BAGHDAD/HILLA: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Malikidefended his government’s counterterrorism strategyand vowed to defeat Al-Qaeda as bombs exploded inBaghdad and another Iraqi city yesterday, killing at least49 people. Maliki said the battle against militancy inIraq was part of a larger struggle emanating from thecivil war in Syria that poses a threat to the wider MiddleEast and the entire world, and appealed for internation-al support. “Iraq has defeated Al-Qaeda before, and wehave a holistic strategy to defeat Al-Qaeda again,” Malikiwrote in an editorial published yesterday on the web-site of US international affairs journal Foreign Policy.“Because Al-Qaeda believes in blowing people up, notin winning people over, it can be beaten, must be beat-en, and will be beaten.”

Maliki said Iraq had begun discussions with US offi-cials to resume training for its counterterrorism forces.Last year was Iraq’s bloodiest since sectarian violencebegan to abate in 2008. Sunni Islamist insurgents havebeen regaining ground in the country over the pastyear and in recent weeks overran several towns. Criticssay Maliki’s own policies are at least partly to blame forreviving an insurgency that climaxed in 2006-07. Manyin Iraq’s once-dominant Sunni minority feel they havebeen sidelined in the Shiite-led political order that tookshape following the US-led invasion in 2003.

Continued on Page 13

SYDNEY: Australian and Pakistaninavy ships have seized almost twotonnes of cannabis resin in a drugbust off Oman that officersdescribed yesterday as a setback for

extremist groups. HMAS Melbourneand Pakistan’s PNS Alamgir joinedforces to intercept and board adhow east of Oman’s Masriah Island,where they found 1,951 kg of

cannabis resin hidden in a secretcompartment in its fishing hold.Estimating the haul to have a streetvalue of US$102 million, Melbourne

Continued on Page 13

BEIRUT: Lebanese parliament speakerNabih Berri urged Kuwait to keep tryingto build bridges between Iran and SaudiArabia to encourage a rapprochementbetween two regional heavyweightsbacking opposite sides in Syria’s civil war.Wedged between three big regionalpowers - Shiite Iran, Sunni Saudi Arabiaand Shiite-led Iraq at the northern end ofthe Gulf, Kuwait has tried to maintaingood relations with all three in recentyears. This makes Kuwait a potential go-between in the intractable conflictbetween Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad - whose strongest regional ally isIran - and Saudi-backed Sunni rebels try-ing to overthrow him.

Berri spoke during a visit to Kuwaittwo days after Lebanon formed a newgovernment in a possible step towardscurbing the sectarian violence that hasspilled over into Lebanon from neigh-bouring Syria. “I requested that all theGulf (Arab) countries and in particular(HH the) Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmadplay a mediating role between theIslamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia,” Berri told the Kuwaitinewspaper Al-Rai in the remarks pub-lished yesterday. “The Amir has workedand will work in this context, and he willtry as much as possible to bring togetherthe points of view,” Berri said, referring toKuwait’s leader.

Sheikh Sabah was foreign minister forfour decades before becoming Amir andis often described as one of the topdiplomats in the Gulf region. He wasdubbed the “dean of Arab diplomacy” forhelping restore relations with Arab statesthat supported Saddam Hussein’s Iraqduring the 1990-91 Gulf War whenKuwait was occupied by Iraqi forces.

Iran has been a stout ally of Assad inhis battle with a Sunni Muslim-led armeduprising bent on ending 44 years of hisfamily’s rule. The Islamic Republic hasprovided military support and billions ofdollars in economic aid to Assad, whoseAlawite sect is an offshoot of Shiismwhich is dominant in Iran. Saudi Arabia,for its part, has provided funding andsupport to various rebel groups, includ-ing the Western-backed Syrian NationalCoalition and more radical Islamist fac-tions.

Berri is the highest ranking Shiite inLebanese officialdom and an ally of Iranand Assad. His Amal movement is part ofa Lebanese alliance including Hezbollah,a powerful Shiite militant movement thathas sent fighters to aid Assad. “My largergoal on the topic of Iranian-Saudi rap-prochement . . . is for the benefit ofLebanon and of Syria,” said Berri. Heblamed the breakdown of peace talks inGeneva last week on Iran’s exclusion

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4Ghanem conveys Amir’s message to Rouhani 14

Europe at origin of US execution dilemma 20

Messi, Alves give Barca edge over 10-man City10

Nine killed in bloodiest day of Kiev clashes

Court orders return

of Tabtabaei’s passport

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014 RABI ALTHANI 19, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

Oppn stages sit-in after KU scraps seminarBy B Izzak

KUWAIT: The civil court ordered theInterior Ministry yesterday to immediate-ly return the passport of former opposi-tion MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei which hadbeen seized apparently to prevent theIslamist activist from travelling to Syria.The court ordered that the ruling mustbe implemented immediately, said hislawyer Adel Abdulhadi, who added thatit was not allowed under the Kuwaiticonstitution for the authorities to seize apassport without legal justification.Tabtabaei had travelled to Syria manytimes in a show of support for the Syrianrevolution fighting to oust PresidentBashar Al-Assad. Over a month ago, hewrote on Twitter that his passport hadbeen seized to prevent him from leavingthe country.

Meanwhile, students and oppositionfigures staged a sit-in at Kuwait Universityyesterday after it canceled a seminar thatwas scheduled to discuss the Gulf securi-ty pact a day earlier. “[The KU’s decision] isultimate stupidity,” former parliamentspeaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun toldreporters at the KU campus on Monday.He warned that passing the Gulf pact will

be followed by government moves topass more regional agreements thatrestrict freedoms in Kuwait. Saadoun wasscheduled to attend the seminar organ-ized by the KU Teachers Society, alongwith former MP Mohammad Al-Dallal,constitutional expert Dr Mohammed Al-Feeli and other politicians. Liberal MPRakan Al-Nisf said in a statement that theseminar’s cancelation “violates citizens’freedoms and rights”.

In another development, head of theNational Assembly’s women committeeMP Saleh Ashour said the panel decidedyesterday to invite women societies andactivists to review the main obstaclesfacing Kuwaiti women. The meeting willbe held on March 2. Ashour said that thecommittee will discuss with the activistsand organizations the top issues con-cerning Kuwaiti women to start debatingthem in the committee.

The lawmaker said the panel dis-cussed yesterday the main obstacles pre-venting achieving true equality betweenKuwaiti men and women. The meetingalso discussed the rights of Kuwaitiwomen married to foreigners, especiallytheir rights to government housing and

Continued on Page 13KUWAIT: (From left) Opposition former MPs Abdulmohsen Jamal, Musallam Al-Barrak and Khaled Al-Tahous attend a sit-in at KuwaitUniversity to protest the cancellation of a seminar. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

By A Saleh & Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Kuwait has stopped recruiting domestichelpers from Ethiopia starting from this week untilfurther notice, Col Adel Al-Hashash, the GeneralDirector of the Interior Ministry’s Security Mediaand Public Relations Department, confirmed toKuwait Times yesterday. It is unknown how thiswill immediately impact Kuwait’s Ethiopian com-munity which was estimated at 74,000 - themajority of them domestic workers - as per the lat-est official figures from 2012. The Ethiopianembassy could not immediately be reached forcomment yesterday.

A decision to stop issuing article 20 visas forEthiopian domestic helpers, including maids, driv-ers, gardeners, etc was issued by the GeneralDepartment of Immigration in the InteriorMinistry sometime before the beginning of thisweek. A copy of the decision signed by thedepartment’s general director Brig Gen Adnan Al-Kandari was circulated to immigration depart-ments in Kuwait’s six governorates earlier thisweek. As per the decision, the ban includes bothmale and female workers.

Last November, a local daily reported news thatEthiopian authorities banned local domesticworkers to travel to Kuwait for work. “The ban isenforced until recruitment procedures as well as

Continued on Page 13

Ethiopian

maid ban

confirmed

Kuwait help sought to

mend Saudi-Iranian ties

PARIS: Scientists working on a paralysiscure said yesterday they had demon-strated how a monkey can use only itsthoughts, transferred by electrodes, tomanipulate a sleeping fellow primate’sarm to do its bidding. The lab experi-ment, in which a fully sedated Rhesusmonkey’s hand moved a joystick to per-

form tasks at the other monkey’s com-mand, was designed to simulate fullparalysis - the brain completely discon-nected from the muscle it seeks to con-trol. “We demonstrate that a subject cancontrol a paralyzed limb purely with itsthoughts,” co-author Maryam Shanechi

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Bedoons demonstrate in Taima in Jahra yesterday where they blockedroads with burning tyres and stoned security forces. Riot police used teargas todisperse the demonstrators. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Experiment may lead

to cure for paralysis

Big cannabis bust off Oman

The Australian navy’s HMAS Melbourne’s boarding party intercepts a dhow that was suspected of beingused for illegal purposes off Oman yesterday. — AFP

Iraq blasts kill 49

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi man helps his son who is headed toschool at the site of a car bomb attack yesterday. — AP

L O C A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received Monday at the Amiri Airport Chairman of Kuwait’s anti-cor-ruption authority Justice Abdulrahman Al-Nemash and heads of authorities responsible for anti-corruption in the GCC on the occasion of hold-ing their first meeting in Kuwait. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of the Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah andSecretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani.

KUWAIT: The Islamic Salafist Alliance joinedpolitical groups in Kuwait that announcedtheir rejection to the Gulf security pact, indi-cating in a statement Monday that the agree-ment contains ‘ambiguous’ articles and aresuspected to be in violation of the constitu-tion. In an official statement made available tothe press Monday, the Salafist allianceexpressed reservation on some articles of thesecurity pact “and suspicions of constitutional

violations that they carry”. Furthermore, itcommended the parliament’s decision to putthe pact on hold for further study, and calledfor similar steps with regards to laws “thataffect public rights or funds”.

The Gulf security pact was met by stiffopposition from political groups, MPs andactivists in the past few weeks based on thenotion that it breached the Kuwaiti constitu-tion and other laws and would suppress free-

doms in the country. Several political groupshave called for public rallies to denounce theagreement and to apply pressure on the gov-ernment not to go ahead with the ratificationprocess.

Meanwhile, two lawyers described a securi-ty pact signed by Gulf states as “contractual”that does not carry any obligatory intentionsor breach the constitutions or laws of its sig-natories. The agreement, signed but not yetfully ratified by the six states of the GulfCooperation Council - Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman,Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United ArabEmirates - is characterized by its “articulateand transparent language”, Kuwait Universityprofessor of law Fayez Al-Dhifeeri said in aninterview with Kuwaiti state television.

Its general provisions and main principlesdo not whatsoever conflict with any of theVienna conventions and it emphasizes a“goodwill” nature, he underlined. The agree-ment is also “mindful of the laws and constitu-tion of Kuwait as its application does notinterfere with the laws of the land, and itsapplication is currently left open for everynation to make its own interpretation.” On thediplomatic scale, it represents a positive steptowards forming union amongst the sixneighboring states, he added.

Personal rights For her part, legal advisor at the Kuwait

Foreign Ministry Tahani Al-Nasser said that“the agreement places an infrastructure forcooperation amongst these nations, and is acontractual agreement. “It does not place anyobligations on the state, but states that eachnation shall cooperate with one another onlyif called upon,” she added. The agreement alsoensures the respect of national regulations ofeach country, which she said means that locallaws-including personal confidentiality andpersonal rights granted by the constitution-would be considered ahead of the unilateralagreement.

Kuwait, she said, has signed many similaragreements in the judicial, legal and securityfields, which included similar procedures. Shewent on to stress that the agreement is notunfamiliar, and at the same time, is notunconditional as it is being subject to specificstandards with the formation of a local com-mittee that will revise it and discuss it asneeded.

Salafists condemn

Gulf security pactLawyers describe agreement as ‘contractual’

KUWAIT: Opposition leaders holding a protest at the Kuwait University yesterday.

KUWAIT: Petrochemical IndustriesCompany (PIC) yesterday held itsannual ceremony for graduating thesixth batch of qualified personnel toapply ‘Six Sigma’ methodology for thedevelopment of working methods.

Chief Executive Officer of KuwaitPetroleum Corporation (KPC) Nizar Al-Adsani said in his speech that thoseworking in the oil sector bears aheavy responsibility to keep the back-bone of the country ’s economicwealth of oil and ensures its sustain-ability for future generations asenjoyed by today’s generation.

Al-Adsani stressed that every affili-ate oil company puts this responsibili-ty in mind to achieve a common goalof developing the national workforceand improve its performance in sup-port of the Kuwaiti economy and the

global energy supply.He pointed out that this task is not

easy, but requires a lot of planning,data gathering, innovation and team-work, and most importantly the work-force, “but we can make this task easi-er by having a clear roadmap and theuse of methodologies and best prac-tices, and this is achieved by the (6Sigma) methodology that “will helpus in the planning and implementa-tion of those approaches and toachieve our vision and our commongoals.”

He added that the (6 Sigma)methodology was designed andimplemented within the frameworkof the project which aims to fosterteamwork, communication and man-agement of these projects for futureleaders. —KUNA

PIC holds ceremony

honoring new graduates

KUWAIT: Egypt’s Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Shaikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb visiting the ZakatHouse yesterday. Al-Tayyeb arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit.

Al-Azhar grand imam

visits Zakat House

KUWAIT: Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-AzharShaikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb and his accompa-nying delegation paid a visit yesterday toKuwait Zakat House to get acquainted withthe House’s role in collecting and distribut-ing alms as well as in serving needy people.

Shaikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb and his accom-panying delegation were welcomed at theZakat House HQs by Minister of Justice andMinister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs NayefAl-Ajmi and Director General of the ZakatHouse Ibrahim Al-Saleh.

In a speech on the occasion, Al-Ajmicheered the visit of the Egyptian religiousdelegation which also included Egypt’sMufti Shawqi Ibrahim and Minister ofAwqaf Mohammed Gomaa.

Al-Ajmi shed light on Zakat House’s con-cept, establishment and mission inside andoutside Kuwait.

For his part, Shaikh Ahmed Al-Tayebthanked Minister Al-Ajmi and Zakat House’sofficials for their warm welcome.

He pointed out that he is looking for-ward to transferring the very successfulexperiment of Zakat House to Egypt.

He noted that the charitable activities ofZakat House branch in Egypt could be seenacross Egypt. Zakat House built scores ofmosques and educational institutions indifferent Egyptian cities. It also offersEgyptian and non-Egyptian poor studentsfinancial assistance to help them completetheir study. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Under the auspices of His Highnessthe Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah the closing and award-presenting cere-mony of the fourth national marine heritage fes-tival was held late Monday at the fishermen’sdiwaniyax in Watya.

The ceremony was attended by a large num-ber of public figures and sports people as well asDeputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Sheikh Ali Al-

Jarrah Al-Sabah. In his speech, Head of the festi-val organizing committee Sheikh Salem NawafAl-Ahmad Al-Sabah welcomed all attendantsand competitors who participated in the compe-tition. “We thank all those who contributed tothe success of the festival at the forefront ofthem His Highness the Amir,” Sheikh Salemadded. He pointed out that over 300 athletestook part in the main three competitions. The

first ten athletes of each competition weredeclared winners and were subsequently quali-fied to participate in the fourth and most impor-tant grand contest, named after His Highnessthe Amir. The three of the thirty were declaredwinners of the Amir’s competition. Sheikh Ali Al-Jarrah presented the prizes to the winners andannounced the conclusion of 2014’s edition ofthe marine festival. —KUNA

Amir sponsors closing ceremony

of national heritage festival

KUWAIT: The award-presenting ceremony of the fourth national marine heritage festival at the fishermen’s diwaniya in Watya yesterday.The ceremony was attended by a large number of public figures and sports people as well as Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Sheikh Ali Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s municipal councilhas requested a religious opinion onthe possibility of going ahead withevening burials.

The municipality council memberslast year agreed to a proposal by thechairman Muhalhal Al-Khalid to burythe dead in the evening in order toavoid the blistering heat in the country,particularly during the long summermonths when temperatures exceed attimes 50 degrees Celsius.

However, the council members said

that the approval of the country’s reli-gious establishment was needed toimplement the proposal.

“All the members of the MunicipalCouncil said that the opinion of the reli-gious leaders was needed,” MohammadAl-Mijal, the adviser to the council’slegal and financial committee, told localArabic daily Al-Rai. “They believe that itis very important to know the stance ofthe religious authority at the ministry ofendowments on whether evening buri-als are allowed in Islam,” he said.

Kuwait may start

evening burials

KU renames Faculty of

Pharmacy degree

KUWAIT: The council of KuwaitUniversity (KU) approved yesterday thesuggestion of the Faculty of Pharmacy tochange the title of its certificate from BScin clinical pharmacy into doctor in phar-macy. During its meeting yesterdayunder the chairmanship of Minister ofEducation and Minister of Higher

Education Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, the councilalso approved the master programs ofthe faculties of dentistry and the adminis-trative sciences, KU spokesman FaisalMaqseed told reporters.

The meeting was attended by KURector Dr Abdullateef Al-Bader, thespokesman added. —KUNA

LO C A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: An Iraqi lawmaker made anappeal to her country’s supreme court toreject an agreement that the Iraqi gov-ernment signed with Kuwait for regulat-ing navigation at the joint KhorAbdullah. The narrow strip of water sepa-rates Kuwait ’s Boubyan and Warbaislands from Iraqi lands, and the agree-ment was signed in the aftermath ofKuwait’s decision to build a strategic porton its largest island. “All articles of theagreements are in favor of Kuwait and atthe expense of Iraq’s national interest,”said MP Aliya Nusayyef from the FreeIraqiya Coalition.

She added that the “ball is in IraqiSupreme Court’s court” to reject theagreement “in order to compensate for at

least some of the losses suffered as aresult of the failed negotiations betweenthe Iraqi foreign ministry and Kuwait”.Nusayyef has been outspoken in criticiz-ing Kuwait’s policies as well as the Iraqigovernment’s attempts to negotiatepending issues with its Kuwaiti counter-part in recent years.

Shadadiya visitMembers of the parliament’s educa-

tional committee are set to tour theShadadiya university construction sitetomorrow morning, accompanied byMinister of Education Ahmad Al-Mulaifi.The trip is organized in order to follow upwith construction works that are set forcompletion in 2015. This would be thefirst trip for minister Mulaifi to theShadadiya university site since he

returned to the Cabinet last month.Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanemand a team of MPs had visited the siteduring former minister Nayef Al-Hajraf’stenure.

Clean fuel project Fluor Corporation announced yester-

day that its joint venture team wasselected by Kuwait National PetroleumCompany (KNPC) as the preferred bidderto design, construct and commission theMina Abdullah’s Package 2 Clean FuelsProject in southern Kuwait. Fluor expectsto book its undisclosed portion of theproject value in the company’s first quar-ter of 2014. For the lump-sum, turnkeyproject, Fluor will provide engineering,procurement, construction (EPC) servicesas well as the associated commissioning,

start-up and testing support. “This project will increase productivity

at the facility while also delivering prod-ucts that comply with state-of-the-artenvironmental standards,” said Taco deHaan, president of Fluor Energy &Chemicals for Europe, Africa and theMiddle East. “We are proud to continueour decades-long legacy of executingEPC projects with KNPC in Kuwait. Welook forward to working with our jointventure partners and KNPC to successful-ly deliver this critical project.” The CleanFuels Project involves upgrading Kuwait’sMina Abdullah and Mina Al-Ahmadirefineries in order to increase capacity.Fluor formed a joint venture withDaewoo Engineering & Construction andHyundai Heavy Industries for the CleanFuels Project.

Iraqi MP wants estuary agreement annulled

All articles ‘in favor of Kuwait’

KUWAIT: On the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the Feb 17 revolution the ambassador of Libya Mohamed Omeish hosted a reception at Regency Hotel, FutohBallroom on Monday. A number of dignitaries attended the function. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

Al-Ghanim reiterates support to

political solution to Syrian crisisTEHRAN: Kuwait National AssemblySpeaker and President of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union Marzouq Al-Ghanimreiterated support to internationalefforts to find a political solution to theSyrian conflict which claimed the lives ofover 140,000 people.

Speaking at the Ninth session of theParliamentary Union of the Organizationof Islamic Cooperation Member States(PUIC), Al-Ghanim expressed hopes thatdifferent Syrian parties would adopt dia-logue to reach a solution to the deadlyconflict that tore the Arab country apart.

He recalled and applauded HisHighness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh

Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s ini-tiative to host the first and second aidpledging conferences for Syria donors in2013 and 2014.

He added that Kuwait stands besidethe Syrian people and its legitimaterights and aspirations.

With regard to the Palestinian cause,the top Kuwaiti lawmaker regretted theremarkable retreat of the Palestinianissue on the international agendadespite the continuity of the illegal Israelipractices against Palestinian people andoccupied territories.

Al-Ghanim said that the PUIC meetingcould serve as a platform to unite and

revive Muslim efforts to give a momen-tum to Palestinian struggle to defendtheir rights and to see the birth of theirindependent state. He also called formore efforts to be exerted to endPalestinian division.

He stated that the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union has assigned him tovisit the UN Security Council permanentstates as a part of an Arab diplomat pushto press the international community tointervene to stop Israeli aggressionsagainst Palestinians.

On Iran’s nuclear deal with the Groupof 5+1, Al-Ghanim described the deal asan important step forward for confi-

dence-building. He expressed hopes thetalks would end up with a comprehen-sive and final agreement that helpachieve stability in the region.

Meanwhile, Al-Ghanim underlinedthat Kuwait, under the leadership of HisHighness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has greatlycontributed to the international effortsto build effective partnerships amongworld countries to uphold world securityand stability.

He also pointed out that Kuwait hasput forward several initiatives to supportsustainable developments across theglobe. —KUNA

News

No tolerance with violationsKUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Labor andPlanning Hind Al-Subaih launched a package ofrules and measures addressing failures in some min-istry departments to organize the labor market. Shealso stressed that she would not tolerate any viola-tions. Subaih underlined that she would not hesitatein holding any charity organization legally account-able if they deviate from their main goals, getinvolved in financial violations or commit seriousviolations that jeopardizes Kuwait’s charity image.

Foreign aid KD 565m KUWAIT: Responding to a parliamentary inquiryfiled by MP Abdul Rahman Al-Jeeran about Kuwait’stotal aid to foreign countries in the past five years,namely those withdrawn from the state’s reserves,Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh said that the total for-eign aid for the fiscal year 2012-2013 was KD 565million and denied withdrawing any funds fromreserves without a law. Saleh stressed that accordingto article 146 of the constitution, any expenditurenot included in the budget or in excess of budgetappropriations as well as the transfer of any fundsfrom one part of the budget to another must beeffected by law. He also said that aid was usuallyeither included in the budget or a special law wasissued. Moreover, Saleh explained that the total for-eign aid was KD 166 million in 2009-2009, KD 53 mil-lion in 2009-2010, KD 137 million in 2010-2011, KD288 million in 2011-2012 and KD 565 million in 2012-2013.

Fire, safety exhibition KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Service Directorate will organ-ize its third international fire and safety exhibitionunder the patronage of HH the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah from March 4-6under the slogan “Responding to risks - the higheststandard.” Director of administrative developmentand training Col Ghazi Al-Khalidi said there will bespeakers from Kuwait and abroad on high rise build-ings and environmental challenges, hazardous mate-rials and specialized response and catastrophe man-agement systems. He said more than 60 local andinternational companies are participating in theexhibition.

Petrochemicals factories KUWAIT: The Polyolefins executive at Kuwait’sPetrochemical Industries Co. (PIC), Abdurrasoul Ja’farrecently said that PIC was in dire need for supportfrom Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) in order topurchase new petrochemical factories. Ja’far alsosaid that PIC has set a comprehensive futuristic strat-egy based on that of KPC’s concerning petrochemi-cal industries in Kuwait. He added that in view of thegrowing demand for petrochemicals, PIC was head-ing to east Asian countries like India and Indonesiaand that it also intends investing in rock gas in northAmerica. Further, Ja’far said that PIC would build apetrochemicals factory abroad and buy alreadyexisting ones and that this requires getting enoughsupport from KPC.

in brief

PARIS: Kuwait and France yesterday signedat the end of the 13th session of the JointMinisterial Committee for Economic andCommercial Cooperation two memoranda ofunderstanding on cooperation in the field ofcooperation in the agricultural and transportfields.

The Kuwaiti delegation was led by FinanceMinister Anas Al-Saleh while the French sidewas headed by Minister of Foreign TradeNicole Bricq.

Al-Saleh said at a joint press conferencewith the French Minister at the conclusion ofthe meetings that the signing of the twomemoranda of understanding betweenKuwait and France in the field of transportand agriculture will enhance cooperationbetween the two countries.

He added that the Kuwaiti side welcomesthe contribution of French companies to theimplementation of various infrastructureprojects because of their expertise, capabili-ties and great credibility.

He stressed that the Government of theState of Kuwait attaches great importance todeepen and strengthen economic coopera-tion in all fields with the French Republic asthe latter is one of the main allies of Kuwait,describing both countries’ ties as “distinctand strategic”.

Al-Saleh said the upcoming visit of FrenchPrime Minister to Kuwait in response to theinvitation of His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabahwill give “additional support and incentive”

to the competent authorities in both coun-tries to follow up on those recommenda-tions.

He expressed the aspiration of the State ofKuwait to take advantage of French expertisein supporting small and medium enterprisesas well as in attracting foreign direct invest-ment as well as taking advantage of them inthe area of privatization of government-owned companies.

High hopesMeanwhile, France has high hopes of

increasing trade with Kuwait in the comingyears and meeting Kuwaiti expectations inmany areas, particularly in the transport,health and agri-food sectors, French TradeMinister Nicole Bricq said.

Speaking after the 13th session of theFranco-Kuwaiti joint commission, Bricqstressed French interest in working withKuwait and in intensifying contacts in thepublic and private sectors and in mixed part-nerships of both areas.

Answering questions from KUNA, theTrade Minister said that the joint commissionmet for the last time in 2009 and both sidesagreed that more regular meetings “at leastevery two years” should be held with the aimof boosting trade between the two nations.

“ The year 2013 was a good one forFranco-Kuwaiti trade,” Bricq indicated.“(Trade) amounted to Euros 1.8 billion (justover USD 2.4 billion) in both directions andthis is a record that was not reached since

1984,” the French official said.But she underlined France was not going

to be satisfied with that evolution alone andBricq said “we have a margin for improve-ment and we can do much better and boostour economic relations to the excellent levelof the diplomatic and political relations”between the two nations.

Bricq said that France hopes to “doubletrade levels with Kuwait over the next threeyears.” In meetings with Kuwaiti FinanceMinister Anas Al-Saleh and other Kuwaiti offi-cials and members of the Kuwaiti Chamber ofCommerce, Bricq revealed that the two sideshad determined “priorities” for moving for-ward together.

Multi-dimensional partnerships“Indeed, both ministers signed two inter-

governmental agreements, one for transportand the other for agribusiness, which will bethe benchmarks for future cooperation. Aseparate agreement on private-sectorexchanges is being signed by the KuwaitiChamber of Commerce and the FrenchEmployers’ Union (MEDEF).

Discussions have also taken place on “mul-ti-dimensional financial partnerships”, whichrelate to the potential of investments inFrench companies by Kuwait.

Bricq said that France was conscious ofthe fact that Kuwait “is a very aware andlong-term investor” and France would beseeking to show it was “an attractive” targetfor such investments from the Gulf country.

Both sides are also examining the feasibili-ty to work together on “export credit” mar-kets, using Kuwaiti capital and French gov-ernment guarantees in certain countries.

Ideally, if there is agreement on projects, itwould mean combining investment strate-gies in third-party countries.

Thirdly, France is broaching the questionof selectively combining certain “develop-ment financing” strategies of both NationalDevelopment Agencies (KFAED and AFD),working together, notably but not exclusive-ly on infrastructure projects in the “the south-ern Mediterranean area” such as the Maghreband other Arab nations in the region.

But the financial issues are only underembryonic discussion and the focus of thetalks in the Commission was on the trans-port, agri-food and health sectors.

“In the agri-food sector, our trade is weakand...the aim of the French side is to bolsterthe Kuwaiti efforts so that they are lessdependent on outside (sources of food),” shesaid. Kuwait “should be more self-sufficientby developing local supply lines for cattle,crops and milk production,” she added.

Bricq said that France had “perspectivesdeveloping cooperation with Kuwait, forexample in the aeronautics domain, but wealso had an exchange on land transportationand urban mobility.”

The French Minister presented a case forher country’s expertise and experience in theconception-to-operation potential of a metrosystem for Kuwait city and France is “fully

mobilised” for this project. But a broader railsystem was also discussed between the twosides. “We hope to have the same success inKuwait as we have had with other (Gulf )countries,” she stressed. “We made it knownthat we have the capability of putting for-ward a full tender that goes from engineer-ing to operation” of the Metro system, Bricqindicated.

Hospital modernisationThe third priority discussed yesterday

dealt with the health sector, where thereexists already cooperation between the twonations, with France offering pharmaceuticalservices and products in Kuwait and alsohelping with treatments in France for Kuwaitipatients.

Bricq that France has presented an offer ofhealth cooperation when she visited Kuwaitin March 2013. She said that offer coveredthe pharmacy sector, exchange of patientsand global institutional cooperation.

“What we would like to present to theworld is a Franco-Kuwaiti project that wouldinclude the construction of a ‘FrenchHospital’ in Kuwait,” she noted.

She said both sides had agreed on a studyon the potential to modernise a hospital inKuwait that would specialise in cancer treat-ment. “In France, treating cancer, we haveobtained very significant results over theyears, both in treating this worldwidescourge but also in getting remission in can-cers.” —KUNA

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Ambassador to SenegalMuhammad Fadhel Khalaf discussed withSenegalese Minister of Culture and Heritage Abdul-Aziz Mbaye means of boosting bilateral relations,said a statement issued by the Embassy of Kuwait inSenegal yesterday..

The Senegalese minister praised the culturalscene in Kuwait, noting that art, music, and literaturewere the greatest linchpin that bound the cultures ofthe world together. He apprised the KuwaitiAmbassador with the latest preparations Senegalwas undertaking to host the next Francophone sum-mit toward the end of this year, and to which numer-ous heads of state and governments would be invit-ed. Ambassador Khalaf lauded the recently-heldAfro-Arab summit and Senegal’s role in promotingcultural events and literary forums that dovetailedwith the aspirations of peoples of Africa and theArab world in fostering good relations and lastingfriendships. —KUNA

Kuwait, Senegal

value cultural ties

Kuwait, France sign agricultural, transport cooperation MoUs

L O C A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Woman kills newborn

baby in prison cell

New probe into visa forgery

KUWAIT: Service Hero announcedKuwait’s top performing companies, atthe 2013 Customer Service AssessmentAwards Ceremony, which took place atthe Hotel Missoni - Kuwait, on Monday.The awards were based on a six-monthvoting drive that collected a recordbreaking 14,575 direct customer votescollected online.

The 17 industry categories that wererated in the 2013 Customer ServiceAssessment included cafes, casual dining,car service, clothes, electronics, fast food,fine dining, home furniture, Islamic Banks,ISP, mobile operators, new car sale, privatehospitals, regional Arab airlines, retailbanks and supermarkets. Each industrycategory was measured across up to eightservice dimensions, which are reliability,speed, product quality, staff quality, valuefor money, location, call center and websitequality.

The winner from each category:Café: Caribou Coffee

Care Service: Infiniti New Car Sale: ChevroletCasual Dining: Mais AlghanimClothes: American EagleElectronics: EurekaFast Food: McDonald’sFi n e D i n i n g : S a k u r a J a p a n e s e

Restaurant - Crowne PlazaHome Furniture: IKEAIslamic Banks: Boubyan BankMobile Operators: VIVAPrivate Hospitals: Royale Hayat

HospitalRegional Arab Airline: EmiratesR e t a i l B a n k : N a t i o n a l B a n k o f

KuwaitSuper Market: Lulu Hypermarket.

Overall country winners of theService Hero 2013 Award for BestCustomer Service among 320 com-panies are: First place: Mais Alghanim, Goldenwinner for 2nd timeSecond place: Caribou Coffee, Silver

winner for 2nd time.Third place: American Eagle, Bronzewinner for 2nd time.

Fa t e n A b u - G h a z a l e h , S e r v i c eHero President, said: “I would like tocongratulate the winners of Kuwait’s2013 Customer Service AssessmentAwards and in specific, those thathave been able to benefit from theindex over the years and move to ormaintain a leading position in itscategor y. This year ’s exercise haswitnessed a 3% increase in the pub-l i c ’s g e n e r a l s a t i s f a c t i o n l e ve l sacross 320 rev iewed companies ,w h i c h i s c o n s i d e re d a m a j o rachievement. I would also l ike tothank the companies and customersfor having faith in the purpose ofSer vice Hero. Their par t ic ipat ionmotivates us to continuously seekdifferent ways to improve our serv-ice”.

The guest speaker of the eveningwas Dr Forrest V. Morgeson, Director

of Research at American CustomerService Index (ACSI), and the mostrecent member of Ser vice Hero’sadvisor y counci l . As Di rec tor ofResearch, Dr. Morgeson is responsi-ble for managing ACSI’s academicresearch, statistical analysis, and itsinternat ional l i cens ing program(Global CSITM). Dr. Morgeson willalso present Service Hero with valu-able guidance and recommenda-tions, which would positively affectthe index performance and in turn,its impact on the economy.

“Our recent partnership with ACSIis the first step towards taking ourservices to the next level. By partner-ing with the leading customer serv-ice index, Service Hero will receiveworld class guidance and will con-form to a global benchmark systemthat will allow Kuwait’s companies acomparison to other similar brandsin d i f ferent markets around theworld,” added Abu-Ghazaleh

Service Hero announces Kuwait’s

top performing service providers

The representatives of companies winning with Service Hero team

American Eagle receives The Service Hero 2013 Award for BestCustomer Service.

Caribou Coffee receives The Service Hero 2013 Award for BestCustomer Service.

Mais Alghanim receives The Service Hero 2013 Award for Best CustomerService

KUWAIT: A woman held at the Salmiyapolice station was charged with murderafter she reportedly killed her own babyminutes after she gave birth to him insideher cell. The incident, according to thepolice report, took place Sunday but wasonly discovered Monday morning whenpolice discovered that the Ethiopianwoman was bleeding heavily. They ques-tioned her cellmates, one of whom eventu-ally revealed that the woman had ‘self-aborted’ the night before, then suffocatedthe baby who was born alive, placed hisbody in a plastic bag and dumped it in thetrash can. Police summoned criminal inves-tigators who recovered the baby’s bodyand sent it to the forensic department. Anautopsy confirmed the time of death to beSunday night, and the cause of death to beasphyxia. Investigations with the womanrevealed that she carried out the abortionso that her pregnancy, which was a result ofan illegal relationship, was not discovered.She further threatened her cellmates withmurder should they expose her secret. The

woman is currently at the MaternityHospital under tight security, and police arewaiting for her to be released so that shecan face charges of murder, adultery, abor-tion and others.

Visa forgeryInvestigations are ongoing to arrest sus-

pects responsible for forging visas to allowforeigners to enter Kuwait illegally. The casewas discovered at the Doha ServiceDepartment where a Kuwaiti man told staffmembers that he discovered that an Asianman was registered under his employment.After inspecting the documents that theman provided, the center’s staff discoveredthat they were issued through forgery asthey carried forged stamps and signatures,and were made to look like as if they wereissued from the center. Police were notifiedand a case was filed.

Jealous wife A Farwaniya resident filed a case

against a woman she accused of beating

her up because the attacker claims thatthe plaintiff was flirting with her husband.In her statements to local police, theKuwaiti woman said that the suspectbroke into her apartment in the area andphysically assaulted her while screaming“what do you want from my husband?!”.The complainant insisted in the meantimethat she only had a phone conversationwith the suspect’s husband over work-related matters. Police are working onsummoning the attacker for questioning.

Fugitive nabbedA fugitive was arrested after he was

caught driving a car with no license platesin Sulaibiya. Patrol officers grew suspi-cious of the Kuwaiti man after he becamenervous after he was pulled over. The manwas placed under arrest after an identitycheck revealed that he is wanted forattempted murder charges pressed by hisex-wife a week before. The man was takento the area’s police station for furtheraction.

Adan school

a role model

in solar

power use

KUWAIT: The Education Ministrylaunched its first school that uses80 percent of its power producedby solar power in Adan. The proj-ect, which is in cooperation withKuwait Institute for ScientificResearch, was described as asource of pride by EducationMinister Ahmad Al-Mulaifi. He saidthe project aims at reducing theelectric load and consumption atschools in Mubarak Al-Kabeereducation zone at peak hours. Hesaid the project is part of the edu-cation ministry’s interest in scien-tific research and its developmen-tal plans, and that it is keen tocooperate with KISR as a nationalestablishment that knows thedomestic situation very well.

He said that the ministry previ-ously cooperated with KISR onseveral projects including thenational atlas of facilities and edu-cational services that aim at sup-porting decision making at theEducation Ministry. It also docu-ments the educational structure inKuwait in a scientific fashion usinggeographic information systemsand satellite imagery. —Al-Watab

TEHRAN: National Assembly SpeakerMarzouq Al-Ghanem said he conveyed amessage from HH the Amir Sheikh SabahAl-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to IranianPresident Hassan Rouhani yesterday onbilateral ties and regional developments.Rouhani received Ghanem, also Presidentof the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, atthe convention center in Tehran, whichwas hosting a conference of theParliamentary Union of the Organizationof Islamic Cooperation Member States(PUIC).

Speaking to KUNA after the meeting,Ghanem said he and Rouhani discussedways of further cementing bilateral rela-tions, as well as regional and internationaldevelopments. “We have discussed thesituation in the region, and I haveexplained to the Iranian president thatthe people of Kuwaiti and the Gulf are fol-lowing the Iranian-Western dialogue andwish for its success. “However, i f the(nuclear) negotiations, God forbid, arederailed and Iran and the West enter amilitary confrontation phase, then Kuwaitand the GCC countries should not beinvolved in this matter,” asserted Ghanem.

Rouhani, he said, “assured me of Iran’sgood intentions towards Kuwait and theGCC countries, and that people of the Gulfshould not worr y of I ran’s intentionsbecause Iran is a Muslim country and can-not carr y out any hosti le act againstMuslims.” Ghanem said he emphasized toRouhani that solving some thorny issueswould have positive impacts on relationsbetween Iran and the GCC countries.These issues are the continental shelfbetween Iran and Kuwait, the three islandsof the United Arab Emirates (UAE) andBahrain, he said. “I also wished that bilater-al relations between Iran and Saudi Arabiaimprove. Solving these files will benefit

the region and paves way to stability.”Rouhani, said Ghanem, believed in the

necessity of “ending all these files on justlegal basis as soon as possible”. On Iran’snuclear program, Ghanem said heexplained to Rouhani that people of theGulf were worried of the possible envi-ronmental impacts of the Iranian nuclearreactors close to the Arab Gulf countries.“We also encouraged Iran to join interna-tional nuclear treaties as an assurancesign for all people of the region,” he said.The speaker also said the internationalcommunity should not adopt a doublestandard pol ic y with regards to thenuclear file and that Israel should besubjected to all international nucleartreaties. —KUNA

Ghanem conveys Amir

message to Rouhani

TEHRAN: Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanemmeets Iranian President HassanRouhani yesterday. —KUNA

L O C A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

KUWAIT: The ambassador of the Republic of Serbia Mihailo Brkic held areception at Crowne Plaza hotel on the occasion of the National Day of hiscountry on Sunday. A number of diplomats and other dignitaries attendedit. —Photos by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: Interior Ministry Undersecretary Lt Gen Al-Ihad inspects work atthe criminal security department yesterday.

KUWAIT: Deliberations of the Gulf Forum forprojects development kicked off here yester-day under the auspices of Minister ofInformation and Minister of State for YouthAffairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.

Nizar Al-Mudhaf, President of the Forumand Director General of YANOF Training andConsulting company said in a speech that thecurrent session of the forum would address akey and important component to build astate that is the youth sector, which repre-sents one of the activities adopted by theGulf Forum for the development of projects.

He added that young people are the main-stay in building societies and the advance-ment of the states being a promising futureand desired hope, stressing the need tostrengthen the role of young people andtheir attention and give them the confidenceand full responsibility and care to stimulatethe potential they have through the adoptionof their creative creations in order to enablethem to lead the state’s developmental proj-ects.

He explained that the Forum contributesto the achievement of the supreme desire ofHis Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-

Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in his support foryoung people and this was marked by theestablishment of the Ministry of State forYouth Affairs so as to enhance the role ofyouth in the development process and theiractive participation in the advancement ofthe country.

Al-Mudhaf pointed out that the GeneralSecretariat of the preparatory committees ofthe forum believed that holding this confer-ence would serve the youth sector andyoung leaders in all fields, to comply with thedirectives of the state in achieving sustain-able development goals. —KUNA

Gulf Forum for projects

development kicks off

Young people mainstay in building societies

KD16m for fertilizer

factories maintenance

KUWAIT: The fer t i l izer divis ion in Kuwait ’sPetrochemical Industries Company (PIC) has formeda task force to conduct comprehensive mainte-nance work on all its fertilizer-producing factories ata cost of KD 16 million, said yesterday director ofoperations at the division Hamad Al-Subaiei in apress statement.

The maintenance work will keep the factories run-ning at optimum condition till at least 2016, said Al-Subaiei, who heads the task force and who addedthat maintenance will take 40 days and will involve400 technicians and 3000 laborers.

Regarding rumors about the possibility of havingthe fertilizer factories privatized or even closed, hesaid all he knew that the factories were working at fullcapacity, which is about one million tons of urea. Thedivision also got half a million tons more from itsstake in the Gulf Oil Co.in Bahrain. Both amountswere being marketed together at internationally-setprices pending a final decision to be made by theSupreme Petroleum Council as to the future of thedivision, he said.

He further said that world demand for fertilizerswas strong and that Kuwait exported the vast majorityof its production in view of the fact that only 2-3 per-cent of its production was marketed locally. —KUNA

GENEVA: Director-General of the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) MargaretChan extol led here yesterday theefforts of the State of Kuwait in supportof the organization with annual volun-tary contribution worth $500,000.

Chan said that Kuwait ’s contribu-tions are distinct and reflect the far-sighted vision of the political leader-ship of the country in dealing withhealth issues with an internationaldimension.

The UN off icial expressed deepappreciation to His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Council of Ministers, Parliamentand the Kuwaiti people for their warmhospitality while hosting the interna-tional conference for donors to supportthe humanitarian situation in Syria fortwo consecutive years.

She also drew attention to the provi-dent vision of the State of Kuwait andits political leadership in connecting all

UN organizations and also those work-ing in the humanitarian field to dealwith the painful Syrian crisis which hasbeen continuing for three years, whichalso affects neighboring countries.

At the same time, Chan praised therole played by the State of Kuwait in theencouragement of scientific research toserve different areas of health.

For his part, Permanent Representativeof the State of Kuwait to the UnitedNations and international organizationshere, Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim saidthat this amount is part of the contribu-tions of the State of Kuwait to the manyorganizations with a humanitariannature, which is part of its foreign diplo-macy to serve humanity.

He added that Chan has expressedgreat appreciation for the political lead-ership in the State of Kuwait to the greathumanitarian role played for many yearsin support of health issues and relatedpressing problems. —KUNA

WHO chief praises Kuwait’s

voluntary contributions

KUWAIT: Kuwait News Agency takes part inKuwait’s celebrations of the National andIndependence Days as well as the ‘HalaFebruary’ through a pavilion at 360 Mall asof today.

The Agency’s participation in the three-day (Kuwait..with love) festivity, stems fromthe importance of the national celebrationsin enhancing the meaning of belongingand loyalty to the homeland, and the sig-nificance of the participation of all seg-ments of the society in such celebrations.

The aim of the agency through this par-ticipation is to open channels of communi-cation and create open and continuous

relationships with the community institu-tions and individuals alike, in addition tostrengthening the presence of KUNA as aninstitution as well as forming positive pub-lic opinion and strengthening the confi-dence of the public and the communitywith the agency’s various programs andactivities.

Brochures will be distributed to the pub-lic, in addition to displaying archivedimages of the agency as well as its latestpublications.

The agency will also take part in anotherfestivity at the Avenues Mall between Feb22-24. —KUNA

National celebrations

at 360, Avenues Malls

L O C A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

To take a break from local politics and news about theGulf security pact, I decided to write about a very seri-ous issue that was highlighted by the local press recent-

ly but has sadly received little attention compared to politicalnews. This topic has failed to grab MPs’ attention despite thefact that it dominated front pages of multiple newspapers.Maybe because they believe that it does not directly affect cit-izens’ lives, despite the fact that it is vitally importance givenits connection with Kuwait’s foreign policy and reputation.

The issue pertains with news about dozens of fake compa-nies referred to the public prosecution, a headline repeated inthe past few weeks. This news has many implications, one ofwhich is that the licenses of these nonexistent companies areused to recruit thousands of laborers who end up in the cate-gory of ‘marginal labor forces’. These are workers who discoverafter arriving to Kuwait that the job they had signed for doesnot exist, and that they are left to fend for themselves.

This is an image of inhumanity that goes against Kuwaititraditions and values of our religion that prohibit unlawfulprofit. The fake companies collect up to KD 1,000 from eachworker they ‘recruit’, and force them to pay KD 500 every yearto renew their visas. What adds to damaging Kuwait’s reputa-tion is news about the arrest and deportation of hundreds ofillegal residents every week.

The Interior Ministry perhaps does not know that deport-ing those illegals is an indirect service to owners of fake com-panies, who after that can use the ‘openings’ created to recruitmore workers, sending the problem back to square one.

The problem continues given the lack of radical solutions.Even when the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor blocks thefake company’s file, there are many cases by which this condi-tion can be bypassed as proven by multiple reports.

My message to MPs is this - legislative works include apolitical side as well, and your focus should not only be tar-geted towards the legislative and service sides. An MP hasresponsibilities when it comes to Kuwaiti policy. Therefore Iurge MPs to pay attention to the human trafficking problemin order to tackle this crime and protect Kuwait’s internationalreputation. — Al-Rai

Fight human

trafficking

kuwait digest

By Dr Hamad Al-Asidan

Although immigrants are European, and notfrom the forests of poor and backward coun-tries, and although such a decision will bring

many repercussions to the relationship betweenSwitzerland and the European Union; and althoughthe decision has an influence on the economy inthat country and it may lose a lot because of it,Switzerland courageously - without regard toprotests and condemnations - went ahead and can-celled the European treaty that guarantees thefreedom of movement of individuals to curb theimmigration of Europeans to Switzerland. Half thepopulation approved this sovereign decision in sol-idarity with their government. We leaveSwitzerland to land in Kuwait to see the strangestof things done by the young and old.

We come here and see those who are workingcontrary to the interests of Kuwait and its peoplewith a surprising deliberate determination. Onegets puzzled when hearing the stories of bringingimmigrants to the country through selling visasand benefitting from visit visas, as if those peoplewho do not have job opportunities will not harmKuwait and will not commit various crimes.

This trade in human beings became the tool ofthe worst greed and the way of every sinful, greedyperson to get more and more money, and it isregretful that the state colludes with those tradersbe them sheikhs or otherwise, by not exposingthem and publishing their names and punishingthem for what they have done against Kuwait.

We have been plagued since liberation with abad type of citizens who accepted to becomeslaves of the dirham, dinar and dollar, and it is agroup that is totally ready to threaten peace andsecurity in its country for more money in its bankaccounts. That group brought into Kuwait all typesof people after receiving the price of that so thecountry was filled with thieves, drug addicts, liquorsmugglers, prostitutes, opportunity hunters, beg-gars, swindlers and the poor.

You can imagine the security situation in thecountry due to this, and despite the level of securi-ty in Kuwait being high, crimes of all types fillnewspaper pages. I do not know what is the gov-ernment waiting for to correct things, but this risein the crime rate in Kuwait in an unprecedentedmanner must ring a bell to draw attention to whatis going on in the country because of a group thatis never satisfied with money, and disturbed thepopulation structure because of its financial greedaway from Kuwaitis’ interests. Kuwait is facing hugedangers that are threatening its safety and security.It only needs a spark to light a fire, and only theblind do not see this. So please act - the 1990 disas-ter was enough. —Al-Watan

Kuwait facing

huge dangers

kuwait digest

By Aziza Almufarej

The traditional Arab left-wing parties were as sur-prised as the Arab dictatorial regimes by the popularuprisings that started in late 2010 and swept over

the region. Ironically, most left-wing parties were caughtunprepared for what has become an important revolu-tionary movement in the modern history of the world.

The Arab revolutions forced the Left to redefine itselfand its priorities. Questions of social and political libera-tion became pressing matters in the region. The Egyptianand Syrian revolutions, in particular, have played animportant role in widening the divide among traditionalleftist groups, while making way for a new generation ofactivists to emerge.

Left-wing parties, labour movements and unions in theArab world have generally followed one of two trajecto-ries: Either giving in to the state and becoming completelycoopted by its apparatus; or, facing harsh repression andbeing banned from political life. For example, both theEgyptian and the Syrian communist parties were bannedunder Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Baath regime (duringthe unification years) until they agreed to align themselveswith the regimes.

In Syria, the communist party was only allowed tooperate after it accepted to be part of the NationalProgressive Front established in 1972 by Hafez al-Assad inthe name of pluralism, but for the clear goal of controllingany political activism. This step has consolidated an age-old split within the Syrian communist party, with moreradical members forming the “Syrian Communist Party(Political Bureau)” led by Riad Al-Turk. This oppositiongroup has been fiercely repressed by Assad’s regime thathas banned the organisation and put Turk in prison in1980 for 18 years.

Political oppressionTherefore, the so-called “progressive”, “socialist” and

“nationalist” regimes of the Arab world since the 1950s,have actively killed any serious prospect for the emer-gence of a radical leftist or working class movementthrough co-optation or repression.

In 2011, the Arab uprisings have exploded and diffusedfor a mixture of reasons to do with deep socio-economicroots and clear political repression by brutal regimes. Onthe eve of the uprisings, the socio-economic indicators ofthe Arab world were alarming. In addition to politicaloppression by dictatorial regimes, a considerable numberof people in the Arab world were struggling to survive.

The neo-liberal policies that have started with AnwarAl-Sadat in Egypt reaching Syria in 2000 after the ascen-sion of Bashar Al-Assad to power have clearly been benefi-cial for the ruling class and those around them; howeverthis has happened at the expense of the big majority ofthe population that suffered from increasing inflation, ris-ing costs of living, high unemployment rates (especiallyamong the youth) and extreme poverty. In Syria for exam-ple, the percentage of those living under the poverty line($1/per) rose from 11 percent in 2000 to 33 percent in2010.

With such socio-economic indicators, one would haveexpected the Left to organise and mobilise in demand ofsocial justice; however this didn’t happen. The Arab upris-ings detonated in a very random way and rapidly spreadcross-nationally defying old concepts of national bordersand nationalism and proving that people from different

parts of the Arab world (and the world at large with move-ments like Occupy and Indignados) could identify witheach other on the ground of oppression and inequality.

The Arab uprisings detonated in a very random wayand rapidly spread cross-nationally defying old conceptsof national borders and nationalism and proving that peo-ple from different part of the Arab world (and the world atlarge with movements like Occupy and Indignados) couldidentify with each other on the ground of oppression andinequality.

However, the question remains: What role did the Leftplay in those uprisings?

The answer varied, depending deeply on the level ofabsorption within the regimes prior to 2010. With theexception of Tunisia, where the General Labour Unionplayed a crucial role in the revolution because it has histor-ically been independent from the state, most other left-wing parties in the region have been marginalised andbasically played no important role in the uprisings.

Communist parties in Syria (Bakdash branch) andLebanon for example have opposed the uprisings sayingthat “it is very clear that what has been taking place inSyria has been in accordance with the imperialist plans”.The traditional Left has been discredited by the popularmovements in the streets because of their relationshipswith the old regimes.

New forms of left-wing activism have, however, sur-faced in the last few years such as the RevolutionarySocialists in Egypt, the Revolutionary Left Current in Syriaand the Socialist Forum in Lebanon. Although thesegroups are still relatively young and do not have enoughpolitical leverage or popular support, their understandingof the Arab revolutions and their analysis of its develop-ments show a long-awaited “political maturity” in the ArabLeft.

Whereas the traditional left-wing parties mostly adopta Stalinist top-down approach focusing on a national lib-eration approach, the growing leftist movements in theregion are clearly influenced by a Trotskyist approachbelieving in the power of popular grassroots movementsand socialism from below.

The main difference between those currents within theArab Left today is that the traditional Left believes that pri-ority should be given to national liberation; whereasyounger leftist groups consider that the main focus shouldbe on social liberation since no real independence can bereached under a capitalist and repressive system.

Contrary to the traditional leftist parties that focusmainly on geo-politics (favouring Iran and Russia underthe illusion that these countries are anti-imperialist forces)and external imperialist and Zionist threats, these newleftist movements prioritise activism against internalinequalities and repression without losing sight of thebroader geo-political context and the fact that Israel is anoccupier.

The Arab revolutions should be understood as a long-term process of deep economic, social and political changethat will undergo many ups and downs before it finally set-tles. During this process, many of the social taboos will bebroken, many of the norms and values will change andmany movements will grow, but at the same time, manylives will be lost, many people will suffer and entire citiescan be demolished in an attempt by the brutal regimes toerase not just the present, but the past as well.

Did Arab leftists betray revolution?

in my view

By Rima Majed

Things are getting clearer by the minute inthe political arena, especially for those whohad good intentions and thought that the

one-vote parliament tailored by the governmentwould represent public will as stipulated in theconstitution. It was clear from the beginning thatit would be a rubberstamp one meant to legalizethe government’s unsuccessful policies.

Opposing the government’s unilateral decisionto change the electoral system was not out ofintellectual luxury, political conflicts or opposingmerely for the sake of opposing. It representedrejecting the one-sided disturbance of the politi-cal equation on which our democratic constitu-tional system is built that should have been devel-oped by allowing more public participation indecision-making, achieving freedoms and pro-tecting citizens’ constitutional rights.

