RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Qatar haveblamed “sectarian” policies by Iraq’s Shiite-led government against the Sunni Arabminority for the unrest that has swept thecountry. Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia,whose relations with the government ofPrime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki have beenstrained, also warned against foreign inter-vention in Iraq. In March, Maliki accusedboth Saudi Arabia and Qatar of supportingterrorism in Iraq. Militants, spearheaded bythe jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and theLevant (ISIL) and joined by supporters ofexecuted dictator Saddam Hussein, have inthe past week overrun a large chunk of

northern and north-central Iraq, althoughtheir advance has since been slowed.

Saudi Arabia, which shares long borderswith Iraq, urged the swift formation of anational consensus government to work to“reinstate security and stability”. The unrest“could not have taken place if it was not forthe sectarian and exclusionary policiesimplemented in Iraq over the past yearsthat threatened its stability and sovereign-ty,” the government said in a statement. Itunderlined the need for the “participationof all components of the Iraqi people indetermining the future” of the country.

Continued on Page 15

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Prices at Mubarakiya Market remain stable

Israel expands hunt for missingteens, killsPalestinian

UK issues dire warning on washing chicken

Spurs beat Heat to win fifth NBA title

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Day of lawsuits over corruption scandals

MPs demand debate on developments in IraqBy Staff Reporter

KUWAIT: The premier yesterday submitted a letter to theattorney general asking him to investigate alleged finan-cial and political scandals that have rocked the country,as the government plans to sue the opposition overaccusations regarding the highly sensitive issue. TheAudit Bureau has also started a separate investigation,while the recently-established Kuwait Anti-CorruptionAuthority said it will launch an investigation into corrup-tion allegations that undermine the country’s order.

The new developments came following last week’spublic rally during which leading opposition figuresclaimed that former senior officials stole around $50 bil-lion from public funds and deposited them in foreignbanks, including one in Israel.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, who was the first touncover the alleged conspiracy videotapes, yesterdayfiled through his lawyer Falah Al-Hajraf a lawsuit to theattorney general against two high-ranking former offi-cials. Sheikh Ahmad made more sensitive accusationsduring a television interview late Saturday, promptingPrime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah tosubmit a letter yesterday morning asking the attorneygeneral to investigate the claims made in the interview.

State Minister for Cabinet Affairs and acting justiceminister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah saidthe letter was backed with all the documents availablewith the government including those received by theprime minister from the “political leadership”.

Continued on Page 15KUWAIT: Falah Al-Hajraf, lawyer of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, answers journalists’ questions as heleaves the courthouse after filing a lawsuit yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Operations at Kuwait’s three ports werehalted yesterday due to bad weather, the statenews agency KUNA said, and an oil source said theOPEC member has suspended receiving ships at thecountry’s oil ports. “Maritime traffic in the threeports Shuaiba, Shuwaikh and Doha were halted dueto the current dust storm,” KUNA reported citing theports authority. Kuwait produces around 3 millionbarrels of crude per day.

Director of Sea Operations at Shuwaikh Port CaptMarzouq Al-Qahtani told KUNA operations werestopped for safety reasons after wind speedreached 36-40 nautical knots and horizontal visibili-ty dropped lower than 1.5 nautical miles. Accordingto rules of the International Maritime Organization(IMO), navigation must be halted when visibilitydrops lower than three nautical miles. A shipordered to stay off the harbor will be allowed inonce the weather conditions improve, while threeships sailed out.

Capt Faraj Al-Saeed, in charge of maritime opera-tions at Shuaiba port, told KUNA wind speed at theharbor exceeded 40 nautical knots and visibilitydropped lower than one nautical mile. — Agencies

Dust storm closes ports

(Top) Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after scoringhis team’s second goal during the Group F World Cupmatch between Argentina and Bosnia Hercegovina atthe Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro late Sunday.(Above) Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts duringthe Group G World Cup match between Germany andPortugal at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador yester-day. — AFP/AP (See Pages 19 & 20)

Saudis, Qatar blame ‘sectarian’ MalikiUS open to working with Iran over Iraq

MOSUL: Demonstrators chant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) slogansin front of the provincial government headquarters yesterday. — AP

DUBAI: For years, the rich oil states of theGulf have struggled to insulate them-selves from political turbulence in the restof their volatile region. Markets’ reactionto the insurgency in Iraq suggest theymay finally have succeeded. Saudi Arabiaand Kuwait face the potential disintegra-tion of a country on their borders. At thevery least, the turmoil in Iraq looks set towiden the Sunni-Shiite divide which haspoisoned politics across the region.

But in contrast to past episodes ofinstability in the Middle East, the Gulf’sfinancial markets are mostly reactingcalmly. Foreign investors have continuedto plough hundreds of millions of dollarsinto Gulf bonds. There have been nosigns of pressure on Gulf currencies’ pegsto the US dollar. Stock markets havedropped, but traders largely see that as anatural adjustment after big gains earlierthis year, not a panicked response togeopolitical risk.

The calm reflects the Gulf’s progressin building up its financial resources onthe back of high oil prices as a defenceagainst regional instability, as well as itssuccess in containing domestic politicalfallout from the Arab Spring uprisingsover the past three years, economistsand fund managers said. “I think peoplenow see the Gulf as well insulated from

the politics around it,” said Jason Tuvey,Middle East economist at CapitalEconomics, a London-based consultancy.He added that apart from Saudi Arabia’sEastern Province, which has seen somelow-level unrest among its Shi’ite minori-ty, it was difficult to see how events inIraq could have any direct impact on Gulfstates. If there is any impact, govern-ments have the monetary and securityresources to deal with it, he added.

The region has been buffeted by astring of geopolitical shocks since early2011, when revolutions in Egypt and oth-er Arab states briefly raised the possibili-ty of similar unrest within the Gulf. Five-year Saudi Arabian credit default swaps -which insure against the risk of a Saudisovereign debt default, and are thereforean indicator of foreign investors’ jittersabout the Gulf - shot up to a peak of 140basis points in Feb 2011. They rocketedback to that level in early 2012, as inter-national tensions over Iran’s nuclear pro-gram rose. A smaller spike occurred inAug 2013, as the United States threat-ened to bomb Damascus over the use ofchemical weapons.

This month, however, CDS havestayed low, sliding to 37 bps last week,the lowest level since early 2013.

Continued on Page 15

Gulf billions insulate economies, markets

newsin the

Al-Jazeera journalist on hunger strike freed

CAIRO: Egypt’s prosecutor general yesterday orderedthe release of Al-Jazeera journalist Abdullah Elshamy,who has been on hunger strike for nearly five months,state media reported. Al-Jazeera swiftly issued a state-ment calling for the release of three other staff on trial ina separate case. The court in that trial said it would issueits verdict on June 23 against the three journalistsaccused of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood ofousted president Mohamed Morsi. Elshamy, who worksfor the main Arabic-language channel of the Qatar-based network, was arrested on Aug 14 last year whenpolice dispersed protest camps in Cairo set up by sup-porters of Morsi. “Prosecutor General Hesham Barakatordered the release of 13 defendants... among themAbdullah Elshamy, a correspondent with Qatari channelAl-Jazeera, due to their health conditions,” the officialMENA news agency reported. The military-installedauthorities have been incensed by Al-Jazeera’s coverageof their crackdown on Morsi supporters.

China executes 13 for Xinjiang attacks

BEIJING: China executed 13 people yesterday for “terror-ist attacks” in the violence-wracked northwestern regionof Xinjiang, state media said, as death sentences wereissued over a suicide car crash at Beijing’s TiananmenSquare. The announcement by the official Xinhua newsagency said the 13 were involved in seven different casesconnected to Xinjiang, where Beijing says separatist mili-tants are behind a string of attacks that have rockedChina in recent months. Xinhua provided names of fourof the executed without identifying them by their ethnic-ity, though some of the names appeared to be Uighur, aTurkic-speaking mainly Muslim group with cultural andlinguistic links to Central Asia. The report identified twoof the cases as taking place last year and resulting inmore than two dozen deaths, including those of 24police officers and ordinary citizens in Xinjiang’s TurpanPrefecture in June. The announcement came hours afterstate media said three people had been sentenced to dieover the Tiananmen crash last October.

UAE to work with US to cut ‘terror’ funding

ABU DHABI: The UAE and the United States agreed yes-terday to cooperate to prevent “terrorist” groups fromusing the Gulf state’s finance sector, according to a state-ment from the US Treasury. Treasury Secretary JacobLew and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammedbin Zayed Al-Nahayan agreed to cooperate more closely“to disrupt terrorist support networks” in talks in AbuDhabi. They “stressed the importance of ensuring theUnited Arab Emirates’ financial system is closed off tothe broad range of terrorist and criminal groups,” thestatement said. The meeting comes as nine men standtrial in Abu Dhabi for allegedly forming “Al-Qaeda cell”accused of supporting Al-Nusra Front, the jihadist net-work’s Syrian affiliate. Among other charges, the menare accused of having “financed Al-Nusra Front,” statenews agency WAM said. The officials also discussedimproving economic ties between the countries, theTreasury statement said, as well as the situation in Iraq.

L O C A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received, at Bayan Palace yesterday,Minister of Communications, Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Chairman of the Supreme Council of CivilAviation (SCCA) Essa Ahmad Al-Kandari and SCCA board members on the occasion of the formation of the newboard. In a separate meeting, the Amir received at Bayan Palace, Minister of Communications, who chairs theBoard of Directors of Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA), Essa Ahmad Al-Kandari and KPA board members on the occa-sion of the formation of the new board.

Exams cheating increases with help from technology

Ministry investigation ongoingKUWAIT: Acting Minister ofEducation Dr Abdul Mohsen Al-Mudej said that an investigation isongoing to determine if a physicsf inal exam sheet for public highschools was leaked. The senior offi-cial’s statements came in response torumors on social media speculatingthat a large number of students hadaccess to leaked model answers, andthat teachers could be involved inthe scandal.

Minister Mudej could neither con-firm nor deny the rumors, sayingthat the ministry is waiting for theresults of an investigation.

“Everything is going well,” Mudejtold reporters during a tour of twolocal high schools Sunday. “We feltthat students were serious and stud-ied hard. We did not observe anyproblems which could affect thisphase of their lives. We wish successto all students.”

In spite of the ministry’s efforts toprevent cheating by smart phonesand headsets, some reports suggest-ed that many high school studentswere able to break the anti-cheatingmeasures and shared the answers ofthe mathematics, history, geography,and biology exams.

The ministry failed to preventcheating as students were innova-tive and created new ways to cheatduring the exams, said educationalsources with knowledge of the case.

“ The students are organizingthemselves in groups, and contact-ing tutors during the exams whosent them the answers to their smartphones,” explained the sources whospoke to Al-Jarida on the conditionof anonymity.

Consequently, 12th grade stu-dents of the scientific departmentshared pictures during the mathexam for a paper said to contain the

answers. Meanwhile, 12th grade stu-dents of the arts department did thesame thing with the history test,according to unnamed sources.

They added that the samemethod was used by 11th grade stu-dents during the biology and geog-raphy tests.

Earlier reports had indicated thatseveral accounts appeared on socialnetworks ahead of the exams, sellingdevices that could help studentscheat, such as digital watches andtiny earpieces that are hard todetect. The passing rate is expectedto increase in high schools becauseof the high rate of cheating, thesources said. So far, the ministryannounced that the passing rate inphysics was 80%, while five studentwere k icked out of the exam forcheating, which the sources saycould prove the theory that cheatingusing technology has happened.

KUWAIT: Out of keennesson fulfilling its communalduties through taking part inall activities oriented to pro-tecting Kuwait ’s environ-ment from pollution, theTouristic Enterprises Co.(TEC) recently took part insponsoring Kuwait DivingTeam projects designated toprotect and rehabilitateKuwait ’s marine environ-ment and stop pollution cre-ated by sea users throughboth raising public awarenessand removing wastes polluting marine life.

On this occasion, TEC’s acting PR and marketing manag-er, Sager Al-Bader stressed the significance of TEC’s partici-pation in such activities noting that TEC always providedmoral and financial support needed for all project thatserve Kuwait’s public interest. He added that TEC alsoencourages voluntary work.

TEC sponsors

Kuwait Diving

Team efforts

Sager Al-Bader

KUWAIT: Reliable sources said the Ministry of Commerceand Industry will soon lift a ban on some Japanese prod-ucts that were banned after the Fukushima nuclear disas-ter. They said the ban will be lifted after making sure aboutthe safety of products entering the country.

They said that concerned authorities have banned cer-tain products from countries with dangerous viruses thatthreaten public health, and products that have suspicionsabout their quality and validity.

The sources said there are strict restrictions on imports,as some business owners who aim at quick profits bypassthe law and bring in harmful products, but they areimpounded before they reach consumers.

Meanwhile the countdown to select heads of depart-ments in hospitals has begun, and it is supposed to be dur-ing July after the health ministry extended their tenure.

Informed health sources told Al-Anbaa said that allhealth zones sent their nominations to the ministry after itasked them to do so two weeks ago.

The sources said names of nominees to become headsof departments are now at the ministry and will bereviewed and decided upon soon. They said the change inheads of departments will be around 40 percent only.

Kuwait to lift ban

on Japan products

New labor survey

starts in OctoberKUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor’s assistantundersecretary for labor statistics Mona Al-Daas said that theministry has been preparing to conduct a labor survey for sixmonths that would be conducted according to the latestmethodologies that match ILO recommendations.

She added that the three-month survey to be conductedfrom October would be preceded by an experimental pollfrom June 15-27 on a selected number of families.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a special ceremo-ny held to honor labor statistics’ employees who took part in afield survey, Daas said the survey aims at having an accuratereading of the state’s manpower, which would positively helpdecision makers set policies the local labor market needs.

L O C A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

Photo of the day

KUWAIT: Camels graze in the desert off Salmi Road. — Photo by Chidi Emmanuel

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: As Ramadan draws near,prices of basic commoditiesremained stable though overallsales are on the rise. A survey ofprices of meat, fruits and vegeta-bles at Souq Al-Mubarakiya inKuwait City yesterday indicatedthat prices remained stable even as

traders noted an average 10 per-cent increase in sales overall.

“For the last three months, theprices of products here are thesame, but we have already noticedan increase in number of cus-tomers. There is no movement ofprices, we have enough supply wedon’t expect a shortage. So even ifRamadan comes, prices will be the

same,” said Ashraf, owner of a foodstall in Mubarakiya.

Souq Al-Mubarakiya is one ofthe most popular destinations forlocal produce, meats and especiallyspices during the holy month ofRamadan. Food consumption usu-ally doubles if not triples duringRamadan during the night aftermost of the country fasts fromdawn to dusk.

“Supplies nowadays are alsoincreasing — an indication thatsome are now busy preparing andbuying extra food items in anticipa-tion of Ramadan. My sales jumped10 percent already since last week,”Ashraf explained.

Shuraaf, a meat shop owner atMubarakiya reaffirmed the stabilityof prices, noting however thatgrowing demand and a drop insupply could result in price hikescloser to the holy month. “Most ofour meat products are from variouscountries. If there is shortage ofsupply, like sheep for example;there we can notice the sharpincrease. But so far, there is noshortage,” Shuraf noted.

Similar comments were made byfruit vendors. “The prices are all thesame, with no changes so far. Somevegetables that are coming fromSyria are no longer coming inbecause of the prevailing situationthere. We can get from manysources and it has never affectedthe prices of fruits and vegetableswe sell here. One of the fruits thatare very popular on the table ofArabs is fresh figs and they areavailable at KD 2.5 per kilo. They aremostly coming from Syria but weget it from Saudi now,” he added.

Dates, one of the most popular

and traditional Ramadan foods, hasalso maintained a stable priceband. According to AhmadAshkanani, a date trader atMubarakiya, “Dates are the onlyfood advised by the Prophet (pbuh)to be taken on an empty stomachright after the long day of fasting.So the government here monitorsus strictly. Just before Ramadan, weoften welcome municipality offi-cials to check the prices. There is noprice increase of dates, we havevarious sources of dates includingSaudi, Turkey, UAE and even Iraq,”he explained.

Dates range in price from KD1.5-KD 5 per kilo, depending on thevariety and origin and what type ofpreparation it passed through.“Normal dates which ripened innormal process are KD 1.5 per kiloeven if it’s from Kuwait or SaudiArabia. There are dates that areprocessed and cooked with spicesand seedless, their prices rangedfrom KD 2.5 to KD 5,” Ashkananisaid.

In Ramadan as well, there aredays that dates are sold very cheap-ly. “So don’t be confused, some-times instead of selling the dates inincreased price, we instead offer iton sale, meaning we can give up to50 percent discount. So, wait forthat day, when we sell our dates athalf price. Surely during Ramadan itwill happen,” he noted.

Dates are sold in half price ifthey have more than enough sup-plies. “Usually we have many sup-plies. So in order to dispose thesupplies, we need to come up withthe sale, we usually conduct thatduring first or second week ofRamadan,” he mentioned.

Prices at Mubarakiya Market remain stableMeat, fruit, vegetable sales increase 10

TOKYO: Strong bilateral relationsand mutual keenness on furtheringcooperation and exchangebetween Kuwait and Japan are evi-dent at times of trial, such as theMarch 11, 2011 quake and tsunamidisaster that rattled Japan, whenthe Kuwaiti people and govern-ment rushed to help in every waythey could. This sentiment wasexpressed by Kuwaiti Ambassadorhere Abdulrahman Humoud Al-Otaibi. The ambassador was on atour of Hokkaido, June 13-15, alongwith ambassadors of the GulfCoope-ration Council countriesupon invitation of Governor ofHokkaido, Harumi Takahashi.

The aim of the invitation andtour is to bolster cooperationbetween the GCC bloc and thenorthern Japanese Prefecture.

The ambassadors had also justtaken part in an economic forumon cooperation between the twosides. During the event, the ambas-sador stressed Kuwait aboundswith lucrative investment opportu-nities and reviewed aspects of theKuwaiti economy that are attractiveto investors.

In addition to the exchange andcooperation in the oil and relatedsectors, the two nations also coop-erate in the scientific, technological,and health spheres as well, he not-

ed. The economic event the ambas-sador took part in had been attend-ed by the Japanese DeputyEconomy, Trade, and IndustryMinister Midori Masushima,Hokkaido Governor Takahashi,mayors of several Hokkaidoregions, and over 100 figures fromthe business and economy sector.

During the visit, the GCC delega-tion had visited HokkaidoUniversity Hospital in the capitalcity, Sapporo, and were introducedto the latest methods and tech-nologies used in cancer treatmentat the facility, and feasibility ofbringing the technology over to theGCC states. There was also a visit tothe Hokkaido Islamic Society to seewhat kind of support could beextended for the benefit of theMuslim community, within theguidelines set by the local authori-ties.

The embassy seized the oppor-tunity of this gathering and visitsand distributed a publication print-ed in both English and Japaneseshowcasing the main historical,urban, and economic landmarks ofKuwait and shedding light oninvestment opportunities in thecountry. The publication also shedlight on the country’s respect ofHuman rights, women rights, anddemocratic practices. — KUNA

Kuwait-Japan relations strong, prospering KUWAIT: The labor strike at the Public Institution

for Social Security entered its second week Sundaywith no light at the end of the tunnel as govern-ment officials refuse to discuss their demandsunless they end their work stoppage. The laborunion’s lawyer was present at the PIFSS buildingSunday to reassure employees that their strike islegal, and that the management, Finance MinisterAnas Al-Saleh or any government official cannottake legal action against them.

Attorney Nawaf Al-Mutairi commented onleaflets that the PIFSS management handed to thestriking employees, warning them of penaltiesshould their work stoppage continue. Mutairi insist-ed that the warning letter is inappropriate, andaccused senior PIFSS officials of corruption, beinginvolved in wasta (connections), profiteering andtheft of public funds.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electricity and Waterappealed with power plant employees to avoidgoing on strike, saying that coordination is ongoingwith other state departments to meet their financialdemands as soon as possible. Minister Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim contacted Health Minister Dr Ali Al-Obaidiand concerned departments to finalize the neces-sary procedures to approve the allowances that theemployees demand, said Fouad Al-Oun, the assis-tant undersecretary for operations and mainte-nance of power and water desalination plants.

Dozens of power plant employees held a sit-in atthe ministry’s head office to demand payment ofallowances they say the ministry had promised topay them. Oun explained meanwhile that the min-istry could not simply sign a paper to pay theallowances before Ramadan as the protestorsdemand, appealing with employees to havepatience and allow the process to go through thecorrect channels.

Union fires back at PIFSS management

KUWAIT: Kuwait has no plans to remove subsi-dies from gasoline and cooking gas for now, inorder to avoid considerable price increases thatwill directly affect consumers. A FinanceMinistry committee was formed in recentmonths to find ways to curb the state’s gener-ous subsidization program to reduce currentspending amid concerns over the spendingrate’s long-term effect on the national budget.

The committee made a recommendation toremove subsidies from diesel, and the govern-ment took a decision accordingly that includesselling unsubsidized diesel at gas stations,while allowing companies and factories to haveaccess to subsidized diesel from three outletsthat the state controls in order to avoid priceinflation. The committee also recommended

that the government delays studying the possi-bility of lifting subsidies on petrol and cookinggas, because these are closely related to theneeds of citizens that the state is keen to ensureare covered by subsidization, Al-Anbaa dailyreported yesterday quoting sources withknowledge of the committee’s thinking.

Earlier reports had also suggested that thecommittee recommended categorizing electric-ity and water consumers based on consump-tion level and limiting heavy users’ access tosubsidized energy. The category system pro-posed stipulates that subsidization wouldreduce gradually the more consumption levelincreases. There is no set date currently forwhen the government could put the commit-tee’s recommendation into effect.

No current plans toend gas subsidization

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairsplans to bring imams and da’iyas (preachers) fromdifferent Islamic and Arab countries to Kuwait inpreparation for Ramadan.

The ministry will sign contracts with 75 imamswho will be distributed to different mosquesaround Kuwait at the holy month, in addition to 25da’iyas, said Waleed Al-Shuwaib, the Assistant

Undersecretary for the Mosques Department.The senior official also indicated that the min-

istry is keen on choosing qualified preachers withgood reputations in order to attract more worship-pers.

“The ministry is working to provide all means ofcomfort for prayer and tackle problems that couldaffect worshippers,” he added.

