nor
had he left the bustling southern metropolis of Shenzhen
where he lived. Aside from China, Vietnam on Thursday
reported its first human death from the virus in nearly two
years, and the disease also claimed the life of a toddler in
Cambodia.
Indonesia, meanwhile, on Friday reported its second
human death from bird flu this year when a five-year-old
girl who recently lost her relative to the deadly virus also
passed away. China is considered one of the nations most
at risk of bird flu epidemics because it has the world’s
biggest poultry population and many chickens in rural
areas are kept close to humans. But the Guizhou health
department sought to ease concerns on Sunday, saying
bird flu was “preventable, controllable and treatable.” All in
all, the avian influenza virus has killed more than 330 people
around the world, and scientists fear it could mutate
into a form readily transmissible between humans, with
the potential to cause millions of deaths.
Highlighting those fears, the WHO said last month it
was “deeply concerned” about research into whether
H5N1 could be made more transmissible between
humans after mutant strains were produced in labs. Two
separate research teams-one in the Netherlands and the
other in the United States-separately found ways to alter
the virus so it could pass easily between mammals. — AFP
Mexico clamps down
on ‘miracle cure’ ads
MEXICO CITY: Mexico enacted tough new rules to ban advertising
of “miracle cures” for weight loss, sagging body parts and
more serious illnesses like prostate ailments, chronic fatigue and
even cancer. Mexico has a long history of faith healers and home
remedies, but the problem has come to a head in the last few
years with a constant stream of ads on television for more “scientific”
sounding creams that supposedly lift or enlarge breast and
buttocks, magnets that help users lose weight, or pills and powders
that cure gastric problems or diabetes.
In a country with levels of diabetes and obesity among the
highest in the world, the combination of a sick population and
fake cures can be deadly. “This is a fraud,” said regulator Mikel
Arriola, whose Federal Commission for Protection against Health
Risks is the agency in charge of regulating pharmaceuticals in
Mexico. “It is a very serious public health problem, because people
take these things instead of going to the doctor ... they lose
time in getting treatment or getting cured.”
Under the new rules, which take effect in 30 days, authorities
can order media outlets to remove such advertising within 24
hours, and it steeply raises fines that can be levied on manufacturers
and distributors that advertise the products.
The rules require that any product making a therapeutic claim
will first have to prove it is listed in Mexico’s pharmaceutical register.
The register requires scientific proof of effectiveness and a scientific
description of how the medicine or medical apparatus
achieves its claimed effects.
That is probably not going to be possible for products like
“Acu-Mag.” Its advertising purports that when the tiny pad with
eight bumps is placed in the outer ear and massaged a few minutes
each day, it helps customers lose weight through what ads
call “auricular therapy” - an alternative medicine supposedly
derived from acupuncture.
According to the manufacturer’s published claims, the pad
“helps you lose weight ten times faster than any other (method)
... eliminates anxiety, burns the fat on your body, improves digestion.”
Arriola said the ad should no longer be able to air because it
makes claims of medical treatment. Nor should ads for an herbal
supplement called Prostaliv, which promises to reduce prostate
enlargement and urinary problems in two to four weeks. Similar
claims are made for Mulunggay, another herbal extract that is
touted as being able to “combat 300 diseases” and control diabetes.
Anyone with real health issues who relies on such nonworking
treatments could wind up getting worse, “and that represents
a cost for the government,” Arriola said, because public
hospitals have to treat sicker people. But he added that supposed
“miracle cures” are seldom outright dangerous. “Mainly what
these companies are doing is selling a placebo, and spending a
lot of money on advertising to promote it.” Executives at two of
Mexico’s largest vendors of such cure-alls could not be reached
for comment. An employee at one of the companies appeared
not to have heard of the new rules, and the other firm had an
incorrect phone number listed with the Mexican stock exchange.
Companies do appear to have been taking note of the government’s
plan. Some already run small-print slogans with their
ads stating that “this is not a medicine.” Arriola called that “an evasive
maneuver” and said such ads won’t be exempt from the new
rules if they still make medical claims. And the marketing companies
also appear to be moving into less-regulated areas, such as
corsets in various forms that are “guaranteed” to give wearers a
perfect figure instantly. Those ads could continue to run, in theory,
as long as they don’t make claims that the product is doing
anything but hiding fat. President Felipe Calderon announced
the new rules as a sort of crusade against the power of deceitful
advertising. “Every day, at every hour, on radio, television and the
Internet, in print media, the public is literally being bombarded
with a huge quantity of ads for all sorts of products that supposedly
have curative powers,” Calderon said. “They put the health
and economic well-being of the population at risk.” —AP
Dan and Vicki McCuistion, of Driftwood, Texas,
pose for a photo together in Austin, Texas. The
McCuistions have been uninsured throughout
their 17 years of marriage. — AP
HEALTH&SCIENCE
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
COLOMBO: (Left) A worker at the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society holds three corneas in bottles with preservatives, ready to be sent abroad, in
Colombo, Sri Lanka. This gift of sight has become an unwritten symbol of Sri Lanka’s pride and culture. (Right) A Sri Lankan man gets his eye examined
at Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society during an eye camp in Colombo, Sri Lanka. —AP Photos
Sri Lanka donates
eyes to the world
Gift of sight becomes unwritten pride, culture
COLOMBO: At 10:25 am, a dark brown eye
was removed from a man whose lids had
closed for the last time. Five hours later, the
orb was staring up at the ceiling from a
stainless steel tray in an operating room
with two blind patients - both waiting to
give it a second life.
S P D Siriwardana, 63, remained still
under a white sheet as the surgeon delicately
replaced the cornea that had gone
bad in his right eye following a cataract surgery.
Across the room, patient AK
Premathilake, 32, waited for the sclera, the
white of the eye, to provide precious stem
cells and restore some vision after acid
scalded his sight away on the job. “The eye
from this dead person was transplanted to
my son,” said A K Admon Singho, who guided
Premathilake through the hall after the
surgery. “He’s dead, but he’s still alive. His
eye can still see the world.”
This gift of sight is so common here, it’s
become an unwritten symbol of pride and
culture for Sri Lanka, an island of about 20
million people located off the southern
coast of India. Despite recently emerging
from a quarter century of civil war, the
country is among the world’s largest
cornea providers. It donates about 3,000
corneas a year and has provided tissue to
57 countries over nearly a half century, with
Pakistan receiving the biggest share,
according to the nonprofit Sri Lanka Eye
Donation Society. The organization began
promoting eye donation decades ago, but
has since faced allegations of mismanagement
and poor quality standards. The supply
of corneas is so great in Sri Lanka that a
new, state-of-the-art government eye bank
opened last year, funded by Singapore
donors. It has started collecting tissue from
patients at one of the country’s largest hospitals,
hoping to add an additional 2,000
corneas to those already shipped abroad
annually. Nearly 900,000 people have also
signed up to give their eyes in death
through the Eye Donation Society’s longstanding
eye bank.
“People ask me, ‘Can we donate our eyes
while we are living? Because we have two
eyes, can we donate one?’” said Dr Sisira
Liyanage, director of Sri Lanka’s National
Eye Hospital in the capital, Colombo, where
the new eye bank is based. “They are giving
just because of the willingness to help others.
They are not accepting anything.”
The desire to help transcends social and
economic barriers. Prime ministers pass on
their corneas here along with the poorest
tea farmers. Many Sri Lankans, about 67
percent of whom are Buddhist, believe that
surrendering their eyes at death completes
an act of “dana,” or giving, which helps
them be reincarnated into a better life. It’s a
concept that was first promoted a half century
ago by the late Dr. Hudson Silva, who
was frustrated by the massive shortage of
corneas in his native Sri Lanka. Most eyes
back then were harvested from the handful
of prisoners hanged each year, leaving little
hope for blind patients in need of transplants.
Silva wrote a newspaper piece in
the late 1950s pledging to donate his own
corneas and appealing to readers to also
give “Life to a Dead Eye.” The response was
overwhelming. With no lab facilities or
high-tech equipment, he and wife Irangani
de Silva began harvesting eyes and storing
them in their home refrigerator. They started
the Eye Donation Society, and in 1964,
the first cornea sent abroad was hand-carried
in an ice-packed tea thermos aboard a
flight to Singapore. Since then, 60,000
corneas have been donated. While the
Society’s eye bank was a pioneer, questions
about quality emerged as international eye
banking standards improved over the next
20 to 30 years. Concerns have recently
been raised about less advanced screening
for HIV and other diseases, and the eye
bank has also faced allegations of mismanagement.
Many of its corneas are harvested
from the homes of the dead in rural areas
across the country, making auditing and
quality assurance levels harder to maintain,
said Dr. Donald Tan, medical director of
Singapore National Eye Center, who helped
set up the new eye bank. Once, he said, a
blade of grass was found packaged with
tissue requested for research. Eye Donation
Society manager Janath Matara Arachchi
says the organization sends “only the good
and healthy eyes” and has not received a
complaint in 20 years. Arachchi said the
organization checks for HIV, hepatitis and
other sexually transmitted diseases by dip-
WASHINGTON: Here’s a reality check for
President Barack Obama’s health overhaul:
Three out of four uninsured
Americans live in states that have yet to
figure out how to deliver on its promise
of affordable medical care. This is the year
that will make or break the health care
law. States were supposed to be partners
in carrying out the biggest safety net
expansion since Medicare and Medicaid,
and the White House claims they’re making
steady progress.
But an analysis by The Associated
Press shows that states are moving in fits
and starts. Combined with new insurance
coverage estimates from the nonpartisan
Urban Institute, it reveals a
patchwork nation.
Such uneven progress could have real
consequences. If it continues, it will mean
disparities and delays from state to state
in carrying out an immense expansion of
health insurance scheduled in the law for
2014. That could happen even if the
Supreme Court upholds Obama’s law,
called the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act.
“There will be something there, but if
it doesn’t mesh with the state’s culture
and if the state is not really supporting it,
that certainly won’t help it succeed,” said
Urban Institute senior researcher
Matthew Buettgens. The 13 states that
have adopted a plan are home to only 1
in 4 of the uninsured. An additional 17
states are making headway, but it’s not
clear all will succeed. The 20 states lagging
behind account for the biggest
share of the uninsured, 42 percent.
Among the lagging states are four
with arguably the most to gain. Texas,
Florida, Georgia and Ohio together would
add more than 7 million people to the
insurance rolls, according to Urban
ping a strip into blood samples and waiting
to see if it changes color for a positive
result. Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry also said it
has received no complaints about the eye
bank from other countries.
Medical director Dr M H S Cassim denied
that anyone from the organization is making
money off donations sent abroad. He
said they charge up to $450 per cornea to
cover operational costs and the high price
of preservatives needed to store the tissue.
The cornea is the dome-shaped transparent
part of the eye that covers the iris and
pupil. It helps to focus entering light, but
can become cloudy from disease or other
damage. Corneas must be carefully extracted
from donors to avoid damaging the thin
layer of cells on the back that pump water
away to keep it clear. They must be harvested
within eight hours of death, and can
today be preserved and stored in refrigeration
for up to 14 days.
Sri Lanka has no official organ donation
registry, as is provided in some countries
when driver’s licenses are issued. Instead,
the idea is passed down from generation to
generation. Eye donation campaigns are
organized at temples by Buddhist monks,
but people of other faiths also give, including
Hindus and Christians.
Future donors simply mail in the bottom
half of a consent form distributed by Silva’s
Eye Donation Society. The top portion,
which looks like an award certificate with a
fancy scroll lacing around it, is also filled
out and often proudly displayed on the
wall - serving as proof to the living that the
pledge comes from a generous spirit.
“Just think if we had that level of organ
donation and commitment and belief system
in the United States, where we have
these long lists of people waiting for
hearts, livers and kidneys,” said Dr
Alfred Sommer of Johns Hopkins
University, who spent more than 40 years
fighting blindness in the developing world.
“If we had that level of cultural investment,
there would be no lists for organ transplants.”
The US is the world’s biggest cornea
provider, sending more than 16,000
corneas to other countries in 2010, according
to the Eye Bank Association of America.
But Sri Lanka, which is 15 times smaller,
Institute estimates, reducing the annual
burden of charity care by $10.7 billion.
“It’s not that we want something for
free, but we want something we can
afford,” said Vicki McCuistion of
Driftwood, Texas, who works two parttime
jobs and is uninsured. With the
nation’s highest uninsured rate, her state
has made little progress.
The Obama administration says
McCuistion and others in the same
predicament have nothing to fear. “The
fact of states moving at different rates
does not create disparities for a particular
state’s uninsured population,” said Steve
Larsen, director of the Center for
Consumer Information and Insurance
Oversight at the federal Department of
Health and Human Services.
That’s because the law says that if a
state isn’t ready, the federal government
will step in. Larsen insists the government
will be ready, but it’s not as easy as
handing out insurance cards.
Someone has to set up health insurance
exchanges, new one-stop supermarkets
with online and landline capabilities
for those who buy coverage individually.
A secure infrastructure must be created
to verify income, legal residency and other
personal information, and smooth
enrollment in private insurance plans or
Medicaid. Many middle-class households
will be eligible for tax credits to help pay
premiums for private coverage. Separate
exchanges must be created for small
businesses.
“It’s a very heavy lift,” said California’s
health secretary, Diana Dooley, whose
state was one of the first to approve a
plan. “Coverage is certainly important,
but it’s not the only part. It is very complex.”
California has nearly 7.5 million resi-
actually donates about triple that number
of corneas per capita each year. There is no
waiting list for eye tissue in Sri Lanka, and
its people get first access to free corneas.
About 40,000 have been transplanted
locally since the beginning, but that still
leaves a surplus each year.
Pakistan, an Islamic country where followers
are typically required to be buried
with all parts intact, has received some
20,000 corneas since overseas donations
began, Cassim said. Egypt and Japan are
two other major recipients, receiving 8,000
and 6,000 corneas respectively to date, he
said. But Sri Lanka cannot meet global
demand on its own. An estimated 10 million
people - 9 out of 10 in poor countries -
suffer worldwide from corneal blindness
that could be helped by a transplant if tissue
and trained surgeons were available,
according to US-based SightLife, an eye
bank that partners with developing countries.
It has been working with Sri Lanka’s
new government facility.
“Sri Lanka has long been known to be a
country with an incredible heart for eye
donation and a willingness to share surplus
corneas to restore sight around the
world,” said SightLife president Monty
Montoya. “While efforts have been made to
share information with other countries, I
am not aware of any one location being
able to replicate Sri Lanka’s success.” Where
possible, eye tissue should be transplanted
within hours of death. That was done in the
Colombo operating room where patients
Siriwardana and Premathilake were
stitched up with what looked like tiny fishing
hooks, then bandaged and helped outside.