However, the GCC security agreement seems toend the controversy about the reason why theone-vote system ever exists and what role it ismeant to play to achieve the motto made by theformer finance minister Mustafa Al-Shamali when

he said ‘No voice should be louder than that ofthe government’. This means that the governmentwill always have the upper hand despite theopposition of a few MPs and this is all because therubber-stamp parliament is only a nominal onemeant to act as a decoration without allowing itsmembers to criticize the government nor issuepress releases as they wish. They are only allowedto grill some ministers and then urge the govern-ment to fulfill its duties.

This miserable political situation is the resultof the government’s dominance of decision-making and marginalizing public will, which ledto terrible retreats in development, the spreadof various forms of corruption and unprecedent-ed public irritation in addition to the govern-ment’s constant attempts to violate constitu-tional rights and abuse public freedoms.Furthermore, the credibility of political blocswho always claim to be defending constitutionalrights is at stake and this calls for reviewingtheir previous support to the government’s indi-vidual decision-making. —Al-Jarida

Credibility of political blocs

kuwait digest

By Dr Bader Al-Daihani

Al-A

nbaa

Assembly

Family fund

This is an image of inhu-manity that goes against

Kuwaiti traditions and valuesof our religion that prohibit

unlawful profit. The fakecompanies collect up to KD

1,000 from each worker they‘recruit’, and force them topay KD 500 every year to

renew their visas.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Sadr slams Iraqi govt, tyrant PM

Page 8

Pakistan militant resurfaces, setting off alarm bells in New DelhiPage 12

TABA LAND PORT: Tourists from India arrive in Egypt after crossing the Taba Land Port yesterday, two days after a tourist bus exploded in the Egyptian south Sinai resort town near the border with Israel. - AFP

CAIRO: A militant Islamist group haswarned tourists to leave Egypt andthreatened to attack any who stay inthe country after Feb 20, raising theprospect of a new front in a fast-growing insurgency. The Sinai-basedAnsar Bayt Al-Maqdis group, whichclaimed responsibility for a suicidebombing that k il led two SouthKorean tourists and an Egyptian onSunday, made the statement on anaffiliated Twitter account. “We recom-mend tourists to get out safely beforethe expiry of the deadline,” read thetweet, written in English. The warninghas not appeared on jihadi websitesbut the Twitter account has beenaccurate in the past.

Islamist militants have killed hun-dreds of policemen and soldiers sincethe army deposed Islamist presidentMohamed Morsi in July, but Sunday’sattack on a tourist bus marks a strate-gic shift to soft targets that coulddevastate an economy already reel-ing from political turmoil. “ WhatAnsar Bayt Al-Maqdis has announced,

threatening to target tourists in thecoming period, puts new challengesin front of the Egyptian security appa-ratus and the state in general,” saidInterior Ministry spokesman HanyAbdel Latif. He said these incidentshad both domestic and internationalramifications.

Tourists scaredThe uprising that toppled Hosni

Mubarak in 2011 scared off manytourists, dealing a major blow to anindustry that was a major employerand accounted for more than 10 per-cent of gross domestic productbefore the anti-Mubarak revolt.Visitors are down to a trickle sincearmy chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisideposed Morsi, triggering a bloodypolitical crisis. Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis,Egypt’s most active Islamist militantorganization, has threatened to top-ple the interim government installedby Sisi. Ansar enjoys tacit supportfrom at least some of the marginal-ized Bedouin community and smug-

glers in the Sinai. This has enabledthem to survive several army offen-sives in the largely lawless peninsula.While security forces have crushedMorsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, AnsarBayt Al-Maqdis has become morebrazen.

The group has extended its reachbeyond the Sinai to cities includingCairo, where they claimed responsi-bility for an assassination attempt onthe interior minister. The latest tweetreferred to a warning first issued onFeb 16 on the same Twitter accounturging tourists to leave. “This state-ment, if genuine, would add tourismquite explicitly to the target setalready outlined by Ansar, whichincludes security forces and econom-ic interests of the state and the army,”said Anna Boyd, an analyst atLondon-based IHS Jane’s. An armysource said that the latest militantattacks were a reaction to a militaryoffensive which was hurting militants.“They are breathing their last breath,”he said. —Reuters

Militants warn tourists to leave or face attackThreat raises fresh insurgency fears in Egypt

Supreme Court commutes death sentence for Rajiv Gandhi killers

Court spares killers from hangman’s nooseNEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Courtyesterday spared three killers of formerPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from thehangman’s noose, citing delays in thecase 23 years after his assassination bya Tamil suicide bomber. The top courtheaded by Chief Justice P Sathasivamhanded the three life in prison on thegrounds that successive Indian presi-dents had taken 11 years to decidetheir pleas for mercy against execution.“We implore the government to renderadvice in a reasonable amount of timefor taking a decision on mercy pleas,”Sathasivam told the court in announc-ing the judgment. A lawyer for thethree men-Murugan, Santhan andPerarivalan, all known by single names-hailed the judgment as “humane,”adding that they were now living inhope of one day being released fromprison.

“There is hope that the convicts willwalk out of jail. The remission will bedecided by the state government ofTamil Nadu,” Yug Chaudhary told NDTVoutside the court. “It is time that thedeath penalty is abolished in this coun-try,” he added. The decision comes afterthe Supreme Court issued a landmarkjudgment last month that places newrestrictions on executing prisoners inthe world’s biggest democracy. The topcourt then commuted the death sen-tences of 15 convicts, ruling that “inor-dinate and inexplicable” delays in car-rying out a death sentence weregrounds for commuting a sentence.

The three at the centre of yester-day’s ruling were members of theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),a Sri Lankan-based separatist move-ment, which was wiped out by SriLankan forces in 2009. The men wereconvicted of plotting the May 21, 1991murder of Gandhi by a female suicidebomber, but their appeal to the presi-dent in 2000 for clemency was onlyrejected in 2011. The Chennai HighCourt in the country’s south thenstayed their executions, pendinganother round of appeals from lawyersand state politicians who opposedtheir hanging.

The lengthy delay contrasts sharplywith the execution of Kashmiri Muslimseparatist Mohammed Afzal Guru lastyear over a deadly raid on the Indianparliament in 2001 that left 10 peopledead. Successive governments in Indiahave long been wary of upsetting thelarge Tamil population in the southwhere the trio’s case has become acause celebre. India had an eight-yearunofficial moratorium on carrying outthe death penalty from 2004 to 2012,with only three people executed in thelast decade. The delays have led to abuild up of more than 400 prisoners ondeath row.

Murder seen as retaliationGandhi had become India’s

youngest ever prime minister after hismother, former premier Indira Gandhi,was assassinated in October 1984. He

ruled until losing an election five yearslater. His widow Sonia is the presidentof the ruling Congress party and hisson Rahul is the frontman for the par-ty’s campaign in elections due by May.

The shredded clothes and the shoesthat Rajiv was wearing when he waskilled while on an election tour in thesouth of the country remain on displayin a museum in the Indian capital.Gandhi’s killing was seen as retaliationfor a 1987 Indian government pactwith the Sri Lankan government to dis-arm the guerrillas, who had beentrained and armed by New Delhi in theearly 1980s. After that pact, the LTTEfought Indian troops deployed to SriLanka by Rajiv Gandhi’s government tosupervise the accord. India withdrewits troops after 32 months in which itlost 1,200 soldiers at the hands of therebels.

A relative of one of the killers,Perarivalan, reacted with joy to thenews, saying “for the full family it is anemotional moment.” “Perarivalan ...when you see him, he is a totally goodhuman being,” his aunt Nilaypapiyatold NDTV in the southern city ofChennai. Amnesty International saidyesterday’s decision piles pressure onthe government to abolish the deathpenalty altogether. “India must now doaway with the death penalty-a cruel,inconsistent and irreversible form ofpunishment that has no proven deter-rent effect on crime,” senior researcherDivya Iyer said in a statement.—AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

South Sudan rebels seize

oil-producing Upper NileJUBA: South Sudanese rebels saidthey had seized control of the capitalof oil-producing Upper Nile stateyesterday, in an assault the govern-ment branded a flagrant breach of aceasefire signed in January. The rebelstrike was the first attack on a majortown since the Jan 23 ceasefire deal,but the government denied rebelsnow controlled Malakal, which lieson the fringes of a key oil-producingarea in the country’s northeasterncorner.

The clashes will fuel concernsover the security of South Sudan’snorthern oil fields - an economic life-line for the world’s newest state - andraise pressure on both camps torevive stalled peace talks in neigh-boring Ethiopia. Gathoth Gatkuoth,commander for rebel forces in UpperNile who is a close ally of former vicepresident Riek Machar, told Reutersby telephone his forces struckMalakal on Tuesday morning andswiftly retook the dusty markettown.

Both camps have repeatedlyaccused the other of breaking theceasefire accord. South Sudan onTuesday voiced frustration at the lackof progress made deploying regionalobservers to flashpoint areas andsaid fighting continued in Malakal. “Itis a flagrant violation of the cessationof hostilities agreement signed byboth sides,” South Sudan’sInformation Minister Michael Makueisaid. “We have been calling on theenvoys to expedite the establish-ment of the monitoring mechanismbut nothing has happened so far.”

Malakal lies about 140 km fromPaloch, an oil complex where a keycrude oil processing facility is situat-ed. South Sudan says it has alreadybeen forced to cut oil production bya fifth to 200,000 barrels per day, allof which is pumped from Upper Nile.Rebel control of Malakal could raiseconcerns over its ability to maintainthe rate of output. “All the oil fromthe fields around Upper Nile is

pumped to Paloch,” said Jacob JokDut, director of the Centre forDemocracy and InternationalAnalysis who follows the oil industryclosely. “If Malakal comes under rebelcontrol, then definitely there will betension in and around Upper Nile.”

Peace talks stalledOil accounts for 98 percent of

government revenues. Oil firms inSouth Sudan, a country the size ofFrance, include China NationalPetroleum Corp, India’s ONGC Videshand Malaysia’s Petronas. Work insome fields has been suspended.Thousands of people have beenkilled and more than 800,000 havefled their homes since fightingbegan two months ago, triggered bya power struggle between PresidentKiir and Machar, his former deputywhom he sacked in July. Situated on650 km north of the capital Juba onthe banks of the White Nile, Malakalfirst fell to rebels after fighting brokeout in mid-December before govern-ment forces recaptured it last month.

The rebel move on Malakal maybe aimed at strengthening its handbefore a second round of peace talksin Ethiopia. An army spokesman inJuba said communication has beenlost with the town and fighting con-tinued in Malakal’s southern area. UNspokesman in South Sudan, JoeContreras, said a UN camp in Malakal,where many of the displaced peoplehad fled for protection, had beencaught in the crossfire. Peace talkshad been due to resume last week,but were held up by a rebel demandthat four remaining political prison-ers held by the government bereleased and the Ugandan military,which is supporting Kiir’s army, with-draw from South Sudan.Government officials privatelyacknowledge negotiations areunlikely to make progress until thesenior political figures are freed. Thegovernment says the detainees triedto launch a coup.— Reuters

BANGKOK: An injured protester is helped by medic team to an ambulance during a clash between police force andanti-government protesters yesterday in Bangkok.— AP

VIENNA: Nuclear talks between Iranand world powers moved to the nextlevel yesterday as negotiators beganwork on transforming an interim dealinto an ambitious lasting accord.Expectations were not high, however,for the scheduled three-day Viennameeting between Iran and the UnitedStates, China, Russia, Britain, Franceand Germany, the first in a likely seriesof tricky encounters. Iran’s supremeleader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saidMonday he was “not optimistic” andthat he expected the talks to “leadnowhere”-although he also said hewas not against the negotiations.

Iranian Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif, speakingafter a dinner Monday with the chiefnegotiator for the six powers, EU for-eign policy chief Catherine Ashton,was more upbeat. “We believe we canreach an agreement and we havecome here with the political will toreach a final agreement,” Zarif wasquoted by Iran’s ISNA news agency assaying, adding however that it “willtake time”. “It is probably as likely thatwe won’t get an agreement as it isthat we will,” said one senior USadministration official. “But thesenegotiations are the best chance wehave ever had.”

Iran has long been suspected ofseeking atomic weapons, despite itsdenials, and the US and Israel-widelyassumed to have a formidable nucleararsenal itself-have never ruled out mil-

itary action. Foreign ministers fromthe seven countries struck a deal inGeneva on November 24 that waswidely hailed as an enormous break-through after a decade of failed diplo-matic efforts and rising tensions.Under the accord, which took effecton January 20, Iran scaled back cer-tain nuclear activities in exchange forminor relief from painful sanctionsand a promise of no new sanctions.

For the first time the West acceptedIran enriching uranium, a process pro-ducing nuclear fuel but potentiallyalso material for a bomb, having pre-viously demanded a total suspension.But the freeze only lasts until July 20— although it can be extended-andexperts say that success in Genevacame at the price of postponing dis-cussions on the really difficult issues.“Geneva really was a stop gap, a band-aid solution that didn’t really heal thewounds,” Siavush Randjbar-Daemi,Iran and Middle East lecturer atManchester University said.

Comprehensive solutionUnder the “comprehensive” solu-

tion that the parties aim to sew up byNovember, the six powers want Iran toscale back permanently-or at least fora very long time-its nuclear program.This might include closing the under-ground Fordo facility, slashing thenumber of centrifuges enriching ura-nium, cutting the stockpile of fissilematerial and altering a new reactor

being built at Arak. This, plus muchtighter UN inspections, would notremove entirely Iran’s capability to getthe bomb but would make it substan-tially more difficult. In exchange, allUN Security Council, US and EU sanc-tions on Iran-which are costing it bil-lions of dollars every week in lost oilrevenues, wreaking havoc on theeconomy-would be lifted. Butwhether Iran will play along remainsto be seen, having before the talks setout a number of “red lines” includingnot dismantling any facilities.

Washington’s watching The senior diplomats in Vienna will

be well aware that whatever theyagree will need to be sold not only toother countries like Israel and theSunni Gulf monarchies, but also backhome. Obama has to contend withmembers of Congress threateningmore sanctions and demanding-withIsrael-that nothing short of a total dis-mantlement of Iran’s nuclear facilitieswill do. Iranian President HassanRouhani, meanwhile, whose electionin 2013 has helped thaw relationswith the West, is already on thin icewith hardliners seeking to turnKhamenei against him. “The trouble isthat both sides have hard men out-side the negotiating room who haveto be satisfied,” Richard Dalton, theformer British ambassador to Tehrannow at think-tank Chatham Housesaid.—AFP

Iran, world powers seeking

comprehensive nuclear deal

4 die; gun battles

erupt in Thailand

PM to face charges over rice schemeBANGKOK: Gun battles eruptedbetween Thai police and anti-govern-ment protesters in Bangkok yesterdayand four people were killed and dozenswounded as authorities made their mostdetermined effort yet to clear demon-strators from the streets. In a day of tan-gled developments in Thailand’s long-running political crisis, the country’santi-corruption body announced it wasfiling charges against Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra relating to a ricesubsidy scheme that has fuelled middle-class opposition to her government.

The troubled rice scheme, alreadynear collapse, suffered another blowwhen the Government Savings Bank(GSB) said it was scrapping a loan to astate farm bank that could have beenused to prop the scheme up in the faceof a revolt by depositors. The clasheswere some of most intense betweenprotesters and security forces since thecampaign to unseat Yingluck began inNovember, and raised the prospect thatthe army might feel compelled to inter-vene if the bloodshed worsens.

The protests are the latest installmentof an eight-year political battle broadlypitting the Bangkok middle class androyalist establishment against the poor-er, mostly rural supporters of Yingluckand her billionaire brother, former pre-mier Thaksin Shinawatra. Reuters wit-nesses heard gunfire and saw police fir-ing weapons in the Phan Fa Bridge areain the old quarter of the city. Police saidthey had come under fire from a sniperon a rooftop and M-79 grenades werealso fired. The policeman was killed by a

gunshot and several were wounded by agrenade, security officials said.

The Erawan Medical Center, whichmonitors hospitals, said on its websitethat three protesters had also beenkilled by gunfire. The centre said 64 peo-ple had been wounded. It did not pro-vide a breakdown of how many of thewounded were police and how manywere civilians. Security officials said earli-er that 15,000 officers were involved inthe operation, “Peace for BangkokMission”, to reclaim protest sites aroundcentral Bangkok’s Government Houseand other government offices in thenorth of the capital.

Yingluck has been forced to abandonher offices in Government House by theprotesters, led by a former deputy pre-mier, Suthep Thaugsuban, who have alsoblocked major intersections since mid-January. Police said they had arrested183 people at two protest sites at theEnergy Ministry, which had been clearedof protesters, and Phan Fa Bridge, andwere detaining them for violating a stateof emergency declared last month.Trouble started with clouds of teargasnear Government House and soonpolice were crouching behind riotshields as officers clashed with protest-ers. It was not clear who had fired theteargas and the authorities blamed pro-testers. By the afternoon, police hadlargely withdrawn from protest sites andthe streets were quiet. National SecurityCouncil Chief Paradorn Pattanathabutrsaid top officials were meeting to decidewhether to continue the operation onWednesday. There has been no move

against the biggest protest sites in thecity’s commercial and shopping districts.

Army stays aloofThe protesters are trying to oust

Yingluck, whom they view as a proxy forher elder brother Thaksin, a former tele-coms tycoon-turned-premier, toppledby the army in a 2006 coup. The militaryhas remained aloof from the latest crisis,but has a long history of intervening inpolitics, generally in support of theBangkok establishment that includes thetop brass, royal advisers and old-moneyfamilies. “If enough people are killedthen the arch-royalist grouping mightpressure Yingluck to retreat from herpro-active approach towards Suthep,”said Paul Chambers, director of researchat the Institute for South East AsianStudies in Chiang Mai.

“I don’t think the military would carryout a coup, but they would ask Yingluckto back off from Suthep.” Among the pro-testers’ grievances is the rice subsidyscheme, a populist move to pay farmersan above-market price that has provedhugely expensive and run into fundingproblems. The National Anti-CorruptionCommission announced an investigationlast month, and yesterday said it was sum-moning Yingluck to hear charges againsther on Feb 27. “Although she knew thatmany people had warned about corrup-tion in the scheme, she still continuedwith it. That shows her intention to causelosses to the government so we haveunanimously agreed to charge her,” VichaMahakhun, a member of the commission,said in a statement.—Reuters

VIENNA: A general view shows representatives of Iran, the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France, Germanyand the European Union as they attend the EU 5+1 Talks with Iran at the UN headquarters in Vienna, Austria yes-terday. —AFP

BAGHDAD: Powerful Shiite cleric MoqtadaAl-Sadr yesterday slammed Iraq’s govern-ment as corrupt and its leader as a “tyrant”while calling on citizens to vote, days afterannouncing his exit from politics. The tele-vised speech seemed aimed at establishingthe cleric, who leapt to prominence with hisfierce criticism of the 2003 US-led invasion,as a figure above the everyday Iraqi politicalfray. “Politics became a door for injusticeand carelessness, and the abuse and humili-ation of the rule of a dictator and tyrantwho controls the funds, so he loots them...and the cities, so he attacks them, and thesects, so he divides them,” Sadr said.

He was apparently referring to PrimeMinister Nuri Al-Maliki, whom he hasrepeatedly criticized in the past. Sadr calledon Iraqis to vote in parliamentary electionsthat are now a little more than two monthsaway. Iraqis “must participate in these elec-tions in a major way, so that the govern-ment does not fall into the hands of the dis-honest,” Sadr said. He also reaffirmed hisweekend announcement that he was sepa-rating himself from his powerful politicalmovement, which holds dozens of parlia-mentary seats and six ministerial posts. “Iwill remain for all-not for the Sadrists only,for I dedicated myself to Iraq and to Islam,”Sadr said in comments indicating he stillcould play an influential role in Iraq’s politi-cal future.

Sadr’s rise was aided by the reputationsof two famed relatives-including his father,Mohammed Mohammed Sadiq Al-Sadr-who were killed during Saddam Hussein’srule. Sadr was also the commander of theMahdi Army, a widely-feared militia thatbattled US forces and played a key role inthe brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict inwhich thousands of people were killed. Helater suspended the militia’s activities and inrecent years his focus has increasingly shift-ed to religious studies in both Iran and Iraqthat have taken him out of the country forextended periods of time.— AFP

Sadr slams Iraqi

govt, tyrant PM

I N T E R N AT ION A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

LA NOPALERA: Under the watch of vigilantes, a pairof captured drug cartel henchmen mop the floorsand cook in a dusty, sparsely furnished house inMexico’s unruly west. The duo once worked as“hawks,” or lookouts, for the cult-like Knights Templargang that terrorized Michoacan, but they are now inthe hands of civilian defense militias that have oust-ed the cartel from several towns. The vigilantes, whoare marking their one-year anniversary this month,came together to combat a cartel that they accusedof murdering, kidnapping and extorting their popu-lations in the lush agricultural state.

The civilian militias now say they want to “rehabil-itate” the less-virulent, low-ranking former membersof the Knights Templar, because punishing all wouldbe a tall task in a state where the cartel was soentrenched in society. The two young men held inLa Nopalera, a town within the former gang-domi-nated municipality of Apatzingan, sleep on dirtymattresses in a ramshackle house they share with 10vigilantes. “The order is to hold them for threemonths under my watch and simply convince thempsychologically that they have to take the correct

path,” said a vigilante leader who goes by the nameComandante Patancha. “If they escape, they may notbe pardoned,” said the mustachioed man.

No better optionIf they change their ways, however, they can

return home or join the self-defense force, whichcould earn them $450 a month, close to what theyearned with the cartel. “If the Knights Templar wereto catch us, they would kill us,” said Manuel, whogave a fake name for fear of being targeted by hisformer employers. “Now I don’t have a better optionthan to help the self-defenses,” the married, 25-year-old father of two said. Manuel and his cohort Carlos,who also gave a fake name, say they are much betteroff with the vigilantes, who feed them and do not tiethem up. They even receive weapons training.

When they worked for the cartel, they faced beat-ings and threats for underperformance. The cartelsees itself as a righteous order defendingMichoacan, indoctrinating its recruits with pseudo-religious literature inspired by the Christian cru-saders. Manuel and Carlos say they were captured

by federal police and then handed over to the vigi-lantes. The federal government has deployed almost10,000 police and troops to Michoacan in a bid tocurb the violence, and last month it struck a deal tolegalize the growing vigilante movement.

The government says it has captured more than300 people linked to organized crime, but theauthorities have yet to capture Knights Templarleader Servando “La Tuta” Gomez. Manuel says hejoined the cartel because he was not earningenough picking limes in the Tierra Caliente (“HotLand”) region, Mexico’s lime and avocado heartland.But Carlos admits that, like many of his friends inApatzingan, he was allured by the gang life, partlybecause it made it easier to woo women. “You wouldsee these armed guys walking around and nobodycould say anything to them,” the svelte 20-year-oldsaid. “You wanted to be like them.”

Can’t banish allThe Knights Templar gang once roamed

Michoacan with impunity, riding in cars bearingtheir symbol, the Christian crusaders’ red cross.

Vigilantes have destroyed altars that had been builtin honor of a Knights leader. Estanislao Beltran, thespokesman for the self-defense militias, said townsin Tierra Caliente were “in complete collusion withthe Knights Templar.” “Are we going to capture andbanish all of them? Are we going to create ghosttowns? What are we going to do?” he wondered,adding that some towns have formed citizen assem-blies to decide the fate of captured gang members.

A vigilante in charge of a checkpoint in the townof Pinzandaro said the militias are getting help frommembers of a gang known as Los Viagras, who havebroken away from the Knights Templar. Self-defenseleaders have been accused of having been part oforganized crime groups. Federal officials have saidthat some vigilantes who were detained last yearadmitted to getting support from the KnightsTemplar cartel’s enemy, the Jalisco New Generationgang. But vigilante leaders say the agreement withthe government that legalizes their movement,which calls for militiamen to join “rural defense”forces under the army, will allow them to purge theirranks of any cartel infiltrators.— AFP

Vigilantes ‘rehabilitate’ gangsters in Mexico’s west

CARACAS: Venezuela gave three US diplomats48 hours to leave the country on Monday, accus-ing them of conspiring against the governmentto incite protests that were the OPEC nation’smost serious violence since President NicolasMaduro’s April election. Foreign Minister EliasJaua said the three consular staff used visa visitsto universities as cover for promoting student-lead protests.

The demonstrations, which have energizedthe opposition but show few signs they can oustMaduro, continued on Monday with rowdyprotests around Caracas and various provincialcities. On Wednesday, the protests turned deadlyand three people were fatally shot. “They havebeen visiting universities with the pretext ofgranting visas,” said Jaua, who often faced offagainst police during his own days as a studentdemonstrator. “But that is a cover for makingcontacts with (student) leaders to offer themtraining and financing to create youth groupsthat generate violence,” he told reporters. The USState Department called the allegations “baselessand false,” adding that Washington supportedfree expression and peaceful assembly inVenezuela and around the world. Venezuela hasroutinely expelled US diplomats in recent yearsas the relationship between the two countriesfrayed during the 14-year rule of late socialistleader Hugo Chavez. Critics dismiss such movesas theatrics used in times of national commotionto distract from more serious issues.

Protests rumble onStudent demonstrators have vowed to stay in

the street until Maduro resigns, though the 51-year-old former bus driver has vowed not to cedeeven a “millimeter” of power. The Caracasprotests have been limited to mostly upscaleareas, and there has been little evidence thatVenezuelans will join them en masse. Even so,thousands were out across the nation of 29 mil-lion people again on Monday.

Police fired teargas at student protesters nearthe office of the Popular Will party, whose leader,Leopoldo Lopez, has been a main instigator ofdemonstrations. Party workers said armed menpresumed to be military intelligence officersburst into their premises seeking national coordi-nator Carlos Vecchio. Vecchio’s current where-abouts were not clear. Videos sent to media byPopular Will, which could not be independentlyidentified, showed men entering the premiseswaving guns and trying to kick down a door.

The government has issued an arrest warrantfor Lopez, a 42-year-old, US-educated hardlineopposition leader, on charges including murderand terrorism. His whereabouts were unknown,though in an online video he promised to handhimself in on Tuesday and called on supportersto march with him to the Interior and Justice

Ministry. “Let’s all go dressed in white to oneplace. Then, I will walk alone. I will not put anyVenezuelan’s life at risk,” he tweeted on Monday.

In other demonstrations on Monday, studentsblocked several avenues in affluent neighbor-hoods of Caracas. Elsewhere, protesting studentsin the Andean city of San Cristobal burned tires,while residents reported trouble in Merida andon the island of Margarita. “I’m not sure we’regoing to gain from this. But we have to do some-thing,” said dentistry student Rita Moreno, 19,among about 500 protesters in Caracas’ affluentAltamira district.

The Andean Development Corporation sus-pended its popular annual marathon scheduledfor this weekend in Caracas. Venezuela’s highlytraded global bonds, which fluctuate sharply oncivil unrest or political tension, remained near 18-month lows, though trading in US markets wasgenerally light due to the President’s Day holiday.Bank of America said in a research note onMonday that the protests were unlikely to resultin a change of government, recommending thatinvestors take advantage of attractive yields onbonds that mature in coming years.

Violence on both sides Only 13 students were still detained after

nearly 100 arrests in the past week. Complaints

about violent acts by both sides have piled upover six consecutive days of confrontationsbetween police and demonstrators. Oppositionactivists say some detained student demonstra-tors have been tortured, while videos and photoscirculating online show uniformed men firing onprotesters. Maduro insists police have beenrestrained in the face of provocation and attacks.

The reporters’ trade union said 11 journalistshave been arrested, some of whom were beatenand had their equipment stolen while coveringthe unrest. Venezuelan photographer GabrielOsorio said that on Saturday troops hit him in thehead with a pistol, shot him with rubber bulletsand broke one of his ribs. “I was working. I wasn’tthrowing rocks,” Osorio told a local newspaper. “Iyelled ‘I’m with the press,’ but that actuallyseemed to be what triggered their attack.”

Government leaders have denounced vio-lence by demonstrators linked to oppositionmarches, including vandalizing buildings andburning of trash along city avenues. Hooded pro-testers have gathered outside the headquartersof state TV channel VTV for the past few nights,lighting fires in the streets and hurling stonesand Molotov cocktails. “If anyone thinks they’regoing to halt the activities of (state TV), they’resorely mistaken,” said the channel’s president,Yuri Pimentel. — Reuters

Venezuela expels three US

diplomats, protests rumble

American diplomats accused of conspiring against govt

CARACAS: Members of the National Guard clash with students holding an anti-governmentprotest in front of opposition leader Leopolpo Lopez’s party’s headquarters in Caracas. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The debate about whetherto continue the dragnet surveillance ofAmericans’ phone records is highlightingdivisions within the Democratic andRepublican parties that could transform thepolitics of national security. While someleading Democrats have been reluctant tocondemn the National Security Agency’stactics, a growing number of Republicanshave begun to embrace a libertarian shiftopposing the spy agency’s broad surveil-lance powers - a striking departure from theaggressive national security policies thathave defined the Republican Party for gener-ations.

The lines are drawn but not in the tradi-tional way. The Republican NationalCommittee, leaders of the party’s libertarianwing like Kentucky Sen Rand Paul and liber-als like Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warrenare on one side of the debate. And FloridaRepublican Sen Marco Rubio, Democraticformer Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton and the House and Senate leader-ship are on the other side, defending theObama administration’s surveillance pro-grams as necessary to prevent terrorism.

The split in each party could have practi-cal and political consequences ahead of the2014 congressional elections and the 2016presidential contest. Congress may addressgovernment surveillance this spring in oneof its last major moves before membershead home to focus on the November elec-tions. But if Congress puts off the surveil-lance debate to this time next year, it wouldresurface just as the presidential primarycampaigns are beginning.

Phone recordsAt issue is the bulk collection of millions

of Americans’ phone records, authorizedunder Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.Details of the program were secret until Junewhen a former NSA systems analyst, EdwardSnowden, leaked classified documents thatspelled out the monumental scope of the

government’s activities. The bulk collectionprovision in the law is set to expire on June1, 2015, unless Congress acts to renew orchange the program sooner. More than adecade after the Sept 11, 2001, terroristattacks, Americans have become less willingto support invasive surveillance tactics inthe name of national security.

Recent polls show a sharp decline in pub-lic support for the NSA programs createdduring the administration of RepublicanPresident George W Bush and continuedunder Democratic President Barack Obama.The Obama administration justifies the sur-veillance program, in part, by pointing toCongress’ continued approval and support.But the president also has called for somechanges in an effort to win back public trustthat would provide more privacy protectionsand transparency but not end the programcompletely. Clinton, the overwhelmingDemocratic favorite should she seek thepresidency, has been virtually silent on theNSA debate for months. Last fall she calledfor a “full, comprehensive discussion” aboutthe practices but also defended the surveil-lance: “From my own experience, the infor-mation-gathering and analyzing has provenvery important and useful in a number ofinstances,” she said. A Clinton spokesmandeclined further comment last week.

Paul, a prospective Republican presi-dential hopeful and favorite of the smallgovernment tea party movement, contrast-ed Clinton’s position with his own aggres-sive opposition to Bush-era intelligenceprograms, as polls suggest that a growingmajority of Republicans - tea party sup-porters in particular - are deeply skepticalof the federal government. “I think in 2016i f you had a more l iber tar ian- leaningRepublican, and you had someone likeHillary Clinton, I think you could actuallycompletely transform where people thinkthey are and what party people think theyhave allegiance for,” Paul said at a recentWashington conference. —AP

NSA surveillance exposes

political party divisions

Japanese diver

found dead off

Bali; 5 rescued

DENPASAR: The body of a Japanese scuba diver wasfound floating near a beach on the Indonesian resortisland of Bali yesterday, a day after the astonishing res-cue of five others in the group. The diver, almost unrec-ognizable after days in the water, was one of sevenwomen who disappeared Friday after setting out on adiving expedition from Nusa Lembongan, just east ofBali. As days passed hopes faded that any of thewomen would be found alive in an area known for itsstunning underwater beauty but also its strong andunpredictable currents.

But fishermen found five of the women clinging toa coral reef in rough waters on Monday, some 20 kilo-meters from where they set off, and rescuers pluckedthem to safety in a helicopter and lifeboat. The newswas greeted with delight in Japan. Hopes rose earlierthe remaining two were also alive after villagers saidthey thought they had spotted them in the area wherethe others were rescued. But searches of the areaturned up nothing and officials revealed in theevening that members of the public had found thebody floating near Serangan beach, a popular surfingspot in south Bali. “We are convinced that the bodybelongs to one of the two missing Japanese divers,based on the diver’s characteristics,” Bali search andrescue chief Didi Hamzar said. “It is difficult to recog-nize the victim and she has lost some hair,” he said,adding she was still wearing a wetsuit and flippers. Hesaid the body had been taken to a hospital in theBalinese capital Denpasar for an autopsy. He did nothave any news on the seventh diver. Earlier in the daya helicopter and rescue boats had scoured the areaaround Manta Point, off Nusa Penida Island, where theother divers were rescued. Penida is next to NusaLembongan. —AFP

President Barack Obama

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

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

KIEV: Several thousand anti-government pro-testers clashed with police near Ukraine’s par-liament yesterday, torching vehicles and hurl-ing stones in the worst violence to rock thecapital Kiev in more than three weeks. Policereplied by firing rubber bullets and stun andsmoke grenades from trucks and from thetops of buildings, forcing the protesters backby about 100 meters. The renewed clashespiled more pressure on President ViktorYanukovich to strike a deal with the opposi-tion to reduce his presidential powers anddefuse a 12-week crisis that has turned Kievcity centre into a fortified camp of resistance.

Inside parliament, where opposition lead-ers brought proceedings to a halt by blockingthe speaker’s tribune, opposition leader VitalyKlitschko urged Yanukovich to take riot policeoff the streets to avert further “conflict in soci-ety”. “I am appealing to the president. Take theBerkut (riot police) and interior forces off thestreets. Do this and it will provide a way out. Itwill be the decision of a real man,” the boxer-turned-politician told reporters inside parlia-ment.

“We are not talking any more about hoursbut about minutes.” The protesters hadmarched to the parliament building to pressthe opposition leaders’ calls for Yanukovich torelinquish what they call his “dictatorial” pow-ers and particularly his control of the econo-my and the security forces. But when theywere blocked by a line of trucks about 100meters from the building, they hurled stonesat police, a Reuters witness said, and set threetrucks ablaze with petrol bombs. Ukrainiantelevision said five protesters had been hurt inthe clashes. The report could not immediatelybe confirmed.

As the clashes extended into early after-noon, protesters ransacked a nearby office ofYanukovich’s Party of the Regions. Yanukovichhas been battling the opposition-led streetprotests since he walked away from a tradepact with the European Union in Novemberand opted instead for forging closer econom-ic ties with Russia, Ukraine’s Soviet-era master.The protests have since broadened into arevolt against perceived sleaze and corruptionin the Yanukovich leadership.

‘We’re not for sale’Opposition leaders are pressing him to

accept curbs on his powers that would allowthem to form an independent government toend the street unrest, now in its third month,

and to save the economy from collapse. Inwhat has become a geo-political tussle redo-lent of the Cold War, the United States and itsWestern allies are urging Yanukovich to turnback to Europe and the prospect of an IMF-supported recovery, while Russia accusesthem of meddling.

Yanukovich, who must soon name hischoice for a new prime minister, got a booston Monday when Moscow said it would giveKiev a fresh cash injection this week of $2 bil-lion - part of a $15 billion aid package toshore up a heavily indebted economy. Newsof the fresh credit from Russia failed to cheerthe currency market, where the troubledUkrainian hryvnia fell by up to 1.6 percentagainst the dollar yesterday, Reuters tradingsystem showed. It also failed to impress theprotesters. “If all the money that today’s

authorities have stolen was returned we’d beable to help Russia with our money,” said 35-year-old Serhiy Vashko. “We don’t need theirmoney.”

“We don’t need this money from Russiabecause it is not meant to help but to buy us.But we are not for sale. Can’t they see thatthis is simply a dirty bribe?,” said ValentinSypko. Thousands of protesters have turnedKiev city centre and its main IndependenceSquare into a fortified camp, surrounded bybarricades of tyres, sandbags and barbedwire. They say they will not withdraw untilYanukovich has made real concessions. Atleast six people have died in the unrest,though there had been no violent clashesbetween radicals and riot police for morethan three weeks until yesterday’s fresh out-break.— Reuters

Protesters, police battle

near Ukraine parliament

Worst street violence since late January

KIEV: Anti-government protesters throw rocks during clashes with police in front of theUkrainian Parliament in Kiev yesterday. — AFP

MOSCOW: A Moscow court yesterdayopened the trial of radical oppositionleader Sergei Udaltsov on charges of usingthe funding of a Georgian politician to tryto destabilize President Vladimir Putin’srule. The high-profile case stems frombloody protests in Moscow involving tensof thousands of demonstrators on the eveof Putin’s swearing-in to a third presidentialterm in May 2012.

The unrest led to hundreds of arrestsand a crackdown on leaders of the youth-driven anti-Putin movement that emergedin response to tainted December 2011 par-liamentary elections won narrowly by theruling party. The 37-year-old Udaltsov andhis co-defendant Leonid Razvozhayev bothface up to 10 years in a high security penalcolony on charges of fomenting massunrest and “destabilizing the sociopoliticalsituation in the Russian Federation”. “Iexpect nothing good from this case,”Udaltsov’s attorney Violetta Volkova toldreporters outside Moscow City Court.

“Sergei is an absolutely peaceful politi-cian,” said the lawyer. “The current politicalregime is thus tightening the screws on itspolitical opponents.” Udaltsov enjoys only anarrow following in the protest movementand espouses strongly nationalist views-including admiration for Soviet dictatorJoseph Stalin-that play poorly in big citiessuch as Moscow where most of the opposi-tion’s support is based. But Putin’s criticsbelieve his case reflects the Kremlin’sbroader use of both the courts and the pre-

dominantly government-owned media toquash dissenting views before they gainpublicity or support.

The charges against Udaltsov andRazvozhayev were filed in 2012 after NTVtelevision-owned by state energy giantGazprom-aired a propaganda film thatbilled itself as an expose of the crimes com-mitted against Russia by leaders of thatwinter’s protests. One of the grainy black-and-white clips allegedly showed Udaltsovmeeting with a Georgian tycoon and one-time lawmaker named Givi Targamadzeand discussing ways to subvert the Russianleadership. Targamadze is an ally of formerGeorgian president Mikheil Saakashvili-asworn foe of Putin who waged a brief 2008war with Russia and is despised byMoscow’s political establishment for seek-ing closer ties with the West.

State prosecutors accuse the two co-defendants of plotting attacks againstRussian railroads and public buildings withTargamadze’s financial help. Russia hasissued an arrest warrant for Targamadzebut Georgia has so far refused his extradi-tion. Udaltsov-who has been under housearrest since February 2013 - has neverdenied having met or received money fromTargamadze but has dismissed the chargesagainst him as a “fabrication”. “I do not feelany guilt,” he told the Moscow opposition’sNovaya Gazeta newspaper ahead of yester-day’s hearing. “In my view, there is no proofthat we did anything wrong or had anymotive to organise unrest.”— AFP

Russia opens trial of

Putin’s foe Udaltsov

MOSCOW: Russian opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov gestures in a court room priorto a hearing in the Bolotnaya square protest trial in Moscow yesterday. — AP

BERBERATI: The Christian extremists came in waves, first asmall group, then larger and increasingly violent forces, untilBerberati, the second city in the Central African Republic, hadbeen completely invaded. Mayor Albert Nakombo describedhis town of some 50,000 people, located more than 600 kilo-meters southeast of the capital Bangui, as “peaceful up untilnow” and “proud of its tradition of hospitality”. The town wasoccupied for more than a year by mainly Muslim fighters ofthe Seleka rebellion who put Michel Djotodia in power lastMarch and ran riot by attacking Christians.

But Berberati was spared by the Seleka forces who hadgone on to commit widespread atrocities elsewhere whenDjotodia was forced to step down by his regional peers inJanuary for failing to halt the violence. “There were a lot ofthem, but they left the town without doing any harm,”Nakombo said. “We gave a big sigh of relief.” Then, a few daysafter the ex-rebels pulled out, on Saturday February 8, thefirst “anti-balaka” (anti-machete) group of vengeful Christiansarrived in town. “This phenomenon had never existed in ourregion,” the mayor said.

Formed early in the 1990s in northwestern CAR to fightbands of robbers, anti-balaka militias forces took up armsagain last summer to attack civilians of the Muslim minority,accused of siding with the Seleka fighters. Across the poorand landlocked country, a brutal surge of killings, mutilations,rapes and pillage has driven hundreds of thousands of peo-ple from their towns and villages. Entire Muslim communitieshave fled.

‘Sectarian cleansing’Amid international warnings of “mass atrocities and sec-

tarian cleansing”, summed up Friday in the words of UNSecretary General Ban Ki-moon, African nations and Francehave deployed more than 7,000 troops, due to be backed byEuropean Union peacekeepers. In Berberati, the anti-balakacame first from the north and then the east. “There were sev-eral hundred of them,” said Father Thomas Isaie, the priest atthe Saint Basile church situated in the town’s main Muslimdistrict, Loumi. “On the Monday, they started to search thehomes of Muslims. I prevented them from getting hold of themosque. I said ‘No, this is sacred.’ During the day, anotherwave arrived, armed, more threatening and more vindictiveand they began systematic destruction,” the priest said. Isaieadded that about 10 Muslims were killed, while other resi-dents spoke of 15 dead.

“What happened here was planned,” the mayor declared.Among the militiamen, there were many renegade soldiers ofthe Central African Armed Forces (FACA), who had been beat-en last year by the Seleka, according to witnesses. Comingfrom the Bossangoa region to the northwest and also fromneighboring Cameroon, these insurgents include supportersof ousted president Francois Bozize who ruled 2003-2013,said Mamadou Achirou, a representative of the Muslim com-munity. More than 500 Muslims have taken refuge inside thebishop’s residence, protected by a few Congolese soldiersfrom the African Union’s MISCA peacekeeping force. Laundrylay on the grass to dry, men huddled under a frangipani treeto chat, and children laughed as the troops passed by. Thesepeople were brought to safety by Father Isaie, who said thatmore Muslims come to his church each day. “There are alsomany Christians who protect the Muslims, bringing them tothe parish or taking them in.”

‘Prove they are Christians’Last Wednesday, about 150 French paratroopers arrived in

Berberati as a scout force before the deployment of other

units from France’s Operation Sangaris military mission andof more MISCA troops. “Sangaris is here but we need to takeaction,” Mayor Nakombo said. “These people who have invad-ed us are wandering around town and mocking the popula-tion. We must put an end to that.”

“Now they say they want to cooperate with the authori-ties, but that’s a diversion,” argued Father Isaie, though heacknowledged that “most of the anti-balaka” withdrew fromthe town when the French troops arrived.

“Looting and threats against Muslims are still taking place,”he added. “Parishioners are asking me for baptismal cards toprove that they are Christians.

Are we going to accept that?” the priest asked on Sundayduring a meeting attended by General Francisco Soriano,commander of Operation Sangaris.

A few moments before the meeting, a hand grenadeexploded at one entrance to Berberati, seriously woundingthree people. “Be careful,” a nun named Sister Benedictewarned the French general. “In the districts, I listen to youngunemployed people and youths who are suffering. Many sup-port the anti-balaka.” “The population needs to understandthat those people have not come to protect them,” Sorianoreplied. “They are here to help themselves and bring disaster.We must stop them. The Seleka have gone. We must notallow others to take their place.”— AFP

Christian militias invade

2nd city in Central Africa

After twenty years,

Russia and Estonia

sign border treaty

MOSCOW: Russia and Estonia signed a treaty set-ting out the position of their joint border yesterdayafter more than 20 years of wrangling that reflectedtension between Moscow and the small Baltic state.The treaty must still be ratified by the parliamentsof both Russia and Estonia, which has joined NATOand the EU since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Russia and Estonia have a frontier with operatingborder posts but animus that built up over decadesof Soviet dominance hampered efforts to formalizeit. “I am sure this will ... strengthen the atmosphereof trust and cooperation,” Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov said after signing the pact withEstonian counterpart Urmas Paet. Estonia was occu-pied by Soviet forces in 1940. They returned, afterevicting German troops, in 1944 and Estoniaremained part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

Russia says Soviet forces liberated easternEurope from Nazi Germany, and bristles at thosewho question its narrative of World War Two andthe postwar era. The nations signed a border treatyin 2005 but Russia refused to ratify it after Estonianlawmakers adopted ratification documents thatMoscow said could have led to demands for land orcompensation. Ties remain tense. Russian officialshave accused authorities in Estonia of condoningefforts to treat the Nazis as heroes and of discrimi-nating against the Russian-speaking minority in thenation of 1.3 million - allegations that Estonia dis-misses. — Reuters

I N T E R N AT ION A LWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

NewsMan jumps to death from skyscraper in Hong Kong

HONG KONG: A 33-year-old man plunged to his death yes-terday from the roof of a 30-storey building in Hong Kong’sfinancial district that houses the Asia headquarters of bank-ing giant JP Morgan. “At around 2pm... a man fell from therooftop of the building. Police arrived and saw him uncon-scious. He was sent to the hospital where he was certifieddead,” a police spokeswoman said. Several policemen hadscrambled on to the roof of Chater House in the skyscraper-packed district in a bid to convince the man, surnamed Li,not to jump but failed, the South China Morning Postreported. The Apple Daily posted pictures on its website ofthe man in a dark-colored outfit, apparently standing at theedge of the roof. The SCMP identified the man as a forextrader with JP Morgan but a company spokeswomanrefused to confirm whether he was an employee. “We aredeeply saddened by this tragic incident in Chater Houseand the case is being investigated by the police. Our sym-pathies are with the family of the deceased person,” shesaid. Several banking giants have set up their headquartersin the southern Chinese city of seven million which pro-motes itself as the business gateway to the world’s second-largest economy.

Nine die, 14 soldiers kidnapped in Yemen

ADEN: Nine people were killed yesterday in clashesbetween armed men and Yemeni soldiers in the southerncity of Dalea, local residents and the Defense Ministry said,in escalating unrest in the province. The Defense Ministry’swebsite said four soldiers and one officer were killed in theclashes. Fourteen other soldiers were kidnapped by what itdescribed as saboteurs after an attack by gunmen on atruck carrying food supplies. Local residents reported thatfour civilians, including a child, had also died in the clashes.The province is regarded as a stronghold for southern sepa-ratists demanding restoration of the former socialist statethat merged with North Yemen in 1990.

India police kill 7 Maoist rebels

MUMBAI: Indian police killed seven Maoists yesterday dur-ing an operation hailed as a victory for security forces in arebel stronghold known as the “Red Corridor”. Police cameunder attack in a jungle area of Gadchiroli district in thewestern state of Maharashtra, sparking an exchange of firebetween the two groups, said local police spokesmanDharmendra Joshi. “They came under fire in the earlymorning. There were no injuries sustained by police, andthe identification of the dead bodies is going on,” Joshi said.“The combing operations of the area have intensified.”Gadchiroli police chief Mohammad Suvez Haque said offi-cers believed a Maoist divisional commander was killed inthe firing, after which weapons including an AK-47 andrifles were recovered from the rebels. “This is a greatachievement for the police forces as Maoists have beeninvolved in several violent activities in the Gadchiroli areafor many years,” Haque said. The Maoists have become apotent insurgent force, demanding land and jobs for thepoor and fighting for a communist society by topplingwhat they call India’s “semi-colonial, semi-feudal” form ofrule.

Asylum seekers riot at PNG’s detention camp

SYDNEY: An asylum seeker was killed and at least 77injured in the second riot this week at a detention centre inPapua New Guinea (PNG) used to process asylum seekers,Australia’s Immigration Minister said yesterday. One personwas in critical condition with a head injury and another sus-tained gunshot wounds during the clashes on a smallisland in impoverished Papua New Guinea. ImmigrationMinister Scott Morrison says the riot began when detaineesforced their way out of the centre, but refugee advocatesinsist it was sparked when Manus Island residents andpolice stormed the facility, attacking the asylum seekers.The facility is part of Australian Prime Minister TonyAbbott’s tough stance against asylum seekers but it hascome under fire over human rights concerns. “Our sympa-thies are extended to the transferees - that person’s familyand friends who would have been in the facility as well,”Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said in reference tothe dead asylum seeker. “If people choose to remove them-selves from that centre then they’re obviously puttingthemselves at much greater risk and in an environmentwhere there is violent behavior,” he told reporters in thenorthern Australian city of Darwin.

Magnitude 6.5 quake strikes off Barbados

BRIDGETOWN: A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off theCaribbean island of Barbados yesterday morning, the USGeological Survey reported, causing no reported damage.The quake, which was originally reported as measuring 6.7on the Richter scale, was 118 miles northeast of the capitalBridgetown at a depth of 10.5 miles. The quake, whichstruck shortly before dawn, did not immediately appear tohave had any notable impact in Bridgetown, the islandnation’s capital. There were no reports of damage in theisland, nor any of aftershocks from the quake, which wasalso felt in St Lucia about 130 miles away. The USGS initiallyreported the quake had a 6.7 magnitude. Barbadians wereadvised by Judy Thomas, the director of the CaribbeanDisaster Emergency Response Agency to “go on about yourbusiness as usual.” Most people on the road in the earlydawn, or on their way to work in their cars, apparently feltnothing.

in brief

TUNIS: US Secretary of State John Kerry made abrief, unannounced trip to Tunisia yesterday toback the transition to democracy in the NorthAfrican country that spawned the Arab Spring. Hisvisit came amid troubled relations between theUnited States and longtime ally Egypt over the mil-itary overthrow of the Islamist government electedthere in the aftermath of the 2011 uprisings thatshook the Arab world. Tunisia’s agreement earlierthis year on a consensus government and a newconstitution three years after the ouster of veterandictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been hailed asa model by Western governments uncomfortableabout events in Egypt.

Kerry met President Moncef Marzouki and care-taker Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa, who formed acabinet of independents in January after a months-long political crisis ignited by the assassination oftwo secular politicians. “We are very impressed bythe steps that you have been taking, by the ration-al, thoughtful approach to the transition,” Kerrytold Marzouki. He congratulated Tunisia on itsadoption last month of a new constitution that has

been widely hailed as the most progressive in theregion, calling it a “big step”, and said he lookedforward to elections planned for later this year.

Before boarding the plane for France, his nextstop, Kerry said the visit was intended to showTunisians “that there are many, many countries andmany people in the world who admire what peoplehave been engaged in here”. The top US diplomatoften refers in his speeches to the Tunisian fruitvendor who set himself alight in protest at hiscountry’s lack of democracy. The shocking self-immolation sparked the January 2011 revolutionthat toppled Ben Ali and ignited the Arab Springuprisings across the region. “What is unique, or atleast striking in particular about Tunisia, is the will-ingness of opposing sides to reach out and showsome inclusiveness and cooperation,” a senior USofficial said, asking not to be named.

Progress despite violence Tunisia’s new leaders have grappled with a

surge in Islamist unrest, which saw the murder oftwo opposition politicians, Chokri Belaid and left-

ist MP Mohamed Brahmi. That sparked a crisisbetween the governing Ennahda party, a moder-ate Islamist movement, and its secular opponents,from which the country is only now emerging withthe adoption of the new constitution. Ennahda,which won Tunisia’s first free elections in Oct 2011,stepped down in January under a hard-won agree-ment to end the crisis. That allowed Jomaa to forma cabinet tasked with leading the country to freshelections.

Despite the political progress, Islamist violenceremains a threat, and the new leaders must alsodeal with persistent social unrest. More than 1,000protesters gathered Monday in the town ofJendouba to condemn the weekend killings offour people by suspected jihadists. Kerry hailedthe Tunisian security forces’ success in arrestingmilitants and breaking up Islamist cells in recentweeks, in operations he described as “well plannedand executed”.

State Depar tment officials have also saidWashington wants to work with the authorities tobring to justice those behind a 2012 attack on its

embassy and the American school in Tunis, aftersuspended jail terms were given to 20 suspectslast year. “In our view there’s more that could bedone both in terms of arrests and prosecutions”, asenior State Department official said.

Washington has given some $400 million inassistance to Tunis since 2011. Kerry was also toupgrade ties during his visit, announcing that theywould launch a strategic dialogue, a high-levelforum for regular talks.

Washington’s relations with Tunis contrast withthose with Cairo, where army chief Field MarshalAbdel Fattah Al-Sisi t i lted squarely towardsMoscow in a visit last week. Asked by journalistswhat lessons Egypt could learn from Tunisia, Kerrysaid he was “not going to advise General Sisi” at apress conference, but would talk to the Egyptianauthorities personally in the coming days or weeksas part of a “continuing dialogue”. Kerry left Tunisfor Paris for a meeting today with Palestinian presi-dent Mahmoud Abbas as the US seeks to hammerout an agreed framework to guide negotiationswith Israel towards a peace treaty. — AFP

Kerry in surprise Tunisia trip as Egypt ties fray

NEW DELHI: The Pakistani Islamic hardliner blamed for anattack on India’s parliament that brought the nuclear rivalsto the brink of war has resurfaced after years in seclusion,setting off alarm bells in New Delhi. Twice since the end ofDecember, Indian authorities have issued an airport securi-ty alert, warning of an attempt by members of a Pakistan-based militant group called Jaish-e-Mohammad, or Armyof Muhammad, to hijack a plane, with smaller airfieldsmost at risk.

Indian officials have said the alerts followed reports ofincreased activity by Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader ofthe outlawed militant group. Azhar was named by anIndian court as the prime suspect in a 2001 attack onIndia’s parliament aimed at taking top political leadershostage. Fifteen people were killed, most of them securityguards as well as the five men who stormed the complex.Tensions between the old enemies spiralled after theattack and up to a million troops were mobilised on bothsides of the volatile border. Pakistan refused to hand overAzhar to India.

The portly and bearded cleric has remained mostly con-fined to a compound in his home city of Bhawalpur inPakistan’s Punjab province for years, but three weeks ago,he addressed supporters and said the time had come toresume jihad, or holy war, against India. “There are 313fidayeen (fighters who are ready to die) in this gatheringand if a call is given the number will go up to 3,000,” he toldthe rally held in the city of Muzaffarabad by telephone. AReuters journalist who was present said a telephone washeld next to a microphone which broadcast his commentsto loudspeakers.