Ministry to hire more imams for Ramadan

KUWAIT: Scenes from the Al-Mubarakiya market yesterday. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

p3.e$S_Layout 1 6/16/14 9:40 PM Page 1

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

Fighting terrorism

via education

Local Spotlight

Can we fight terrorism through education? Yes we can.Outdated education facilitates the rise of extremist ide-ologies, because it acts as a base for the birth of new

terror cells. Al-Qaeda, ISIL, Muslim Brotherhood, etc - different names

that have been internationally labeled as terrorist groups withhundreds of young followers and believers. Terror is a popularproduct now. Politicians use terror to either justify their illactions or kill more people. Media channels are being boughtto sell their ideas and justifying killings. Terror is now beingused as a weapon rather than a phenomenon that need to beaddressed and stopped.

How easy is it to fight terrorism through education?Education in a place like Kuwait needs monitoring and updat-ing of curricula to ensure a society free from conservativeideas. We need to call for promoting a strong education sys-tem as a way to counter extremism from its roots, especiallyyoung followers. We need an education that empowers theimage of women as partners and associates and not tools ofmale satisfaction.

I don’t think for a second it is impossible except it is not aneasy mission because we have governments, organizationsand even individuals who make money out of terror. So thecrisis of a people is an advantage for others!

We need an education that calls for freedom of expressionand beliefs and democracy and equality, while observing theneeds of modern life and economic growth. This is the realeducation we need in Kuwait to stop the spread of wrongideas among the youth.

The Kuwaiti government must double its budget for edu-cation. We need more seats for Kuwaiti students overseas .Wedon’t have roundtable discussions for Kuwaiti students inhigh schools to learn what they really need or wish to have intheir educational program. The lack of a reform program ineducation is a shame for a rich country like Kuwait.

I was not surprised to see some Kuwaitis encouraging ter-ror groups in Iraq and Syria, because the education they grewup with approves it. We should not waste time and start tak-ing precautionary measures to stop the spread of terror cells.

UN medal for

Sheikh Nasser

kuwait digest

By Abdullah Buwair

L O C A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

It has no longer become possible or acceptable for thegovernment and state establishments, especially theones that originated after the so-called ‘era of Islamic

awakening’, to continue going along with terrorism andsupporting religious extremism and intolerance. Endingthe alliance between the conservative administrations inthe region, especially Kuwait, and extremist religiousgroups has become necessary to protect national securi-ty and people’s lives and properties.

Since the religious suppression (referring to the afore-mentioned awakening era) began coincidently with theparliament’s dissolution in 1976, and the coup ofEgyptian President Anwar Al-Sadat against the July 23revolution, the government in Kuwait allowed religiousgroups to have total control.

State establishments wore the religious cloak, and thegeneral policies of the state on the economic, social andpolitical scenes were subjected to the desires and adven-tures of religious extremists who have since acted as theactual rulers of the country without consideration of thestate’s system, the tolerant nature of its people, or evenits laws and constitution.

They kept releasing ‘decisions’ and drawing policiesthat have the same power as laws but contradict the con-

stitution and true Kuwaiti tradition. In the meantime, thegovernment failed to move or seek to enforce the lawand constitution.

And now as terrorism stands at our doors, or actuallyexists within, the government is required to make up itsmind and decide to end its spoiling of and ‘generous’ andtolerant sponsorship for terrorism and terrorists. I am notcalling for anyone to be persecuted, or for depriving anyparty or individual of their political or general rights. I amcalling however for order, enforcement of general princi-ples and reverting back to the regulations of constitu-tional rule - not the visions of religious groups.

I am calling for an immediate return of the civil face ofthe state, and ending all kinds of religious ‘heresy’ thatthe government has practiced since the 1976 parliamentdissolution. This is inevitable, and there is no longer a jus-tification in light of the current tensions to continueappeasement of those who seek to undermine the gen-eral system and eliminate the civil orientation of thestate. The battle between civil forces and religious trendsis not looming, but already in motion. All the govern-ment has to do is to choose, today and not tomorrow,which side to take.

— Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Qabas

Sponsorship for terrorism

kuwait digest

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

By Labeed Abdal

Labeed.abdal@gmail.co

The Los Angeles Times wrote recently an extensivereport covering the direct talks between officialsfrom the United States of America and Iran,

regarding the latter’s nuclear program. US DeputySecretary of State William Burns met his Iranian coun-terpart Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi andtheir negotiating teams to discuss ways to revive thestalled nuclear negotiations.

There is no doubt in my mind that these talks willlead to the expected and desired results, as I do not findmyself sharing the skepticisms, apprehensions and mis-givings that many people have on this issue.

Opening direct negotiation channels between Iranand the P5+1 group of world powers under theUnited Nation’s umbrella, or between Iran and each ofthese countries individually, is a great opportunity todiscuss different opinions and come up with interna-tionally acceptable controls regarding the use ofnuclear reactors.

The US, United Kingdom, Russia, China and France -the permanent members of the UN Security Council,plus Germany, which is a key trade partner of Iran,together play a key role in maintaining internationalpeace and security through the negotiations.

I hope that they continue playing the same role onthe international scene, and avoid superpower strug-gles that happen directly or indirectly and politicalquarrels with regrettable consequences.

In my view

Members of Kuwait’s delegation in the UnitedNations handed over a historical UN document toHis Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-

Sabah, which is the official accreditation as Kuwait’s firstpermanent envoy to the UN in Geneva.

The event was a documentation for a relationshipbetween the State of Kuwait and the United Nations, andhalf a century of successful journey that was started bySheikh Nasser. Since then Kuwait has been able to stronglyrepresent its interests in front of the United Nations and itsdifferent organizations.

Sheikh Nasser left clear impressions in anchoring therelationship between the State of Kuwait and UN organiza-tions in Geneva, stemming from his studies of economicsand political sciences at Switzerland’s finest universities in1964, and his fluency in French, English, Persian in additionto Arabic. His career reflected positively on the ambassa-dors that followed him in continuing the path of servingthe causes of Kuwait, the Arab and Islamic world sand allhumanitarian causes around the world.

It is not strange that Sheikh Nasser received manymedals in appreciation for his achievements. The latest ofwhich he received from the University of Bologna, whichawarded him with its highest level academic medal for hisefforts in encouraging cultural dialogue amongst nations.

Sheikh Nasser joins an elite group of political and reli-gious leaders as well as ideologists and scientists whoreceived the Magnum Sigillum medal, such as the PopeJohn Paul II, the late Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia SutabBin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker, Italy’s former Prime Minister Romano Prodi,and former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl.

Founded in 1088, the University of Bologna, is widelyrecognized as the oldest university in continuous opera-tion, considering that it was the first to use the term univer-sitas for the corporations of students and masters whichcame to define the institution. The university’s Rector IvanoDionigi said that His Highness Sheikh Nasser deserved tobe honored with the medal for his efforts in diplomacy andservices to his country.

Some 270 Palestinian prisoners are on hunger strike,including 75 men who have been admitted to Israeli hos-pitals after 48 days of a hunger strike protesting Israel’s

policy of administrative detention. Palestinian officials are ask-ing for international intervention against Israel over the policy,which allows Israel to imprison Palestinians without charges ortrial for six months a time.

“We call on you to call on Israel to annul the policy ofadministrative detention and to condition deepening yourbilateral ties with Israel pending Israel’s fulfilment of all its obli-gations,” Palestinian official Saeb Erekat wrote in a letter sent tomembers of the European Union and the United Nations.

Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizmann saidthat the 75 Palestinian administrative detainees are spread outamong 12 hospitals. All are drinking water and taking vitaminand salt supplements. She said that none of them is in immi-nent danger of dying but their condition is serious.

“I’m not a doctor, but I can say that if someone fasts for amonth and a half, they are not in the same health situationthey were in before,” she said.

It is the longest mass hunger strike in recent history.Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups say the men are chained tothe bed, and have to ask guards permission to use the bath-room. They have not been allowed family visits, and say thatsome of them are in a life-threatening situation.

“Some of them are suffering from serious symptoms includ-ing low blood pressure and they have lost a lot of weight,”Sahar Francis, a lawyer and the director of Addameer, an NGOthat supports the rights of Palestinian prisoners said. “Some ofthem are losing consciousness, and two prisoners were inintensive care.”

The Palestinian street is also mobilizing in support of theadministrative detainees. The owners of the Zman cafe, atrendy restaurant in Ramallah, closed the restaurant down ear-lier this week as part of a Palestinian commercial strike in soli-darity with the prisoners.

“We are usually open 24/7 and we largely do not agree withclosing down businesses to protest because we feel it is detri-mental to Palestinian economic activity,” co-owner Huda Jacksaid. “However, in the last 30 days, we have gladly closed downtwice.” The first time, she says, was on May 20 to protest Israel’skilling of two Palestinian teenagers who were killed on “Nakbaday”, the day Palestinians celebrate the catastrophe of the cre-ation of Israel. The Israeli army is still investigating the incident,but human rights groups have said the two were not involvedin anti-Israel demonstrations at the time. The second time sheclosed was in solidarity with the Palestinian administrativedetainees.

Based on a 1945 British law, administrative detention allowsIsrael to jail Palestinian prisoners for six months at a time with-out presenting any charges or evidence. In some cases, themove is used to protect Israeli intelligence assets, or methodsof surveillance. Of the 5,300 Palestinian prisoners currently inIsraeli jails, some 190 are in administrative detention. “I thinkadministrative detention is legitimate only in the case of a “tick-ing bomb” when somebody is about to plant a bomb and youcan’t divulge the way you got that information,” lawyerJonathan Livny, who served as a military court judge for morethan 20 years said. “All other cases should be based on actualevidence presented in court.”

Palestinians in the West Bank, which is under Israeli control,are subject to Israeli military law and military courts. SaharFrancis of Addameer says Israel uses administrative detentionas a political tool and frequently renews the six-month deten-tion orders repeatedly. Six members of the PalestinianLegislative Council are currently in jail under administrativedetention orders.

Israeli legal experts say that Israeli Jews and Arab citizens ofIsrael can also be arrested under administrative detentionorders but it is done infrequently. In both cases, the detentionis subject to judicial review every six months, but in Israel thatreview is done by a civilian court, while in the West Bank it iscarried out by a military court.

“Administrative detention is not necessarily anti-democrat-ic,” Barak Medina, an expert on human rights at the faculty oflaw at Hebrew University said. “But it should be the rare excep-tion and narrowly tailored rather than for mass use. I don’tbelieve that hundreds of Palestinians who are arrested are con-templating terror activity.” — The Media Line

Palestinians on

hunger strike

kuwait digest

By Linda Gradstein

The Kuwaiti people are showing dissatisfactionabout unconfirmed news of thefts, in addition tomultibillion gifts presented to other states and gov-

ernments. The rumors are yet to be confirmed, but wherethere is smoke, there is fire.

There were a lot of news about huge thefts, bloatedbank accounts and names of banks involved. The num-bers mentioned could be inaccurate, but they causedanger and confusion among Kuwaitis.

And while people are becoming increasingly doubtfulof the integrity of some officials, the government is mak-ing careless decisions which are not related to politics atall. It plans to raise the prices of services and to removethe subsidies from some consumer products; a veryunfortunate step that comes at a very bad time.

People are not against taking measures to stop wastein public services, but to raise the prices in such aprovocative way while the government fails to take anyaction to improve the services is an unwise step.

What is the fault of a citizen who has power discon-nected from his house, because he could not pay his billsdue to the complicated mechanisms applied at theMinistry of Electricity and Water?

The situation is difficult to contain, and our countryhas become implicated with problems caused by someofficials and their failed decisions, as well as their failureto address corruption which led to the demise of othercountries in recent years.

— Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Qabas

Bad decisions at wrong time

kuwait digest

By Jaber Al-Hajri

Students’

diplomacy

In my view

By Abdullah H. Erakat

Until this week, Al-Quds University fresh-man Sama Dabait had never met a Jew.Curious, she joined a three-day program

that brought six students from Brandeis, anAmerican university with a large Jewish popula-tion, to visit Al-Quds in the West Bank.

“It’s a new experience for me to listen to ideasfrom other views of the conflict,” she said. Sheadmits that at first she had concerns because sheis Palestinian and the Brandeis University stu-dents are Jewish.

“Before they came my thoughts were that wewouldn’t get along together, but when we met itwas totally different, I learned a lot. It won’t beeasy for me to say goodbye,” she said.

Hosted by the student affairs department ofAl-Quds University, officials at BrandeisUniversity were aware of the three day exchangeprogram, which was a student initiative on bothsides. Brandeis suspended its long relationshipwith Al-Quds last November after an on-campusrally where Palestinian demonstrators wore skimasks and carried fake weapons. The demonstra-tion also featured posters of “martyred”Palestinian suicide bombers. Brandeis PresidentFred Lawrence said the university cannot “turn ablind eye to intolerance” and suspended thepartnership, saying it could be reevaluatedbased on future events.

The Brandeis students who came to the WestBank said the tensions between the two institu-tions should not affect the trip.

“Regardless of any decisions universitiesmake, we wanted to be able to take matters intoour own hands and meet people if we want tomeet them,” said Brandeis student Catie Stewart,one of the organizers of the trip.

The students visited Ramallah, Jerusalem andJericho together. They also held a session at AlQuds University, talking about peace, stereo-types, fears and the future.

“If that kind of relationship existed, we valueit. And that’s why we decided to do this,” saidBrandeis student Eli Philips, who organized thetrip with Stewart. The trip was funded from agrant obtained from the US-based Davis ProjectFor Peace.

The aim of the program is to have more dia-logue between Palestinians and American Jews.Philips said there was some opposition to thetrip from American Jews.

“ There are always people who say “don’tcome”, he said. “What was most inspiring for mewas the amount of support that we received. Al-Quds University has been extremely supportive,so welcoming.”

Like Palestinian Sama, American Jewish stu-dent Elizabeth Villano was also nervous aboutmeeting Palestinians for the first time.

“The first Palestinian I ever met was on thefirst day of this program. I wasn’t sure we couldfind any common ground and not really surehow it would play out,” she said. “Now after threedays, I feel like I have made a lot of really goodfriends. We do have a lot of tense moments, but Ithink it’s a constructive dialogue,” Villano said,adding that her father and brother tried to talkher out of being involved in what she describesas a ‘life changing event.’

Both sides had a chance to listen to each oth-er’s narrative and gain insight into perspectivesthat they had never heard before. Palestiniansand American Jews who participated both said itis important to experience the reality first hand.

“I feel as Palestinians we really need to expressourselves more often to outsiders or foreigners,”said Nour Hamayel.

“I think it’s a really good thing that two aca-demic institutions, an American Jewish one, anda Palestinian one could have a partnershiptogether,” Brandeis student Mitch Mankin said. “Ithink it’s good to see what life looks on theground for both peoples.”

Palestinian Rand Shaar, a political sciencemajor, heard about this exchange from one ofher professors and got involved because she wasinterested in ‘breaking down the barriers’between the sides and hearing ‘the other pointof view.’ “We can find a common ground whereyou can discuss and talk,” the third year studentsaid adding that she encourages everyone to‘keep an open mind.’

“It seems they would like to establish anall iance between the students of Al-QudsUniversity and students of Brandeis University,”Al-Quds University President Imad Abukisheksaid.

He says the Brandeis students considered themove by the university administration to sus-pend the ties with the Palestinian university tobe ‘biased’ and ‘unacceptable’ and says this meet-ing came about because they wanted to see Al-Quds University for themselves.

Brandeis University student organizer Stewartagreed. “When we have a relationship like this,it’s much easier to hold each other accountableto be in conversation. If we don’t have a relation-ship, there’s no ability to do that. So it’s impor-tant that we understand the culture, and thepeople. Without that, there’s no way to bridgethat gap,” said Stewart.

Abukishek said he considers Brandeis to be amodel for Al-Quds because of its ‘prestigious’reputation and ‘long history of teaching.’ He saidhe regrets the suspension of their close ties.

— The Media Line

International

peace, security

Both sides had a chance to listen toeach other’s narrative and gaininsight into perspectives that theyhad never heard before.

LO C A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

KUWAIT: The Cabinet has reaffirmedKuwait’s support for Iraq’s security, stabilityand territorial integrity, while voicing confi-dence in the Iraqi people’s ability to over-come this distress soon. The position wasmade during a weekly Cabinet meetingheld at Seif Palace yesterday under chair-manship of His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

During the meeting, First Deputy PrimeMinister and Foreign Minister Sheikh SabahKhaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah briefed theministers on the findings of a recent Arabministerial meeting on Iraq, Minister ofState for Cabinet Affairs and Acting JusticeMinister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said in news remarks fol-lowing the meeting.

Sheikh Sabah Khaled quoted the finalcommuniquÈ of the meeting as stressingIraq’s sovereignty, security, stability andnational unity and rejecting interference in

its internal affairs, and condemning all ter-rorist acts in Iraq.

In their concluding statement, the Arabforeign ministers also urged all politicalparties and forces to get engaged in seri-ous and comprehensive dialogue in orderto face perilous threats to their country, hesaid.

The Cabinet was also apprised of theoutcomes of a recent meeting of Arab andEU foreign ministers in Athens.

The Cabinet ministers then reviewed arecent letter sent to His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahfrom outgoing Lebanese President MichelSleiman, thanking Kuwait for supportinghis country’s security and stability.

They then listened to a briefing bySheikh Sabah Khaled on the outcomes ofhis recent visit to Greece and Hungary tomark the 50th anniversary of forging diplo-matic relations with both friendly countries.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved sever-al draft laws on agreements and memos ofunderstanding between Kuwait and othercountries.

The Cabinet also asked the minister ofstate for cabinet affairs to supervise theCommunication and InformationTechnology Authority in line with Law No.37/2014. The ministers finally discussedseveral reports on the current politicaldevelopments on both Arab and interna-tional arenas.

Syrian refugeesKuwait is in the lead of countries lend-

ing a hand to alleviate the suffering ofSyrian refugees, stressed UN HighCommissioner for Refugees representativein Lebanon, Ninette Kelly, yesterday.

The official made the remark during hermeeting with a Kuwaiti parliament delega-tion headed by Speaker Marzouq Al-

Ghanem short of its planned visit to Syrianrefugee camps in the Beqaa region in theeast of the country.

The Kuwaiti delegation intends toassess, first-hand, the situation in therefugee camps and is visiting upon invita-tion extended to the speaker, currentspeaker of the Arab parliament, by a UNrefugee affairs official in Lebanon.

The latest statistics indicate the numberof Syrian refugees in Lebanon exceeded amillion people, mostly given shelter in theBeqaa, Akkar, Tripoli, and Manyeh areas.

A host of Kuwaiti charities and volunteergroups organize ongoing relief campaignsto help Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Turkey,and Jordan. These include Zakat House, theRed Crescent Society, Al-RahmaInternational, International IslamicCharitable Organization, Social ReformSociety, Society for the Revival of IslamicHeritage, and many others. — KUNA

Kuwait reiterates support for Iraq security, stabilityWeekly Cabinet meeting

BEIRUT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem pictured during his tour to Syrian refugee camps in the Eastern Lebanese city of Beqaa.

BEIRUT: Kuwait’s National Assembly Speakerand Head of the Arab Inter-ParliamentaryUnion Marzouq Al-Ghanem yesterday reiterat-ed Kuwait’s commitment to help Lebanondeal with economic and social burden causedby the non-stop influx of Syrian refugees intoits territories.

“Kuwaitis and Arabs would not let Lebanontackle this problem alone,” Al-Ghanem toldreporters during a tour to Syrian refugeecamps in the Eastern Lebanese city of Beqaa.

“It is a humanitarian, religious and nationalobligation to offer a helping hand to ourbrothers and sisters in Syria and Lebanon.” Hepointed out that his visit is meant to getacquainted with the situation of the refugees,the services provided to them as well as theirneeds.

“This would end up with a number of prac-tical measures to help alleviate the sufferingof Syrian refugees and ease the burden onLebanese government and people,” he said.For his part, Lebanese Social Affairs MinisterRashid Darbas welcomed Al-Ghanem’s visit to

Lebanon and tour to the Syrian refugeecamps. He spoke highly about Kuwait’s lead-ing role in addressing the humanitarian crisiscaused by the Syrian conflict.

Darbas hoped the visit would be a start ofnew Arab and international initiatives to aidLebanon. Ninette Kelley, UNHCRRepresentative in Lebanon, expressed grati-tude for Kuwait’s generous humanitarian aidto Syrian refugees.

She stated that Lebanon’s host of 1.1 mil-lion Syrian refugees is imposing huge chal-lenges to the potential of this small country.Kelley acclaimed Al-Ghanim’s visit to therefugee camps.

Al-Ghanem, heading a parliamentary dele-gation, and Chairman of Kuwait-basedInternational Islamic Charity Organization(IICO), Amiri Diwan Advisor andRepresentative of the UN Secretary Generalfor Humanitarian Affairs Abdullah Al-Maatouqstarted Sunday a three-day visit to Lebanon toget first-hand view and information aboutSyrian refugee camps and their needs.

The visit comes upon invitations from theMENA regional office of the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees andLebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.During the visit, Al-Ghanem will meet repre-sentatives of humanitarian organizations

catering for Syrian refugees to discuss theirneeds.

He will also hold talks with Lebanese coun-terpart Berri on a wide array of issues includ-ing bilateral relations and developments inLebanon and the region. —KUNA

Kuwait committed to help Lebanon deal with influx of Syrian refugees

VIENNA: “The recent official visit by the Kuwaiti FirstDeputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was an all-round success,partly a reflection of the strong diplomatic relations thecountry has with Hungary, dating back a half-century,”said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade TiborNavracsics, yesterday.

The minister expressed hope the visit would helpexpand cooperation particularly in the fields of invest-ment, agriculture, and water resource management.“Kuwait is our first partner in the Gulf ... and this is anopportunity to begin a new chapter in our relations.”

Describing his talks with Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid asproductive, the minister added the two nations are tosee their cooperation enhanced even more with therecent signing of several agreements. The new agree-ments are in the fields of agriculture, services, waterresource management and are hoped to serve as work-ing framework for regular and strong bilateral exchange.

Minister Navracsics said he had received an invitationfrom his guest to visit Kuwait, and noted he would bepleased to honor it. The timing of the visit would bedecided in coordination with the two sides, he said.

The minister also praised the Kuwaiti Ambassador Dr.Hamad Burhama for his efforts to help boost coopera-tion and exchange.

Reflecting on bilateral relations initiated in 1964, theminister said that “Kuwait is Hungary’s first ally in theGulf and closest friendly nation in the region.”

The minister recalled “numerous and immense chal-lenges the two nations had to overcome in the past 50years.” He recalled his country’s switch to democracy andjoining NATO and the EU, along with Kuwait’s increas-ingly prominent role in Middle East and internationalaffairs in the 20th and the 21st century.