For Premathilake - whose sight was
lost when an open can of acid spilled onto
his face while working at a rubber factory -
this is his last hope. His right eye still blinks,
but there is nothing but an empty pink cavity
inside. The stem cells attached to his left
eye should help create a new window of
sight that he hopes will allow him to go
back to work, or at least carry out daily
tasks without depending on his parents. “I
am extremely happy,” he said. “I didn’t know
the man who died in his previous life, but
I’m always going to say blessings for him
during his next births.” — AP
Health overhaul lags in states
dents without coverage, more than half
of the 12.7 million uninsured in the states
with a plan. An estimated 2.9 million
Californians would gain coverage, according
to the Urban Institute’s research,
funded by the nonpartisan Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation. Democrats who
wrote the overhaul law had hoped that
most states would be willing partners,
putting aside partisan differences to build
the exchanges and help cover more than
30 million uninsured nationally. It’s not
turning out that way.
Some states, mainly those led by
Democrats, are far along. Others, usually
led by Republicans, have done little.
Separately, about half the states are suing
to overturn the law. Time is running out
for states, which must have their plans
ready for a federal approval deadline of
Jan. 1, 2013. Those not ready risk triggering
the default requirement that
Washington run their exchange. Yet in
states where Republican repudiation of
the health care law has blocked
exchanges, there’s little incentive to
advance before the Supreme Court rules.
A decision is expected this summer, and
many state legislatures aren’t scheduled
to meet past late spring. The result if the
law is upheld could be greater federal
sway over health care in the states, the
very outcome conservatives say they
want to prevent.
“If you give states the opportunity to
decide their own destiny, and some
choose to ignore it for partisan reasons,
they almost make the case against themselves
for more federal intervention,” said
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. A conservative,
Nelson was on the winning side of a heated
argument among Democrats over
who should run exchanges, the feds or
the states. —AP

HEALTH
Asia loses its taste for shark fin
SINGAPORE: As Asia’s ethnic Chinese sit
down for lavish banquets to usher in the
Lunar New Year, a delicacy long considered
a must at celebratory meals is fast
disappearing from menus and dinner
tables. A growing number of shops,
restaurants and hotels have in the past
few months given up selling shark fin,
which in Asia is usually eaten in soup,
throwing a lifeline to the marine predator
that activists say is long overdue.
“Yes, we do see an increasing number of
locals and international businesses saying
no to shark’s fin,” said Elaine Tan,
chief executive for environmental group
WWF in Singapore.
“This change in attitude could be due
to an increasing awareness of the plight
of sharks as well as the result of many
shark campaigns worldwide,” she told
AFP. About 73 million sharks are killed
every year, according to WWF, and more
than 180 shark species were considered
threatened in 2010, compared to only 15
in 1996. Many are slain for their fins, considered
by the Chinese to be a delicacy
and costing hundreds of dollars per kilo.
Soup made from the fins is a pricey
yet common staple at festive occasions
such as the Lunar New Year and weddings
in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and
countries with large ethnic Chinese populations
such as Singapore. One wellknown
shark-fin soup restaurant in
Singapore sells the dish at Sg$20 ($16)
per diner, but it can cost many times
that. “We are concerned about the environment
and we have a strong corporate
responsibility,” said Maria Kuhn,
director of corporate communications of
Shangri-La’s international operations.
The global luxury hotelier took shark
fin off its menu on January 17, in a major
boost to the campaign. “The younger
generation has specifically been very
aware of the issue and been stepping
away from using shark fin... In the long
term it will be a natural progression anyway.”
In Hong Kong-the top shark-fin
HONG KONG: A man walks by a store selling shark fins in Hong Kong.
A growing number of shops, restaurants and hotels have in the past
few months given up selling shark fin, which in Asia is usually eaten
in soup, throwing a lifeline to the marine predator that activists say
is long overdue. — AFP
trading centre, handling about 50 percent
of the global trade-conservationists
lauded Peninsula Hotels group’s
decision two months ago to similarly
ditch the dish. “We are very happy to see
what they have done and we believe the
demand for shark-fin consumption in
Hong Kong will reduce,” Stanley Shea,
project coordinator at the Hong Kong
marine conservation group Bloom, told
AFP. A survey by Bloom last year showed
78 percent of people in the southern
Chinese city now consider it socially
acceptable to leave shark-fin soup off
the menu for a wedding banquet.
It is a sentiment which is gaining
ground in Singapore too. Alex Teo, 29,
said he left shark fin off the menu at his
wedding last year despite initial worries
that guests might be disappointed.
“We were not sure if people would
feel unhappy about it, but seven personal
friends who, when they replied about
their attendance, asked me if we could
not have shark fin, so we went ahead,” he
said. “We actually wanted to remove it
because we wanted to save sharks,” Teo,
a banker, told AFP. Mainland Chinabelieved
to be the world’s top consumer
of shark fin-is also seeing a dip in its
popularity. Basketball superstar Yao
Ming, who stopped eating shark fin five
years ago, added his considerable size to
the cause in September by urging others
to join him and British entrepreneur
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Richard Branson in their abstinence.
As public awareness grows in China,
there are even moves towards a ban on
the trade. Businessman delegate to the
National People’s Congress Ding Liguo
made the proposal, saying Beijing
should lead the way because 95 percent
of shark fin is consumed in the mainland,
Taiwan and Hong Kong. TRAFFIC,
an international network that monitors
the trade in wildlife, said more action
from Asian governments was needed.
“We see a clear shift in the public and
corporate mindset away from shark-fin
consumption and sale,” Elizabeth John,
an official with TRAFFIC Southeast Asia,
told AFP. “Unfortunately, it’s not reflected
in decision and policy making except in
very few cases.” Hazel Oakley, a representative
of Shark Savers Malaysia, which
lobbies for a shark-fishing ban, said: “The
time for this legislation is now. “Public
opinion has changed... The shark-fin
wealthy Chinese market is definitely
dying.” Supermarket chains in Singapore
have also begun to jump on the bandwagon
and WWF’s Tan said an initiative
encouraging restaurants to provide
shark-fin-free menus has gained traction
in Singapore and Hong Kong. More than
100 hotels and restaurants in the two
cities are now part of the program, up
from only 12 when it was launched in
2010, Tan said. But it is not all good
news. —AFP

Upcoming events
Infoconnect expo to be held in Kuwait
From January 29th till February 4th Infoconnect
will be held at the Kuwait International Fair
Grounds Infoconnect is one of the most professionally
organized trade shows in Kuwait, dedicated
exclusively to the computer applications
and information technology sector. The show
ranks high on the popularity count, drawing in a
large number of exhibitors as well as qualified
business visitors at each of its editions. The line
of products put on exhibit at the show is quite
extensive and includes computer peripherals, IT
security tools, software solutions, data warehousing
systems and a host of other related
services and accessories. The show draws in
active participation from eminent professionals
from both the public as well as the private sectors
and the latest innovations and developments
in the IT industry are closely looked into
here. The show is held over a period of seven
days at the Kuwait International Fairground and
enjoys large scale media coverage too.
Kuwait Boat Show
Kuwait, in the cradle of one of the most ancient
and most-contested corners of the world, is best
described as a city state. The burgeoning capital,
Kuwait City, is like a magnet: indeed it has been
attracting Bedouin people from the Arabian
interior, in search of a sea breeze and an escape
from recurring drought, for centuries. Today the
metropolis is still an oasis in a land of desert
plains, but rather more of the cultural and epicurean
kind. Excellent museums; a corniche
ornamented with combed beaches and extravagant
restaurants; modern shopping complexes
and marinas, and long and lazy retreats at new
beach resorts mark the Kuwait City experience.
The organizers of the Kuwait International Boat
Show expect more than 100 marine companies
to display their latest products, boats, yachts,
super yachts, electronics, engines and thousands
of boating accessories from major marine
manufacturers. The Boat Show encompasses
more than 120.000 m2 of space, both on land
and in water. Where: Souk Sharq Marina & Water
Front Kuwait International Boat Show Timings:
5:30 pm - 10:00 pm Local exhibitors & for more
info kindly contact Mr. Abdulla Al Manei
(Exhibition Manager): 2538-7100 Ext: 172, 9978-
8130, 2539-3872, 2539-8123, 9444-9102,
a.almanei@kif.net
International exhibitors & any additional info
kindly contact Mrs. Kaya Gabrielcic info@kuwaitboatshow.com
GLEE-esque show choir
This Valentine’s Day step into a musical Love
Story performed by Vocal Rhapsody, KLT’s first
ever GLEE-esque show choir. Vocal Rhapsody’s
“Love Story” - is a show choir production with hit
songs from artists such as Journey, Queen, Katy
Perry and Meatloaf. It promises to be an exciting
evening for all with some classic songs that
everyone will enjoy. For contact:
http://www.theklt.com
Kuwait Bike Show
The Kuwait Bike Show is an annual bike show
organized by Harley Davidson of Kuwait. The
show this year will take place at Marina Mall the
most popular shopping destination in Kuwait.
The bike show is a competition with different
categories, where judgment will be taken on
certain points by experts. Invited participants
will include chapters from all over the Middle
East. It will be held January 26th - 27th.For further
info
Email: webmaster@hog-kw.com or cmc@harleydavidson-kw.com
Comedy-play to be hosted with Indian
celebrities
The Indian Cultural Society of Kuwait (ICS)
proudly presents a new concept comedy-play
titled “Mujhse Shaadi Karogi”. The play will star
well-known Bollywood film celebrities
Bhagyashree and Akshay Ananad for the first
time in Kuwait. This latest romantic comedy will
also feature other Bollywood actors such as
Krutika Sharma, Prairna and Navin Agarwal. ICS
is known for organizing cultural events and
wonderful quality entertainment for music
lovers in Kuwait! The event will be held on
Friday, February 17th at 7pm the American
International School (Dr Kamil Al-Rays
Auditorium), Near the police station, Maidan
Hawally. For more info: 9727-0386, 6703-0839
Email: ics.kuwait@gmail.com
Pathanamthitta
District Association
family get-together
Pathanamthitta District Association, Kuwait will be
holding a Family Get-together on Friday 27th
January 2012 at CHACHOOS AUDITORIUM,
Abbassiya from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm.
All members and well-wishers of Pathanamthitta
District Association and residents of Pathanamthitta
District who are interested to become members of the
Association and who are willing to cooperate with us
and support us in our social and welfare activities are
cordially invited to attend this event with their families.
The Event will have cultural programs performed by
local artists and families of Association members and
Games involving the audience.
For further details and for registering participation in
the event, please contact:
The President at mobile no: 99722437
General Secretary at Mobile no: 66501482
Event Coordiantor at mobile no: 97863052
NSS (Natioanal Service Society) celebrated
135th Mannam Jayanthi
at Cambiridge English School on
20th January 2012 with a colorful full day
event.
The program was inaugurated by Sri
Sathish C Metha, The Ambassador of
India by lighting the traditional lamp.
The Public meeting presided by NSS
Kuwait President Baiju Pillai was started
at 10:30 am. In the Inaugural address His
Excellency has praised the efforts taken
by the cultural associations like NSS in
bringing out the traditional values
30
WHAT’S ON
among its members.
The Nair Service Society Director
Board Member and Trivandrum Taluk
Union President Sangeeth Kumar was
the official representation from the NSS
Head Office at Changanacherry and the
Chief Guest of the function. In his
address, he described the painstaking
efforts made by Acharyan Sri Mannathu
Padmanabhan during the initial days of
formation of the society and his revolutionary
ideas and activities that has influenced
the social, cultural and educational
spheres of the state of Kerala.
Thomas Chandy MLA, Abdul Fattah
Thayyil, President of KKMA and K P
Balakrishnan made the felicitation
addresses. Suresh Nair, NSS-Kuwait
General Secretary made the welcome
speech and Gopakumar, Treasurer gave
the vote of thanks. The dance program
by more than 135 artists from twelve
dance schools have performed variety of
dance forms from Traditional Bharatha
Natyam, Kutchipudi to cinematic and
fusion.
The much awaited Classical Music
concert by famous musician Kanhangad
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
NSS-Kuwait celebrates Mannam Jayanthi
K’S PATH (Kuwait Society for the
Protection of Animals and Their
Habitat) - a non profit organization
committed to animal welfare and habitat
protection - successfully held its first ever
‘Bark in the Park’ on Saturday 21st January
2012 at the Mishref Fair Grounds. Despite
the sudden chilly weather, over a 100 families
attended the fundraiser event with
their beloved dogs to try their luck in a
variety of competitions and games in a carnival
setting. Proceeds from this novel
fundraiser support K’S PATH’s programs in
animal welfare, environment and habitat
protection.
“The response to our first ever dog-centric
event has been encouraging and positive,
with many visitors requesting similar
canine events later in the year”, says K’S
PATH Chairman Ayeshah Al Humaidhi.
“Bark in the Park proved to a great outing
for dogs and their families to spend a
weekend together in fun-packed team
competitions, buy exciting dog treats and
grooming products from trusted vendors,
and get to know other members of
Kuwait’s dog-loving community. Big thanks
to our main sponsors for making this
fundraiser possible - Blue Buffalo Co.,
Pawsh Boutique, Petzone and Move One -
and our dedicated volunteers for a memorable
and eventful day!”
Dogs and their families enjoyed fabulous
fare from a host of select vendors such
as The November Bakery, Popcornopolis,
Blue Pitt Bull Kennel, Q8 Bullies Kennel,
Kerry A Sellers Photography, Epetome,
Kuwait Petography, Organica Fish and
Chips, Basic Organic Pet and Feed, Royal
Animal Hospital, Gloria Jeans Coffee and
Animal Care. Visitors also bagged special
door and raffle prizes from Easa Al Yousifi
and Sons, Ethan Allen, Johnny Rocket,
Moevenpick, Hard Rock Cafe, Baskets
made perfect and Alghanim.
A series of fun competitions were held
across the day with dogs and their humans
Ramachandran started at 4:30 pm. The
classical and semi classical songs accompanied
by Perunna Hari on Mridangam,
Balamurali on Violin, Kottayam
Unnikrisnan on Ghatam elevated the
crowd to a different world of musical
realization. The traditionial feast was
served to all participants. The program
concluded at 7pm after a lucky draw and
prizes were distributed by Manjula
Sangeethkumar.
K’S PATH celebrates dogs and their
humans at first-ever ‘Bark in the Park’
cheered on by onlookers. The winners are
as follow:
Best Child Handler: First place - Chicano;
Second place - Havanah; Third place - Coco
Chanel
Most Obedient: First place - Isko; Second
place - Capo; Third place - Bear
Best Dressed: First place - Jackson; Second
place - Pablo and Rimo; Third place - Candy
Best Lookalike: First place - Magic; Second
place - Rix; Third place - Cabo
Terrific Pet Tricks: Winner - Cloudy
Temptation Alley: First place - Flora;
Second place - Cinnamon; Third place -
Cabo
Best Veteran: Winner - Susie
Most Adorable Round 1: First place -
Bozo; Second place - Miley; Third place -
Caesar
Most Adorable Round 2: First place -
Minicubs; Second place - Luty; Third place -
Eddier
Egg Race: First place - Capo; Second place
- Jackson; Third place - Sam

31
WHAT’S ON
BSK students demonstrate
their scientific prowess
On the evening of Monday 16 January The British
School of Kuwait showcased their second Annual
Science Fair at the Lowry Gallery on the BSK campus.