Flags of Jaish, inscribed with the words “jihad”, flutteredin and around the venue of the gathering. Azhar spokefrom an undisclosed location. Indian intelligence analystshave described Azhar’s resurgence as part of a change intactics in Pakistan as US forces withdraw from Afghanistanthis year, and as Islamabad tries to clamp down on Islamicinsurgents who oppose the Pakistani government. TheIndians say Pakistan’s military establishment is bringingmilitants like Azhar out of cold storage, with the promise ofhelping them fight India, while trying to stamp out the rad-icals they can’t control. Talat Masood, a retired Pakistaniarmy general, said: “It is very dangerous that the Pakistaniestablishment is giving space to him. They are playing withfire and the fire will engulf them.”

Remains in controlA former fighter for Jaish, speaking on condition of

anonymity, said Azhar remained in command of the group,operating from his Bhawalpur base. “His speech via tele-phone should not be a surprise for people involved injihad, he has been controlling the organization very active-ly,” the man said. The security alerts in India occurred justdays before Azhar spoke. They were not publicized but twoofficials, one from the domestic Intelligence Bureau andthe other from the Central Industrial Security Force, saidauthorities had increased checks on airport staffers toensure nobody with forged passes gained access. Securityhad also been increased in Delhi’s suburban rail system,where commuters go through metal detectors, are patteddown and have their bags checked in x-ray machines. Staffof the Central Industrial Security Force now work 10-hourshifts in the metro system, so there were more guards atany point.

Azhar was arrested in Indian Kashmir in 1994 while trav-elling on a forged Portuguese passport. India freed himand two other jailed Pakistani militants in 1999 in return for155 passengers held hostage in an Indian Airlines aircraftthat was hijacked to southern Afghanistan. One of the oth-er freed militants was British-born Omar Sheikh, a closeassociate of Azhar who was later convicted in the 2002abduction and murder of Wall Street Journal reporterDaniel Pearl. After his release, Azhar set up the Jaish tofight Indian forces in Kashmir, the Himalayan regionclaimed by both countries and the trigger for two of theirthree wars.

India has long accused Pakistan’s powerful spy agency,the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of close links with hard-line groups like Jaish. “Jaish has an obsession with Indiathat transcends Kashmir. They had so many plans. Anyreactivation of Masood Azhar is cause for deep concern,”said A K Doval, a former head of India’s Intelligence Bureauand one of the foremost experts on militant groups inSouth Asia. Other officials in India said the rally inMuzaffarabad and Azhar’s address wouldn’t have beenpossible without state clearance, a charge Pakistan strong-ly denies. “He addressed a rally, but steps will be taken toensure he doesn’t do it again,” said Tasnim Aslam, spokes-woman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry. “It is not possible wewould allow his group to cause terrorism elsewhere whenit is banned for causing terrorism in Pakistan.” She saidindependent investigations had often shown that attacksin India were blamed on Pakistan but sometimes caused bydomestic politics or rogue members of the Indian securityservices. “There’s a tendency in India to hyperventilatewithout finding out all the facts,” she said.

Rana Banerji, a former special secretary at India’s mainspy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, and a lead-ing expert on Pakistan, said Azhar could not have re-sur-faced without approval from Pakistan’s intelligence agen-cies. “He has been allowed to exist in closely monitoredconditions all these years on the premise he would keephis activities low key,” said Banerji. “But now that he hasbeen allowed to emerge publicly suggests there is anattempt to allow them a platform for their malevolentenergies,” he said. — Reuters

Pakistan militant resurfaces

India raises alarm, fears of terror attacks

ISLAMABAD: A supporter raises the portrait of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as they chant slo-gans outside a court in Islamabad yesterday. — AP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ex-ruler Pervez Musharrafbecame the first former army chief to appear in a nation-al court yesterday in a treason case seen as a test of civil-ian rule over the country’s powerful army. The 70-year-old arrived in a heavily protected cavalcade of at leasthalf a dozen vehicles wearing a dark blazer and appear-ing relaxed during a hearing that lasted only a few min-utes. He sat in a witness box and stood briefly whenaddressed by the judge, but did not speak. Asked after-wards how he was feeling, he said that he was “good”.

He faces treason charges, which can carry the deathpenalty, over his suspension of the constitution andimposition of a state of emergency in 2007 while he waspresident. He was first ordered to appear before the tri-bunal on December 24, but has missed repeated hear-ings since then due to bomb scares and health problemsthat saw him complain of a heart ailment. His defenselawyer Anwar Mansoor argued yesterday that judgeFaisal Arab had not responded to a challenge to thecourt’s ability to try the former general, which Arabpromised to decide on Friday.

Musharraf has challenged the civilian court’s right totry a former army chief, saying he is entitled to be dealtwith by a military tribunal. He has also accused PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif, whom he ousted in a 1999 coup,of waging a “vendetta” and has asked for permission togo abroad for medical treatment, which has beenrefused. “We can call him again after deciding on the

jurisdiction issue,” judge Arab said after declaring that heintended to formally indict Musharraf. Sharif came topower after elections in May last year in the first transferof power from one elected government to another aftera full term. Pakistan has endured three military coupssince independence from Britain in 1947.

Other legal casesMusharraf has endured a torrid time since returning

to Pakistan in March last year on an ill-fated mission torun in the general election. Almost as soon as he landedhe was barred from contesting the vote and hit with abarrage of legal cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule.The charges against him include the murder of formerprime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

So far, nothing has come of rumors that a backroomdeal would be struck to get Musharraf out of the countrybefore trial, to avoid a destabilizing clash between thegovernment and the powerful armed forces. There weretight security arrangements all around the NationalLibrary in Islamabad where the court has been holdinghearings on the treason case. Musharraf ’s cavalcadefrom a military hospital in neighboring Rawalpindi wasflanked by police and paramilitaries with the lead vehicleequipped with a mounted machinegun. A wall of ship-ping containers had also been constructed around thelibrary and jamming devices to prevent mobile phonesignals were in operation, even inside the court. — AFP

Musharraf in court for

first ‘treason’ hearing

GYEONGJU: Emergency staff workedthrough the night in snow and sleet to pullsurvivors from the debris of an auditoriumwhose roof collapsed under the weight ofsnow, killing 10 people and injuring 100,most of them recently enrolled freshmenof a South Korean university, officials saidyesterday. The students had gathered atthe auditorium of a holiday resort for a wel-coming ceremony Monday night when theroof came crashing down, leaving twistedmetal and debris of concrete and wood.

Weather officials say the southeasternregion saw the heaviest snowfall thismonth since measurements began threeyears ago. Bad weather hampered rescuerswho had to reach the site outside the his-toric tourist city of Gyeongju on icy roads.Working all night, they extricated survivors,many of them injured, and rushed them onstretchers to waiting ambulances. Familymembers and friends of the dead gatheredin a hospital morgue in the nearby city ofUlsan. Kim Pan-su fought back tears as hetalked about his daughter, Kim Jin-sol, whowas one of the dead. He said he had calledhis daughter’s friends when he couldn’treach her.

“Her friends said that she ... was safe butthat she couldn’t escape. This is the onlything I was repeatedly told,” Kim said. “I feltthat something was weird, so I went to theuniversity ... I had just parked my car in theparking lot when they called the names of

people that died, including my daughter’s.”President Park Geun-hye ordered an inves-tigation as well as safety checks of build-ings near the country’s east coast, whichhas seen heavy snow this winter. Theresort’s owner, Kolon Group, believes thatsnow likely caused the collapse but isexamining more specific causes.

About 560 students from BusanUniversity of Foreign Studies had gath-

ered for a two-day freshman orientationat the Manua Ocean Resort when a crackappeared in the auditorium cei l ingbefore the collapse. Nine students andanother person were killed, two peoplewere seriously injured and 103 lightlyinjured, said Jung Yoon-han, director ofthe disaster management department atthe Ministr y of Security and PublicAdministration. —AP

South Korean roof collapse

kills 10 at college meeting

GYEONGJU: A general view shows the scene of a collapsed building at theMauna Ocean Resort in Gyeongju, in South Korea’s south easternGyeongsang Province yesterday. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014N E W S

Continued from Page 1

their children’s rights to jobs and Kuwaiti citizenship.The committee also reviewed proposals to reduce theretirement age for Kuwaiti women employees.

Separately, Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh said thatKuwait’s foreign aid in the five fiscal years ending2012/2013 amounted to KD1.209 billion, adding that nofunds were withdrawn from the general state reservewithout a law. In response to a question by MPAbdulrahman Al-Jeeran, the minister said that foreignaid was as follows: In 2008/2009 KD 166 million, in2009/2010 KD 53 million, 2010/2011 KD 137 million,2011/2012 KD 288 million and KD 565 million in

2012/2013.MP Mohammad Tana Al-Enezi yesterday submitted a

proposal calling to increase the annual increments forgovernment employees to cope with the ever-increas-ing cost of living and high inflation. The lawmaker saidit is illogical that the amount of annual increments forcivil servants has not been changed since 1979 andsome of them remain at KD 3, 4 or 5 which is not suffi-cient to offset the rising cost of living and inflation rate.Enezi said raising annual increments will benefitemployees the most because these are given annuallyand without a prior announcement because othersalary increases are announced and normally followedby an increase in prices by merchants.

Court orders return of Tabtabaei’s...

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regulations that organize the work of recruitmentoffices and medical tests in Kuwait are reviewed,”Annahar reported, quoting Ministry of Social Affairsand Labor insiders. The number of Ethiopian domestichelpers increased in Kuwait from 2007 after Indonesia,

one of the main exporters of domestic workers to theGulf region, stopped sending housemaids to work inKuwait. Indonesia’s decision also resulted in a rapidincrease in housemaid recruitment fees. The recentnews is expected to have a similar and immediateeffect on Kuwait’s domestic labor market - consideredone of the largest in the Middle East.

Ethiopian maid ban confirmed

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from the conference. “It would have been better to inviteIran to Geneva and to have Saudi-Iranian rapprochement,”he said.

The United Nations rescinded its invitation to Iran to par-ticipate in the “Geneva 2” talks at the last minute underpressure from the opposition delegation, which threatenedto withdraw altogether. Berri also called on Monday for

Lebanon’s presidential elections to be held before May 25in accordance with constitutional procedures. Lebanonannounced the formation of a new government onSaturday after a 10-month political deadlock during whichspillover violence from Syria worsened internal stability. Thesmall Mediterranean state has been struck by car bombs,rocket attacks and street fighting linked to the nearly three-year conflict in Syria, where more than 140,000 people havebeen killed and millions displaced. — Reuters

Kuwait help sought to mend Saudi-Iranian ...

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of Cornell University ’s School of Electrical andComputer Engineering told AFP of the study in thejournal Nature Communications. The discovery “couldhave the potential to help paralyzed patients regaincontrol of their own limbs”.

In lab tests, a team of engineers and neuroscien-tists used electrodes to connect the brain of onemonkey to the spinal cord of another via a computerthat decoded and relayed the neural signals. The firstmonkey, dubbed the “master”, was placed in a specialchair before a computer screen that showed a cursorand a green circle that alternated between two spots.The monkey’s head was restrained. The second ani-mal, or “avatar”, was fully sedated in a separate enclo-sure its arm strapped to a 360-degree joystick withwhich to move the cursor and chase the circular tar-get on the “master’s” screen.

As the master thought of moving the cursor, itsbrain signals were decoded to determine which ofthe two targets it had in mind, and the data wasrelayed in real-time to the spinal cord of the sleepingavatar, whose arm manipulated the joystick accord-ingly. Every time the cursor hit its target, the masterreceived a squirt of juice as reward.

Previous research into so-called brain-machineinterfaces (BMI) had shown people move computercursors or even robotic arms using their thoughts.Shanechi and her team claim they are the first to givean animal control over the actual limb of another ani-mal. The findings “provide a proof of concept that justby thinking, subjects can move an arm in two dimen-sions” even with no physiological connec tionbetween the brain and the muscle, she said. Paralysiscan be caused by damage to the central nervous sys-tem, especially the spinal cord, by stroke or diseases

like Parkinson’s or an accident.Scientists are keen to find a way for paralysed peo-

ple to move their own limbs in a natural way, buthave found it difficult to read the brain signals thatcontrol the complex functioning of the muscles.Previous BMI research has allowed only repeatedmovements to the same target over and over again,or on a single line, said the study authors. What is dif-ferent this time: Shanechi and her team decoded thebrain signals the monkey directed at his on-screentarget rather than trying to decipher the detailedstep-by-step processes required to achieve the move-ment. The primate pair, interchangeably master andavatar, hit the target in about 84 percent of cases, theresearchers said.

Also new was the use of separate monkeys, which“more closely mimics true quadriplegia”, said co-author Ziv Williams of the Harvard Medical School’sCenter for Nervous System Repair. In connecting thebrain and muscles of a singular animal, scientists cannever be sure how much of the movement achievedis “confounded by possible sensory feedback of pre-served muscle contractions”, he explained. BernardConway, head of biomedical engineering at theUniversity of Strathclyde in Glasgow, commentedthat the research was “a key step forward” in identify-ing a paralysed subject’s intention or desire to per-form a specific movement and translating that intoaction.

University of Warwick biomedical engineering pro-fessor Christopher James added the findings had“profound implications... for controlling limbs inspinal cord injury, or controlling prosthetic limbs withlimb amputees”. It was not clear how well the find-ings in sedated monkeys could be replicated in trulyparalysed patients whose muscles have becomeweak with disuse. — AFP

Experiment may lead to cure for paralysis

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Some fellow Shiites also accuse Maliki of amassing pow-er and abusing it.

Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, whoannounced his withdrawal from politics at the weekend,said Iraq was governed by “wolves thirsty for blood andmoney”, alluding to Maliki as a “dictator and tyrant”. Sadr,who led revolts against US forces in Iraq before their pulloutand went on to become a major force in the government,said he had decided to retire in order to distance himselffrom a “failed, corrupt and unjust government”. “Whenevera Shiite, Sunni or Kurd objects to them, they accuse him ofsectarianism or being a terrorist,” he said in his first speechsince dissolving his movement on Saturday.

In yesterday’s attacks, car bombs exploded in predomi-nantly Shiite districts of Baghdad and the southern city ofHilla, police and medical sources said. No group immedi-ately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, butShiites are a target for Sunni Islamist militants. At least 35people were killed in seven car bomb explosions insideHilla, 100 km south of Baghdad, and the nearby towns ofHaswa, Mahaweel and Mussayab. A further 90 people werewounded. “I was sitting in my shop when suddenly a pow-erful blast smashed the front window,” said Ali Mousa,whose mini-market was near the site of one bomb in cen-tral Hilla. “I went out to see what happened and saw bodieson the ground and wounded people bleeding and shout-ing for help.”

Hilla police chief, Major General Abbas Abid, blamedgroups linked to Al-Qaeda. “Al-Qaeda terrorist groups stand

behind today’s attacks in Hilla to confuse the security forcesand cause high casualties among civilians,” he said. “Theyare criminals and they never get enough of innocentblood.” Fourteen more people were killed in explosions inBaghdad. In one, a bomb inside a parked vehicle explodednear a bus station in the Bayaa district, killing five, thesources said. There were also blasts in the Amil, Ilam andShurta districts.

In northern Iraq, troops were fighting to wrest control ofSulaiman Pak from Sunni militants who took over parts ofthe town last Thursday and raised the black flag of theIslamic state in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) over it. At least fourpolicemen were killed in Sulaiman Pak, 160 km north ofBaghdad, when a mortar round fired by the army duringclashes with militants yesterday struck the wrong target.ISIL is active in neighbouring Syria and seeks to establish aSunni state spanning the border into Iraq: “The spilloverfrom Syria is the most important factor in the upsurge ofviolence in Iraq over the past year,” Maliki said.

The city of Fallujah in Iraq’s Sunni-dominated province ofAnbar has been under siege by the army since earlyJanuary, when militants, among them ISIL, overran it aftersecurity forces cleared a site where Sunnis were protestingagainst Maliki. Deteriorating security in Anbar has raiseddoubts that parliamentary elections can be held nation-wide in April as scheduled. Maliki said he would not allowmilitants to “undermine (Iraq’s) emerging democratic insti-tutions”. Sadr encouraged people to vote but said he him-self would not take part or back any side. “All should widelyparticipate in election in order not to let the governmentfall into untrustworthy and malicious hands.” — Reuters

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commander Brian Schlegel said its seizure would helpstaunch funds going to extremist groups that rely onillegal drug shipments for income.

“The 62 bags contain cannabis resin bricks, almost4,000 bricks in total. Each brick is more than enough tobuy an AK-47 or IED (improvised explosive device) com-ponents,” said Schlegel. “Removing the funding that

flows from the sale of these drugs has a direct impacton a terrorist organisation’s ability to buy weapons inthe future.” The Melbourne is in the Indian Ocean onglobal anti-piracy operations and has intercepted ninesuspected pirate vessels since leaving Australia in Aug2013. During its mission, it has seized 543 kg of heroinestimated to be worth in excess of US$1 billion, includ-ing a 353 kg bust off the coast of Tanzania earlier thismonth. — AFP

Big cannabis bust off Oman

A cyclist is silhouetted against the rising sun and reflected in a puddle in Hannover in northern Germanyyesterday. — AP

By Juergen Baetz

There’s one big reason theUnited States has a dearth ofexecution drugs so acute that

some states are considering solu-tions such as firing squads and gaschambers: Europe won’t allow thedrugs to be exported because of itsfierce hostility to capital punishment.The phenomenon started nine yearsago when the EU banned the exportof products used for execution, citingits goal to be the “leading institution-al actor and largest donor to the fightagainst the death penalty.” Butbeefed up European rules mean theresults are being most strongly felt inthe United States now, with short-ages becoming chronic and grue-some executions making headlines.

In Ohio last month, DennisMcGuire took 26 minutes to die aftera previously untested mix of chemi-cals began flowing into his body,gasping repeatedly as he lay on agurney. On Jan 9, Oklahoma inmateMichael Lee Wilson’s last words were:“I feel my whole body burning.” Thedilemma again grabbed nationalattention this week when anOklahoma pharmacy agreedMonday to refrain from supplying anexecution drug to the MissouriDepartment of Corrections for anupcoming lethal injection. Deathrow inmate Michael Taylor’s hadargued in a lawsuit that recent exe-cutions involving the drug pentobar-bital would likely cause “inhumanepain” - and, ahead of a hearing set forTuesday, The Apothecary Shoppesaid it would not provide the drug.

EU nations are notorious for dis-agreeing on just about everythingwhen it comes to common policy,but they all strongly - and proudly -agree on one thing: abolishing capi-tal punishment. Europe saw totalitar-ian regimes abuse the death penaltyas recently as the 20th century, andpublic opinion across the bloc istherefore staunchly opposed to it.The EU’s uncompromising stancehas set off a cat-and-mouse game,with US corrections departmentsdevising new ways to carry out lethalinjections only to hit updated exportrestrictions within months.

“Our political task is to push for anabolition of the death penalty, notfacilitate its procedure,” said BarbaLochbihler, chairwoman of theEuropean Parliament’s subcommitteeon human rights. Europe’s toughstance has caused US states to startexperimenting with new drug mix-tures, even though convicts’ lawyersand activists argue they increase therisk of painful prolonged death andmay violate the constitutional ban oncruel and unusual punishment. In anupcoming execution in Louisiana, thestate is set to follow Ohio’s example inusing the untested drug cocktail usedin McGuire’s execution. It changed itsexecution protocol last week to useOhio’s two-drug combinationbecause it could no longer procurepentobarbital, a powerful sedative.

The execution was scheduled forFebruary, but was stayed pending afederal judge’s examination in Aprilregarding whether the state can pro-ceed with the plan to executeChristopher Sepulvado, convicted inthe 1992 killing of his 6-year-old step-son. In 2010, Louisiana switched fromthe established three-drug protocolto a one-drug pentobarbital lethalinjection, but eventually that drug

also became unavailable because ofEuropean pressure. “The lethal injec-tion that they are using now in cer-tain states has never been tested, ver-ified, let alone been approved forexecutions,” said Maya Foa ofReprieve, a London-based charityfighting the death penalty. “Thisamounts to using humans as guineapigs. No doctor would ever do that.”

Ohio prosecutors counter thatcondemned inmates are not entitledto a pain-free execution under theConstitution. Even if the effect of thetwo drugs used by Ohio “presentssome inherent risk of discomfort,that does not amount to cruel andunusual punishment,” ChristopherConomy, an assistant Ohio attorney

general, argued in court documentslast month. The US execution dilem-ma goes back to 2005, when the EUrestricted exports of goods “for thepurpose of capital punishment or forthe purpose of torture.” That banincludes items such as electric chairsand lethal injection systems.

Drug ShortageThe drug shortage then started

biting in 2010 when Hospira Inc, thesole US manufacturer of sodiumthiopental, a sedative that is part ofthe normal three-drug mixture,stopped production. A few monthslater, Hospira dropped plans to pro-duce it in Italy because the govern-ment there asked for guarantees thatit would never be used in executions.States in 2011 switched to pentobar-bital, but Denmark-based LundbeckInc, the drug’s only US-licensed mak-er, faced a public backlash and quick-ly said it would put the medicationoff-limits for capital punishmentthrough a tightly controlled distribu-tion system. Fearing for their reputa-tion, the companies never wanted tosee their drugs used in executions.

As US authorities started lookingfor other sources, Britain went aheadand restricted exports of sodiumthiopental and other drugs at theend of 2010. “This move underlinesthis government’s ... moral opposi-tion to the death penalty in all cir-cumstances,” Business SecretaryVince Cable said then. Germany’sgovernment also urged pharmaceu-tical companies to stop exports, and

the country’s three firms selling sodi-um thiopental promised not to sellto US prison authorities.

The EU then updated its exportregulation in late 2011 to ban the saleof eight drugs - including pentobar-bital and sodium thiopental - if thepurpose is to use them in lethal injec-tions. That produced a flurry of actionin the United States. In May 2012Missouri announced it would switchto using the anesthetic propofol, infa-mous for its role in Michael Jackson’soverdose death. But propofol, too,was manufactured in Europe, byGermany’s Fresenius Kabi.

Missouri’s plan prompted an out-cry across Europe and the EU threat-ened to restrict propofol exports.

That in turn provoked a medical out-cry in the US because propofol isused in about 95 percent of surgicalprocedures requiring an anesthetic,according to the American Society ofAnesthesiologists. Fresenius Kabi,whose slogan is “caring for life”, swift-ly moved amid a blitz of bad PR andEU threats to introduce a stringentdistribution control to prevent salesto US prisons. Another manufacturer,

Germany’s B Braun, immediately fol-lowed suit.

In Oct 2012 Missouri GovernorJay Nixon expressed indignation,saying state and federal court sys-tems, not European politicians,should decide death penalty policy.Still, a month later he backtrackedand halted what was to have beenthe first US execution using propofol.Missouri and other states have sincealso resorted to custom-made batch-es of drugs, while refusing to divulgewhich pharmacy produced them - asin the case being heard yesterday.The secrecy has led to new lawsuits,not least after safety concerns oversuch drugs arose in 2012 after con-taminated injections from a

Massachusetts facility caused ameningitis outbreak that killed 64people and sickened hundreds.

Botched Executions An attorney for McGuire’s family

supported the European position. “Ithink it’s right for the (pharmaceuti-cal) companies to draw a line whenpeople are using the drugs for thewrong purposes,” said Jon Paul Rion.

In principle, there are a number ofpainkillers, sedatives and paralyzingagents that can kill if administered inhigh doses. But switching drugs willinvite new lawsuits and could involvedrawn-out bureaucratic or legislativedelays - in addition to doubts abouthow quickly and mercifully thesedrugs can kill. “Such botched execu-tions go some way to debunking themyth that lethal injection is ahumane way to kill someone,” saidReprieve’s Foa.

When Europeans criticize the US,they frequently cite the inequality ofhealthcare and the continued use ofcapital punishment. Europe has seenautocratic or totalitarian regimes cor-rupting justice throughout the 20thcentury with people being executedfor political reasons or without fair tri-al, resulting in strong opposition tothe death penalty after World War II.Western Germany forbade capitalpunishment after the war, just as Italydid. France, which gave the world theword guillotine, decapitated only afew people after WW II amid increas-ing public opposition.

“There will be no lasting peaceeither in the heart of individuals or insocial customs until death is out-lawed,” French Literature Nobel Prizewinner Albert Camus wrote in 1957in an influential essay. France’s lastexecution now dates back almost 40years. In Eastern Europe, the deathpenalty was abolished after the col-lapse of the Soviet Union.

An international AP poll in 2007found that about 70 percent of thosesurveyed in the US favor the deathpenalty for people convicted of mur-der. In Germany, Italy and Spain onlyabout 30 percent did so. Overall,experts say Europe’s judicial system ismore oriented toward rehabilitation,not punishment. That is also reflectedin drastically lower incarcerationrates: Across the EU, about 130 peo-ple per 100,000 inhabitants arebehind bars compared to 920 in theUS, according to EU and US JusticeDepartment figures.

The death penalty has been abol-ished or suspended in all developedeconomies, except for the US andJapan. Execution rankings have rou-tinely shown the US in the unusualcompany of China, Iran, Saudi-Arabia,Iraq and Pakistan. Vietnam has faceda similar dilemma to the UnitedStates, finding it difficult to importexecution drugs from Europe since itswitched from firing squads to lethalinjection in 2011 on humanitariangrounds.

The anti-capital punishment camphas also gained ground in the US. Thenumber of US executions has declinedin recent years - from a peak of 98 in1999 to 39 last year. Some states haveabolished the death penalty, and thosethat carry on find executions increas-ingly difficult to conduct because ofthe drug scarcity and doubts abouthow well they work. Public support forcapital punishment also appears to beretreating. Last year, 60 percent ofAmericans polled said they favor thedeath penalty for convicted murder-ers, the lowest level measured since1972, according to Gallup. To counterthe drug shortages lawmakers insome death penalty states - Missouri,Virginia and Wyoming - are now con-sidering bringing back executionmethods such as firing squads, elec-trocutions and gas chambers. Thereare still about 3,000 inmates on deathrow. —AP

THE LEADING INDEPENDENTDAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF

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Defectors and activists welcomed yesterday a UN-mandated inquiry’s searing indictment of grosshuman rights abuses in North Korea, but analysts

questioned the international community’s ability to acton its recommendations. Pyongyang’s grim rights recordhas already been well documented by specialist moni-tors. But the size, breadth and detail of the report com-piled by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on North Korea- and the UN imprimatur it carries - set it apart. KimYoung-Soon, one of the many defectors who providedharrowing testimony to the COI, said she was grateful tothe commission for recording the “nightmares we wentthrough” for posterity.

“North Korea has not and will never admit the exis-tence of prison camps and this report won’t change any-thing overnight,” Kim told AFP. “But that does not meansitting back and doing nothing. We need to keep collect-ing testimony so that someday it can be used as undis-puted evidence to punish those behind the atrocities,”she added.

Now 77, Kim was a well-connected member of theNorth Korean elite in 1970, when she was suddenlydragged off to a labour camp as part of a purge of peo-ple who knew about the then-future leader Kim Jong-Il’saffair with a married actress. So began a nine-year ordealin what Kim described to the COI as “the most hellishplace in the world” where inmates worked from dawn todusk, supplementing starvation rations with anythingthey could catch, including snakes, salamanders and rats.

‘My heart still aches’ Family contacts managed to get Kim released in 1979.

In 2001, she bribed her way across the border with Chinaand eventually made it to Seoul in 2003, where she worksas a dance teacher and lectures on life in North Korea.“My heart still aches and I still wake up at night sweatingjust thinking about the prison camp I was in and familymembers I lost,” she said yesterday. The COI reportdetailed murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment,rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence in NorthKorea, which chairman Michael Kirby said carried echoesof the Nazi Holocaust. A key conclusion was that many ofthe violations “constitute crimes against humanity”.

Hong Soon-Kyung, a defector who now heads theSeoul-based Committee for the Democratization ofNorth Korea, told AFP that no report could truly reflectthe brutality of the regime in the North. Although theCOI’s findings were nothing new to those working onNorth Korean rights issues, Hong said their publicationwas a “very meaningful step” with a UN mandate thatwould help pressure Pyongyang and its few backers.North Korea refused to cooperate with the commission,claiming its evidence was “fabricated” by “hostile” forces.

The COI panel said that North Korea’s leaders shouldbe brought before an international court for a litany ofcrimes against humanity - a recommendation that manyobservers suggested was wishful thinking. Any substan-tive action on the part of the world community wouldrequire the participation of the North’s key ally China,which has made clear it opposes any move to refer thePyongyang leadership to the International CriminalCourt.

Perpetual emergency Noted North Korea watcher Leonid Petrov said there

was no simple solution in the current context of a diplo-matically isolated, totalitarian state whose leadership isintent on survival at all costs. The issue of rights abuses“cannot be resolved unilaterally, nor swiftly, withouttransforming the political climate of the whole region”,said Petrov, a researcher at Australia National University.This would require, he argued, formally ending theKorean War - which concluded in 1953 with a ceasefirerather than a peace treaty - as well as diplomatic recogni-tion of North Korea and the lifting of sanctions imposedfor its nuclear program.

Otherwise the North would remain in a “perpetualand assiduously cultivated state of emergency” in whichhuman rights were sacrificed on the altar of regime sur-vival. “Without the goodwill of regional policy makers toaddress the problem of the Korean War especially, theissue of human rights in Korea is unlikely to be resolved,”Petrov added. —AFP

By Jung Ha-Won

Issues

DPRK atrocities

are exposed,

but what next?

A N A L Y S I SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Europe at origin of US execution dilemma

In this June 18, 2010 file photo, the firing squad execution chamber at the Utah State Prison inDraper, Utah, is shown.

This May 13, 2011 file photo shows the gas chamber at the for-mer Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City that is now atourist attraction. —AP

S P O RT SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

LONDON: Wales outside-half Rhys Priestland gave Welsh regional rugby a boost yes-terday by announcing he was extending his contract with the Scarlets.

The 26-year-old had been linked with clubs in England and France, where severalof his international team-mates are playing for Top 14 clubs, with full-back LeighHalfpenny set to join them at the end of this season in a lucrative move to Europeanchampions Toulon. Priestland-in line to play for Wales against France in the Six Nationsin Cardiff on Friday-however, has opted to stay put and follow the example of Scarletsteam-mate Scott Williams and Ospreys and Wales lock Alun Wyn Jones, boh of whomrecently committed themselves to staying in the Welsh club game. Capped 27 times byWales, Priestland was a member of the 2012 Grand Slam-winning team and a year earli-er helped his country reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

“I am really pleased to have secured my contract with the Scarlets going forwardand to continue my commitment to rugby in Wales,” he said. “The Scarlets

is where I’ve developed as a rugby player and have been supported sinceI first started playing, with some good coaches and experienced seniorplayers helping me in my career.

“It’s important to me to continue my commitment to a great rugbycommunity, environment and team that I am proud to be a part

of. “We have a very strong team ethic at the Scarlets, and it isgood to belong to an environment that means a lot to me

as an individual and has a real heritage and tradition aswell.”! Simon Easterby, coach of the Llanelli-basedScarlets, added: “Rhys has become one of our most

experienced players and has a lot to contribute to theregion on and off the field. —AFP

Priestland sticks with ScarletsLONDON: Everton have been handed a double boost with Steven Naismithexpected to be fit for Saturday’s Premier League match at leaders Chelsea and fel-low striker Romelu Lukaku available for the following week’s clash with West HamUnited.

Scottish international Naismith was forced off during Sunday’s FA Cup fifthround win over Swansea City because of concussion. “Stevie has reacted reallywell,” manager Roberto Martinez told the club website (www.evertonfc.com) yes-terday. “It was a little bit of a concern straight away when he had that delayed con-cussion. “Two hours after the game he was fine but for the next 24 hours it’s thenimportant you’re in observation and we’re checking all the signs are right.

“We’ve done that and Stevie is perfectly well. Over the nextthree or four days we’re going to keep an eye on how he isrecovering but I would say Stevie will be fully fit for the week-end because he’s ready now to get back to work as normal.”

Belgian international Lukaku, sixth-placed Everton’s topscorer this season with nine league goals, has been out withan ankle injury for three weeks but is targeting the West Hammatch on March 1 for his return. The on-loan striker is unableto play against parent club Chelsea.

“It helps in a way that he’s not available for this weekendbecause this game may have been a little bit too early forhim,” Martinez added. —Reuters

Double boost for EvertonSCOTLAND: Coach Scott Johnson has made three changes toScotland’s pack for Saturday’s Six Nations match in Rome, with ScottLawson, Richie Gray and Johnnie Beattie returning for the potentialwooden-spoon decider.

Lawson, capped 40 times, replaces Ross Ford at hooker, Graymoves into the second row in place of Tim Swinson and Beattietakes the place of David Denton at number eight.

“We’ve made the changes to the pack with a view to improvingthe supply and quality of possession,” Johnson told the ScottishRugby Union website (www.scottishrugby.org).

“Italy are formidable opponents, especially in Rome, andScotland’s matches against them in recent years have been a realarm wrestle.” Both sides are without a victory after two matches anddetermined to win in an attempt to avoid last place. Scotland losttheir first match to Ireland 28-6 in Dublin, before being held score-less in a meek 20-0 defeat by England at Murrayfield. “I was notinvolved against England but I think the guys were pretty down andthey did not manage to show what they can do,” Gray said. “So Ithink this weekend it’s really about showing what we can do.” GreigLaidlaw will remain as captain in the continued absence of flankerKelly Brown, who was dropped for the England match. Scotlandhave won the past two meetings with Italy in all competition buthave not beaten them in Rome since 2006. — Reuters

Changes to Scotland pack

TEMPE: With college basketball’s regular seasonwinding down, the bubble for the NCAA tourna-ment has become, teams moving in and outalmost on a nightly basis.

One team that’s moved its way out of thebubble’s reach, at least for now, is Arizona State.The Sun Devils had made themselves a viableNCAA candidate over the past few weeks, win-ning five of six games since being blown out bythen-top-ranked Arizona.

Arizona State gave its bracket bid a boost bybeating the Wildcats in a rematch last Friday,pulling out a that’ll-get-some-attention, double-overtime win over the No. 2 team in the country.

“That is huge for our resume, for our goals of(playing in a) postseason tournament,” said SunDevils center Jordan Bachynski, who sealed thevictory by blocking T.J. McConnell’s runner with6 seconds left. The victory gave Arizona State 19wins, eight Pac-12 wins and bumped its RPI rat-ing up to No. 29.

Of course, that only helps the Sun Devils atthe moment. Should they stumble down thestretch, they could easily end up back on thebubble, maybe even watch it pop.

And there are plenty of opportunities for aletdown; Arizona State has one of the toughestclosing schedules in college basketball, its finalsix games against teams with an RPI of 94th orbetter.

“I don’t know if relief is the right word,because if we don’t take care of business overthe next couple weeks, we won’t get to the tour-nament,” Bachynski said. “We can’t let this winget to our head.”

Should the Sun Devils take care of business,they’ll be in the NCAA tournament for the firsttime since 2009. A few other teams helped theircauses over the weekend and some made itharder on themselves. We run down a few teamson the rise and a few that have fallen in the firstinstallment of what will be a weekly look atteams on the bubble as the season winds downto the NCAA tournament:

MOVING UPNebraska. The Cornhuskers were well off the

radar after opening the Big Ten with four straightlosses. Nebraska (14-10, 6-6 Big 12) has put itselfinto the NCAA tournament conversation overthe past month, winning six of eight, includingSunday’s road victory over then-No. 9 MichiganState. The Cornhuskers still have some work todo, but have at least made their way into thebubble. Baylor. The Bears (17-9, 5-8 Big 12) faceda potential bubble-busting game againstOklahoma State on Monday night and won.They certainly needed it after freefalling fromthe top 10 to 4-8 in the Big 12. There’s still workto do, but the overtime win over the Cowboysshould give them a big boost.

Minnesota: Three straight Big Ten losses hurtthe Gophers’ chances, but they are still in decentshape after beating Indiana and getting back totheir defensive ways in Sunday’s 54-48 win overNorthwestern. The Gophers also have victoriesover Ohio State and Wisconsin, along with a sol-id RPI of 33. Minnesota (17-9) is under .500 theBig Ten so far (6-7), but a strong finish in one ofthe nation’s tougher conferences could get theminto the bracket.

St. John’s. An 0-5 start in the Big East shouldhave been it for the Red Storm. A recent surge,

one punctuated by Sunday ’s win overGeorgetown has them back in the NCAA picture.St. John’s (17-9, 7-6) has won five straight andeight of nine, but may need to avoid any late-season letdowns without any marquee presea-son victories to speak of.

FALLING BACKSouthern Methodist. The Mustangs were

ranked in The Associated Press poll for the firsttime since 1985 when they debuted at No. 23 onFeb. 10. SMU (20-6, 9-4 AAC) fell right out of thepoll with a loss to last-place Temple and alreadyhas a shaky road loss to South Florida. TheMustangs are still in decent shape with winsover UConn, Memphis and Cincinnati, but couldfind themselves on the outside looking in withanother tough-on-the-eyes loss.

Georgetown. The Hoyas have some goodwins in their pocket, including Michigan State,Kansas State and VCU. Still, Georgetown is hov-ering around .500 in the Big East (6-7) and

already has 10 losses, including Sunday’s ugly22-point setback to St. John’s, a team it beat by17 earlier this season. The Hoyas are No. 58 inthe RPI and have a tough closing schedule.

LSU. Another team having a roller coasterseason, the Tigers (15-9, 6-6 SEC) have fallenback to the edge of the NCAA bubble. When LSUknocked off Kentucky on Jan. 28 and followedwith a victory over Arkansas, its bracket chanceslooked decent.

Since then, the Tigers have lost three of four,including a not-so-great loss at Texas A&M. LSUis No. 72 in the RPI and still has to face Kentucky,Florida and Georgia. Oklahoma State. TheCowboys were on the wrong end of the gameagainst Baylor, but it goes deeper than onegame. Oklahoma State (16-10, 4-9) has lost sev-en straight - four with Marcus Smart and allthree he was suspended for after an altercationwith a Texas Tech fan. Smart returns this week-end and the Cowboys need their winning waysto come with him. —AP

Highs and lows of NCAA bubble teams

EAST LANSING: Nebraska’s Tai Webster (0) and Michigan State’s Gary Harris chase the ball dur-ing the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in this file photo. — AP

MIAMI: LeBron James cannot currentlyenvision a scenario where he leaves theMiami Heat this summer, though he stillplans to assess his needs and his future atthe end of the season.

James made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBA TV. The Heatstar can choose to become a free agentafter this season by exercising an option inthe contract he signed when he arrived inMiami during the summer of 2010.

Asked by interviewer Steve Smith if hecan picture himself being anywhere else,James did not seem to hesitate beforeanswering.

“At this point, I can’t,” James said. “At thispoint, I can’t. We don’t know what can hap-pen from now to July, so what I’ve beenable to do this whole season to this point isjust worry about what’s at hand and that’swinning another championship. And hope-fully at the end of this year I can put myselfin a position where I can hold that LarryO’Brien Trophy up once again and then Iwill assess what I have to do with my futureafter that.” James discussed several topicsin the interview, including what his currentsources of motivation are, ways he thinkshis game can still improve, how he handlesexpectations, the struggles of his first sea-son in Miami and his background growingup in Akron, Ohio.

Some of his most telling comments

revolved around the fallout that came afterthe Heat lost to Dallas in the 2011 NBAFinals. James has often told the story abouthow he spent the next two weeks in nearisolation, completely overcome by the dis-appointment of losing the title series.

In the interview, James also revealedhow he started to get past that loss, sayingthat Heat guard Dwyane Wade - withwhom he clashed at times over roles on theteam in that first season - urged him to joinhim in the Bahamas for a getaway.

“We had some great conversationsthere,” James said. “D-Wade was like, ‘Man,in order for us to be great you have to bethe guy.’” James said he was slightly takenaback by that.

“We’re talking about Wade County here,”James said, referring to what Miami-DadeCounty starting calling itself in Wade’s hon-or. “We’re talking about the man who won achampionship here, who’s been a six-timeAll-Star, you want me to take the keys? Andhe said, ‘Absolutely.’”

With that, James said he left the villainrole he played with that season in theBahamas, came home and went into thegym to get started on the next season. TheHeat have won two NBA titles since.

“I don’t play for what people expect forme to do anymore,” James said. “I want tobe the greatest of all time and that’s justmy mindset.” — AP

LeBron: ‘At this point, Ican’t’ see leaving Miami

NEW ORLEANS: East Team’s LeBron James, of the Miami Heat (6) heads to the hoopduring the NBA All Star basketball game in this file photo. — AP

MUSCAT: Andre Greipel of Germany won asprint finish to take the first stage of the Tourof Oman cycle race in Muscat yesterday.

Greipel, who became the first rider to donthe leader ’s red jersey, edged ahead ofAustralia’s Leigh Howard and Nicola Ruffoniof Italy crossing the finishing line at Nassen

Garden. Greipel, who rides for the Lottoteam, has got his season off to a fine startwith two stage wins in Australia, in the TourDown Under, and another in last week’s Tourof Qatar. “This proves I’ve lost none of myedge when it comes to speed, but it alsoshows the team is very strong, the guys all

worked hard and no one but us deserved towin today,” he said.

Greipel did have a moment of doubt inthe final run-in as as he found himself trailinga rapid breakaway, but the team came to hisrescue. “It was an awkward moment but LarsBak put in the work to get me back to thefront,” Greipel added.

For Tour de France winner Chris Froome,the race favourite, things do not really beginin earnest until Thursday with the first of theclimbs. In the meantime, the sprinters haveanother day in the limelight on Wednesdaywith a 139 kilometre ride on the flat from AlBustan to Quriyat.

Froome said his success last year hadmade him more relaxed coming into theTour of Oman, which he won last year.“There’s less pressure because I’m not here togain experience as a leader,” the 28-year-oldKenyan-born Briton said. “It was critical lastyear but this year I feel more relaxed but I’mstill motivated,” he added. Froome said hiswinter training in South Africa meant he was“acclimatised already to the heat”.

Asked the inevitable questions aboutdoping, Froome acknowledged it would“take a little more time” for people to regainconfidence in the sport. “I think it’s going totake a few consecutive Tour wins that aren’truined by doping cases,” he said. — AFP

OMAN: Cyclists ride past a mosque during the first stage of the Tour of Oman, 168.5 kmfrom al-Suwaiq Fort to Al-Naseem Park in the North Batna province, north of the capitalMuscat. —AFP

Greipel wins Tour of Oman stage

OMAN: Germany’s Andre Greipel of Lotto Belisol team celebrates on the podium afterwinning the first stage of the 2014 cycling Oman Tour yesterday. — AFP

S P O RT SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

CAPE TOWN: Whether to stick with an all-rounderat number seven or play an extra batsman tocounter Australia’s fiery bowling attack is thevexed question for South Africa ahead of the sec-ond test at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth start-ing tomorrow.

The Australians were clearly superior in all threedisciplines in their crushing 281-run victory in thefirst test in Pretoria last week, the excellent Ashesform of fast bowler Mitchell Johnson repeated atSuperSport Park as he literally hurt the SouthAfrican batsmen with 12 wickets and numerousbody blows. One of those was to the side of thehead of all-rounder Ryan McLaren, who has subse-quently been ruled out of the second test withconcussion meaning there will be at least onechange to the Proteas line-up.

It is possible McLaren might have lost his posi-tion in any event as South Africa admit they areconsidering replacing an all-rounder with a sev-enth batsman in Dean Elgar.

Aside from AB de Villiers’ 91 and 48, the top sixSouth African batsmen managed just 57 runs inthe first innings in Pretoria and 68 in the second.

The left-handed Elgar’s test career, which start-ed with a pair of ducks on debut against Australiain Perth in 2012 when he was bagged both timesby Johnson, has been mediocre with a singleunbeaten century against New Zealand and a nexthighest score of 27 in nine innings.

Having chosen not to call up a replacement forMcLaren to their test squad, Elgar is the only spe-cialist batsman available for selection.

“There (has been) debate around playing an

extra batter,” Proteas convener of selectors AndrewHudson told reporters. “Australia went in batting-heavy, relying on their three seamers and theirspinner, which they did successfully.

“We need to consider putting in a batter at sev-en. Then we can go in with the three quicks andRobbie P (Peterson).” Should they opt for anotherall-round option then Wayne Parnell will get thenod on his home ground, the left-arm quickunlucky to lose out to McLaren in the first Test.

Australia, who have not lost a test series inSouth Africa since 1970, also have a selection pos-er in the lead-up to the Port Elizabeth game if all-rounder Shane Watson returns to fitness in time.

Watson exacerbated a persistent calf injury onthe eve of the first test and watched from thestands as new two players both made significant

contributions to Australia’s cause in Pretoria.Shaun Marsh scored a century in his first test

appearance in two years while debutante AlexDoolan came within 11 runs of a debut test ton asAustralia dominated their hosts to bat them insidefour days.

“Obviously we’ll have to see what the wicket islike; whether we need the extra bowling option.You’d like him to bowl,” Australia coach DarrenLehman said on Monday, suggesting Watsonwould not be selected for his batting alone.

“Firstly we’ve got to get him fit, and then we’llsee what happens from there. He’s pretty close; hewas running on Sunday, but at the end of the daywe’ve got to get him fit and ready to play testcricket at this level.” The third and final Test will beplayed in Cape Town from March 1. — Reuters

SA ponder team balance ahead of second Test

WELLINGTON: New Zealand recorded their first Testseries victory over India since 2002 when the secondmatch ended in a draw yesterday after BrendonMcCullum had become the first New Zealander toscore a test triple century.

Captain McCullum’s 302 anchored New Zealand’srecord 680 for eight declared, setting the visitors theimpossible task of scoring 435 runs in 67 overs toachieve the victory they needed after the hosts wonthe first test at Eden Park by 40 runs.

New Zealand had India in trouble early in theirsecond innings with the sniff of an unlikely victoryin their nostrils but once Virat Kohli knuckled downto record his sixth test century, McCullum andMahendra Singh Dhoni decided to call the game offwith 15 overs remaining.

Tim Southee took two wickets after lunch toreduce India to 54 for three before Kohli (105 notout) and Rohit Sharma (31 not out) batted out theremainder of the day ’s play to take their s idethrough to 166 for three.

“Without being disrespectful I probably didn’tknow the magnitude of it (scoring 300) until the last24 hours,” McCullum said. “I watched Martin Crowescore his 299 and thought it would have been anamazing feat if he scored 300 but probably didn’tquite understand how much it meant to the wholecountry. “I think in terms of New Zealand cricket andmoving forward for this team, we have finally bro-ken that 300 barrier and hopefully some of theseguys will continue to break that.”

TENSE ATMOSPHEREMcCullum resumed with debutant J immy

Neesham (67 overnight), as the queues formed out-side the ground to see what many in the smallcrowd hoped would be history in the making.

He scored his f i rst run of the day when hepushed an Ishant Sharma delivery wide of mid-offand strolled through for a single, which was warmlyapplauded, and pulled the bowler to the midwicketfence for his first boundary.

Ishant caused a collective intake of breath whenhe comprehensively beat McCullum on 293, thoughthe batsman did not get a nick. Neesham, however,was not getting caught up in the emotion as thetension ramped up with every delivery, every overthat McCullum was still at the crease being applaud-ed. The 23-year-old temporarily stole his captain’sthunder with his first test century when he tuckedIshant off his hip for two runs. Neesham’s centurycame from 123 balls, including 15 boundaries, andwas greeted with a massive cheer from the crowd ashe raised his arms and celebrated.

McCullum then reached the milestone many hadbeen waiting for when he dabbed Zaheer Khanbehind square for his 32nd four and received a sus-tained round of applause that went on for morethan a minute, while his father Stu jumped to hisfeet in celebration. The 32-year-old’s innings lastedjust two more balls when he feathered a catch offZaheer to Dhoni. His triple century was the 28th intest cricket and the New Zealand skipper becamethe 24th player to score one. Brian Lara, VirenderSehwag, Chris Gayle and Don Bradman all strucktwo triple tons. McCullum scored 535 runs in thetwo-match series, having also scored 224 in the first

game in Auckland. Neesham was 137 not out whenMcCullum declared at New Zealand’s highest Testscore, surpassing the 671-4 they scored against SriLanka in 1991 at the same ground.

“As a cricket fan, I think he batted really well andhe was given good company by Watling,” Dhoni told

reporters of McCullum’s innings. “Playing 500-odddeliveries itself is very tough, you know. Just forgetthe amount of runs he scored. “Playing the amountof deliveries and just to keep going... I think he bat-ted really well and I think it was one of the goodinnings that we were able to see.” — Reuters

NZ clinch series victory

after McCullum triple ton

WELLINGTON: A team photo of New Zealand players after winning the Test series during dayfive of the 2nd International Test cricket match between New Zealand and India. — AFP

New Zealand first innings 192India first innings 438

New Zealand second innings (overnight 571-6)P. Fulton lbw b Khan 1H. Rutherford c Dhoni b Khan 35 K. Williamson c Dhoni b Khan 7T. Latham c Dhoni b Shami 29B. McCullum c Dhoni b Khan 302C. Anderson c & b Jadeja 2BJ Watling lbw b Shami 124J. Neesham not out 137T. Southee c Pujara b Khan 11N. Wagner not out 2 Extras: (b-9, lb-12, nb-7, w-2) 30Total (for eight wickets dec., 210 overs) 680 Fall of wickets: 1-1 2-27 3-52 4-87 5-94 6-446

7-625 8-639

Bowling: I. Sharma 45-4-164-0 (nb-6), Khan 51-13-170-5 (w-2), Shami 43-6-149-2, Jadeja 52-11-115-1, R. Sharma 11-0-40-0, Kohli 6-1-13-0(nb-1), Dhoni 1-0-5-0, Dhawan 1-0-3-0.India second inningsM. Vijay c Anderson b Southee 7S. Dhawan lbw b Boult 2C. Pujara c Watling b Southee 17V. Kohli not out 105R. Sharma not out 31Extras: (nb-2, w-2) 4Total (for three wickets, 52 overs) 166Fall of wickets: 1-10 2-10 3-54Bowling: Boult 16-5-47-1 (nb-1), Southee 16-

3-50-2, Wagner 11-3-38-0, Neesham 5-0-25-0(w-2, nb-1), Anderson 4-1-6-0 .Result: match drawn.

SCOREBOARD

WELLINGTON: Scoreboard at the end of the second test between New Zealand and India atWellington’s Basin Reserve yesterday.

Adam Gilchrist

LONDON: Adam Gilchrist will be behind thestumps to fellow Australia great Shane Warneone more time after his involvement in theLord’s bicentenary match was confirmed yester-day. Gilchrist will be a member of the Rest of theWorld team captained by Warne that will playMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owners ofLord’s, in a one-day match on July 5 celebratingthe London ground’s 200th anniversary.

“I’m privileged to have been asked to play inthis match on such an exciting occasion,”Gilchrist said in a statement issued yesterday.“Lord’s is a wonderful place to play cricket andI’m really looking forward to helping celebrateits bicentenary in this match.

“There are going to be a lot of familiar facesaround and it’ll be a lot of fun to play alongsidea couple of old teammates too.”

Meanwhile former Australia fast bowlerShaun Tait and New Zealand spinner DanielVettori have also been added to the line-up ofleading players taking part.

India hero Sachin Tendulkar will captain aMCC side that also includes his long-time inter-national colleague and Rahul Dravid.

Their fellow India batsman Yuvraj Singh, isalso set to play in the fixture at the ‘home ofcricket’ as is West Indies’ mainstay ShivnarineChanderpaul. The 42-year-old Gilchrist, whoplayed two Tests and six One Day Internationalsat Lord’s, averaged over 40 at the ground duringa career in which he took over 900 dismissals in

396 international matches. Left-arm spinnerVettori secured a coveted place on the Lord’shonours board by taking five for 69 againstEngland in a Test in 2008. He also holds therecord for the best ODI figures at Lord’s, with fivefor 30 against West Indies in 2004.

MCC president and former England captainMike Gatting said: “The teams for this match arereally taking shape now, and everyone bothinside and outside MCC is really looking forwardto Saturday 5th July. “The prospect of watchingGilchrist keeping to Warne again is one that’ssure to whet the appetite of any cricket fan, andthe talent on show at this match will be fitting ofthe occasion.” “It’s testament to the standingMCC has around the cricketing world that play-ers like Adam, Shaun and Daniel want to comeand celebrate the bicentenary of the currentLord’s Ground with the club, and there are morebig names to come.”

As a player, top-order batsman Gatting wasinvolved in a similar, star-studded, match in1987 when he scored 179 for MCC against theRest of the World in a five-day fixture markingthe 200th anniversary of the club. MCC, foundedin 1787, moved to its present site in the north-west London suburb of St John’s Wood in 1814,with the ground owned by entrepreneur ThomasLord-hence its name. Although it is more than 40years since MCC ceased to run English cricket, itretains worldwide responsibility for the game’s‘Laws’, as cricket’s rules are known. — AFP

Gilchrist to join Warne in

Lord’s bicentenary match

WELLINGTON: Brendon McCullum showed hisgrowing maturity and desire to stamp his mark onNew Zealand with an inspirational triple-centurythat salvaged the second Test against India andsealed a 1-0 series win yesterday.

The 32-year-old’s 302 at Wellington’s BasinReserve capped a golden summer for the NewZealand captain, who has tormented India for 535runs in just two tests after guiding his team to acomprehensive 2-0 series win over West Indies.

Having long oozed confidence and bristledwith aggression at the crease, it was preciselythose qualities that McCullum shelved as he res-cued New Zealand from a seemingly hopelessposition at 94-5 on day three at the Basin Reserve.

Suppressing his natural attacking instinctsdeep within his wiry, 1.70 metre frame, McCullumplayed with restraint and discretion, waiting untilhe was on the brink of his first 100 before beltinga six to bring up the milestone.