Turning to the future, he said the two countries needto “rise to the challenge inherent in an atmosphere ofglobalization and to seize opportunities wherever possi-ble.”

The official then remarked that the Hungarian gov-ernment intends to maintain its open policies of 2010,and is therefore keen on bolstering relations withKuwait on all levels, along with other countries. “Wehave worked together for a more peaceful and prosper-ous future for our peoples, and our two nations’ sharedvalues lend added momentum along this course, whichmeans our bilateral relations would see further boom inthe next 50 years,” the minister concluded. —KUNA

New chapter inKuwait-Hungary

relations

Some of the birdsseen in Kuwait.

Birds bravescorching

summer heatKUWAIT: Chirping birds break Kuwait’s dawns and newdays’ serenity and take advantage of the moderately hotwee hours, flapping their wings in the skies above urbanand rural areas in search for nutritional giving by thenature or the residents.

The birds, mainly “Al-Zarazeer” (plural for Zarzour) sur-vive on trees’ fruits, namely unripe dates-nowadays quitevisible dangling from the high palm trees lining the streetsor decorating the parks-scraps of food namely bread leftbehind by people at tree-shaded public places, parks oraround restaurants and beverages’ kiosks.

They drink and freshen up at pools of water amongshrubs or on shaded alleys’ sides and corners.

No limits for their habitat; they own the skies and theterrain and brave the scorching summer heat by easilyfinding shelter in cracks of buildings facades, in the heartof trees and among the green leafy plants. —KUNA

L O C A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

KUWAIT: Two Asian women sustained burns when a huge fire broke out in an illegal 40 sq m warehouse used to store used tyres and furniture in Jleeb. The warehouse was in the basement of an 8-storey building, and firemen splitinto three teams - one to fight the fire, one to rescue the trapped tenants including two injured people on the seventh floor and the third to clear an escape route and ventilate the building. — By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Police are looking to arrest a manaccused of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend andleaving her naked in a street in Jahra. According tothe police report, a lawyer who was driving in thearea saw the woman, covered her with his courtrobe and called police. The man helped thewoman to the police station where she told offi-cers that her ex-boyfriend kidnapped her while shewas on her way to visit her sister. She added thatthe bedoon man raped her, took photos of her, lefther in public and fled. Investigations are ongoing.

Teen molester Police arrested a teenager while a search is on

for accomplices who helped him assault a 14-year-old boy physically and sexually. The victim’s fatherfiled a case at the Qairawan police station, sayingthat the incident happened Saturday night.According to his statements, the suspects took hisson to a park in the area after beating him up,molested him and escaped. Police managed toarrest the prime suspect, a 19-year-old Americanof Arab descent, while investigations are ongoingto arrest the others.

Fugitives releasedTwo men reported missing by their employers

were released two hours after their arrest followinga senior Interior Ministry official’s intervention, alocal daily reported yesterday. Sources quoted in thereport said that the two were among three Indianmen who were arrested during a recent crackdown.Two hours later, the police station’s director receiveda call from a senior ministry official who asked forthe two men to be released, which is what hap-pened, the sources said. The report does not namethe official in question, and only mentions that thepolice station where the two men were held is locat-ed in the Capital governorate.

Brutal assaultInvestigations are ongoing in a case involving a

man who said he was brutally assaulted by anarmed suspect who left him critically wounded onthe Sixth Ring Road. The Egyptian man told policethat he was sitting in his car on the side of theroad to monitor workers nearby, when a pickuptruck approached his vehicle. A man came out ofthe truck with a gun in hand and used it to beathim after dragging him out of his car, according tohis statement. He added that the gun dischargedwhile the suspect was beating him with it, but thebullet missed him. The man gave police a medicalreport showing injuries in the head and chestareas. A search is ongoing for the suspect basedon descriptions that the victim provided.

Liquor factoryPolice discovered an illegal alcohol ‘factory’ in

Jaber Al-Ahmad during a raid. Patrol officers sus-pected an Asian man who was behaving abnor-mally near a workers’ residence in the area. Theynoticed while placing him under arrest that anearby room had its door open, with a foul odoremanating from inside. They entered the placeand discovered 27 barrels filled with homebrewedliquor, in addition to tools used in manufacturingalcoholic drinks. The man was taken to the author-ities to face charges.

Policemen offendedTwo police officers accused a lawyer of assault-

ing them verbally at a checkpoint on FahaheelExpressway. The man reportedly tried to explain toofficers that his license was confiscated, then start-ed mocking them after he failed to talk them outof issuing him a traffic ticket. He was arrested andtaken to the police station where he was chargedfor offending police officers on duty.

Cafe closedA Salmiya cafe was closed after pornography

was shown on TV there. A detective off dutynoticed after entering the cafe that a number of

expatriate men were suspiciously gatheredaround a TV set. He called back up after discover-ing that the men were watching porn, and policesoon arrived and placed the supervisor underarrest. The cafe was closed, and police are workingon summoning its owner for questioning.

Woman raped, left

naked on street‘Wasta’ frees two fugitives

KUWAIT: Kuwait is to observe the ‘WorldDay to Combat Desertification’, today.This year’s theme is “Land Belongs to theFuture, Let’s Climate Proof It” that high-lights the benefits of mainstreaming sus-tainable land management policies andpractices into collective response to cli-mate change.

The theme of this year was chosen toincrease awareness about the potentialof ecosystem-based adaptation as astrategy for coping with the impacts ofclimate change, especially in the dry-lands.

Ecosystem-based adaptation meansthe strengthening of natural systems tocushion the worst impacts of climatechange. When ecosystems are healthy,they are less vulnerable to the impactsand hazards of climate change.

On this occasion, Head of KuwaitOasis Team of the EnvironmentalVoluntary Foundation Khaled Al-Kulaibsaid that degraded areas occupies 10% ofthe country’s land; hence, comes theimportance of Kuwait Oasis project’s mis-sion that strives to increase the greenfoot print in the Kuwaiti deserts in inten-tion to bring back life to the deserts of

Kuwait.Al-Kulaib pointed out that the project

was established in 2006 where hundredsof trees were planted in desert areas. In2010, the Kuwait Oasis team launched“Kuwait Green Wall Project”; its biggestenvironmental initiation where addition-al thousands of trees were plantedthrough the help of almost 200 employ-ees and students.

As for marking WDCD today, Al-Kulaibexplained that phase two of KuwaitGreen Wall Project will put into action bytransferring water tanks to the degradedareas. He added that 400 students fromfour different schools as well as 200employees from the PetrochemicalIndustries Company (PIC) will getinvolved in the process.

In 1994, the United Nations GeneralAssembly declared June 17 the WorldDay to Combat Desertification andDrought to promote public awareness ofthe issue, and the implementation of theUnited Nations Convention to CombatDesertification (UNCCD) in those coun-tries experiencing serious droughtand/or desertification, particularly inAfrica. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Narcotics detectives recently arrest-ed a citizen with possession of one kilo of ice,half a kilo of hashish, 1,000 psychotropic pillsand live ammunition. Detectives had beentipped off concerning the suspect’s activity.Following investigations and getting asearch warrant, the suspect’s house was raid-ed where the police found the drugs and theammo. — By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Kuwait to observe ‘World Day

to Combat Desertification’

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunica-tions company in Kuwait, was honored bythe Arab Media Forum for its successful par-ticipation and Diamond sponsorship of the11th edition of the forum. The Arab MediaForum was held in Kuwait on April underthe patronage of His Highness the PrimeMinister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-HamadAl-Sabah with the presence of Prince BaderBin Abdulmohsen.

Zain explained that it was recognizedduring the honoring ceremony held in theRegency Hotel to honor sponsors, partici-pants, and volunteers for their efforts inmaking the latest edition of the forum asuccess. This year’s edition witnessed theattendance of His Highness the PrimeMinister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-HamadAl-Sabah and Prince Bader BinAbdulmohsen and the Minister of

Information Sheikh Salman Al-Homoud Al-Sabah as well as Arab Information Ministersand a large number of senior local and for-eign media executives and journalists, aca-demics interested in media issues, andmajor public figures and businessmen.

The company stated that its sponsorshipof this year’s Arab Media Forum affirmed itscommitment to the advancement of localand regional press and media. The companyparticipated in discussions during theforum to explore how to improve the over-all Arab media involvement, in addition toexploring the possible development ofArab media journalists’ skills.

Zain underlined that it will continue sup-porting this very important sector whichcarries significant and informative messag-ing to the public at large and the communi-cations world as a whole.

Zain honored for

sponsoring

Arab Media Forum

KUWAIT: Ali Abdulwahab Al-Mutawa CommercialCo. (AAW), one of Kuwait’s leading medical distribu-tion companies and the main distributor of RochePharmaceuticals in Kuwait, yesterday announced adonation of over KD 100,000 of the cancer-fightingmedicine “MabThera” to the International IslamicCharity Organization (IICO).

The Kuwait-based charity IICO will be distribut-ing the medicine to 100 non-Hodgkin lymphoma(NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)cancer patients in Kuwait who cannot afford themedicine. AAW Chairman and Managing Director,Faisal Al-Mutawa said: “There is a consensus amongexperts that Kuwait is facing specific health chal-lenges and steep rise in cancer patients. At AAW, webelieve that we have a moral and social responsibili-ty to help patients who cannot afford treatment andoften work with local non-profit organizations toensure the efficient delivery of our donated medi-cines, and to make sure they reach the right people.”

According to the World Cancer Factsheet by TheWorld Health Organization, non-Hodgkin lym-phoma is the most prevalent cancer for males inKuwait andone of the top five cancer deaths amongboth men and women in Kuwait. The World HealthOrganization attributed 12.7% of deaths in Kuwait

to cancer and the organization project the percent-age will grow to 17.2% by the year 2030.

AAW was awarded last month for this generouscontribution in a ceremony under the patronage ofHE the Minister of Health, Dr Ali Al-Obaidi and in theattendance of Mohammad Al-Otaibi and SheikhFahad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

As part of AAW’s ongoing effort to help cancerpatients in Kuwait, the company through itsChairman and Managing Director, Faisal AliAbdulwahab Al-Mutawa, made a long-standingdonation to Hayatt Breast Cancer Foundation byproviding the non-profit organization with offices inShuwaikh.

World-class brands AAW also has an on-going commitment in cor-

porate social responsibility in more than half adozen fields. In the last 10 years, AAW has con-tributed yearly to NGOs similar to InternationalIslamic Charity Organization which also includeCancer Awareness Nation (CAN), the Human RightsWatch, and the Women’s Social and Cultural Societyfor causes like human rights, helping children withterminal illnesses, and aid to Syrian families.

Ali Abdulwahab Al Mutawa Commercial Co.

(AAW) is one of the largest trading and commercialcompanies in Kuwait, operating in seven diversebusiness sectors and distributes in Kuwait’s surgingwholesale, retail and consumer market over 100 dif-ferent global brands, including world-class brands

such as Procter and Gamble, Clorox, Roche, Takeda,Biotronik, Nuxe, Bioderma, Nolte Group, La Cornue,Bosch, Siemens, The North Face, Coleman, Nike, TheAthlete’s Foot, Crocs, Puma, Shoebox New York,among many others.

AAW’s continuously growing business linesinclude Consumer Goods, Furniture, Kitchens, HomeAppliances, Outdoor Gear and Equipment, Sportsand Fashion, Real Estate, and Pharmaceuticalswhere it is a leading wholesale and retail distributorof pharmaceutical and medical products. It alsoholds a renowned portfolio of principals like Pfizerand Novo Nordisk distributed through its subsidiarySafwan Trading and Contracting (Safwan). Safwan islisted on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

The International Islamic Charity Foundation(IICO) is an independent non-political organizationthat is established, managed and operated inKuwait, and offers a wide range of pure humanitari-an services. IICO was founded to meet the increas-ing urgent needs in poor societies especially Muslimcountries and communities where poverty, illitera-cy, unemployment, diseases, famine and other diffi-cult situations are persisting.

IICO is working worldwide, and provides servicesfor people all over the world regardless of their raceor nationality. IICO provides help for the needy insocial economical, educational, medical, and cultur-al fields as well as urgent relief aids in case of war,natural disasters, epidemics, famines and similar cir-cumstances.

KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait is proud toannounce the inauguration of its new branchin Al-Shaab residential area in the HawalliGovernorate. ABK’s expansion plan is part ofits strategic initiative of reinforcing its domes-tic presence, and being easily accessible to itsvalued customers.

Yesterday, Al-Shaab branch was inaugurat-ed by Retd. General Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al- Sabah, the Governor of Hawalli. The

opening was attended by the DeputyChairman Talal Behbehani, along with theExecutive Management of the Bank and VIPcustomers and guests. At the occasion TalalBehbehani commented “ABK would like itspresence at locations convenient to the cus-tomer, and strives to give its loyal customerspremium quality financial and banking servic-es. Also, opening another branch in the HawalliGovernorate strengthens the Bank’s presence

here.” Behbehani added, “We are grateful toRetd. General Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al AhmedAl Sabah for taking precious time off his busyschedule to do us the honors.”

He concluded, “Our new branch is fullyequipped to deliver quality customer care.Extending our branches network to 29 is justanother way to ensure the highest standard ofquality and care is maintained, which is ofprime importance to ABK.”

KUWAIT: Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al- Sabah, Talal Behbehani and other dignitaries at the opening Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait newbranch in Al-Shaab residential area. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

ABK opens a new branch in Al Shaab

AAW donates KD 100,000 to help treat lymphoma cancer patients

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

Religious riots kill 3 in Sri Lanka resorts

Page 12

Iranian veil site gets half million ‘likes’Page 8

MPEKETONI: A man observes the remains of destroyed vehicles and buildings in the town of Mpeketoni, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Somali border on the coast of Kenya yesterday. Dozens of Somali extremists wieldingautomatic weapons attacked the small Kenyan coastal town for hours, assaulting the police station, setting two hotels on fire, and spraying bullets into the street killing dozens, officials said yesterday. — AP

MOMBASA: At least 49 people were killed when sus-pected Shebab militants from Somalia stormed into aKenyan coastal town and launched a major assault on apolice station, hotels and government offices, officialssaid yesterday.

Around 50 heavily-armed gunmen drove into the townof Mpeketoni, near the coastal island and popular touristresort of Lamu, late on Sunday, officials said. Witnessesadded they first attacked a police station, before starting torandomly shoot at civilians, some of whom had beenwatching the World Cup in local bars and hotels.

District deputy commissioner Benson Maisori said sev-eral buildings in the town-which is around 100 kilometres(60 miles) from the border with Somalia-were burneddown including hotels, restaurants, banks and governmentoffices.

“There were around 50 attackers, heavily armed in threevehicles, and they were flying the Shebab flag. They wereshouting in Somali and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (‘God isGreatest’),” he said, adding they attacked a police stationbut officers fought them off.

Resident Anne Gathigi, 38, a mother of five, said theattackers killed her husband. “They forced their way intoour house, found us in the bedroom. They picked up myhusband and took him to the sitting room where theydemanded money from him, as soon as he gave themsome cash, they shot him at close range,” she told AFP.

“Then they turned to me and asked me if I knew Al-Shebab. They told me since ‘our government has refused topull our soldiers from Somalia, they had come to leave us‘widows and orphans’.”

Local resident and witness John Waweru, 28, said he losttwo of his brothers to the attackers. “I heard them shoutingin Somali as they fired around. I lost two of my brothers,and I escaped. I ran and locked up myself in a house,” hetold AFP.

The fierce gun battles continued until after midnight,but by dawn yesterday the town of Mpeketoni was report-ed calm with security forces saying they were in pursuit ofthe attackers and authorities recovering the dead.

Police spokeswoman Zipporah Mboroki confirmed that49 people had died, including at least one police officer.“Our officers are still combing the area,” Kenyan police chief

David Kimaiyo told AFP, adding “we suspect the involve-ment of Al-Shebab in this attack.” “It is an atrocity we wouldnot want to see repeated anywhere else,” he said.

‘Bodies on the road’ Kenyan troops crossed into southern Somalia in 2011 to

fight the Shebab, later joining the now 22,000-strongAfrican Union force battling the Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

The Shebab vowed revenge, carrying out a string ofattacks on Kenyan soil, including last September’s assaulton Nairobi’s Westgate mall in which at least 67 people werekilled.

The town of Mpeketoni, a trading centre on the maincoastal road, lies on the mainland some 30 kilometres (20miles) southwest of Lamu island, a popular tourist destina-tion whose ancient architecture is listed as a UNESCOWorld Heritage site.

Kenyan army spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchirdescribed how the gunmen had stormed the town, over-whelming local police officers, and firing from vehicles“shooting people around in town.”

Chirchir also said the attackers were “likely to be Al-Shebab,” although there was no immediate claim ofresponsiblity from the Islamists themselves.

Military surveillance planes were launched shortly afterthe attack began. Attackers tried to storm a police postincluding an armoury, but Maisori said officers had defend-ed the building and fought the gunmen off.

Residents in villages surrounding the town also report-ed that the gunmen attacked settlements as they pulledout after fighting in Mpeketoni. “There are six bodies here,a man and a child in their house, four lying on the road,”said Mohammed Hassan, a local resident of Kibaoni, asmall settlement some five kilometres (three miles) outsidethe town.

Last month one of the Shebab’s most senior command-ers, Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, released radio broadcasts urg-ing fighters to strike Kenya.

Hundreds of British tourists were also evacuated lastmonth from beach resorts near Kenya’s port city ofMombasa following warnings of terror attacks fromBritain’s Foreign Office. — AFP

Islamist gunmen kill

49 in Kenya attack

Security forces combing area for attackers

MIRANSHAH: Pakistani fighter jets pounded NorthWaziristan yesterday, a day after the army announced thestart of a full-scale military operation to flush Islamist insur-gents out of the volatile region bordering Afghanistan.

In a long-awaited military operation precipitated by adeadly insurgent attack on Pakistan’s biggest airport a weekago, Pakistan has deployed troops, artillery and helicoptergunships to fight insurgents in North Waziristan. TheTaleban and their ethnic Uzbek allies holed up in NorthWaziristan have both claimed responsibility for the June 8commando-style attack on Karachi airport, which was seenas a strategic turning point in how Pakistan tackles the insur-gency. The army said combat aircraft destroyed six hideoutsin the Shawal sector of North Waziristan, home to some ofPakistan’s most feared militants and al Qaeda commanders,

early on Monday. “In these precise strikes 27 terrorists werekilled. There is no (civilian) population in the area,” it said in astatement. “(The) operation in North Waziristan Agency isprogressing as per plan. ... North Waziristan Agency hasbeen isolated by deploying troops along its border withneighbouring agencies and FATA (Federally AdministrativeTribal Areas) regions to block any move of terrorists in andout of the Agency.” It said troops had cordoned off all mili-tant bases, including the town of Mirali where many ethnicUzbek and other foreign fighters are based, and the regionalcapital of Miranshah.

The Taleban appear determined to fight back. In the firstattack since the start of the operation, at least five Pakistanisoldiers were killed on Monday when a roadside bomb hitan army convoy just north of Miranshah. — Reuters

Pakistan jets strike kills 27 militants

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

LONDON: When Masih Alinejad posted a picture ofherself online jumping in the air in a sunny, tree-lined London street, the journalist hoped to cheerup readers weary of her stories of grim humanrights cases in her native Iran.

She did not expect what followed: A Facebookphenomenon that gained half a million followers ina month and scathing, personal criticism by Iranianstate television, accusing her of drug addiction, per-version and insanity.

Inspired by Alinejad’s photo, taken in a publicplace with her hair showing without the Islamic veilthat is obligatory in Iran, thousands of womeninside Iran uploaded their own self-portraits to apage she hastily set up and called: “My StealthyFreedom”.(https://www.facebook.com/StealthyFreedom)

“To me, it was like a virtual demonstration on myFacebook page,” the 37-year-old told Reuters in aninterview, seeming genuinely astonished to findherself the figurehead of a campaign against Iran’srestrictions on women’s dress.

A political journalist who already had 200,000Facebook followers before posting her selfie, she setup the separate “My Stealthy Freedom” to preventher own page becoming swamped by womenwanting to share their pictures.

“Look,” she says, opening her laptop at a London

cafe to show the most recent photo uploaded. “Thatwas posted four minutes ago, and already has 439likes and 11 shares.”

Born two years before the Islamic Revolutionthat brought down the Western-backed Shah in1979 and ushered in Iran’s hybrid of democracy andreligious rule, Alinejad is too young to rememberher country before women were obliged to wearthe veil. As then, she says, many people underesti-mate the importance of the obligatory veil, sayingthere are far more pressing political issues. But shemaintains that forcing a woman to cover her hair isthe state’s way of stamping its authority. “When Iwas in Iran, my hair was like a hostage of the Iraniangovernment.”

‘Our people’s right’Her Facebook followers agree. Many photo-

graphs show women standing in front of signsreminding women of their duty to respect the hijab,the Islamic dress code, holding their headscarves intheir hands. The photographs are unremarkable to aWestern eye, but have outraged parts of the Iranianestablishment which have hit back.

The state TV news channel IRINN, on a clip stillavailable on YouTube, reported that Alinejad hadbeen raped by three men, in front of her son, on theLondon Underground after she took her own

clothes off while high on drugs.The popularity of the page, and the vitriolic reac-

tion, have made it the focus of one of the mostprominent challenges to President Hassan Rouhani,a self-proclaimed moderate.

Like the arrest of six young people last monthwho posted a video of themselves - the womenunveiled - singing along to the Pharrell Williamspop song “Happy”, “My Stealthy Freedom” hasshown the yearning of liberal-minded Iranians,many of whom voted for Rouhani, for greater per-sonal freedoms.

“#Happiness is our people’s right. We shouldn’tbe too hard on behaviours caused by joy,” Rouhaniwrote on Twitter after the “Happy” arrests.

He also appeared to agree that social rules - in acountry where morality police patrol the streets todetain women they deem to be showing too muchhair - should be eased, saying: “We can’t take peopleto heaven by force and with a whip.”

ExpiredBut reformist Iranians say those words have not

been followed by policy changes. “All the nicewords have expired,” Alinejad said.

With Rouhani pushing for a nuclear deal with theWest to lift crushing economic sanctions, and civilwars raging in Iran’s regional allies Syria and Iraq,

personal freedoms and women’s rights are unlikelyto be high on his agenda.

But Alinejad doubts Rouhani would ease thehijab rules even if he were able to in a system wherethe ultimate say lies with the supreme leader,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And Alinejad does not trust Rouhani’s invitationfor all Iranian expats to return to Iran, where shefears she would be arrested due to her reporting onhuman rights in Iran that is carried by British andU.S.-funded broadcasters.