Students from Year 5 to Year 8 (age 10 to age 13) presented
projects such as ‘The Melting of Icebergs or Icecaps
- Which will have the Greatest Effect on Sea Levels’ ‘The
Effect of Wavelength on the Rate of Melting’ and the ‘Best
Design for Solar Paneled Desalination Units.’
The team of judges led by Aseel Al Turkait from
ExxonMobil had the challenging job of marking on innovation,
scientific method and clarity. After much scrutiny the
winning entry entitled Global Warming and its Effect on
Sea Levels by Janna Zeid, Soils and Permeability by Dana
Nehme and The Effect of Vinegar on Volcanic Eruptions by
Aisha Azam. The winners were awarded a magnificent telescope
which will allow them to develop their interest in
astronomy. Close on their heels were Bardya Rezaei and
Lenoy Christy in second place with their project The Best
Model for Desalination. Yusra Shafi and Zoha Baig in third
place with their project Measuring Reactivity of Metals
using a Light Sensor and Ali Aboubieh with his project
Wavelength and the Melting of Ice.
All 8 finalists impressed the judges with the creativity of
their projects and their ability to explain and demonstrate
the experiments to a parade of visitors throughout the
evening.
Youth India elects
office bearers
Arshad E was elected as
president, Shafi PT was
elected as secretary and
Rishdin Ameer as treasurer. The
other office bearers are Anees
Abdul Salam, Rafeeq Babu (Vice
Presidents), Haroon, Layik
(Secretaries). The conveners for
the various wings are as follows :
Anwar Shaji (Socio-Cultural),
Anees Abdul Salam (Social Relief),
Shafi PT (Organization), Arshad E
(Training), Rafeeq Babu (Arts and
Sports), Mahnas
Musthafa(Career), Fayis
KV(Website), Shafi Koyamma
(Social Club), Najeeb CK (Public
Relations), Nissar K Rasheed
(Press and Media).
Youth India Chief Patron Sakeer
Hussain Thuvvoor conducted the
elections. The electoral college
from all areas of Kuwait elected
the Executive committee and the
executive committee elected the
office bearers. The other executive
committee members are
Muhammad Saleem K, Rasheed
Khan, Abdul Basith, Fayis VK, Faris
Mahamood, and Naisam CP.
High-range Fest 2012
Idukki Association - Kuwait, the
socio-cultural association of
the expatriates from the
District of Idukki, Kerala, in
Kuwait, will celebrate its 6th
anniversary on January 27, 2012
from 4.00 pm onwards at
Cambridge English School
Auditorium, Mangaf, under the
banner ‘High-range Fest 2012.
The celebrations will kick off
Cultural
programme
On the 10th of February
2012, Friday at 3:30 pm. A
cultural programme will be
staged at the Carmel School
Kuwait, Khaitan. This will include a
Book Fair and an Art Competition
with a Musical Drama
(JanatarDak). It is written n
Directed by Rafiqul Islam Bulu and
organized by the Bangladesh
Udjapon Committee Kuwait. This is
an open invitation, All are welcome.
with an inter-school dance competition
for the Idukki Association
ever rolling trophy for dance followed
by a valedictory function,
in which P J Joseph, Kerala minister
for water resources will be the
chief guest. Francis George, former
MP, Idukki, will be the guest
of honor. The children of the
members, who have secured high
marks in the CBSE Class X and XII
Vanithavedi of Saradhi
Kuwait will be conducting
‘Sargasangamam
2012’ on Friday, January 27,
2012 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
at Indian Community School
Auditorium, Khaitan with a full
day of cultural programs performed
by more than 125 children
of Saradhi members.
The organizing Committee
headed by general convenor
Manikutty Raju convened a
meeting on January 20 2012 at
Hi-Dine Auditorium, Abbassiya,
to evaluate the progress of the
examinations, will be honored at
the function. The official website
of the association will also be
launched at the event.
Following the valedictory function,
a ‘ganamela’ led by
renowned artists from Kerala, will
be held. Dance items and skit by
leading groups in Kuwait, will also
be presented. Entry will be limited
through invitations.
‘Sargasangamam-2012’
event. Vanithavedi Secretary
Mini Kishore, organizing committee
members Rathi Dinesh,
Nimmi Muraleedharan, Mitra
Udayabhanu and Priya Raju
expressed their satisfaction
that the talented children are
preparing well to present their
versatilities through more than
75 colorful programs. Saradhi
President C G Vidyananda
Babu, General Secretary K R Aji
and Treasurer Jiji Karunakaran
gave their felicitations and
wished all success of the program.
Embassy
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Information
EMBASSY OF BRAZIL
The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian
citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website
www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form /
Fale Conosco) in order to register or
update contact information. The Embassy
encourages all citizens to do so, including the
ones who have already registered in person at the
Embassy. The registration process helps the
Brazilian Government to contact and assist
Brazilians living abroad in case of any emergency.
n n n n n n n
EMBASSY OF CANADA
The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa
24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah.
Please visit our website at
www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of
Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday
through Thursday. The reception is closed from
12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular
Services for Canadian Citizens are provided
from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through
Wednesday. 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.
n n n n n n n
EMBASSY OF CYPRUS
The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus
requests Cypriot citizens living in Kuwait to
register with the Embassy. This registration
service is provided so that the Embassy can
update its contact list and assist
Cypriot citizens in cases of emergencies. Registration
information can be emailed to
cyprusembassykwt@gmail.com or faxed to 22253227
or given by phone to 65906048 (Mrs Christine).
n n n n n n n
EMBASSY OF INDIA
On the occasion of the Republic Day of
India, a Flag Hoisting Ceremony will be
held at the Embassy of India premises
at 9:00 AM on Thursday, January 26, 2012.
This will be followed by the reading of the
message of Hon’ble President of India by the
Ambassador, singing of patriotic songs by
Indian children, and an Open House
Reception. All Indian nationals in Kuwait are
cordially invited to attend the Ceremony.
n n n n n n n
EMBASSY OF KENYA
The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes
to request all Kenyans resident in or training
through Kuwait to register with the Embassy.
We are updating our database. This information is
necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance
and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in
person or register through our website
www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located
in: Surra Area - Block 6 - Street 9 - Villa 3 Tel:
25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316.
n n n n n n n
EMBASSY OF NIGERIA
The Nigerian embassy has its new office in
Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For
enquires please call 25379541. Fax- 25387719.
Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk
n n n n n n n
EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES
The Embassy of the Philippines will be closed
to public transactions on 29,30,31 January
2012 to give way to its transfer to Faiha,
Block 6, Nauman bin Basher St. corner Damascus St.
Villa 153. For emergency, please contact the
Consular hotline at 65184433. The Philippine
Overseas Labor Office and other attached agencies
shall continue to operate and hold office in Jabriya
until 15 March 2012. All your passports and other
consular concerns will be processed at our new
location, except of course labor issues. Regular
working hours of the Embassy shall resume in Faiha
on 01 February 2012.
n n n n n n n
EMBASSY OF RUSSIA
Embassy of the Russian Federation
invites all the Russian residents in Kuwait
to visit the Consulate for registration and
updating your database. This information is
necessary for prompt notice, assistance and
warning in case of emergency. The consulate
reception hours: 10:00 - 13:00, Sunday -
Wednesday. The Embassy is located in Kuwait
City, Daiya, Block 5, Diplomatic campus, Plot
17. Tel: (+965) 22560427, 22560428. Fax: (+965)
22524969, e-mail: rusposkuw@mail.ru, consdepkuw@mail.ru
Information also available on the website:
www.kuwait.mid.ru
Write to us
Send to What’s On
upcoming events, birthdays or
celebrations by email:
local@kuwaittimes.net
Fax: 24835619 / 20

00:50 Untamed & Uncut
01:45 Dogs 101
02:40 Wildest Africa
03:35 Sharkbite Summer
04:30 Whale Wars
05:25 Dogs 101
06:20 Animal Cops Phoenix
07:10 Night
07:35 In Too Deep
08:00 Orangutan Island
08:25 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild
08:50 Talk To The Animals
09:15 The Really Wild Show
09:40 Breed All About It
10:10 Your Pet Wants This
11:05 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101
12:00 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip
12:55 Snake Crusader With Bruce
George
13:20 Wildlife SOS
13:50 Last Chance Highway
14:45 Animal Cops Philadelphia
15:40 Wildest India
16:30 Monkey Life
17:00 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild
17:30 Talk To The Animals
18:00 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife
18:25 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101
19:20 Must Love Cats
20:15 Snake Crusader With Bruce
George
20:40 Breed All About It
21:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101
22:05 Wildest India
23:00 Dogs 101
00:00 Live At The Apollo
00:45 New Tricks
01:35 The Weakest Link
02:25 The World’s Toughest Driving
Tests
03:15 The Weakest Link
04:00 Balamory
04:20 Tellytales
04:30 Bobinogs
04:45 The Roly Mo Show
05:00 Buzz & Tell
05:05 Tweenies
05:25 3rd & Bird
05:35 Nina And The Neurons
05:50 Balamory
06:10 Tellytales
06:20 Bobinogs
06:30 The Roly Mo Show
06:45 Buzz & Tell
06:50 Tweenies
07:10 3rd & Bird
07:20 Nina And The Neurons
07:35 Last Of The Summer Wine
08:05 Keeping Up Appearances
08:35 The Weakest Link
09:20 The Green Green Grass
09:50 Doctors
10:20 Ray Mears’ Northern
Wilderness
11:10 Monarch Of The Glen
12:00 Last Of The Summer Wine
12:30 Keeping Up Appearances
13:00 The Weakest Link
13:45 The Green Green Grass
14:15 Doctors
14:45 Ray Mears’ Northern
Wilderness
15:35 Monarch Of The Glen
16:25 The Weakest Link
17:10 Eastenders
17:40 Doctors
18:10 Holby City
19:00 Last Of The Summer Wine
19:30 One Foot In The Grave
20:00 Waking The Dead
20:50 Keeping Up Appearances
21:20 The Green Green Grass
21:50 New Tricks
00:10 Gok’s Fashion Fix
02:40 What Not To Wear
05:10 Gok’s Fashion Fix
07:40 Cash In The Attic USA
09:05 Masterchef Australia
10:15 Bargain Hunt
11:00 Antiques Roadshow
11:50 Come Dine With Me
12:40 10 Years Younger
13:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix
15:05 Fantasy Homes By The Sea
15:50 House Swap
16:35 Bargain Hunt
17:20 Antiques Roadshow
18:15 Cash In The Attic USA
18:35 10 Years Younger
19:00 Masterchef
21:05 Cash In The Attic USA
21:25 Gok’s Fashion Fix
23:05 Bargain Hunt
23:50 Antiques Roadshow
00:40 Samurai Jack
01:30 The Marvelous Misadventures
Of Flapjack
02:20 Bakugan Battle Brawlers
03:10 Best Ed
04:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
04:25 Adventure Time
04:50 Generator Rex
05:15 Scooby-Doo! Mystery
Incorporated
05:40 Grim Adventures Of Billy &
Mandy
05:55 I Am Weasel
06:55 Powerpuff Girls
07:45 Angelo Rules
08:00 Casper’s Scare School
08:30 The Amazing World Of
Gumball
08:45 Scooby-Doo! Mystery
Incorporated
09:15 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
09:40 Batman: The Brave And The
Bold
10:05 Angelo Rules
10:30 Chowder
10:55 Adventure Time
11:20 Eliot Kid
11:35 The Marvelous Misadventures
Of Flapjack
12:00 Ben 10
12:25 Sym-Bionic Titan
12:50 Courage The Cowardly Dog
13:15 I Am Weasel
13:40 Best Ed
14:05 Cow & Chicken
14:30 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey
14:50 Eliot Kid
15:15 Bakugan Battle Brawlers
15:40 Ben 10: Alien Force
16:05 Courage The Cowardly Dog
16:30 Scooby-Doo! Mystery
Incorporated
16:55 The Amazing World Of
Gumball
17:10 Adventure Time
17:35 Regular Show
18:00 Cow & Chicken
18:25 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders
18:50 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
19:15 Angelo Rules
19:30 Total Drama World Tour
19:55 Hero 108
20:25 Sym-Bionic Titan
20:50 Adventure Time
21:25 The Grim Adventures Of Billy
& Mandy
21:50 Courage The Cowardly Dog
22:25 The Marvelous Misadventures
Of Flapjack
22:50 Cow & Chicken
23:00 Ben 10
23:50 Courage The Cowardly Dog
00:20 Replacements
01:10 Fairly Odd Parents
02:00 A Kind Of Magic
02:45 Stitch
03:35 Replacements
04:25 Fairly Odd Parents
05:15 Stitch
06:00 Hannah Montana
06:20 Recess
06:45 Good Luck Charlie
07:05 Suite Life On Deck
07:55 Phineas And Ferb
08:10 Fish Hooks
08:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
09:00 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
09:15 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
09:25 Handy Manny
09:40 The Hive
09:48 Mini Adventures Of Winnie
The Pooh
09:50 Fairly Odd Parents
10:15 So Random
10:40 Have A Laugh
10:45 Hannah Montana
11:10 Suite Life On Deck
11:35 Jake & Blake
12:00 Jonas
12:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place
12:45 Phineas And Ferb
13:10 So Random
13:30 Suite Life On Deck
14:20 Shake It Up
14:55 Have A Laugh
15:00 Good Luck Charlie
15:25 Phineas And Ferb
15:50 Fish Hooks
16:10 Shake It Up
16:35 Suite Life On Deck
17:25 Good Luck Charlie
17:50 Fish Hooks
18:15 Suite Life On Deck
18:35 Have A Laugh
18:45 Suite Life On Deck
19:10 Good Luck Charlie
19:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place
20:00 Hannah Montana
20:25 Phineas And Ferb
20:50 Shake It Up
21:15 Fish Hooks
21:35 Good Luck Charlie
22:00 Shake It Up
22:50 Wizards Of Waverly Place
23:35 Sonny With A Chance
06:00 Happy Campers
06:10 She’s The Mayor/ Lemonade
Stand
06:35 We Call It Maze/Ladies And
Gentlemen Max Modem
07:00 A Mermaid’s Tail
07:20 Polar Trappers
07:25 Road Tripp
07:50 Don’t Date The Principal’s
Daughter
08:15 Rollerdorks
08:40 Crash Dummies
09:05 The Lake Nose Monster
09:30 House Of Scream / Planters
Wrap
09:55 I Cried A River Over You
10:20 Pair Of Kings
10:45 Cat-Astrophe
11:10 Keeping Shop
11:35 Kickasaurus Wrecks /Battle For
The ‘Snax
12:00 Out To Launch
12:25 Rekkit Rabbit
12:45 Buzz Off / Fat Kat
13:10 Pair Of Kings
13:35 Zeke & Luther
14:00 Mellowbrook Drift/ Gift Of
Wacky
14:25 Rekkit Rabbit
14:50 I’m Out Of The Band - Part
Two
15:10 Double Dribble
15:15 Pair Of Kings
15:40 Not My Sister’s Keeper
16:05 Rollerdorks
16:30 Roller Coaster / Candace
Loses Her Head
16:50 On Ice
16:55 The Fast And The Phineas /
Lawn Gnome Beach Party Of Terror
17:20 Kickin It
17:45 Escape From Scorpion Island
18:15 Fort Boyard - Ultimate
Challenge
18:40 Obsession For Kick/ Flush And
Release
19:00 Thru The Mirror
19:05 Pair Of Kings
19:30 Undercover Carl/Hip Hip
Parade
19:55 Old Nasty
20:20 Something About
Fiona/Tickled Pink
20:45 Runaway Recital /Trike X-5
21:10 No More Bunny Business/Spa
Day
21:35 A Ghost Story
22:00 Luther Leads
22:25 Fishy Frisky Business/ Teed Off
THE CRAIGSLIST KILLER ON OSN ACTION HD
TV PROGRAMS
00:40 Desert Car Kings
07:00 Mythbusters
07:50 Coal
08:45 Swords: Life On The Line
09:40 How Stuff Works
10:05 Cake Boss
10:30 Border Security
10:55 Auction Kings
11:25 Discovery Project Earth
16:00 Overhaulin’
16:55 Ultimate Survival
17:50 Mythbusters
18:45 Cash Cab Us
19:10 Border Security
19:40 Auction Kings
20:05 How It’s Made
20:35 How Stuff Works
21:00 Cake Boss
21:30 Coal
22:25 Swords: Life On The Line
23:20 Gold Rush: Alaska
00:40 Nasa’s Greatest Missions
01:35 Mighty Ships
02:25 The Tech Show
02:50 Science Of The Movies
07:10 What’s That About?