Burning with desire to save the test and winthe series, McCullum batted for 775 minutes - themost by a New Zealand batsman in an innings -after combining with wicketkeeper BJ Watling fora test record sixth wicket partnership of 352.

“I guess you always want to lead from the frontas a captain and I haven’t always done that, butthat’s what the desire is,” McCullum told reportersafter the second test ended in a draw on Tuesday.

“The hardest time to lead the team is whenyou’re not scoring runs and when your characterand the kind of person and leader you are out-weighs your own form.

“The team needs the captain to be a strongleader and person who enjoys other people’s suc-cess as well and that’s what I try to do.

“When I wasn’t scoring many runs, knowing if Ikept working hard and kept faith in my own gameat some point I would be able to score those runsand that makes leading a whole lot easier.”

The triple-century represents the apex ofMcCullum’s captaincy which was born in contro-versy and questioned after a disastrous tour ofSouth Africa. A clumsy leadership change saw

McCullum handed the reins of both the one-dayand test teams late in 2012, after predecessorRoss Taylor relinquished both in disgust aftercoach Mike Hesson felt McCullum was a better fitfor what he wanted to achieve.

With Taylor, then New Zealand’s top batsman,pulling out of the South Africa tour and the ran-cour still overshadowing the team, McCullum’sfirst series in charge ended in humiliation in bothtests, including their dismissal for 45 in the firstmatch in Cape Town.

The team rebounded to win the one-day seriesand McCullum later oversaw New Zealand’s returnto respectability with a drawn home series againstEngland, which the hosts largely dominated.

BRASH WICKETKEEPERBlessed with a superb eye and quick hands,

McCullum emerged as a brash wicketkeeper in his2004 test debut against South Africa and

announced himself with an entertaining 96against England at Lord’s later the same year.

His attacking mindset in limited overs matchesmade him an immediate target for big-spendingTwenty20 teams, particularly in India, where heproved his worth to the new Premier League com-petition by smashing a century in the first gameof the inaugural tournament.

A one-day international innings againstBangladesh at Queenstown in 2007 epitomisedhis approach. Needing just 94 runs to win thegame, McCullum smashed 80 from 28 balls,including nine fours and six sixes.

The game ended after just six overs of NewZealand’s allotted 50 and television commenta-tors joked that McCullum had booked an after-noon tee time at a local golf club.

Respect in the test arena came slower, butafter his first centuries against Bangladesh andZimbabwe, McCullum underlined his quality with115 against India in Napier in 2009, and hashaunted the same opponents with runs eversince.

His unwavering confidence has not alwaysbeen embraced, being at odds with the oftenreserved New Zealand psyche.

His demands to move up the batting orderfrom number seven where he struck his first fivetest centuries were seen as a demonstration ofplayer power that had dogged the team and histhree-year period as an opener ended in 2013with mixed results.

Though having pledged never to change hisnatural game, McCullum’s ascendancy to the cap-taincy has seen a change in attitude.

Three times in the home summer, NewZealand have needed the right-hander to stickaround and occupy the crease.

He has delivered each time, with a centuryagainst West Indies followed by a double and atriple against India. McCullum’s mountain of runssealed New Zealand’s first test series win againstIndia since 2002, giving the captain another goodreason to swagger. — Reuters

McCullum shows growing

maturity with triple-ton

WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s captainBrendon McCullum poses with the trophyafter his team series win over India on thefinal day of the second Test. — AP

DUBAI: Women’s world number one SerenaWilliams eased into the third round of the WTADubai Open yesterday in her first match backsince injuring her back at the Australian Openbeating Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (10/8), 6-0.

The 32-year-ols American had a decent tus-sle in the first set having to save two set pointsagainst the world number 24 from Russia beforesettling into her groove to romp through thesecond set. Williams, who took a last momentwild card into this tournament, began gingerlyand took about an hour before she hit the ballwith anything like her usual authority.

Once she started to do that, she prevailedmore quickly, finishing the match feeling morehopeful that it might have been the right deci-sion to compete again for the first time in fourweeks. “It was really difficult at first and I was alittle bit frustrated,” Williams admitted. “I havebeen practising and this wasn’t what I had beenpractising. “I was making a lot of errors I don’tusually make, and my serve was not popping.But I stayed positive, and the second set wasbetter. The body felt all right.” She trailed 1-3 inthe first set, broke back, trailed 3-5, broke backagain, and found herself in trouble when shewas down 4-6 in the tie-break, with two setpoints against her.

At that stage Williams was far from her realself. But Williams is nothing if not a fighter. Shesaved one set point with a drop shot, quite a rar-ity for her, which opened up the court for a fore-hand pass, and regained parity with an excellent

backhand pass down the line. Her backhandground strokes seemed the more secure and itwas these which enabled her to manoeuvreMakarova into errors which caused the Russian’sexcellent chance to slip away.

After Makarova counter-hit a ball long to losethat first set, the pattern changed utterly.Williams broke serve immediately in the secondset and the match turned into a rout.

“I’m just happy to win because she is a goodplayer. But I am going to have to play better if Iam going to do better here,” said Williams, whohas never won this tournament. Williams has aday off during which she will learn whether shenext plays Jelena Jankovic, the former worldnumber one from Serbia who criticised the leg-end’s behaviour after losing to her in the final ofthe WTA (season-end) Championships, or LucieSafarova, the in-form world number 28 from theCzech republic. Williams earlier described theinjury which had prevented her from makingher scheduled return to the tour last week inDoha as “just really rib issues.”

She reckoned that it was “kind of hard todescribe, hard to explain, it’s kind of tedious toexplain - ver y technical,” completing thedescription with a grin. Earlier her elder sisterVenus Williams learned that her second roundopponent will be Ana Ivanovic, the formerworld number one from Serbia, who saved amatch point to sur vive 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6)against Angelique Kerber, the sixth seededGerman. — AFP

Serena defeats Ekaterina

Dubai Open

DUBAI: Russian tennis player Ekaterina Makarova returns the ball to Serena Williamsof the US during their match in the second day of the Dubai Duty Free TennisChampionships. —AFP

S P O RT SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

KRASNAYA POLYANA: Don’t give up the day job,Vanessa-Mae. The Sochi Games were good to the divaof violin classical pop. She now gets to call herself anOlympian having survived - the word “compete” isn’treally applicable - the giant slalom.

After gingerly completing both runs, she appliedsome lipstick, checked her look in a pocket mirror,strapped on a watch from a sponsor, pushed up hercoat sleeve to make sure it was visible on her wrist,and then went out to bathe in the attention of theworld’s media.She laughed for the microphones. Shesaid how “really cool” it all was. She slipped in how sheplans to celebrate her Olympic participation bydonating “a heap of money” to animal charities. Andthe whole while, a man who followed along at herside - he wouldn’t say who he was - made sure shewas holding a branded pair of skis when speaking tocamera and that the manufacturer’s name was clearlyvisible. All in all, it looked like a pretty fruitful day forVanessa-Mae Inc. And, if you’re Vanessa-Mae, anabsolute hoot.

“The Olympics is like the greatest show on Earthand to just share the same snow, to be able to slide

down the same snow that the elite skiers carve downis just an honor and a privilege,” she said. “So, youknow, when I get to even train with some of them forlike two runs, sometimes I’m already a little bit like,‘Ooh, that’s so cool!’ So imagine to be in the same raceas them.”

BEST OF BESTBut what do the Olympic Games get in return?

From a competitive standpoint, absolutely nothing.When Tina Maze hit the slope, you knew that youwere watching the best of the best. Bullying theslalom course, aggressively thwacking past the gates,the Slovenian embodied the Olympic motto - “Faster,Higher, Stronger” - as she raced to gold.

Top competitors hate to lose. They sulk. They beatthemselves up. They cry. They vow they’ll do betternext time. But Vanessa-Mae didn’t seem to care thatshe was last of the 67 finishers, that she was short onstyle and slowest of those who finished in both runs.Or that her combined time for both was 50 secondsslower than Maze’s. That is an eternity in ski racing. Themargin between Maze’s gold and Anna Fenninger’s sil-

ver was just 0.07 seconds. “I expected to be last but,you know, at the end of the day the Olympics is a greatopportunity,” Vanessa-Mae said after her first run. “Mymain purpose for being here was to really have a goodtime, to improve my skiing in a very, very short amountof time.” In which case, why not just take ski lessonslike other mere mortals? Using the Olympics toimprove one’s parallel turns cheapens them, mockingthe idea that the games are the pinnacle of sport.Other competitors were plenty supportive ofVanessa-Mae. “That’s part of the Olympic Games tohave so many people competing and so (many) dif-ferent countries,” said Swiss racer Dominique Gisin,who tied for the gold with Maze in downhill and fin-ished 10th in giant slalom. “Yesterday I saw an athletefrom Togo. Yeah, that’s cool, I think. That’s the amazingpart of the Olympics Games, to give all of the peoplefrom all over the world a chance to compete.” Well,yes. But it’s preferable that Olympians at least look likethey’re giving it their all. Vanessa-Mae is entitled to beat the Sochi Games. She took part in European racesto qualify, making the January deadline only narrow-ly, “by my chihuahua’s whisker,” as she put it.

“I think I slightly underestimated how much workgoes into being an athlete,” she said. She also is fortu-nate that her father is from Thailand, which enabledher to compete under the Thai flag and with his sur-name, Vanakorn. Had she been born Swiss.

EXOTIC NATIONSAustrian or from any other skiing power, she

wouldn’t have made their Olympic teams, becausethose countries have young kids who ski steep slopesbetter and more aggressively than Vanessa-Mae did. “Iwas lucky that the Olympics, you know, allow exoticnations, for people like me who have day jobs, we canstill manage to qualify for the Olympics,” Vanessa-Maesaid. So here she is, staying in the Olympic village,rubbing shoulders with the best. “It’s been really chill,you know? You’re just sharing a table with some guywho just won gold and some girl who just won gold. Imean they are gods and goddesses.”

As for herself, Vanessa-Mae said: “I’m a hobby skier.”In which case, stick with the violin. Leave competitiveskiing and the Olympics to those who really takethem seriously. — AP

Vanessa-Mae gives little to Olympics

SOCHI: Jorrit Bergsma wouldn’t go along with the sto-ryline. This was supposed to be about Sven Kramer’sredemption, the place where the world’s greatest dis-tance skater finally made up for his incredible blunderfour year ago. Instead, Kramer was dealt anothercrushing disappointment. With a stunner of a finishingkick, Bergsma upset his favored countryman to winspeedskating Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters yes-terday with the fastest time ever at sea level.

“I understand that people really wanted to seeSven win here,” Bergsma said. “But I skate for myself. Icame here to win gold. I wasn’t going to give away thegold for Sven’s story.”

Kramer gave away a sure gold at the 2010Vancouver Games with a botched lane change. Thistime, he simply got beat by - almost inevitably at theSochi Games - a fellow Dutchman.

Bergsma’s time of 12 minutes, 44.45 seconds wasless than 3 seconds off Kramer’s world record, set athigh altitude in 2007, and shattered the Olympicrecord of 12:58.55 by South Korea’s Lee Seung-hoonfour years ago. Kramer settled for silver in 12:49.02.The bronze went to 37-year-old Bob de Jong, the old-est speedskating medalist in 86 years.

“This is really bitter, because I never took this intoaccount,” Kramer said. “Turns out, I simply was notgood enough.” While the order of finish didn’t go asexpected, the guys on the podium were no surprise atall. It was another orange sweep, the fourth 1-2-3 fin-ish for the Netherlands at Adler Arena, its speedskat-ing medal haul climbing to 19 out of a possible 27.

Bergsma’s last five laps were all under 30 seconds,a pace Kramer simply couldn’t match skating in thefinal pair with Lee. “I was doing 29-second laps andwas able to hold on to those late in the race,” Bergsmasaid. Kramer had already captured his second straight5,000 gold in Sochi, but he really wanted to make upfor the 10,000 victory that got away in Vancouver.During a routine crossover on the backstretch,Kramer’s coach, Gerard Kemkers, absent-mindedlydirected him to the wrong lane. The skater dutifullyfollowed the instructions, leading to a disqualification.Lee took the gold, even though his time was 4 sec-onds slower than Kramer’s.

“Four years ago was tougher than this. Here I wasbeaten by someone better,” Kramer said. “I have toaccept this, however tough it is.”

Smooth and relaxed in the early laps, Kramer wasgrimacing in a desperate search for more speed thecloser he got to the end. His lap times climbed steadi-ly higher. When the bell rang for the final trip aroundthe oval, Bergsma already was celebrating in theinfield. “He kept matching me for a long time,”

Bergsma said. “Then I realized he couldn’t hold on tothose laps.” On his cool-down lap, Kramer stopped toshake hands with his countryman. But he could barelymuster a smile on the medal podium and didn’t hangaround long for the victory parade, leaving the arenato Bergsma and De Jong. In recent days, Kramer saidhe’s been bothered by problems with his thigh andback. He needed to be at his absolute best to beatBergsma. “Those are facts and absolutely no excuse,”Kramer said. “It cost too much effort to skate effort-lessly. I had to fight too hard to get into a rhythm andcould not really get there.”

In his fifth Olympics, De Jong won his fourth10,000 medal with a time of 13:07.19. He’s now gottwo bronzes to go along with a gold and a silver,becoming the first male skater to claim medals at fourdifferent Winter Games. The only older skater to winan Olympic medal was 38-year-old Julius Skutnabb, asilver medalist in the 5,000 at the 1928 Winter Games.

“I thought I could go a lot faster,” De Jong said.“The conditions were much tougher than I thought.”Lee faded badly over the final laps, finishing fourth in13:11.68.

There have only been 10 medal sweeps in all ofOlympic speedskating history - four of them producedin Sochi by the amazing Dutch. They have crushed theprevious record for overall medals at one games (13by the East Germans in 1988) and tied another markon Tuesday with their sixth victory in nine events,matching the Soviet Union’s six golds at the SquawValley Games in 1960.

Bergsma was feted on Twitter by his fiance,American speedskater Heather Richardson. “GOLD inthe 10k for my amazing fiance,” she wrote, “so happyfor him!!!!”

As expected, the American speedskaters wentanother day without a medal. Seventeen-year-oldEmery Lehman of Oak Park, Ill., finished 10th - morethan 44 seconds off the winning pace. The high schoolsenior got sick in a bucket labeled “Vomit Bin” after hewas done with the 25-lap race.

Patrick Meek of Chicago, who got into the 14-manfield as an alternate, was 11th. In the middle of hisnews conference, Bergsma got a congratulatory callfrom the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte. “That waskind of special,” Bergsma said. So was his race. — AP

Bergsma knocks off

Kramer in 10,000m

SOCHI: Gold medallist Jorrit Bergsma competes in the men’s 10,000-meter speedskating raceat the Adler Arena Skating Center during the 2014 Winter Olympics. — AP

MOSCOW: Russian Julia Lipnitskaia waves to journalists upon her arrival in theSheremetyevo airport, outside Moscow yesterday. — AP

SOCHI: Teen sensation Julia Lipnitskaia willbe looking to lift the deflated spirits ofhome fans after Yevgeny Plushenko’s shockwithdrawal from the Olympics in thewomen’s event starting today.

More history beckons for the 15-year-old who became the youngest female fig-ure skater in 78 years to win a gold amidwild celebrations after their team successat the Iceberg Skating Palace just over aweek ago. She could become not only thefirst Russian to win the women’s title butalso the first individual skater to win twogold medals at the same Olympics.

It would be a third title for Russia afterTatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankovpairs’ success, in which they led a 1-2 aheadof Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov.

Plushenko’s withdrawal before the men’sevent meant that the Sochi Games was thefirst time since Sarajevo 1984 that the USSRor post-Soviet Russia won no medals in themen’s event.

A bronze in the ice dance on Mondayfollowing a stunning display by ElenaIlinykh and Nikita Katsalapov helpedappease the crowd who would like nothingbetter than to conclude figure skating atthe Games the way they started with agold. Standing in her way are Olympicchampion Kim Yu-Na of South Korea, bid-ding to become just the third woman towin consecutive titles, and Japan’s MaoAsada, runner-up four years ago inVancouver.

“I heard a lot about Julia Lipnitskaia. Shejust debuted in the senior level, but this ismy last Olympic Games. I think the experi-ence here is different for both of us,” saidKim. The South Korean’s world recordscores across the board in her stunningperformance in Vancouver four years agostill stand.

But the 23-year-old’s season has beenhampered by a foot injury, and she missed

the Grand Prix series. “No-one can get asense of what Yu-Na can bring to the tablebut she’s still excellent and in excellentshape so you can really not count her out,”said US champion Gracie Gold.

The United States, the most successfulcountry in women’s figure skating with sev-en gold, finished off the podium for thefirst time in 46 years in Vancouver.

Gold, Ashley Wagner and 15-year-oldnewcomer Polina Edmunds will be biddingto rectify that. Italy’s Carolina Kostner, aformer world champion, is also a challengerif the 27-year-old can manage to stay onher feet unlike her two previous Games inTurin 2006 and Vancouver 2010.

Lipnitskaia won silver behind Asada, 23,at the ISU Grand Prix final in Japan inDecember. However Asada, Kostner,Wagner and Gold were all left trailing in herwake in the team event.

As Lipnitskaia returned to Moscow tofocus on her training, the Americanwomen, winners of team bronze, were hon-ing their skills on the ice in Austria andGermany.

Asada and the Japanese women headedto Armenia, after finishing fifth in the teamevent. “I wasn’t strong enough mentally inthe team event,” said Asada, but insistedshe wasn’t even looking at her rivals. “AfterVancouver every year there are new ath-letes and new skaters. It’s my own competi-tion that I’m focusing on.”

Asada, the first woman to land the tripleAxel three times at one event in Vancouver,said she was not planning to attempt threein Sochi. “I will attempt the triple axel oncein the short and once in the free. There issome risk involved with the axel but I wantto do it. “I did it twice in Vancouver (in thefree) but I’m only doing it once in Sochi. Ijust don’t feel like I need to do it twice. Theshort programme takes place today with thefree skate final the following day. — AFP

Preview

Russia look to Lipnitskaia

for third figure skating gold

ROSA KHUTOR: They cross the finish linewell behind the favorites, but for a wholegroup of ski racers from Brazil, Togo or theUS Virgin Islands, making it to the bottom islike winning. Little funding, few results toshow for their efforts and even fewer fans:These girls have none of the supportenjoyed by stars such as Mikaela Shiffrin,Anna Fenninger or Maria Hoefl-Riesch.

But they all shared the same emotions asthey filed past dozens of journalists fromaround the world after the women’s giantslalom yesterday-happiness at being at theOlympics, awe at competing with their idolsand hope that they could inspire young-sters to follow their lead.

“That was way more exciting than Ithought it would be, I just feel so happy tobe here. I’m really overwhelmed,” saidJasmine Campbell, competing at theOlympics for the first time for the US VirginIslands. Alessia Afi Dipol looks and soundslike an Italian, but yesterday she raced forthe west African country of Togo. “It’s anhonor for me because Sochi is the firstOlympic Winter Games for Togo. It has beenreally fun,” she said.

The bubbly 18-year-old used to competefor India but switched to Togo-where herfather owns a sports clothing factory-after

India was suspended from the Gamesmovement due to corruption allegations.

One better-known athlete competing-although more renowned for her success asa violinist than for her skiing ability-wasVanessa Mae, racing under the nameVanessa Vanakorn for Thailand. TheSingapore-born British former child prodigyfinished last of those who made it downboth runs. Unlike several competitors whoswitched allegiance because they could notqualify for their own national teams, SophiaRalli hails from and trains in Greece.

“It’s big for us to be here,” said the 25-year-old from Naousa, near Thessaloniki.“We are not so good skiers because wedon’t have snow all year round in Greece sowe try to make the best of it.”

STARSTRUCKMany were more than a little starstruck

at the thought of competing with the likesof Tina Maze of Slovenia, who won yester-day’s race-her second gold of the Games.

“It’s a little bit strange because until yes-terday I watched them on TV and now I’mhere with them,” said Dipol. “They are thestars, they’re in the World Cup, they’re myidols from when I was young,” addedPortugal’s Swiss-born Camille Dias. —AP

‘Exotic’ skiers defy the

odds to take to slopes

ROSA KHUTOR: US ski star Ted Ligety and Frenchtyro Alexis Pinturault will get a second chance atOlympic glory in today’s giant slalom, but withAustrian hot shot Marcel Hirscher now in play.

Ligety and Pinturault were widely expected towin the super-combined event last week but intypical Olympic fashion, forecasts were thrown upin the air and neither landed anywhere near thepodium.

Now the two skiers, ranked third and second inWorld Cup giant slalom rankings, could make goodfor Friday’s debacle.

But they will face a fresh-faced Hirscher, whoonly flew into Sochi on Sunday and has had a fewmore days to rest and train quietly in Austria, awayfrom any Olympic hype. The 24-year-old currentlyleads World Cup rankings and won the crystalglobe in 2012.

Still, Ligety, as reigning world champion andwinner of last year’s crystal globe, looks like theone to beat on the slopes of Rosa Khutor.

His giant slalom prowess has earned him praisefrom his closest rivals, including an admiringHirscher, and he has topped the podium in threeout of six races this season.

The cool American-already Olympic championin Turin in 2006, although in super-combined-hasalso shown he thrives on the pressure of bigevents, pocketing no less than three gold medalsat world championships last year.

“I’m just going to push hard today, I knowwhere my skiing can be and this season I’ve hadlots of ups and downs in other races and results,but still put together fast runs in giant slalom.

“There are a lot of guys who can be fast for sure,but myself, Hirscher and Pinturault are going to bethe tougher guys to beat,” he predicted. Pinturault,22, is still chasing his first medal at big events buthas been strong all season in this discipline.

HUNGRY FOR TITLEAnd already after the super-combined, where

he skied out in the slalom part, he showed he washungry for a title. “Now it is up to me to bounceback. I have to do it, as any champion is able to do.”

Two-time overall World Cup winner Hirschersaid he was as ready as he could be to get his firstever Olympic medals. “I’m really relaxed. I’vetrained really well during these last two weeks.

“Whatever you can try we’ve done it and there’snothing more we can do right now.” The world sil-ver-medallist in giant slalom was also adamant hewould not allow a result like four years ago inVancouver. “It’s just full attack. I hope I never get afourth place at Olympics again!”

Aside from the top three, France’s ThomasFanara could make it on to the podium. But withOlympics throwing up several unexpected namesso far, Norway’s in-form Kjetil Jansrud could alsocomplete a Sochi treble after downhill bronze andsuper-G gold. In 2010, he won silver in the giantslalom. Jansrud’s teammate Aksel Lund Svindal willmiss the race on the other hand, preferring to headhome and rest following allergy problems.

The Norwegian ace hoped to repeat the feat

from four years ago when he won three Olympicmedals, including downhill gold, but leaves Sochiwithout a single podium.

Germany’s Felix Neureuther also looked unlikelyto compete today after a car accident last week onhis way to take his flight for Sochi. The 29-year-oldsuffered mild whiplash and bruising in the crashand had to cut short training on Monday. — AFP

Ski aces in three-way

battle for giant slalom

KRASNAYA POLYANA: United States’ Ted Ligetymakes a jump in this file photo. (Inset) AlexisPinturault — AP

S P O RT SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

SOCHI: Russia goaltender Sergei Bobrovski clears the puck away from Norway forward Per-Age Skroder as Russia defenseman Andrei Markovhelps defend in the third period of a men’s ice hockey game at the 2014 Winter Olympics. — AP

ROSA KHUTOR: Slovenia’s Tina Maze baggedher second alpine skiing gold of the SochiOlympics yesterday when she won a thrillingwomen’s giant slalom from Austrian arch-rivalAnna Fenninger.

In tricky weather conditions that includedheavy snow, torrential rain and fog, the 30-year-old Slovenian clocked a combined total of 2min36.87sec over the two runs in Rosa Khutor.

Maze, who’d had to share downhill gold withSwitzerland’s Dominique Gisin last week after afirst-ever Winter Olympic alpine dead heat, hadit all to do on her second run.

The Slovene set the fastest time down thefirst run, meaning she started last of the top 30racers in running order for the second descent.

Maze had seen fourth-placed Fenninger,who was also looking for a second gold afterwinning Saturday’s super-G, storm into the lead,which changed hands seven times in a dramaticclimax to the event. Starting with an 0.85seclead over the Austrian, Maze’s deficit was slowlyeroded away in the increasingly slushy condi-tions, but she hung on through to the finish lineto sneak home by just seven-hundredths of asecond.

FOCUSED“I can live with that!” Maze said. “This season

I’d focused on the Olympics. I was ready for this,it’s what I came here to do.

“It was tough for me to keep the samerhythm as last year in the World Cup. but I knewI was going to show my best here, it’s great. Therest of the season doesn’t matter.” Fenningerwas also left satisfied despite missing out ongold by the smallest of margins.

“My second run was really cool,” said the 24-year-old. “After the first run I knew in the start Iwould have to take a lot of risk and I did and I’mreally happy that that was enough for a medal.”

Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg ofGermany took bronze, a further 0.20sec adrift,to make up for the absence of teammate MariaHoefl-Riesch, who was a late withdrawal, the

super-combined winner complaining of ‘flu-likeconditions. “I can hardly believe it,” said astunned Rebensburg. “I was quite far down inthe first run but I knew I could go looking for abit more. “I’m still not firing on all cylinders but Igot a medal and that’s essential.” Rebensburglaid down the fastest second run as three of justfour racers to get within a second of Maze’sleading first run, Sweden’s World Cup giantslalom leader Jessica Lindell-Vikarby, ItalianNadia Fanchini and American teenager MikaelaShiffrin, all fell out of contention.

REMARKABLE GAMESShiffrin, 18, ended up fifth at 0.50sec, just

behind Fanchini (+0.38sec), and will now con-tinue her bid to become the youngest Americanto win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing inher preferred slalom on Friday. It has been aremarkable Games for Maze, further confirmingthat her hard-nosed decision to switch coachesto Mauro Pini just a month before the Olympicswas paying off.

Last year’s overall World Cup winner and atriple-medallist at the Schladming world cham-pionships, Maze had been left stunned with herpoor performances at the start of the season.But her form in Sochi has rebounded and she isyet to finish lower than seventh in a race on theRosa Khutor slopes. “You don’t normally changecoaches in mid-season,” said Maze. “But I hadthat opportunity, so why not if it could work outbetter for me?”

The giant slalom also saw the debut of violinvirtuoso Vanessa Mae, who became Thailand’sfirst ever female skier at the Olympics. The 35-year-old Singapore-born British former childprodigy, racing for the country from which hernatural father hails, finished in 67th and lastplace, with a time of 3min 26.97sec, a massive50.10sec off Maze. Her hesitant, conservativestyle of skiing was a marked difference to thatof the elite skiers, but at least, she finished therace-unlike 22 of the initial 89 racers who failedto make it down over the two legs. — AFP

SOCHI: Alexander Radulov scored twice asRussia beat Norway 4-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic ice hockey tournament yes-terday but the hosts’ NHL stars once again failedto shine. Sergei Bobrovski stopped 22 shots forthe shutout and Pavel Datsyuk had three assistsfor the Russians, who will face Finland onWednesday for a spot in the semi-finals.

Russia is desperate to win gold on their homesoil after crashing out of the Vancouver Gamesin the quarters four years ago. Radulovredeemed himself with his two goals and anassist Tuesday in front of a crowd of 11,423 atthe Bolshoi Ice Dome.

Radulov, who plays for CSKA Moscow of theKontinental Hockey League, took two penaltieson Saturday which led to two American goals.

The USA won the match 3-2 in a shootoutthriller that helped them finish atop of Group Aof the preliminary round and forced Russia tohave to play an extra game in the qualificationround.

FIRING BLANKSIlya Kovalchuk, of St. Petersburg, and Ak Bars

Kazan forward Alexi Tereshenko also scored forRussia as they got all their goals from KHL play-ers while their NHL stars continue to fire blanks.

The Russia-Norway game was one of fourqualifying matches on Tuesday that will deter-mine the final eight teams of the tournament.

The Russians have a quick turnaround beforefacing the 2006 silver medallist Finns in less than24 hours for a spot in the semis. “It is do or dieright now. Everybody is ready for tomorrow,” saidstar forward Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin finished with four shots on goal butno points in over 16 minutes of playing time butsays he is not worried about his lack of scoring inthis tournament.

“I’m trying to score, otherwise I am doing sim-ple things for the team,” Ovechkin said. “Whenwe are leading we don’t have score, we have toprotect the lead.”

He says he is waiting for moments when hecan show his offensive skills but they just haven’tcome yet. “The most important thing is theteam,” he said. “It is not about personal stats. Weare here to win the gold. It is not about winningsome scoring titles.”

IMPROVINGOvechkin is not the only Russian who isn’t

scoring. Four goals in a game is the second mostfor Russia this tournament. He said they areimproving each game but still need to work ongetting the puck out of their own zone quick-er.”We started well. We took some shots and putpressure on their defence,” he said. “And we hada few mistakes especially when our defence hadthe puck. We forwards didn’t move our feet andwe stopped on the blueline. And then we madesome changes and it worked.”

Norway’s Patrick Thoresen said the Russianshave some glaring weaknesses that they aregoing to have to correct if they want to get tothe Olympic podium.

“They need to be more compact in theirdefensive unit,” said Thoresen, who used to playin the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. “If theycan come together as a team then they certainlyhave the confidence to go through.

“But I am not so sure to be honest. They areallowing so many chances in front of the goal.” Inthe earlier game yesterday, Slovenia blankedAustria 4-0 and will face Sweden today. — AFP

Russia crush Norway 4-0

Maze strikes

double gold

SOCHI: Women’s giant slalom gold medal winner Sloveniaís Tina Maze of Sloveniaposes for photographers on the podium at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics yes-terday. — AP

SOCHI: The ex-Soviet state of Belarus, oncedescribed as Europe’s last dictatorship, is cele-brating the best Olympic Games in its history atSochi 2014 in a gold rush led by a sharp-shoot-ing and glamorous female biathlete.

Belarus, which until these Games had onlywon a single medal at a Winter Olympics, hasnow won five gold medals in Sochi with threefrom the skiing and shooting prowess of its starbiathlete Darya Domracheva. It also scored anunprecedented double in the freestyle aerials atSochi, with Alla Tsuper taking the women’sevent and Anton Kushnir the men’s.

“ These Olympics can be called theBelarussian Games. We have left many worldgiants on our wake,” Belarus’ state First Channeltelevision said. The reasons for the success lie

partly in the aggressive athlete selection policyof the Belarussian federations-every single oneof its medallists were either born in, or initiallyperformed for, Russia or Ukraine.

The performance is also likely the result ofthe hands-on support from sports-mad strong-man President Alexander Lukashenko, who hasruled the ex-Soviet state for almost two decadesand was once accused by Washington of run-ning Europe’s last dictatorship.

MERCURIAL STYLEIn typically mercurial style, Lukashenko

reacted to Domracheva’s third gold in thewomen’s mass start Monday night by immedi-ately giving her the country’s highest honour,Hero of Belarus. The award-which stems fromthe USSR’s top award Hero of the USSR-is givenout only extremely rarely and Domracheva joinsa roll of honour of just 10 other such “Heroes”,only four of whom are still alive.

“Modern history does not know similar greatdeeds,” Lukashenko told Domracheva in a con-gratulatory telegram. Lukashenko had alreadyshowed his admiration for “Dasha” Domrachevaby personally congratulating her in Sochi on herfirst gold in the pursuit race.

Donning a tracksuit that looked like it datedfrom the Soviet-era, Lukashenko huggedDomracheva while his extra-marital son Kolya-who he once took to visit the pope-presentedher with flowers, official pictures showed.

The presidential newspaper Soviet Belarussaid after Domracheva’s third gold: “The raceshowed once again that the mechanism of theBelarussian team is working ideally. Dasha liter-ally flew above the wet Sochi snow.” The success-es of the team at Sochi have boosted Belarus ata time of economic hardship for the nation of9.5 million with many Belarussians postingadmiring comments about the exploits ofDomracheva. Some pro-opposition voices onsocial media, however, have dug up claims thatshe is a serving officer with the Belarussian secu-rity service, which is still known by its Sovietacronym KGB.

Such a position in this country would benothing extraordinary for a top sportsperson ina sport involving shooting. Several top Belarusbiathlon officials are serving KGB officers.However independent Belarussian newspaperNasha Niva said this week there was no proof forthe claims and “no-one has ever seen any docu-ments.”

POOR FACILITIESDomracheva was born in Minsk but moved at

an early age with her parents to Siberia, whereshe started biathlon and country skiing andmade her first appearances at junior internationallevel for Russia. Her talent was spotted byBelarussian coaches who invited her onto thenational team. Her success has caused muchdebate in Russia where many are angry such asuperb athlete was allowed to slip through thesystem. Meanwhile the aerials gold medallistsTsuper and Kushnir were both born not in Belarusbut in Ukraine’s northwestern Rivne region.

Several top Ukrainian winter sports athleteshave moved to Russia or Belarus due to the poorfacilities at home, like gold medal winningRussian pairs skater Tatiana Volosozhar.

Belarus’ other medallist Nadezhda Skardinowho took bronze in the individual was born inRussia but then switched allegiance to Belarusdue to lack of opportunity.

Russian sports daily Sovietsky Sport said itwas time to stop lamenting the fact that “Dasha”was not Russian and admire her achievement asthe first female biathlete to win three biathlongolds at a single Winter Olympics. “What she did,no-one else in history has managed to do,” itsaid. — AFP

KRASNAYA POLYANA: An American track star istwo runs from Olympic history. No, not her.Lauryn Williams, who had never pushed a bob-sled or even sat inside one until just six monthsago, and teammate Elana Meyers lead in USA-1at the halfway point of women’s Olympic bob-sled. They completed two drives down the SankiSliding Center track in 1 minute, 54.89 secondson Tuesday to lead Canada’s Kaillie Humphriesand Heather Moyse. The Canadians, trying to wintheir second straight Olympic title, trail by 0.23seconds heading into Wednesday’s final tworuns.

USA-3’s Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans are inthird, 0.56 back. Williams, a two-time sprintmedalist in the Summer Olympics, is attemptingto become just the second athlete to win goldmedals in both the Winter and Summer Games.Lolo Jones, on the other hand, wants just one.

The former hurdler is 11th with teammateJazmine Fenlator in USA-3, 1.84 seconds behindMeyers and Williams. It’s not the result Jones hadhoped for after switching to bobsled to pursueher dream of winning a medal after ballyhooedfailures on the track in Beijing and London.

She’s on an icy track at these games, and tothis point, it’s been as slippery as the dry onesshe once ran in the summer. “Everything went asexpected,” Jones said. “We knew we would haveto fight. We knew it would be four tough runs.”

So far, this Olympic competition has been nodifferent than most during this past World Cupseason, with Meyers and Humphries dunking itout for first.

Humphries edged Myers for the overallchampionship by one point. But the stakes aremuch higher in Sochi, and although the two areclose friends after training and even roomedtogether last summer, Meyers and Humphriesare going hard for gold.

Humphries celebrated her triumph in 2010on her home track in Whistler by adding a tattooof her gold medal to the many on her chiseledbody. She’s considered her artistic options if shewins again, but Humphries has to catch Meyersfirst.

Humphries and Moyse were first on the trackTuesday and made a clean trip, staying in themiddle and keeping away from any bumps thatmight slow them down. They finished in 57.39seconds, but the pair barely had time toacknowledge they had set a track record whenMeyers and Williams lowered it.

USA-1’s first heat wasn’t pretty, but it was fast:a 57.26-second descent that moved them aheadof the Canadians. The Americans stretched theirlead by one-tenth of a second on their secondrun.

Greubel, of Newtown, Pa., and Evans, ofChicago, can’t be overlooked. The pair had twospeedy trips down the track, which is coveredand wasn’t affected by daylong downpours inthis new ski resort area northeast of Sochi.

Williams, of Rochester, Pa., won a silver medalin the 100 meters in 2006, and she received goldas a member of the 4x100 meter relay team inLondon. She’s attempting to join Eddie Eagan,who won gold in boxing in 1920 in Antwerp andin four-man bobsled in Lake Placid in 1932, asthe only winner of gold in both Winter and

Summer Games.Meyers, of Douglasville, Ga., and Williams got

off to a shaky start in their first days on themountain. Meyers crashed her BMW-built sledon their initial training run, and Williams was lateapplying the brakes the following day and thepair smashed into a wall near the finish, damag-ing the front end of the carbon-fibered slidingmachine.

Mechanics worked hard to get USA-1 up andrunning, and the sled seemed to handle perfect-ly on Tuesday, surviving her pinball-like first run.

The US team arrived in Russia early to getacclimated to their surroundings and “TheWolfpack,” as they call themselves, brought somedrama with them.

Jones’ selection over Katie Eberling and EmilyAzevedo was criticized by some who believedcoaches were influenced by the track star’scelebrity. Regardless, Jones got the nod, but wasthen was paired with Fenlator in USA-3, theweakest of the sleek American sleds.

For Jones, these games are another shot atOlympic glory. The Des Moines, Iowa, native hadto bulk up for bobsled, eating up to 9,000 calo-ries per day to add 20 pounds of muscle so shecould help power the 400-plus-pound sled fromthe starting gate without losing any of herworld-class speed.

Williams’ promotion into USA-1 wasn’t with-out controversy and risk. She and Meyers onlyraced once together in a World Cup event, plac-ing second in Lake Placid, N.Y. Williams’ inexperi-ence could be a problem, but Meyers said herblazing speed makes up for time not spent onthe track.

“It’s not really taking a chance when you haveone of the fastest women in the world behindyou,” Meyers said after a practice run. And rightnow, Williams has USA-1 out front. — AP

Belarus celebrates

best ever Games

SOCHI: Belarus’ Darya Domracheva, thegold medalist in the women’s biathlon12.5K mass start, smiles while holding hermedal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. — AP

USA-1 lead in bobsled

KRASNAYA POLYANA: The team from the United States USA-1, piloted by Elana Meyers withbrakeman Lauryn Williams, speed down the track during the women’s bobsled competition atthe 2014 Winter Olympics. — AP

SOCHI, Russia: Winter Olympics medalstable yesterday (after six of seven goldmedal events):

Gold Silver Bronze TotalGermany 8 3 4 15Norway 7 4 7 18Netherlands 6 6 8 20Russia 5 8 6 19United States 5 4 10 19Switzerland 5 2 1 8Belarus 5 0 1 6Canada 4 8 4 16Poland 4 0 0 4China 3 2 1 6France 3 1 4 8Austria 2 6 1 9Sweden 2 5 2 9Slovenia 2 1 3 6South Korea 2 1 1 4Czech Republic 1 3 2 6Japan 1 3 2 6Great Britain 1 0 1 2Slovakia 1 0 0 1Italy 0 2 4 6Australia 0 2 1 3Finland 0 2 0 2Latvia 0 1 2 3Croatia 0 1 0 1Kazakhstan 0 0 1 1Ukraine 0 0 1 1

Olympics medals table

S P ORTSWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

BRAZIL: Curitiba won a last-minute reprieve fromFIFA yesterday, retaining its status as a World Cupfinals venue despite construction work delays, FIFAsecretary-general Jerome Valcke said.

FIFA judged that work on the stadium, whichwill host four games in the finals that start in Brazilin June have made enough progress to warrantbeing retained.

It had previously missed a series of deadlines-FIFA dropped an initial deadline of December 31for all 12 venues after six failed to meet the date.

A double fatality at Sao Paulo, which will stagethe opening game, put that venue’s pre-eventtests back until mid-April. In addition, there havebeen three construction deaths at Manaus in theAmazon region and one at Brasilia.

But it has been the Curitiba delays which haveposed FIFA a severe headache to the extent Valckethreatened to scrap it from the list altogether.

Yesterday, he confirmed the stadium had doneenough to stay on board, heading off a potentiallegal minefield of challenges from the city, whichhad faced claims from hotels losing weeks of fanbusiness. “Yes, Curitiba will remain as one of the 12

host cities,” said Valcke, who confirmed news tothat effect posted on his website just minutesbefore he spoke.

“That shows I’m not really responsible for theTwitter account,” he joked. FIFA assessor CharlesBotta had earlier completed the world body’s lat-est appraisal of the Arena da Baixada site whichhas been beset by delays that had increasinglycaused concern after costs rose almost threefoldfrom an initial $60 million. The city was one of sixwhich saw action when the continent-sized nationfirst hosted the tournament back in 1950. Just pri-or to Valcke’s announcement, Curitiba prefectGustavo Fruet had already let slip on Twitter thatthe venue would not be dropped.

“Total confidence! The meeting with the FIFAteam has finished and it is retaining the stadium,”Fruet tweeted. If the axe had fallen on Curitiba, itwould have been a humiliating blow to the foot-ball-mad nation, which has also been trumpetingits economic progress over the past few years.

Work on Curitiba has been even slower than onthe other 11 venues, which two months ago wonan extended deadline from FIFA to finish the work.

Many Brazilians believe the cost of hosting thetournament has come at the expense of publicservices and there have been protests which cameto a head at last year’s World Cup finals dressrehearsal the Confederations Cup.

There are fears that those were just a foretasteof what is to come in June when the finals takeplace. Curitiba residents are angry at what they sayis a lack of transparency on spending.

The stadium was due initially to cost 130 mil-lion Reais ($65 million). The stadium’s ownersAtletico Paranaense initially hoped to fund thevenue privately themselves but costs have mush-roomed to 320 million reais, forcing local authori-ties to step in and organise bank loans worth some$30 million. Local protesters called a march forTuesday afternoon to slam the rising costs and useof public funds.

Some protesters have marched under the slo-gan ‘There Will Be No Cup’-and in Curitiba thatwish came close to being granted.

Deputy sports minister Luis Fernandes insistedthat the stadium was “beautiful” and that lessonshad been learned. But he insisted that Brazil would

as a whole benefit from the investments beingmade in all 12 host cities.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter recently chidedBrazil for not starting preparations quickly enoughand said it was further behind than any other hostin his four decades with football’s world body.

The decision over Curitiba has overshadowedthe arrival of the coaches of the 32 qualifyingnations in the southern city of Florianapolis for apre-World Cup seminar which will allow them todiscuss logistics and assess facilities.

Yesterday ’s decision vindicated Brazil ianPresident Dilma Rousseff ’s insistence when shemet Blatter in Zurich last month that Curitibawould make it.

The highest profile match at the stadium, now91 percent complete, according to AtleticoParanaense, will be Australia versus reigningchampions Spain on June 23. After his January vis-it, Valcke had said bluntly: “We cannot organise amatch without a stadium, this has reached a criti-cal point.”

But local organzizers redoubled their effortsand have now been rewarded. — AFP

Curitiba’s honor saved as it earns reprieve from FIFA

LONDON: Arsenal will be out to show they havelearnt the lessons of last season’s painful homedefeat by Bayern Munich when the sides meetagain in the first leg of their Champions Leaguelast-16 tie in London today.

Holders Bayern were utterly dominant in 3-1victory at the Emirates Stadium, and althoughArsenal went on to salvage pride with a 2-0 winin Munich in the return leg, it was not enough toprevent the Gunners going out of the competi-tion in the round of 16 for the third consecutiveseason.

They face a daunting task to avoid making itfour years in a row, however, with the Bayernjuggernaut showing little sign of slowing underPep Guardiola, who led Barcelona to victory overArsenal at this stage in the 2010-11 season.

Despite recent wobbles, Arsenal are a sternerproposition this time as they mount their firstserious Premier League challenge for years, andshould be boosted by a 2-1 FA Cup victory overLiverpool, eight days after the same opponentsthrashed them 5-1.

TWO PERFECT GAMESGerman defender Per Mertesacker acknowl-

edged that it would take “two perfect games” forArsenal to progress, but that it was importantnot to show Bayern too much respect. “We haveto go for two perfect games against them,” hetold reporters. “We know we can beat them now,so maybe mentally we are in a better conditionthan last year. “We respected them too much inthe first leg then, so it was too easy for them.

“Maybe we have learned something fromthose lessons and will do better this time. “Nowwe have another chance and an opportunity tobeat the champions. We want to achieve some-thing exceptional this season, so we have tobeat the best. “That is not only Manchester Cityand Chelsea, that is Bayern Munich in theChampions League.” Midfielder Mikel Arteta issuspended after being sent off in the groupstage loss to Napoli, while Jack Wilshere andBacary Sagna, who remained on the benchagainst Liverpool, Kieran Gibbs and SantiCazorla, who were second half substitutes andTomas Rosicky, who was rested, were expectedto return.

BAYERN DOMINANTBayern’s domestic dominance shows no sign

of slowing, with Saturday’s 4-0 win over Freiburgcoming despite Jerome Boateng, David Alaba,Thiago and Mario Goetze being rested.

Their Bundesliga winning streak is 13 match-es and victory extended their unbeaten run to46. Their only loss in this season’s ChampionsLeague group stage came at home toManchester City, with qualification alreadyassured. They will be without France wingerFranck Ribery, who is suffering with a buttockinjury, and his potential replacement XherdanShaqiri, who scored twice against Freiburg, isalso out with a thigh strain. Despite the compre-hensive nature of last season’s victory in London,where early goals by Toni Kroos and ThomasMueller put the visitors 2-0 up after only 21 min-utes, Bayern captain Philipp Lahm remainedwary of Arsenal.

“That game is a warning sign to us,” Lahmsaid. “We had been very good in London, wethought nothing can happen to us in the returnleg. All of a sudden you are 2-0 down and thereare still some minutes to play. It shows thatthings can go really quickly in the ChampionsLeague. We will have that in the back of ourminds.”

Lahm said he kept a close eye on Arsenal giv-en their strong German contingent ofMertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski, aswell as uncapped youngster Serge Gnabry.

“They’re fighting for the championship, that’snot a coincidence: I believe they have developedas a team. They’ve become much stronger, thesquad is more balanced,” he said. “And they stillplay the way Arsenal always play. They want tohave the ball, they like playing it short, and theyhave outstanding individuals.” The return leg inGermany will be played on March 11. — Reuters

Arsenal wary of Bayern

LONDON: Arsenal’s German players Lukas Podolski (left), Mesut Ozil (centre) and SergeGnabry walk to the pitch during a training session at the club’s training ground. Arsenal willplay against Bayern Munich in a Champions League match today. — AP

MADRID: Clarence Seedorf will need to tap into allthe experience he gained as the only player to win theChampions League with three different clubs if his ACMilan side are to get past Atletico Madrid into thequarter-finals. Milan host the Spanish club, who areriding high in La Liga, for their last 16, first leg today,when Seedorf will make his coaching debut inEurope’s elite club competition after taking over lastmonth from Massimiliano Allegri.

The 37-year-old former Netherlands midfielderwon the Champions League once with AjaxAmsterdam and once with Real Madrid before adecade playing at Milan yielded two more continentaltitles. However, the seven-times European championshave fallen on hard times and sit ninth in Serie A, 31points behind leaders Juventus, and Seedorf has tak-en on the task of lifting them out of their slump andreviving past glories. “The match against Atletico willbe a great chance to take a big step forward,” Seedorfsaid after Milan won 1-0 at home to Bologna onFriday. “We’ll play our game as Milan always havesomething extra in the Champions League,” he added.“I’m confident that the stadium will be full as it was inthe old days with a great atmosphere. The fans andthe stadium will give the players what they need.”

Seedorf will be going head to head with a man he

knows well from his playing days, Atletico’s Argentinecoach Diego Simeone, who had stints at Italian clubsincluding Inter Milan and Lazio and Spanish sidesAtletico and Sevilla. Simeone, 43, has transformed theMadrid side into genuine contenders in Spain andEurope since taking over at the end of 2011 and theyare joint top of La Liga with heavyweights Barcelonaand Real Madrid. They were one of only three teamsundefeated in the Champions League group stage,winning five and drawing one, and are unbeaten intheir last four away games in Europe. “Atletico seemlike an Italian or Argentine team since Simeonearrived, they are extremely tough,” Demetrio Albertini,a former Milan and Italy midfielder who also had abrief loan spell at Atletico, said in an interview withSpanish sports daily As published on Monday.

“Above all they are a balanced team and the coachhas imposed a very well defined style and character,”he added. “Atletico have an advantage, they are thefavourites as their position in the (Spanish) leaguesuggests. “But let ’s not forget one thing. TheChampions League is Milan’s home. They have wonseven European titles and the history is there.”

LESS DAMAGESeedorf will need time to fix what has been ail-

ing Milan in recent seasons but has already said hewants his players to exert more control.

“You need time to create your style of play and abit of luck too,” he said on Friday. “It’s in the club’sDNA to have control of the game. If you’re in control,the adversary can do less damage.

“I ask the players to stick together and to showfighting spirit to get out of the difficult situationthat we find ourselves in.”

Atletico have stumbled in recent weeks, sufferinga surprise defeat at Almeria in La Liga and beingeliminated from the King’s Cup by city rivals Real.They returned to winning ways at the weekend witha 3-0 league win at home to Real Valladolid.

Simeone bolstered his squad with last month’ssigning of Brazilian playmaker Diego and believeshe has enough depth to compete successfully ontwo fronts.

“We have a very competitive team now,” he saidafter the Valladolid game. “When I felt we had tokeep the ball I brought him (Diego)on and thingsbecame easier and the game was basically over.

“We won in two ways today: playing more direct-ly at the start and then closing the game down withmore possession.” The return leg is at Atletico’sCalderon stadium on March 11. — Reuters

Seedorf looking to lift Milan

ITALY: Atletico Madrid players attend a training session ahead of today’s Champions League, round of 16, first leg soccer match against ACMilan. — AP

MILAN: AC Milan striker Mario Balotellihit out at his critics a day before thestruggling Serie A giants host in-formAtletico Madrid.

Balotelli made partial amends for astring of mediocre performances forClarence Seedorf’s side with a stunninglong-range strike which sealed a late 1-0win against Bologna on Friday.

It came in timely fashion, only daysahead of the first leg of a ChampionsLeague last 16 tie against DiegoSimeone’s Spanish title chasers.

Balotelli hopes it has silenced hisdetractors for a game for which Milan,going on recent statistics, are the under-dogs. “I criticise myself enough, so whenI hear it coming from other people I getreally fed up,” the 23-year-old told mediayesterday.

Atletico, who are pushing Barcelonaand Real Madrid for command of LaLiga, are firm favourites for a win thatwould boost their quarter-final chancesahead of the return leg at the VicenteCalderon in a fortnight. However,

Balotelli says he is spurred on by thechance to make partial amends for Italy’slast final defeat at a major internationaltournament.

A brace from the Italy striker in thesemi-final of Euro 2012 against Germanyset up a final against Spain, who went onto rout the Azzurri 4-0.

Balotelli admits the ‘Rioja’ are a toughnut to crack but added: “Their nationalside is a little difficult to beat, but maybewe can start (avenging) by beating aSpanish club side.

“Games like tomorrow’s are different,but the objective remains the same, likehaving the determination to win andhelping the team reach that objective.”

Seedorf, meanwhile, admitted earlierthis week that Atletico will be formida-ble opponents. But the Dutchman, theonly player to have won Europe’s mostprestigious club trophy with three differ-ent clubs-Ajax, Real Madrid and twicewith Milan-is relishing the challenge. “Ihope tomorrow we will reap what wehave sown over the past weeks,” said the37-year-old. To discerning fans of theRossoneri, however, that could soundominous.

Seedorf took charge of the ailingItalian giants following the sacking offormer handler Massimiliano Allegri inearly January when they were languish-ing below mid-table. And after threewins in five league games and a quarter-final exit from the Italian Cup at thehands of Udinese, the jury remains outon the Dutchman who spent 10 success-laden years at the club. — AFP

LONDON: Yannick Sagbo kept Hull Cityin the FA Cup with a late strike in their 1-1 fifth-round draw at second tierBrighton & Hove Albion to prevent anupset on Monday.

The pair now face a replay at PremierLeague Hull next Monday with Brightonlooking to set up a quarter-final clash athome to Sunderland and their ex-man-ager Gus Poyet. Hull boss Steve Brucealso used to manage Sunderland.

Championship promotion hopefulsBrighton went ahead when ArgentineLeonardo Ulloa started and finished anincisive move after half an hour but

Ivory Coast striker Sagbo’s smart controland shot five minutes from time levelledmatters.

Poyet left Brighton last June after aclash with the board and in Octoberjoined top flight strugglers Sunderland,who are already through to next month’slast eight.

Hul l , without cup -t ied str ikersShane Long and Nikica Jelavic, hit thewoodwork twice and now face the bur-den of an extra game as they try tostay out of the relegation zone, whichthey are three points above with 12games left. — Reuters

Balotelli tired of critics

as Atletico approach

Today’s matches on TV

UEFA Champions League

AC Milan v Atletico 22:452HD - 5HD,14HD

Arsenal v Bayern 22:453HD, 11HD

Hull grab late draw

in FA Cup fifth round

BRIGHTON: Hull City’s Ivorian striker Yannick Sagbo (left) is surrounded byBrighton & Hove Albion players during the English FA Cup fifth round footballmatch. — AFP

LEVERKUSEN: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice to leaveParis Saint-Germain on course for the Champions Leaguequarter-finals after their 4-0 win at ten-man BayerLeverkusen in yesterday’s last 16, first-leg clash.

Leverkusen, second only to Bayern Munich in theBundesliga, suffered their third straight home defeat asLaurent Blanc’s PSG were rarely troubled at the BayArenawith Ibrahimovic the architect of the victory with twogoals in three first-half minutes.

Left winger Blaise Matuidi put PSG ahead with barelytwo minutes gone before Ibrahimovic netted a penalty,then added a second when he unleashed a thunderbolt ofa shot to make it 3-0 at the break. Replacement YohanCabaye then added PSG’s fourth just before the final whis-tle.

It meant 32-year-old Ibrahimovic replaced CristianoRonaldo as the competition’s top-scorer with 10 goals insix Champions League games this season after theSwedish star also netted four in the 5-0 rout of RSCAnderlecht in Belgium last October.

Bayer were reduced to ten men when Ibrahimovic’smarker Emir Spahic was sent off for a second yellow, andthe subsequent red, for the final half an hour.

Sami Hyypia-coached Leverkusen now face an unenvi-able task to try and salvage something from the return legin Paris on March 12.