“I love my country and I never want to stay inEngland even for one single day if I am allowed tobe safe in my country and cover the news that I cov-er from here,” she says.

In response to the TV report of her drug takingand rape, Alinejad posted a video of herself, stand-ing on the platform of the London Underground,singing a song in Persian about “my homeland”, aspeople walk by, unfazed by her hair or her song.

“My real revenge was to use what the hardlinersare most petrified of: singing a song without a veil,in London,” she said. “Can you publish this video onIranian TV? No. Would I be safe singing on theTehran subway without a veil? No.”

The state TV reported on the video - although itdid not broadcast it - saying Alinejad had lost hermind due to the “rape”. — Reuters

Iranian veil site gets half million ‘likes’ and state TV rebuke

BAGHDAD: Security forces patrol on Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday. Sunni militants captured a key northern Iraqi town along thehighway to Syria early yesterday, compounding the woes of Iraq’s Shiite-led government a week after it lost a vast swath of territory to theinsurgents in the country’s north. — AP

BAGHDAD: Sunni militants captured the northernIraqi town of Tal Afar early yesterday, its mayor andresidents said, the latest blow to the Shiite-led gov-ernment a week after it lost a vast swath of territory inthe country’s north.

The town, with a population of some 200,000 peo-ple, mostly ethnic Shiite and Sunni Turkomen, was tak-en just before dawn, Mayor Abdulal Abdoul told TheAssociated Press.

The ethnic mix of Tal Afar, 420 kilometers (260miles) northwest of Baghdad, raises the grim specterof large-scale atrocities by Sunni militants of the Al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, orISIL, who already claim to have killed hundreds ofShiites in areas they captured last week. A Tal Afar resi-dent reached by phone confirmed the town’s fall andsaid militants in pickup trucks mounted withmachineguns and flying black jihadi banners wereroaming the streets as gunfire rang out. The localsecurity force left the town before dawn, said Hadeeral-Abadi, who spoke to the AP as he prepared to headout of town with his family. Local tribesmen who con-tinued to fight later surrendered to the militants, hesaid. “Residents are gripped by fear and most of themhave already left the town to areas held by Kurdishsecurity forces,” said al-Abadi.

Security at the US Embassy in Baghdad wasstrengthened and some staff members were sent else-where in Iraq and to neighboring Jordan, the StateDepartment said Sunday. A military official said about150 Marines have been sent to Baghdad to help withembassy security.

Target of assaultThe State Department also issued a travel warning

for Iraq on Sunday night, which cautioned US citizensto avoid “all but essential travel to Iraq.” The warningsaid the Baghdad International Airport was “struck bymortar rounds and rockets” and that the internationalairport in Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, hasalso been the target of militant assault.

However, a senior Baghdad airport official, Saad al-Khafagi, denied that the facility or surrounding areashave been hit. State-run Iraqiya television also deniedthe attack, quoting the Ministry of Transport. A city ofseven million, Baghdad is not in immediate danger offalling in the hands of the Sunni militants, but a stringof bombings on Sunday killed 19 people and wound-ed more than 40. The violence added to the nervous-ness of the Iraqi capital’s residents.

Security has been tightened around the city, par-ticularly on its northern and western edges, and foodprices have dramatically gone up because of thetransportation disruptions on the main road headingnorth from the capital.

The fall of Tal Afar comes a week after Sunni mili-tants captured Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, andSaddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit in a lighteningoffensive. The town is some 150 kilometers (93 miles)from the border with Syria, where ISIL is fightingagainst President Bashar Assad’s government andcontrols territory abutting the Iraqi border.

Tal Afar’s capture came just hours after Shiite PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki, addressing volunteers joiningthe security forces, vowed to retake inch of territoryseized by the militants.

“We will march and liberate every inch theydefaced, from the country’s northernmost point to thesouthernmost point,” Al-Maliki said. The volunteers

responded with Shiite chants. Fighting in Tal Afarbegan on Sunday, with Iraqi government officials say-ing that ISIL fighters were firing rockets seized frommilitary arms depots in the Mosul area. They said thelocal garrison suffered heavy casualties and the mainhospital was unable to cope with the wounded, with-out providing exact numbers.

Graphic photosOver the weekend, militants posted graphic pho-

tos that appeared to show their gunmen massacring

scores of captured Iraqi soldiers. The pictures, on amilitant website, appear to show masked ISIL fightersloading the captives onto flatbed trucks before forc-ing them to lie face-down in a shallow ditch with theirarms tied behind their backs. The final images showthe bodies of the captives soaked in blood after beingshot at several locations. Iraq’s chief militaryspokesman Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi confirmedthe photos’ authenticity and said he was aware of cas-es of mass murder of captured Iraqi soldiers in areasheld by ISIL.

Sunni militants capture

northern Iraqi townSecurity at US Embassy in Baghdad strengthened

JERUSALEM: Israeli premier BenjaminNetanyahu told Palestinian president MahmudAbbas yesterday he expected his help in ensur-ing the return of three kidnapped teenagers, intheir first direct political contact since 2012.

The phone conversation took place as Israelpressed a vast search operation in the West Bankto find the three youths, whom Netanyahu hassaid were kidnapped last week by militants fromthe Islamist Hamas movement.

As the manhunt entered its fourth day, Israelitroops continued with a massive crackdown onHamas, arresting scores of its operatives, amongthem former ministers and MPs. Since Friday,Israel has arrested more than 150 Palestinians,most of them Hamas members, in the biggestsweep in the territories in years. As the crisisdeveloped, Netanyahu telephoned Abbas tospell out his demands in what was their firstconversation of a political nature in nearly twoyears. “I expect you to help in the return of thekidnapped youths and the capture of the kid-nappers,” Netanyahu told him.

“The Hamas kidnappers went out from terri-tory controlled by the Palestinian Authority andreturned to territory controlled by thePalestinian Authority,” he said.

So far, there has been no formal claim ofresponsibility, with Hamas dismissing Israel’saccusations as “stupid”. Confirming the phonecall between Netanyahu and Abbas, the officialWAFA Palestinian news agency said the conver-sation had “focused on following up on the caseof the three (teenagers) who disappeared lastThursday and the ongoing Israeli escalation.”

Abbas’s office issued a statement condemn-ing “the kidnapping of three Israeli youths”. Butit also denounced Israel’s “raids on Palestinianhomes” and the widespread arrest of “manyinnocents” during which a 19-year-oldPalestinian was killed.

The victim, Ahmad Arafat Sabarin, was shot

dead during clashes in Jalazoun refugee campnear Ramallah which erupted when troopsarrived on an arrest mission, medics told AFP.An army spokeswoman said soldiers opened fireafter “violence erupted and stones were thrownat them from rooftops and alleyways, injuringthree.”

Although arrests have taken place across theWest Bank, troops are focusing their search onthe southern city of Hebron and the surround-ing area, home to some 663,000 Palestinians.

A policy of kidnapping Overnight, soldiers arrested more than more

than 40 Palestinians “including Hamas leader-ship and operatives” the army said.

Among those picked up was parliamentaryspeaker Aziz Dweik, a Hamas member who livesin Hebron.

A Palestinian security source said Dweik wasone of six Hamas MPs arrested in Hebron. TheIslamist movement holds 74 of the 132 seats inthe Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). APalestinian intelligence officer told AFP that thekidnapping bore the hallmarks of a Hamas oper-ation, noting that the Islamist movement had apolicy of keeping its captives alive in the hope ofsecuring a prisoner swap deal.

“A movement like Hamas is the onlyPalestinian movement which has a policy of kid-napping and holding hostages alive in exchangefor prisoners,” said Nizam al-Jaabari, former headof intelligence for the Hebron division.

The crisis emerged 10 days after the estab-lishment of a new Palestinian government oftechnocrats, the firstfruits of a reconciliationdeal between rival leaders in the West Bank andGaza which has been furiously denounced byIsrael. “It is important to understand the impli-cations of the partnership with Hamas-it is badfor Israel, bad for the Palestinians and it is badfor the region,” Netanyahu told Abbas. —AFP

Israel PM in rare phone call

to Abbas over kidnap crisis

ALQOSH: Over the past decade, IraqiChristians have fled repeatedly to this ancientmountainside village, seeking refuge fromviolence, then returning home when the dan-ger eased. Now they are doing it again asIslamic militants rampage across northernIraq, but this time few say they ever want togo back to their homes.

The flight is a new blow to Iraq’s dwindlingChristian community, which is almost as oldas the religion itself but which has alreadybeen devastated since the 2003 US-led inva-sion. During the past 11 years, at least half ofthe country’s Christian population has fledthe country, according to some estimates, toescape frequent attacks by Sunni Muslim mili-tants targeting them and their churches. Nowmany of those who held out and remainedmay be giving up completely after fightersbelonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and theLevant swept over the city of Mosul and abroad swath of the country the past week.

“I’m not going back,” said Lina, who fledMosul with her family as the militants sweptin and came to Alqosh, about 50 kilometers(31 miles) to the north.

“Each day we went to bed in fear,” the 57-year-old woman said, sitting in a house fordisplaced people. “In our own houses weknew no rest.” Like other Christians who fledhere, she spoke on condition she be identifiedonly by her first name for fear for her safety. Inleaving, the Christians are emptying out com-munities that date back to the first centuriesof the religion, including Chaldean, Assyrian

and Armenian churches. The past week, some160 Christian families - mosly from Mosul -have fled to Alqosh, mayor Sabri Boutani toldThe Associated Press, consulting first on thenumber with his wife by speaking inChaldean, the ancient language spoken bymany residents.

Pastel-painted homesAlqosh, dating back at least to the 1st cen-

tury BC, is a jumble of pastel-painted homesnestled at the base of a high craggy hillamong rolling plains of wheat fields. The vil-lage’s population of 6,000 is about halfChristian and half ethnic Kurds. Located justoutside the autonomous Kurdish zone ofnorthern Iraq, Kurdish fighters known aspeshmerga have moved into the town to pro-tect it.

Many Christians are deciding that thecomparatively liberal and prosperous Kurdishregions are their safest bet. “Every Christianprefers to stay in Kurdistan,” said Abu Zeid, anengineer. He too said he wouldn’t be goingback to Mosul.

“It’s a shame because Mosul is the mostimportant city in Iraq for Christians,” he added.Mosul is said to be the site of the burial ofJonah, the prophet who tradition says wasswallowed by a whale.

Iraq was estimated to have more than 1million Christians before the 2003 invasionand topping of Saddam Hussein. Now churchofficials estimate only 450,000 remain withinIraq borders. —AP

Iraqi Christians flee

homes amid militant push

CAIRO: At a plush Cairo dinner for visitingBritish politicians, one of Egypt’s top business-men served his guests seafood cocktails,chocolate fondants and a blood-filled videodepicting the Muslim Brotherhood as a brutalthreat to society.

Mohamed Farid Khamis, an influential car-pet tycoon with connections to new PresidentAbdel Fattah al-Sisi, used Sunday’s dinner toprofile the dangers state authorities believethe Brotherhood poses in Egypt. It briefly heldelected power before it was toppled andalmost all of its leaders jailed last year.

Set to dramatic music, the film mixedfootage of ousted President Mohamed Mursi,who hailed from the Brotherhood, with clipsof armed jihadi fighters and images of Islamistattacks. The harrowing presentation to theBritish visitors came upon Khamis’ personalinvitation, but tied in with an effort by Cairo tocalm an international furore over its fiercecrackdown on the Brotherhood since Mursi’sfall. Hundreds of its backers have been killedand thousands arrested, with hundreds ofthose prisoners sentenced to death. Althoughthe almost century-old Brotherhoodrenounced violence decades ago and hasdenied any link with recent Islamist militantviolence in Egypt, it has been banned anddeclared a terrorist organisation in Egypt andSaudi Arabia.

“We have decided to make this short film...that gives you the truth about what happenedin my country,” Khamis told the British politi-cians who earlier met Sisi, a former army chiefwho deposed Mursi last July. The timing forthe invitation of the parliamentarians is telling- Britain is conducting a review into the activi-ties of the Brotherhood and its possible linkswith violence.

Khamis, asked why he was hosting theBritish politicians for the second time in sixmonths, confirmed that London’s review ofthe Brotherhood was a factor behind his hos-pitality. “Great Britain is important in shapingthe international judgment and opinion. TheMuslim Brothers are concentrating in the UK.The international organisation have their cen-

tre in London,” Khamis told Reuters at the din-ner. Before tasting their first course the politi-cians watched militants holding up a severedhead, churches in flames and a series ofIslamist assassinations. None of the guestscommented on the film in their speeches.Although many of those attacks were claimedby groups other than the Brotherhood, thefilm seemed to link them to the group.

Since its banishment from Egypt’s presi-dential palace, the Brotherhood’s main publicmouthpiece has operated out of a two-floorflat above an abandoned kebab shop in north-west London.

Carpet EmpireKhamis, one of Egypt’s richest men and

once a member of parliament under formerpresident Hosni Mubarak, is the founder andchairman of Oriental Weavers, the self-pro-claimed largest machine-made carpet produc-er in the world. His political clout allowed himto set up meetings for the British delegationwith a number of high-profile public figuresincluding Sisi, who overthrew Mursi after massprotests against him and was himself electedpresident last month.

Sisi says Egyptians have rejected theBrotherhood and stressed the importance ofbalancing rights and freedoms with securityconcerns when he met the British delegationat the weekend, according to his office.

The Brotherhood has said it would openlyengage with the British review, despite con-cern that Britain’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia,John Jenkins, would be leading it.

The Brotherhood long based its public sup-port on well-established charity networks andhas won the majority of votes in Egypt sincethe 2011 revolt that ousted autocrat Mubarak.

But when in office, the Brotherhood failedto reassure many that they were committed toa democratic Egypt. A decree shielding theMursi’s decisions from any appeals system,threats to the freedom of artists, and Islamicpreachers calling for holy war in Syria underhis watch unsettled Egyptians and foreignobservers alike. —Reuters

Egypt’s carpet king pulls

rug from under Brotherhood

ALQOSH: In this Sunday, June 15, 2014 photo, Iraqis attend Mass at the ChaldeanChurch of the Virgin Mary of the Harvest, in Alqosh, set in the seventh century SaintHormoz monastery built into a hill overlooking Alqosh, a village of some 6,000inhabitants about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Mosul, northern Iraq. Dozens ofChristian families that fled to this ancient Iraqi village have taken a much-traversedroute — many from their minority community have escaped to Alqosh before, in fearfor their lives. — AP

I N T E R N AT ION A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

NEW YORK: Guided by a few clues from Twitter,Stephanie Culff hailed a cab to Central Park onSaturday and started searching for money plantedthere by Hidden Cash, the scavenger hunt craze thatmade its New York debut this weekend.

Culff arrived before the masses of cash-seekersand walked away with an envelope containing a $50bill and a silver dollar she said was worth $23. Both,she said, will go to her dad for Father’s Day.

“We were looking forward to the adventure,” Culffsaid. “We actually didn’t expect to win.” Dozens of oth-

er New Yorkers found the same prizes hidden inCentral Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park inBrooklyn - all part of a movement born last week inSan Francisco as a “social experiment for good.”

Jason Buzi, a California real estate investor whosaid he is one of several people behind Hidden Cash,described the giveaways as a “fun way to give back tothe community.” He encouraged people who findcash to “pay it forward.”

So far, he said, many have responded by spendingthe cash on coffee, groceries or gas for others or by

helping the homeless and charitable causes. “We seethat a lot and we’re happy to see that,” Buzi said.

Culff started following Hidden Cash on Twitter lastweek when the account directed people toenvelopes with $50 and $100 inside them in SanFrancisco and 36 cash-filled Angry Birds orbs inHermosa Beach, California.

The account announced its foray into New York onFriday, saying: “Lots of Lady Liberties and Mr. Grantswill rain in Manhattan and Brooklyn” on Saturday.

New Yorkers who found money Saturday tweeted

photos of themselves with their finds. The altruisticgroup also hid money Saturday in Houston andMexico City. Another hunt is scheduled for Sunday inChicago and they plan events in London, Paris andMadrid in the next two weeks.

Hidden Cash has inspired similar, unaffiliated cashgiveaways in St. Louis, Boulder, Colorado and othercities. “Mostly it’s a way for people to get together andhave a good time,” Buzi said of his movement.“Sometimes you see people who, even $100 or $200dollars makes a — AP

Hidden Cash craze hits New York’s Central Park

BOGOTA: President Juan Manuel Santosvowed to bring peace to Colombia after win-ning re-election on Sunday, telling Marxistrebels his victory shows that voters demandan end to five decades of war.

Santos, a center-rightist who has staked hisreputation on securing a peace deal with theRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia(FARC), won almost 51 percent support in therunoff election on Sunday. His right-wing rivalOscar Ivan Zuluaga trailed with 45 percent.

The election divided Colombia betweenvoters who support a deal to end LatinAmerica’s longest-running insurgency andZuluaga’s backers who want to force therebels into a battlefield surrender.

“This is the end of more than 50 years ofviolence and the start of a new Colombia,”Santos said after his election victory, holdingup a hand daubed with the word “peace” andwearing a trademark pin of a white dove onhis lapel. “A Colombia at peace with itself.”

Santos opened talks with the FARC in late2012. The conflict has killed over 200,000 peo-ple and forced millions more from theirhomes.

Last week, Santos also revealed preliminarytalks with a smaller rebel group, the NationalLiberation Army (ELN), and he said on Sundaythe Colombian people were now insisting onpeace.

“The demand is not just for the govern-ment. Today’s message is for the FARC and theELN and it’s a clear message - this is the end,”the center-right president said surrounded byfamily.

He will start his second four-year term onAug. 7. During a bitter campaign, Santosfaced a barrage of criticism from Zuluaga andhis mentor, former President Alvaro Uribe.They played to the outrage felt by millions ofColombians that FARC leaders could escapeprison time and even hold public office aspart of a negotiated settlement.

‘Prepared For Peace’Zuluaga’s strong support in the election

shows how tough it will be for Santos to winthe nation’s approval in a future referendum ifa peace deal is signed and for it to passthrough Congress. And Uribe will be a formi-dable foe after being voted into the Senate in

March. Santos, the son of one of the country’s

most influential families and a Harvard-edu-cated economist, says he began to dream ofleading Colombia toward peace two decadesago.

Learning from the mistakes of previousattempts to end the war, Santos said he prom-ised himself he would not allow the rebels tostrengthen their ranks, build up their warchests or take the upper hand over the gov-ernment.

“You don’t improvise with peace building,”Santos told Reuters in a recent interview. “I’vespent 20 years thinking about this opportuni-ty. I’m prepared, I’m well advised and hopeful-ly this process will be irreversible.”

Agreements have already been reachedwith the FARC on three items on a five-point

agenda, including land reform and the rebels’withdrawal from drug trafficking.

A key question is whether the rebels will bemore stubborn at the negotiating table afterrecent advances, especially now that they nolonger have to worry about a Zuluaga victory.

Responsible as defense minister underUribe for operations that killed senior FARCleaders, Santos insists there will be no impuni-ty for serious crimes, but also says it is unreal-istic to probe 50 years of atrocities.

As his supporters raised cut-out figures ofwhite doves on Sunday, Santos recognizedthat achieving peace will not be easy andthanked those voters from the left who ralliedaround him in the election runoff.

“This was a triumph for millions of compa-triots who support a dream we share. Theyvoted to change fear for hope.” — Reuters

Colombia’s Santos re-electedTells Marxist rebels it’s time for peace

BOGOTA: Supporters of Colombian President and presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santosshow the palms of their hands reading “Peace” as they celebrate after knowing the results ofthe runoff presidential election yesterday, in Bogota. Santos was re-elected with 50.90 percentof the vote, compared with 45.04 percent for the more conservative Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, with99.37 percent of votes tallied. — AFP

CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (C) arrives at theProsecutor’s office in Caracas yesterday to declare about her presumed involvementin an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Despite securing the release of five topdetainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay inexchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, there are few indica-tions that the Taleban will head into peace talks with theAfghan government any time soon.

The peace process is virtually on hold anyway until it’sclear who will succeed Afghan President Hamid Karzai.Results of the second round of the Afghan presidentialelection Saturday won’t be known until July, and it will bemonths before the winner will be able to set up his admin-istration and lay the groundwork for possible talks. It’s alsounclear what role the Obama administration can or is will-ing to play to coax the Taleban to the negotiating table.

The Taleban say exchanging Bergdahl, held by Afghanmilitants for nearly five years, for the five detainees is avictory for their side. Still, US and former and currentAfghan officials say the transfer is evidence that the twosides can come together and deal peacefully. They saythey hope the deal will bolster the influence of moremoderate members of the Taleban interested in reconcili-ation talks.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the swap couldprovide a “new opening” that can produce a peace agree-ment. When Obama appeared in the Rose Garden withBergdahl’s parents after their son was released, he saidthe US would continue to support an Afghan-led processof reconciliation but didn’t offer any specifics.

Obama didn’t mention the Taleban or the peace effortin a major foreign policy speech he delivered late lastmonth at the US Military Academy in West Point, NewYork. Obama has made “encouraging, if vague” gesturestoward helping with Afghan-led peace talks, said KateClark of the Kabul-based Afghan Analysts Network, whohas tracked events in the country for years. “In reality.though, the US is on its way out and the swap looks like aclearing up of unfinished business before its troops leaveat the end of 2014.”

“Whether the release of the five men might now aidreconciliation is unknown. They may be useful for negoti-ations or many years in detention may have hardenedthem to thoughts of compromise.” Ronald Neumann, aformer US ambassador to Afghanistan, said he’s not con-vinced that the swap will have any impact on prospectsfor peace talks and he doubts the U.S. has much of a roleto play if they ever materialize.

“No talks are imminent,” he said. “I don’t see anythinghappening anytime soon and by the time you get there,the Bergdahl swap will be ancient history.”

The deal did help mend a fissure in the Taliban ranks,according to a former Afghan government official withclose ties to the palace, who spoke on condition ofanonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss theexchange. For years, moderate Taliban leaders willing toengage in peace talks have been under pressure fromunrepentant Taliban foot soldiers. Now that those soldiers

have witnessed the successful prisoner deal, the formerofficial said they will be less fearful that peace talks are asellout to the West or the US-backed Afghan government.Already, Afghan forces have taken the lead in the fight,making it harder for the Taleban to argue that they arewaging war against a foreign occupying force. The even-tual exit of U.S. and other international forces that havetrained Afghan security forces means the insurgentsincreasingly are fighting other Afghans. Rising fatalitiesamong Afghan policemen, soldiers and civilians onlyweaken the Taliban’s campaign for the hearts and mindsof the population - a reason that also could make peacetalks more appealing to the militants, the former officialsaid.