08:00 How The Universe Works
08:50 How Does That Work?
09:15 How Stuff’s Made
09:40 Science Of Storm Chasing
10:35 Robocar
11:25 Man Made Marvels Asia
12:20 Catch It Keep It
13:15 The Gadget Show
13:40 The Gadget Show
14:05 Sci-Trek
14:55 How Does That Work?
15:20 How Stuff’s Made
15:50 How The Universe Works
16:40 The Tech Show
17:05 Catch It Keep It
18:00 The Gadget Show
18:25 The Gadget Show
18:50 Man Made Marvels Asia
19:40 Building The Biggest
20:30 Mighty Ships
21:20 Catch It Keep It
22:10 How The Universe Works
23:00 Building The Biggest
23:50 Mighty Ships
00:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
01:05 Gourmet Farmer
01:30 Unwrapped
01:55 Grill It! With Bobby Flay
02:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
03:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
04:25 Chopped
05:15 Kid In A Candy Store
05:40 Unique Sweets
06:05 Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia
06:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
06:50 Food Network Challenge
07:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
08:00 Food Network Challenge
08:50 Andy Bates Street Feasts
09:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
09:40 Kid In A Candy Store
10:05 Healthy Appetite With Ellie
Krieger
10:30 Paula’s Best Dishes
10:55 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam
11:20 Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia
11:45 Everyday Italian
12:10 Unwrapped
12:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
13:00 Ten Dollar Dinners
13:25 Guy’s Big Bite
13:50 Easy Chinese: San Francisco
14:15 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam
14:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
15:05 Healthy Appetite With Ellie
Krieger
15:30 Unwrapped
15:55 Paula’s Best Dishes
16:20 Mexican Made Easy
16:45 Chopped
17:35 Andy Bates Street Feasts
18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
18:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
18:50 Easy Chinese: San Francisco
19:15 Kid In A Candy Store
19:40 Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia
20:05 Guy’s Big Bite
20:30 Food Network Challenge
21:20 Andy Bates Street Feasts
21:45 Andy Bates Street Feasts
22:10 Easy Chinese: San Francisco
00:20 Special Agent Oso
00:50 Jungle Junction
01:15 Little Einsteins
01:40 Higglytown Heroes
02:10 Jo Jo’s Circus
02:30 Special Agent Oso
03:00 Jungle Junction
03:25 Little Einsteins
03:50 Higglytown Heroes
04:20 Jo Jo’s Circus
04:40 Special Agent Oso
05:10 Jungle Junction
05:35 Little Einsteins
06:00 Higglytown Heroes
06:30 Jo Jo’s Circus
06:50 Jungle Junction
07:15 Higglytown Heroes
07:45 Handy Manny
08:00 Special Agent Oso
08:15 Jungle Junction
08:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
09:10 The Hive
09:20 Handy Manny
09:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
10:05 The Hive
10:15 Mini Adventures Of Winnie
The Pooh
10:25 Timon And Pumbaa
10:45 Imagination Movers
11:10 Mickey Mousekersize
11:20 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
11:45 Little Einsteins
12:10 Imagination Movers
12:30 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
12:45 Lazytown
13:10 Handy Manny
13:25 Jungle Junction
13:40 Imagination Movers
14:05 The Hive
14:15 Special Agent Oso
14:25 Little Einsteins
14:50 Lazytown
15:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
15:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
16:05 Handy Manny
16:35 The Hive
16:45 Imagination Movers
17:10 Mickey Mousekersize
17:20 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
17:45 Jungle Junction
18:00 The Hive
18:20 Handy Manny
18:30 Jungle Junction
18:45 Handy Manny
18:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
19:25 The Hive
19:35 Little Einsteins
20:00 Mini Adventures Of Winnie
The Pooh
20:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
20:30 Animated Stories
20:35 Handy Manny
20:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
21:20 The Hive
21:30 Mini Adventures Of Winnie
The Pooh
21:33 A Poem Is...
21:40 Jungle Junction
21:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
22:20 Jake & The Neverland Pirates
00:25 Style Star
01:25 Cheating Death
03:15 E! Investigates
04:10 Sexiest
05:05 Then And Now
05:30 Wildest TV Show Moments
06:00 THS
07:50 Behind The Scenes
08:20 E! News
09:15 Kourtney & Kim Take New York
10:15 50 Most Insane Celebrity
Oops
12:05 Awards Fashion Police
13:05 Dirty Soap
14:05 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami
15:00 Style Star
15:30 World’s Specials
16:25 Behind The Scenes
16:55 Bridalplasty
17:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New
York
00:00 Cowboy U
00:50 Aiya TV
02:30 Ed’s Up
03:20 Untracked
05:50 AMA Motocross 2011
07:30 Ride Guide Snow 2008
09:00 FIM World Motocross MX3
Championships...
09:25 Alli Presents
11:55 Man’s Work
12:45 Fantasy Factory
13:35 Dr Danger
14:25 Mantracker
15:15 World Combat League
16:05 Man’s Work
16:55 Fantasy Factory
17:45 FIM World Motocross MX3
Championships...
18:10 Alli Presents
20:40 Mantracker
21:30 Dr Danger
22:20 Ed’s Up
23:10 World Combat League
00:40 Couples Who Kill
01:30 True CSI
02:15 The Will: Family Secrets
Revealed
03:05 Kidnap And Rescue
03:50 Couples Who Kill
04:40 True CSI
05:25 On The Case With Paula Zahn
06:15 Disappeared
07:10 Mystery Diagnosis
08:00 FBI Files
08:50 Forensic Detectives
09:40 Murder Shift
10:25 Mystery ER
11:10 Real Emergency Calls
11:35 Who On Earth Did I Marry?
11:55 On The Case With Paula Zahn
12:40 Disappeared
13:25 Murder Shift
14:15 Mystery ER
15:00 Real Emergency Calls
15:25 Who On Earth Did I Marry?
15:50 On The Case With Paula Zahn
16:35 Disappeared
17:20 FBI Files
18:10 Forensic Detectives
19:00 Murder Shift
19:45 Real Emergency Calls
20:10 Mystery ER
20:55 Who On Earth Did I Marry?
21:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn
22:10 Disappeared
23:00 Nightmare Next Door
23:50 Nightmare Next Door
00:00 Travel Madness
00:30 Chasing Che: Latin America On
A Motorcycle
00:30 Nat Geo’s Most Amazing
Photos
01:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The
Planet
01:30Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet
01:30 Great Migrations
02:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels
02:30 Redwoods: Anatomy of A Giant
02:30 Weird & Wonderful Hotels
03:00 Bondi Rescue
03:30 Banged Up Abroad
03:30 Inside
04:30 Ancient Megastructures
04:30 Long Way Down
05:30 Destination Extreme
05:30 Taboo
06:00 Travel Madness
06:30 Chasing Che: Latin America On
A Motorcycle
06:30 Megastructures
07:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The
Planet
07:30Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet
07:30 Nat Geo’s Most Amazing
Photos
08:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels
08:30 Great Migrations
08:30 Weird & Wonderful Hotels
09:00 Bondi Rescue
09:30 Ancient Megastructures
09:30 Banged Up Abroad
10:30 Lions Behaving Badly
10:30 Long Way Down
11:30 Destination Extreme
11:30 Inside
12:00 Travel Madness
12:30 Ancient Megastructures
12:30 Chasing Che: Latin America On
A Motorcycle
13:00 Banged Up Abroad
00:00 Brotherhood-PG15
02:00 Mirrors 2-18
04:00 The Craigslist Killer-PG15
06:00 Triassic Attack-PG15
08:00 Altitude-PG15
10:00 The Haunting Of Molly
Hartley-18
12:00 Ong Bak 2-PG15
14:00 Altitude-PG15
16:00 Rocky IV-PG15
18:00 Ong Bak 2-PG15
20:00 Sleep Dealer-18
22:00 Mindhunters-18
01:00 Blue Valentine-18
03:00 The Flyboys-PG15
05:00 Tron: Legacy-PG15
07:15 Mee Shee-PG
09:00 The Nanny Express-PG15
11:00 My Name Is Khan-PG15
14:00 The Front-PG15
15:45 Ramona And Beezus-PG
17:30 Waiting For Superman-PG15
19:30 Date Night-PG15
21:30 Two Lovers-18
23:30 Red-PG15
12:00 Two And A Half Men
12:30 Will And Grace
13:00 Just Shoot Me
13:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne
16:30 The Office
18:00 Friends
18:30 Friends
19:00 Modern Family
19:30 Parks And Recreation
20:00 Mad Love
20:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm
21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition
21:30 The Colbert Report Global
Edition
22:00 Enlightened
22:30 Hung
23:00 Family Guy
01:00 Dark Moon Rising-PG15
03:15 The Craigslist Killer-PG15
05:15 The Burningmoore Incident
07:00 Citizen Jane-PG
09:00 The Karate Kid III-PG
11:00 Rocky IV-PG15
13:00 Star Trek: First Contact-PG
15:00 The Karate Kid III-PG
17:00 The Postman-PG15
20:00 American Dragons-18
21:45 Paranormal Activity-PG15
23:15 Medium Raw-PG15
00:00 Napoleon Dynamite-PG
02:00 Lower Learning-PG15
04:00 The Country Bears-PG
06:00 A Film With Me In It-PG15
08:00 16 To Life-PG15
09:30 The Parent Trap-PG
12:00 Nativity!-PG
14:00 Addams Family Values-PG
16:00 Napoleon Dynamite-PG
18:00 Double Wedding-PG15
20:00 Submarine-PG15
22:00 Tucker Max-R
23:45 Renaissance Man-PG15
01:00 The Shape Of Things-PG15
03:00 Toy Story 3-FAM
05:00 Dr. Dolittle-PG
07:00 Our Family Wedding-PG15
09:00 The Blind Side-PG15
11:30 Chasing Papi-PG
13:00 Cinema Verite-PG15
14:30 The Greatest-PG15
16:30 The Blind Side-PG15
19:00 The Maiden Heist-PG15
21:00 Repo Men-18
23:00 The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who...
CHASING PAPI ON OSN MOVIES HD
00:00 The Thief Of Baghdad-PG
02:00 Moomins And The Comet
Chase-PG15
04:00 Legend Of Sleeping Beauty
06:00 Inspector Gadget’s Last Case:
Claw’s...-FAM
08:00 Slappy And The Stinkers-PG
10:00 Moomins And The Comet
Chase-PG15
12:00 Shrek Forever After-FAM
14:00 Christopher Columbus-PG
16:00 Open Season 3-FAM
18:00 Slappy And The Stinkers-PG
20:00 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of
Kitty Galore-PG
22:00 Christopher Columbus-PG
03:00 Cricket Twenty20
06:00 Trans World Sport
07:00 Snooker Masters
11:00 WWE SmackDown
13:00 Cricket Twenty20
16:00 Snooker Masters
20:00 Cricket Twenty20
23:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter
03:00 World Hockey
03:30 Futbol Mundial
04:00 ICC Cricket World
04:30 Scottish Premier League
06:30 World Hockey
07:00 Snooker Masters
11:00 European Challenge Cup
13:00 Cricket Twenty20
16:00 Snooker Masters
20:00 Trans World Sport
21:00 Scottish Premier League
Highlights
01:30 ICC Cricket World
02:00 European Challenge Cup
04:00 World Cup of Pool
05:00 World Pool Masters
06:00 US Bass Fishing
07:00 Golfing World
08:00 European PGA Tour
12:30 Golfing World
13:30 World Cup of Pool
14:30 World Pool Masters
15:30 US Bass Fishing
16:30 European Challenge Cup
18:30 Futbol Mundial
19:00 Golfing World
02:00 WWE SmackDown
04:00 WWE Bottom Line
05:00 UFC Unleashed
07:00 WWE Bottom Line
08:00 WWE Experience
09:00 Speedway
10:00 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
11:00 V8 Supercars Championship
13:00 WWE NXT
14:00 WWE Experience
15:00 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
16:00 Speedway
17:00 Powerboats
18:00 WWE SmackDown
20:00 UFC Fight Night
23:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter
00:00 Beyond The Big Bang
02:00 Pub Dig
03:00 Pawn Stars
03:30 Pawn Stars
04:00 MysteryQuest
05:00 Conspiracy?
06:00 Beyond The Big Bang
08:00 Pub Dig
09:00 Pawn Stars
09:30 Pawn Stars
10:00 MysteryQuest
11:00 Conspiracy?
12:00 Beyond The Big Bang
14:00 Pub Dig
15:00 Pawn Stars
15:30 Pawn Stars
16:00 MysteryQuest
17:00 Conspiracy?
18:00 Beyond The Big Bang
20:00 Ancient Wonders
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
21:00 Ice Road Truckers
22:00 Ice Road Truckers
23:00 Ax Men
00:05 Glam Fairy
01:00 Open House
02:00 Videofashion Daily
02:55 Videofashion News
03:25 How Do I Look?
04:20 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?
05:15 Married Away
06:10 Homes With Style
06:35 Area
07:05 Clean House
08:00 Videofashion News
09:00 Videofashion Daily
10:00 Open House
10:55 How Do I Look?
11:50 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?
12:50 Clean House: Search For The
Messiest...
13:50 Clean House
14:45 How Do I Look?
15:45 Giuliana & Bill
16:40 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane
17:35 Jerseylicious
18:30 How Do I Look?