The French league leaders took an almost immediatelead when Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes lost posses-sion in midfield, Matuidi fed Ibrahimovic out the flank andthe Swedish striker’s pass found Marco Verratti in space.

The Italian right winger put a superbly timed ball in

behind the Leverkusen defence which Matuidi slottedhome. It could have 2-0 after ten minutes as Ibrahimovic’sshot cannoned off Roberto Hilbert’s torso, with the right-back the last defence with the hosts’ back four in disarray.

Having lost their last two home games, Leverkusenstarted to find their rhythm after the initial setback withstriker Stefan Kiessling heading over from a free-kick on 19minutes during a rare forage into the PSG half.

With just over 60 percent possession, it seemed only amatter of time before PSG added a second andIbrahimovic struck with two goals in three minutes.

The first came when referee Viktor Kassai spottedSpahic pulling down Ibrahimovic in the area, booked thedefender and awarded the spot-kick, despite furiousprotests from the Bayer defence.

Ibrahimovic slotted the penalty on 39 minutes and thengave the guests a commanding lead with a fantastic shotfrom just outside the area.

Matuidi found Ibrahimovic on the edge of the box andthe Swedish star rifled a spectacular first time shot into thetop right corner.

Hyypia reacted at half-time by taking off left winger SonHeung-Min for 17-year-old Julian Brandt and swappingcaptain Rolfes for Stefan Reinartz.

The hosts fortunes did not improve as Spahic, who hadalready been shown a yellow for the foul which led toIbrahimovic’s penalty, was booked again for holding backright-wing Lucas and sent off on 59 minutes. Matuidi’sreplacement Cabaye then added the fourth on 88 minuteswith PSG players lining up to score as the Leverkusendefence once again breached. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

1916Arsenal wary of Bayern

Curitiba’s honor saved as it earns reprieve from FIFA Page 19

Serena defeatsEkaterinin Dubai

LONDON: Manchester City’s Alvaro Negredo (center) fights for the ball with Barcelona’s Sergi Roberto (left) and Cesc Fabregas (right) during their Champions League first knock out round soccer match at the Etihad Stadium. — AP

MANCHESTER: Goals by Lionel Messi and Dani Alves sawBarcelona take control of their Champions League last 16 tieagainst Manchester City with a 2-0 win in yesterday’s first leg.

Knockout-phase debutants City matched Barcelona in the firsthalf at the Etihad Stadium, but the game changed early in the sec-ond period when Martin Demichelis was sent off following a last-man foul on Messi. The Argentine scored from the ensuing penal-ty in the 54th minute, taking his tally of goals in this season’s com-petition to seven.

Despite being a man down, City continued to threaten, but inthe final minute Alves ran through to score, leaving Barcelonafirmly in the driving seat ahead of the return leg on March 12.

While Neymar started on the bench for Barcelona after hisrecent return from injury, City manager Manuel Pellegrinideployed a pragmatic 4-4-1-1 formation, with Alvaro Negredoplaying as a lone striker. Both managers had emphasised theimportance of possession before the game and in that domain

the visitors quickly stamped their authority, immediately tradingpasses with their usual hypnotic fluidity.

There was no penetration to their passing, however, and whenCity began to probe, they found fissures in the Barca defence.

A pass from David Silva freed Negredo, who eluded GerardPique before lifting the ball over Victor Valdes from a tight angle,but there were no City players up in support.

Barca goalkeeper Valdes was then given a moment of discom-fort when Vincent Kompany got his head to a free-kick from Silva,sparking a goalmouth scramble that was cut short when Negredowas penalised for an infringement.

Negredo hit a snapshot straight at Valdes, before Barca cameto life, with Messi firing over from the edge of the box and Xaviextending City goalkeeper Joe Hart with a rasping 25-yard drive.

It was an encouraging first half for the home side, but eightminutes into the second period the balance of the tie suddenlyshifted in Barcelona’s favour.

Andres Iniesta’s pass put Messi through on goal andDemichelis, sliding in from behind, brought the Argentine down.

The offence occurred right on the edge of the box, but refereeJonas Eriksson awarded a penalty and after Demichelis hadtrudged off, Messi planted the spot-kick past Hart.

Pellegrini sent on Joleon Lescott and Samir Nasri in place ofAleksandar Kolarov and Jesus Navas, and Nasri quickly had a sightof goal, only for Pique to block.

Alves teed up Xavi to shoot over and then drilled narrowlywide after a one-two with Alexis Sanchez as Barca threatened totwist the knife, while Neymar’s introduction seemed to presagefurther bad news for City.

Instead, the hosts continued to push, with Valdes plunging tohis right to repel a volley from Silva in the 77th minute. Barca hadthe final say, however, with Alves gathering a pass from Neymarand tucking the ball between Hart’s legs in the final minute to fur-ther tighten the Catalans’ grip on the tie. —AFP

Barcelona take control over CityLeading Champions League scorers after yesterday’slast 16 first leg matches:

10 goals: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris SG)9 goals: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)7 goals: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)6 goals: Sergio Ag¸ero (Manchester City)5 goals: Alvaro Negredo (Manchester City), Arturo

Vidal (Juventus)4 goals: Edinson Cavani (Paris SG), Diego Costa

(Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (Naples), RobertLewandowski (Borussia Dortmund)

Leading CL scorers

LONDON: Wayne Rooney is this week expected to sign anew contract that would keep the England striker atManchester United until the end of the 2018-2019 season,local media reported. The 28-year-old could seal his OldTrafford future as early as today or tomorrow, the PressAssociation said.

Media speculation about Rooney’s future at the EnglishPremier League giants has swirled since Chelsea attemptedto lure him away before the start of the current season.

But despite United’s troubles under new manager DavidMoyes-which sees them in the unfamiliar position of sev-enth, 15 points off the pace set by Chelsea-Rooney isthought to be settled at Old Trafford.

Earlier this month, Rooney insisted he was “focusing onthe football” amid a flurry of rumours about negotiationsover his contract, which expires at the end of next season.

However, he conceded it is his ambition to beat BobbyCharlton’s goal-scoring record for the club. Charlton amassed249 goals for United and Rooney currently has 208.

“It is a great aim for myself to try and get Sir Bobby’srecord, both at club and international level,” said Rooney,who trails Charlton’s record of 49 England goals by 11.

“It is something which I would like to do. If I can do that, Iwould be really proud, because it has stood for a long time.”

Rooney made his professional debut at the age of 16 atEverton under Moyes and has spoken out in defence of theembattled manager, who has struggled in his first season toemulate the success enjoyed by United legend Alex Ferguson.

“David Moyes is a fantastic manager,” Rooney said lastweek. “I worked with him at Everton and for a number ofmonths at United. He’s done everything he can, but it’s theplayers that have to do better and hopefully we can do that.”— AFP

Ibrahimovic double puts PSG on verge of quarters

GERMANY: PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates hisside’s third goal during a Champions League round ofthe last 16 first leg soccer match against BayerLeverkusen. — AP

Rooney poised tosign new Man

United deal — report

BusinessWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Turkey keeps rates on hold as hike helps lira

Page 22German investor sentiment slips

Page 23

BoJ holds off freshmonetary easing

Page 25United Real Estate posts net profits of KD 11.2m for 2013

Page 26

KUWAIT: KIPCO - the KuwaitProjects Company - hasannounced a net profit of KD 40.1million ($142.2 million), or 29.31fils ($10.4 cents) per share for theyear ended 31 December, 2013 -an increase of 27 per cent on theKD 31.6 million ($112.4 million), or23.28 fils ($8.3 cents) per share,reported in 2012.

KIPCO’s Board of Directors isrecommending a cash dividend of20 per cent (20 fils per share) and a5 per cent stock dividend, subjectto approval by the company ’sGeneral Assembly and regulatoryauthorities. KIPCO’s fourth quarterprofit (for the three months endedDecember 31, 2013) came to KD 14million ($50 million), an increase of

75 per cent on the KD 8 million($28.4 million) profit achieved inthe same period of 2012.

KIPCO’s total revenues fromcontinuing operations in 2013increased 28 per cent to KD 513million ($1.8 billion) compared tothe KD 402 million ($ 1.4 billion)reported in 2012.

KIPCO’s consolidated assetsincreased in 2013 to KD 8.6 billion($ 30.5 billion) from KD 7.2 billion($ 25.6 billion) in 2012.

Faisal Al-Ayyar, KIPCO’s ViceChairman, said the company’s 2013results reflect solid performanceacross all of the company’s coresectors: “We achieved the doubledigit growth we promised ourshareholders at last year ’s

Shafafiyah Investor’s Forum thanksto the solid performance of ourcompanies throughout the year.The 2013 results mark KIPCO’stwenty-second consecutive year ofprofitability. The very positive per-formance trends in all our core sec-tors - including banking, media,real estate and insurance- were evi-dent in the growth and profitabilityof our companies during 2013. Inparticular, our broadcast company,OSN, continued to deliver strongimprovement in revenue and prof-it, and subscriber numbers are nowclose to the one million mark. Webelieve that all signs point to aneconomic recovery that will allowKIPCO to continue its growth trendin the coming years.”

KIPCO reports KD 40.1m net profit for 2013

‘Double digit growth achieved thanks to solid performance across Group’

PARIS: People look at pieces of fabric during PremiereVision, the world’s premier fabric show at the exhibition hall in Villepinte, north of Paris, yesterday. The show, which runs until tomorrow, gather 700 weavers from 28 countries. — AFP

KIPCO’s Vice Chairman Faisal Al-Ayyar

MANAMA: National Bank of Kuwait(NBK) - Bahrain, a member of NBKGroup, reported net profits of $114million (BHD 42.9 million) for theyear 2013 compared with $92 million(BHD 34.6 million) in 2012, a growthof 24 percent year-on-year (y-o-y).

NBK Bahrain’s total assetsincreased by 41 percent y-o-y to$7.75 billion as of end of December2013, compared with $5.5 billion asof end of December 2012.Shareholders’ Equity increased by 17percent y-o-y to $746 million from$636 million a year ago. Customers’deposits were up 114 percent y-o-yto $4.5 billion at the end of 2013,compared with $2.1 billion at theend of 2012.

Ibrahim S Dabdoub, NBK GroupCEO said: “NBK Bahrain’s perform-ance remains solid given the chal-lenging operating environment. Thisperformance is a clear evidence thatour regional expansion strategy issuccessful and rewarding despite thechallenges in the region. Our strate-gy is built on a culture of prudenceand strict risk management prac-tices, which continues to serve us

well in all times.”Dabdoub added: “We are success-

fully strengthening our positionregionally. Our strategic initiative hasbecome a main pillar on which wewill build future growth. We expectthe contribution of our internationaloperations to the Group’s profitabili-ty to continue growing.”

Ali Fardan, NBK Bahrain GeneralManager, said: “This strong perform-ance attests to the solid foundations

on which the bank was built. NBKBahrain has been able to sail throughthe storm unscathed, as we haveconsistently focused on our corebusiness and ways to diversifysources of income. The quality of ourassets is beyond reproach.Meanwhile, we continue to grow ouroperations and develop new prod-ucts to serve our corporate and retailcustomers.”

NBK has been present in Bahrain

since 1977 and enjoys strong andhistorical relationships with themajor Bahraini and internationalcompanies. NBK has the widestbanking presence with around 170branches worldwide. NBK’s interna-tional presence spans many of theworld’s leading financial centersincluding London, Paris, Geneva,New York and Singapore, as well asChina (Shanghai). Meanwhile,regional coverage extends toLebanon, Jordan, I raq, Egypt,Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE,and Turkey.

NBK continues to enjoy collec-tively the highest ratings among allbanks in the Middle East from thethree international rating agenciesMoody’s, Fitch Ratings and Standardand Poor’s. The Bank’s ratings aresupported by its high capitalization,prudent lending policies, and its dis-ciplined approach to risk manage-ment, in addition to its highly recog-nized and very stable managementteam. NBK was also named amongGlobal Finance’s list of the 50 safestbanks in the world for the eighthconsecutive time.

Egypt hits 5-year high

on election law talk

MIDEAST STOCK MARKETSDUBAI: Egypt’s bourse surged to afive-year high after a local newspa-per reported that discussions overa new presidential election lawwould begin today, while Dubai’sshares fell in profit-taking aftermixed earnings reports.

Cairo’s Al-Ahram said an admin-istrative court, under the mandateof the 2014 constitution, wouldstart discussions on the draft law. Itmay also give details of potentialpresidential candidates and thetimeframe of the elections.

“People are excited about theelections, they are building posi-tions in anticipation of presidentialelection law,” said MohamedRadwan, director of internationalsales at Pharos Securities in Cairo.

Construction- and property-related shares led the trading.Palm Hills Development Co rose3.9 percent and Egyptian Resortsjumped 4.7 percent.

Cairo’s benchmark index rose1.9 percent to 7,721 points, itshighest level since September2008. It broke above the April 2010intraday peak of 7,693 points butwill need a weekly close above thelevel to confirm a breakout fromthe resistance.

The market was little affected bySunday’s bombing of a tourist busin Sinai and this resilience is alsosupporting investor confidence,Radwan added.

In Dubai, shares in Air Arabiatumbled 4.8 percent to a two-weeklow after the budget carrier posteda profit of 94 mil l ion dirhams,which came in slightly below esti-mates. It also proposed a 7.25 per-cent cash dividend that’s only mar-

ginally above the previous year’s 7percent dividend. “Investors wereexpecting higher dividends on AirArabia and this is a market that looksfor dividends,” said Ali Adou, portfoliomanager at The National Investor.Telecommunications operator Dudropped 5.6 percent, despite postingestimate-beating earnings.

Du’s fourth-quarter profit fell to570 million dirhams from 994 milliondirhams a year earlier when thecompany wrote back some tax pro-visions. Builder Arabtec Holdingfell 2.4 percent after brokerage EFGHermes cut the stock’s rating to‘sell ’ citing concerns about thefirm’s ability to increase executionsignificantly after building up alarge project backlog.

Emaar Properties escaped theselling pressure and rose 3.4 per-cent to its highest level sinceSeptember 2008 after it posted a48 percent surge in quarterly prof-it, handily beating estimates.

Dubai’s index lost 1.1 percent,slipping off Monday’s five-yearhigh. “The overall market has hada nice run but fundamentally, it’sbecoming overstretched. Freshmoney won’t come in if valuationsare high,” Adou said.

Analysts and investors havebeen calling for a correction onDubai’s market with heavy retailactivity spurring small-cap stocksin speculative buying. Elsewhere,Qatar’s measure slipped 0.3 per-cent, also slipping off Monday’sf ive -year high. Saudi Arabia’sindex cl imbed 0.2 percent .Banking shares supported gainswith the sector’s index up 0.3 per-cent. — Reuters

NBK Bahrain reports net

profits of $114m in 2013

Ibrahim S Dabdoub Ali Fardan

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.781Indian Rupees 4.560Pakistani Rupees 2.690Srilankan Rupees 2.157Nepali Rupees 2.855Singapore Dollar 225.010Hongkong Dollar 36.426Bangladesh Taka 3.628Philippine Peso 6.343Thai Baht 8.739Irani Riyal transfer 0.271Irani Riyal cash 0.273

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 75.363Qatari Riyal 77.653Omani Riyal 731.150Bahraini Dinar 750.630UAE Dirham 76.965

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 39.550Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.148Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.318Tunisian Dinar 178.970Jordanian Dinar 399.100Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.896Syrian Lira 2.014Morocco Dirham 35.313

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 282.500Euro 388.860Sterling Pound 475.730Canadian dollar 258.460Turkish lira 129.990Swiss Franc 318.850Australian Dollar 256.790US Dollar Buying 281.300

GOLD20 Gram 240.00010 Gram 121.0005 Gram 62.500

COUNTRY SELL CASH SELLDRAFTEurope

Belgian Franc 0.007346 0.008346British Pound 0.465787 0.474787Czech Korune 0.006111 0.018111Danish Krone 0.047812 0.052812Euro 0.381638 0.389138Norwegian Krone 0.042405 0.047605Romanian Leu 0.086063 0.86063Slovakia 0.008090 0.018090Swedish Krona 0.039674 0.044674Swiss Franc 0.310017 0.320217Turkish Lira 0.125659 0.132659

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.247334 0.258834New Zealand Dollar 0.229400 0.238900

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.252254 0.260754US Dollars 0.278550 0.282900US Dollars Mint 0.279050 0.282900

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003320 0.003920Chinese Yuan 0.045219 0.048719Hong Kong Dollar 0.034354 0.037104Indian Rupee 0.004268 0.004668Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025Japanese Yen 0.002668 0.002848Kenyan Shilling 0.003269 0.003269Korean Won 0.000255 0.000270Malaysian Ringgit 0.081960 0.087960Nepalese Rupee 0.003070 0.003240Pakistan Rupee 0.002392 0.002672

Philippine Peso 0.006426 0.006706Sierra Leone 0.000069 0.000075Singapore Dollar 0.220504 0.226504South African Rand 0.019997 0.028497Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001888 0.002459Taiwan 0.009207 0.009387Thai Baht 0.008383 0.008933

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.743279 0.751279Egyptian Pound 0.036841 0.039941Iranian Riyal 0.000078 0.000079Iraqi Dinar 0.000183 0.000243Jordanian Dinar 0.394439 0.401939Kuwaiti Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000Lebanese Pound 0.000138 0.000238Moroccan Dirhams 0.024381 0.048381Nigerian Naira 0.001195 0.001830Omani Riyal 0.728123 0.733803Qatar Riyal 0.076927 0.078140Saudi Riyal 0.074737 0.075437Syrian Pound 0.002166 0.002386Tunisian Dinar 0.175160 0.183160Turkish Lira 0.125659 0.132659UAE Dirhams 0.075973 0.077122Yemeni Riyal 0.001284 0.001364

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Australian Dollar 259.95 256.95Canadian Dollar 261.74 262.74Swiss Franc 321.50 319.50Euro 390.89 391.89US Dollar 282.05 285.05Sterling Pound 475.96 478.96Japanese Yen 2.81 2.83Bangladesh Taka 3.630 3.900Indian Rupee 4.540 4.840Sri Lankan Rupee 2.157 2.592Nepali Rupee 2.847 3.382Pakistani Rupee 2.696 2.790UAE Dirhams 76.86 77.32Bahraini Dinar 750.70 752.77Egyptian Pound 40.51 41.11Jordanian Dinar 401.43 407.08Omani Riyal 733.51 740.81Qatari Riyal 77.89 78.44Saudi Riyal 75.34 75.74

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 282.400Canadian Dollar 260.100Sterling Pound 473.890Euro 388.410Swiss Frank 317.425Bahrain Dinar 745.670UAE Dirhams 76.865Qatari Riyals 78.415Saudi Riyals 76.175Jordanian Dinar 397.985Egyptian Pound 40.511Sri Lankan Rupees 2.157Indian Rupees 4.554Pakistani Rupees 2.690Bangladesh Taka 3.628Philippines Pesso 6.327Cyprus pound 693.629Japanese Yen 3.776

Syrian Pound 2.971Nepalese Rupees 3.841Malaysian Ringgit 86.290Chinese Yuan Renminbi 46.985Thai Bhat 9.670Turkish Lira 129.143

Al Mulla Exchange

Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)US Dollar 282.000Euro 388.850Pound Sterling 471.850Canadian Dollar 259.050Indian Rupee 4.545Egyptian Pound 40.165Sri Lankan Rupee 2.155Bangladesh Taka 3.634Philippines Peso 6.338Pakistan Rupee 2.693Bahraini Dinar 751.150UAE Dirham 76.850Saudi Riyal 75.350

*Rates are subject to change

ATHENS: A Greek riot policeman pushes a protesting school guard trying totake part in a sit-down protest on a busy road outside the Ministry ofAdministration Reform during a rally in Athens yesterday. Hundreds ofschool guards, who have been suspended on reduced pay pending transferto other public sector jobs or dismissal, took part in the protest. —AP

News

Doha Insurance gets nod for rights issue

DUBAI: Qatar’s Doha Insurance said yesterday it hadreceived shareholder approval for a capital increaseworth 436.7 million riyals ($119.9 million) aimed atstrengthening its ability to work at home and abroad.The insurer said the plan - which will nearly double itscapital to 500 million riyals - had been approved at ameeting on Monday and would see 24,260,000 newshares offered to shareholders at a price of 18 riyals pershare. The offer price is a substantial discount to the27.55 riyals closing price on Monday. Rights issues inQatar and across the Gulf region are usually offered atsteep discounts. Shareholders will be allowed to sub-scribe for nine new shares for every ten they currentlyown, yesterday’s statement to the Qatar bourse said.Doha Insurance said last month it had received regula-tory approval for the rights issue, which would increasefinancial solvency and further improve its credit rating,which would allow it to compete for mega projectsboth locally and internationally.

Abu Dhabi January inflation down to 2.1%

ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre released thefollowing January consumer price data for the GulfArab emirate yesterday. Housing and utility costs,which account for almost 38 percent of consumerexpenses, rose 1.5 percent year-on-year. LastNovember, Abu Dhabi scrapped a 5 percent cap onannual rent increases, opening up a property sectorwhere many tenants were paying below-market rents.Analysts polled by Reuters in January forecast averageinflation in the United Arab Emirates federation wouldrise to 2.5 percent in 2014 and 2.7 percent in 2015, from1.1 percent in 2013.

Spain exceeds target in bill auction

MADRID: Spain easily raised more funds from debtmarkets yesterday, slightly more than expected, withyields on T-bills down amid strong demand frominvestors. The Treasury sold 4.524 billion euros ($6.2billion dollars) of three- and 12-month bills comparedwith a target range of between 3.5-4.5 billion euros,the Bank of Spain said. Demand outstripped supply by3.2 times, the central bank added in a statement. Themaximum rate of return of 0.39 percent for investorson the six-month bills, and of 0.628 percent on the 12-month bills, was the lowest since the Treasury beganissuing the bills in 1987, the economy ministry said in astatement.

in brief

B U S I N E S S

DUBAI: Du, the United Arab Emirates’ secondbiggest telecoms operator, expects furthergrowth in the business due to a buoyant localeconomy, its chief executive said after report-ing a rise in revenue and a better than expect-ed fourth-quarter profit yesterday. Du expand-ed rapidly after ending Etisalat’s domesticmonopoly in 2007 to claim 46.4 percent ofmobile subscribers as of Sept. 30, the mostrecently available data.

However, the Dubai-based firm’s marketshare by revenues is more modest, at 29.2 per-cent in the third quarter, with Etisalat still hav-ing the bulk of the business with corporatecustomers and wealthy individuals. As a resultdu’s profit for 2013 was little changed at 1.99billion dirhams ($542 million), up from 1.98 bil-l ion dirhams in 2012, a bourse f i l ing onTuesday showed.

However, Chief Executive Osman Sultan saidthe company would still benefit from overallgrowth in the UAE’s booming economy.Economists polled by Reuters estimate thecountry’s gross domestic product increased by4.3 percent in 2013 and predict it will expandby the same rate in 2014 and 2015.

“We believe being in the service sectorwe’re in a good position to profit from this

momentum,” said Sultan. Yet he warned theUAE telecoms market was becoming morecompetitive and du’s share of new businesswas less than it had been during its start-upphase.

“We used to get the lion’s share,” said Sultan.Du’s fourth-quarter profit fell 43 percent to 570million dirhams from 994 million dirhams ayear earlier when the company wrote backsome tax provisions, according to Reuters cal-culations. Analysts polled by Reuters had onaverage forecast du would make a quarterlyprofit of 487.9 million dirhams.

Foreign expansionAs to prospects for du expanding abroad

Sultan said a move was possible eventually butthat “we’re not looking at any specific opportu-nity now - we’re keeping the door open”.

Du previously considered and then decidedagainst bidding for a virtual operator license inSaudi Arabia. The company also faces a highertax bill - UAE telecom operators are taxed viaroyalties paid on licenses issued by the federalgovernment, with du paying 183.5 milliondirhams more in royalties in 2013 comparedwith a year earlier.

The government announced a new formula

in December 2012 that includes a levy on rev-enue as well as profit and steadily increasesthe level of taxation on du to eventually reachparity with the longer-established Etisalat.

Du’s mobile data revenue increased 34 per-cent to 2.36 billion dirhams in 2013, with datanow accounting for 28 percent of this, up from23 percent a year earlier. Sultan said he hopedthis would top 30 percent in 2014. Annual rev-enue rose 9.7 percent to 10.8 billion dirhams.Of this, 8.37 billion dirhams was from mobile,while fixed line services accounted for 1.68 bil-lion dirhams, up 3.4 percent from a year earlier.Fixed line provides a greater gross profit mar-gin, but du has been hamstrung by its failureto agree a network infrastructure sharing dealwith Etisalat more than four years since talksbegan. Both companies are ultimately majori-ty-owned by government institutions.

Such a deal would open up fixed services tocompetition. Currently both firms offer fixed-line broadband, phone and television pack-ages in the UAE, but not in the same districts,with du largely confined to the newer areas ofDubai. “We are disappointed that this is takingmore time than we anticipated. We look at thisas an important track for our future growth,”said Sultan. —Reuters

Du looks to buoyant UAE

economy for future growth

2013 profit 1.99bn dirhams

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s central bank keptinterest rates on hold yesterday afterhiking them sharply last month to helpstabilize the lira, shying away from fur-ther tightening for fear of hittinggrowth ahead of elections next month.The bank kept its overnight lendingrate at 12 percent, its one-week reporate at 10 percent, and its overnightborrowing rate at 8 percent, as predict-ed by all 16 economists in a Reuterspoll. It said it would maintain its tightstance until there is a significantimprovement in the outlook for infla-tion, which it expects to remain aboveits 5 percent target for some time.

“Having hiked interest rates in anextremely aggressive and somewhatpanic-stricken manner last month,Turkey’s central bank is taking a much-needed breather and is hoping itsmuch stronger anti-inflationary stancewill be enough to establish credibility,”said Nicholas Spiro, head of London-based Spiro Sovereign Strategy.

“While a lot hinges on market senti-ment towards emerging markets, con-cerns are already shifting from the cur-rent account deficit to the bleakerprospects for growth. The politics ofTurkish monetary policy are taking cen-tre stage,” he said. The bank stunnedinvestors by hiking rates by some 500basis points at an emergency meetingon Jan. 28, initially sending the lirasharply higher from record lows andhelping short-circuit a vicious cycle ofselling in emerging markets.

The move, which bolstered thebank’s credibility in the eyes ofinvestors, had been opposed by PrimeMinister Tayyip Erdogan. Bent on main-taining economic growth ahead of anelection cycle starting with local pollsnext month, the prime minister has

been a vocal opponent of higher bor-rowing costs.

Turbulence aheadThe bank had for months been

struggling to defend the lira by burningthrough its currency reserves and tryingto squeeze up borrowing costs on themargins without resorting to outrightrate hikes, a battle it was clearly losing.

The lira was trading at 2.1810 againstthe dollar by 1234 GMT, largelyunchanged from just before the ratedecision. It remains comfortably off therecord low of 2.39 hit on Jan 27. Buteconomic storm clouds are gatheringand the lira could come under renewedpressure in the coming months, with apotentially turbulent election periodahead and Turkey’s huge trade shortfallleaving it one of the most vulnerableemerging markets to the winding backof US monetary stimulus.

Data last week showed the currentaccount deficit widened more sharplythan thought in December, with the gapfor 2013 expected to reach around 8 per-cent of GDP. The central bank’s survey ofbusinessmen and economists mean-while showed inflation expectations con-tinue to deteriorate, with CPI seen rising7.92 percent at year-end, well above itsown forecast of 6.6 percent.

“This alone will likely to prevent cen-tral bank from tuning down its hawkishbias anytime soon,” said Erkin Isik, astrategist at TEB-BNP Paribas. The mainIstanbul share index fell 0.51 percent to65,261.89 points, underperforming thewider emerging markets index .MSCIEF,which fell 0.20 percent.

The yield on the 10-year bench-mark bond was little changed at 10.25percent from 10.24 percent onMonday. —Reuters

Turkey keeps rates on

hold as hike helps lira KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines saidyesterday it suffered its fourth straightquarterly loss in the three months endingin December, and warned of tougher timesahead as its full-year loss expanded nearlythree-fold from the previous year. The big-ger loss in 2013 may throw MalaysiaAirlines off track from its plan to becomeprofitable by the end of 2014.

The flag carrier said it recorded a netloss of 343 million ringgit ($104 million) inthe quarter, compared to a 51.4 millionringgit profit a year earlier. It blamed adeclining ringgit, unrealized foreignexchange losses and higher operating andfinance costs.

For the full year, losses ballooned to 1.17billion ringgit ($354 million), nearly threetimes larger than the 433 million ringgitloss in 2012. “The full-year performance ofmaking a bigger loss in 2013 compared to2012 demonstrates the challenges broughton by intensifying competition leading tolower yields for all players,” it said in a state-ment.

“Going into 2014, Malaysia Airlinesexpects the business environment toremain challenging with high fuel prices,volatile foreign exchange and intense com-petition impacting yield from both existingas well as new entrants into the market,” itsaid.

The carrier said its capacity increased by17 percent last year and it carried 27 per-cent more passengers than a year earlierbut its profit margin was depressed byincreasing competition as Middle Easternand European carriers expanded into Asia.

Revenue rose 10 percent from a year ear-lier to 15.1 billion ringgit ($4.6 billion) in2013 but operating costs also surged 10 per-cent due to higher fuel prices and the weak-er ringgit. Malaysia Airlines said it will focuson cutting costs and building traffic and rev-enue. “Many airlines are investing heavily innew aircraft and new products and services.This has resulted in a significant increase incapacity and aggressive competition in faresand value proposition to attract and keepmarket share,” it said. —AP

CAIRO: A proposed one-year ban on theimport of motorbikes and three-wheeler‘tuk-tuks’ to Egypt will have limited impacton GB Auto’s 2014 profits, the companysaid yesterday.

GB Auto is the Egyptian distributor oftuk-tuks and motorbikes made by India’sBajaj. The Egyptian cabinet last week gaveauthority to the finance ministry to tem-porarily ban the import of tuk-tuks, fullyassembled motorbikes and their compo-nents. Cabinet spokesman Hany Salahtold an Egyptian TV channel last weekthat the proposed ban was aimed atrestoring “discipline and order” to thestreets.

There has been an increase in the num-ber of unregistered motorcycles and tuk-tuks in the country. Some have been usedby militants in attacks against securityforces.

GB Auto, which made around 14 per-cent of its revenue from two and three-wheelers in the third quarter, said lastweek that the ban would have an adverseimpact on the company. But on Tuesday itsaid the effect on this year’s profits wouldbe minimal. “Stock on hand of both prod-ucts, strong pricing power across all prod-uct lines, recovery in commercial vehiclessegment and new business will cushionthe impact of the ban on the import ofmotorcycles and three-wheelers,” it said.

“We are certain that organic growth,new business ventures and cost controlinitiatives will allow us to deliver the sameprofitability in FY14 as we had originallyplanned, even as our top line falls slightlyshort,” Chief Executive Raouf Ghabboursaid in a statement. GB Auto shares wereup 5 percent at 38.9 Egyptian pounds at0900 GMT yesterday. —Reuters

Import ban to have limited

impact on Egypt’s GB Auto

Malaysia Airlines posts Q4

loss, sees tough times

B U S I N E S SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

FRANKFURT: Investment sentiment inGermany slipped in February as uncer-tainty about the US and emergingeconomies came to the fore, but theGerman recovery remains intact, datashowed yesterday.

The widely watched investor confi-dence index calculated by the ZEW eco-nomic institute fell by 6.0 points to 55.7points in February, ZEW said in a state-ment. “The cautious expectations in thismonth’s survey are likely to be caused bysome uncertainties which came to thefore recently,” said ZEW presidentClemens Fuest. Weak employment figuresas well as some softer leading indicators

had sparked concern in the US that thecurrent economic upswing could losemomentum, he said.

Volatile capital markets in someemerging economies reflected uncertain-ty regarding their economic prospects inthe medium term. Nevertheless, “thismonth’s decline in economic expecta-tions must not be overstated,” Fuestinsisted. “The majority of surveyed finan-cial market experts remain optimistic,” hesaid. For the survey, ZEW questions ana-lysts and institutional investors abouttheir current assessment of the economicsituation in Germany, as well as theirexpectations for the coming months. The

sub-index measuring financial marketplayers’ view of the current economic sit-uation in Germany rose by 8.8 points to50.0 points in February, its highest levelsince August 2011.

A frequent criticism of the ZEW indexis that it can be volatile and is thereforenot particularly reliable.

The latest ZEW reading “gave mixedsignals, suggesting that whilst the eco-nomic situation is improving slowly,investors are losing some optimismabout the future,” said Capital Economicseconomist Paul Hollingsworth.

But Berenberg Bank economistChristian Schulz believed “the latest

decline does not point to a change indirection of the economic trajectory yet.“The negative factors should remain tem-porary,” he insisted. ING DiBa economistCarsten Brzeski agreed. “The ZEW indexhas not the best track record when itcomes to predicting German economicactivity. However, over the last years, thecurrent assessment component hasbecome a rather good leading indicatorfor GDP growth.

“In this regard, today’s sharp increaseof the current assessment component isgood news for the economy. The econo-my should gain further momentum in thefirst months of the year,” Brzeski said.

Natixis economist Johannes Gareissimilarly believed the drop in the indexthis month “must not be overstated.” Therise in the ZEW sub-index of currentassessment “is in line with Germany’srobust economic development andinvestors’ strong expectations in secondhalf of last year,” Gareis said.

“So, while some uncertainties stem-ming from volatile capital markets inemerging may have contributed to adecline in the ZEW’s headline indicator,the take away message from February’sZEW survey is that German investors andanalysts remain overtly optimistic,” theexpert concluded. — AFP

German investor sentiment slips: ZEW

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG: Singapore stateinvestor Temasek Holdings Pvt Ltd is seeking tosell its $3.1 billion stake in Thai telecom compa-ny Shin Corp and has approached its SingTelunit as a possible buyer, people familiar withthe matter said. Heralding an overhaul of itstelecom assets, Temasek held talks with SingTellate last year about selling the 41.6 percent ofShin Corp it owns through a subsidiary, thepeople said. They declined to be identified asthe information is not public.

Talks over a stake in the company that con-trols the biggest Thai mobile telecoms operatorand was bought from the family of ousted for-mer prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra havesince stalled amid political tensions in Thailand,the people said. SingTel, formally known asSingapore Telecommunications Co, is 52 per-cent-owned by Temasek. The move byTemasek, which oversees $170 billion in assets,is in line with its plans to consolidate portfoliocompanies in industry groupings. This wouldbe its first move toward bringing its telecomsassets under one roof, analysts said, potentiallycreating a regional giant. The Temasek stake inShin Corp is worth $3.1 billion by current mar-ket value. Shin Corp’s shares now trade morethan 50 percent above the price paid in 2006by a Temasek-led consortium, that includedChinese-Thai businessman Surin Upatkoon,when it bought 96 percent of the Thai firm for atotal of $3.8 billion.

“At a fair price such a deal would makesense for SingTel,” Chris Lane, senior analyst atSanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong who coversAsia-Pacific telecommunications.

Thai market leader Shin Corp owns 40.5 percent of Thailand’s

biggest mobile telecoms company, AdvancedInfo Service Pcl. SingTel already has a 23 per-cent stake in AIS: Adding the Shin Corp stakewould cement its position in a bigger marketand offset sluggish growth in matureeconomies where it ’s also present, likeAustralia. “SingTel executives are involved in theday-to-day operations of the company,” saidBernstein analyst Lane. “Buying the stake fromTemasek avoids the possibility of another ‘telco’securing a significant interest in AIS.”

Other Temasek telecoms holdings apartfrom SingTel include an indirectly owned stakeof about 3 percent in Indian mobile carrierBharti Airtel Ltd, as per a filing from last August,worth close to $600 million at current marketprices. It also controls the wholly ownedSingapore Technologies Telemedia - a commu-nications business that houses assets likebroadband networks in Malaysia and thePhilippines and is valued by Temasek at $2.7billion as of last March.

Temasek’s telecoms strategy mirrors what ithas tried to do in other business segments -

with varying degrees of success.Last year itsfinancial services portfolio company DBSGroup Holdings Ltd made a bid for BankDanamon Indonesia Tbk , but it failed to getapproval from Indonesian regulator. Thefuture of its 18 percent stake in London-based bank Standard Chartered PLC is a con-stant source of speculation for bankers, whohave previously suggested merging StandardChartered with DBS.

Political stalemateThe slowdown in Shin Corp deal talks makes

it the second potential transaction in Thailandto be put on the back burner due to politicalstalemate. ING Groep’s planned sale of a 31 per-cent stake in TMB Bank Pcl has also hit road-blocks, Reuters previously reported.

Shin Corp occupies a position of symbolicimportance in Thailand. Along with Thaiinvestors, Temasek and Surin Upatkoon boughtthe 96 percent Shin Corp holding in 2006through a vehicle known as Cedar HoldingsLtd. While Cedar has since sold most of its own-ership, Temasek remains a Shin Corp sharehold-er through a subsidiary called Aspen. Thechange in its ownership triggered accusationsof insider trading and tax evasion as the familyof then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra andothers involved received $1.9 billion tax-free.

Thaksin insisted at the time that the sale sat-isfied all the rules in a country where sharesales conducted through the stock market arenot taxed. Protests in Bangkok followed, ulti-mately leading to a coup that ousted Thaksin.Thailand is one of 25 countries in which SingTeloperates, with more than 500 million sub-scribers in total and more than three-quartersof its core earnings coming from outsideSingapore. The company had a cash flow ofS$2.5 billion at the end of December.

“Given the buyer is SingTel, which wants toexpand business in Thailand, the deal is quitepositive for Shin Corp and AIS in particular,” saidChatchai Jindarat, telecoms analyst at MaybankKim Eng Securities in Bangkok. SingTel hasbeen seeking to overhaul a portfolio of tele-coms investments that include stakes in BhartiAirtel - help separately from Temasek’s -Australia’s Optus, Globe Telecom Inc in thePhilippines and Indonesia’s PT Telkomsel. Lastyear, it unsuccessfully tried to sell the Australiansatellite business. A spokesman for Temasekdeclined to comment on the talks, but added,“We are a long-term investor in Asia includingin ASEAN.” A Shin Corp official in Bangkokdeclined to comment, while a SingTel spokes-woman also declined comment. SingTel sharesclosed 0.6 percent lower yesterday, while thebenchmark Strait Times index ended littlechanged. Shin Corp shares fell nearly 2 per-cent, while the Bangkok index was 0.5 percentlower. —Reuters

Temasek seeks to sell $3.1bn stake in Thailand’s Shin Corp to SingTel

Bankers and academics in Italy are stepping upefforts to develop Islamic finance in the country,a campaign which could benefit from growingeconomic links between Gulf countries and theeuro-zone’s third largest economy. Islamicfinance has so far made only marginal progressin continental Europe, mainly in France andGermany. But Italy is seeking trade and invest-ment with wealthy Gulf Arab states as a way togrow out of its debt problems.

Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund announcedthis month that it would invest 500 million euros($685 million) in Italian companies in coordina-tion with the Italian government’s own strategicinvestment fund. Italy made a similar deal withQatar last year. Italy’s trade ties with the Gulf arebooming; its exports to the United ArabEmirates hit 5.5 billion euros in 2012, a 16.7 per-cent rise from 2011, government data shows.

Only about 2 percent of Italy’s population of61 million are Muslim. But the hope is that asGulf companies and investors increase theiractivities in Italy, Islamic finance - which followsreligious principles such as bans on interest pay-ments and pure monetary speculation - will fol-low. Italian firms raising loans could use Islamicstructures to attract sharia-compliant banksfrom the Gulf, for example. Italian bonds andequities could become attractive to Islamicfunds if they were certified as sharia-compliant.“I think the development of sharia-compliantproducts is an important opportunity for Italy - itmight become one of the drivers to get finallyout of the economic crisis,” said EnricoGiustiniani, analyst at Banca Finnat Euramerica inRome.

“There is quite a big interest from Islamicfunds and Islamic institutional investors to investin Italy, especially in this period with many com-panies on sale.”

IndexBanca Finnat has gone as far as designing a

hypothetical index of sharia-compliant stocks,which features some of the country’s best-known luxury brands, Giustiniani said. “A specificindex still does not exist, but the interest is veryhigh. The luxury sector is a brand required byforeign institutional investors and it is a veryimportant growth driver for our country.”

Gulf investors have already shown consider-able interest in Italy’s luxury good firms; in 2012,for example, Italian fashion brand Valentino wasbought by Qatar’s royal family. Fondazione Istud,a Milan-based business school, plans to establishan Islamic finance position this year, intended asa venue for industry research and to developproposals aimed at Italian decision makers.

This would be the first structured attempt toprovide industry information and influence leg-islation, Marella Caramazza, director-general ofFondazione Istud, told Reuters. “Certainly regula-tors and practitioners seem to demonstrate ageneral interest on this subject in our nation, butat the same time tend to have a very conserva-tive approach.

“At this stage, we are trying to involve stake-holders and gather funds at different levels, inorder to begin with the activities,” Caramazzaadded.

RegulationsThese activities should include a review of

existing regulations, mainly those covering realestate registration taxes, said Hatem Abou Said,representative in Italy of Bahrain’s Al BarakaBanking Group (ABG). Tax rules are particularlyimportant for Islamic finance because many ofits asset-based transactions are vulnerable todouble taxation under conventional accountingmethods; addressing such barriers could lureIslamic banks to the market.

Currently, however, only broad discussionsare taking place with Italian policy makers andno specific agenda is in place, said Francesca

Brigandi, president of COMEDIT, the Italian-Mediterranean and Gulf Countries Chamber ofCommerce. While political and legislative hur-dles remain, Italy’s central bank is no stranger toIslamic finance as it monitors the sector on a reg-ular basis, though it does not have a specificgroup studying Islamic finance, said a centralbank spokesman. Its research department hasconducted formal studies, held seminars onIslamic finance as far back as 2009, and last yearco-hosted a forum with the Malaysian-basedIslamic Financial Services Board, one of theindustry’s standard setting bodies.

Rony Hamaui, chief executive of Milan-basedMediofactoring, a fully owned subsidiary ofIntesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s biggest retail bank, saidhis and other Italian companies had exploredIslamic financing options in the past but did notdo deals, partly because of a lack of regulatorysupport in Italy.

However, deals could start to materialise -perhaps involving Italian firms overseas -even without government support, as com-panies increasingly seek to broaden theirfunding sources, Hamaui said. “Liquidity isbecoming a more and more important prob-lem in Europe.” —Reuters

Gulf ties could aid Islamic finance industry in ItalyKIA seen investing $685m in Italian firms

ROME: Protestors bang on metal barrels during a demonstration in downtown Rome’s Piazzadel Popolo yesterday. Artisans and merchants from all over Italy arrived in Rome to demandthat Parliament the new government in the midst of being formed make an urgent break-through in economic policy after the economic crisis shut down more than 372,000 businessesin 2013.—AFP

BRUSSELS: Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos Jurado (right) talks withSwedish Finance Minister Anders Borg (center) and Danish Finance MinisterMargrethe Vestager, prior to the start of the EU finance ministers meeting at theEuropean Council building in Brussels yesterday.—AP

CARACAS: Venezuela braced yesterday for moredueling protests by supporters and opponents ofPresident Nicolas Maduro, as his governmentgave three US diplomats two days to leave thecountry.

The United States denied as baselessVenezuela’s allegations that the three diplomatswere trying to organize protests. Leopoldo Lopez,an opposition leader facing an arrest warrant, saidhe would take part in yesterday’s rally. Tension islikely to brim throughout the day because bothrallies, unlike previous ones, are scheduled to takepart in the same part of Caracas. Maduro is grap-pling with angry student protests that began inthe interior of the oil-rich country and boiled overlast week in street clashes in Caracas that leftthree dead. Students and other opponents ofMaduro are angry about living conditions-ram-pant crime, dismal job prospects, high inflationand other woes-in the country with the world’s

biggest proven oil reserves.The main opposition leader, Henrique Capriles,

governor of the northern state of Miranda anddefeated by Maduro in last year’s election to suc-ceed the late Hugo Chavez, said he would takepart in the rally, even though he did not agreewith the students’ strategy. He says now is not thetime to try force Maduro’s exit. “We may have dif-ferences but we feel solidarity,” Capriles said.

Lopez’s People’s Will Party released a videowhich it said showed armed men wearing helmetsbreaking down a door to get into its headquar-ters. Shortly after Lopez said he would take part inthe anti-government rally, Maduro called one byemployees of the state-run oil company in thesame area of Caracas. Foreign Minister Elias Jauaidentified the Americans declared “persona nongrata” as Breeann Marie McCusker, Jeffrey GordonElsen and Kristofer Lee Clark, all said to be secondsecretaries at the US embassy.

Jaua charged that the embassy had sent “oper-atives” to universities to train and finance youthorganizations “through which the violence inVenezuela is promoted.” State Depar tmentspokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington had notyet been formally notified of the Venezuelanaction, and rejected the accusations made againstthe diplomats. “The allegations that the UnitedStates is helping to organize protesters inVenezuela is baseless and false,” she said.

The expulsions were first announced Sundaynight in a speech by Maduro. He accused thediplomats of meeting with student protest lead-ers under the guise of offering them visas. “Letthem go conspire in Washington,” he said.

Inflation worriesVenezuelan officials have charged that student

leaders received training in Mexico and the for-eign ministry on Sunday accused Washington ofseeking to “legitimize attempts to destabilize” thegovernment. The protests flared up on February 4when students at a university in the western stateof Tachira staged a demonstration against ram-pant crime after a student was raped.

Violence after an anti-government rally lastWednesday left three people dead.

Since then, as the protests spread to othercities, student grievances have expanded todemands that the government release jailed pro-testers. They have also drawn attention to soaringinflation and shortages of many basic goods.Protests in Caracas last week were the biggestagainst the government since Maduro took officein April, succeeding Chavez.

On Monday, opposition protesters marchedpeacefully to headquar ters of the NationalTelecommunications Commission to protest cen-sorship.

Tense US-Venezuela ties Venezuela’s relations with Washington, long

strained under Chavez, have remained sour anddistrustful under Maduro, who has hewed to hispredecessor’s socialist policies.

In late September, Maduro kicked out threeother US diplomats, on accusations of conspiringwith government opponents. The two countrieshave had no ambassadors since 2010.— AFP

Venezuela gears for more dueling protests

Students shout slogans against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro during a march toVenezuelan Telecommunications Regulator Office or CONATEL in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday,Feb 17, 2014. The students, who’ve spent the past week on the streets alternating betweenpeaceful protests by day and battles with police at night, marched on Monday to Venezuela’stelecom regulator to demand it lift all restrictions on the media’s coverage of the unfoldingpolitical crisis. —AP

TAIPEI: Taiwan forecast GDP will rise by2.82 percent in 2014 yesterday, putting thecountry on course to enjoy its biggestgrowth figure in three years. Authoritiesadjusted the figure upward by 0.23 percentpoints from its earlier estimate of 2.59 per-cent outlined in November, the DirectorateGeneral of Budget, Accounting andStatistics said. The revised forecast growthfigure was the highest since 2011 when theeconomy posted a rise of 4.19 percent, itsaid. The GDP of the export-reliant econo-my has been buoyed by stable economicrecovery of the industrialized countries andimproved domestic consumption.

Despite the upgrade, the predictedgrowth momentum-mainly from the

export sector-would not be robust, theagency said. Full-year exports in 2014 wereforecast at $315.6 billion, a rise of 3.33 per-cent, which the agency said “would be stilllower than the global trade growth fore-cast”.

According to the prediction ofInternational Monetary Fund, the world’strade volume was forecast to rise 4.5 per-cent this year, up from 2.7 percent last year.The Taiwanese government agency alsoadjusted upward the GDP growth for thethree months to December to 2.95 percentyear-on-year, up from the 2.92 percent esti-mated. But the GDP growth for 2013 wasdowngraded by 0.08 percentage points to2.11 percent. — AFP

Taiwan GDP set to rise 2.82% in 2014

B U S I N E S SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

TOKYO: A businessman uses his mobile phone before a share prices board inTokyo yesterday. Japan’s share prices jumped 450.13 points to close at14,843.24 points at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after the Bank of Japan heldoff expanding its asset-buying program, but said it would boost some lend-ing schemes to stimulate borrowing. —AFP

HONG KONG: Asian shares were mixed yes-terday, but Tokyo surged 3.13 percent afterthe Bank of Japan expanded its lendingscheme to stimulate borrowing, while hold-ing off on fresh easing measures. After a dayof gains, Asia’s markets had no cues fromWall Street which was closed for thePresidents’ Day holiday.

Tokyo’s Nikkei-225 index soared 450.13points to 14,843.24, while Seoul was flat,edging up 0.03 percent, or 0.55 points, to1,946.91 and Sydney gained 0.18 percent, or9.9 points, to 5,292.8.

Shanghai fell on profit-taking, losing 0.77percent, or 16.35 points, to end at 2,119.07,while Hong Kong edged up 0.23 percent,with the benchmark Hang Seng indexadding 51.78 points to 22,587.72.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, whichtracks stocks on China’s second exchange,slipped 0.41 percent, or 4.77 points, to1,155.62. “The (China) market may resumeits uptrend in the coming sessions as there’sample liquidity... we are unlikely to see aninflow of IPOs (initial public offerings) untilMarch,” Capital Securities analyst Amy Lin

told Dow Jones Newswires.Investors were earlier gripped by worries

over tight liquidity conditions as a flood ofIPOs in January diverted funds from the sec-ondary market. All eyes were on the Bank ofJapan’s governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s post-meeting comments for signs of future poli-cy moves, after weak Japanese growth datafor the final quarter of 2013 worsened fearsabout the impact of an April sales tax rise.

While the world’s number three economygrew 1.6 percent over 2013 — its best per-formance in three years-it slowed to 0.3 per-

cent in the October-December quarter, pre-senting a major challenge for Prime MinisterShinzo Abe’s bid to kickstart growth afteralmost two decades of deflation.

The BoJ said it had decided to double thesum of loan schemes to banks in a bid tostimulate lending to firms and to financegrowth-stoking projects such as environ-mental research and natural resourcesdevelopment. In an afternoon press brief-ing, Kuroda said policymakers had “signifi-cantly boosted the capacity of our engine-this is like we put on new tyres to make the

most of that engine”.Expanding the loans schemes was “noth-

ing huge, but it is the first significantchange of policy since the (Bank of Japan)started on its massive easing cycle lastApril”, said Chris Tedder, research analyst atForex.com in Sydney. On currency markets,the yen tumbled after the BoJ announce-ment as the greenback fetched 102.37 yen,surging from below the 102-yen level earlieryesterday. The euro bought $1.3717 against$1.3695 in London late Monday, while risingto 140.49 yen from 139.42 yen. —AFP

Asian shares mixed, Tokyo surges on BoJ

SINGAPORE: Gold drifted lower yesterday astraders took profits from recent gains, but thesafe-haven metal held not far off 3-1/2 monthhighs due to a weaker US dollar and concernsover global economic growth.

Bullion is up 10 percent this year - afterlosing nearly a third of its value in 2013 - asoutflows from gold-backed funds slow andequities weaken due to emerging market jit-ters.

Gold gained for three straight sessionsthrough Monday, following weak US eco-nomic data that also boosted silver. Spotgold slipped 0.8 percent to $1,317.31 by0732 GMT, after hitting $1,332.10 earlier inthe session - its highest since Oct 31. Silveralso fell but wasn’t too far from a 3-1/2month high of $21.96 hit on Monday.

“Both gold and silver have good momen-tum, so expect the dips to be shallow andsupported,” said one Hong Kong-based pre-cious metals trader. “Realistically expect apullback that will run into good buyingbefore the next move higher.”

The trader said some investors began sell-ing after prices pushed through Monday’shighs. Buying will return between $1,305 and$1,318, he said. Asian shares mostly eased

after solid gains in recent sessions, while thedollar was near six-week lows against a bas-ket of currencies.

Investors have been seeking shelter ingold after a string of US data showed theworld’s largest economy had been hit by coldweather and fears of slowing growth in China.Gold is often seen as an alternative invest-ment to risky assets such as stocks and is con-sidered a haven during times of economicuncertainty. In the physical markets, IndianFinance Minister P Chidambaram said onMonday he will look into relaxing goldimports curbs, but won’t let the country’s cur-rent account deficit balloon. To reduce itstrade deficit, India introduced import restric-tions last year that have slashed officialimports of the metal, although smuggling hasincreased.

In China, premiums of 99.99 percent puri-ty gold on the Shanghai Gold Exchangeeased to about $4 an ounce from Monday’s$7 as buyers took a breather after the pricerally. Data from the World Gold Councilshowed that global gold demand fell 15 per-cent in 2013 as huge outflows from physical-ly backed investment funds outweighedrecord consumer demand. —Reuters

Gold snaps 3-day rally

on profit taking

LONDON: Oil held around $109 a barrelyesterday, supported by robust demandfor heating fuel in top consumer theUnited States and supply disruptions inLibya. As well as the cold spell, oil drewsupport from a weak US dollar, whichwas near a six-week low against a basketof major currencies, supporting com-modities such as oil that are priced indollars.

Brent crude was trading at $109.06 abarrel, down 12 cents, by 1008 GMT. UScrude was up 36 cents at $100.66. Therewas no settlement on Monday as USmarkets were shut for the Presidents Dayholiday. The US chill “is likely to keepheating demand at a high level andspark a further decline in the alreadyseverely diminished stocks of heating oiland natural gas”, said Carsten Fritsch, ananalyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

Supply disruptions were also support-ing prices, particularly Brent. Libya’s oilproduction has dropped to 390,000 bar-rels per day, some 70,000 bpd less thanlast week, as protests disrupted flowsfrom a large oilfield, El Sharara. “Even

though Libya’s ongoing supply shortfallsare mostly priced in by the market, thenews that El Sharara flows were partlyblocked by protesters following severalthreats earlier last week still underpinnedBrent prices,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov,an analyst at VTB Capital in London.