On the flip side, both the moderate and hard-linemembers of the Taliban feel emboldened by the deal.Their leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, called it a signifi-cant victory. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid saidthe group still has no interest in peace talks with eitherthe government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai or hissuccessor. Because the Afghan government was not partyto the negotiations, the Taliban feel they have been givena shot of international stature or recognition, whichmakes Karzai’s government appear impotent. — AP

“This negotiation has legitimized the Taliban, theorganization that safeguarded the 9/11 al-Qaida perpe-trators and ruled Afghanistan through atrocities,” Rep.Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the HouseArmed Services Committee, said in a hearing Wednesdayon the prisoner exchange.

While he knew the exchange was being discussed,Karzai was angry that he wasn’t given prior notice andwas under the impression that if the deal happened, itwould be part of a more comprehensive deal to startpeace talks. After the Taleban detainees were released tothe Qatari government, the Afghan government wrotethe US Embassy, claiming that the arrangement withQatar violates accepted international rules that say nogovernment can hand over the citizen of another countryto a third state as a prisoner or as someone whose free-doms are taken or restricted.

Earlier, Karzai had offered to have the five Guantanamoprisoners transferred home to Afghanistan, where theAfghan intelligence agency would make sure they didn’treturn to the fight. Instead, the US chose to work throughinterlocutors in Qatar, where the detainees were flownand will be under a one-year travel ban.

In February 2011, Karzai asked the US to release one ofthe five detainees, Khairullah Khairkhwa, saying he hadbeen a moderate official in the Taleban governmentbefore it was toppled and would “positively contribute tothe peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.” Hewas never released into the custody of the Afghan gov-ernment and now is with the other four detainees inQatar. — AP

Despite Bergdahl swap, peace talks in limbo

HAGATNA: The murder trial of a 22-year-old man charged with killing threeJapanese tourists during a rampage onGuam last year opened yesterday with theprosecution saying rage triggered theattack, while the defense argued thedefendant was mentally ill.

Authorities accuse Chad Ryan DeSotoof barreling his car down a sidewalk, crash-ing into a convenience store, then gettingout and stabbing bystanders during theFeb. 12, 2013, attack that killed the threetourists and injured 11 others, a spate ofviolence that shocked the island US territo-ry. Chief Prosecutor Phillip J. Tydingco toldthe 11-woman, one-man jury that DeSoto,his anger and rage fueled by problemswith his life and relationships, committedhis crimes in the heart of Guam’s Tumontourist district.

DeSoto “shattered the peaceful andonce enjoyable tropical night of at least 14innocent human beings,” Tydingco said. Heargued that the defendant acted out “hisanger over his depression, anger about hislife, anger about his girlfriend who left hima year or more ago to live away in Utah,anger about his job, his friends and familylife.” Tydingco said that included in the evi-dence he will present will be an admissionthat he told his mother four hours after theattack that he was going to jail.

The defendant sat impassively next tohis counsel, public defender Eric Miller, asthe prosecutor argued his guilt. Miller toldthe panel that the case was about severemental illness. “He is not guilty by reasonof insanity,” Miller said. “Mental illness is likeany illness. It’s like breast cancer, tuberculo-sis, measles. You don’t choose to get it.” Atone point, Miller held up a model of ahuman brain and said, “When this brain getdiseased, a lot bad things can happen.”Afew prosecution witnesses testified afterthe opening statements concluded, beforethe trial was adjourned until Tuesdaymorning. — AP

Guam crash-stabbingrampage trial opens

Chad DeSoto

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

ADDIS ABABA: South Sudan’s warringforces have boycotted a new round ofpeace talks in protest at being accused ofseeking a military solution to the conflict,mediators said yesterday.

The latest blow to peace efforts comesafter several months of talks that havealready been hit by delays and boycottsover other seemingly trivial issues, suchas the venue of the talks themselves.

The delay comes as the the civil war in

South Sudan passed the six-month mark,having already left thousands of peopledead, more than a million displaced andpushed the world’s youngest country tothe brink of famine and genocide. “Thetwo parties, who are not here with us,told us that they are not joining us,” chiefmediator Seyoum Mesfin, from the EastAfrican regional bloc IGAD, told reporters.South Sudan’s government said it object-ed to comments made last week by IGAD

executive secretary Mahboub Maalimthat the two sides were “stupid” forbelieving military victory waspossible.Government team leader andMinister of Information Michael Makueitold AFP they would “suspend attendanceor participation in the negotiations untilthis issue is addressed”.

The rebels said they were boycottingtalks, claiming they were not consultedon who will attend, calling the selection

of delegates “faulty” and demanding a“transparent and inclusive process”.

The talks, being held in the Ethiopiancapital Addis Ababa, have so far cost over17 million dollars (12 million euros) buthave failed to stop the war.

Mesfin pressed both sides to return tothe negotiating table urgently. “Withevery day passing, human lives are lostand destruction continues,” he said.President Salva Kiir and his arch-rival Riek

Machar committed themselves again lastweek to a ceasefire and agreed to forge atransitional government within 60 days.Two previous ceasefire deals swiftly col-lapsed.

Fighting broke out on December 15,pitting government troops against militiaforces loosely loyal to Machar. The vio-lence has taken on a complex ethnicdimension, with the Dinka people of Kiirfighting the Nuer, Machar’s tribe. — AFP

S Sudan warring forces boycott new peace talks

KIEV: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (2nd L) speaks during a National Security and Defence Council sitting in Kiev yesterday, flanked byUkrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (2nd R) and speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Oleksandr Turchynov (L). Poroshenko said duringthe opening of the sitting that a ceasefire was the beginning of his peace plan for resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine. — AFP

KIEV: President Petro Poroshenko called yester-day for a truce in east Ukraine, where his govern-ment faces a rebellion by pro-Russian sepa-ratists, to provide time to seek agreement on apeace plan.

In a statement to security chiefs, Poroshenkosaid he had set government forces the task ofregaining full control of Ukraine’s border withRussia this week. Once the frontier was secure,he said, a temporary ceasefire should beobserved and efforts made to agree on a peaceplan. “Declaring a ceasefire while the border isopen would be irresponsible,” he said. The sepa-ratists rose up against central rule in April follow-ing the removal of a president in Kiev who wassympathetic to Moscow, and Russia’s subse-quent annexation of the Black Sea peninsula ofCrimea. Scores of government troops, rebels andcivilians have been killed in fighting since then.

Since he was sworn in on June 7, Poroshenkohas been trying to win agreement for peace pro-posals, few details of which have been pub-lished. His efforts have included talks with aRussian envoy and a phone call with PresidentVladimir Putin. Kiev and the West have accusedRussia of arming the rebels in east Ukraine butMoscow denies the accusations. Poroshenkosaid his proposals included constitutionalchanges to allow more decentralisation of pow-er, a demand by many people in eastern Ukraine.He did not say how long the truce he was pro-posing should last.

Surprise offensiveMeanwhile, Ukraine’s new pro-Western lead-

ers lost effective financial control over a vitaleastern industrial region yesterday when pro-Russian rebels seized the central bank buildingin the separatist stronghold city of Donetsk.

The surprise offensive by dozens ofKalashnikov-wielding pro-Russian gunmen fur-ther complicated Kiev’s deadly and thus-farinconclusive two-month campaign to reunifythe fractured ex-Soviet state.

The riverbank city of nearly one million most-ly Russian speakers has been under effectiverebel control since early April. But the gunmenhad until now only occupied administrationbuildings and had no access to the vast sumsflowing through the government’s tax collectionservice. That threatened to change yesterday asfrightened personnel steamed out of theNational Bank of Ukraine in Donetsk with theirhands in the air while masked guerrillas lookedon. “We have been preparing this for more thana month,” a rebel named Oleksandr Matyushyntold AFP as five separatist gunmen stood guardat its main entrance and bank staff filed out ofthe building.

“We want the tax revenues to stay hereinstead of going to Kiev,” he added. “Everythingwent peacefully. There were no excesses,” saidanother rebel adorned with with a tattoo ofcrossed hammers on his neck. The Ukrainiangovernment’s press service said that the raid hadinterrupted the payment of “pension, social ben-efit and salaries to state employees.”

“We are not receiving tax payments ofDonetsk enterprises,” the Ukranian governmentsaid in a statement.

‘Technical break’ A group of armed men in black masks guard-

ed the main entrance of the Donetsk branch ofthe National Bank from which the Ukrainiancrest had been torn down.

A sign announcing a “technical break” hungon the door. “They are having a meeting. Insideare loads of armed men,” one woman said hurry-ing away without giving her name.

AFP reporters saw the rebels take out of thebuilding bottles of alcoholic drinks and a laptopin a pink case that appeared to belong to staff.

Matyushyn said his unit had entered discus-sion with local administrators about transferringcontrol over the local treasury and tax collectionservice to the separatist leader of self-pro-claimed “Donetsk People’s Republic”.

“We are gradually taken control of the bank-ing system. Our specialists have been workingquite a long time to come to this stage,” he saidproudly.

Donetsk and the neighbouring coal and steelproducing region of Lugansk declared inde-pendence from Kiev in disputed May 11 referen-dums whose legitimacy was rejected by stateauthorities and decried as a sham by the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urgedUkraine’s new pro-Western leaders to listenclosely to the opinions expressed in the referen-dums but also refused to recognised the tworegions’ independence from Kiev rule.

Federal forces’ escalating campaign to regaincontrol over the region of seven million peoplehas now claimed the lives of more than 370 civil-ians and fighters on both sides.— Agencies

Ukrainian president proposes

truce to push peace plan

Pro-Russian rebels seize Ukraine state bank

MAIDUGURI: At least 15 people werekilled when suspected Boko Haram gun-men stormed a market in northern Nigerialate on Sunday, witnesses and a securitysource said.

Villagers in the farming community ofDaku, in Borno state, described how theywere surrounded by at least 20 gunmenwho fired indiscriminately and threw petrolbombs, engulfing the market in flames.

“Sunday is normally a market day andpeople from neighbouring villages hadgathered at the local market in Daku whenthe insurgents laid siege,” said grocery sell-er Laraba Simon.

“Scores of people escaped with bulletwounds while dozens of shops, stalls, hous-es, vehicles, motorcycles and assortedfoodstuff were set ablaze by the rampagingattackers.” Laraba said the insurgents “sur-rounded the village with sophisticatedweapons and petrol bombs”.

Attacks by Islamist extremists from BokoHaram have increased in recent months,with the military apparently incapable ofpreventing the almost daily bloodshedexacerbated by the kidnapping of morethan 200 schoolgirls in April.

The group has killed thousands duringits battle against the government since2009, but the conflict has receivedunprecedented global attention since theabduction of the schoolgirls.

But Zaka Sama’ila, another trader, saidthe latest attack was the first of its kind inDaku. “It seems the terrorists are extendingtheir frontiers every day. About 20 of themstormed the market area around 11.15am(1015 GMT ) with one ( jeep) and somemotorcycles.

“ There was serious pandemoniumbecause they shot randomly, forcing unsus-pecting people in the market to scamperfor safety.” Sama’ila said villagers found 15bodies among the market stalls after thegunmen left.

Residents said 10 others were founddead after being shot in their homes or asthey were fleeing the violence. Neither thepolice nor the army have commented onthe attack but a senior security source inthe state capital Maiduguri confirmed thatit took place.

Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, all innortheast Nigeria, have been under emer-gency rule since May last year.

Around 20 gunmen on motorcyclesstormed a mosque in Yobe less than twohours after the Borno market attack andseized the local chief, residents said.

The gunmen set fire to the police stationand a telecom mast in the village of Gumsabefore fleeing.

“ They took away a four-wheel vanbelonging to the chief and kept firing shotsin the air,” said a resident. — AFP

Gunmen kill at least 15 in

northern Nigerian market

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis and Britain’sArchbishop of Canterbury committed theirChurches yesterday to work more closely togetherto fight “the grave evil” of human trafficking andmodern slavery.

Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the world’s 80million Anglicans, held talks with Francis at theVatican on how to combat what both Churcheshave called a crime against humanity.

“It is a crime that we all need to overcome as amatter of urgency, as a matter of human dignity,freedom and wholeness of life. May God give usthe resolve and cooperation we need together,”Welby told the pope in his address.

Francis, leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics,spoke of their shared “horror in the face of thescourge of human trafficking and forms of mod-ern-day slavery”.

“(The Churches must) stand together, with per-severance and determination, in opposing thisgrave evil,” the pope added. According to a globalslavery index issued last year by the Walk FreeFoundation charity, nearly 30 million people,including children, live in slavery worldwide, manyof them trafficked by gangs for sex work andunskilled labour.

Welby, 58, is the 109th leader of the Churchwhich was formed when England’s King Henry VIIIsplit from Rome in 1534. Neither Welby nor Francisspoke of the doctrinal differences dividing the twoChurches, such as a female priesthood, which theAnglican Church allows but Rome forbids.

The 77-year-old Argentinian pope noted thatwhile “the goal of full unity may seem distantindeed,” the goal should still guide the Churchesand their members in their daily relations.

Despite doctrinal differences, they have foundcommon ground on social issues and have recentlystepped up their joint efforts, including at the grassroots level, to raise global awareness about humantrafficking and slavery. Both support the GlobalFreedom Network, an inter-religious initiative thatencourages faith leaders to help victims.

Catholic nuns, for example, have formed theInternational Network of Consecrated Life AgainstTrafficking in Persons, known as Talitha Kum (LittleGirl, Arise), a phrase in Aramaic taken from the

Bible. It has members in more than 30 countries.Last month, another group of nuns backed by

the pope raised the alarm over increased risks ofhuman trafficking, exploitation of workers, forcedprostitution and sexual tourism at the soccer WorldCup in Brazil.

On Sunday, Welby agreed that the proceeds of acharity cricket match to be played between squadsfrom the Vatican and the Church of England inSeptember in Canterbury would go to organisa-tions fighting human trafficking.—Reuters

Pope, Anglican leader join

forces against trafficking

VATICAN: In this picture made available by the Vatican newspaper L’ Osservatore Romano,Pope Francis greets the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on the occasion of a privateaudience at the Vatican, yesterday. Pope Francis and the archbishop of Canterbury denouncedhuman trafficking as a crime against human dignity yesterday and pledged to combat it jointlyas they found common ground on a social issue amid deep theological divisions over theAnglicans’ ordination of women bishops. — AP

LISBON: Kate, centre, and Gerry McCann, the parents of the missing British girlMadeleine McCann, leave a court in Lisbon, yesterday. The parents of missing Britishgirl Madeleine McCann face an unexpected delay in their libel case against a formerPortuguese detective after a Lisbon court granted him 10 days to find a new lawyer.The McCanns are seeking 1.2 million euros ($1.6 million) in damages from GoncaloAmaral, who was part of the police investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance froma Portuguese vacation resort in May 2007, days before her fourth birthday. — AP

WARSAW: The Polish government andcentral bank were in damage-controlmode yesterday after a secret recordingwas published in which two key leadersappeared to be mak ing an improperunder-the-table deal.

Polish magazine Wprost on Saturdaypublished the recording in which centralbank head Marek Belk a told InteriorMinister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz last Julythat he would help the government getout of f inancial trouble if it f ired thefinance minister.

That minister, Jacek Rostowski, wasreplaced four months later. The centralbank is supposed to be independent fromthe government and interference eitherway is prohibited.

During the meeting, which took placein a Warsaw restaurant at Belka’s request,the two men discussed how the NationalBank of Poland could help the govern-ment emerge from its then-weak financialsituation in order to increase its chancesof winning re-election in 2015. The con-versation included references to possiblecentral bank stimulus for the economy.

It wasn’t clear who made the record-

ing. However, Belka in effect confirmedthe authenticity of the tapes in his reac-tion to them. He apologized for vulgarlanguage and said that his commentswere taken out of context and that he didnothing wrong.

“Through manipulation, these frag-ments try to present a conversation thatconcerned the stability of the financialsystem as a case of the head of theNational Bank of Poland exceeding hispower, which never happened,” the cen-tral bank said in a statement.

Pol it ical analyst Anna Matersk a-Sosnowska told The Associated Press thatthe tapes - many of which still have notbeen published - would probably notcause the government to fall; but Belka, aformer prime minister, has jeopardizedthe central bank’s independence, shesaid.

She said the case is also disturbingbecause it reveals the vulnerability ofleaders to eavesdropping. As interior min-ister, Sienkiewicz is in charge of the coun-try’s secret services and even he appearedunable to protect himself from being tar-geted. — AP

Polish leaders try to limit

damage in new scandal

BUDAPEST: Hungarian President Janos Ader delivers a speech during a commemora-tion event for former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Nagy, the leader of 1956uprising against Soviet occupation, at the Koztemeto cemetery in Budapest yester-day during the 56th anniversary of Nagy’s execution. The uprising began after a stu-dent demonstration on October 23, 1956 and had been bloody crushed onNovember 4 by tanks sent by Moscow. More than 2,000 civilians were killed duringthe fighting, while around 200,000 people fled the country. —AFP

I N T E R N AT ION A LTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

BEIJING: China deported a well-known Chinese-born Australian artist yesterday after he wasdetained following his comments on the 25thanniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Guo Jian, 52, a former Chinese soldier, wasdetained last month after an interview with theFinancial Times regarding his experiences as a pro-tester during the army’s violent dispersal of thedemonstrators on June 4, 1989.

His detention was seen as part of a wider effortby authorities to stifle criticism of the government

and remembrance of those who died in connectionwith the events 25 years ago.

Melanie Wang, a friend of Guo’s, told reporters atBeijing airport that he had been put on an Air Chinaflight to Sydney. “I’ll be taking off immediately.Thank you, all of you,” Guo said in a telephone call toWang, which she recorded and played to journalistsat the airport.

China’s foreign ministry has said that Guo hadbeen detained on visa fraud charges.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported thatauthorities had smashed one of Guo’s works at his

Beijing studio, a large diorama of Tiananmen Squarethat he had at one point last month covered in rawminced pork.

Guo’s girlfriend Yang Fangfang said that Guo hadbeen able to return to his Beijing studio briefly topack up some of his old paintings, but that hisTiananmen-related pieces had been destroyed.

For the ruling Communist Party, the 1989demonstrations that clogged Tiananmen Square inBeijing and spread to other cities remain taboo.

The anniversary of the date on which troops shottheir way into central Beijing has never been pub-

licly marked in mainland China, though every yearthere are commemorations in Hong Kong, whichreturned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The government has never released a death tollfor the crackdown, but estimates from human rightsgroups and witnesses range from several hundredto several thousand.

This year ’s anniversary was marked by thedetention of at least 66 rights activists, accordingto rights group Amnesty International, increasedsecurity in Beijing, and tighter controls on theInternet. — Reuters

China deports Australian artist after Tiananmen remarks

ALUTGAMA: Sri Lanka extended curfews in apopular tourist region yesterday after a rampag-ing Buddhist mob killed three Muslims andburned dozens of homes and shops, the latestoutbreak of religious violence on the island.

Community leaders accused authorities ofdoing little to prevent Sunday night’s violence,with the most senior Muslim member ofPresident Mahinda Rajapakse’s governmentthreatening to resign at the decision to allow mili-tant Buddhists to rally in the flashpoint region.

“Three deaths have occurred and 78 peoplehave been seriously wounded in the mobattacks... Places of Muslim religious worship havealso been attacked with total impunity,” JusticeMinister Rauf Hakeem said as he toured the dam-age in the neighbouring towns of Alutgama andBeruwala.

“The government allowed the Bodu Bala Sena(BBS) to hold their gathering and therefore theymust take responsibility for what has happened,”he said, referring to a hardline outfit better knownas the Buddhist Force.

Hakeem told reporters that he was now underpressure from his own supporters to quit the gov-ernment to protest the failure to prevent theattacks, the latest in a series of violent incidentsinvolving the BBS.

The unrest erupted on Sunday night when fol-lowers of the BBS staged a protest over a recentroad rage incident in the area. After stones wereallegedly thrown at them, the BBS supportersthen tore through the two towns, attacking peo-ple on the street and setting fire to property.Several mosques were also damaged.

Local residents said police did little to protectthem when the Buddhist mobs started theironslaught around sundown in the mainly Muslimtowns which are around 60 kilometres (37 miles)south of the capital Colombo.

Police fired teargas and imposed a night-timecurfew but the violence went on for several hours,according to residents. “We pleaded with thepolice to come and stop the mob attacking ourhouses but the police did nothing,” saidMujahedeen, a resident of Alutgama’s MiltonRoad where around a dozen buildings were seton fire.

Police chief N.K. Illangakoon said the situationwas “improving” although the curfew wouldremain overnight. “The situation is improving andpolice, the Special Task Force (commandos) andthe army have been deployed to ensure security,”

Illangakoon said in a statement.

President urges ‘restraint’ Both towns are popular beach resorts fre-

quented by international tourists, but there wereno reports of any foreigners or hotels beingcaught up in the violence.

However, several hotels told their guests toremain indoors and Western embassies advisedtheir nationals to avoid travelling to the regionuntil further notice.

Rajapakse, currently in Bolivia, said in a state-ment that he would not allow “anyone to take thelaw into their own hands” and urged “restraint”.

The attacks are the latest in a series of religiousclashes to hit the island following unrest inJanuary and also last year when Buddhist mobsattacked a mosque in the capital Colombo.

The United States, which has led internationalcondemnation of Sri Lanka’s human rights record,urged Colombo to end the violence.

“We urge the government to ensure that orderis preserved and the lives of all citizens, places of

worship, and property are protected,” the USembassy said in a statement.

BBS leader, Buddhist monk GalagodaatteGnanasara, is currently on bail after being arrest-ed in May on a charge of insulting the Quran.

The latest unrest came weeks after Muslim leg-islators asked Rajapakse to protect their commu-nity from “Buddhist extremist elements”.

Videos posted on YouTube have shown mobsled by Buddhist monks throwing stones andsmashing a Christian prayer centre in southern SriLanka in January this year and attacking mosqueswhile police looked on.

Senior Buddhist monks have also been caughton video threatening violence against their mod-erate colleagues who advocate tolerance. SriLanka, facing an international probe of its warrecord in crushing separatists Tamil rebels in may2009, is also criticised for its alleged failure to pro-tect minority religious groups.