19:25 Tia And Tamera
20:25 Open House
21:20 Clean House: New York
22:15 Elements Of Style
22:40 Elements Of Style
23:10 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane
00:00 Knightriders-18
02:00 Thieves Like Us-PG
04:00 Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo
Garcia
05:50 The Curse
07:20 Diplomatic Immunity
08:55 The Last Of The Finest
10:40 Strictly Business-PG
12:00 Limit Up-PG
13:25 Danielle Steel’s Heartbeat-PG
14:55 I’ll Be Home For Christmas-
FAM
16:30 From Noon Till Three-PG
18:10 Critical Assembly-PG
19:35 Irma LA Douce-PG
21:55 Knightriders-18
00:55 Sweet Bird Of Youth
02:55 Westworld
04:25 Alex In Wonderland
06:15 Bhowani Junction-PG
08:00 Black Legion-PG
09:30 Ada-PG
11:20 Girl Happy-FAM
12:55 Key Largo-PG
14:35 Anchors Aweigh-FAM
16:55 Captain Blood-FAM
18:50 Ten Thousand Bedrooms-PG
20:50 The Unsinkable Molly Brown-
FAM
00:00 Third Class Traveller
01:00 Globe Trekker
02:00 The Ethical Hedonist
03:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun
Sharma
04:00 Culinary Asia
05:00 Cruise 1st
09:00 Planet Food
10:00 Globe Trekker
11:00 Safari Stopovers
12:00 Cruise 1st
13:00 Floyd On Spain
13:30 Floyd Uncorked
14:00 Globe Trekker
15:00 Sophie Grigson In The Home
Counties
15:30 Cruise 1st
16:30 Down the Line
17:30 Culinary Asia
18:30 Globe Trekker
19:30 Cruise 1st
20:30 Floyd Uncorked
21:00 Floyd Uncorked
21:30 Sophie Grigson In The Souk
22:00 Cruise 1st
23:00 Essential
23:30 4Real

Classifieds
DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION
Arrival Flights on Monday 23/1/2012
Airlines Flt Route Time
KLM 447 AMSTERDAM/BAHRAIN 0:30
PIA 205 LAHORE 0:40
JZR 267 BEIRUT 0:45
JZR 539 CAIRO 0:50
JZR 185 DUBAI 1:00
ETH 2620 ADDIS ABABA 1:15
ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA 1:45
THY 772 ISTANBUL 2:15
UAE 853 DUBAI 2:35
QTR 138 DOHA 2:40
DHX 370 BAHRAIN 2:55
MSR 612 CAIRO 3:00
ETD 305 ABU DHABI 3:10
GFA 211 BAHRAIN 3:15
KAC 544 CAIRO 4:40
DHX 170 BAHRAIN 5:15
FAH 201 DUBAI 5:30
JZR 503 LUXOR 5:55
JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA 6:00
BAW 157 LONDON 6:40
KAC 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 6:45
KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 7:40
FDB 53 DUBAI 7:45
KAC 352 COCHIN 7:50
KAC 302 MUMBAI 7:55
KAC 362 COLOMBO 8:20
UAE 855 DUBAI 8:30
ABY 125 SHARJAH 9:00
QTR 132 DOHA 9:05
ETD 301 ABU DHABI 9:15
GFA 213 BAHRAIN 9:55
KAC 344 CHENNAI 10:35
RBG 3555 ALEXANDRIA 10:45
ABD 514 BAGRAM 11:00
JZR 165 DUBAI 11:20
RKM 310 RAS ALKHAIMAH 11:45
MEA 404 BEIRUT 11:55
IRC 6521 LAMERD 12:00
MSR 623 SOHAG 12:30
MSR 610 CAIRO 12:55
KAC 672 DUBAI 13:20
SYR 341 DAMASCUS 13:45
FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50
UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 14:05
OMA 645 MUSCAT 14:15
QTR 140 DOHA 14:20
KNE 745 JEDDAH 14:25
SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30
RJA 640 AMMAN 14:40
KAC 788 JEDDAH 14:50
KAC 284 DHAKA 15:00
JZR 257 BEIRUT 15:00
KAC 550 SOHAG 15:15
KAC 546 ALEXANDRIA 15:20
QTR 134 DOHA 15:25
JZR 535 CAIRO 16:25
ETD 303 ABU DHABI 16:50
KAC 118 NEW YORK 16:55
UAE 857 DUBAI 16:55
FDB 59 DUBAI 17:05
GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:15
SVA 510 RIYADH 17:20
QTR 6055 AMSTERDAM 17:30
RBG 3557 SOHAG 17:35
ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:40
ALK 227 COLOMBO/DUBAI 18:10
JZR 177 DUBAI 18:15
FDB 63 DUBAI 18:40
KAC 542 CAIRO 18:50
KAC 744 DAMMAM 18:55
KAC 786 JEDDAH 19:10
KAC 618 DOHA 19:15
BAB 8831 BAHRAIN 19:20
KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25
AIC 975 CHENNAI/GOA 19:30
KAC 104 LONDON 19:35
KAC 774 RIYADH 19:40
FDB 61 DUBAI 20:00
KAC 552 DAMASCUS 20:05
JAI 572 MUMBAI 20:10
MSR 618 ALEXANDRIA 20:45
DHX 372 BAHRAIN 21:00
GRF 81 BAGHDAD 21:15
MEA 402 BEIRUT 21:20
GFA 217 BAHRAIN 21:25
QTR 136 DOHA 21:35
UAE 859 DUBAI 21:40
JZR 135 BAHRAIN 21:55
TAR 327 TUNIS 22:35
UAL 981 BAHRAIN 23:00
BBC 43 DHAKA 23:45
DLH 636 FRANKFURT 23:50
PIA 239 SIALKOT 23:55
Departure Flights on Monday 23/1/2012
Airlines Flt Route Time
UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 0:45
AXB 390 MANGALORE/KOZHIKODE 0:50
AIC 982 AHMEDABAD/CHENNAI 1:05
DLH 637 FRANKFURT 1:20
PIA 206 PESHAWER/LAHORE 1:40
KLM 447 AMSTERDAM 1:45
ETH 2621 ADDIS ABABA 2:15
ETH 621 ADDIS ABABA 2:45
THY 773 ISTANBUL 3:15
UAE 854 DUBAI 3:50
DHX 371 BAHRAIN 3:55
MSR 613 CAIRO 4:00
ETD 306 ABU DHABI 4:00
QTR 139 DOHA 4:55
JZR 164 DUBAI 6:55
GFA 212 BAHRAIN 7:00
FDB 54 DUBAI 8:25
KAC 545 ALEXANDRIA 8:30
BAW 156 LONDON 8:40
KAC 549 SOHAG 8:55
KAC 671 DUBAI 9:00
JZR 256 BEIRUT 9:00
JZR 534 CAIRO 9:15
KAC 787 JEDDAH 9:25
UAE 856 DUBAI 9:40
ABY 126 SHARJAH 9:45
ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:00
QTR 133 DOHA 10:10
GFA 214 BAHRAIN 10:40
RBG 3558 SOHAG 11:25
KAC 165 ROME/PARIS 11:45
KAC 541 CAIRO 12:00
KAC 103 LONDON 12:30
RKM 311 RAS ALKHAIMAH 12:50
MEA 405 BEIRUT 12:55
IRC 6522 LAMERD 13:00
MSR 624 SOHAG 13:30
KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:40
JZR 176 DUBAI 13:50
MSR 611 CAIRO 13:55
FDB 58 DUBAI 14:35
KAC 551 DAMASCUS 14:40
SYR 342 DAMASCUS 14:45
ABD 514 AL UDEID 15:00
KAC 673 DUBAI 15:05
KNE 746 JEDDAH 15:10
OMA 646 MUSCAT 15:15
UAL 982 BAHRAIN 15:20
RJA 641 AMMAN 15:35
SVA 501 JEDDAH 15:45
KAC 617 DOHA 15:55
KAC 743 DAMMAM 16:15
KAC 773 RIYADH 16:25
QTR 141 DOHA 16:30
ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:35
JZR 538 CAIRO 17:40
QTR 135 DOHA 17:45
FDB 60 DUBAI 17:50
GRF 82 BAGHDAD 18:00
UAE 858 DUBAI 18:10
GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:15
RBG 3556 ALEXANDRIA 18:20
ABY 128 SHARJAH 18:25
SVA 511 RIYADH 18:35
JZR 134 BAHRAIN 19:05
ALK 228 DUBAI/COLOMBO 19:10
FDB 64 DUBAI 19:20
QTR 6056 DOHA 19:30
JZR 184 DUBAI 19:55
BAB 8832 BAHRAIN 20:05
FDB 62 DUBAI 20:40
KAC 331 TRIVANDRUM 21:00
KAC 351 COCHIN 21:05
JAI 571 MUMBAI 21:10
MSR 619 ALEXANDRIA 21:45
DHX 171 BAHRAIN 21:50
KAC 543 CAIRO 21:55
DHX 373 BAHRAIN 22:00
MEA 403 BEIRUT 22:20
GFA 218 BAHRAIN 22:25
FAH 102 DUBAI 22:30
QTR 137 DOHA 22:35
JZR 554 ALEXANDRIA 22:45
KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:45
UAE 860 DUBAI 22:50
KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 23:00
JZR 528 ASSIUT 23:35
TAR 327 DUBAI/TUNIS 23:35
KAC 411 BANGKOK/MANILA 23:55
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
ACCOMMODATION
Sharing furnished single
room available in 2 BR/2
bath flat at Farwaniya for a
Muslim working lady.
Contact: 90027245.
(C 3833)
Sharing accommodation
available for decent couple
or working ladies 2 BHK
CA/C flat in Sharq, near
Amiri hospital. Contact:
99898824.
(C 3835)
One big central A/C room
available in Benaid Al-Gar,
near Al-Salam hospital for
decent working ladies.
(Rent KD 100). Please call
only interested genuine
people. Contact: 97879611.
(C 3836)
21-1-2012
FOR SALE
Toyota Corolla, model
2012, golden color 1.6
engine, km done 2400, CD,
price KD 3950. Contact:
66396517. (C 3838)
Honda - CRV 2006, registration
2007, 55,000 km, color:
Titanium beige, serviced by
Honda, excellent condition,
6 CD changer sun roof, one
lady owner. Price KD 3,500,
not negotiable. Contact:
99545520.
(C 3837)
22-1-2012
Bedroom furniture for sale
as good as new. Call
97564891 - 24357201.
(C 3834)
21-1-2012
MATRIMONIAL
Marthomite parents in
Kuwait invite proposals for
their daughter
(26/160/Fair), B/ B in
Kuwait, Masters from the
UK and currently working in
Bangalore as senior executive,
from well qualified and
employed MARTHOMA/CSI/
ORTHODOX boys (preferably
working in Bangalore/
Abroad). Email:
thomaskw8@yahoo.com
(C 3840)
23-1-2012
Parents settled in US invite
proposals for their daughter
age 27 5”3”, completed
Bachelors degree, doing
Masters in Physio-Therapy
in USA. Currently on vacation
to Kerala, on short visit
in Kuwait (Jan 21st to 25th)
invite proposals from
Christian parents of
Doctors/MPharm/Engineer.
Contact:
merlinfredin@gmail.com
(C 3831)
TUITION
Business management
teacher with doctoral
degree for universities, institutions,
corporate & all student
levels. Over 10 years
experience. Call 66495951.
(C 3817)
Business management
teacher with doctoral
degree for universities, institutions,
corporate & all student
levels. Over 10 years
experience. Call 66495951.
(C 3817)
16-1-2012
Mathematics teacher,
No: 15337
Intermediate and secondary
Exams models, Easy
method, Exams from past
years with solutions.
97301901
English teacher (3) years
experience, looking for a job
and ready to start with all
educational stages.
55963993
Mathematics teacher for
Universities, Institutions,
Foreign Schools,
Administrative, American,
English, Australian, Bahrain,
Electric and Gulf Sciences,
Algbra Prel, Mathematics,
intermediate, gmat, sat college,
math98, 110 pre calculus
geometry. 97619261
Senior Biology teacher for
secondary stage. Biology for
University students and foreign
schools, sciences of
intermediate stage and 10th
grade physics.
A Syrian Arabic language
teacher. Masters in methods
of teaching and follow up of
10th grade and 11th grade
students. 97934291
A Syrian Arabic Language
teacher. Masters, for secondary,
intermediate, religious
institution, universities, and
establishment of the elementary
stage using the
Aleppo method “the alphabet
then the word”.
50513599
Islamic education teacher
for elementary and intermediate
stages. Experienced in
Kuwait curricula. Easy explanation,
and summary of the
subject, training for exams.
66292985
SITUATION WANTED
MBA Degree holder with
25 years multinational
experience. Having own car
and delivery van, having
expertise in Management,
Costing and Marketing
fields. 10 years in Kuwait.
Looking for Bus.
Development and consultancy
opportunities.
Contact: 60647270 email:
evzonekuwait@email.com
(C 3839)
23-1-2012

CROSSWORD 566
ACROSS
1. Of or relating to a member of the Buddhist people inhabiting
the Mekong river in Laos and Thailand.
4. Wool of the alpaca.
10. An ugly evil-looking old woman.
13. Any high mountain.
14. A narrative song with a recurrent refrain.
15. A federal agency established to coordinate programs
aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.
16. English monk and scholar (672-735).
18. An inactive volcano in Sicily.
19. One or some or every or all without specification.
20. A department of Greece in the central Peloponnese.
21. Greek mythology.
23. A metric unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter.
24. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.
26. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.
30. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B
antigens.
32. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near
Telescopium and Norma.
34. The United Nations agency concerned with the international
organization of food and agriculture.
38. An upholstered seat for more than one person.
40. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.
41. An informal term for a father.
42. (of persons) Highest in rank or authority or office.
43. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.
45. An ester of adenosine that is converted to ATP for energy
storage.
48. The Mongol people living the the central and eastern
parts of Outer Mongolia.
52. An early French settler in the Maritimes.
56. A small zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere.
57. United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters.
58. A long noosed rope used to catch animals.
61. A small cake leavened with yeast.
62. A mature blood cell that contains hemoglobin to carry
oxygen to the bodily tissues.
63. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.
65. (British) Your grandmother.
66. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).
67. Jackal-headed god of tombs.
68. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.
DOWN
1. Hungarian choreographer who developed Labanotation
(1879-1958).
2. Fear resulting from the awareness of danger.
3. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a
common policy for the sale of petroleum.
4. A port city in southwestern Iran.
5. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.
6. Humble request for help.
7. Angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial
object).
8. Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint
etc..
9. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.
10. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.
11. Transient cessation of respiration.
12. Ox of southeast Asia sometimes considered a domesticated
breed of the gaur.
17. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.
22. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.
25. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit
that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey
bread.
27. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.
28. A federation of North American labor unions that merged
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955.
29. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an
explosion.
31. A piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep.
33. Fish eggs or egg-filled ovary.
35. Port city on southern Honshu on Osaka Bay.
36. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.
37. A public promotion of some product or service.
39. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.
44. An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile
and intended to have a telling effect.
46. Deciduous shrub of North America.
47. A formal expression of praise.
48. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.
49. A woody climbing usually tropical plant.
50. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually
with vegetables.
51. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practice of Yoga).
53. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a
section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary
artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary
artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.
54. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.
55. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of
scribes and schools.
59. The bill in a restaurant.
60. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight
championship three times (born in 1942).
64. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic
forms.
Yesterday’s Solution
Yesterday’s Solution
34 stars
CALVIN & HOBBES
POOCH CAFE
NON SEQUITUR
ZITS
MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM
Yester
To
Word Sleuth
Solution
Aries (March 21-April 19)
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
STAR TRACK
You should experience all the benefits of this most powerful
planet. Your energy is high and your creative juices are flowing. If
you give your best effort now, considerable success may follow. Also, this is a good
time to lead the way on a project, for your originality is unusually heightened. Make it
a point to communicate clearly—there could be trouble in communicating with elderly
people today—there could be a misunderstanding. Also, it’s important at this
time not to let personal relationships interfere with your work—especially romantic.
Most of the time, it is best to rely on facts rather than feelings. Leisure activities with
friends should be engaged in often. This is an excellent time to deepen a relationship
and to get to know someone better.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Make a list of the most important things you need to do today
and then put down something that would be fun for you to do
when you have done the things on your list. Today is all about tending to the little
things that tend to get on the nerves when they are unfinished. You will be very proud
of yourself before the afternoon is over and you will have plenty of time to enjoy some
favorite pastime. The energies that make up this day are full of static electricity . . . the
sort of electric feeling that happens when you move just quickly enough to see your
efforts through to a successful end. This evening there are plenty of complements to
go around and maybe someone else will cook your evening meal. A walk after dinner
is a good thing.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
You are usually good at handling any problem that comes to
your attention but today you seem to be extraordinary. You may be
volunteering for some group that needs your type of skill. The door is open, just a little
today, to show you a whole new you. If you would like to investigate the possibilities
of today you might look into the requirements for heading a volunteer organization or
becoming a counselor or volunteering in a shelter. There may be instances when you
will have to give a full accounting of your labors, particularly to superiors or those
interested in buying your wares or using your talent. This is the time to use your energy
constructively and with patience. The more creative you are . . . the more successful
you will become.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Today you find the mistakes of yesterday—and maybe from
last week. In finding a mistake, you may be finding a math error
while balancing a checkbook. You could take the opportunity to teach a young person
from your own mistakes and perhaps revise a budget as well. A friend is helpful in
getting you a good deal at some sort of auction or garage sale this afternoon. This
could mean a new coat, some furniture or a rug. A visitor in your home this afternoon
is most welcomed. There are pictures and remembering types of conversations and a
fun time to enjoy your visitor. This time indicates a most favorable period and you will
be thrilled to be able to lend a helping hand to a friend or family member. Set an extra
place for dinner tonight.
Leo (July 23-August 22)
Today is an excellent time to give of your time and energy. An
elder family member or a relative with a new living arrangement
may need your expertise in getting things more comfortable. Perhaps a sister or
brother’s family has just had a child and a trip to the grocery store or a few chores for
the family would be appreciated. You don’t have to wait until you are asked; just show
up with only the intent to help. A little time of social conversation later this afternoon
is fun and enjoyable; however, you must know when to stop the conversation when
you are socializing with young people. Believe it or not, and without you realizing it,
people love to know what you have been reading and learning and advocating for or
against—easy does it.
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
You may find that there is more responsibility for you to
handle but you do not mind. There seems to be some block party
or community project to dive into at this time. There may also be a family
member that could use your help. This is an excellent time for taking part in
group activities. You may find an opportunity to foster a sense of team play
where young people are involved. You should try hard at this time to squelch the
desire to do everything by yourself. The appreciation you have for friends is
heightened. Great things happen if you take the time to express your true feelings.
Meeting new people is most favorable. The desire for intimacy and love is
great, with the expression of affections being most satisfying to you.
Libra (September 23-October 22)
Others are attracted to your energy. You may have to shoo
some of these people away some of the time. This may be the day
you take your first karate lesson or perhaps an ice-skating lesson. Whatever the case,
this something new is invigorating and makes you feel alive and cheerful. There is no
point in hiding your light under a bushel when there are plenty of people waiting to
encourage you forward. Gathering and exchanging information becomes very important
now as well. This may mean some political or protocol question comes to your
attention—a very educational experience. Someone may want you to speak at a very
important meeting today. You will appreciate the response from your message.
Respect is a central goal for you.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
This is a great time to be with others and to work together. You
may be sought after as just the person for a particular job.
Volunteering to help one person conduct a meeting this afternoon ends with you
making arrangements to help this person in the future. It may be that this particular
person has special qualities that will help you learn how to manage a couple of projects
in your work place. Recognizing the opportunity for growth is a good thing. Selfdiscipline
and a sense of self-worth become important issues in your life as a new
phase begins. The trick is in learning to make the most of your personal talents and
abilities; you work within your limitations instead of feeling hemmed in by them. This
evening, the young people in your life want to play.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
Someone is being pushy today! There is always time to have
fun with this person but stop and take a little more time to let this
person communicate. What happens at this time will have a bearing on subsequent
actions—it is especially important to have respect. Ask questions that help you in your
understanding of this person. This afternoon, you should take every opportunity to
get outside and enjoy the natural world. Difficulties seem easier to solve and you
should feel more relaxed once you engage in some sort of health-related activity. On
the home front, it is best to take it easy and let others have their way. Demanding
what you want could lead to frustrations and ill feelings. Tonight is a good time to
relax—perhaps a movie.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
The energies that surround you now support your taking full
advantage of your position in some community organization.
Fairness to other people is emphasized now. A period of intellectual creativity has
dawned in your life. Expressing yourself with flair comes to mean more to you. Beating
the odds through cleverness is appealing and this may lead to an interest in all kinds
of speculation or sports. Figuring out how to organize projects and people is apt to
become a topic of special interest—and a challenge. This evening, close personal relationships
are likely to undergo some testing; activate that good-listener side of you.
Cement your ties to others and make sure they are rock-solid—because if they are
not, they are apt to crack under stress.
Aquarius (January 20- February 18)
Tremendous mental energy may help to inflate your ego—
take care to avoid being temperamental and touchy. If you
channel this energy well—you can be very influential. Your sense of humor may
be a saving grace. Others may find that you are very clever. You will impress people
in conversations and communicate to loved ones on new levels. Progressive
people and idealistic groups or concepts play a more important role in your life
now. This is a concern for something bigger than any one person—the good of
the many outweigh the needs of the few. You could be experimenting with new
concepts. You may find that someone close to you understands and is supportive
of you. Rest this afternoon—enjoy a creative hobby.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
This is not a good time to make any concrete decisions about a
relationship. Although a friend or relative may ask questions, it may
be better to hedge a bit longer when it comes to giving out information on that relationship
of yours. You are interested in finding new ways to make money these days
and may spend a great deal of time looking through the employment section of the
newspaper. You could be swayed into gambling later today. Why not walk away from
this temptation and complete a creative project that you have been meaning to work
on lately? The faster you actually see some project through to the end, the faster you
will be able to have a focus in your day. Enjoy the out-of-doors this afternoon; it will
boost your energies.

112
Ophthalmologists
Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444
Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222
Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171
Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999
Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700
Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223
Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)
Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510
Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660
Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478
Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996
Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988
Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426
General Practitioners
Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123
Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312
Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920
Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465
Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528
Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781
Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501
Urologists
Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534
Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955
Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660
Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120
Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427
Anniversary
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 24874330/9
Clinics
Rabiya 4732263
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 24892674
Al-Omariya 24719048
N.Kheitan 24710044
Fintas 3900322
Psychologists
/Psychotherapists
information
Years MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
STATE STA AT TE OF KUWAIT KKUWA
AIT
DIRECTORATE DIRECTORAT
TE GENE GENERAL ERAL OF CIVIL
AV AVIATION VIAT TION
METEOROLOGICAL DDEPA
DEPARTMENT ARTMENT
DAY:
Y Sunday
BY DAY: DAYY
:
22/01/2012
Issue
Time
07:00
STATION STAAT
TION MAX. EXP. . MIN. . REC. SFC. CHAR CHART T 22/01/2012 0000
0 UTC
KUWA KUWAIT AIT CITY
13 °C 05
°C
KUWA KUWAIT AIT AIRPORT
T 13 13 °C -1
°C
NUWA NUWAISEEB AISEEB
14 °C °CC
03
°C
C
WA WAFRA AFRA
14 °C 02
°C
SALMI
12 °C -4
°C
ABDALY ABDALYY
13 °C -2
°C
JAL
ALIYA ALIYAH AH
13 °C -2
°C
FA FAILAKA AILAKA
12 °C 04
°C
AHMADI PORT
T
12 °C 03
°C
UMM
AL-MARADEM
M 12 °C 09
°C
WA WARBA ARBA - BUBYA BUBYAN AN 12 °C -3
°C
DAY DAYY DAT DATE TE
WEAT WEATHER THER
PRAYER PR RAY YER TIMES
Fajr
05:19
Sunrise SSunrise i
06 06:42
42
Zuhr
12:00
Asr
14:57
Sunset
17:17
Isha
18:38
All times are local time un unless nless otherwise stated.
Expected Weather We eather
for
the Next 24 244
Hours
Cold wwith
with light to moderate freshen freshening ning at times north westerly
wind, with speed of 15 - 40
km/h
BY NIGHT:
Ve Very ery co cold old with light to moderate no north orth westerly wind, with spe speed eed of 10 - 30 km/h
WARNING WAARNING
No Current
Wa Warnings arnings
4 DAY DAYS YS FORECAST
Temperatures
Temperratures
MAX. MIN.
Tel.: Te el.: 161 Ext.: 262 2627 27 - 2630
Fax: 24348714
WWW.MET.GOV.KW
WWW.MET.GOV.
.KWW
Wind
Direction
Wind
Speed
Monday
23/01
cold
15
°C 00 °C
NW
12 - 35
km/h
TTuesday
uesday 24/01
cold
16
°C 02 °C
NW
15 - 38
km/h
We Wednesday ednesday 25/01
cold + scattered clo clouds ouds 16
°C 03 °C
NW NW-VRB -VRB 12 - 32
km/h
Thursday
26/01
cool + scattered clo clouds ouds 18
°C 04 °C
SE
10 - 32
km/h
RECORDED RECORDEDD
YESTERDAY Y AT T KUWAIT KUWA AIT T AIRPORT
MA MAX. AX. TTemp.
emp.
111
1 °C
MI MIN. IN IN. Temp. T Temp.
02
°C
MMAX.
MAX. RH
51
%
MMIN.
MIN. RH
13
%
MAX. MA AX. WWind
ind
N 50
km/h
TTOTAL
OTAAL
RAI RAINFALL INFAALL
IN 24 HR.
.16 mm
22/01/12 03:00 UTC
V1.00 T1.06
PHARMACIES
ON 24 HRS DUTY
GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE
Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883
Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414
Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558
Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518
Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622
Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184
Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967
Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000
Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201
Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638
Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265
Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075
Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999
Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549
Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559
Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554
Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264
Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581
Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241
PRIVATE CLINICS
Soor Center
Tel: 2290-1677
Fax: 2290 1688
Plastic Surgeons
Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272
Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700
Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60
Family Doctor
Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581
Psychiatrists
Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047
Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0
Gynaecologists & Obstetricians
DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581
Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321
Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539
Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406
Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272
Dr. Salem soso 22618787
General Surgeons
Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044
Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148
Internists, Chest & Heart
Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939
Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300
Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004
Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515
Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446
Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3
info@soorcenter.com
www.soorcenter.com
Paediatricians
Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898
Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300
Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444
Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099
Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514
Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100
Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar,
FRCS (Canada) 25655535
Dentists
Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581
Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2
Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226
Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444
Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557
Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888
Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755
Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111
Neurologists
Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324
Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875
Gastrologists
Dr. Sami Aman 22636464
Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030
Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135
Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677
Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677
Endocrinologist
Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330
Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888
Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924
Physiotherapists & VD
Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291
Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288
Rheumatologists:
Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060
Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290
Internist, Chest & Heart
DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210
Dr. Mohammad Zubaid
MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC
Assistant Professor Of Medicine
Head, Division of Cardiology
Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital
Consultant Cardiologist
Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555
MD, PH.D, FACC
Inaya German Medical Center
Te: 2575077
Fax: 25723123
William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677
Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677
FIRE BRIGADE
Al-Madena 22418714
Al-Shohada’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
POLICE STATION
Al-Madena Police Station 22434064
Al-Murqab Police Station 22435865
Al-Daiya Police Station 22544200
Al-Fayha’a Police Station 22547133
Al-Qadissiya Police Station 22515277
Al-Nugra Police Station 22616662
Al-Salmiya Police Station 25714406
Al-Dasma Police Station 22530801
THE PUBLIC
AUTHORITY FOR
CIVIL INFORMATION
Automated enquiry
about the Civil ID card is 1889988
AIRLINES
Kuwait Airways 171
Jazeera Airways 177
Jet Airways 22924455
FlyDubai 22414400
Qatar Airways 22423888
KLM 22425747
Air Slovakia 22434940
Olympic Airways 22420002/9
Royal Jordanian 22418064/5/6
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S upermodel
Heidi Klum to
divorce from Seal
Heidi Klum will file for
divorce from singer Seal due to “irreconcilable
differences,” TMZ.com
reported. has learned. Citing “sources with
direct knowledge” of the matter, the website
reported that Klum would file divorce
papers in Los Angeles County Superior
Court as early as next week. She is expected
to cite “irreconcilable differences” as the
cause for the divorce, the report said. The
couple married in 2005 and have three children.
Seal also adopted Klum’s child from a
previous relationship. Klum and Seal were
famous for renewing their vows every year
on their wedding anniversary, TMZ.com
said. Klum attended last Sunday’s Golden
Globes awards ceremony without Seal, the
website noted.
Paradis doesn’t believe in soulmates
The 39-year-old actress - who has been the
subject of reports that her 14-year relationship
with ‘The Tourist’ star Johnny Depp is in
trouble - revealed her thoughts on love while promoting
her new movie ‘Cafe De Flore’. MailOnline
quotes Vanessa as saying she didn’t believe in
marriage or soulmates because “if you lose your
soulmate everything is done for”. She added: “The
idea of a soulmate is beautiful and very romantic
to talk about it in a movie or a song, but in reality,
I find it scary. “‘Cafe De Flore’ speaks of love, its
joys, its pains and its dramas - to love and to lose.
This story upset me, I was upside-down, in the
depths of myself.” Although Johnny and Vanessa -
who have two children Lily-Rose, 12, and son
Jack, nine, together - have never married, Johnny
claims it is because their relationship is perfect as
it is. He has previously said: “We’ve never married
and that’s how it is going to stay - for now. As one
of our presidents once said, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it.’ We just haven’t done the big public vow
thing. It doesn’t seem necessary for us. Others
may want to go down that road - we don’t. “If you
call meeting Vanessa an ‘achievement’, it was certainly
that. It came at the right time. We were
both ready for children, and she’s given me Lily
Rose, and Jack. I saw Vanessa across a room - and I
first saw only her back! But I immediately
thought: “That’s the woman for me.”
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s
boyish nickname
S hiloh
Jolie-Pitt has a new nickname
to be more like her brothers.