Prices drew support last week from anInternational Energy Agency reportshowing that inventories in the devel-oped world had posted their steepestquarterly decline since 1999 in the lastthree months of 2013. Reports on US oilinventories will be released later thisweek.

On Tuesday, Iran and six world pow-ers will hold talks on a long-term dealfor Tehran to limit its nuclear programand the West to ease international sanc-tions. Progress in resolving the decade-long dispute would weigh on oil pricesas the lifting of sanctions would allowthe OPEC producer to expor t morecrude and add to global supply. BothIran and the United States have playeddown expectations of reaching anagreement. —Reuters

Oil rises above $109,

US cold supports

B U S I N E S SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

By Sunil Veetil, Regional Head of Paymentsand Cash Management, HSBC Middle Eastand North Africa

Many would argue that the 1970s wasthe decade of innovation. It was inthese years that the world saw the

first handheld mobile phones, and Sonylaunched its first Walkman - transforminghow, when and where we listen to music. Atthe same time, IBM began developing floppydisks for commercial use that quickly beganto transform how we work and conduct busi-ness. It was this decade that sowed the seedsof internet banking and electronic web-based platforms, which created a gateway tothe future.

Fast forward to the 1980s, and banksbegan offering online services to customers.However, the limited number of internetusers and the costs associated with onlinebanking hampered growth. As a result, inter-net banking did not take off in earnest untillate in the 1990s. Having access to this servicein the privacy of the home became a fact oflife, and soon a necessity, for millions ofhouseholds around the world. It was at thispoint that electronic banking began to growrapidly. It was not only individuals who wereaffected. It is easy to under-value the impactthese platforms and electronic banking havehad on the corporate world, and the mannerin which they have revolutionized the cashmanagement industry. Businesses across allsectors now have to manage thousands ofpayments every week - often across interna-tional borders. In the UAE alone, we estimatethat approximately 31200* cross border pay-ments were processed every day in 2013.

Businesses slow to adapt to the changinge-payment landscape face significant chal-lenges both today and in the future. Withoutadopting one of the many electronic plat-forms available, businesses are unlikely tobenefit from the efficiency gains offered andmay suffer delays in payments that may inturn harm relationships with suppliers.Manual operations are prone to human errorand often exacerbate problems such as idlecash in the bank, while working with severalbanks without a central management systemis becoming increasingly challenging.

Embracing electronic payments does notneed to be costly or complex. Irrespective of acompany’s financial model, using even themost basic of web-based platforms canaddress most of the critical issues that chal-lenge corporate treasurers today. Theseinclude setting up centralized back officefunctions, ensuring precise reporting andaccurate financial forecasting. Although theuse of web-based platforms is evolving andbecoming more advanced in the Asia Pacificregion, Europe and the US, adoption of theseplatforms, even at a basic level, is still at anearly stage in the Middle East. In fact, it wasonly as little as two years ago when relying onmanually produced excel spreadsheets ormaking payments by cheque was the pre-ferred way of doing business amongst corpo-

rations in this region.Despite the fact that these old-fashioned

methods are still in use, there has been a visi-ble shift in recent years. Middle East based busi-nesses are also seizing the opportunity to leapfrog from previous web based software toinnovative mobile technology. If we look at ourown statistics, as at 30 September 2013 overUSD 900 million of payments were authorizedon HSBCnet mobile in the region, since itslaunch in November 2011. We have also seen apush to automate from Government ownedentities and Government departments. This, inturn, continues to encourage the private sec-tor to move in the same direction.

Understandably, using such platformsbrings its own set of issues to the table.Guaranteeing security has been at the fore-front of these concerns. Failure is not anoption and ensuring the availability of secureservices is the top priority of financial institu-tions. Financial back-office data is sensitivematerial and customers need to be sureabout the security of their data.

Nevertheless, simple actions and logicalthinking can eliminate many of the risksinvolved. These include ensuring that filesare encrypted, implementing a matrix ofauthorization requirements starting from theearliest point of transactions, and preparing acontingency plan in the event that some-thing does go wrong.

Though these measures should not beoverlooked, let’s not forget that the banks’responsibility to provide businesses witheffective and secure platforms is critical. Thelevel of security offered, combined withgreater control over processes and theprospect of significantly improving overallmanagement of working capital, is preciselywhy so many businesses sign up for theseplatforms in the first place. As technology inthis space continues to evolve, it will be inter-esting to see how businesses must adapt inorder to thrive in today’s increasingly inter-connected economy. One thing is certain,when we look back on this period of history itwill be characterized as the decade that sawthe final frontier of e-banking fall by the way-side. *Source: Based on calculations fromSWIFT Report 2012 numbers and 2013 GDPgrowth rate projected by the UAE Ministry ofEconomy.

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan yesterday held offfresh monetary easing measures but said itwould tweak a loans scheme to stimulate bor-rowing, a move that sent Tokyo shares surging.

Policymakers kept the existing massive easingprogram in place after a two-day meeting, whilemoving to fire up bank lending to firms and con-sumers, which BoJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda likenedto slapping new tyres on a car.

We have “significantly boosted the capacity ofour engine-this is like we put on new tyres tomake the most of that engine”, he told reporters.All eyes were on Kuroda’s post-meeting com-ments for signs of future policy moves, afterweak Japanese growth data for the final quarterof 2013 worsened fears about the impact of anApril sales tax rise.

Expanding the loans schemes was “nothinghuge, but it is the first significant change of poli-cy since the bank started on its massive easingcycle last April”, said Chris Tedder, research ana-lyst at Forex.com in Sydney. The yen tumbledafter the announcement, pushing the Nikkeistock index 3.13 percent higher as the greenbackfetched 102.55 yen, surging from below the 102-yen level earlier yesterday.

Analysts widely expect the BoJ to expand itsasset-buying plan later this year to counter anyslowdown from the tax increase. That would like-ly weigh on the yen, a plus for Japaneseexporters, as the US Federal Reserve rolls back itsown stimulus program.

The new data showed Japan’s economyexpanded by 1.6 percent over last year, but itslowed to 0.3 percent in the October-Decemberquarter, presenting a major challenge for PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe and his bid to reverse almosttwo decades of deflation.

“These data reinforced investor expectationsthat the Bank of Japan will need to step up its(easing) program at some point,” NationalAustralia Bank said. Kuroda unveiled the vastasset-buying scheme-which aims to boost themoney supply and, in turn, stoke growth-as partof the broader plan by Abe to reinvigorate theworld’s third-largest economy and eradicateyears of falling prices, which have held back con-sumer spending and business investment.Recent data showed consumer prices logged

their first annual rise for five years in 2013.But rising prices have largely been driven up

by higher fuel bills after the Fukushima atomiccrisis, not by surging demand for everyday goodswhich power the economy as a whole-althoughthere has been an uptick in spending before thetax rise. David Beim, a finance professor at NewYork’s Columbia University, cast doubt onwhether the BoJ’s attempts to pump money intothe financial system through reserve-richJapanese banks was having much of an impact.

“What is in theory supposed to happen is that,as the central bank expands its balance sheet,the commercial banks expand theirs, therebyexpanding the money supply... which stimulatesthe real economy,” he said in an email to AFP. “Butwhen commercial banks already have massiveexcess reserves, this does not happen.” In JanuaryKuroda said he was still confident the bank’s two-

percent inflation target would be reached some-time next year-despite growing skepticismamong analysts and even some BoJ board mem-bers. The sales tax hike-to 8.0 percent from 5.0percent-is seen as crucial to bringing downJapan’s eye-watering national debt, but it hasalso raised fears that it will derail Tokyo’s attemptto kickstart growth. The BoJ on Mondayannounced it would double the amount of fundsavailable to commercial banks under a pair ofloan schemes, saying it hoped to “further pro-mote financial institutions’ actions as well asstimulate firms’ and households’ demand forcredit”.

Among other measures was an extension ofthe timeline for a program aimed at promotingdevelopment in parts of the country hammeredby the quake-tsunami disaster almost three yearsago.—AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister ShinzoAbe has ticked off the easy items on histo-do list for economic revival. Flashyindicators show that factories are churn-ing out more cars and electronics.Corporate profits are up. Stock priceshave surged 30 percent in the past year.Despite his brash declaration that “Japanis back” in a speech last September tothe New York Stock Exchange, Abe facesa thornier challenge in ensuring that his“Abenomics” recovery spreads beyondboardrooms to the Japanese people.

Over the past two decades Japan’ssystem of salaried jobs with full benefitshas crumbled as companies struggled tostay afloat in cut-throat global markets,shifting much of their manufacturingoverseas. Steady jobs in manufacturingand finance that moved abroad orbecame obsolete were replaced by low-paying service jobs such as clerking inconvenience stores and delivery work,especially for workers under 40.

About 40 percent of Japan’s workers,or triple the figure of just 30 years ago,are employed under part-time or non-regular contracts that pay far less than“salaryman” type jobs of the past. Thathollowing out is undercutting thedomestic demand that powers nearlythree-quarters of business activity with-

in Japan, compounding the effects of ashrinking and aging population. “Up tonow, it’s all been a minus,” said retireeTakeshi Onodera, when asked aboutAbenomics. “I don’t see any signs it’smade a difference.”

‘It hasn’t reached us’Economic growth picked up modest-

ly last year to 1.6 percent but fell short ofexpectations in the fourth quarter,prompting the Bank of Japan to Tuesdaytop up its already plentiful stimulus.Onodera’s pessimism is shared by someexperts. They say the social and econom-ic forces at play in Japan for more than ageneration, are too powerful to be over-come by Abe’s prescription of big gov-ernment spending, lavish monetary eas-ing, a weak yen and dismantling barriersto competition.

Japan’s median household income of3.8 million yen ($38,700) in 2012 wasdown from 4.5 million yen in 1997.Today’s workers are worse off than theirparents and their incomes continued tofall in 2013 even as the initial successesof Abe’s policies rolled in. On top of that,living costs are rising as Abe’s weak yenpolicy that favors Japan’s exporterspushes up the cost of imported fuel andother goods. Employers are reluctant to

raise wages, a measure vital for anenduring recovery. Japanese consumerswill take another hit in April when salestax is raised to 8 percent from 5 percentto help bridge the government’s yawn-ing budget deficit.

“Our parents just saved money in thebank without really thinking about it. Forus, it’s really difficult to save money,” saidHideo Sone, a 40-year-old machineryfactory worker. “We want to buy a housebut it looks like repaying the moneybefore retirement might be difficult,”said his wife, Natsuko. Many youngerworkers stuck in part-time or temporaryjobs, with no benefits, only manage byliving with their parents, said SeiichiInagaki, a visiting professor at the TokyoInstitute of Technology. “It is unavoid-able for them that the poverty rate willrise,” said Inagaki, a former welfare min-istry official.

Speaking in parliament this month,Abe acknowledged that rising companyprofits haven’t gone into wages butinsisted increases are inevitable as theeconomy picks up. Flat or decliningincomes were bearable until recentlybecause the stagnation that followedthe bursting of Japan’s bubble economyin the early 1990s was characterized byfalling prices, or deflation. Now, costs are

rising, with consumer prices up last yearfor the first time in half a decade.

Many companies are balking at Abe’scalls for higher wages, which they can illafford. Some that have profited from theweaker yen are promising modest wagehikes for upcoming spring labor talks,but many other businesses, especiallythe smaller ones that employ a majorityof Japanese, are being squeezed byhigher costs for imported componentsand energy. “Business and political cir-cles do want to revive our economy, butwithout giving labor a bigger share ofthe economic pie obviously it won’t hap-pen,” said Kenji Utsunomiya, a two-timecandidate for Tokyo governor.

As Abe’s government weighs corpo-rate and broader public interests, indus-try appears to have the upper hand.Despite the famed efficiency of itsautomakers and other manufacturers,Japan ranks 20th out of 20 among theworld’s richest economies in terms ofhow productive its workers are. So thegovernment plans to designate someareas of the country as “special zones” forreforming labor laws and restrictionsthat Abe says are hindering innovationand competition.

But proposals to make it easier to firepermanent employees and for exempt-

ing companies from giving white-collarworkers overtime pay worry labor advo-cates. “I’m especially concerned aboutthe idea of special economic zones. Theyseem to be aiming for a situation inwhich companies can fire and hire peo-ple with really very little constraint,” saidNoriko Hama, a professor at Kyoto’sDoshisha University. With governmentfinances strained by Japan’s record-bust-ing national debt, the country’s alreadySpartan social safety net is being cut fur-ther. Japan’s unemployment rate is lowcompared with Europe and the US, butwelfare rolls have risen to record levelsas single parents and growing numbersof seniors lacking enough pensionincome seek help.

To counter rising costs, monthly pay-ments were cut by up to 10 percent lastAugust, and further reductions areplanned. Toshio Hirota, 72, is feeling thesqueeze as government cuts supportpayments for his wife and two youngstepchildren. Plans to cut corporate tax-es to encourage companies to raisewages, step up innovation and boostinvestments don’t sit well with him. “Themoney is just going to the big compa-nies, and they’re just moving the jobsoverseas,” said Hirota. “We are not feelingany benefit from this.”—AFP

Japan’s Abe faces challenge to broaden recovery

BoJ holds off freshmonetary easing

Lending moves like slapping on ‘new car tyres’

TOKYO: Governor of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Haruhiko Kuroda answers a question during apress conference at the company headquarter in Tokyo yesterday. Wrapping up a two-day poli-cy meeting, the BoJ said it would keep its massive easing program in place, while tweaking aloan scheme to banks in a bid to stimulate lending to firms and consumers. — AFP

Building a gateway to the future

LONDON: British car dealerPendragon said yesterday itexpected another strong year in2014, reporting a rise in profitsboosted by customers using easilyavailable credit to buy cars.

The company said an 18 per-cent increase in new car sales and aboost to its highly profitable after-sales business helped push full-year 2013 pre-tax profits to 38.9million pounds ($65 million), up 14percent. CEO Trevor Finn toldReuters that more than 70 percentof Pendragon’s new cars werebought using some form of credit.

“You can buy a car that’s morereliable, more fuel-efficient, lowercost of operation and for a month-ly payment that was probably simi-lar to what you were paying on theprevious car,” he said.

In a bid to shift stock since thecar market suffered from 2008,British carmakers and dealers havepushed cheap financing deals anddiscounts, sometimes selling at aloss. The firm, which runs over 250retail outlets and trades under thenames Stratstone, Evans Halshawand Quicks, also said that a 22 per-cent rise in website visits helpedboost sales as customers perusedonline before buying in person.

“Our used car sales have grownby 49 percent over the last fiveyears and that’s as a function of theinternet becoming much moreprevalent in people’s minds when

they’re looking,” Finn told Reuters.

ExpansionThe firm also said it was confi-

dent that 2014 would be anotheryear of good performance in linewith expectations. Overall industryfigures showed Britons bucked afall in car sales in Germany andFrance by buying 2.265 millionnew cars in 2013, the highest num-ber since 2007 and an 11 percentrise on the year, spurred on byrecord low interest rates.

Pendragon revenue stood at3.85 billion pounds in 2013, up 6percent and the firm said its totaldividend of 0.4p per share in 2013was 300 percent higher on lastyear.

The company also said it had hitits target of having debt to under-lying core earnings on a ratio of 1.5times 18 months early on June 302013. The ratio stood at 1.2 timesat the end of December.

Although the firm said it want-ed to return money to sharehold-ers and maintain a ratio between1.0 and 1.5, Finn said the firm waslooking at ways to expand in partsof Britain where it currently doesnot trade. “We don’t have any rep-resentation in Bristol, Ipswich,Norwich. There’s quite a few citieswhere we don’t have some foot-print and if the right opportunitycame in those markets, we’d takeit.” —Reuters

UK car dealer Pendragon sees profit rise

LONDON: British inflation fellbelow the Bank of England’s tar-get for the first time in over fouryears last month, reinforcing thebank’s message that there is norush to raise interest rates.

Consumer prices rose 1.9 per-cent on the year in January, slow-ing from December’s rate of 2.0percent, making it the smallestincrease since November 2009,the Office for National Statisticssaid.

Economists polled by Reutershad expected it to stay at 2.0 per-cent, although the lower rate ofinflation fitted with the BoE’s lat-est forecasts showing it would dipto around 1.7 percent by March.

“ With sterling remainingstrong, pushing down importcosts, energy and commodityprices remaining well behavedand wage pressures limited, infla-tion is likely to remain soft for sev-eral months,” said ING economistJames Knightley. “We do expectto see an uptick later this yearwith a strengthening labor mar-ket likely prompting a gradual risein wages ... but it is not going tobe troubling for the BoE.” Before

December last year, annual infla-tion exceeded the Bank ofEngland’s 2 percent target everymonth since December 2009,eroding the spending power ofhouseholds and making the fall inliving standards a big politicalissue ahead of next year’s elec-tions.

In a rare comment after infla-tion figures, Prime Minister DavidCameron said the decline showedthe government’s long-term eco-nomic plan was working.

Last Wednesday the BoE said itwas in no rush to hike rates andthat it would look for a range ofmeasures to show less slack inBritain’s labor market before ittightens policy.

Tuesday’s figures are likely toreinforce that position, despitehouse price figures releasedalongside the consumer inflationnumbers that showed the annualrate of house price growth hadreturned to October’s three-yearhigh. The central bank has said itwill use measures other than rais-ing rates to tame house prices ifthey threaten to get out of con-trol. —Reuters

British inflationundershoots target

Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen (left) speaks with Italian minister ofEconomy and Finance Fabrizio Saccomanni prior to an Economic and FinancialAffairs Council yesterday at the European Union headquarters in Brussels. — AFP

KUWAIT: Falken Tire, a high performance tirechoice for driving enthusiasts has announcedlaunch of its new strongest and quietest ultrahigh performance tire - the AZENIS FK453,which is currently on sale in Kuwait. The nextgeneration AZENIS FK453isFalken’s new flag-ship tire and it is the most advanced and ulti-mate high performance tire to date whichreplaces the AZENIS FK452, revered by manycar enthusiasts for its blend of performanceand affordability.

The AZENIS FK453 is the latest generationof Falken¥s steadfast Ultra High Performancetire, available in a wide array of diametersfrom 17-inch to 22-inch and along with widerange of tire widths - making this tire a versa-tile, resourceful, dynamic, and powerful offer-ing. The AZENIS FK453 will be available in atotal of 61 sizes to fit sports and performancecars such as Jaguar XFR, Jaguar FX, BMW Z4,Mercedes Benz SL65, Nissan 370Z, Audi TT,Lincoln MKT, Lexus IS, Hyundai Genesis,Infinity G37, Porsche Boxster, PorscheCayman, Porsche 911 Carrera, Porsche 911Turbo, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and VolkswagenGTI.

Takashi Adachi, Managing Director ofFalken’s Middle East Office talking about thisnew product quoted “The AZENIS FK453takes ultra-high performance to a new leveldelivering exceptional maneuverability, con-trol and grip through significant improve-ments in handling and reductions in roadnoise. Falken has incorporated advancedtechnologies, the competitive personality ofmotorsports and the legacy of the AZENISFK453’s predecessors to create a benchmarkof maximum performance on the roads.”

Falken’s acclaimed engineering teamshave developed the AZENIS FK453 specifica-tion, and have tested them on various roadconditions and proving grounds. The engi-neers also gained feedback from Falken’s rac-ing drivers who have tested the tires using avariety of cars; resulting in a design thatincorporates a more warp resistant casingand additional nylon-reinforced cover ply toincrease high-speed stability. This construc-tion is complemented by a rounder tireshoulder, optimizing pressure deploymenton the tread area.

The AZENIS FK453 provides added confi-dence behind the wheel, through its threecentral tread grooves and staggered sipesdesign which is integrated into the first treadbar on the tire shoulder. The unique tread

design helps in reduction of hydro-planningand deflects the water more effectively thanmost of the conventional tread patterns. Incontrast to its predecessors, AZENIS FK453’sdry handling ability has been enhanced by 25percent whilst handling ability on wet sur-faces has been enhanced by 30 percent,delivering useful gains in control for lanechanges and higher speed cornering. A com-bination of tread pattern and compoundchanges has led to 8 percent reduction inbraking distance on wet surfaces.

The AZENIS 453’s tread has a silicaenriched compound that offers a superiortraction and grip for those seeking ultra-highperformance on both dry & wet roads.

The asymmetric tread pattern of AZENISFK453 with large outside shoulder blocks notonly enhances the cornering grip but alsoprovides a better braking traction. Also, themultiple nylon-reinforced layers allow for bet-ter high-speed stability, an important assetbased on the driver¥s exacting demands.AZENIS FK453 also features the latest devel-opments in noise absorption technology. Toachieve the lower noise levels now expectedby consumers, even those using low profiletires, Falken introduced phase-shifted treadbars. The rounder shoulder contributes to thesignificantly lower rolling resistance and pass-by noise.

Honed by Falken’s Global MotorsportsDevelopment teams, AZENIS FK453 hasalready made its international motorsportdebut. Falken’s UK drift team is using the AZE-NIS FK453 tire in a bid to retain the champi-onship. Similarly Kuwait’s drift enthusiastsand teams are already sporting these tiresduring their competitions and performances.

Suresh, President of KAPICO Group’s glob-al tire business said, “Al-Ghannam Tires CenterCo, the exclusive and principal channel part-ner for Falken in Kuwait is very excited to wel-come Falken’s newest summer ultra-high per-formance tire in AZENIS FK453.” He furtherquoted “AZENIS FK453 is a winner; it sports anaggressive tread design that is going to giveyou excellent cornering power and better sta-bility in straight line acceleration. It offers aquiet and comfortable ride whether you aredriving on the highway or around the town. Ifyou are driving a high-end sports car, thisAZENIS FK453 is an excellent option. The AZE-NIS FK453 line is expected to dominate thereplacement tire market for the sports carsand ultra-luxury coupes and sedans.”

Falken launches

new flagship

tire AZENIS FK453

B U S I N E S SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

DUBAI: Lexus yesterday announced a steady increase inMiddle East sales in 2013 with a +19 percent rise to sell37,284 vehicles in the luxury segment. With its focus on lead-ing edge innovation and design in line with its brand cam-paign theme of “Amazing in Motion”, Lexus continues itsimpressive ascent to rank among the top in the luxury carsegment across the region.

Nobuyuki Negishi, Chief Representative of Middle East &North Africa Representative Office, Toyota MotorCorporation said, “Our emphasis on design excellence hasbeen a significant factor in the overall look and feel of ourcars with a deep commitment to world class design and thishas helped us maintain our growth momentum in the luxu-ry segment. Building on the three main pillars of aggressivedesign, dynamic performance, and advanced environmentaland safety technologies, we have made consistent, innova-tive progress and seen strong customer acceptance of ournew design philosophy.”

Leading the charge for the sedan range, the Lexus ISmade its mark on luxury car buyers in the region with an

impressive +63 percent growth in sales with 1,864 units.With its contemporary and elegant design, advanced drivingdynamics and innovative technology, the IS is a distinctiveand premium sports sedan which provides a truly respon-sive vehicle as a natural extension of its driver. The fun-to-drive capability of the new generation 2014 Lexus IS comesalive in its performance with its agile handling capability.The finely-tuned front and rear suspensions also assist thedriver with an accurate steering response and an excellentgrip. Engine variants offered include: a 2.5 Liter V6 providing204HP, and a 3.5 Liter V6 delivering an emphatic 312HP.

With a total of 3,000 improvements, the LS is the mostrefined Lexus saloon ever built and has made a significantimpact on luxury car buyers to register a +55 percentincrease in sales during 2013 with 2,171 units. With theLexus LFA as a reference point during its development, the2014 Lexus LS has been further refined to deliver an evengreater performance. A more agile platform has beenachieved with laser welding and an innovatively bondedbody structure that also adds strength and lightness for a

stable, smoother ride. Acceleration, seamless shifting, con-trol and fuel efficiency is easily adjusted by the turn of theDrive Mode Select dial which offers four distinct drivingstyles. The thrilling drive of the Lexus LS is now even moreengaging in the F SPORT model.

In the SUV category, sales of the Lexus GX grew by +63percent with 1,060 units during 2013. The Lexus GX remainsa rarity among luxury SUVs, a full-capability model withexceptional off-road prowess, yet with on-road handling andride quality that epitomize the Lexus brand. The bold designwith a large spindle grille coupled with revolutionary drivingdynamics takes the styling of luxury to a new high level. TheLexus GX is a premium luxury family commuter during theweek that easily transforms to a trail-driving 4x4 on theweekend, with room for up to seven. Such a contrast of func-tions is made possible by a combination of rugged body-on-frame construction and an advanced standard KineticDynamic Suspension System (KDSS), which helps to signifi-cantly reduce body lean without needing stiffer springs anddampers.

Lexus registers steady growth

in Mideast luxury segment

Sales rise 19 percent in 2013

KUWAIT: United Real Estate Company (URC), one of the MENAregion’s leading real estate developers announced yesterdaythat is has achieved a net profit of KD 11.2 million for the yearending December 31st 2013. Thecompany’s operational profitsincreased by 94 percent comparedto the same period in 2012.

Following URC’s boardapproval of the financial earningsfor the fiscal year of 2013, a recom-mended cash dividend of 8 per-cent will distributed to the compa-ny’s shareholders subject to theapproval of the general assemblymeeting.

URC’s Chairman, TariqMohammed AbdulSalam said,“URC has succeeded in achievingits strategic objectives. The com-pany sold a number of assets,which eventually helped achieve astronger better output while eas-ing the financial restrictions thatwere associated with some ofthese assets.”

“The company has also suc-ceeded in its leasing operations,where it successfully completedthe leasing process of its SalalahGardens Mall in Salalah Oman,which was inaugurated inNovember last year. Moreover, thecompany also succeeded in issu-ing bonds that are valued at KD 60million which was oversubscribed by 50 percent. The five-yearbond was rated investment grade of BBB- with a positive out-look by credit rating agency, Capital Intelligence.”

Moreover, URC’s CEO, Engineer Mohammed Ahmed Al-Saqqaf added, “We are very proud of the results. The compa-ny’s executive management team has been focused onimproving our operational performance. Our results duringthe past year are evident of that success, which clearly indicatea significant rise of 30 percent in our profits compared to lastyear. Furthermore, our operational profits jumped by 94 per-cent when compared to the same period in 2012. The compa-ny continues to relay its efforts and focus on a number of itsmajor projects that include Abdali Mall in Jordan, RaoucheView at 1090 in Lebanon and Aswar Residences in Egypt.”

Tariq Mohammed AbdulSalam thanks the executive man-agement team and all URC colleagues for their hard workalong with the shareholders for their continued support.

United Real Estate

posts net profits of

KD 11.2m for 2013

Tariq MohammedAbdulSalam

Engineer MohammedAhmed Al-Saqqaf

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank announced that it has officiallyopened its new training center ‘Durrat Al-Khaleej’ locat-ed in its Al Zahra branch. Gulf Bank’s Chairman, OmarKutayba Alghanim, Salma Al-Hajjaj, General Manager -Human Resources, along with senior executives fromthe Bank’s management were joined by invited guests,Fawzi Al-Majdali, Secretary General - Manpower andGovernment Restructuring Program (MGRP), Dr YaqoubAl-Refaei, Director - Institute of Banking Studies inKuwait, Dr Bassam Al-Feeli and Sumaya Al-Jassim -Kuwait Foundation of Advancement of Science (KFAS),all of whom congratulated Alghanim and the Bank’smanagement on this occasion and commended themfor their commitment to the training and developmentof the Bank’s workforce.

Gulf Bank’s Chairman, Omar Kutayba Alghanim, gavea brief speech to welcome the Bank’s guests and reiterat-ed the importance of human capital investment. He fur-ther emphasized the Bank’s policy of being a meritocracyand performance based organization and through thenew training center being able to equip staff with theskills and competencies to help them advance in theircareers. He went on to thank the team for the work theyare doing to support and advance the Kuwaiti workforce.

Through this new training center, current and newemployees will receive new training modules and cours-

es, all displayed on Smart Boards using Apple TV. In addi-tion, the Bank has also replaced paper training materialwith iPads, giving trainees the latest in technologicaladvances in their training. Gulf Bank is the first Bank inKuwait to use Smart Boards to display its training mod-ules and courses and the first Bank to provide iPads to allits trainees. The facility’s computer lab has beenequipped with the latest desktop computers in additionto equipping the training facilities with cameras to pro-vide visual and audible tools to monitor progress fromthe Bank’s Head Office.

Salma Al-Hajjaj, General Manager - HumanResources at Gulf Bank said: “We are very proud to havethis training center for our employees. It’s a great mile-stone for the Bank and the HR department and under-lines how committed we are to ensuring we have thebest qualified employees in the banking sector. GulfBank is known as an organization that is committed tonurturing Kuwaiti talent, as well as a financial institutionthat provides the best banking products and services inKuwait. This is something we are very proud of and aimto build as we grow.

“At Gulf Bank we believe that our human capital isour most valuable asset and therefore we strive to createa culture that nurtures talent and creates career oppor-tunities for our people. We value teamwork and empow-

erment and we will continue to focus on these aspectsas we work with our employees in developing theirknowledge and abilities.”

The Bank also places great emphasis on training anddevelopment of its employees through its Learning andDevelopment department, which produces a range oftailor-made packages and training programs as part ofits policy of investing in encouraging staff expertise. In2013, Gulf Bank conducted 125 training courses, training1377 newly recruited employees, as well as numerouscourses at middle and senior management level focus-ing on both technical and leadership competencies withstrong emphasis on corporate governance and compli-ance.

As one of Kuwait’s leading employers and recruiters,Gulf Bank has always placed its human capital at theforefront, focusing on opening up opportunities toyoung Kuwaitis, creating meaningful roles and chal-lenges for Kuwait’s youth that allows them to build acareer, and in doing so, to contribute to the country’seconomic progress.

To find out more about Gulf Bank’s new training cen-ter, visit any one of Gulf Bank’s 57 branches, or call theCustomer Contact Center on 1805805. Information isalso available on the Bank’s bilingual website at www.e-gulfbank.com.

Gulf Bank opens new training center

‘Durrat Al-Khaleej’ in Al-Zahra

The bank puts human capital at forefront

KUWAIT: The number of passengersusing inflight connectivity on OmanAir’s OnAir-equipped Airbus A330s hasincreased dramatically in the past year,as has the volume of data exchanged.The airline has seven A330s fitted withboth Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir.

From 2012 to 2013, the number ofOman Air’s passengers logging on tothe OnAir networks increased by 45percent, and 85 percent more datawas used. Oman Air has worked onincreasing usage by implementing aseries of creative new marketing initia-tives. These have included a promo-tion allowing passengers to useFrequent Flyer miles to purchase Wi-Ficodes, as well as offering free vouchersto First and Business class passengersin three or four different periods

throughout the year. The airline hasalso included a promotional advertis-ing campaign and a clip about MobileOnAir before every film.

OnAir predicts that Oman Air willsee a doubling of Wi-Fi usage in 2014,thanks to its innovative approach tomarketing and providing passengerswith value-added services around con-nectivity. The usage figures show thatwhen passengers know about theservice, there is a great demand for it.It also shows that OnAir connectivitycan meet both customer expectationsand increasing demand.

“Having been the first airline in theworld to offer both services, Oman Airhas now been providing Mobile OnAirand Internet OnAir for over four years.We also have plans for adding the

services to more aircraft, as our fleetgrows over the next few years,” saidAndrew Walsh, Chief Officer ServiceDelivery at Oman Air. “Our customershave warmly welcomed the servicesand, thanks to our creative and proac-tive approach to marketing onboardconnectivity, we have seen a biggrowth in passenger usage in 2013.We actively encourage passengers touse Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAirand we are confident that both willcontinue to meet service expecta-tions.”

Oman Air has opted for OnAirbecause it is the only provider offeringconsistent global coverage. OnAir hasa unique network of regulatoryauthorizations from over 100 countriesand more than 350 roaming agree-

ments with mobile network operators.These are complemented by InmarsatSwiftBroadband, the only satellite net-work specifically designed to provideworldwide coverage.

“We are always excited to see pas-sengers making the most of the servic-es we provide. It’s clear that Oman Air,having pioneered full onboard con-nectivity, has used several appealingmarketing initiatives to encourageusers to connect to the inflight GSMand Wi-Fi,” said Ian Dawkins, OnAirCEO. “The usage numbers show pas-sengers are using the service againand again, so they must recognise thatit more than lives up to its reputation.Passengers now expect to fly in a con-nected aircraft, making inflight con-nectivity a must-have.”

Oman Air sees sharp increase in

inflight connectivity usage in 2013

t e c h n o l o g yWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

PALO ALTO: Hewlett-Packard Co’s sen-ior executives were aware of certainAutonomy Corp accounting practicesmonths before a whistleblower flaggedthem, prompting HP to write down thevalue of Autonomy, the Financial Timesreported, citing email records.

Palo Alto, California-based HP hassaid it was a victim for having paid $11.1billion to buy Autonomy in 2011. It took

a writedown of $8.8 billion in November2012, accusing Autonomy officials ofaccounting fraud. Autonomy’s practiceof selling hardware to clients at a losshad been documented by auditors and areport was provided to HP after itbought the British software maker, theFT said. HP executives were included incommunications about Autonomy’shardware sales before the whistleblower

brought the transactions to light, the FTsaid, citing several emails. (http://link.re-uters.com/hev86v)

In an October 2011 email that HPChief Executive Meg Whitman wascopied on, Autonomy cited difficulties itwas having in selling HP hardware, thenewspaper reported. However, HP saidthat while it eventually learned aboutthe hardware sales, it knew nothing of

the alleged accounting improprietiesuntil the whistleblower came forward,the FT said. Autonomy’s former ChiefExecutive Mike Lynch said in a statementthat the emails and documents cited bythe FT showed Autonomy had beenopen with its auditors, Deloitte.

Deloitte told the newspaper it “cate-gorically denies any knowledge of anyaccounting improprieties or misrepre-

sentations in Autonomy’s financial state-ments”.

Lynch said: “Meg Whitman accusedAutonomy of ‘active concealment’ butthese revelations prove we were openand transparent with our auditors whocontinue to stand by the accounts.” HPcould not be immediately reached forcomment by Reuters outside of regularbusiness hours. —Reuters

HP execs aware of Autonomy’s loss-making hardware sales

Philippines’ top court

upholds ‘cyber libel’ lawCybercrime in its many forms continuing and escalating

MANILA: The Philippines’ top court ruled yester-day that a cybercrime law penalising online libelis constitutional, disappointing critics who argueit could curb Internet freedom in one of Asia’smost freewheeling democracies.

The Cybercrime Protection Law was passed in2012 to stamp out online scourges such as fraud,identity theft, spamming and child pornogra-phy, but its implementation was suspendedafter coming under challenge from variousgroups.

The Supreme Court said however that thesection which penalises cyber libel “is notunconstitutional”, spokesman Theodore Te said,adding that only the sender of the materialfaced prosecution and not the recipient.

The court also upheld provisions penalisingcyber-squatting, computer fraud, identity theftand gaining illegal access through a computer,he said. Opponents of the law could still file amotion for reconsideration, Te added.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said theSupreme Court decision was “timely” as the gov-ernment needed it to deal with the growingnumber of cybercrime cases. “In the interveningperiod when the (law was suspended), cyber-crime in its many forms was continuing andeven escalating,” she said.

“A clear legal framework is necessary to pro-tect citizens and balance the state’s duties.” ButNeri Colmenares, a congressman who wasamong those who challenged the law, said theymay appeal.

“The government should not be the prosecu-tor of stained reputations,” Colmenares said,branding it a “draconian law”. “No one should goto prison just for expressing oneself, specially onthe Internet, where people express their frustra-tion with government,” he said.

President Benigno Aquino signed the law in

2012 but opponents quickly said it gave thegovernment wide powers to curb Internet free-dom due to provisions that impose heavy prisonterms for online libel.

The law also gives the state power to shutdown websites and monitor online activities, ina country where major protests have beenorganised through Facebook and Twitter.

The Supreme Court yesterday “partially grant-ed the relief” sought by the law’s opponents,when it ruled as unlawful a provision giving theJustice Department powers to shut down web-sites or record Internet traffic data in real time.

But Terry Ridon, a congressman representingthe youth sector in parliament, said they wereunhappy with the ruling and vowed to chal-lenge it. While the high court entertains appeals,it rarely reverses decisions. “The fight against e-Martial Law is far from over. We call on everyoneto up the ante and once again show our collec-tive dissent against this repressive law,” Ridonsaid. “While the high court reportedly aimed tostrike a balance between the protection of civilliberties and government control, we still believethat the law is potent enough to impede ourfreedom of expression,” he added. —AFP

MANILA: Filipino youths gather at an Internet cafe in Manila yesterday. The PhilippineSupreme Court ruled yesterday that a controversial cybercrime law penalising online libel isconstitutional, amid claims it is intended to curb Internet freedom in one of Asia’s most free-wheeling democracies. — AFP

TOKYO: A woman (L) tries to walk through the prototype model of an automatic tick-et gate with a built-in explosive detection device, developed by Japan’s Hitachi andNippon Signal at Tokyo Metro’s Kasumigaseki subway station in Tokyo yesterday.Hitachi and Nippon Signal started a field test of the world’s first ticket gate whichcollects minute particles affixed to smart cards, enabling it to detect bombs withinthree seconds. It is possible to inspect 1,200 passengers an hour. — AFP

PARIS: Arianespace rockets excel at lifting theheaviest payloads into space, but a new technolo-gy allowing for lighter satellites is causing anotherbig bang for an already fast-changing industry.

The number one commercial launch operator,Arianespace is under intense pressure from a newslate of lower-priced rivals, including US start-upSpace X.

But now lighter-load electric propulsion usedby satellites once in space is also attacking thecompany’s hold on the business. Also known asion or plasma engines, in 2012 US aerospace giantBoeing was the first to commercially offer a satel-lite engine that uses electricity from solar panelsfor thrust.

Most satellite makers followed suit in 2013.While the thrust is weaker than chemical propelledengines, thus taking months instead of weeks tomove a satellite after its launch to its final orbit, ituses much less propellant. This can cut a satellite’slaunch weight by half, allowing it to be lifted byless powerful rockets, thus lowering costs and cre-ating an opportunity for rivals.

To counter the threat by upstart Space X andother new competitors from India and Japan, the20 nations that are part of the European SpaceAgency decided in November 2012 to develop amore powerful launcher and start studies on a sec-ond one. The first is an update of their heavy-liftrocket, the Ariane 5, and should come on line by

2018. The Ariane 5 ME, for midlife evolution, wouldincrease the lift capacity of what is already thebiggest commercial rocket to just over 11 tonnesfrom 10 tonnes.

Simultaneously, at the insistence of France,they began planning for a sleeker Ariane 6 to beready around 2020 that would be capable oflaunching 6 tonnes. In order to be profitable, theAriane 5 series must carry two heavy satellites,which can entail delays. By cutting launch costs,the Ariane 6 makes single satellite launches finan-cially possibile.

Either-or, not both But France’s position has changed and is caus-

ing divisions with its ESA partners. A report byFrance’s national auditor released last week dis-closed that Paris now wants to drop the Ariane 5ME to keep down development costs and pushforward with Ariane 6. The alternative option of“pursuing the two programmes, according to a cal-endar still to be worked out ... risks a delay toAriane 6 to a later date-towards 2025,” the auditorsaid. Continuing with the Ariane 5 ME is clearly thepreference of Berlin, France’s top partner in theESA. “The German position is that we should con-tinue with the Ariane 5 ME to get it onto the mar-ket as quick as possible and reflect on what thefuture launcher should be,” the head of Germany’sDLR space agency, Johann-Dietrich Woerner, told

AFP. “It won’t be possible to finance both pro-grammes 100 percent at the same time. We stillneed to decide if we move forward with Ariane 6,”he said. While the necessity of launching two satel-lites is a constraint, it also reduces fixed costs, hesaid. Arianespace itself feels the Ariane 5 ME is welladapted for electric propulsion satellites, the firstof which Space X is scheduled to launch at the endof this year. After conducting a market studyabout electronic propulsion satellites, Arianespacebelieves “there will be a lot of small and medium-sized satellites, and no longer the domination ofbig satellites that we have seen these last years,”said chief executive Stephane Israel. With a capaci-ty to lift a payload of more than 11 tonnes, theAriane 5 ME will prove advantageous in that it canlift multiple satellites. “You can even put threesatellites in an ME, a big one and two small ones,”Israel told AFP.

And Ariane 6, also powerful enough to lift twosmall satellites, will provide an “ultra-competitive”launch offer for customers, he said. But the ques-tion remains whether a market exists for Ariane 6in its current form. And if smaller satellites prevail,it will also find itself with the same disadvantageas Ariane 5 of launching in pairs. And it will be toobig for medium-sized satellites, according toFrance’s national auditor, which will be betterserved by the Russian Soyuz rockets used byArianespace for that segment.—AFP

Lighter engines a headache

for satellite launcher Ariane

SEATTLE: Robocoin said yesterday thatlater this month it will install the first auto-mated teller machines in the United Statesthat let users buy and sell bitcoin, the lat-est step into the mainstream for the digitalcurrency.

The kiosks, to be installed in Seattle,and Austin, Texas, are similar to ATMs buthave scanners to read government-issuedidentification such as a driver’s license or apassport to confirm users’ identities.

The ATMs will allow people to swap bit-coin for cash, or deposit cash to buy morebitcoin by transferring funds to or from avirtual wallet on their smartphones.

Bitcoin was launched in 2008 and istraded within a global network of comput-ers. It is not backed by a single company orgovernment and has no assets behind it,but its release is tightly controlled, mimick-ing a central banking system’s control over

the minting of money.Robocoin, based in Las Vegas, installed

its first bitcoin ATM in Vancouver last falland will also start operating one inCalgary, Alberta, later this month.Robocoin also is planning to install ATMs inAsia and Europe.

A bitcoin is currently worth about $636,but its value has fluctuated widely as thecurrency’s visibility has increased. LastSeptember, a bitcoin was worth around$150. By late December the value was nearthe $1,000 mark.

Users can buy products and servicesonline on sites including Overstock.com orin a handful of stores. The currency’s repu-tation took a hit last week when two of itsbest known exchanges suspended with-drawals. One of them, Slovenia-basedBitstamp, said Friday it planned to allowredemptions to resume. —Reuters

First bitcoin ATMs to open

soon in Seattle, Austin

Sony says PlayStation 4

sales exceed 5.3 mnTOKYO: Japan’s Sony said yesterday ithas sold more than 5.3 mil l ionPlayStation 4 consoles three months afterits release, as the firm battles Microsoftand Nintendo in the lucrative games sec-tor.

The eagerly-awaited PlayStat ion,which sold more than one million units injust one day after its November 15 debutin North America, easily cleared a world-wide target of 5.0 million units before

March. The initial target was reachedeven before it is released in its homemarket of Japan on February 22. PS4sales were nearly double that ofMicrosoft’s Xbox One console in the USmarket last month, Sony said last week,citing figures released by industry trackerNPD Group. Rival Nintendo launched itsnew Wii U console late last year. It tookmore than a year for the video gamegiant to sell 5.86 million units.—AFP

TOKYO: This file picture taken on February 1, 2014 shows Sony’s PlayStation 4 videogame consoles, which will be launched in Japan on February 22, displayed at the“Try! PlayStation 4! -2.22-” event at Ginza Sony building in Tokyo. Global sales of thePlayStation 4, launched in North America, South America and Europe end of lastyear, topped 5.3 million units as of February 8, Sony Computer Entertainmentannounced yesterday. — AFP

TOKYO: A Fujitsu employee demonstrates the company’s new technology, glove-style wearable device which can read NFC tag to display theinformation onto a head mounted display and input six-keys, (up, down, left, right, clock-wise and anti-clock-wise truns) using gestures duringits press preview in Tokyo yesterday. The device can display information such as the operation manuals as well as input operation logs withoutdistabing operation steps. — AFP

H E A LT H & S C I E N C EWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

LONDON: British brain scientists haveidentified the first biomarker, or biologi-cal signpost, for clinical depression andsay it could help find boys in particularwho are at risk of developing the debili-tating mental illness.

In a study in the Proceedings of theNational Academies of Science (PNAS)journal, the team found that teenageboys who have a combination of depres-sive symptoms and raised levels of thestress hormone cortisol are up to 14times more likely to develop majordepression than those who show neithertrait. The findings suggest teenagerscould in future be screened for such sig-nals, and those at highest risk could behelped to develop the kind of copingstrategies and “brain fitness” to helpthem avoid becoming depressive.

“We’re very bad about looking afterour mental health, and yet the problems

of mental health are extremely common,”said Barbara Sahakian, a CambridgeUniversity professor of Clinical neuropsy-chology who worked on the study.

“Depression is one of the greatestglobal burdens of disease it’s a muchbigger problem than heart disease orcancer and it’s much more expensive.”Depression affects around 350 millionpeople worldwide and at its worst canblight patients’ lives for decades, affect-ing their relationships, work and abilityto function. It can also lead to suicide,which alone leads to a million deaths ayear. “Depression is a terrible illness,” saidIan Goodyer, a child and adolescent psy-chiatrist who led the research team.“(And) we now have a very real way ofidentifying those teenage boys mostlikely to develop clinical depression.”

He said armed with such knowledge,doctors and other carers could target

prevention strategies at depression-vul-nerable boys and “hopefully help reducetheir risk of serious episodes of depres-sion and their consequences in adult life”.

According to the World HealthOrganisation, prevention programmes -including boosting cognitive, problem-solving and social skills in children - havebeen shown to reduce depression, andearlier intervention is more effective.

Depression triggersDifferent factors are thought to influ-

ence the development of depression,including genetics, brain chemistry,lifestyle and upbringing. Key triggers forthe condition can include stressful lifeevents, medical i l lness and alcoholabuse.

For their study, Goodyear ’s teammeasured levels of cortisol in saliva fromtwo large separate groups of teenagers.

The first group of 660 provided sampleson four school mornings within a weekand then again 12 months later. A sec-ond group of 1,198 teenagers gave sam-ples over three school mornings.

Using self-reports, collected over 12months, of any symptoms of depression- such as feeling sad or anxious - andcombining them with the cortisol results,the researchers then divided theteenagers into four sub-groups rangingfrom those with normal levels of cortisoland low symptoms of depression inGroup 1 through to those teenagers withmore cortisol and high symptoms ofdepression in Group 4.

Tracking the teenagers for threeyears, the team found that those inGroup 4 were on average seven timesmore likely than those in Group 1, andtwo to three times more likely than inthe other two groups, to develop clinical

depression. Further analysis showedthat boys in Group 4 were 14 times morelikely to develop clinical depression thanthose in Group 1, and two to four timesmore likely to develop it than either ofthe other two groups.

Commenting on the findings, JohnWilliams, head of neuroscience and men-tal at the Wellcome Trust charity whichhelped fund the study, noted thatdepression is “incredibly costly to socie-ty” and cited a 2011 European College ofNeuropsychopharmacology report thatsaid mood disorders cost Europe alonemore than 110 billion euros ($150 bln) ayear.

“We desperately need ways to identi-fy people at high risk of depression earlyso we can potentially prevent its onsetand treat it early to reduce its burden. Inthis context, (this) study... is a landmarkin the field,” he said. — Reuters

First biomarker could help boys at risk of major depression

COLORADO SPRINGS: The doctors were out ofideas to help 5-year-old Charlotte Figi. Sufferingfrom a rare genetic disorder, she had as many as300 grand mal seizures a week, used a wheelchair,went into repeated cardiac arrest and could barelyspeak. As a last resort, her mother began callingmedical marijuana shops.

Two years later, Charlotte is largely seizure-freeand able to walk, talk and feed herself after takingoil infused with a special pot strain. Her recoveryhas inspired both a name for the strain of marijua-na she takes that is bred not to make users high -Charlotte’s Web - and an influx of families withseizure-stricken children to Colorado from statesthat ban the drug.

“She can walk, talk; she ate chili in the car,” hermother, Paige Figi, said as her dark-haired daughterstrolled through a cavernous greenhouse full ofmarijuana plants that will later be broken downinto their anti-seizure components and mixed witholive oil so patients can consume them. “So I’ll fightfor whoever wants this.”

Doctors warn there is no proof that Charlotte’sWeb is effective, or even safe. In the frenzy to findthe drug, there have been reports of non-autho-rized suppliers offering bogus strains of Charlotte’sWeb. In one case, a doctor said, parents were toldthey could replicate the strain by cooking marijua-na in butter. Their child went into heavy seizures.

“We don’t have any peer-reviewed, publishedliterature to support it,” Dr Larry Wolk, the statehealth department’s chief medical officer, said ofCharlotte’s Web. Still, more than 100 families haverelocated since Charlotte’s story first began spread-ing last summer, according to Figi and her husbandand the five brothers who grow the drug and sell itat cost through a nonprofit. The relocated familieshave formed a close-knit group in ColoradoSprings, the law-and-order town where the dispen-sary selling the drug is located. They meet forlunch, support sessions and hikes.

“It’s the most hope lots of us have ever had,”said Holli Brown, whose 9-year-old daughter, Sydni,began speaking in sentences and laughing sincemoving to Colorado from Kansas City and takingthe marijuana strain.

Amy Brooks-Kayal, vice president of theAmerican Epilepsy Society, warned that a fewmiraculous stories may not mean anything -epileptic seizures come and go for no apparentreason - and scientists do not know what sort ofdamage Charlotte’s Web could be doing to youngbrains.

Possibilities“Until we have that information, as physicians,

we can’t follow our first creed, which is do noharm,” she said, suggesting that parents relocate sotheir children can get treated at one of the nation’s28 top-tier pediatric epilepsy centers rather thanmove to Colorado.

However, the society urges more study of pot’spossibilities. The families using Charlotte’s Web, aswell as the brothers who grow it, say they want thedrug rigorously tested, and their efforts to ensureits purity have won them praise from skeptics likeWolk. For many, Charlotte’s story was somethingthey couldn’t ignore. Charlotte is a twin, but her sis-ter, Chase, doesn’t have Dravet’s syndrome, whichkills kids before they reach adulthood.

In early 2012, it seemed Charlotte would beadded to that grim roster. Her vital signs flat-linedthree times, leading her parents to begin preparingfor her death. They even signed an order for doc-tors not to take heroic measures to save her lifeagain should she go into cardiac arrest. Her father,Matt, a former Green Beret who took a job as a con-tractor working in Afghanistan, started lookingonline for ways to help his daughter and thoughtthey should give pot a try. But there was a danger:Marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, THC, can trig-ger seizures.

The drug also contains another chemical knownas CBD that may have seizure-fighting properties.In October, the Food and Drug Administrationapproved testing a British pharmaceutical firm’smarijuana-derived drug that is CBD-based and hasall its THC removed.

Few dispensaries stock CBD-heavy weed thatdoesn’t get you high. Then Paige Figi found JoelStanley. One of 11 siblings raised by a single moth-er and their grandmother in Oklahoma, Stanleyand four of his brothers had found themselves inthe medical marijuana business after moving toColorado.

Almost as an experiment, they bred a low-THC,high-CBD plant after hearing it could fight tumors.Stanley went to the Figis’ house with reservationsabout giving pot to a child. “But she had done herhomework,” Stanley said of Paige Figi. “She wasn’t apot activist or a hippy, just a conservative mom.”

Now, Stanley and his brothers provide the mari-juana to nearly 300 patients and have a waiting listof 2,000. The CBD is extracted by a chemist whoonce worked for drug giant Pfizer, mixed with oliveoil so it can be ingested through the mouth or the

feeding tube that many sufferers from childhoodepilepsy use, then sent to a third-party lab to testits purity.

LegalizingCharlotte takes the medication twice a day. “A

year ago, she could only say one word,” her fathersaid. “Now she says complete sentences.” The recov-ery of Charlotte and other kids has inspired theFigis and others to travel the country, pushing formedical marijuana laws or statutes that wouldallow high-CBD, low-THC pot strains.

Donald Burger recently urged a New York statelegislative panel to legalize medical marijuanawhile his wife, Aileen, was in the family’s new rentalhouse in Colorado Springs, giving Charlotte’s Webto their daughter Elizabeth, 4. The family only relo-cated to Colorado after neurologists told themElizabeth’s best hope - brain surgery - could only

stop some of her seizures.“It’s a very big strain being away from the rest of

our family,” Aileen Burger said recently while wait-ing for her husband to return from a trip to selltheir Long Island house. “But she doesn’t have tohave pieces of her brain removed.”

Ray Mirazabegian, an optician in Glendale,California, brought Charlotte’s Web to his state,where medical marijuana is legal. He convinced theStanley brothers to give him some seeds he coulduse to treat his 9-year-old daughter Emily, whospent her days slumped on the couch. Now, she’srunning, jumping and talking. Mirazabegian iscloning the Charlotte’s Web seeds and has openedthe California branch of the Stanleys’ foundation.

Mirazabegian has begun to distribute the strainto 25 families and has a waiting list of 400. Itincludes, he said, families willing to move fromJapan and the Philippines. — AP

Marijuana aids kids with

seizures, worries doctors

Parents relocate so children can get treated

COLORADO: In this Feb. 7, 2014 photo, Aileen Burger sits on her couch near her four-year-olddaughter Elizabeth, left, who suffers from severe epilepsy and is receiving experimental treat-ment with a special strain of medical marijuana, which she takes orally as drops of oil, at homein Colorado Springs, Colo. After years of nearly losing their daughter while trying and failingwith dozens of mainstream treatments, Burger and her husband moved from the east coast toColorado, where they say they have had luck with Charlotte’s Web, a proprietary strain of mari-juana. — AP

ARTIC: This handout photo provided by The National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) shows Arctic sea ice in 2013. The Arctic isn’t nearly as brightand white as it used to be because of more ice melting in the ocean, and that’s turn-ing out to be a global problem, a new study says. With more dark, open water in thesummer, less of the sun’s heat is reflected back into space. So the entire Earth isabsorbing more heat than expected, according to a study published Monday in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. —AP

WASHINGTON: The Arctic isn’t nearly asbright and white as it used to be becauseof more ice melting in the ocean, and that’sturning out to be a global problem, a newstudy says.