Muslims make up about 10 percent of SriLanka’s 20 million population, but are accused bynationalists of having undue influence. — AFP

Religious riots kill 3

in Sri Lanka resortsUS urges Colombo to end violence

ALUTHGAMA: Sri Lankan Muslims walk to safer places following attacks by hard-line Buddhistgroup Bodu Bala Sena in Aluthgama, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka,yes-terday. — AP

THIMPHU: In this handout photograph released by the Royal Office of Media Bhutan,Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Bhutanese King JigmeKhesar Namgyel Wangchuck in Thimphu yesterday. India’s Narendra Modi received agrand welcome to Bhutan Sunday on his first foreign trip as prime minister, as he stepsup a charm offensive with neighbours to try to check China’s regional influence. — AFP

THIMPHU: India’s Narendra Modi yesterdaypledged stronger energy ties with tiny neigh-bour Bhutan as he wrapped up his first for-eign visit since becoming prime minister, atrip aimed at checking China’s influence inthe region. In an address to Bhutan’s parlia-ment, Modi said he also planned to build astronger India which could better support itsregional neighbours, on the final day of hisvisit to the Buddhist kingdom.

“In the last few years India and Bhutanhave made a strong start in the field of hydropower-we can improve it further,” Modi toldlawmakers in the capital Thimphu.

“Energy security will be a key issue in thenear future,” said Modi, who won a landslideelection victory last month on a pledge torevive India’s flagging economy.

Modi and his Bhutanese counterpartTshering Tobgay later unveiled a plaque andlaid a foundation stone for a new hydropow-er power plant, a joint venture between thetwo countries.

“Construction on 600MW KholonchhuHydroelectric Project officially begins withlaying foundation stone,” Tobgay tweeted.Bhutan, with its abundant winding rivers, hasset its sights on becoming an energy power-house, with most of its electric power alreadysold to energy-hungry India.

Three hydropower projects have beenbuilt in India-Bhutan joint ventures andanother three are under construction, with

plans for more, officials have said.Modi arrived in Bhutan on Sunday for the

two-day trip seen as the latest step in acharm offensive aimed at stopping India’sneighbours from falling into China’s embrace.

“A strong and stable India is needed tomake sure that we can help our neighbourswith their problems,” Modi told parliament. “Astronger India will be better for Bhutan andother SAARC nations.”

Modi invited Tobgay and seven otherleaders of the South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation (SAARC) to his inaugu-ration last month in an attempt to assert hisinfluence in the region.

On Sunday, Modi met Bhutan’s King JigmeKhesar Namgyel Wangchuck and inaugurat-ed the Supreme Court, built with Indian assis-tance. India Foreign Minister Sushma Swarajtold reporters in Thimphu yesterday the visithad been a “grand success”. Indian analystshave said the trip underlines the importancethe new Modi government has given toIndia’s immediate neighbourhood, where thecountry’s influence waned under the previ-ous administration. With the exception ofPakistan, India has enjoyed generally closeties with its South Asian neighbours. But crit-ics say the previous Congress party govern-ment began to take relationships for granted,allowing economic giant China-which sharesa border with four of India’s neighbours-tostep into the breach. — AFP

Modi vows stronger

Bhutan energy ties

ULUGAN BAY: This photo taken on June 7, 2014 shows the Philippine Navy frigate BRP Ramon Alacraz anchored atthe mouth of the South China Sea in Ulugan Bay off Puerto Princesa on Palawan island. Ulugan Bay, with a coast-line partly concealed by thick mangrove forests, is at the centre of the Philippine military’s efforts to shore up thedefence of contested South China Sea islands and waters. — AFP

MANILA: The Philippines yesterday called on nations withoverlapping claims in the South China Sea to halt all action thatcould provoke tensions in the area, amid fears of China’s expan-sionism.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said he backed a USproposal for a fresh regional dialogue that could take placewithin the year where he hoped to put the moratorium planformally on the table.

“Let’s call for a moratorium in terms of activities that escalatetension,” del Rosario told ANC Television, calling on the interna-tional community “to say that we need to manage the tensionsin the South China Sea before it gets out of hand.”

He said he hoped to have the “reasonable proposition” takenup by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) while it continues to work with China for a binding“code of conduct” that would govern the region.

The idea for a “voluntary freeze” on possible provocation wasfirst voiced by US Assistant Secretary of State for East AsiaDaniel Russel during a visit to Myanmar, during which he noteda surge in tensions.

Russel however said the idea was not a formal proposal butmerely a suggestion.

He accused China of rushing construction on reefs to“change the facts” on the ground before a United Nations arbi-tral tribunal rules on a case filed by the Philippines asking it to

nullify Beijing’s claims.China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including

waters close to the shores of the its neighbours. ASEAN mem-bers the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, as well asTaiwan also have competing claims to the sea.

“They’re accelerating their expansion agenda for the follow-ing reasons. One is they want to do this before the conclusionof the code of conduct. They’re also trying to do this very quick-ly in anticipation of the handing down of the tribunal award,”del Rosario said.

But he said the Chinese effort would be futile. “If you take areef and convert it to an island to be able to increase its mar-itime entitlements, that is not allowed,” he said.

The Philippines has protested what China describes as recla-mations in reefs within its exclusive economic zone, includingin one it fears Beijing intends to convert into an airstrip.

China had also recently deployed an oil rig to an area closeto Vietnam’s coast, and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near thearea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunyingrejected del Rosario’s accusation of expansionism, noting thatthe Philippines also had installations in the area.

“This is totally unreasonable. We will by no means accept theso-called representations by the Philippines side and werequire (it) to refrain from taking any action that may compli-cate the situation,” Hua said. — AFP

Philippines calls for freeze

on actions in S China Sea

DHAKA: A Bangladesh court yester-day delayed its verdict against a groupof Islamic militants accused of carryingout a 2001 bomb attack on the mainBengali New Year celebrations whichkilled 10 people.

Nine of the 14 accused were in thedock amid tight security at the court inthe capital Dhaka when Judge RuhulAmin announced he would now handdown his verdict next Monday, June23, saying he “needed more time”.

Prosecutors accuse the Islamists,including the head of the outlawedHarkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI) outfit,of targeting the popular secular cele-brations in Dhaka’s main park which

they deemed offensive to Islam.However defence lawyers say the

accused only admitted to the attacksafter confessions were forced themduring police interrogation. Thebombings were allegedly among aseries carried out by HuJI head MuftiAbdul Hannan and his group, who alsoattempted to kill Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina when she was opposi-tion leader in 2004.

After eight years of investigationand another five years of protractedtrial the lower court last month set thecase for verdict for June 16 with prose-cutors seeking death penalty for eachof the 14 accused.

“We hope the court will sentencethem to death,” prosecutor S.M. ZahidHossain said ahead of yesterday’shearing. “The court must send a mes-sage that this kind of heinous actwon’t be tolerated in the country,”Hossain added.

Five of the accused are still at largeand are believed to have fled abroad.Of the remainder, Hannan and twoothers have confessed their involve-ment in the plot in statements madeto magistrates. Hannan has alreadybeen sentenced to death for a 2004grenade attack targetting the BritishHigh Commission in the northeasterncity of Sylhet that killed three people.

The Bengali New Year, celebrated onApril 14, is the most important secularfestival for the 155 million ethnicBengalis in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.Hundreds of thousands of people,including Muslims, traditionally gatherand sing under a Banyan tree in the cap-ital’s historic Ramna Park and the nearbygrounds of Dhaka University.

Hossain said the Islamists targettedthe celebration because they consid-ered it “un-Islamic and against Sharia”law, and viewed the traditional singingand dancing performed as “obscene”.

They also wanted to undermine thesecular government of then-primeminister Hasina, who later that yearlost elections to her main rival KhaledaZia, he said. Police also accuse thegroup of trying to blow up courts andother secular institutions, as well asSufi shrines and a church.

Hannan, who fought with theTaliban in the 1990s, was arrested in2005 after the government bannedthe HuJI comprising of Afghan-trainedmilitants, following other deadlybomb attacks.

Defence lawyers said some of theirclients were charged based on disputedconfessions. “My clients are only namedin the case because Mufti Hannan men-tioned their names in his confessionalstatements,” defence lawyer Idi Amintold AFP. “But he himself later retractedhis confessional statement, saying it wastaken by coercion.” — AFP

DHAKA: Bangladeshi policeman produce Mufti Abdul Hannan, leader ofbanned radical group Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami, at a court in Dhaka,Bangladesh, yesterday. The court delayed its verdict till June 23, against agroup of Islamic militants accused of carrying out a 2001 bomb attack dur-ing the Bengali New Year celebrations in 2001 which killed eight peopleand injuring several others. — AP

Judge delays verdict over

Bangladesh bombings

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Like a poker player, Prime Minister David Cameronprefers to hold his cards tight to his chest when itcomes to clawing back powers from the European

Union, lest he blow his bargaining position, aides arefond of saying. Yet he has thrown caution to the wind indramatising his implacable opposition to Jean-ClaudeJuncker, the former prime minister of Luxembourg,becoming the next president of the EuropeanCommission, the EU’s most powerful job. Cameron hasgone as far as to suggest that Britain will drift closer tothe EU exit if he doesn’t get his way, a warning thatangered German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A number of European leaders privately shareCameron’s reservations about appointing Juncker, 59, aveteran deal-maker who has worked for closer EU inte-gration for the last 25 years. But his all-out, public drive totake down the Luxembourger has embarrassed potentialallies and hardened adversaries. For some EU insiders, itshows the British leader doesn’t understand how the EUworks. “He has painted himself into a really difficult cor-ner,” Rem Korteweg, a senior research fellow at the Centrefor European Reform in London, a think tank, toldReuters. “Putting the nuclear option of Brexit (a British EUexit) on the table immediately and not using it as anoption of last resort didn’t do him any good. It’s a techni-cal mistake to be forceful from the get-go.”

The European policy adviser of one EU prime ministercriticised the British leader’s lack of patient coalition-building and guile. “Everyone knows that Europeanaffairs is a consensual game. You don’t win by goingnuclear,” the adviser said, speaking on condition ofanonymity. “I’ve wondered whether Cameron needs aEurope adviser.” Cameron’s objections to Juncker are pro-found. The British leader has promised to try to reshapeBritain’s EU ties if re-elected next year before givingBritons an in/out EU membership referendum in 2017.

That makes it vital, say aides, that the next presidentof the EU executive, the body that proposes and enforcesEU rules, should be someone willing to impel reformsthat would return some powers to member states whilefocusing on free trade and market liberalisation. Cameronsees Juncker as far too federalist and wedded to the ideaof “ever closer union”, a concept the British leader wouldlike to erase from the 28-nation bloc’s founding treaties.Instead, he is thought to favour Danish Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt, a reformist Social Democratfrom a country that like Britain has stayed outside theeuro zone.

‘No Clear Wins’His campaign against Juncker is freighted with risk. If

he succeeds in thwarting Juncker, he may be feted athome by the Eurosceptic press and his dividedConservative party. But such a victory would be pyrrhic.Europe-watchers believe he would have used up hispolitical capital with fellow leaders, damaged Britain’schances of a good Commission job, and above all antag-onised Germany’s Merkel, Juncker’s most importantbacker and the person Cameron needs most to enable EUreform. He would also have set the European Parliament,which backs Juncker, on a collision course with EU lead-ers and with whomever they nominated instead of him. Ifhe fails to stop Juncker, the outlook for Cameron is evenworse. It would be interpreted as a sign of embarrassingweakness at home and abroad. Political foes would belikely to say it showed his chances of overhauling thebloc were nil, and he would have made an enemy of thenew Commission chief. “It’s damned difficult for him.There are no clear wins,” said Mats Persson, director of theOpen Europe think-tank in London.

“If he does lose, he will have spent a lot of politicalcapital and will look domestically like a person not incontrol. The charge will be: ‘You said you can reform theEU and negotiate but you can’t even stop a federalistwho has been appointed by the European Parliament’,”Persson said. Juncker, who has made clear he feels per-sonally bruised by Cameron’s campaign against him,would hardly be sympathetic to the British leader’s plansto reduce the Commission’s powers and return controlover some policy areas to national authorities.

Cameron is in a tight spot over Europe at home, afamiliar position for leaders of his often fractious party,which like the US Republicans is wedded to national sov-ereignty. He faces an electoral challenge from the anti-EUUK Independence Party (UKIP), which won the EuropeanParliament election in Britain last month, pushingCameron’s Conservatives into third place. —Reuters

By Andrew Osborn

Focus

Cameron’s ‘Stop Juncker’ drive

lose-lose strategy

A N A L Y S I STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

By W G Dunlop

Iraqi premier Nuri Al-Maliki’s mishandlingof security and perceived sidelining ofSunni Arabs set the stage for a major

militant offensive, but factors such as Syria’scivil war also played a role, experts say.Maliki’s opponents accuse him of sectariandiscrimination against the Sunni minority,centralising power and moving toward dic-tatorship, while the prime minister insistshe is working to keep the country safe. Themilitant assault, which began a week agoand is spearheaded by jihadists butinvolves other groups as well, overran all ofone province and swathes of three othersin a matter of days.

It poses one of the biggest challenges ofMaliki’s career. The prime minister hasmade major mistakes when it comes tosecurity, for which he is directly responsibleas commander-in-chief of the armed forcesand acting defence and interior minister,experts say. “He’s appointed every seniorofficer in the military currently serving, soissues like illegal arrests, torture, extractionof bribes to free detainees, etc. I’d lay atMaliki’s feet,” said Kirk Sowell, a political riskanalyst and publisher of the Inside IraqiPolitics newsletter. “He is clearly incapableof running the military in a competent

manner,” Sowell said.Anthony Cordesman of the Centre for

Strategic and International Studies, agreed.Maliki “has spent the last few years... bothcorrupting the Iraqi security forces and put-ting people in (its) command chain (who)are loyal to him,” Cordesman said. And “hehas used it systematically to repress thelegitimate Sunni opposition.” Securityforces carried out operations against SunniArab anti-government protest sites, includ-ing the demolition of one camp west ofBaghdad that set off a chain of events inwhich the government lost control of all ofone city and parts of another.

Security Forces ‘Extremely Ineffective’ Iraqi forces have also launched wide-

ranging operations that sweep up largenumbers of Sunni Arabs said to includethe innocent along with the guilty. “Theend result has been to basically makethe I raqi secur i t y forces a st ruc turewhich is extremely ineffective” and “haslost any real morale,” Cordesman said.Security forces performed poorly duringthe init ia l assault by mil i tants, withsome abandoning vehicles, positionsand uniforms to flee. But they seem tohave recovered somewhat f rom theshock of the onslaught and have begun

to retake some areas north of Baghdad.Most of the areas that have been seized

by militants are populated by Sunni Arabs,many of whom are angry with the Shiite-led government over what they view as theunjust targeting of their community bysecurity forces, and the marginalisation oftheir leaders. Sunni anger has played amajor role in a surge in violence over thepast 18 months to levels not seen in years,making it easier for militants to operateand recruit, and reducing residents’ cooper-ation with security forces.

John Drake, a security analyst at AKEGroup, said Maliki should have incorporat-ed the Sunni Arab militia known as Sahwa,who fought alongside US forces againstmilitants, into the security forces. Thiswould have had the effect of “providingjob security and empowering the Sunnicommunity, encouraging them to buy-into the Iraqi state,” he said. Maliki shouldalso have sought to extend the Americanmilitary presence in Iraq beyond 2011, and“there should have been more dialoguewith people such as senior tribal figures inthe central region in order to reach mutualagreements,” Drake said.

But internal and external factorsbeyond Maliki’s control have also con-tributed to the current crisis. Sunni Arab

obstinance is one issue, with politiciansand clerics making “absolutist demandsthat no Shiite PM would ever agree to,including the formation of autonomousregions with a de facto independent Sunniarmy that Baghdad would fund,” saidSowell. He also said contentious issues thatcontributed to the crisis, including de-Baathification, a process aimed at keepingofficials from Saddam Hussein’s regime outof office that opponents say has been usedto target Sunni politicians, “have little to dowith Maliki specifically”.

The civil war in neighbouring Syria hasalso been a major factor, bolstering mili-tant groups including the Islamic State ofIraq and the Levant, which has spearhead-ed the offensive in Iraq, by rallying fightersto their cause and giving them a base ofoperations and additional combat experi-ence. Maliki is vying for a third term as pre-mier after April 30 parliamentary polls, butit is unclear if he will weather the storm. Heis likely to need support from Sunni andKurdish blocs in order to secure re-electionduring the protracted period of govern-ment formation, but faces strong opposi-tion from those communities’ leaders. “Ithink these events make Maliki’s reelectionless likely for sure,” said Sowell. “His credi-bility is shot.”— AFP

Maliki security errors set stage for crisis

Indonesia takes on ‘Dolly’ red-light districtBy Maud Watine

Sex workers in skin-tight outfits sit inshop windows, ignoring the call toprayer that blares from mosques

across the heart of one of Southeast Asia’sbiggest red-light districts. The series of nar-row alleys in Surabaya’s “Dolly” district onIndonesia’s Java island teem with prosti-tutes touting for business, smiling throughthe windows and doorways of dingy clubsand bars housed in crumbling buildings.While foreign tourists may first think ofplaces such as Thailand when it comes toSoutheast Asian red-light destinations, oneof the largest has been challengingassumptions in the world’s most populousMuslim-majority country for decades,largely undisturbed by authorities.

But now a crusading mayor - creditedwith regenerating Surabaya, Indonesia’ssecond-biggest city after the capital Jakarta- is making a determined push to closedown the notorious brothel networkdespite fierce resistance and warnings thatit could push sex workers into destitution.“We have to lift our people from oppres-sion,” said Tri Rismaharini, a female mayorwho wears the Muslim headscar f andwhose stewardship of Surabaya has ledmany to predict she could have a futurerole in national politics.

While the city says the plan is its own,Islamic leaders are also claiming credit afterpressuring authorities for years over Dolly,which is thought to take its name from aDutch madam who ran a brothel in the cityduring the Netherlands’s colonial rule ofIndonesia. Now Rismaharini has set a dateof June 18 to close the brothels in Dollyand a neighbouring area called Jarak,which have a largely local clientele.

Authorities are offering each of the esti-mated 1,400 prostitutes around five millionrupiah ($420) and training in new profes-sions that are expected to replace prostitu-tion there, such as baking or handicrafts.While many have welcomed the move, theplan has stirred strong opposition from sexworkers and others whose jobs depend onDolly, such as taxi drivers and street ven-dors who contribute to the area’s estimatednightly income of between 300 and 500

million rupiah ($25,000 - $42,000).

‘ I Really Need This Work’ Sex workers and residents have been

staging protests in recent weeks, with hun-dreds of prostitutes marching throughDolly earlier this month. “I am not going toaccept the government offer because I real-ly need this work,” said Mawar, who gaveonly one name, sitting on a faded old sofain a club in Dolly. “I would never be able tofind another job because I did not even fin-ish elementary school.” The sex worker, whoearns between 10 million and 13 millionrupiah a month ($850 to $1,100), said itwould be hard for her to support her twochildren, aged five and eight, if Dolly closes.

On a recent evening, there were crowdsof people and hordes of cars and motor-bikes thronging the streets, including manyprostitutes and pimps. There were also cou-

ples out for a stroll and children playing,and the atmosphere was peaceful. The areaappeared to be operating normally inrecent days, apart from regular protestsduring the day time, an AFP reporter said.According to local reports, the mayor willissue a declaration tomorrow evening, say-ing that Dolly and Jarak are closed andpolice will move in to shut it down. Theprostitutes will have to leave the same dayand will receive training for the next sevendays, according to officials. Those whocame from villages outside Surabaya willhave to return to them.

For some members of the public, thiswill be a welcome move. “I want Dolly to beclosed - this place brings shame onSurabaya,” said Siti, a 46-year-old teacherwho like many Indonesians goes by onename. “The people who go there for girlsare sexually unstable.”

Fighting Back But Lilik Sulistyowati, from NGO Yayasan

Abdi Asih which works with prostitutes inthe area, warned that the workers wereunlikely to go quietly. “They will fight the clo-sure,” she said, and blamed the governmentfor trying to push through the plan in such ashort time, saying authorities should haveaimed to shut it within five years afterretraining the sex workers. Despite concernsin some quarters, for local Muslim leadersthe closure will be a huge victory after yearsof campaigning. “The closure of Dolly mustbe highly praised,” said AbdusshomadBuchori, local head of the country’s topMuslim clerical body, the Indonesia UlemaCouncil. “As the world’s most populousMuslim country, it is not too much todemand that Dolly be closed. What they aredoing is not a job. Selling one’s body isimmoral and inhuman behaviour.”—AFP

In this photograph taken on June 5, 2014, Indonesian sex workers participate in a demonstration in Surabaya city’s red light dis-trict popularly known as Dolly. — AFP

N E W STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

Continued from Page 1

The letter called on the attorney general to validatethe claims and documents and then investigate the alle-gations made in them. Later, the Cabinet asked SheikhMohammad to coordinate with the government’s legalbody to prepare to file another lawsuit against speakersat last Tuesday’s public rally organized by the opposition.Last week, the judicial council filed two lawsuits againstopposition figures and a Twitter account for involving thejudiciary and top judges in the political dispute.

But the main development that attracted most of theattention came when Hajraf filed a criminal lawsuitagainst two very prominent former officials accusingthem of plotting a coup, making cover contacts with aregional country and financial dealings with Israel. Thefull text of the lawsuit got great publicity on Twitter andby some news websites and mentioned the names of the

former top officials. According to lawyers, the prosecu-tion must call on the two accused in person and interro-gate them.

The opposition Popular Action Movement issued astatement on the issue, criticizing the government fordownplaying their accusations against the alleged cor-ruption. The statement provided more details about theamounts of money transferred from Kuwait by the formerofficials and in what means they were deposited inbanks, saying more than $20 billion are deposited inIsraeli banks.

In another development, several MPs signed a motioncalling for debating the crisis in Iraq and its effect onKuwait during the coming Assembly session next week.Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said on Sunday he hadmade an agreement with the government to hold ameeting with the foreign minister in the Assembly to dis-cuss the issue.

Day of lawsuits over corruption scandals

Continued from Page 1

Riyadh said it rejected any foreign intervention inIraq’s internal affairs, an apparent reference to talk ofintervention by its regional rival Tehran. Saudi analystAbdel Aziz Al-Sagr said Riyadh was concerned its US allymight give Tehran its tacit blessing for such an interven-tion. “We need a regional coordination over Iraq, not aUS-Iranian dialogue,” said Sagr. Qatar’s Foreign MinisterKhaled Al-Attiyah said the trigger for the unrest was themarginalisation of Iraq’s Sunni Arabs. He cited as exam-ples the dispersement by security forces of peacefulprotest camps maintained by the minority community inApril 2013 and January this year.