The five-year-old daughter
of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is
known for her tomboy habits and is
now said to have asked her family to
call her ‘Shax’ because it is similar to
the names of her siblings Maddox, 10,
Pax, seven, and three-year-old Knox.
A source told National Enquirer magazine:
“For a while Shiloh had everyone
in the family calling her Ben for
some reason but she grew tired of
that. “These days she’s decided she
wants to be known as Shax because
Maddox, Pax, and Knox’s names all
end in the letter X. “Angelina and Brad
are going along with it and think its
cute.” Angelina - who also has daughters
Zahara, six, and three-year-old
Vivienne with Brad - has previously
revealed that Shiloh always wants to
be like her brothers. She has said:
“Shiloh dresses like a little dude.
Shiloh, we feel, has Montenegro style.
It’s how people dress there. She likes
tracksuits, she likes [regular] suits. She
likes to dress like a boy. She wants to
be a boy. So we had to cut her hair.
She likes to wear boys’ everything.
She thinks she’s one of the brothers.”
36 LIFESTYLE
G o s s i p
Gere attends
his first
Sundance Festival
Richard Gere once saw Utah from horseback while
moving cattle, but his trip to the Sundance Film
Festival to premiere “Arbitrage” is his first actual visit
to the state. The 62-year-old actor says “it sounds ridiculous,”
but he was moving cattle through Nevada with some
friends and “we rode up to a ridgeline and they pointed up,
‘That’s Utah there.’” Gere says it was a seven-day cattlemoving
trip on horseback. He was in Park City Saturday to
promote “Arbitrage,” a thriller about the lure of money and
power and how it affects one’s personal values. Directed by
Nicholas Jarecki, the film also stars Susan Sarandon, Nate
Roth and Laetitia Casta. The Sundance Film Festival continues
through Jan 29.
T he
Wahlberg’s wife
wants him to stop
T he
collecting art
‘Fighter’ star has an impressive collection but
admitted he may have to cut back after his spouse
Rhea - with whom he has four children Ella, eight,
Michael, five, Brendan, three, and two-year-old Grace - put
her foot down. He explained: “I gotta stop collecting art. I
bought a piece by Marc Chagall [the Russian-French artist]
recently and my wife wanted to kill me. She said it looked
like my daughter had painted it.” Rhea has also put a stop
to Mark’s long preparation time for movies. In the past he
liked to shut himself away to get into character but his 33year-old
spouse has insisted he spend less time away from
his family from now on. He told Total Film magazine: “I love
preparation. I do whatever the director wants me to do, but
I no longer have the luxury to go some place three weeks
early and rent a place and go to places I think my character
might go to. My wife would be like, ‘Are you out of your
mind?’ But I certainly do what I have to do to prepare,
whether it be physically or mentally.”
Buffett plays
ukulele in China
New Year gala
A tour
online version of a glitzy television gala marking
the Chinese Lunar New Year yesterday featured a
video of US billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett
singing and playing the ukulele. The 81-year-old investment
guru appeared in a room in an unknown location,
sitting in front of a huge train set, wearing a black jumper
and singing the American folk song “I’ve been working on
the Railroad”. China is preparing to say goodbye to the
New Year of the Rabbit and welcome the New Year of the
Dragon-which starts today-with fireworks and dumplings,
in the nation’s most important annual, family holiday. The
country’s state-run television CCTV broadcasts a glitzy gala
every year on Chinese New Year’s Eve, but it was unclear
whether Buffett’s segment would be featured on television
as well as on the earlier web version of the show. The 45second
video, available on CCTV’s website, is titled “Buffett
sings and plays (the ukulele), offering his vocals for CCTV’s
online Spring Festival (show).”Buffett, who holds a stake of
nearly 10 percent in Chinese auto group BYD, is no stranger
to China. In September 2010, he and fellow billionaire Bill
Gates triggered huge media hype when they hosted a banquet
in Beijing for China’s super-rich to discuss charitable
giving. The philanthropist has long been seen as a model
investor by China’s growing legions of rich, many of whom
hope to emulate the investment guru’s feats as the nation’s
economy grows.
Avril Lavigne is grateful for the freedom
she was given by LA Reid. The ‘What the
Hell’ hitmaker was given her first record
contract by the ‘American Idol’ judge when he
worked for Arista and she is pleased he
allowed her to write her own material. She
said: “LA Reid is the man. My experience was
he signed me, he believed in me, he got me.
He always gave me my freedom to be who I
was, to make the type of record I wanted to.
On my first album, I was so young - I was 16
when I was making it. Everyone figured that
people would write songs for me, and I was
like, ‘No, I want to write my own music.’ It was
so different from anything that was out there.
LA was like, ‘She’s onto something. Just let her
do her thing.’ So it was great. Avril admits she
found it difficult working away from the music
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Country music star
Brice
escapes bus fire
bus carrying country music star Lee Brice caught
on fire outside a restaurant in the Phoenix suburb of
Mesa, forcing the musician and his crew to flee. KNXV-
TV (http://bit.ly/z2VYTG ) reports that the group had been
on the road for nine hours when the bus caught on fire
Saturday. The “Love Like Crazy” singer had a concert in Mesa.
Mesa firefighter Shaun Denman says crews worked quickly
to keep the fire from spreading to a trailer behind the bus.
He says the flames were “about as high as the roof of the
building.” Brice says he and a few other people were asleep
at the time. He says they left the bus “and within minutes it
was in flames.” He says he’s thankful no one was hurt.
Lavigne
grateful to LA Reid
boss and feels “re-inspired” after signing a deal
with Epic Records, the label now headed up
LA. She added in an interview with WWD:
“Later on down the road we got separated
when he moved to another record company,
and other people came in and took over. It was
difficult for me, especially on my last record,
working with all these random people that
really didn’t even understand me at the record
company. “And now I get to be back with him,
and it’s exciting again. I’m totally re-inspired.
When you’re writing and creating, you can’t
have these businesspeople come in and try to
be all business. [LA] finds a balance between
business and creative, and he’s really good at
not making it weird or interfering in the creative
process.” —Agencies

S erbia’s
quirky Kuestendorf film
festival is a long way from
Cannes-instead of a red carpet,
there is a carpet of snow, and
boots and winter sweaters replace
tuxedos. Yet the event, held in a
rustic mountain village that was
once a filmset, has attracted a
strong international following for
its offbeat charme and its bold
stance in defence of independent
film-making. As the film and music
festival’s founder, Serb director Emir
Kusturica, puts it, the week-long
event is dedicated to “defending
the dignity of author films that are
facing the terror of the market”.
“It is getting more and more difficult
to have a project survive in
this new world of the liberal market,”
Kusturica’s daughter Dunja, in
charge of film selection for the festival,
told AFP. This year, in its fifth
edition, Kuestendorf drew French
screen star Isabelle Huppert and US
director Abel Ferrara among its
guests. As they arrived by helicopter
or by car at Drvengrad, the
movie-set wooden village hidden
in rough mountains in southwestern
Serbia, there was no red carpet
and no hailstorm of camera flashes.
At the heart of the festival is a
wooden structure that houses a
screening hall, restaurant and the
cafe “Prokleta avlija” (The Cursed
Yard), named after a book by Ivo
Andric, the only former Yugoslav
Nobel Prize winner. It is a place with
a relaxed air where big-name stars
mingle with film students, journalists
and other guests. “I am delighted...
to be able to mix with people
whose works I admire,” says 22year-old
director Lee Filipovski
from Canada. “Emir has set up
something that allows the breaking
of rather rigid rules.”
The festival’s creator, Sarajevoborn
Kusturica-a two-time Golden
Palm winner at the Cannes film festival-relishes
mixing with the
guests at Drvengrad, which has
been his home since 2006. With his
famed unruly hair, he greets guests
at mealtime, chats with movieindustry
hopefuls and informs peo-
37 LIFESTYLE
M u s i c & M o v i e s
Vivica Genaux loves to sing
with the precision and breakneck
speed of an athlete - in “techno
rhythm.” Other times, the tunes are achingly
slow, but still bursting with passion. The
common thread of most of the songs she
performs is that they come from obscure
archives, silent for centuries. The four-time
Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano is now
taking some of the forgotten works by
Vivaldi and others on a US tour, in a program
called “Pyrotechnics,” after one of her
albums. “It represents fireworks, both the
flashy, really fast-moving ones, and also the
more delicate ones that glitter and fall like
golden fronds,” says Genaux, who is featured
on Vivaldi’s “Ercole sul Termodonte”
(“Hercules in Thermodon”), which is up for
a Grammy next month for best opera
recording.
The tour, with Fabio Biondi leading his
Europa Galante ensemble, starts
Wednesday at Disney Concert Hall in Los
Angeles and includes Las Vegas and
Denver. On Feb 2 in New York, Genaux
appears at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with the
ensemble based in Parma, Italy - a few
hours from the home near Venice she
shares with her husband. It’s far from
Genaux’s native Fairbanks, Alaska, where
she learned to drive her family’s huskydrawn
dog sled, and to change a car tire in
40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus
39 Celsius).
She’s equally at ease in a Venetian palazzo,
trying on a designer stage gown. “In
Italy, I learned how to be a girl,” she jokes. In
Snowy Serb village
Spain, where she sang a “pants” role - a
woman singing a male part - “I learned how
to be a boy.” And this fall in France, she’ll
tackle the ultimate “girl” part - Bizet’s seduc-
File photo shows mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux is interviewed at her publicist’s home in New York. —AP
hosts Kuestendorf film festival
ple of upcoming screenings and
concerts. He is also happy to
accompany guests who want to try
their skills on the nearby ski slopes.
For Huppert, a first-time guest at
Kuestendorf, the “plethora of directors,
great directors” is on par with
Sarajevo-born director Emir Kusturica and South Korean director
Kim Ki-duk attend the opening ceremony of the Fifth
Kuestendorf film and music festival in Drvengrad, on January
17, 2012. —AFP
the Cannes guestlist. This year,
Kuestendorf brought together winners
from better-known festivals
four Golden Palms winners from
Cannes, one Golden Bear from the
Berlinale and one Golden Globe for
the best foreign film.
Thierry Fremaux, the artistic
director at Cannes, described
Kuestendorf as a “unique festival in
times when it is difficult to invent a
new form”.”I hope that young
author-directors discovered by the
Kuestendorf festival will one day
appear in Cannes-first simply to
come and see the films and eventually,
one day, maybe, with a short or
long film in competition,” Fremaux
said. Huppert, smiling and relaxed,
talked to the press before joining a
workshop with young authors to
discuss at length with them her
1991 film “Madame Bovary”, directed
by Claude Chabrol. Kusturica
also welcomed directors from
South Korea and Turkey, Kim ki-Duk
and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, together
with French rising star Tahar Rahim.
Belgian’s directors-brothers
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne were
also there, along with Iranian director
Marjane Satrapi and her compatriot,
actress Leila Hatami, star of
the 2011 film “A Separation”. Hatami
chaired this year’s Kuesterndorf
jury, which also included French
producer Pierre Edelman and
Serbian actor-producer Zoran
Cvijanovic. It will award
Kuestendorf’s Gold, Silver and
Bronze Egg awards to the best
among some 20 movies in competition
from Belgium, Britain,
Estonia, Italy, Canada, France and
the United States. —AFP
Sundance sheds light on neglected US star
He was compared to Bob Dylan or the
Rolling Stones, but his records flopped
and his musical star faded without traceuntil
he was rediscovered in South Africa.
“Searching for Sugar Man,” in competition at the
Sundance film festival, tells the story of Sixto
Rodriguez, who made two albums in the early
1970s but then quit music-and who knows nothing
about his fame on another continent.
The documentary was made by first-time
director Malik Bendjelloul, who first discovered
Rodriguez while travelling for six months in
Africa in 2006, and was fascinated by his story.
Bendjelloul recalls that he learned that
Rodriguez was born in Detroit, Michigan, in
1942, but his musical career ended almost
before it began, while all other stars around him
were making musical history in Motown. “Are
you kidding me ? This is the greatest story I have
ever heard,” he told AFP at the independent film
festival, on in the ski resort of Park City, Utah,
which will continue until January 29. Indeed,
Sixto Rodriguez’s story could have been crafted
by a Hollywood screenwriter with a taste for the
romanesque. Born into a Mexican immigrant
family, he was discovered by two producers in a
bar, where he was famous. Hoping they had
found Motown gold, they helped him record his
first album, “Cold Fact,” in 1970.
It was a success, but did not sell well. The next
year, when he started working with another producer,
came his second record “Coming from
Reality.” Again, it showcased Rodriguez’s talent,
but flopped commercially. Taking a hint, the
young Rodriguez gave up his musical ambitions,
and went off to work in the construction industry.
But while his records failed to take off at
home, by accident a bootleg copy made it to
South Africa, where it struck a chord with progressive
young whites, exasperated with the
apartheid system.
His success there was such that, given the
fact that the artist himself was not around,
bizarre stories began to emerge about him,
including one that claimed that he had committed
suicide by setting himself alight on stage. In
the end, the curiosity of two young fans broke
Director Malik Bendjelloul, of the film
“Searching for Sugar Man,” poses for a
portrait during the 2012 Sundance Film
Festival on Friday. —AP
through the myths: they found he was still alive,
living in the United States. They brought him to
South Africa where he was greeted as a hero in
1998, playing six sold-out concerts. “Searching
for Sugar Man” tells the story of those two fans’
search for Rodriguez, and of his musical renaissance.
“It was a lot of pressure because I had to
make a movie as good as the story and as good
as his music,” said the director, adding that his
biggest fear, before embarking on the film, was
that he might be disappointed by the music.
“I was afraid because this was the best story I
had heard in my life, and I don’t even wanted to
listen to it because... what if it’s bad? I played it
to a Dylan fan and he said, ‘This is better than
Bob Dylan.’ “‘Cold Fact’ is just one of the best
albums of all time,” he added. So why did he fail
to take off in the 1970s? Bendjelloul blames
race. “Now it’s very different, with Jennifer Lopez,
Marc Anthony ... the people in the industry don’t
care. Race doesn’t matter anymore in America,”
he explained. “But at that time, if you were
Mexican you could play music, but Mexican
music, mariachi...
“But Rodriguez was challenging the white
rock scene, the Rolling Stones, the Velvet
Underground and Bob Dylan. And at that time in
America, I don’t think you were allowed to do
that. You should stick to what you are supposed
to do.”
Despite those issues, in the film, Rodriguez
voices no bitterness. Now aged 69, he looks
well, despite the modest life he has led-he never
got a cent from the thousands of albums sold in
South Africa-and appears calm, detached, and
amused by his belated musical recognition. A
tour is planned in the United States this summer,
which will allow US music fans to judge for
themselves. “I’ve never met anyone in my life
with so much dignity,” said Bendjelloul. “Really,
you feel this grace, this kind of royalty when you
meet him, and you feel so much respect for him.
“He should be treated with respect, love and justice.”