With more dark, open water in the sum-mer, less of the sun’s heat is reflected backinto space. So the entire Earth is absorbingmore heat than expected, according to astudy published Monday in theProceedings of the National Academy ofSciences. That extra absorbed energy is sobig that it measures about one-quarter ofthe entire heat-trapping effect of carbondioxide, said the study’s lead author, IanEisenman, a climate scientist at the ScrippsInstitution of Oceanography in California.

The Arctic grew 8 percent darkerbetween 1979 and 2011, Eisenman found,measuring how much sunlight is reflectedback into space. “Basically, it means morewarming,” Eisenman said in an interview.

The North Pole region is an ocean thatmostly is crusted at the top with ice thatshrinks in the summer and grows back in

the fall. At its peak melt in September, theice has shrunk on average by nearly 35,000square miles - about the size of Maine - peryear since 1979.

Snow-covered ice reflects several timesmore heat than dark, open ocean, whichreplaces the ice when it melts, Eisenmansaid. As more summer sunlight dumps intothe ocean, the water gets warmer, and ittakes longer fo ice to form again in the fall,Jason Box of the Geological Survey ofDenmark and Greenland said in an email.He was not part of the study.

While earlier studies used computermodels, Eisenman said his is the first to usesatellite measurements to gauge sunlightreflection and to take into account cloudcover. The results show the darkening is asmuch as two to three times bigger thanprevious estimates, he said.

Box and University of Colorado ice sci-entist Waleed Abdalati, who was not part ofthe research, called the work important inunderstanding how much heat is gettingtrapped on Earth. — AP

Arctic getting darker,

making Earth warmer

‘Game changing’ Japanese

stem-cell study questioned

TOKYO: A Japanese research institute yes-terday said it was probing its own studythat promised a ‘game changer’ way to cre-ate stem cells, a feat hailed as revolutionaryfor the fast-developing field.

The findings, published by Japaneseresearcher Haruko Obokata and Americanpartners in a January edition of the Britishjournal Nature, outlined a simple and low-tech approach in the quest to grow trans-plant tissue in the lab.

But the national institute Riken said yes-terday it had started an investigation over“questions” about the methodology andinput data of the study, appointing severalin-house and outside experts to pore overthe revolutionary report. Obokata works forthe institute.

At issue are allegations that theresearchers used erroneous image data forthe high-profile article, local media report-ed. “The experts have already started hear-ings for the researchers involved in the arti-cles,” an institute spokesman said yesterday,but declined to give further details.

But for the moment the institute isstanding by the results-a spokesman insist-ed the “findings themselves are unassail-able.” Stem cells are primitive cells that, asthey grow, differentiate into the variousspecialised cells that make up the differentorgans-the brain, the heart, kidney and soon. The goal is to create stem cells in thelab and nudge them to grow into these dif-ferentiated cells, thus replenishing organsdamaged by disease or accident.

The researchers’ groundbreaking find-ings said that white blood cells in newbornmice were returned to a versatile state byincubating them in a solution with highacidity for 25 minutes, followed by a fiveminute spin in a centrifuge and a seven-day spell of immersion in a growth culture.

Called stimulus-triggered acquisition ofpluripotency (STAP) cells, the innovationbreaks new ground.

Until now, only plant cells, and notmammal cells, have been found to repro-gramme back to a youthful state throughsimple environmental factors. —AFP

JIANGSU: This picture taken on December 10, 2013 shows a baby crib and an infantincubator inside a baby safe haven in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu province. Chinawill provide safe havens for parents to abandon unwanted children across most ofthe country, despite debate on whether they could see more babies dumped, statemedia reported. —AFP

LONDON: Financial markets may be more vul-nerable to traders’ stress levels than previouslythought, according to a scientific study whichfound that high levels of the stress hormonecortisol can induce risk aversion.

The findings, which turns on its head theassumption that traders appetite for risk-takingremains constant throughout market up anddowns, suggests stress could in fact makethem more cautious, exacerbating financialcrises just at a time when risk-taking is neededto support crashing markets.

In a study of City of London traders and ofthe effect of cortisol on behaviour, researchersled by Dr John Coates - a former GoldmanSachs and Deutsche Bank derivatives traderturned neuroscientist - said this tendencytowards caution could be an “under-appreciat-ed” cause of market instability. Coates also saidthe finding could alter our understanding ofrisk - since up until now, financial and econom-ic models have largely rested on the assump-tion that traders’ personal risk preferences areconsistent throughout the market cycle.

“Any trader knows that their body is takenon a roller coaster ride by the markets. What wehaven’t known until this study was that thesephysiological changes - the sub-clinical levelsof stress of which we are only dimly aware - areactually altering our ability to take risks,” saidCoates, now a researcher in neuroscience andfinance at Cambridge University.

“It’s frightening to realise that no one in thefinancial world - not the traders, not the riskmanagers, not the central bankers - knows thatthese subterranean shifts in risk appetite aretaking place.”

Coates team based this study on the find-ings of previous research conducted withtraders in the City of London, which found thatcortisol levels rose by 68 percent over a twoweek period when market volatility increased.

Cortisol levelsCombining that field work with a laboratory

study, they gave hydrocortisone, the pharma-ceutical form of cortisol, to 36 male and femalevolunteers aged between 20 and 36 over eightdays to test the effects of raised cortisol onfinancial risk-taking.

The volunteers’ cortisol levels were uppedby 69 percent - almost exactly the levelsseen in the traders. They were then asked toundertake a series of financial risk-takingtasks with real monetary pay-offs, designedto measure their risk appetite and the prob-ability judgment driving their risk taking. Ina report of their findings in the Proceedingsof the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)journal , Coates’ team found that init ia lspikes in cortisol had little effect on behav-iour.

But chronically high and sustained levels,as seen in traders in the field study, led to adramatic drop in willingness to take risks,with the “risk premium” - the amount ofextra risk someone will tolerate for the pos-sibility of higher return - falling by 44 per-cent. “Many influential models in economics,finance and neurobiology assume risk pref-erences are a stable trait, but we find theyare not,” the researchers wrote.

The team noted that during the credit cri-sis of 2007 to 2009, volatility in US equitiesspiked from 12 percent to more than 70 per-cent.

They argued that such historically highlevels of uncertainty could have caused cor-tisol levels to rise far higher and for longerthan this study analysed, and therefore thatchronic stress may have reduced risk takingjust when the economy needed it most -when markets were crashing and neededtraders and investors to buy risky assets.

“Traders, risk managers, and central bankscannot hope to manage risk if they do notunderstand that the drivers of risk takinglurk deep in our bodies,” Coates said. “Riskmanagers who fail to understand this willhave as little success.” —Reuters

Trader stress hormones ‘may

exacerbate market crises’

H E A LT H & S C I E N C EWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Oklahoma pharmacy responds to Missouri execution drug suitOKLAHOMA CITY: An Oklahoma pharmacy hassubmitted a sealed response to a Missouri deathrow inmate’s lawsuit accusing it of illegally pro-viding Missouri with a made-to-order drug to be

used in his lethal injection.The Apothecary Shoppe, of Tulsa, filed its

response to Michael Taylor’s lawsuit last weekafter getting permission from US District JudgeTerrence Kern to keep its response sealed. Thecompany has not acknowledged that it suppliesa compounded version of pentobarbital toMissouri for use in lethal injections, as Tayloralleges, and says it can’t because of a Missourilaw requiring the identities of those on thestate’s execution team to be kept confidential.“It’s based on Missouri law,” was all that one ofthe pharmacy’s attorneys, Michael Lewis, wouldsay about the case when reached by phoneMonday.

Kern issued a temporary injunction barringthe pharmacy from selling the compoundeddrug to Missouri, if it has been doing so. Hescheduled a hearing for Tuesday to weigh argu-ments about whether the pharmacy’s responseshould remain sealed. The hearing will remainclosed to the public pending a ruling on thematter. Taylor, 47, is scheduled to die on Feb. 26.He pleaded guilty to abducting, raping and stab-bing to death a 15-year-old Kansas City girl in1989.

In his lawsuit, Taylor alleges that Missouri cor-rections officials turned to The ApothecaryShoppe to supply compounded pentobarbitalbecause the only licensed manufacturer of thedrug refuses to provide it for lethal injections.That company, Illinois-based Akorn Inc., agreedto that condition when it bought the exclusive

rights to the drug in January 2012 from a Danishcompany that had produced it under the tradename Nembutal.

Taylor contends that several recent execu-tions in which compounded pentobarbital wasused showed it would likely cause him “severe,unnecessary, lingering and ultimately inhumanepain.” Within 20 seconds of receiving his lethalinjection on Jan. 9 at the Oklahoma StatePenitentiary, 38-year-old Michael Lee Wilsonsaid: “I feel my whole body burning.” This state-ment describes “a sensation consistent withreceipt of contaminated pentobarbital,” Tayloralleges. The lawsuit also cites the Oct. 15, 2012,execution in South Dakota of Eric Robert.Robert, 50 cleared his throat, gasped for air andthen snored after receiving the lethal injection,which included compounded pentobarbital. Hisskin turned a purplish hue and his heart contin-ued to beat for 10 minutes after he stoppedbreathing, the lawsuit contends. It took 20 min-utes for authorities to finally declare Robertdead.

“These events are consistent with receipt of acontaminated or sub-potent compounded drug,”the lawsuit says. Taylor ’s lawsuit questionswhether the Tulsa pharmacy can legally produceand deliver compounded pentobarbital. It saysthe pharmacy is not registered as a drug manu-facturer with the US Food & Drug Administrationand alleges that it violates federal law each timeit delivers the drug across state lines to Missouricorrections officials. — AP

KANSAS CITY: In this handout photo from theMissouri Correctional offices, MichaelAnthony Taylor of Kansas City is shown. TheApothecary Shoppe, of Tulsa, submitted asealed response to Taylor’s lawsuit accusing itof illegally providing Missouri with a made-to-order drug to be used in his lethal injec-tion. —AP

BEIJING: The major city of Guangzhou insouthern China closed its live poultry mar-kets on Saturday for two weeks to halt thespread of the H7N9 strain of bird flu. The clo-sure lasts through Feb. 28 “to strengthenwork to control the spread of the H7N9 flu,”the city government said in a one-sentenceannouncement on its microblog account.Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdongprovince, one of the hardest-hit areas inChina’s latest bird flu outbreak. Some 65 cas-es and 13 deaths have been reported by theprovincial health bureau. The latest was a78-year-old man who died Feb. 14 inGuangzhou.

The virus is hard to catch and most caseshave been linked to contact with poultry.Nationwide, there have been at least 32deaths, according to the official XinhuaNews Agency. The health ministry said 127cases were reported nationwide in January.One market in Guangzhou, Jiangcun, is oneof China’s busiest, with more than 60,000birds per day sold there last year, accordingto Xinhua. The market closures add to dis-ease-control measures that have included

the mass slaughter of chickens and otherpoultry on the Chinese mainland and inHong Kong.

Shanghai in China’s east imposed athree-month moratorium on live poultrysales in January. Zhejiang province south ofShanghai has suspended poultry trading.Also in January, Hong Kong suspended salesof live poultry and imports from the main-land. The World Health Organization saysthere is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission but has recommendedclose monitoring due to the unpredictablebehavior of flu viruses.

In January, authorities confirmed a sec-ond human case of H10N8, a separate birdflu strain known to affect humans. In the firstcase, a 73-year-old woman died inDecember. Chinese live poultry suppliers arelosing more than 1 billion yuan ($150 mil-lion) per month, Xinhua said, citing ChenYingfeng, president of the GuangdongPoultry Industry Association.During China’slast bird flu outbreak in April 2012, produc-ers lost 70 billion yuan ($11 billion), Chengwas quoted as saying. — AP

China city closes poultry markets to stop bird flu

W H AT ’ S ONWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

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Remal Sand Sculpting Festival The Remal International Festival is open at the

Kuwait International Fairgrounds. 73 of theworld’s best sand artists came to Kuwait andworked together to reimagine the stories of 1001Nights and according to the organizers, the sandpark will be the world’s largest. For a preview ofwhat to expect, check out my previous post onthis festival at Kuwait International Fairgroundsuntil April 26 from 12 noon.

Proud 2 be Kuwaiti 2014 The P2BK 2014 event at the Kuwait

International Fairgrounds Mubarak Al-Abdullah,Hawally and will end on February 25th. This yearthe set up is going to be similar to last years withan outdoor old souk that was built specifically tohost this event. There will be a ton of Kuwaitibusinesses participating including already estab-lished ones as well as new ones plus you havethe Remal sand sculpting festival taking placealongside it as well.

Design Diwan: Pathways Through Art We are delighted to announce the details of

our 3rd diwaniya, happening on WednesdayFebruary 19th from 6-8pm at the Modern ArtMuseum, Kuwait City, Al Asimah, Kuwait. Ourguest speaker is artist Amira Behbehani on thetopic “Pathways Through Art,” a discussion of therole of the artist in modern society.

Cinemagic: Upstream Color Thursday, February 20th 2014 at 7:30pm at

CineMagic Kuwait Ltd, Salem Al Mubarak Street,Kuwait. Upstream Color. One of the most uniquefilms of all time, adored by critics from all corners,a film that had audiences and critics discussing itto no end after its premiere at the Sundance FilmFestival. Shane Carruth, the man behind Primerwhich we screened last year, Directed, Produced,Wrote, Scored, Shot, Edited, and Starred in thisutterly mad film. I won’t even try to explain theplot as it cannot be explained.

K’S PATH adoption drive at Pet Spa K’S PATH adoption drive taking place on

Saturday 22nd of February from 4 to 7 pm at PetSpa Al Rai. Come and meet the wonderful, adopt-able dogs from K’S PATH.

Guided Tour: House of Mirrors The House of Mirrors is home to the family of

the late renowned artist, Khalifa Al-Qattan. Hiswife has spent vast amounts of time creatingscenes on the walls, the floors & even the ceilingsto showcase what can be done with brokenpieces of mirror and glass when accompanied byan artists’ touch. Enjoy a cup of tea, an artfulsnack and a guided tour to view the splendors ofthis ‘bedazzled’ home. Cameras are welcome.February 24 @ 5 pm - 8 pm.

Cinemagic: Beasts of the Southern Wild Thursday, February 28th 2014 at 7:30 pm at

CineMagic Kuwait. Beasts Of The Southern WildWinner of the Camera d’Or at The 2012 CannesFilm Festival and the Grand Jury Prize atSundance, along with 65 other worldwideawards, Beasts of the Southern Wild covers thetragedy of a Louisiana bayou cut off from theworld by a levee as seen through the eyes of 6-year-old Hushpuppy. Her life is about to changeas she is faced with both her hot tempered fatherand mother.

Art and Feast festivalKozhikode District Association Mahilavedi is

organising Art & Feast Festival-2014, a full dayprogram for ladies and children on 21st February2014 at Indian Community School, Khaitan from9.30 AM onwards. A variety of Arts & Cookerycompetitions with very attractive prizes forwomen of all ages aim to promote their talents.The festival will be inaugurated by Mrs. GargyJain, wife of Ambassador of India to Kuwait. Thepresence of the Master chef Mrs Jumanah Kadriwho is reputed all over GCC as well as India forher unique and mouthwatering traditional andmultinational cuisines, as a judge for the cookingcompetitions adds to the attraction of the event.The different competitions for ladies are organ-ized as follows Cooking Competition(Pudding/Snacks-Ladies, either one or both) HairDecoration (18 Years onwards-Ladies)Registration:

Ladies of all Communities in Kuwait can partici-pate in these competitions. Details of the competi-tions are available at our websitewww.kdakuwait.com. The candidates can registeronline through our website or through the follow-ing Mobile numbers: 97896263, 97141673,69391238 & 55839915. The registrations are openonly for a limited number of candidates and hencehurry up to confirm your chance.

AROUND KUWAIT

Zain, the leading telecommunications company inKuwait, announced that its CorporateCommunications and Relations team alongside vol-

unteers from the company have visited children’s units inhospitals to share the joys of the National celebrations withthem, in line with Zain’s Corporate Social Responsibilityprogram.

The company’s volunteers visited the children duringthis patriotic time of year to distribute gifts and celebratethe occasion in a family atmosphere full of joy and happi-ness.

The company’s volunteers visited the children in Zain,NBK and Ibn Sina hospitals, where Zain expressed its heart-felt appreciation to all the parties involved in organizingthe visits including hospital staff, officials, and the volun-teers themselves, who all helped draw a smile on the facesof the children.

Zain highlighted that the purpose of undertaking theannual hospital visits during February is part of the compa-ny’s commitment to celebrating the Kuwaiti people’s muchadored National celebrations. As a responsible telecommu-nications company, Zain looks to improve the lives of thepeople within the communities it serves.

It is worth mentioning that Zain also planning toarrange a recreational day for individuals with specialneeds during the national holidays. The event will be host-ed at Zain’s World for Children facility located at the 6thRing Road behind 360 Mall, and numerous surprises will beorganized to enlighten the participant’s experience withseveral activities organized including competitions, prizes,and gifts.

Zain draws national celebrations

smiles on the faces of patients

State Audit Bureau open day

The Khairan Resort hosted guests of the State Audit Bureau in an open day organized by the Touristic Enterprises Company in cooperation with theSAB’s public relations department. The guests were in Kuwait to participate in the 23rd Meeting of the INTOSAI Working Group on IT Audit (WGITA),which took place earlier this month.

YMCA Kuwait conducted the second interchurchBible quiz competition at Light House, KuwaitCity. The program was inaugurated by Rev N. C.

Mathew (Vicar of St Peter’s Knanaya Church). 14churches participated and 6 of them entered the finalround. After a tough competition, Assemblies of GodKuwait, won the first prize Mariam Ever rolling Trophy,Brethren Believers Assembly got second prize Dr A.T.Varghese Ever Rolling Trophy and St Peter’s CSI Churchwon the third prize Mathew Eapen Ever Rolling Trophy.Rev Chacko Thomas (Vicar of St Peter’s MarThomaChurch), Rev. Samji K. Sam (Vicar of St Peter’s CSIChurch) distributed trophies & mementos to the win-ning teams. Babu Johnson (president) presided thefunction, Parimanam Manoj (gen. secretary) welcomedthe guests and Biji Samuel (Convener) proposed voteof thanks.

The quiz was conducted on the basis of questionsfrom the book of Acts, Numbers, Joshua, Luke &Revelation. Quiz Master E.M. Jacob, Joy Panicker &Varghese Mathew conducted the quiz section with thetechnical support of Pramod George, Tijo C. Sunny,Biju George, Joji P.George. Br Reji Kurian served as thecoordinator of quiz team & technical team. Biju Vellorcompered the program.

YMCA conducts second interchurch quiz

W H AT ’ S ONWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Cinemagic: The

Act of Killing

Saturday, February 22nd2014 at 7:30 pm The Act OfKilling at CineMagic Kuwait

Ltd, Salem Al Mubarak Street,Kuwait. One of the rawest andmost intriguing films of the year,winning over 32 awards,and nom-inated for Best Documentary atthis year’s Oscars, The Act ofKilling is a terrifying but unmiss-able film. A documentary thatchallenges former Indonesiandeath squad leaders to reenacttheir real-life mass-killings inwhichever cinematic genres theywish, including classic Hollywoodcrime scenarios and lavish musi-cal numbers.

Stage set for

‘Keli 2014’

The stage is set for ‘Keli 2014’,a two-day theatre festival ofGulf Malayali Diaspora, on

Feb 25 and 26 at Khaitan IndianCommunity School Auditorium.The festival is held under the aegisof Kuwait Chapter of KeralaSangeetha Nataka Akademi(KSNA), a Kerala Governmentbody. Three renowned theatrepersonalities from Kerala-Dr P VKrishnan Nair, T M Abraham andSanthoshkumar-will adjudge thefive plays taking part in the com-petition. On Day 1 (Feb 25), twoplays will be staged starting at4.30pm. First play to be staged is‘Amme Mappu’ by Kalpak Kuwaitfollowed by ‘Pashu’ by NirbhayaTheatre. On day two, three playswill be presented from 4pmonwards. They are ‘OruKottukaranum Kure Thullakkarum’by Thanima Kuwait, ‘UshnaMekhalayile Penkutty’ by FutureEye Theatre and ‘Randam Bhavam’by Kala Kuwait. Entry will be freeon both days. All art lovers arewelcome.

NCCAL hosts

Iranian

blind art fair

The National Council ofCulture, Arts and Lettersannounced hosting an exhi-

bition for blind Iranian femaleartists, starting from March 2,2014. The event takes place at theAhmad Al-Adwani Hall inAbdullah Al-Salem, and laststhrough March 6, 2014. It is set toinaugurate at 7 pm, while visitinghours are announced on two peri-ods, the first from 9 am to 12 pm,and the second from 5 pm to 9pm. The exhibition, titled ‘Beautyin our Eyes’, is organized in coop-eration with the cultural attaché inthe Iranian embassy in Kuwait.

The Gulf University for Science andTechnology (GUST) kicked off a week-long celebration of the Kuwait National

and Liberation days with a grand opening cer-emony that gathered a crowd of students,staff and faculty to the center of campus. Thefestivities were to honor Kuwait’s history andfuture with the signing of the nationalanthem, university-wide patriotic decorations,a week filled with seminars, lectures and gal-leries depicting and discussing important

milestones of the country, as well as a sense ofpride and community by encompassing notonly the Office of Student Life but all theGUST student clubs and the StudentAssociation in the organization of the celebra-tions.

The week kicked off with a grand openingceremony which included the raising of theflag and a harmonious and patriotic singing ofthe Kuwait national anthem with only thevoices of the GUST student club members.

Next was a surprise skit performance organ-ized by one of the student clubs, and finally apresentation by Sheikh Eng. Sabah Al-NaserSoud Al-Sabah recounting stories of theKuwait invasion and its liberation. The GUSTcommunity thoroughly enjoyed the grandopening.

The entire campus was decorated in flags,and signage reminiscent of old Kuwait. Forthe entire week, many surprises and eventswere surfaced taking the community through

all aspects of Kuwait, its culture, its history andits pride. This included, but not limited to, atraditional Kuwaiti folklore dance groupwhich surprised the students with shortimpromptu performance and a Faker Werbahsegment along with a large never-endingKuwaiti flag in the center of campus wherestudents, faculty and staff got the chance towrite their wishes and show their love forKuwait. GUST wishes the State of Kuwait secu-rity, prosperity and development.

GUST celebrates National & Liberation

days with week-long festivities

TIES centreQuran Quotes and Tafseer class by Hassan T.

Bwambale on Monday February 24, 2014. After reading Quranic verses aloud and explaining

them very briefly, Hassan will explain the various con-notations of some words and phrases to show the lit-erary beauty and miracle of the Quran. The class willinvolve an open discussion in a casual, relaxed settingwith the aim of reflecting and pondering verses fromthe Noble Quran, as well as learning how to recitethem. On February 24, 2014, we will concentrate onSurat Ad-Duha (The forenoon - After Sunrise). Allthose interested are welcome on Monday February24, 2014 at 7 pm.

2- The TIES Center is glad to announce that a newbatch of Arabic classes will begin on Sunday, March16, 2014 till Thursday April 24, 2014. We are offeringclasses for all levels, from beginner to advanced. Ourclasses are specially tailored to meet the needs andrequirements of expats living in Kuwait. The classesare intended for all expats who wish to learn Arabic.Whether you want to learn Arabic for business, basiccommunication, or simply as a hobby, the TIES Centeris an ideal choice.

Throughout the course, the students will learnhow to read, write and speak Arabic in a friendly,relaxed and welcoming environment.

TIES Arabic program highlights:l Lessons are step by step with a well-structured

curriculum.l Lessons build confidence for speaking, listening,

reading, and writing.l Lessons combine language learning with cultural

insights.l Lessons are specially tailored for expats living in

Kuwait.l Lessons offer an opportunity to interact with other

Westerners, who are taking the courses.For more information or registration, please call

25231015/6 or log onto: www.tiescenter.net

Safat Home is proud of inspiringits customers by continuouslyhelping them create an ele-

gantly comfortable family home.Soon, Safat Home will offer a new,wide range of products that werechosen due to their innovative touchand fresh take on interior design. Thenew products will be introduced dur-ing a unique event that will takeplace during February 20 - 28, 2014among other activities and promo-tions on home furniture and acces-sories from valuable, world-renowned brands.

The event’s invitees will enjoy a15% discount on the new items thatinclude traditional and modern dhur-ries that come in various designs andcolors, kilims and other tufted rugs

handmade by Indian artisans. The dis-count also includes a high quality col-lection of solid acacia and sheeshamwood furniture, block-printed hand-made pure cotton cloths, hand-carved rugs, stone tables, outdoorarches and much more magnificentand unique home accessories that,due to being handmade, are exclusiveto every customer who buys the one-of-a-kind pieces.

The new items are distinguishedby their natural, culturally-rich lookthat is enriched with its professional-ly modern, smooth feel. The eventwill also include items from theParisian Maison et Objet such as clas-sic, handmade wool carpets, throwcushions and pouffe chairs, bedlinens in traditional colors and prints

as well as fashion forward huesincluding blue, fuchsia and purpleshades, all of which come withmatching quilts, throws cushions andcurtains. Other items include embroi-dered, patchwork and block printedcushions and pouffe chairs that per-fectly complement a home’s warminterior feel or give a modern interiorspace a colorfully ethnic edge.Natural products included in thetimeless collection comprised purecotton bed and table linens, cottonfabrics and other materials that usedwool, jute, cotton and hemp.

Apart from being recognized byits high quality products and excep-tional prices that have proven toappeal to individuals from all partsof the world, Safat Home is also com-

mitted to distinguishing itselfamongst its local competitors in theKuwaiti market. Displayed in globalexhibitions, the featured practicalhome furniture and accessories suitall tastes and lifestyles with its rangeof classical and modern styles thatare derived from Indian heritage.Safat Home’s diverse range carriesmore than 35 brands that includeproducts offered at reasonableprices so as to please every individ-ual’s personal taste and lifestyle. Inaddition to the new global products,the company is also proud of thefact that 95% of them are exclusiveto Safat Home. The list of brands thatare part of Safat Home is graduallyincreasing. New items are includedin Safat Home’s showroom on a

weekly basis.Safat Home welcomes you at its

showroom every day from 9:30 amuntil 12 midnight. You can enjoySafat Home’s refreshing shoppingexperience and outstanding servicesby visiting Safat Home’s showroombeside Alghanim’s service centerfrom 9 am until 10 pm on weekdaysand from 2 PM until 10 PM onFridays. Shop at Safat Home by visit-ing its online store or by calling SafatHome and ordering which productsyou need by phone. The items youorder will be delivered to you free ofcharge wherever you are in Kuwait.You may also enjoy Safat Home’scomplimentary professional installa-tion service that furthers your con-venient experience with Safat Home.

Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) will hold 17th CRY (ChildRights & You) cricket tournament for children will beheld at the GC grounds at Fahaheel Sports Club on

Friday, 27th Mar 2014 from 6:30 am to 6 pm. The one day “CRYcket” tournament participated by chil-

dren under 14 (born on or after 01.01.2000), is a very pop-ular annual family event. The children are grouped intoteams in two age categories and play softball cricket whilespectators, parents and well-wishers enjoy a carnivalatmosphere. 12 teams each are set to participate in the

Under-12 and Under-14 divisions initially in four groups inround robin fashion leading to 4 winners who will clash inthe semifinals. The 7-over matches will be played simulta-neously on two playgrounds.

Apart from the winners’ trophies, medals and certifi-cates from CRY-India will be given to each player.Experienced umpires will control the games assisted byofficial scorers. The teams will play in recognition of amuch felt need among less fortunate children in theIndian subcontinent and will carry the message of com-

passion towards them. They will spread awareness of thework done by CRY, an international organization, thatbelieves that every child is entitled to basic rights of sur-vival, protection, development, education and participa-tion.

For details & game rules, visit the FOCC websitehttp://www.focckwt.org or contact: Kuwait City 22437684Abu Halifa: 66204295 Hawalli: 99300257 Fahaheel:99364073 Ahmadi: 23985216 / 99578073 Jleeb Shuyoukh- 97226589 Salmiya: 66810338.

CRYcket 2014 tournament

Safat Home’s event merges traditions

of the past with modern innovations

T V PR O G R A M SWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

GIRL IN PROGRESS ON OSN MOVIES HD

MY OWN LOVE SONG ON OSN MOVIES HD

00:05 Bear Grylls: Extreme...00:30 Manhunt01:20 Survive That!02:10 Bear Grylls: Extreme...03:00 Car vs Wild03:50 Border Security04:15 Auction Kings04:40 Auction Hunters: Pawn ShopEdition05:05 How Do They Do It?05:30 How It’s Made06:00 Sons Of Guns07:00 Car vs Wild07:50 Alaska: The Last Frontier08:40 Fast N’ Loud09:30 Border Security09:55 Auction Kings10:20 Auction Hunters: Pawn ShopEdition

00:15 Doctors00:45 Last Of The Summer Wine01:15 The Vicar Of Dibley01:45 Life On Mars02:35 Absolutely Fabulous03:10 Stella03:55 Last Of The Summer Wine04:25 The Vicar Of Dibley05:00 Me Too!05:20 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll05:40 Boogie Beebies05:55 Garth And Bev06:05 The Large Family06:15 Me Too!06:35 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll06:55 Boogie Beebies07:10 Garth And Bev07:20 The Large Family07:30 The Weakest Link08:15 Last Of The Summer Wine08:45 The Vicar Of Dibley09:15 Eastenders09:45 Doctors10:15 Famous, Rich & In The Slums11:10 Call The Midwife12:00 The Weakest Link12:45 Last Of The Summer Wine13:15 The Vicar Of Dibley13:45 Eastenders14:15 Doctors14:40 Famous, Rich & In The Slums15:35 Call The Midwife16:25 The Weakest Link17:10 Eastenders17:40 Doctors18:10 Famous, Rich & In The Slums19:00 One Foot In The Grave19:30 The Impressions Show WithCulshaw...20:00 Stella20:45 Alan Carr: Chatty Man21:20 The Office Specials

00:00 Homes Under The Hammer00:55 Come Dine With Me01:45 Rachel Khoo’s KitchenNotebook: London02:10 MasterChef Australia03:25 Celebrity Fantasy Homes04:10 Cash In The Attic05:00 Bargain Hunt05:45 Rachel Khoo’s KitchenNotebook: London06:10 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill06:40 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow07:30 Celebrity Fantasy Homes08:15 Cash In The Attic09:05 Homes Under The Hammer10:00 Celebrity MasterChef10:25 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill10:55 Food & Drink11:20 Rachel Khoo’s KitchenNotebook: London11:50 Come Dine With Me12:40 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow13:25 Celebrity Fantasy Homes14:10 Antiques Roadshow15:05 Homes Under The Hammer16:45 Bargain Hunt17:30 Cash In The Attic18:20 Antiques Roadshow

01:00 Jeff, Who Lives At Home03:00 Love Will Keep Us Together05:00 The Odd Life Of TimothyGreen-PG07:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: DogDays-PG09:00 Beastly-PG1511:00 My Own Love Song-PG1513:00 The Iron Lady-PG1515:00 Girl In Progress-PG1517:00 Beastly-PG1519:00 Parker-PG1521:00 Fire With Fire-1823:00 Ted-18

DISNEY CHANNEL00:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody00:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody00:45 Sonny With A Chance01:05 Sonny With A Chance01:30 Suite Life On Deck01:50 Suite Life On Deck02:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place02:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place03:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody03:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody03:45 Sonny With A Chance04:05 Sonny With A Chance04:30 Suite Life On Deck04:50 Suite Life On Deck05:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place05:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place06:00 Austin & Ally06:25 Dog With A Blog06:45 A.N.T. Farm07:10 A.N.T. Farm07:35 Wolfblood07:55 Gravity Falls08:20 My Babysitter’s A Vampire08:45 Jessie09:05 Good Luck Charlie09:30 Shake It Up09:55 Austin And Ally10:15 A.N.T. Farm10:40 Dog With A Blog11:05 Suite Life On Deck11:25 My Babysitter’s A Vampire11:50 That’s So Raven12:15 Hannah Montana12:35 Shake It Up13:00 Good Luck Charlie13:25 Austin & Ally13:45 A.N.T. Farm14:10 Jessie14:35 Dog With A Blog15:00 Wolfblood15:25 Gravity Falls15:50 Good Luck Charlie

01:00 Suicide Shop-PG1503:00 London-1805:00 Wind Chill-PG1507:00 Bobby Fischer Against TheWorld-PG1509:00 The Crucible-PG1511:00 Mystery, Alaska-PG1513:00 Jack The Bear-PG1514:45 Snow Flower And The SecretFan-PG1516:30 Mystery, Alaska-PG1518:30 Marley-PG1521:00 The Forgotten-PG1522:45 Left To Die-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart01:00 The Colbert Report01:30 Modern Family02:00 Modern Family02:30 Girls03:00 The Cleveland Show03:30 Melissa & Joey04:00 Seinfeld04:30 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon05:30 Seinfeld06:00 Raising Hope06:30 Friends07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon08:00 Seinfeld08:30 Seinfeld09:00 The Simpsons09:30 The Crazy Ones10:00 Trophy Wife10:30 Friends11:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon12:00 Two And A Half Men12:30 Seinfeld13:00 Seinfeld13:30 Friends14:00 Melissa & Joey14:30 The Crazy Ones15:00 Trophy Wife15:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart16:00 The Colbert Report16:30 Two And A Half Men17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon18:00 The Simpsons18:30 How To Live With YourParents19:00 The Mindy Project19:30 Hot In Cleveland20:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon21:00 The Daily Show With JonStewart21:30 The Colbert Report22:00 Modern Family22:30 Modern Family23:00 The Big C23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

01:00 The Good Doctor-PG1503:00 Beware The Gonzo-PG1505:00 Resistance-PG1507:00 Taken Back: Finding Haley-PG1509:00 The Good Doctor-PG1511:00 A Kiss At Midnight-PG1513:00 Another Harvest Moon-PG1515:00 The First Grader-PG1517:00 The Wild Girl-PG1519:00 Red Lights-PG1521:00 On The Road-R23:15 Little Birds-18

16:10 Violetta17:00 A.N.T. Farm17:20 Mako Mermaids17:45 Mako Mermaids18:10 Jessie18:30 Good Luck Charlie18:55 Dog With A Blog19:20 Violetta20:05 Jessie20:30 Wolfblood20:50 Dog With A Blog21:15 Gravity Falls21:40 Shake It Up22:00 Austin & Ally22:25 A.N.T. Farm22:50 Good Luck Charlie

00:00 Chelsea Lately00:30 The Dance Scene01:25 Style Star02:20 THS03:15 Extreme Close-Up03:40 Extreme Close-Up04:10 The E! True Hollywood Story05:05 THS06:00 THS07:50 Style Star08:20 Fashion Police09:15 Scouted10:15 Married To Jonas10:40 Chasing The Saturdays11:10 The Drama Queen12:05 Fashion Police13:05 Extreme Close-Up13:35 E!ES14:30 Style Star15:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians17:00 The Wanted Life18:00 E! News19:00 Fashion Police20:00 Giuliana & Bill21:00 The Drama Queen22:00 Party On22:30 E! News

00:00 C.S.I.01:00 Mistresses02:00 The Killing03:00 The Client List04:00 Grey’s Anatomy05:00 The Fosters06:00 C.S.I.09:00 The Killing10:00 The Fosters11:00 Grey’s Anatomy12:00 Emmerdale12:30 Coronation Street13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show15:00 C.S.I.16:00 Emmerdale16:30 Coronation Street17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show19:00 Twisted20:00 Scandal22:00 American Horror Story :Coven23:00 The Client List

00:00 Piranha 3DD-R02:00 How I Spent My SummerVacation-PG1504:00 Nick Of Time-PG1506:00 Skyline-PG1508:00 The Speed Of Thought-PG1510:00 Virtuosity-PG1512:00 Last Man Standing-PG1514:00 The Speed Of Thought-PG1516:00 Batman: The Dark KnightReturns Part Two-PG1518:00 Last Man Standing-PG1520:00 Sultanes Del Sur-PG15

00:00 A Very Harold And KumarChristmas-1802:00 The Sitter-1804:00 Blame It On The Bellboy06:00 Scrooged-PG1508:00 A Thousand Words-PG1510:00 The Runway-PG1512:00 Blame It On The Bellboy-PG1514:00 Shrek The Third-FAM16:00 The Runway-PG1518:00 White Chicks-PG15

00:00 Hit List-PG1502:00 Steel Magnolias-PG1504:00 Charlotte’s Web-PG06:00 Arthur 3: And The War OfTwo Worlds-PG08:00 Gnomeo & Juliet-PG10:00 Dead Lines-PG1512:00 Steel Magnolias-PG1514:00 From Prada To Nada-PG1516:00 Gnomeo & Juliet-PG17:45 Oz The Great And Powerful20:00 Gangster Squad-1822:00 The Man With The Iron Fists

00:15 Street Food Around theWorld00:45 David Rocco’s AmalfiGetaway01:10 Eat Street02:05 Bondi Rescue02:35 Eat Street03:30 Bondi Rescue03:55 Delinquent Gourmet04:25 Warrior Road Trip05:20 Deadliest Journeys05:45 On Hannibal’s Trail06:15 One Man & His Campervan06:40 Delinquent Gourmet07:10 My Sri Lanka With PeterKuruvita07:35 Street Food Around theWorld08:05 David Rocco’s AmalfiGetaway08:30 Eat Street09:00 Bondi Rescue09:55 Eat Street10:50 Bondi Rescue11:15 Delinquent Gourmet11:45 Warrior Road Trip12:40 Deadliest Journeys13:05 First Ascent13:35 One Man & His Campervan14:00 Delinquent Gourmet14:30 My Sri Lanka With PeterKuruvita14:55 Street Food Around theWorld15:25 David Rocco’s AmalfiGetaway15:50 Eat Street16:20 Bondi Rescue17:15 Eat Street17:40 Eat Street18:10 Bondi Rescue18:35 Delinquent Gourmet19:05 Kung Fu Quest20:00 Eat Street20:30 Eat Street21:00 Bondi Rescue21:30 Bondi Rescue22:00 George Clarke’s AmazingSpaces22:55 Mega Food23:50 Bondi Rescue

01:30 Top 14 Highlights02:00 PGA European TourHighlights03:00 PGA Tour Highlights04:00 HSBC Sevens World Series07:00 Futbol Mundial07:30 Top 14 Highlights08:00 PGA European TourHighlights09:00 PGA Tour Highlights10:00 Champions Tour Highlights11:00 Live AFL Nab Challenge 14:00 Futbol Mundial14:30 Premier League Darts18:00 Top 14 Highlights18:30 HSBC Sevens World SeriesHighlights19:00 PGA European Tour Weekly19:30 Inside The PGA Tour

10:45 How Do They Do It?11:10 How It’s Made11:35 Manhunt12:25 Survive That!13:15 Bear Grylls: Extreme...14:05 Border Security14:30 Auction Kings14:55 Auction Hunters: Pawn ShopEdition15:20 Finding Bigfoot16:10 Fast N’ Loud17:00 Ultimate Survival17:50 Dirty Jobs18:40 Car vs Wild19:30 Sons Of Guns20:20 How Do They Do It?20:45 How It’s Made

00:40 Time Warp01:30 Weird Connections02:00 The Gadget Show02:25 Tech Toys 36002:50 Unchained Reaction03:45 Punkin Chunkin 201004:35 Prototype This05:25 Moon Machines06:15 The Gadget Show06:40 Tech Toys 36007:05 Superships08:00 Under New York08:50 Man-Made Marvels China09:40 The Gadget Show10:05 Tech Toys 36010:30 Through The Wormhole WithMorgan Freeman11:25 Superships12:20 Prototype This13:10 Moon Machines14:00 Punkin Chunkin 201014:50 Weird Connections15:20 The Gadget Show15:45 Tech Toys 36016:10 Unchained Reaction17:00 Moon Machines17:55 Prototype This18:45 Superships19:35 Through The Wormhole WithMorgan Freeman20:30 Alien Encounters21:20 Deadliest Space Weather22:10 The Gadget Show

00:00 Great Migrations01:00 None of the Above (AKAStreet Genius)01:30 None of the Above (AKAStreet Genius)02:00 Superhuman03:00 Air Crash Investigation04:00 The Border05:00 Ape Man06:00 Air Crash Investigation07:00 Master of Disaster08:00 Great Migrations09:00 None of the Above (AKAStreet Genius)09:30 None of the Above (AKAStreet Genius)10:00 Superhuman11:00 Air Crash Investigation12:00 The Border13:00 Ape Man14:00 Air Crash Investigation15:00 Master of Disaster16:00 Great Migrations17:00 None of the Above (AKAStreet Genius)17:30 None of the Above (AKAStreet Genius)

00:00 Legendary Amazons02:00 Piranha 3DD04:00 How I Spent My SummerVacation06:00 Nick Of Time08:00 Skyline10:00 The Speed Of Thought12:00 Virtuosity14:00 Last Man Standing16:00 The Speed Of Thought18:00 Batman: The Dark KnightReturns Part Two20:00 Last Man Standing22:00 Sultanes Del Sur

00:00 Frenemies00:30 Fatal Vows01:30 The First 4802:30 My Ghost Story03:30 Frenemies04:30 Fatal Vows05:30 Private Crimes06:00 Beyond Scared Straight07:00 The First 4808:00 Curious & Unusual Deaths11:00 Fatal Vows12:00 Beyond Scared Straight13:00 Evil Up Close14:00 Deadly Wives15:00 Fatal Vows16:00 Born To Kill17:00 Curious & Unusual Deaths17:30 Private Crimes18:00 Homicide Hunter19:00 The First 4820:00 The Devil You Know21:00 Beyond Scared Straight22:00 Private Crimes22:30 Evil Up Close23:30 My Ghost Story

00:30 LPGA Tour Highlights 01:30 Golfing World 02:30 Trans World Sport03:30 Premier League Darts 07:00 Super Rugby09:00 HSBC Sevens World Series12:00 Futbol Mundial12:30 Super Rugby14:30 Top 1416:30 WWE This Week17:00 NHL 19:00 Futbol Mundial19:30 WWE This Week20:00 Trans World Sport21:00 WWE Bottom Line22:00 Snooker

18:00 Animal Impact19:00 World’s Toughest Fixes20:00 Racing To America21:00 Naked Science22:00 World’s Toughest Fixes23:00 My Brilliant Brain

Fallon takes helm of‘Tonight Show’, brings

it back to New York

Jimmy Fallon took the reins of the long-running“Tonight Show” on Monday, bringing NBC’s latenight talk show flagship back to Manhattan after

an absence of more than 40 years, being welcomedon set by a host of top stars, including Robert DeNiro, Mike Tyson and Lady Gaga. The surprise appear-ances, also made by Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, MariahCarey, Lindsay Lohan, Joan Rivers, former New Yorkmayor Rudolph Giuliani, Sarah Jessica Parker, JoeNamath and Stephen Colbert, were among the high-lights of Fallon’s “Tonight Show” debut, following thedeparture this month of long-serving host Jay Leno.

The slew of unannounced walk-ons followedFallon’s remark that someone owed him $100 afterbetting he would never host the “Tonight Show,” atwhich point De Niro and others strode on stage oneafter another, each plunking bills onto his desk untilfinally Colbert showered him with a bucket of pen-nies.

Actor Will Smith and Irish band U2 were theBrooklyn-born Fallon’s first official, previouslyannounced guests as the former “Saturday NightLive” comic launched the show’s widely anticipatedreturn to Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. Fallon’sstepping into one of the most visible roles in televi-sion marked NBC’s second attempt to imbue thecompetitive late-night landscape on US televisionwith a more youthful vibe by appealing to the covet-ed 18-to-34 year-old demographic.

“I’m Jimmy Fallon and I’ll be your host-for now,”Fallon told the audience in the new multi-milliondollar studio where such beloved “Tonight” veteransJohnny Carson and Jack Paar once presided. It wasone of a handful of references to the show’s recenttroubled history. Leno was initially replaced byConan O’Brien in 2009, but he returned months laterin a public relations debacle for the network.

He also paid tribute to the show’s previous hostsby name, being sure to mention Leno twice-oncebefore, and once after, O’Brien. “If you guys let mestick around long enough, maybe I’ll get the hang ofit,” joked Fallon, who wore an understated gray suit,white shirt and blue tie for his first show.

New York setting embracedFrom the outset, the New York “Tonight Show”

boldly embraced its new home. Brooklyn-raiseddirector Spike Lee shot a new opening, a stirringseries of black-and-white night shots that gave wayto colorful depictions of such iconic locations asRadio City Music Hall, Grand Central Terminal andRockefeller Center. The new set, with a dramaticManhattan skyline backdrop, befit its RockefellerCenter location.

And when it came time for U2 to perform its newsingle, “Invisible,” the band took to 30 Rock’s rooftopat sunset. Scores of fans rocked to the beat with suchNew York landmarks as the Empire State Building,the Chrysler Building and Times Square providing aglittering backdrop. Even Mother Nature cooperated,with crystal clear skies and a burnished sunset overNew Jersey on a cold, winter dusk.

But in other ways, Fallon’s “Tonight Show” hewedto tradition. An opening monologue featured topicalissues- chiefly the Olympics, which also happen to beairing on NBC- and a chat with Smith touched on theactor’s recent adventures skydiving, and more on theOlympics. “I think I could win a gold medal in thethings with the broom,” Smith laughed, referring tothe curling competition. Earlier Smith and Fallonper formed a dance routine together on “ TheEvolution of Hip-Hop Dancing.”

When the four members of U2 joined Fallon for achat after their rousing al fresco performance, Fallon,39, asked “Was that the highest you’ve ever been?”Earlier, Fallon introduced what seemed likely tobecome a regular feature, “ Tonight ShowSuperlatives,” in which photos- in this case, again,Olympic athletes-were paired with “most likely to,”high school yearbook-style captions. —Reuters

In this photo provided by NBC, Jimmy Fallonappears with Stephen Colbert, right, during his ‘TheTonight Show’ debut on Monday in New York. — AP

JK Rowling publishing 2ndCormoran strike adventure

JK Rowling is reviving private detective CormoranStrike and his plucky young assistant,RobinEllacott for another mystery adventure, “The

Silkworm.” As with her previous Strike novel, the fol-low-up will be published under the “Harry Potter”writer’s pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. It centers on anovelist who is brutally murdered after writing a man-uscript featuring poison pen depictions of almosteveryone he knows. “If the novel were to be published,it would ruin lives - meaning that there are a lot ofpeople who might want him silenced,” a description ofthe book reads.

It is the second Strike book. His first adventure, “TheCuckoo’s Calling” became a best-seller after it came tolight that Rowling was behind the book. In promo-tional material for Galbraith’s alleged debut, he wasdescribed as “a former plainclothes Royal MilitaryPolice investigator who had left in 2003 to work in thecivilian security industry.”

An attorney for Rowling who leaked the news of“The Cuckoo’s Calling’s” authorship was fined 1,000pounds ($1,650) last month and received a writtenwarning from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Little,Brown, will publish “The Silkworm” on June 24, 2014.Fret not Potter fans, Rowling hasn’t abandoned theworld of wizardry for that of mystery. Warner Bros,which produced the hit films based on the Potter nov-els, is planning a film series inspired by the boy wizard’sHogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to FindThem.” Rowling will write the screenplay. — Reuters

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (13/02/2014 TO 19/02/2014)

SHARQIA-1WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 12:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 3:00 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 5:30 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 8:00 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 10:15 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-2THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 1:00 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 3:15 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 5:15 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 7:15 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 9:45 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 12:15 AM

SHARQIA-3CODE RED (DIG) 12:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 2:30 PMCODE RED (DIG) 4:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 6:30 PMCODE RED (DIG) 8:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 10:30 PMCODE RED (DIG) 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 1:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 3:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 5:00 PMGUNDAY (DIG) (HINDI) 7:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI I?E ???? (DIG) 10:00 PM

MUHALAB-2WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 1:15 PMCODE RED (DIG) 3:30 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 5:30 PMCODE RED (DIG) 7:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 9:45 PM

MUHALAB-3THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) 12:45 PMFROZEN (DIG) 2:45 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) 5:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 7:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 9:30 PM

FANAR-1WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 1:00 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 3:15 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 5:30 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 7:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 10:00 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 12:15 AM

FANAR-2LEGENDARY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON 12:45 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 3:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 5:00 PMLEGENDARY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON 7:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 9:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 11:00 PMLEGENDARY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON 1:00 AM

FANAR-3AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 1:30 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 4:00 PMGUNDAY (DIG) (HINDI) 6:30 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 9:30 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 12:05 AM

FANAR-4THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 1:30 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 3:30 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 6:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 8:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 10:15 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 12:45 AM

FANAR-5LONE SURVIVOR (DIG) 1:15 PMCODE RED (DIG) 3:30 PMLONE SURVIVOR (DIG) 5:30 PMCODE RED (DIG) 7:45 PMCODE RED (DIG) 9:45 PMCODE RED (DIG) 11:45 PM

MARINA-1THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) 1:45 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) 4:00 PMCODE RED (DIG) 6:00 PMCODE RED (DIG) 8:00 PMLONE SURVIVOR (DIG) 10:00 PMCODE RED (DIG) 12:15 AM

MARINA-2ROBOCOP (DIG) 12:45 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 3:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 5:30 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 7:45 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 10:15 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 12:30 AM

MARINA-3WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 2:00 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 4:15 PMKHOUTAT GIMI I?E ???? (DIG) 6:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI I?E ???? (DIG) 8:30 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 10:30 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 12:45 AM

AVENUES-1FROZEN (DIG) 1:15 PMGUNDAY (DIG) (HINDI) 3:30 PMGUNDAY (DIG) (HINDI) 6:30 PMGUNDAY (DIG) (HINDI) 9:30 PMRIDE ALONG (DIG) 12:30 AM

AVENUES-2AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 2:15 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 4:45 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 7:15 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 9:45 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 12:15 AM

AVENUES-3KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 12:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 2:45 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 5:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 7:15 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 9:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 11:45 PM

AVENUES-4WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 1:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 4:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 6:15 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 8:30 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 10:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 1:00 AM

AVENUES-5ROBOCOP (DIG) 12:30 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 2:45 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 5:15 PMNO SUN (16.02.2014)Special Show “RIDE ALONG (DIG)” 5:15 PMSUN (16.02.2014)AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 8:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 10:30 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 1:00 AM360º- 1ROBOCOP (DIG) 12:30 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 3:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 5:15 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 8:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 10:30 PM

ROBOCOP (DIG) 1:00 AM

360º- 2AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 1:15 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 3:45 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 6:15 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 8:45 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 11:15 PMNO SUN+TUE+WED

360º- 3FROZEN (DIG-3D) 2:30 PMFROZEN (DIG) 4:45 PMSAVING Mr. BANKS (DIG) 7:00 PMSAVING Mr. BANKS (DIG) 9:30 PMSAVING Mr. BANKS (DIG) 12:05 AMNO SUN+TUE+WED

AL-KOUT.1WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 12:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 3:00 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 5:15 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 7:30 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 9:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 12:15 AMNO SUN+TUE+WED

AL-KOUT.2LONE SURVIVOR (DIG) 1:00 PMLONE SURVIVOR (DIG) 3:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 6:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 8:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 10:00 PMLONE SURVIVOR (DIG) 12:05 AMNO SUN+TUE+WED

AL-KOUT.3ROBOCOP (DIG) 12:30 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) 2:45 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) 4:45 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 6:45 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 9:15 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 11:45 PMNO SUN+TUE+WED

AL-KOUT.4CODE RED (DIG) 2:00 PMCODE RED (DIG) 4:15 PMCODE RED (DIG) 6:15 PMCODE RED (DIG) 8:15 PMCODE RED (DIG) 10:15 PMCODE RED (DIG) 12:45 AMNO SUN+TUE+WED

BAIRAQ-1WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 1:15 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 3:30 PMTHE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 5:45 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 8:00 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 10:15 PMWINTER’S TALE (DIG) 12:30 AMNO SUN+TUE+WED

BAIRAQ-2AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 12:30 PMCODE RED (DIG) 3:00 PMCODE RED (DIG) 5:00 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 7:00 PMCODE RED (DIG) 9:30 PMAMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 11:30 PMNO SUN+TUE+WED

BAIRAQ-3ROBOCOP (DIG) 1:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 4:00 PMROBOCOP (DIG) 6:00 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 8:30 PMKHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 10:30 PM

Kuwait

ClassifiedsWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Prayer timings

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 19/2/2014Airlines Flt Route TimeJAI 574 MUMBAI 00:10JZR 267 BEIRUT 00:40THY 772 ISTANBUL 00:45QTR 1084 DOHA 00:55DLH 637 DAMMAM 01:10JZR 539 CAIRO 00:40GFA 211 BAHRAIN 02:10THY 764 SABIHA 02:15UAE 853 DUBAI 02:35ETD 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 02:45JAI 576 COCHIN 02:50OMA 643 MUSCAT 03:05MSR 612 CAIRO 03:10JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA 02:25QTR 1076 DOHA 03:45FDB 67 DUBAI 04:00CLX 610 LUXEMBOURG 05:30THY 770 ISTANBUL 05:35DHX 170 BAHRAIN 05:40FDB 69 DUBAI 05:50BAW 157 LONDON 06:40KAC 412 MANILA 06:45QTR 1086 DOHA 07:50FDB 53 DUBAI 07:50KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 07:40KAC 302 MUMBAI 07:55KAC 352 COCHIN 08:10KAC 344 CHENNAI 08:35UAE 855 DUBAI 08:40KAC 362 COLOMBO 08:45KAC 284 DHAKA 08:50ABY 125 SHARJAH 09:00IRM 1186 TEHRAN 09:15ETD 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 09:20FDB 55 DUBAI 09:40QTR 1070 DOHA 09:55GFA 213 BAHRAIN 10:40IRA 603 SHIRAZ 10:45IAW 157 NAJAF 11:00JZR 165 DUBAI 11:30MEA 404 BEIRUT 11:55TMA 213 BEIRUT 12:10MSC 403 ASYUT 12:20MRJ 4815 MASHAD 12:25IRM 1188 MASHAD 12:40UAE 871 DUBAI 12:50MSR 610 CAIRO 13:00KAC 382 DELHI 13:05IYE 826 SANAA 13:30FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50QTR 1078 DOHA 13:55MSR 575 SHARM EL SHEIKH 14:15

KAC 790 MEDINAH 14:25KAC 672 DUBAI 14:00SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30IRC 6692 MASHAD 14:35KNE 472 JEDDAH 14:35KNE 462 MEDINAH 15:45KNE 460 RIYADH 15:55JAV 621 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 15:55QTR 1072 DOHA 16:40UAE 857 DUBAI 16:40ETD 303 ABU DHABI-INTL 16:50RJA 640 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 16:55SVA 510 RIYADH 17:15ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:25GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:30KAC 522 NAJAF 13:45KAC 786 JEDDAH 18:45KAC 542 CAIRO 18:05KAC 788 JEDDAH 15:10KAC 537 SOHAG 16:05RBG 553 ALEXANDRIA 18:15QTR 1080 DOHA 18:40FDB 63 DUBAI 18:45KAC 166 PARIS 19:10KAC 102 NEW YORK 19:35KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25GFA 217 BAHRAIN 19:30KAC 774 RIYADH 19:30KAC 618 DOHA 19:00OMA 647 MUSCAT 19:55FDB 61 DUBAI 20:05JZR 177 DUBAI 18:20JZR 777 JEDDAH 17:55JZR 357 MASHAD 17:55MSC 405 SOHAG 20:05JAI 572 MUMBAI 20:10ABY 129 SHARJAH 20:20ETD 919 ABU DHABI-INTL 20:25AXB 489 COCHIN 20:35MSR 606 LUXOR 20:45DLH 634 FRANKFURT 20:55ALK 229 COLOMBO 21:10MEA 402 BEIRUT 21:20ETD 307 ABU DHABI-INTL 21:35UAE 859 DUBAI 21:40KNE 480 TAIF 21:45GFA 219 BAHRAIN 21:45JZR 239 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 22:20JZR 135 BAHRAIN 22:05QTR 1074 DOHA 22:00FDB 59 DUBAI 22:00AIC 975 CHENNAI 22:30JZR 185 DUBAI 23:20

Departure Flights on Wednesday 19/2/2014Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 982 AHMEDABAD 00:05UAL 981 WASHINGTON 00:55JAI 573 MUMBAI 01:10DLH 637 FRANKFURT 02:10THY 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 02:55UAE 854 DUBAI 03:50KAC 381 DELHI 03:50ETD 306 ABU DHABI 04:00OMA 644 MUSCAT 04:05MSR 613 CAIRO 04:10QTR 1085 DOHA 04:15FDB 68 DUBAI 04:40QTR 1077 DOHA 05:15FDB 70 DUBAI 06:30JAI 575 ABU DHABI 06:45JZR 164 DUBAI 06:55CLX 611 LUXEMBOURG 07:00THY 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 07:05GFA 212 BAHRAIN 07:15THY 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 07:30KAC 538 SOHAG 08:10FDB 54 DUBAI 08:30BAW 156 LONDON 08:45QTR 1087 DOHA 08:50ETH 3718 ADDIS ABABA 09:00KAC 787 JEDDAH 09:25KAC 671 DUBAI 09:30ABY 126 SHARJAH 09:40KAC 789 MADINAH 09:45UAE 856 DUBAI 09:55KAC 117 NEW YORK 10:00KAC 521 AL NAJAF 10:05ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:05FDB 56 DUBAI 10:20IRM 1187 TEHRAN 10:30KAC 175 FRANKFURT 10:45QTR 1071 DOHA 10:55GFA 214 BAHRAIN 11:25KAC 541 CAIRO 11:30IRA 602 SHIRAZ 11:45JZR 356 MASHHAD 11:55IAW 158 BAGHDAD 12:00KAC 103 LONDON 12:20JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:25MEA 405 BEIRUT 12:55KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:00MSC 406 SOHAG 13:20TMA 223 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL 13:45JZR 176 DUBAI 13:45MRJ 4814 MASHHAD 13:55MSR 611 CAIRO 14:00IRM 1189 MASHHAD 14:05UAE 872 DUBAI 14:15IYE 827 RIYAN MUKALLA 14:30

FDB 58 DUBAI 14:30QTR 1079 DOHA 14:55MSR 576 SHARM EL SHEIKH 15:00KAC 673 DUBAI 15:05KAC 617 DOHA 15:30KNE 473 JEDDAH 15:30IRC 6693 MASHHAD 15:35SVA 503 JEDDAH 15:45KAC 773 RIYADH 16:05KNE 463 MADINAH 16:35KNE 481 TAIF 16:40JZR 238 AMMAN 16:55JZR 238 AMMAN 16:55JAV 622 AMMAN 17:15ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:35QTR 1073 DOHA 17:40UAE 858 DUBAI 17:50JZR 538 CAIRO 17:50RJA 641 AMMAN 17:55ABY 128 SHARJAH 18:05SVA 511 RIYADH 18:15GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:20JZR 184 DUBAI 18:40RBG 554 ALEXANDRIA 18:55JZR 134 BAHRAIN 19:10JZR 554 ALEXANDRIA 19:20FDB 64 DUBAI 19:25QTR 1081 DOHA 19:40JZR 266 BEIRUT 19:40GFA 218 BAHRAIN 20:15KAC 283 DHAKA 20:30FDB 62 DUBAI 20:45OMA 648 MUSCAT 20:55KAC 331 TRIVANDRUM 20:55KAC 361 COLOMBO 21:00ABY 120 SHARJAH 21:00MSC 404 ASYUT 21:05JAI 571 MUMBAI 21:10KAC 351 KOCHI 21:10MSR 619 ALEXANDRIA 21:45DHX 171 BAHRAIN 21:50ALK 230 COLOMBO 22:10MEA 403 BEIRUT 22:20ETD 308 ABU DHABI 22:20ETD 920 ABU DHABI 22:25KNE 461 RIYADH 22:30GFA 220 BAHRAIN 22:30KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:35FDB 60 DUBAI 22:40UAE 860 DUBAI 22:50KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 22:55QTR 1075 DOHA 23:10JZR 528 ASYUT 23:25JZR 502 LUXOR 23:30KAC 415 KUALA LUMPUR 23:55

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FORCIVIL INFORMATION

Automated enquiryaboutthe Civil ID card is

1889988

CHANGE OF NAME

112SITUATION WANTED

SITUATION VACANT

ACCOMMODATION

FOR SALE

MATRIMONIAL

Fajr: 05:05Shorook 06:24Duhr: 12:02Asr: 15:15Maghrib: 17:40 Isha: 18:57

I, MundayadankandyPuthiya Purayil Jaseel, hold-er of Indian Passport No.F9952543 residing atKadeeja Manzil IX 223, HajiMetta, P.O. Kanhirode, VIAKoodali, Kannur, Kerala -670592, hereby change myname to Jaseel Ebrahim.17-2-2014

Sharing accommodationavailable for Pakistani bach-elor in 2B/bath apartmentin Khaitan, rent KD 90.Contact: 96618664. (C 4648)18-2-2014

Sharing accommodationflat with African family, 1room + special bathroom,price KD 100, Abu Alifah.66971502. (C 4642)16-2-2014

Toyota Yaris, model 2013,mileage 3,500 white exteri-or, price KD 2,550. Phone:99240654. (C 4649)19-2-2014

Nissan Pathfinder 2003model, good condition. Call97277135.