“This has deepened the divide between the compo-nents of the brotherly Iraqi people,” Attiyah said in com-ments reported by the official QNA news agency late onSunday. He urged the Iraqi government to take into con-sideration the “demands of a large part of the populationwho are only asking for equality and participation, awayfrom sectarian discrimination.”

Kuwait, which has maintained good relations withBaghdad, issued a more reserved statement, calling onlyfor the safeguarding of Iraq’s territorial integrity. “Thecouncil of ministers affirms its backing of security andstability in Iraq and safeguarding its territorial integrity,”the cabinet said after its weekly meeting. It expressedconfidence that the Iraqi people will be able to “over-come this ordeal... and preserve national unity.”

Meanwhile, militants battled security forces for controlof a strategic Shiite town in north Iraq yesterday, forcinghalf the area’s population to flee as Washington weigheddrone strikes against jihadist fighters leading the charge.US Secretary of State John Kerry also said he was open tocooperating with arch-foe Iran to resolve the week-longcrisis which has spurred the United States and Australianembassies to begin evacuating some staff.

Militants from ISIL are said to have killed scores of Iraqi

soldiers as they pushed an advance on the capital,including in a “horrifying” massacre that has drawn inter-national condemnation. In the latest fighting on Monday,militants entered and took control of several neighbour-hoods of Tal Afar, a Shiite Turkmen-majority town inNineveh province, according to officials and residents.

Abdulla Abbas, the local official responsible for thetown and surrounding area, said Tal Afar was dealingwith “martyrs, wounded, chaos and refugees,” and thataround 200,000 people - nearly half the area’s population- had fled to nearby areas. The town, which lies near theSyrian border in otherwise Sunni Arab and Kurdish-domi-nated Nineveh province, had briefly held off a militantoffensive that saw fighters led by ISIL take control of vastswathes of territory north of Baghdad in a matter of days.Militants also took control of the Al-Adhim area, in Diyalaprovince, north of Baghdad, on Sunday.

Kerry said yesterday that drone strikes were an optionin combating the offensive, after US President BarackObama said he was weighing “all options” on how to sup-port the Iraqi government. Drones might not be the“whole answer,” Washington’s top diplomat told YahooNews, “but they may well be one of the options that areimportant to be able to stem the tide and stop the move-ment of people who are moving around in open convoysand trucks and terrorising people.”

Washington has already deployed an aircraft carrier tothe Gulf, but Obama has ruled out a return to Iraq for USsoldiers, who left the country at the end of 2011 after abloody and costly intervention launched in 2003. The USand Iran have also raised the possibility of workingtogether over the crisis - with Kerry saying he would beopen to cooperating with Tehran, just days after IranianPresident Hassan Rouhani said his country may “thinkabout” cooperating with Washington. The Wall StreetJournal reported, citing US officials, that the Obamaadministration may use nuclear talks that started inVienna yesterday as a venue. — Agencies

Saudis, Qatar blame ‘sectarian’ Maliki

Continued from Page 1

The Saudi riyal forwards market, which shot up dur-ing the Arab Spring to show expectations for riyaldepreciation, has barely moved. In another vote of con-fidence in the Gulf, United Arab Emirates telecommuni-cations operator Etisalat sold $4.3 billion worth ofbonds last Wednesday in the region’s biggest corporatebond issue ever. The sale, a day after the Iraqi insurgentsseized the major city of Mosul, attracted massivedemand from European fund managers in particularand set a record for the cheapest pricing of any Gulfbond relative to mid-swaps, bankers said.

Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset management atBahrain’s Securities & Investment Co, a major fund man-ager, said the markets recognised that the six GulfCooperation Council economies could function smooth-ly next to an unstable Iraq. “Unless the contagionspreads to the entire region and it becomes a seriousconflict, the probability of which is quite low at present, Idon’t think that a contained conflict limited to Iraq isgoing to negatively impact the GCC economies,” he said.

SpendingOne reason for the growing confidence in the Gulf is

that three years of high global oil prices have allowedmost governments to build up their financial reserves,leaving them in better shape to cope with any politicalor economic shocks. Saudi Arabia’s net foreign reserves,for example, have ballooned by over a third since 2011to $730 billion - enough to finance several years of state

spending at current levels even if oil revenues plungedtomorrow. Also, in contrast to Iraq, GCC governmentshave over the past three years shown they can spendtheir oil money effectively to maintain social peace.Riyadh has directed tens of billions of dollars towardssocial benefits, new housing and new jobs to avert anypro-democracy unrest.

Compared to three years ago, “governments are bet-ter prepared to confront the sectarian threat, the fiscalreserves they have to do this with are bigger, andmacroeconomic conditions are better,” said Raza Agha,chief economist for the Middle East and Africa at VTBCapital in London. He noted that since the Arab Spring,the GCC states had also developed a mutual supportmechanism, with the richest governments - SaudiArabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar - pledging $10 billioneach to the less wealthy ones to fund economic andsocial welfare projects.

If Iraq’s sectarian confrontation sucks in Iran on theShiite side, the Sunni monarchies of the Gulf could con-ceivably drift towards a conflict that damages theireconomies and endangers their security. This wouldhave a major effect on financial markets. Even then,however, the financial position of the Gulf states couldbecome stronger in some ways, as higher oil pricesboosted their revenues. Iraq has been producingaround 3.5 million barrels of oil per day; if that werelost because of fighting, much of it would probably bereplaced by Saudi Arabia’s almost 3 million bpd ofspare capacity, raising its revenues substantially, Tuveysaid. — Reuters

Gulf billions insulate economies, markets

An image made available by the jihadist Twitter account Al-Baraka news yesterday allegedly shows Islamic Stateof Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants executing members of the Iraqi forces on the Iraqi-Syrian border. — AFP

S P O RT STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

MANAUS: Cameroon captain Samuel Eto’o will miss tomorrow’s match against Croatia andmay play no further part in the World Cup because of his on-going knee injury, both heand team officials said yesterday. The four-time African Footballer of the Year tweeted hewas out of the next Group A match against Croatia in Manaus.

“The doctors confirm! I would probably not be able to play the match vs Croatia onWed, june18th due to an injury on my knee causing me pain,” he said on his account�@setoo9. “Eto’o has been told by the doctors he cannot play for the next 10 days,” said theteam’s media spokesman Laurence Fotso, adding an extra prognosis.

If out for 10 days, it would also mean him miss-ing their final group game against hosts Brazil inBrasilia next Monday. Eto’o has battled with theknee problem from the end of the English leagueseason with Chelsea. “For three and a half months, Ihave not had the time to recover. You could see that evenin the build-up to the World Cup I hadn’t had a lot of prac-tice until the friendly against Germany,” he told Cameroonstate television on Sunday. “During the match against Mexico,I tried but after consulting the medical staff we realised that Ineeded a rest. — Reuters

Eto’o could be out for rest of WCup

MOSCOW: Spartak Moscow have appointed Murat Yakin as theirnew coach, handing the 39-year-old Swiss a long-term contract amonth after he led FC Basel to a second domestic title in as manyseasons in charge before parting ways with the club. According toRussian media, Yakin will receive a salary of 1.6 million euros($2.18 million) a season at the side who finished sixth in the 2013-14 Russian Premier League.

“I’m very happy to take charge of a club with such great tradi-tion. Even during our negotiations in Moscow, it was clear to mehow serious and professional Spartak were,” Yakin said in a newsconference yesterday. “For me it’s a great challenge and I hope mycoaching staff will cope with the task of securing at least a topthree finish.” The former Grasshoppers, FC Basel and Swiss interna-tional midfielder retired as a player in 2006.

After hanging up his boots, he had coaching stints at ConcordiaBasel, Thun and Luzern before taking over at Basel in October2012. He opted to leave the club on May 17 after Basel hadsecured their fifth successive domestic title and had been linkedwith the vacant managerial post at Premier League sideSouthampton. —Reuters

Spartak Moscow appoint Murat Yakin as new coach

OSTRAVA: Justin Gatlin and Allyson Felix are among the top stars set for today’sGolden Spike athletics meet in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava after Usain Boltpulled out as he continues to recover from a foot injury. Gatlin has run the threefastest sprints this year, leading the world 100m tables with 9.87sec from Beijinglast month.

In Ostrava, the American will take on compatriot Mike Rodgers, veteran KimCollins of St Kitts and Nevis, and South Africa’s Simon Magakwe, who has a sea-

son’s best of 9.98. Gatlin is a replacement for the world’s fastest manBolt, who pulled out of Ostrava and the July 5 Diamond Leaguemeet in Paris in a bid to recoup training time after a foot injury. “Ifthe weather holds up and if there’s going to be a good, fair wind,

I think we can go out there and do something very special,” saidGatlin, who last raced in Ostrava in 2004, over 200m. Among

female sprinters, four-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time world champion Felix will likewise replace out-of-formShelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica. Coming back from ahamstring injury that plagued her throughout the 2013season, the American sprinter will face Jamaica’s Aleen

Bailey and France’s Myriam Soumare over her preferred200m. —AFP

Gatlin, Felix to star in Ostrava with Bolt out

MISSOURI: Matt Holliday #7 of the St Louis Cardinals slides safely into home during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals onJune 15, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri. — AFP

ST LOUIS: Matt Adams homered for the third straightgame, all with his father in attendance, as the St LouisCardinals beat Washington 5-2 Sunday for a sweep.Adams gave St Louis a 2-0 lead in the second inningwith a two-run shot on an 0-2 pitch, his sixth homer ofthe season. His dad, Jamie, had been visiting fromPennsylvania on Father’s Day weekend. Adams hashomered in all three games since coming off the dis-abled list with a torn calf muscle. Jaime Garcia (3-0)pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and a run.Trevor Rosenthal got the final out for his 20th save.Doug Fister (5-2) had his five-start winning streaksnapped.

BLUE JAYS 5, ORIOLES 2J A Happ pitched into the seventh inning and

Dioner Navarro had three hits and two RBIs as theToronto Blue Jays beat Baltimore for a four-game split.Edwin Encarnacion also had three hits for the BlueJays, who had totaled 15 runs in losing six of their pre-vious eight games. The AL East leaders take a 4 1/2-game lead into a three-game series at Yankee Stadiumstarting Tuesday night. Ace Masahiro Tanaka starts theopener for New York. Adam Jones homered andNelson Cruz had three hits and his major league-lead-ing 56th RBI for the Orioles. Happ (6-3) gave up onerun, seven hits and no walks in six-plus innings. CaseyJanssen got four outs for his 12th save. Chris Tillman(5-4) is 0-4 with a 2.78 ERA at home and 5-0 with a6.33 ERA on the road.

ROCKIES 8, GIANTS 7Justin Morneau hit a two-run double in the eighth

inning as Colorado came back to sweep a three-gameseries from San Francisco. Morneau’s pinch hit high-lighted a four-run rally for the Rockies, who scored inthe ninth in each of the first two games of the seriesfor the win. Troy Tulowitzki had three hits, including ahome run, and drove in two runs for the Rockies, whowon extended their season-high winning streak tofive. The Giants have lost six of seven. Matt Belisle (2-2)pitched an inning for Colorado. Juan Gutierrez (1-2)got the loss.

ATHLETICS 10, YANKEES 5Derek Norris and Coco Crisp each hit a three-run

homer, powering Jesse Chavez and Oakland to thewin. Carlos Beltran hit his first home run for theYankees since coming off the disabled list. But the All-Star veteran also was called out on a strange play inthe eighth inning when he seemed to lose track of theouts and wandered away from first base. Norris home-red in the first and Crisp connected in the second offVidal Nuno (1-3). The A’s had been held to one run orfewer in four of their previous nine games before tak-ing a 10-0 lead in four innings. Chavez (6-4) pitched sixinnings of one-run ball.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, DODGERS 3Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Montero homered

to help Bronson Arroyo win his third straight start asArizona averted a three-game series sweep. Arroyo (7-4) allowed a run and five hits in five innings. LosAngeles starter Josh Beckett (4-4) gave up threeearned runs in seven innings. Goldschmidt hit his 15thhomer in the first inning and Montero hit his 10th inthe ninth, a two-run shot off Chris Perez.

MARINERS 5, RANGERS 1Kyle Seager had four hits and three RBIs as Seattle

stopped a five-game losing streak. Hisashi Iwakuma(5-3) pitched eight sharp innings, allowing BradSnyder’s first career homer. Charlie Furbush then gotthree outs to complete the six-hitter. Iwakumaimproved to 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA in three starts thismonth. The right-hander struck out six and walkedone in his fourth start this season of eight innings.Nick Martinez (1-4) allowed nine hits and walked one,but held the Mariners to two runs in six innings.

TIGERS 4, TWINS 3Right fielder Oswaldo Arcia’s error led to J.D.

Martinez’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, lifting theDetroit Tigers over Minnesota. Torii Hunter led off theninth with a single off Casey Fein (3-3). One out later,Victor Martinez hit a fly ball that Arcia dropped at thewall, setting up the winning fly. Earlier in the game,Arcia lost a routine fly in the sun with two outs and arunner on third for a run. Joe Nathan (3-2) pitched ascoreless ninth.

REDS 13, BREWERS 4Billy Hamilton led off the game with a home run,

Brandon Phillips added a two-run shot in the firstinning and Todd Frazier later hit his team-high 15thhomer as the Cincinnati Reds beat Milwaukee.Hamilton connected for the second straight day, offhomer-prone Marco Estrada (5-4). Ryan Ludwick hadthree doubles and got four of the Reds’ season-high 19hits. Frazier also doubled and drove in four runs.Estrada’s infield single with the bases loaded in thefourth off Mike Leake (4-6) helped tie the game at 3.Frazier’s two-run shot the next inning put Cincinnati upfor good. Estrada has given up a major league-high 23homers in just 84 innings, with 18 coming since May 1.

CUBS 3, PHILLIES 0Travis Wood pitched hitless ball into the sixth

inning as the Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia to win aroad series for the first time this season. Anthony Rizzohit his 14th home run as the Cubs took two of three atCitizens Bank Park. The Cubs last-place had been 0-9-3in sets away from Wrigley Field. This was the Cubs’ firstseries win in Philadelphia since April 2001. Wood (7-5)didn’t allow a hit until Ben Revere’s one-out single inthe sixth. He gave up three hits in eight innings andNeil Ramirez got his third save. AJ Burnett (4-6) movedpast Hall of Famer Eddie Plank into 50th place on thecareer strikeout list.

MARLINS 3, PIRATES 2, 10 INNINGSCasey McGehee tied the game in the eighth inning

with a two-out, two-run double, then drove home thewinning run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th as theMiami Marlins prevented a sweep by Pittsburgh.Vance Worley pitched seven innings in his seasondebut for the Pirates and departed with a 2-0 lead.Reliever Tony Watson had thrown 21 1-3 consecutivescoreless innings before McGehee doubled. AJ Ramos(4-0) loaded the bases with none out in the 10th butescaped. The Pirates had won four in row before

Miami won it against Jared Hughes (3-2).

INDIANS 3, RED SOX 2, 11 INNINGSNick Swisher led off the 11th inning with a homer

as the Cleveland Indians beat Boston for a four-gamesplit. It was Swisher’s fourth homer of the season andfirst since being activated from the disabled list onThursday before the series opener. Cody Allen (3-1)ended the game with two perfect innings, striking outthree. Junichi Tazawa (1-1) took the loss one day afterwalking in the winning run in Cleveland’s 3-2 victory.

RAYS 4, ASTROS 3David Price shook off a tough start to strike out 10,

pinch-hitter Jerry Sands broke three bats while sin-gling home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning andTampa Bay beat Houston. For the second time in aweek, Astros manager Bo Porter moved reliever TonySipp to left field, then brought him back to pitch. Price(5-6) allowed homers to Dexter Fowler and MattDominguez in the first inning. He went eight inningsin his first win since May 13. It was the 20th careerdouble-digit strikeout game for Price, setting a TampaBay record. Jake McGee pitched a scoreless ninth forhis first save. Sands then broke two bats on foul ballsbefore shredding a third one on his hit to left field offJerome Williams (1-3).

ROYALS 6, WHITE SOX 3Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer as the Kansas

City Royals swept a three-game series of the ChicagoWhite Sox. James Shields (8-3) won his fifth straightdecision and the Royals extended their season-highwin streak to seven. Greg Holland pitched the ninthfor his 20th save in 21 chances. Andre Rienzo (4-4)took the loss in Chicago’s fourth straight defeat.

METS 3, PADRES 1Curtis Granderson hit his first leadoff homer in five

years, Carlos Torres and two other relievers filled inadmirably for an ailing Daisuke Matsuzaka as the NewYork Mets beat San Diego. Bobby Abreu added an RBIdouble against Ian Kennedy (5-8), helping New Yorktake the rubber game in a series between the twoworst hitting teams in the majors. Matsuzaka barelymade it through an inning because of a severe upsetstomach. Torres (3-4) went four innings, Vic Blackpitched two scoreless innings and Jenrry Mejia madehis first appearance since leaving Thursday night’sgame with a stiff back, working two hitless innings forhis seventh save. — AP

MLB CAPSULES

Cardinals thump Nationals

PINEHURST: Germany’s Martin Kaymer, ice-coolin hot conditions, confirmed his status as one ofthe game’s very best by coasting to his secondmajor victory by eight shots in Sunday’s finalround at the US Open. Five ahead at the start ofanother humid day at Pinehurst Resort, the 29-year-old from Dusseldorf left his closest pur-suers trailing in his wake as he closed with aone-under-par 69 on the challenging No 2Course. Kaymer, whose first major win came atthe 2010 PGA Championship, mixed two birdieswith one bogey in the last six holes on a layoutwhere danger lurked at every corner to post anine-under total of 271, the second lowest everat the event.

The former world number one, who hadstruggled for much of 2012 while working on his

swing to develop a draw, became the firstGerman to win the US Open and the seventhplayer to complete a wire-to-wire victory at theyear’s second major. After soaking up a standingovation as he walked along the 18th fairway andon to the green, Kaymer sank a 15-foot putt forpar, dropping his putter in delight a few secondsbefore the ball disappeared into the cup. “To winone major is already very nice in your career, butto win two, it means a lot more,” Kaymer, whotook a stranglehold on the championship by fir-ing successive 65s in the first two rounds to leadby six shots, told reporters.

“Even though I don’t feel like I need to proveanything to a lot of people, somehow it’s quitesatisfying to have two under your belt. I playedreally, really well on Thursday and Friday andthat gave me a really nice cushion. “But I would

say it was probably the toughest day that I haveplayed golf today .... especially the first nine. Ifyou have two or three Americans chasing you,playing in America, it’s never easy being a for-eigner.” Rickie Fowler, who played with Kaymerin the final pairing, carded a 72 to tie for secondat one under, level with fellow American ErikCompton, a double heart-transplant recipientwho also signed off with a 72 in only his secondmajor appearance.

Commanding leadHowever, the tournament was Kaymer’s to

win or lose as he headed into the final roundwith a commanding lead and he prevented hisrivals from making significant inroads as hemixed aggressive golf with careful recoverywork as and when needed. Kaymer, watched byseveral LPGA Tour players including fellowGerman Sandra Gal and former women’s worldnumber one Yani Tseng, recorded his first birdieof the day after driving the green at the 313-yard, par-four third and two-putting.

Compton birdied the par-five fifth to trimKaymer’s lead to five and the German, playingone group behind, failed to follow suit therewhen he missed his birdie putt from six feet.Though Compton faltered with a three-puttbogey from just 15 feet at the par-four seventh,Kaymer also went on to drop a stroke there aftermissing the fairway off the tee and failing toreach the green in two. Compton went birdie-bogey to reach the turn in even par beforeKaymer struck a superb eight iron to five feet atthe par-three ninth and rolled in the birdie puttto stretch his advantage to six strokes.

Kaymer, who gained a major confidenceboost from his victory at the elite PlayersChampionship last month, made a mess of thepar-five 10th to end up with a bogey, missingthe fairway of the tee and finding an awkwardlie in a waste area with his second before over-shooting the green with his third. Compton’schallenge unravelled as he bogeyed 11 and 12,and Kaymer distanced himself further from thefield with astonishing birdie putts at the 13thand 14th, holing out from 15 and 30 feet tostorm eight strokes clear at 10 under.

The German could afford the luxury of abogey at the 16th, where he failed to get up anddown from just in front of the green, and didwell to save par at the last after his tee shot end-ed up in a poor lie behind a bush in the nativewaste area.

“He kind of killed the event in the first twodays,” Swedish world number two HenrikStenson said of Kaymer after carding a 73 to fin-ish in a five-way tie for fourth at one over. “Hewent out and shot two 65s and left everyone inthe dust.” England’s Justin Rose, who won lastyear’s US Open at Merion, finished in a tie for12th at three over after shooting a 72, onestroke worse than Australian world number oneAdam Scott (69). — Reuters

Kaymer romps to eightshot win at US Open

Americans Fowler, Compton tie for second

PINEHURST: Martin Kaymer of Germanycelebrates with the trophy after hiseight-stroke victory during the finalround of the 114th US Open at PinehurstResort & Country Club, Course No 2 onJune 15, 2014. — AFP

ASCOT: The annual fusion of high-end fashionand top-class racing which is Royal Ascotcomes with added spice this year, thanks tothe presence of two outstanding fillies.Estimate, owned by Queen Elizabeth II,attempts to win the meeting’s showcase, theAscot Gold Cup, for the second year runningon Thursday. And Treve bids to advance herstatus as the world’s best racehorse in thePrince Of Wales Stakes tomorrow.

They are the headline acts during a weekwhen total prize money has risen to £5.31 mil-lion ($9m, 6.65m euros), a six per cent increaseon last year. The running order of races hasbeen amended this year. The feature race willnow be run as the fourth race each day as a

result of extended television coverage that willsee all 30 races broadcast live on terrestrial tel-evision for the first time. Ascot executives aresure to keep a close eye on television viewingfigures, which plummeted by 50 per cent lastyear when they switched broadcasters.

The audience for the Derby on June 7 fellto an all-time low of 1.55 million viewers. Theslump prompted the broadcaster to hire pop-ular jockey Frankie Dettori, synonymous withAscot after he rode all seven winners in oneday there in 1996, as a guest presenter. In oth-er new developments, capacity within theGrandstand area has been restricted to 22,000,while Qipco, a private investment company formembers of the Qatari ruling family, has beenembraced as an Official Partner for the firsttime. The arrangement represents a relaxing ofRoyal Ascot’s previously rigid stance on com-mercial backing and on-site branding. It hasbeen introduced by Ascot chief executiveCharles Barnett, who will stand down afteroverseeing his seventh Royal Ascot.