—AFP
S ometimes
tive 19th century “Carmen.” The 42-year-old
singer is not as well known as her amazingly
agile voice and musicianship deserve,
perhaps because she has focused on the
“Early Music” of the 1700s, with its special,
smaller audience - for pieces often so
fiendishly difficult that very few can pull
them off technically. But there’s much more
to it.
Works like Vivaldi’s “Ercole” are “very
modern, really,” she says in an interview at
the Manhattan home of her publicist. “The
songs are about relationships between
people, about personal contact, and that’s
the same now as it was 300 years ago, as it
was 1,200 years ago!” Vivaldi wrote “The
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
offers rare vocal ‘Pyrotechnics’
“T
he Artist” continued its love affair
with American cinema after win-
ning best-produced film on
Saturday at the Producers Guild Awards
(PGA), boosting its chances for an Oscar nod
ahead of the Academy Award nominations
next week. The silent black-and-white French
comedy, starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice
Bejo, is a homage to the pre-talkie era of
Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s and tells
the story of a fading silent movie star as
sound began entering the world of cinema.
“When Michel Hazanavicius and I
dreamed of making “The Artist,” we knew we
were dreaming of writing a love letter to
American cinema. We never knew in return
we would get a taste of the American
dream,” Thomas Langmann, the film’s producer,
said in his acceptance speech in
Beverly Hills. The film has been sweeping
awards ceremonies in the run up to the
Oscars, winning best picture at the Critics
Choice and Golden Globes earlier this
month.
It was up against nine other films in contention
for best-produced film on Saturday,
including female-led comedy “Bridesmaids,”
civil rights drama “The Help,” and Steven
Spielberg’s epic tale “War Horse.” “The
Adventures of Tintin,” produced by Spielberg,
picked up best-produced animated film. The
Producers Guild awards are significant in the
race to the Academy Awards on Feb. 26, as
many of the 5,000-plus members of the PGA,
are members of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote for the
Oscars.
For the last four years, the producers’
best-produced film picks have gone on to
win the best picture Oscar, with “No Country
For Old Men” in 2008, “Slumdog Millionaire”
in 2009, “The Hurt Locker” in 2010 and “The
King’s Speech” in 2011. Other PGA award
winners on Saturday included “Beats,
Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called
Quest” for best-produced documentary,
which explores the journey of influential hiphop
group A Tribe Called Quest. Angelina
Jolie received the Stanley Kramer award for
“In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which she
wrote, directed and produced, an accolade
reserved for contributions that highlight
provocative social issues.
The Oscar-winning actress delivered a
sober acceptance speech, noting that when
war-film “Schindler’s List” won a PGA in 1994
during the Bosnian war, “the world turned a
blind eye” to the atrocities happening in
Eastern Europe at the time. Spielberg was
awarded the coveted David O’Selznick
achievement award and comic-book legend
Stan Lee received the Vanguard award, presented
by “Spiderman” actor Tobey Maguire.
Both received standing ovations as they took
Four Seasons,” now heard in everything
from ringtones to car ads. But many of his
other compositions might have remained
voiceless if it weren’t for Genaux. With the
help of musicologists, she’s resurrected
them along with forgotten pieces by
Handel, Rossini and German-born composer
Johann Adolph Hasse. Leafing through
his long-lost operas, “I got goose bumps
just touching these manuscripts that were
there since the 1700s,” she says. “That’s
about 95 percent of what I do - pieces that
haven’t been performed since then.”
It took years of soul-searching and
experimenting for Genaux to figure out
where her voice truly belonged. At the
University of Rochester in upstate New
York, she majored in genetics, simply
because she’d been surrounded by science
as a child; her father was a biochemistry
professor and her mother a teacher. Music
was a hobby. Genaux played Eliza Doolittle
in a high school production of “My Fair
Lady,” listened to ABBA’s rock music and
enjoyed Fairbanks’ “sing-it-yourself
‘Messiah’ where you sang the whole bloody
‘Messiah’ - not just two pages of the
‘Hallelujah’!”
Halfway through college, she switched
to singing, transferring to the University of
Indiana’s arts school in Bloomington as a
soprano, eventually becoming more comfortable
as a mezzo. In 2002 came her
breakthrough - the Grammy-nominated
album “Arias for Farinelli,” the infamous “castrato”
who was the rock star of his time,
improvising on melodies as one does in
jazz. Farinelli’s voice was a force of nature.
And so is Genaux’s, critics says.
“Onstage, she’s a powerhouse,” says
David Shengold, a music critic who writes
for New York-based Opera News and
London’s Opera, the world’s leading magazines
on the subject. “Her florid work - fast
coloratura with clean runs, trills and wide,
accurate skips - makes for bold, astonishing
vocalism.” There’s one quality that Genaux
lacks, though: the elitism many people
associate with classical music.
“Come, wear jeans, rip holes in the
jeans, put on the worst pair of tennis
shoes,” she says. “But come and see ... come
experience something new!” —AP
‘The Artist’
wins over producers
at Guild Awards
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
arrive at the 23rd Annual
Producers Guild Awards in
Beverly Hills, Calif. on
Saturday. —AP photos
Actress Kate Capshaw director
Steven Spielberg, center, and
daughter Sasha Spielberg.
the stage.
ABC’s “Modern Family” was named bestproduced
television comedy for the second
year running, while HBO’s “Boardwalk
Empire” was named best-produced TV drama.
PBS’ British period drama “Downton
Abbey” was named best-produced longform
television series. —Reuters

lifestyle
F A S H I O N
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Photos show creations for teenagers at the Banana Moon stand during the Salon de la Lingerie (Lingerie International Fair) in Paris. —AFP photos
‘Tween’ lingerie walks Lolita tightrope
Sometime between their last Barbie doll
and their first boyfriend, pre-teens have
become a niche target for lingerie firms,
vying to secure their favors as lifelong consumers
of frilly under things. But creating bras
for the barely-pubescent is a potential minefield
for brands: a too-bold design or a bit of
padding in the wrong place, and they can
stand accused of turning their junior clients
into sexualized little Lolitas. At the
International Lingerie Fair taking place in Paris
this weekend, a dozen firms had models
aimed at teens and pre-teens-also known as
“Tweens” including girls as young as nine. “For
girls that age, the main challenge for brands is
to appeal to their mothers,” said the fair’s head
Cecile Vivier. “You have to be reassuring, and
not too sexy.”
Most of the pre-teen lingerie on offer at the
Paris fair played it safe with simple, lace-free
little triangles, sometimes dubbed training
bras or bralettes. Petit Bateau, which specializes
in cotton children’s underwear, offers girls
aged 12 to 16 triangles with a hint of paddingwhich
it says is aimed to hide the nipple, not
boost bust size. For most girls that age,
explained Petit Bateau’s wholesale commercial
director Muriel Mertz, a first bra aims chiefly to
conceal the changing figure. “It’s all about
comfort and invisibility,” she said. “We are still
in a kid’s world, before girls turn to something
more womanly, more seductive.”
Skiny, an Austrian firm which designs
underwear for “the whole family”, also offers
demure-cut, bright colored, teen bras aimed
at girls from 10 upwards. “It is really carefully
done-with no padding,” said the brand’s international
sales manager Stefan Breitband.
“We’re not really about sexy lingerie. There’s
no attitude.” For Tween lingerie is risky territory:
last summer the French brand Jours Apres
Lunes caused a stir with a line aimed at fourto
12-year-olds that was attacked in Britain
and the United States as sexualizing little girls.
While its bra and panty sets, in black-andwhite
or pink, were innocent enough, the ad
campaign offended by showing children
mooning in their underwear, dolled up in
womanly hairdos, shades and ropes of pearls.
The brand’s founder, Sophie Morin, hit back
arguing that her clothes aim precisely to
bridge the gap between “plain cotton undies,
and the lingerie world whose products are too
sexy for children.”
A US research team last year found that
nearly a third of clothes targeted at pre-teen
American girls had “sexualizing characteristics”-such
as the use of slinky red or black
materials or leopard-skin prints, or cuts that
emphasized the buttocks or breast area.
Sao Paulo Fashion Week
Models present
creations by
Samuel
Cirnansck of the
2012 Winter
collection during
the Sao Paulo
Fashion Week in
Sao Paulo,
Brazil. —AFP
American pre-teen store Abercrombie Kids has
repeatedly been accused of overstepping the
line-in 2002 for selling thong underwear with
“wink wink” and “eye candy” printed on the
front, and last year for a kid’s push-up bra.
Concerns about the appropriateness of preteen
lingerie has prompted Britain’s retail consortium
to publish guidelines for manufacturers
targeting young girls, urging them to avoid
lace and push-up bras.
“First bras should be constructed to provide
comfort, modesty and support but not
enhancement,” says the text published last
year. To complicate matters further, the teen
lingerie boom coincides with a trend towards
earlier physical development of children
which is seeing many girls hit puberty
younger. According to a US study published
by the journal Pediatrics in 2010, 15 percent of
American girls now have breasts by age seven,
with similar trends observed in Europe and
Australia.
Just what is causing the shift is not fully
understood, with possible factors including
obesity or hormone-disrupting chemicals in
the environment-but whatever the root cause,
the result is that many teens need real, womanly
bras from a young age. Lise Charmel’s
teen brand, Antigel has seen sales for deep
cups, from D to G, soar by 46 percent in the
past three years. “Young girls with a large bust
have to go into stores full of women‘s lingerieall
lace and frills-which just isn’t right for
them,” said Sophie Grimaud, the brand’s public
relations director. So what kind of bra is right
for these teenagers?
“Girls that age want colour, graphic lines,”
said Grimaud. “They are not trying to show off
their body.” That said, Antigel-which admittedly
targets a slightly older age bracket, starting
at 15 — veers well into sexy territory, with an
offer that includes deep-plunging bras and
suspender belts. Likewise Cleo, an older teen
brand specialized in large cup sizes, offers
retro-looking cuts, polka dots and 50s prints
on bras and boxers.”We target fairly confident
young girls, who want to have fun with their
lingerie, and who don’t want to feel like their
mothers,” said Marlene Castanheira, Cleo’s
sales director, when asked about the sexier
looks in its catalogue. — AFP

France
Fashion Week
Models present creations by
Belgian designer Walter Van
Beirendonck during the Autumn-
Winter 2012/2013 ready-to-wear
men’s fashion collection show on
January 21, 2012 in Paris.
—AFP photos
lifestyle
F A S H I O N
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Heidi Klum
to divorce
from
36
Seal
Filipino-Chinese wait for their turn to perform a dragon dance on the eve of the celebration of the Chinese New Year at Manila’s Chinatown district yesterday in the Philippines. This year is the Year of
the Dragon in the Chinese calendar. —AP
Oprah tells India love of books central to her life
Television chatshow queen Oprah Winfrey received a rock
star’s welcome when she spoke yesterday to a heaving audience
of thousands of fans at the Jaipur Literature Festival in
India. Winfrey, wearing a gold and red Indian outfit, told the
packed crowd that her love of books had helped her education
and enabled her to rise from a poor childhood in Mississippi to
become one of the world’s most influential women. “Reading is
what I do for pleasure, what I do to relax myself,” she said to
cheers from spectators. “My ideal day is to spend a day reading a
great book, and knowing I have another one to read.”
“At school I turned in assignments a week early to get another
book. The other kids hated me,” she joked, before naming
Gregory David Roberts’ 2003 bestseller “Shantaram”, which is set
in Mumbai, as one of her favorite novels. Winfrey, who ended her
chatshow last year after 25 years, has been in India for a week
A fan of Oprah Winfrey holds up a placard.
filming for her new TV channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network
(OWN). She has been photographed in Mumbai wearing a sari
and partying with Bollywood film stars, visiting shanty towns and
women’s welfare centers, and sight-seeing at the Taj Mahal.
“It has been one of the greatest life experiences I have ever
had,” she told the crowd, adding that she felt “expanded, enriched
and deepened” by her first trip to India. She drew laughter by saying
she was shocked at the huge number of people everywhere
and at drivers’ refusal to stop at a red light, but said she had
learned that there was a “calmness” underneath the chaos of
Television talk show host Oprah Winfrey gestures while
speaking.
Indian life. Winfrey, who has nearly nine million followers on
Twitter, admitted that she worried that reading habits are being
damaged by increasing use of computers for social networking. “I
feel that, because when I am on it (Twitter), I feel I could be reading
a book right now,” she said, receiving a loud round of applause
from the crowds, many of whom stood several rows deep for her
one-hour appearance.
Winfrey’s book club, which recommended titles for her viewers,
is credited with reviving reading among many Americans and
her personal choices have had a huge effect on sales. “It started
with five minutes at the back of the show,” she said. “And it turned
into this major idea of exposing the world to books.” Oprah, 57,
who is single, was also questioned on India’s favorite subject of
marriage prospects. “I really am my own woman, but I have great
respect for how arranged marriages here turn into love marriages,”
she said. “I am too old now, right?” — AFP
Fans of Oprah Winfrey pose with their t-shirts during the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in
Jaipur yesterday. —AFP
Television talk
show host
Oprah Winfrey
converses with
Indian
Journalist
Barkha Dutt
during the
Jaipur
Literature
Festival (JLF).
Rushdie says India death
threat was invented
British author Salman Rushdie yesterday
accused Indian police of making up an
underworld plot to assassinate him
that forced him to pull out of a literary festival
this past weekend. Rushdie withdrew
from the event in Jaipur, the state capital of
Rajasthan, after being warned by Indian officials
that paid gunmen were heading to the
city to kill him for his writing that is alleged to
insult Muslims. But Rushdie said that he now
believed the supposed plot-apparently
undertaken by Mumbai criminal gangs-had
been invented to keep him away from the
festival and to avoid controversy.
“I’ve investigated, & believe that I was
indeed lied to. I am outraged and very angry,”
Rushdie said on Twitter after newspaper
reports that Rajasthan police had concocted
the death threat. Rushdie’s 1988 novel “The
Satanic Verses”, which remains banned in
India, is seen by many Muslims worldwide as
a blasphemous work that insults their religion.
The author, who was born in Mumbai,
spent a decade in hiding after Iranian spiritual
leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued
a fatwa in 1989 calling for his death over the
novel. Many authors at the Jaipur festival,
which draws tens of thousands of Indian and
foreign visitors, expressed their opposition to
the campaign against Rushdie and said free
speech needed to be protected.
Writers Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar
read out passages of “The Satanic Verses”
from the stage in protest on Friday, angering
some local Muslim groups who had welcomed
Rushdie’s withdrawal from the program.
Rushdie appeared at the festival without
incident in 2007 but this year Muslim
A file picture shows Indian-born British
author Salman Rushdie arriving to dedicate
his book in Hungarian language by the Libri
bookshop of Mammut Plaza in Budapest, 29
November 2007. —AFP
activists lobbied for him to be banned, raising
fears of protests and security problems.
Among more than 250 speakers at the popular
five-day event are US chat show queen
Oprah Winfrey, biologist and atheist author
Richard Dawkins, and Indian best-selling novelist
Chetan Bhagat. When Rushdie
announced on Friday that he would not
attend the festival, he said he had doubts
about the accuracy of the intelligence
reports but that it would be “irresponsible” to
ignore them.—AFP