Cooker with bottle andregulator, washingmachine, tumble dryer con-denser, microwave mirrorfour door wardrobe, queensize bed mattress as new,sofa and lounge chairs cof-fee tables, desk and officechair TV 42” LCD diningtable and four chairs sideboard bookcase, choppingblock mobile. Ph: 94400865.(C 4647)18-2-2014

Mitsubishi Galant 2011, sil-ver color, excellent condi-tion, KD 2200. Mob:66729295. (C 4644)

Mitsubishi Lancer Ex 2013,white color, full options, km19000, KD 2750. Tel:50994848. (C 4645)16-2-2014

Pakistani Punjabi speakingmale belonging to landlordfamily aged 25 executive infamily business (engineer-ing services co) needs com-patriot up to 23 living inKuwait. Email: zaidiformerdiplomat@hotmail.comFintas PO Box 1476 Code51015. (C 4641)16-4-2014

Cook for Kuwaiti family,familiar with local dishes,preferably if knows to readEnglish, transferable resi-dence. 97577377. (C 4646)16-2-2014

IT-Engineer young andenergetic with bachelorsdegree in electronics &telecommunication, passedin first class (honors), andholding Master Degree inBusiness Administration,having working experiencein India and abroad, hold-ing Kuwait residence islooking for suitable

employment. Contact:96681344. (C 4643)17-2-2014

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Today and tomorrow are good times to obtain a loan, if this is a concern.This could involve all matters of subjects such as business accounts, apparel,

investments, etc. Problems are valued for the lessons they represent. Perceiving problemsas obstacles could mean a loss of money. You have an enhanced appreciation for respon-sibilities and duty. Ambition and achievement can be tough taskmasters. You will winrewards, recognition and authority through hard work and knowing the score; otherwise,you may find that someone hungrier and with more savvy could overtake you. Some peo-ple make large demands on your time and energies just now—make a determined effortto balance your activities each day.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Work responsibilities will come first today and may find you working a bit ofovertime this afternoon. Difficulties, blocks and all manner of hot spots may be discov-ered. This could mean playing a go-between for a couple of people at work that cannotsee eye to eye. You will be smart in allowing a higher-up to feel he or she solved the prob-lem. Although this time can be intense at work, you will actually be able to look back onthis juncture and see that there was much progress. Many people you come into contactwith now, unlike the past, will be in your life for some time to come. Be wise and listen toyour inner voice when it comes to spending large amounts of money. A love affair or loverelationship may be able to grow more meaningful now.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Check and recheck your bank statement today in order to catch any mis-takes you or the bank may have made. You get through the challenges

today without too much of a problem. You can work up the ladder of success and achievewhatever you want to achieve. Owning your own business is not out of the question. Besure you choose a business partner that you feel will follow through on what that personsays will be done. Check out his or her bookkeeping skills. You will be able to finish yourhome project now. Through the end of this month much can be accomplished in manyareas of your life. Money will come to you through a government program or an older per-son. Make an effort to practice relaxation, especially before bed.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

It is important that you keep working on the current projects. Someone iswatching and evaluating your development. It is a good thing that this workday is con-ducive to completing projects. It is a good day to get things accomplished. You have goodeye-hand coordination and a sustained effort makes any task run well. A proposition tomake money may be as good as it seems—check it out first. Always better to be safe thansorry! Expect a sense of support and goodwill from those around you. You may be visitingwith friends this evening. An old friend from school or from another neighborhood maybe in town, and talks of old times and catching up with each other’s latest adventure fill

the afternoon and evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

An authority figure will probably help you with some information that youcan use to help increase your income. This person may also remind you that the sky is thelimit when you set your mind toward the goal. There are energies and people working inyour favor now to help you make some positive changes in your life. Good surprises are insight. New breakthroughs regarding some confusing problems are also possible this after-noon. Take what you hear with a grain of salt and stay clear of arguments. If you feel some-one is wrong and you think that person will not listen—he or she will find out soonenough. Some people do not like changes but you may be elated over some new discov-eries—do not let anyone hijack your emotional thermometer.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Loyalty is the number one asset that higher-ups appreciate about you.There is a lot of work to be done and you are the one that can do it. Think

as a manager and allocate some of the work so that a time schedule can be created. Youwill see some excellent opportunities for advancement with your company. You couldwrite your ideas down as a proposal and submit it to higher channels. You may find your-self looking for a little romance this afternoon or at least enjoying some emotional release.You can appreciate feelings and movement. You may want to just get out and walk orexercise. There is optimism and patience when it comes to love. If you are bored, try walk-ing quickly backwards—for exercise. Put more smiles in your day.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Fuzzy thinking could lead to some misleading ideas. Be aware that there is alot of nervous energy this morning. Arguments are possible with an authority figure. Doyou prefer that you be right or happy until you are asked your opinion, this is a great timeto show your helpfulness through the art of listening. Respect, status and achievement arecentral goals that you will find achievable. Staying as close as possible to your own work ismost important today. This afternoon music seems to take a turn your way and you findyourself with more music in your life. It is interesting that when you pick relationships andpets, not only behavior and looks but also voice is an important factor. Enjoy the musicalinvestigation that happens all afternoon.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Your emotions may be high some of the time and melancholy at othertimes this day. The fun comes in communicating clear thoughts among a group of peoplethat may have never been where you have been. Poetry may be better understood; how-ever, curiously enough, this is a very productive day. You are on the right track at work andyou may find yourself working into the late hours. You are so close to the end of a projector success of a business that your hard work will soon be visible. Stay objective and retainyour sense of humor. This will save you and others from discouragement and slowdowns.This evening you can work on some stress relief techniques, especially laughter. Createlighthearted times for yourself and others.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

This is a time for coming to grips with your shadow and for taking control ofthe forces within you that slow your progress of success. Learning that your

own self is the only thing one truly can control is probably the biggest step up the ladderof life. Perhaps also, looking at your career may give you insight to your life path. It is timeto share your special talents and trust that your uniqueness will work to your advantage. Ameeting with someone older or in authority may take place later today, but all will go well.Financial opportunities are again available to you. Pay attention to this opportunity, askquestions and invest. There is a chance to understand those around you and to have a spe-cial time with someone you love this evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You will be able to express your understanding of a very touchy subjecttoday. You are able to cut through the red tape and get at what is beneath

and behind. Be wise with your investments and a little more frugal with your generosity.Sometimes it is better to lend a helping hand instead of money to a charity. A friend willshow loyalty and see you beaming from ear to ear. Considerate and friendly communica-tions will enhance a love relationship. It could be time to review your goals. Create a goalin your mind, see it, feel it, smell it and enjoy the image of rewards; now you’re beginningto focus and create! Remember, the goal is for your progress, not in manipulating anotherperson to your way of thinking. Success is in the future.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Recognize the signs of stress and do what you can to take on a mindset thatis much more productive. Your thoughts may move toward ways in which you canimprove your working conditions so as not to put stress on family life. This may take thedecision to speak up and be heard. Stay within the rules and keep practical, not emotion-al—you will find continued support and acceptance. You will have to let some of your out-side activities and interests go for now. There are outside forces or temptations interferingwith your productivity. After today, your energy quota will gently return and you will beable to accomplish much more in a day than is possible now. You will find that thisevening is a good time for romance.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

There is a lot of energy available for disciplined work, but push too hard andyou could break something. It’s important to gather all the facts necessary to give you arealistic idea of how work is progressing. The openness and honesty that has been thehallmark of your relationship with a friend may be threatened. If an event raises yourbody’s thermostat, deep breathing should normalize your mood. Even though you havebeen thinking of real estate, this is not a time for action. Social relationships are a specialfocus this evening. You will be listening and concerning yourself with the life style andproblems of others just now—you may need your mental strength as well as a dose ofhealthy patience. It may be time to adjust your friendships.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 464

ACROSS1. 10 grams.4. An incorrect deal.11. South American armadillo with threebands of bony plates.15. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.16. A substance that produces a fragrantodor when burned.17. A quantity of no importance.18. The state of being unsure of something.19. Occupy in an agreeable, entertaining orpleasant fashion.20. An unforeseen obstacle.21. A river in north central Switzerland thatruns northeast into the Rhine.22. (Japan) Ritual suicide by self-disembow-elment on a sword.25. A unit of surface area equal to 100 squaremeters.27. Music in three-four time for dancing a jig.28. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) thatwas responsible for research into atomicenergy and its peacetime uses in the UnitedStates.30. A small tent used as a dressing roombeside the sea or a swimming pool.33. A soft white precious univalent metallicelement having the highest electrical andthermal conductivity of any metal.35. Made of fir or pine.38. An Arabic speaking person who lives inArabia or North Africa.39. A seat for one person, with a support forthe back.41. Offering fun and gaiety.42. A deep bow.45. A state in New England.46. Goddess of criminal rashness and its pun-ishment.48. A soft heavy toxic malleable metallic ele-ment.49. 100 puls equal 1 afghani.50. Seed of a pea plant.52. Not normal.55. An early French settler in the Maritimes.57. A Chadic language spoken in northernNigeria.58. Aircraft landing in bad weather in whichthe pilot is talked down by ground controlusing precision approach radar.59. Relating to or near the radius.61. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.63. The blood group whose red cells carryboth the A and B antigens.64. Half the width of an em.65. The basic unit of money in WesternSamoa.67. A public promotion of some product orservice.69. Singing jazz.74. Having a woven pattern.78. An accidental happening.81. An indehiscent fruit derived from a singleovary having one or many seeds within afleshy wall or pericarp.82. The compass point that is one pointsouth of due west.83. Having or resembling a stinger or barb.85. A rotating disk shaped to convert circularinto linear motion.86. How long something has existed.87. A town in southeastern New Mexico onthe Pecos River near the Mexican border.88. A loose sleeveless outer garment madefrom aba cloth.

DOWN1. An informal term for a father.2. Small buffalo of the Celebes having smallstraight horns.3. Wild ox of mountainous areas of easternIndia.4. Ox of southeast Asia sometimes consid-ered a domesticated breed of the gaur.5. Not out.6. A mark left by the healing of injured tissue.7. Large bottle with a short narrow neck.8. (Babylonian) Any of a group of powerfulearth spirits or genii.9. The slender spear of the Bantu-speakingpeople of Africa.10. A facial expression of contempt or scorn.11. The part of the nervous system of verte-brates that controls involuntary actions ofthe smooth muscles and heart and glands.12. Hypothetical remedy for all ills or dis-eases.13. The sixth month of the civil year.14. A feeling of intense anger.23. Title for a civil or military leader (especial-ly in Turkey).24. A state in midwestern United States.26. A small cake leavened with yeast.29. A person who puts finishing edges on agarment.31. A river that rises in northern Colombiaand flows generally eastward to the Orinocoin central Venezuela.32. A narrative song with a recurrent refrain.34. The father of your father or mother.36. Wool of the alpaca.37. 1 species.40. According to the Old Testament he was apagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel(9th century BC).43. Relating to or having the characteristicsof bees.44. The food served and eaten at one time.47. 100 toea equal 1 kina.51. An associate degree in nursing.53. Any of numerous local fertility and naturedeities worshipped by ancient Semitic peo-ples.54. 1/1000 gram.56. Having relatively few calories.60. A leisurely walk (usually in some publicplace).62. Fallow deer.66. A purgative made from the leaves of aloe.68. The capital and largest city of Bangladesh.70. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cageis opened and a section of a blood vessel isgrafted from the aorta to the coronary arteryto bypass the blocked section of the coro-nary artery and improve the blood supply tothe heart.71. A domed or vaulted recess or projectionon a building especially the east end of achurch.72. Any of various minerals consisting ofhydrous silicates of aluminum or potassiumetc. that crystallize in forms that allow perfectcleavage into very thin leaves.73. An Asian river between China and Russia.75. In bed.76. Someone who works (or provides work-ers) during a strike.77. God of love and erotic desire.79. An enclosed space.80. Tag the base runner to get him out.84. A hard gray lustrous metallic elementthat is highly corrosion-resistant.

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34s ta rs

Daily SuDoku

inf or m at ionWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

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

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

Al-Madeena 22418714

Al-Shuhada 22545171

Al-Shuwaikh 24810598

Al-Nuzha 22545171

Sabhan 24742838

Al-Helaly 22434853

Al-Faiha 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

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

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

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

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

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

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INTERNATIONALCALLS

Pharrell Williams insists he respects womenbecause he knows their “importance”. The 40-year-old singer-and-producer collaborated with Robin

Thicke and rapper T.I last year on the worldwide smashhit ‘Blurred Lines’ but the song’s X-rated video -which featured naked women - attracted criticismfor being sexist and misogynistic. Pharrell refutesthe accusations and insists he loves all women andbelieves they will soon overtake men as the mostpowerful gender. Speaking about the inspirationbehind his new album, he said: “My muse for it waswomen. I love them ... because I know their impor-tance. If women wanted to shut down this coun-try, economically, they could just not go to work

and the UK would be finished. “And there’s goingto be a huge shift ... There will be a time whenwomen get paid as much as men. There will be a

time when, like, 75 percent of our world leaderswill be women.” The ‘Happy’ hitmaker also com-

pared the infamous ‘Blurred Lines’ video tohow naked women are depicted in works of

art.

36L I F E S T Y L EWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

G o s s i p

Bradley Cooper: SukiWaterhouse is ‘the one’

Bradley Cooper says Suki Waterhouse is “the one”. The39-year-old actor - who has dated actresses ZoeSaldana and Renee Zellweger and was previously

married to Jennifer Esposito - hit it off with the 22-year-oldmodel after they met at the ELLE Style Awards last Februaryand he thinks the blonde beauty is perfect for him. He said:“She’s wonderful, the one for me. It feels great.” Bradley’smum Gloria is “backing” the couple - who were seen cozy-ing up to one another at the EE BAFTA Awards at the RoyalOpera House in London’s Covent Garden on Sunday - to getmarried and her initial worries about their age gap have“vanished”. A source told The Sun newspaper: “Gloria’s been

really won over by Suki. “She’s backing Bradley all the way ifhe wants to tie the knot with her. “She thinks Suki is greatfor him and, although initially a little concerned about the17-year age gap, that vanished as soon as she saw themtogether.” Bradley is eager to settle down and start a familywith Suki but she has confided in her best friends CaraDelevingne and Georgia May Jagger that she is worried sheis too young. A source previously said: “Suki’s been textingCara saying that Bradley wants a wedding before he’s 40,but she’s worried she’s still too young, even though she’sbesotted with him. “Cara and Georgia May [Jagger] havetold her to go with it and let it happen.”

Pattinson doesn’tlike being famous

Robert Pattinson reportedly doesn’tlike being famous. The 27-year-oldactor - who was catapulted to the

spotlight in the ‘Twilight’ films as vampireEdward Cullen alongside his ex-girlfriendKristen Stewart - isn’t a fan of his celebritystatus and gets agitated by the attention hereceives. A source told RadarOnline.com:“The cost of fame is the thing he and Kristenused to complain about all day and thathasn’t changed at all for him.” Pattinson ishoping to get involved in other aspects offilmmaking and is considering steppingbehind the camera instead of frontinganother film. The source added: “[He] islooking at a whole new approach to hisfuture and is even considering going to the-atre school to focus more on getting behindthe camera. “Rob’s been talking to a lot ofindependent filmmakers and- the last thing he wants to do is act in another blockbuster. He would like to direct amovie one day.” Pattinson is set to hit the big screen in 2014’s ‘The Rover’ and ‘Maps to the Stars’ which are in post-production and is currently filming ‘Queen of the Desert’ and ‘Life’.

Kate Moss was among the stars who attended Prince’sintimate show in London. The 40-year-old supermod-el turned up at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London

to watch the ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker and his new all-female band 3RDEYEGIRL perform the latest show ontheir ‘Hit & Run’ tour. Kate was joined at the gig byher husband Jamie Hince and several otherfamous faces were in the audience, includingNoel Gallagher, Adele, Rita Ora, Cara Delevingne,Nile Rodgers and Stephen Fry. The 55-year-oldmusician played a different set compared tothe tracks he has been playing at his varioussecret guerilla gigs across London this month.He opened with his hit ‘Diamonds and Pearls’before playing funk versions of ‘Take Me WithU’ and ‘Raspberry Beret’. Other highlightsincluded renditions of ‘The Most BeautifulGirl in the World’ and ‘How Come You Don’tCall Me Anymore’ and last song ‘Purple Rain’.Prince then followed his first set with anotherto ensure fans who had been queuing forhours outside got a chance to see their idol inthe 140 capacity venue. Rita took to herTwitter account during the gig, simply stating:“Prince... speechless.” Prince played at King’sPlace last Friday evening before performing adouble gig at Koko in Camden, North WestLondon, on Sunday. He has also confirmed he’llplay two secret shows in Manchester this week and,although no dates or venues have been confirmed.

Moss attends Prince’s intimate show in London

Pharrell Williams: I respect women

Victoria Beckham “wouldn’t wish” her schooldays on any-one. The 39-year-old fashion designer admits she weptwhen she received a British Fashion Award two years ago

because she couldn’t believe how much her life has changedsince she was bullied for being “different”. She said: “I had comesuch a long way. I didn’t go to a private school; it was a publicschool. It was not a very nice school. “[I was bullied because Iwas] different from all the other children at the school. I reallywouldn’t wish it on any kid, because it’s horrible.” Victoria - whohas children Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, Cruz, eight, and Harper,

two, with husband David - credits her former Spice Girls band-mates for helping her overcome her problems and become more

confident. Speaking to the new edition of Allure magazine, she said:“I think what gave me confidence in myself was meeting the other

girls. We always said we were all like rejects in our own way. We had towork hard, and they helped me accept me for who I was.” And the British

star also admitted to having “purchased” her breasts,though she has now had the implants removed. Looking at an old

photograph, she said: “I don’t have them anymore. I think I mayhave purchased them.”

Victoria Beckham:School was tough

Bullock skipped BAFTAs for sick sonSandra Bullock missed the BAFTA Awards because her son was ill. The 49-year-

old star - who was nominated for Best Actress - had been due to walk the redcarpet at London’s Royal Opera House on Sunday but skipped the ceremony

to care for three-year-old Louis, the New York Post newspaper reports. Meanwhile,‘Gravity’ director Alfonso Cuaron has revealed he bonded with Sandra over theirmarriage splits, and thinks their shared struggled helped get to to the “emotionalcore” of the movie. The filmmaker - who picked up theBest Director BAFTA - told The Daily Beast: “When [meand Sandra] met for the first time, we didn’t talk aboutspace or technology or any of that. We just talked aboutadversity-and not even in the context of the film, but inthe context of our lives. In an abstract way. “We’d hap-pened to be going through a process of adversities andwe were trying to make sense out of them. It created avery interesting bond between the two of us, and a com-mon understanding of what we were looking for. “A lot ofwork was on fine-tuning the screenplay to really try toget into the emotional core of every single one of thesescenes, and that common understanding that we had onthe subject was very important.” Alfonso split from sec-ond wife Annalisa Bugliani in 2008 while Sandra filed fordivorce from Jesse James in April 2010 following reportshe had cheated on her.

Stone ‘hated’ curvesSharon Stone “wanted to die” when she put on weight in her 20s.

The 55-year-old actress gained 45lbs as a side effect from medica-tion she was given after an accident and admitted she hated the

attention her newly-curvaceous figure received from men. She said:“When I was 20, after my horseback-riding accident, I was given cortisoneshots and I gained a lot of weight from that, like 45 pounds. “I looked a lit-tle like Anna Nicole Smith, with a tiny waist, big boobs, and a big butt.Everywhere I went, men went insane over my va-va-voom body. I justwanted to die and I became an introvert.” The ‘Alpha Dog’ actress - whohas three adopted sons, Roan, 13, Laird, eight, and Quinn, seven - alsoadmitted she has struggled with getting older and has “cried and cried”over the way she has changed with time. She told the new edition ofShape magazine: “There was a point in my 40s when I went into the bath-

room with a bottle ofwine, locked the door,and said, ‘I’m not comingout until I can totallyaccept the way I lookright now.’ “I examinedmy face in the magnify-ing mirror, and I lookedat my body, and I criedand cried and cried .?.?. Ithought, ‘I’d like to agelike a dancer.’ I want tokeep my body in shapelike that.”

Example has been namedBritain’s Coolest Man 2014. The‘Kickstarts’ rapper beat a num-

ber of celebrities including DavidBeckham, Idris Elba and ArcticMonkeys frontman Alex Turner to thetitle, after fans praised his straighttalking attitude and his down-to-earth personality in the annual pollconducted by Zoo magazine.Example said: “I haven’t won anaward for anything, so it might aswell be the best award in the country.I’ve been around in this game foreight years and I’m on my fifth album,and I’ve toured the world, and had 19top 40s, and I’ve never been nominat-ed or won . So it’s just great this couldbe the first one.” Hot on the 31-year-old rapper’s heels was Idris Elba - whoreceived praise last year for his star-ring role in ‘Mandela: Long Walk toFreedom - and British snooker playerRonnie O’Sullivan, placing secondand third respectively. Meanwhile,Prince Harry was knocked down tofourth place, after coming second last

year, while ‘Sherlock’ actor BenedictCumberbatch stole a spot in the topfive. Last year’s winner, Carl Froch,failed to make the top 20.Zoo Magazine’s Top 20 Coolest Menin Britain 2014:1. Example2. Idris Elba3. Ronnie O’Sullivan4. Prince Harry5. Benedict Cumberbatch6. Guy Martin7. Dapper Laughs8. Tom Daley9. Michael Bisping10. Alex Turner11. Tom Hardy12. David Beckham13. Jack Whitehall14. Jason Statham15. Noel Gallagher16. Keith Lemon17. Professor Green18. David Haye19. Russell Howard20. Boris Johnson

—Bang Showbiz

Example named asBritain’s Coolest Man

37L I F E S T Y L EWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

M u s i c & M o v i e s

Singers/Songwriters Brothers Osborne John Osborne and TJ Osborne perform during the 5th annual Country Music Is Love concert to benefit City of Hopeat The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee. —AFP

Cyrus stages scandalous Clinton - Lewinsky

moment during concert Inhale for the chief, eh, Miley Cyrus? “Wrecking Ball”

chanteuse Cyrus brought a patriotic flare to her concertin Vancouver over the weekend, donning a red, white

and blue costume while prancing with Mount Rushmoreand the Statue of Liberty. Oh, and she also paid apparenthomage to the Monica Lewinsky scandal by dropping toher knees in front of a guy wearing a Bill Clinton mask.

The historical moment came during a rendition of Cyrus’hit “Party in the USA,” so there was at least a solid thematicgrounding for the spectacle. During the performance,Cyrus also did a little booty-shaking in front of a dancerdressed as the Liberty Bell. Insert your own “crack” jokehere. Happy Presidents’ Day, everyone. —Reuters

Miley Cyrus performs during the opening show ofthe Bangerz Tour in Vancouver, Canada. —APFor the aspiring actor and actress who sits at home

during awards season fantasizing that they too couldbe feted as an Oscar nominee or Golden Globe win-

ner there is a simple recipe: get cast in a film by David ORussell. The director of romance “Silver Linings Playbook”and boxing drama “The Fighter” has helped the likes ofJennifer Lawrence and Christian Bale score some ofHollywood’s biggest prizes, and this year has coaxed per-formances worthy of four Oscar nods from the stars of hiscrime caper “American Hustle.”

If an “American Hustle” actor - which could be Lawrence,Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper - takes home a stat-uette on March 2, it would be the third consecutive Russellfilm to have an actor win Hollywood’s top honors. “I feelgreat pride,” the 55-year-old director said of his actors’Oscar nominations.

“I feel that I delivered to them because I aspire to delivera role to them that is special, and I’m going to ask them todo things they’ve never done before and take risks they’venever taken,” he added. Russell, who is easily identified byhis uniform of dark three-piece suits and black-rimmedglasses, has himself been nominated for five Oscars andthis year is up for best director and best original screen-play. “American Hustle,” like his previous two films, alsoearned a best picture nomination. But the transformationof Russell over his past three films into a surefireHollywood director came together like the self-reinventiontales of his cast of characters, which have ranged fromdowntrodden boxers to con artists and the mentally ill.“Sometimes fate deals you a hand where you’ve beenundone for the better,” the director said. “I think I did that alittle bit.”

‘Actor’s director’Russell’s career appeared to stall after his 2004 comedy

“I Heart Huckabees” did poorly at the box office, and hispublic reputation took a hit with stories of butting heads -sometimes literally - and furious on-set arguments with hisstars. “Certainly there have been people who have madeflops and come back from them before,” said AndrewO’Hehir, a film critic and senior writer for Salon.com.

“But David’s reputation was of somebody who notmerely was this auteurist, independent filmmaker who

wanted to do everything his own way, but was also a jerkand was difficult to work with,” he added. There is also nocontemporary filmmaker with a trajectory quite likeRussell, who went six years between “Huckabees” and therelease of his career-reviving “The Fighter,” O’Hehir said.

Now, Russell has made himself into a director who gets

the most out of his players and who has helped turnLawrence and Cooper from Hollywood headliners into seri-ous dramatic actors, and his staunchest supporters. “Theman who made my career what it is,” Lawrence, 23, saidaccepting the Golden Globe award last month for her sup-porting role as the loopy housewife in “American Hustle,” ayear after she won her best actress Oscar for “Silver Linings.”

The film also won best ensemble cast at the ScreenActors Guild awards, the top honor of their peers. “He is anactor’s director ... he is the embodiment of it,” Cooper saidof Russell while accepting the prize. “He’s the reason whyall of us wanted to become actors when we were children.”

‘On the front line’Stuck in so-called director’s jail and struggling to get

work, Russell points to the upheaval in his personal life - hisdivorce in 2007, and the effort and energy it took raising ason suffering from bipolar disorder - as one of the pivotalmoments in turning around his career. “By the time I’dcome back, I think I saw more clearly the kind of peoplethat had been right under my nose my whole life that I hadenormous fascination with and affection for, making cine-ma about these people,” Russell said.

“I didn’t see that 10 or 12 years ago ... 20 years ago whenI first started. It was really after going through some trialswith my own life, my son and having some projects thatdidn’t come out well.” Russell said he now tries to foster awarm and loose environment on set, often playing music,as the brisk schedule of film production can be a pressurecooker for all involved.

Screenwriter Eric Warren Singer, who co-wrote “AmericanHustle,” said the director’s on-set style could be described asa companion to his actors. “No other director in the worldworks like David,” Singer said. “He’s an alchemist. ... Mostdirectors will lay back. David is right up on the front linewith his actors and in the scene with them in a way. Thereare no rules with him.”

Russell likes to call the challenge of eliciting top-notchperformances from actors a task of “braiding” a character’sstory with its on-screen portrayal. “If you do a braid or aweave, you have to be balanced,” he said. “You have to findjust the right measure of each character to care and blendthem.” —Reuters

David O Russell weaves Oscar pattern from his own reinvention

US director David O Russell arrives for the BritishAcademy Film Awards 2014 After Party at theGrosvenor Hotel, in central London, Sunday. —AP

Queen Elizabeth II hosted the cream ofBritish cinema at Buckingham Palaceon Monday, a day after her grandson

starred at the Bafta’s, the highlight of theindustry’s calendar. Guests included directorMike Leigh, actors Roger Moore, Joan Collinsand Alan Rickman and writers Tom Stoppardand Alan Bennett. Director Steve McQueen,whose latest film “12 Years a Slave” won bestfilm at Sunday’s awards, was also presentalong with John Hurt, Michael Sheen, RalphFiennes, Angela Lansbury and HelenaBonham Carter.

The Duchess of Cambridge, wearing a redAlexander McQueen dress, welcomed

guests, and chatted with veteran actressHelen Mirren, who received a BaftaFellowship from Prince William, Kate’s hus-band, a day earlier. Pulp Fiction star UmaThurman said meeting the Queen had been“overwhelming” while Mirren explained howshe was “genuinely always astounded by heraura”.

The Queen hosted the event in her capac-ity as the patron of the Royal Academy ofDramatic Art (Rada). Rada students per-formed songs from the musical “Oh! What ALovely War” and former pupils of the respect-ed school enacted a scene from GeorgeBernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”. —AFP

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II speaks with Joan Collins, at a Reception for theDramatic Arts, at Buckingham Palace, London. —AP

Queen hosts Britishfilm royalty at palace

What do Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger’sdaughter, Carlos Santana and PattiSmith have in common? It’s not only

rock and roll: all of them are fans of a saint wholived 800 years ago. St Francis of Assisi, knownworldwide for his simple spirituality, his close-ness to the poor, his love of nature and hispreaching of peace, has some unlikely admirers.Father Enzo Fortunato, the spokesman and pub-lic face of the convent complex in Assisi wherethe Francis is buried, has written a new book onthe people who have been influenced by theteachings of the gentle saint who gave up hisworldly goods.

“Vado da Francesco” (I am going to Francis),takes the reader on a historical trip throughaccounts of the visitors to the basilica in the pastfew decades. They include popes who soughtsolace in prayer and politicians who sought pic-ture opportunities. But they also include artistsand rockers, most of whom came and went qui-etly, sometimes even secretly.

On October 6, 2006, for example, the monksreopened the upper basilica, scene of thefamous 13th century frescoes by Giotto depict-ing scenes from the life of St. Francis, for a noc-turnal visit by Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen,who was playing in nearby Perugia, badly want-ed to visit the basilica but feared the media andthe public would have spoiled the place’s spiritu-al nature if he visited during the day, Fortunatoexplains in the 179-page book.

So, in one of the few times in its history, thebasilica was reopened and its lights turned on atabout 10:30 pm for Springsteen and his group,

the Seeger Sessions Band. Springsteen wrote inthe guest book: “This basilica has the colours ofthe Resurrection,” which Fortunato calls “analmost theological, masterful synthesis” of whatthe basilica is about.

‘The boss’ and the saintAs Springsteen was leaving Fortunato men-

tioned that the saint’s tomb was on the otherside of a wall but they could not go in because itwas nearly midnight. Springsteen stopped in histracks, turned in the direction of the tomb andbowed his head in respect. The book also repro-duces a letter by Jade Jagger, Mick Jagger’sdaughter, telling the monks that she named her

own daughter Assisi because “for me he (Francis)was always the first environmentalist and hippyand was a true inspiration to me from my earlyyears.”

Another rocker who thinks Francis rocks isCarlos Santana. On July 20, 2011, he was playingat the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia. Betweensongs he told his audience that he felt a “feelingof love (in Umbria) because in this place longtime ago was a gentleman named Francis ofAssisi”. But perhaps the most surreal visit toAssisi by a rocker came on July 25, 2012, whenPatti Smith, the “godmother of punk,” meditatedbefore St. Francis’s tomb and even helpedrestore a fresco by Giotto.

“When I think of St Francis I don’t think of reli-gion, I don’t think of any rules and regulations,”she said that day after a visit of several hours tothe convent complex which included a frugallunch with the monks.

St Francis inspired “Constantine’s Dream”, onetrack of Smith’s 2012 album Banga. “I think of hislove of nature. I think of his absolute love of lifeand I think any human being can relate to that ...If you approach St Francis with love, you receivelove in return,” Smith, 67, said.

Of course, rockers are not the only famouspeople who have gone to Assisi and Fortunatopaints vignettes of about 50 visits. When IraqiForeign Minister Tareq Aziz, a Christian, visitedon the eve of the Iraq war in 2003, his body-guards wanted to bring their machine guns intothe refectory where Aziz ate with the monks. Themonks said ‘no,’ and the guns stayed outside. —Reuters

Rockers in the sacristy: Book recounts St Francis’ famous fans

Jazz Festival to celebrate George Duke

Singer Al Jarreau and bassist Stanley Clarke will celebratethe legacy of their friend and musical partner GeorgeDuke on the opening day of the 36th annual Playboy

Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl.The Los Angeles PhilharmonicAssociation, which is presenting thefestival for the first time, announcedthe lineup for the June 14-15 event onMonday. George Benson and fellowsmooth jazz guitarist Earl Klugh willheadline the closing concert.

Saturday’s concert will pay tributeto Duke, the keyboardist, singer, com-poser and producer who headlinedlast year’s Playboy opener and was afrequent participant in the Los Angeles area’s biggest jazzevent. Duke, 67, died of leukemia last August shortly afterreleasing his chart-topping contemporary jazz CD“Dreamweaver,” which included a straight-ahead acoustic jazztrack featuring Clarke.

Jarreau first performed with Duke in the house band atSan Francisco’s Half Note Club in the late ‘60s and the key-boardist was featured on the singer’s 1981 album “Breakin’Away.” Clarke and Duke recorded three groove-orientedalbums together, including 1981’s “Clarke/Duke Project” withthe R&B hit single “Sweet Baby.” Comedian George Lopez saidhe’s “thrilled” to be hosting the Playboy festival again after tak-ing over from long-time emcee Bill Cosby last year. —AP

George Duke

Bruce Springsteen

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

l if e s t y l eF A S H I O N

London Fashion Week saw its starriestand most hectic day yet Monday, asHollywood celebrities turned up at

big-ticket shows and rubbed shoulderswith fashion’s elite on the front rows. SingerHarry Styles and actors Bradley Cooper andNaomie Harris dropped in at BurberryProrsum, which led a schedule that includ-ed back-to-back catwalk action atChristopher Kane, Erdem, Issa and TomFord among others. Here are highlightsfrom Day 4:

Bradley Cooper supportsmodel girlfriend

Cooper gave the fashion week somehigh wattage star power when he showedup at Burberry, where his girlfriend, SukiWaterhouse, was modeling the autumnand winter collection for the luxury label.He squeezed in next to US Vogue editorAnna Wintour, and the two were picturedchatting and joking together. A few hoursand an outfit change later, Cooper wasspotted on the front row at Tom Ford, thistime with Waterhouse next to him. The pairkept a low profile, deliberately turning theirbacks to prying cameras. That wasn’t toodifficult. The show space at Ford, set up likea nightclub, was so dark that they couldhave gone unnoticed.

Tom Ford ‘Knocks Off’ Jay ZTom Ford may be best known for his

razor-sharp suits and slinky womenswear,but the designer showed a humorous sideMonday with a catwalk collection thatplayed on his own fame and rapper Jay Z.The designer’s catwalk, unveiled at LondonFashion Week, featured sequined footballjerseys emblazoned with the giant whiteletters “TOM FORD 61.” That’s a playful refer-ence to Jay Z, who recorded a song called“Tom Ford” and wore a similar jersey - with-

out the sequins - at his shows. Versions ofthat jersey are now sold online, independ-ent of the luxury design label. (61 refers toFord’s year of birth.) “I just took the knockoff from online, and knocked it off,” Fordtold The Associated Press after the show,which also featured black and red velvetdresses, sporty hoodies and animal printseparates worn with high-heel boots. Fordsaid the collection was about “modest luxu-ry” and updates on 1960s shapes and thestyles women wear in the American West,where he grew up. “The first dress wasactually the same dress that Navajo Indianwomen have been wearing since the 1920sand still wear,” he said, referring to a blackvelvet dress that opened the show.

Burberry draws big a-list crowd with luxury display

Harry Styles and Naomie Harris wereamong those joining Cooper at the frontrow at Burberry, Britain’s most successfulfashion house and host to the week’s glitzi-est show. The label showcased dozens ofnew variations of Burberry’s bestsellingtrench coat, with the standout styles in put-ty-colored leather, hand-painted with floraldesigns. There was plenty of warm outer-wear to choose from, including paintedshearling jackets, blanket coats and woolponchos in bold geometric prints, andheavy blanket scarves embroidered withinitials. When customers buy those scarves,they are encouraged to have their own ini-tials added. That personal touch andemphasis on individual craftsmanshipcomes at a hefty price: A sheepskin trenchcoat straight from the runway could set youback 6,000 pounds ($10,000.) DesignerChristopher Bailey said he wanted the col-lection to be “very sophisticated, and with aslight nuance of sexiness.” “It was absolutelybeautiful,” said Harris. “So vibrant, classicwith such a modern twist, and that’s what Ilove, because I’m personally quite classic in

my taste but always wanting to jazz it upwith something modern as well.” Otherfamiliar faces on the front row includedmovie mogul Harvey Weinstein, singerTinie Tempah, Topshop boss Philip Green,TV presenter Cat Deeley and celebrity pho-tographer Mario Testino.

Mannish, feminine, cool: Christopher Kane has it all

Christopher Kane opened his show withtough and mannish all black outfits, andended with little dresses that couldn’t bemore delicate. The designer, one ofLondon’s favorites, offered many morelooks in between. There were black plastic-looking dresses trimmed with cream fur,all-black outfits made trendy with neongreen or yellow accents, sporty puffer jack-ets and ladylike pale pink wool coats. Ifthat’s not enough, he added clever and sur-prising touches that would make anyonewho wears his clothes a talking point.Memorable designs included cocktaildresses that came with sculptural ‘sleeves’made of stiff ribbons that looped aroundthe arms, or made of countless layers ofthin parchment-like fabric, so that they fanout like the pages of a book as the modelsmoved. Kane’s creativity could be tooquirky and weird for many women, but this

time everything was wearable. “I really likedthe fur, the black, pink, coffee white,” saidstylist Caroline Sieber. “It was very chic.”

An ornate dollhouse at ErdemDesigner Erdem Moralioglu’s new col-

lection was set in an industrial warehouse-like building, but guests were transportedto the most decadent dollhouse once theshow came on and the dresses came out.Models wore highly ornate dresses in black,gold, and metallic jewel tones, all in richfabrics like velvet and silks and decoratedwith lace, intricate floral embroidery, andlaser cut-outs. There were also Chinoiserieprints, and beaded and jeweled numbers.Erdem’s clothes are known for their femi-ninity, but the look on Monday avoidedbeing too “done” by pairing the ornatenesswith modern boxy shapes and short, play-ful skirts. — AP

Bradley Cooper visits

London Fashion Week Day 4

US actor Bradley Cooper, center, is photographed arriv-ing for the Burberry Prorsum autumn/winter 2014London Fashion Week show.

British model Suki Waterhouse, centre left, and her boyfriend US actor BradleyºCooper, centre right, watch the show by Tom Ford during London Fashion WeekAutumn/Winter 2014. — AP/AFP photos

Models, led by Cara Delevingne present creations from designer Burberry Prorsum.

Tom Ford

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

l if e s t y l eF A S H I O N

Models present autumn/winter2014-2015 collection creations byLeandro Cano on the last day ofMadrid Fashion Week in Madridyesterday. — AFP

Howl

Miguel Marinero Herida de gato (HDG)

Madrid Fashion Week

British actress Naomie Harris and British Singer Tinie Tempah attendthe Burberry Prorsum Show.

One Direction’s Harry Stylesattend the Burberry ProrsumShow.

Tom Ford

37Queen hostsBritishfilm royalty atpalace

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada curtsies on the catwalk after presenting her autumn/winter 2014-2015 collection during Madrid Fashion Week in Madrid.—AFP

Malaysia is the world’s friend-liest destination for Muslimtravelers, according to a sur-

vey released yesterday, but Japan hasshown most improvement as it rampsup efforts to cash in on a growing mar-ket. Malaysia was followed by theUnited Arab Emirates, Turkey,Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in thisyear’s rankings for “halal” friendly holi-day destinations released bySingapore-based Muslim travel spe-cialistCrescentrating. Thesurvey evaluatescountries in terms oftheir attentivenessto the needs ofMuslim travelers,including the pres-ence and accessibili-ty of halal restau-rants with meatslaughtered toIslamic standards,and the provision ofprayer rooms at air-ports, shoppingmalls and hotels.

“An increasingnumber of destina-tions are now keen on tapping intothis segment and adapting their serv-ices to take into account the uniquefaith-based needs of Muslim travelers,”said Crescentrating chief executiveFazal Bahardeen. For largely MuslimMalaysia, Bahardeen said the country’sIslamic Tourism Centre has “continuedto educate the industry on how tocater to the Muslim travelers”. “Thereare now more and more hotel kitchenswith halal certification, an increasingnumber of hotels are also now cateringto the specific needs of Muslim travel-ers,” he added.

One hotel even has separate tim-ings for the use of gym and swimmingpools for males and females requiringprivacy, he said. Bahardeen said theMuslim travel market was estimated tobe worth $140 billion last year,accounting for almost 13 percent ofthe global total. It is expected to rise to

$200 billion by 2020, he added. Japanwas in 40th place among the 60ranked, but its score is 10 notches upfrom 50th place last year-the biggestimprovement overall. “Japan has defi-nitely been the most active destinationduring the last year to focus on thissegment of travelers,” Bahardeen toldAFP.

“It has launched a number of initia-tives-from awareness programs to thelocal industry to releasing the Muslim

travel guide to Japan.” Some airportsand hotels in Japan have also startedoffering halal food and prayer rooms,he said. Singapore placed sixth in theglobal rankings, and was the only non-Muslim country in the top 10, followedby Morocco, Jordan, Qatar and Tunisia.

The tiny island state touts its man-made attractions, a vast array of localfood and reputation for cleanliness andorder to travelers, and “does better thaneven some of the Muslim countries” inenticing those who follow the Islamicfaith, Bahardeen said. Italy, Belgium,Ireland and Mexico were the bottomfour countries in the rankings, as theyhad “not really focused” on the possibili-ties of the Muslim market, he added.The top ten in order were: Malaysia,United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia,Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Morocco,Jordan, Qatar and Tunisia.—AFP

Malaysia tops survey of ‘halalholidays’ for Muslims

Guests read newspapers in a hotel lobby in downtownKuala Lumpur.

File photo taken in 2010 shows Muslims preparing to offer Friday prayers at theJameh Masjid in Kuala Lumpur. —AFP photos

An artist is facing a criminalcharge after police say hesmashed a $1 million vase at

Miami’s new art museum to protestwhat he called its favoritism forinternational rather than local art.Maximo Caminero, 51, was chargedwith criminal mischief after Sunday’sincident at the Perez Art MuseumMiami. According to a Miami PoliceDepartment arrest affidavit, a securi-ty guard told officers that Camineropicked up a colored vase by Chinesedissident artist Ai Weiwei. When toldto put it down, the security guardsaid Caminero smashed it on thefloor.

A police affidavit says Caminerotold officers he broke the vase toprotest the museum’s lack of localartist displays and because “themuseum only displayed internation-al artists’ art.” Caminero, a painterwho lives in Miami, declined com-ment when reached by telephoneMonday. He said he will have anafternoon news conference today.“I’m going to answer all the ques-tions,” he said.

The police affidavit lists the valueof the vase as $1 million, quotingthe museum’s security officials.Criminal mischief can be a third-

degree felony punishable by up tofive years in prison when the prop-erty damaged is worth more than

$1,000. Caminero had a recentshowing at the JF Gallery in WestPalm Beach that offered patrons achance to meet him and “view a

sampling of the work from his 30-year career as an artist.”

According to PAMM’s web site,

the vase is one of more than a dozenthat are part of a floor installation.Each vase is partially painted inbright colors. Behind the installationare a series of three black-and-whitephotos showing Ai holding a vaseand then letting it drop to theground, smashing into pieces. The AiWeiwei: According to What? Exhibitruns through March 16 at the muse-um. Museum officials confirmed theincident in a Monday email, and not-ed that an upcoming show will fea-ture a local artist, Miami’s EdouardDuval-CarriÈ. The Haitian-bornartist’s show, beginning March 13, istitled “Imagined Landscapes.”

A sculptor, designer and docu-mentary-maker, Ai has irked Beijingby using his art and online profile todraw attention to injustices in Chinaand the need for greater transparen-cy and rule of law. He was detainedfor 81 days in 2011 during crack-down on dissent, after his release inJune 2011, Ai’s design firm wasslapped with a $2.4 million tax bill,which he fought unsuccessfully inthe Chinese courts.—AFP

Florida artist smashes $1m vase in

Miami museum

This file shows works by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei displayed October 2,2012 at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC.—AFP

Who knew that a bib would get so muchadult wear? The bib necklace - oftengiant, sometimes sparkly - started

hanging around a lot of necks a few years ago,and it’s still here. Of course, some women wouldrather craft than buy theirs. From buttons tolace, here are a few examples: Jenny Chapman ofChowchilla, Calif, has turned her love of buttonsinto expressive necklaces. “Buttons are so fun,”

says Chapman, who scours thrift stores and eBayfor them. “When you get them and there’s a bigjar and you have no idea what you’re going tofind it’s like a treasure hunt.”

She sews each button to a slightly larger diskof black felt and then glues them to a sheet offelt with felt glue, available at craft stores. Sheallows the ensemble to dry and then cutsaround the buttons to create the bib. After that,it’s just attaching bails - necklace hardware - atthe bib’s top two corners to connect an organzachain.

“You really don’t need to know anything tomake it yourself,” says Chapman. “The most time-consuming part is figuring out the buttons, butthat’s fun.” Find Chapman’s Bubble Button Bibnecklaces at her Etsy.com shop, Jenny’s TrinketShoppe. Carly J Cais of Portland, Ore., makesclever enamel jewelry using craft store suppliesand something new: Martha Stewart CraftsJewelry Enamel and Enamel Activator. Theenamel paint lets you color metal jewelry piecesin two steps, far easier than traditional enamel-ing, which involves kiln-drying the pieces.

“You get the glossy sheen of enamel withoutall the hassle,” says Cais. “It looks like stuff youcould buy in the store but still I made it myself.”First, clean the metal charms with alcohol. Thenmix the paint (there are 10 colors) with theenamel activator and let it sit 2 to 3 minutes tothicken before applying it with a toothpick tothe charm. Allow the pieces to dry 24 hours toharden, and then assemble charms and fillerpieces onto larger filigree squares for support.Attach two jewelry toggles and a chain to theupper corners of the piece for wearing.

Detailed instructions with photos for the DIYEnamel Spring Flower Bib Necklace are at Cais’blog, Chic Steals.

More bib-crafting ideas pour out of MarianneCanada, host of HGTV.com’s web series Weekday

Crafternoon:Spray paint a large, graphic piece of lace, let it

dry, and then attach jump rings and a chain forhanging. Using an Exacto knife, cut out a graph-ic shape from leather or a lightweight sheet ofbalsam wood, then attach jump rings and achain. Roll fabric rosettes and attach them - withbeads, lace, buttons or whatever suits your fancy- onto sturdy backing, such as heavy felt orleather. Finish with jump rings and a chain.Some of these ideas are pictured at Pinterest,the online images “pinning” board.

While the bib and its relative - the collar neck-lace - have been trendy for years, they have stay-ing power, says Canada. She looks at the fashionworld, where necklines often incorporate rhine-stones or other “blingy” accents. “It’s such a niceway to update the more basic items in yourwardrobe,” says Canada. Making it yourself low-ers the cost and carries bragging rights, too -“being able to say, ‘Ohhhh, you like that? I madeit,” she says.—AP

A bib for adults to craft and wear

Photos shows a bib necklace that uses craft-store charms enameled by Carly J Cais, whoblogs about her DIY fashion style at ChicSteals.—AP photos

Photos show Chapman’s “bubble button bib”necklace, which she sells at Jenny’s TrinketShoppe online at Etsy.