Muscle injuryToday’s opening day features three cham-

pionship races, when runners from France,Ireland and South Africa oppose a strongBritish-trained contingent in the Queen AnneStakes. Unusually, however, there are no run-ners from Australia or Hong Kong in today’sKing’s Stand Stakes or the Golden JubileeStakes on Saturday. Horses from those coun-tries have posted six victories in the two cham-pionship sprints since Choisir, trained inAustralia by Paul Perry, won both races in2003. In their absence the international batonpasses to Mike de Kock and Wesley Ward. DeKock, from South Africa, saddles Soft FallingRain in the Queen Anne Stakes and Shea Sheain the King’s Stand Stakes, a race in which SheaShea finished runner-up 12 months ago.Horses trained by Ward in the US will contestmany of the meeting’s races for two-year-olds,starting with Hootenanny, ridden by Espinoza,in the Windsor Castle Stakes today. —AFP

Royal Ascot - a fusionof fashion and racing

LOUISVILLE: Victor Espinoza smilesafter riding California Chrome to a vic-tory during the 140th running of theKentucky Derby horse race at ChurchillDowns in this file photo. — AP

LONDON: Grigor Dimitrov insists his Queen’s Clubtriumph proves he is finally ready to end his longwait for a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Dimitrovenjoyed the perfect preparation for Wimbledon asthe world number 13 hung tough to defeat Spain’sFeliciano Lopez 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (8/6) in aclassic final on Sunday. The 23-year-old’s maidensuccess on grass makes him the first player sinceRoger Federer and David Ferrer in 2012 to wintitles on three different surfaces in the same yearafter his victories on hard courts in Acapulco andclay in Bucharest.

Dimitrov’s fourth ATP trophy of a career so farscarred by unfulfilled expectations will make him adark horse for the title when Wimbledon getsunderway on June 23. The 2008 junior Wimbledonchampion’s impressive displays on the grass atQueen’s proved he is perfectly suited to the sur-face and added to the growing feeling he is readyto make the most of the vast potential that saw

him compared to Roger Federer when he was ateenager.Asked if he is set to make the break-through at one of the four majors, Dimitrov, whoreached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at theAustralian Open earlier this year, didn’t back downfrom the challenge: “We’re about to find out in aweek. It would be special to win that one.

“Wimbledon has been closer to me and what Ihave always wanted to achieve, and it’s definitelyon my list to do or to win, and I’m going to havethe chance in a week to go out there and performthe best way I can.”Ever since I’ve played as ateenager I’ve dreamt of winning Queen’s. So I’mjust heading into Wimbledon with a lot of positivevibes.” If Dimitrov, the youngest player in the top20, does enjoy a strong run at the All EnglandClub, he will no doubt lean on the advice of girl-friend Maria Sharapova, who won Wimbledonaged 17 and clinched her second French Opentitle earlier month. —AFP

Queen’s champ Dimitrov targets Wimbledon glory

S P O RT STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

SAN ANTONIO: The San Antonio Spurs delivered adecisive end to LeBron James’ two-year reign atopthe basketball world by routing the Miami Heat104-87 on Sunday to win the NBA Finals four gamesto one. San Antonio trailed by 16 in the game’s firstseven minutes but outscored the Heat 55-29 overthe decisive second and third quarters and werenever threatened. James, the four-time NBA MVPwho led the Heat to titles the past two seasons,scored 31 points but was largely ineffective afterthe first quarter when he had 17 points.

“That’s how team basketball should be played,”James said of the Spurs. “It’s selfless. Guys move,cut, pass, you’ve got a shot, you take it, but it’s all forthe team and it’s never about the individual. That’sthe brand of basketball. “They were the much betterteam.” The Spurs were paced in scoring by the Finals’MVP Kawhi Leonard who had 22 points, whileArgentina’s Manu Ginobili added 19. San Antoniohit just one of its first 12 shots and trailed 22-6 butoutscored the Heat 25-11 in the second quarter andled 47-40 at the half.

San Antonio, who lost to the Heat in the finals ayear ago, opened the second half on a 18-4 run toseize a 65-44 lead, igniting the crowd hungry for theSpurs’ first title since 2007 and their fifth overall. Athree-point shot by Australian Patrick Mills and ajumper by Duncan hiked the Spurs’ lead to 75-53late in the third quarter and the rout was on. “It justfeels like a dream to me,” said Leonard. “This is mysecond finals appearance in my third year. I’ve beenjust progressing each year and the team has also.“Losing in the semifinals my first year, and losingthe championship my second year, and now win-ning in my third year, it just makes you believe inyour craft and your hard work.” James hit five of sev-

en shots in the first quarter but nailed only five of14 the rest of the way. The Heat shot 40 percentfrom the floor, including just seven of 25 fromthree-point range.

Three-peat deniedMiami was the first team to play in four succes-

sive finals since the Boston Celtics in 1984-87, andwere hoping to become the first three-time cham-pion since the Los Angeles Lakers more than adecade ago. The title was the fifth for the Spurs’ TimDuncan, a 38-year-old, 14-time All-Star who has notyet said if he will continue to play. “I know it is com-ing to an end,” he said. “I don’t know if I will have a

chance to do this again...It’s a real emotional time.”Mercurial Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who hascoached Duncan to each of his titles, joins PhilJackson, Red Auerbach, John Kundla and Pat Rileyas the only coaches with five NBA crowns.

In the 2013 finals against Miami, the Spurssquandered a five-point lead in the last 28 secondsof regulation of Game Six to lose 103-100 in over-time. The Spurs were so close to the title, the courtwas being lined with tape for the post-game awardceremony. Given new life, Miami went on to winGame Seven and the championship. “We remem-bered what happened last year,” Duncan said.

“How it felt in our locker room and we used it,built on it and got back in.” San Antonio came backthis year with the same roster, except for the addi-tion of Italian Marco Bellinelli.

Quality minutes in the finals from FrenchmanBoris Diaw, Mills and Brazilian Tiago Splitter, andimproved play in the finals from Ginobili, lifted theSpurs to the title. James played well overall in thefinals but Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh wereunable to score consistently and the point guardpair of Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole underper-formed.

Bosh hit six of 14 shots for 13 points on Sunday,while Wade totaled 11 points on four of 12 shoot-ing. “They’re that good,” Bosh said of the Spurs. “Ithought we’d get over the hump and we never did.They dominated us in this series, frankly speaking,and they deserve everything that they got.” TheHeat’s ‘Big Three’ - James, Wade and Bosh - are alleligible to become free agents in the offseason,and, despite winning the Eastern Conference ineach of their four seasons together, it is uncertain ifthey will return. — Reuters

Spurs grab fifth NBA titleLeonard named MVP; Heat denied 3-peat

SAN ANTONIO: The San Antonio Spurs pose for a photo after Game 5 of the NBA basketball finalsagainst the Miami Heat on Sunday, June 15, 2014. — AP

SAN ANTONIO: Gregg Popovich thoughthe had seen it all in his 17 seasons as acoach in the National BasketballAssociation. That is until his San AntonioSpurs exploded in the opening half of gamethree of the NBA finals, shooting a finalsrecord 76 percent. “I don’t think we’ll shoot76 percent in a half ever again. That’s crazy,”Popovich said. For a coach who oftenrebuffs interviewers with surly one-wordanswers, Popovich’s impromptu answer wasrefreshingly out of character. But make nomistake, behind that gruff exterior is acoach who knows how to motivate andcares immensely about his players. The 65-year-old Popovich is a great decision makerwho led the Spurs to the fifth title in fran-chise history Sunday as San Antoniowrapped up a five-game victory over theMiami Heat.

The Spurs stomped the two-timedefending NBA champion Heat in the 2014finals, shooting a finals record 52.7 percentfrom the field overall.They put together twostraight blowout wins in games three andfour on the road before returning home toclinch the series with another lopsided 104-87 win. This season Popovich has been ableto mold the raw talent of Kawhi Leonardinto the MVP of the finals. He also tookCharlotte Bobcats castoff Boris Diaw and fithim perfectly into the Spurs’ system.

‘Take advantage’ “As time evolves and you get older in the

business you figure out what’s really impor-tant, and you don’t waste time trying tomake people what they’re not going to be,”Popovich said. “You’ve just got to figure outwho people are and what they can give youand take advantage of their positives. “Youlearn that you can’t make everything theway you think you might. You can’t makesomebody great, so you don’t waste yourtime. You make a trade. You get rid of some-body. “You make sure you’re bringing peo-ple in who fit in all the areas you want.Competitiveness and team play.”

Popovich likes to tell the story of whenManu Ginobili first arrived in San Antonio.“I’ve learned to shut up more, and thatprobably is due to Manu Ginobili,” he said.

“When he first came I was going to makehim a heck of a player. “And after 20 minutesI realized that he didn’t need me to do that.He was already a heck of a player.“Sometimes being quiet and letting theplayer play is much more important thantrying to be Mr Coach and teach him this orteach him that.

“I didn’t make him a competitor andthere is no way I could make him a non-competitor.” Popovich believes communica-tion is the key to any good relationshipbetween coach and player. “You take some-body like Danny Green, who we’ve workedwith for a long time and actually cut himtwice,” Popovich said. “When you see some-body develop and come into his own, youfeel like you did something worthwhile. “Soit’s one of the sources of satisfaction in thebusiness, if you can see a young playergrow and become confident.” This yearPopovich led the Spurs to a NBA best 62-20record, extending their streak of winning atleast 50 games to a record 15-straight sea-sons. Popovich had guided the Spurs to sixNBA finals appearances.

NBA coach of the yearPopovich was named the NBA’s coach of

the year in April. It is the third time he hasearned the award, joining Pat Riley and DonNelson as the only coaches to receive theRed Auerbach Trophy three times. He alsowon the award in the 2002-03 and 2011-12seasons. Popovich is the longest tenuredactive coach in the NBA, but in 1999 therewere calls for his ouster after the Spurs gotoff to a rocky start to the lockout-shortenedseason.

San Antonio had lost five of sevenincluding back-to-back double digit lossesto Utah and Seattle. The Spurs eventuallyturned it around, going on a 15-2 run in theplayoffs. They topped it off by beating theNew York Knicks in five games for their firstNBA title. Popovich says NBA owners areoften too quick to pull the trigger on coach-es when teams get off to poor starts ordon’t live up high expectations. “Guys getfired every year who are good coaches andit has got nothing to do with what theyknow or don’t know,” Popovich said. — AFP

Spurs coach Popovich

savors fifth NBA title

LAUSANNE: A general view of the CHUV hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois) in Lausanne,where Formula One champion and former pilot Michael Schumacher (inset) was transferred from a Frenchhospital yesterday after emerging from a coma following his devastating ski accident last December. —AFP

LAUSANNE: Formula One champion MichaelSchumacher was transferred from a French hospital toa facility in Switzerland on Monday after emergingfrom a coma following his devastating ski accident inDecember. In a surprise announcement, the retiredGerman racing star’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm saidhe had left hospital in the French Alpine city ofGrenoble, where he had been treated since December29 when he slammed his head on a rock while skiingwith his son and friends. The 45-year-old was trans-ferred to a hospital in the Swiss city of Lausannewhere he will be undergoing further treatment, hospi-tal spokesman Darcy Christen said. Stressing the hos-pital ’s commitment to privacy, Christen saidSchumacher’s family was with him “in a space createdespecially to ensure their intimacy and to ensure thebest possible care.”

Schumacher, his wife Corinna and two children livein Switzerland in the small town of Gland. While newsof his accident in the French skiing resort of Meribelattracted throngs of global media to the Grenoblehospital, his departure Monday morning was very dis-creet and no press conference was scheduled to fur-ther brief the media. In a statement, the seven-timeworld champion’s spokeswoman Kehm said his family

wanted to “thank all his treating doctors, nurses andtherapists in Grenoble as well as the first aiders at theplace of the accident, who did an excellent job inthose first months.” “For the future we ask for under-standing that his further rehabilitation will take placeaway from the public eye,” she said.

No details on conditionShe gave no further details about Schumacher’s

condition, which have been kept under a tight lidsince his accident. The racing star underwent twooperations to remove life-threatening blood clotsafter the freak accident that shocked the world, beforebeing plunged into a medically induced coma. Hisfamily announced at the end of January that drugsused to keep him in his deep sleep were beingreduced with a view to bringing him back to con-sciousness. Since then, Kehm had said he was show-ing short moments of consciousness, but few otherdetails had filtered out and it is still unclear as to whatthe future holds for Schumacher. Doctors say somepatients only show signs of improvement severalyears after their accident, and in an April interviewwith German broadcaster ARD, Kehm said that “a med-ical prognosis is not possible” due to the nature of his

brain injury. Schumacher is well known for his love ofadrenaline sports, and even after retiring from thehigh-risk world of racing, he kept pursuing thrill-seek-ing hobbies as the holder of a pilot’s license, anaccomplished motorbike rider, parachutist, skier andmountain climber. He survived a motorbike accidentin Spain in 2009, during which he suffered head andneck injuries but was released from hospital after justfive hours. The latest accident proved near fatal, butin several statements released to the media, his wifeand children had said they remained confident thatthe man who defied death more than once on thetrack would pull through.

In her statement Monday, Kehm said Schumacher’sfamily wanted “to thank all the people who have sentMichael all the many good wishes”. “We are sure ithelped him,” she added. Schumacher, who made hisdebut in 1991, dominated Formula One. A ruthlessand at times controversial competitor, the Germanwon an unprecedented 91 races, and seven worldtitles including five in a row with Ferrari from 2000 to2004. He first retired aged 37 but was unable to resistthe lure of the track. In 2010, he came out of retire-ment but failed to re-enact his previous performanc-es, and he quit for good in 2012. —AFP

Schumacher out of coma,

shifted to Swiss hospital

MINNEAPOLIS: Diana Taurasi had 21 points and11 assists and Candice Dupree had 18 pointsand 10 rebounds as the Phoenix Mercury beatthe Minnesota Lynx 80-72 on Sunday. BrittneyGriner scored 14 points and DeWanna Bonneradded 12 for the Mercury (7-3).

The Mercury beat the Lynx for the first timesince 2011 - a streak spanning 10 regular seasonand four playoff games. Maya Moore had 14points for the Lynx (8-3). The Mercury handedthe Lynx their first home loss of the season asMinnesota has lost three of its past four gamesafter starting 7-0 on the season. After trailing byas much as 23 points, the Lynx pulled within sin-gle digits in the fourth quarter, but the come-back attempt fell short.

DREAM 75, MYSTICS 67Erika DeSouza and Angel McCoughtry each

scored 16 points as the Dream won their fourthstraight game with a victory over the turnover-

plagued Mystics. Sancho Lyttle scored 10 of her 15 points in

the fourth quarter and Tiffany Hayes had 14 forthe Dream (7-3), who turned Washington’s 21turnovers into 21 points. Washington trailed by11 in the first half and tied the game three timesafter halftime, but never took the lead. Lyttle’sscoring fueled a decisive 11-3 run starting with3:48 remaining. Atlanta outreboundedWashington 17-4 on the offense boards andheld an 18-0 advantage in second-chancepoints. Bria Hartley scored 13 points for theMystics (5-6), who have lost four of five.

SHOCK 85, STORM 79Skylar Diggins scored a career-high 26 points

to help the Shock win a franchise-record fourth-straight game with a victory over the Storm.Courtney Paris added 16 points and 12rebounds while Glory Johnson had 12 pointsand 13 rebounds for the Shock (4-5). Odyssey

Sims added 15 points. Tanisha Wright scored 24 points to lead the

Storm (5-8). Sue Bird added 12 and ShekinnaStricklen had 11 for Seattle. The victory com-pleted a four-game homestand for the Shock.

SUN 76, LIBERTY 72Kelsey Griffin had 12 points as the Sun

earned their fourth straight win with a victoryover the Liberty. All five starters scored in dou-ble figures for the Sun (6-6). Katie Douglas had14 points, rookie Alyssa Thomas had 13 pointsand seven rebounds. Alex Bentley had 12 pointsand four assists. Kelsey Bone added 10 pointsand five rebounds. Connecticut was withoutstarters Allison Hightower (sprained knee) androokie Chiney Ogwumike, who was at Stanford’sgraduation. Cappie Pondexter had 21 pointsand five assists for the Liberty (3-8) and formerSun center Tina Charles added 15 points andfive assists. —AP

PARIS: From a young driver with a delin-quent temperament to the all-conquering“Red Baron” of Formula One, MichaelSchumacher was for many a year the undis-puted king of the circuit. A ruthless and attimes controversial competitor, the Germanwon an unprecedented 91 races, and sevenworld titles including five in a row withFerrari from 2000 to 2004. But his stupen-dous life of glory and triumph turned sud-denly into tragedy in late December whenhe smashed his head off a rock after fallingwhile skiing off-piste with his 14-year-oldson in France.

Brain surgery and an induced coma fol-lowed and then months of agony for hisfamily, friends and fans around the world asthey waited for him to regain consciousnessin the specialised unit of a hospital inGrenoble. Finally on Monday, nearly sixmonths after the accident, they heard thethe news they had been waiting so long tohear, that he had emerged from his comaand had been transferred to another hospi-tal in Lausanne “to continue his long phaseof rehabilitation.”

Schumacher retired in November 2012holding every major statistical benchmark -the most world titles (7), wins (91), poles(68), fastest laps (77) and races won in a sin-gle season (13). After his seventh place inSao Paulo for his 308th and final Grand Prix,“Schumi” had for a time considered a switchto another type of horse power ... rodeo.“My wife Corinna has already chosen the

horse, I’m ready,” said the German after hissecond retirement, the first being between2007 and 2009. Not rodeo, however, but anambassadorial role for Mercedes on roadsafety projects.

A surprising choice for a man who wasnever able to do things slowly. After years ofracing in the high risk world of Formula One,his skiing accident suggests that retirementhad not dulled his relish of dangerous pur-suits. Holder of a pilot’s license, an accom-plished motorbike rider, parachutist, skierand mountain climber, the young retireehad not lost his love of risk taking, turninghis back on the career of television punditembraced by many of his former rivals. Healready survived a motorbike accident inSpain in 2009 suffering head and neckinjuries but that time he was released fromhospital after just five hours.

As an F1 racer, Schumacher was knownfor his daring overtaking manoeuvres, his at-times almost reckless abandon in the pur-suit of victory. When he won his first worldtitle in 1994 with Benetton, he did so in con-troversial fashion, crashing into his title rivalDamon Hill in the final race in Adelaide,Australia after he had already scuppered hisown hopes by going off the track whenpushing hard despite leading comfortably.He almost provoked a similar crash in thefinal race of the 1997 season when battlingJacques Villeneuve for the title, an incidentfor which he was retrospectively disqualifiedfrom the whole season. —AFP

Schumacher: F1 greatest

or a tainted champion?

WNBA CAPSULES

Mercury stun Lynx

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

FAN FERVOR

World Cup demonstrates Birthday ParadoxTOKYO: Mathematicians are running the rule over theWorld Cup-less for the quality of the football than forthe chance to prove an intriguing statistical quirkcalled the “Birthday Paradox”. Strange as it maysound, 16 of the 32 teams at the World Cup have play-ers who share a birthday-though mathematicians arefar less surprised than the rest of us. Statisticians haveknown for some time there is a slightly more than 50percent chance that in any group of 23 people, two ofthem will have the same birthday.

While it appears to defy logic, the “BirthdayParadox” stacks up. And delightfully, the World Cup-with its 32 teams of 23-man squads-proves it exactly.“It might look far-fetched,” Japan-based mathemati-cian Peter Frankl said. “Mathematics deals in thecounter-intuitive on a daily basis. “When peoplemake millions on the stock exchange or try to predictthe future, you are talking about the theory of proba-bility.”However improbable it sounds, precisely halfthe competing teams have at least one shared special

day, and five have two pairs of birthdays. No coinci-dence, explained Frankl.

“It is hard to convince people but it’s almost alwaysexact,” said the Hungarian. “Actually with 32 teamsand 23 people, 50 percent is less than the expectedresult, mathematically speaking.” Frankl says one needonly think back to school when many people wouldhave shared a birthday with a classmate-the probabil-ity of two schoolchildren in a class of 30 sharing abirthday being 70 percent. “With 41 people in theclassroom, the chances are 90 percent,” he said. Themathematical principle holds true at the World Cupwhere half the sides, including Brazil and holdersSpain, have at least one pair of birthday boys.

Argentina, France, South Korea, Switzerland andIran have two. Some team-mates will celebrate jointbirthdays at the World Cup, although champagne andcake are likely to be banned. On Friday Bosnian pair-ing Asmir Begovic and Sead Kolasinac will have totoast their joint birthday in secret if so inclined-with a

must-win game against Nigeria the following day.South Korean players Kwak Tae-hwi and Son Heung-min might be able to enjoy a birthday tipple on July8, unless the team repeats its astonishing run to theWorld Cup semi-finals of 2002.

Though something of a long shot, if the teams faceeach other in the last 16 on June 30, Germany’sBenedikt Howedes and Algeria’s Saphir Taider willcome face to face-both players only getting to cele-brate an official birthday every four years becausethey were born on February 29.

Sceptics trying to shoot down the theory by claim-ing the data field is too narrow will be disappointedto learn that by including the 2010 World Cup squads,31 out of the 64 squads had shared birthdays, stillhovering near 50 percent. “Sometimes in mathemat-ics it’s no use trying to explain things to your wife,children or neighbors,” said Frankl. “But I’ve tried theBirthday Paradox about 20 times in lectures and it’sonly failed once.” — AFP

SALVADOR: German fans cheer near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin yesterday during the public viewing of FIFA World Cup 2014 group G match Germany vsPortugal played in Salvador, Brazil. — AFP

BELO HORIZONTE: Belgium’s vibrantyoung team are preparing to launchtheir World Cup campaign againstAlgeria today with competition hottingup on the training pitch ahead of theGroup H clash. Seen as dark horses to liftthe trophy, the richly talented squad isblessed with players such as Chelseaplaymaker Eden Hazard, powerful strikerRomelu Lukaku and Manchester Citydefender Vincent Kompany. Belgiumhave not appeared at a major interna-tional championships since the 2002World Cup in Japan and South Korea butthey impressed in qualifying and will fan-cy their chances of matching their semi-final showing in Mexico in 1986.

The sole survivor from their 2002campaign is veteran defender Daniel vanBuyten, who said there were some feistytackles flying in during the team’s train-ing sessions in the build-up to theirmatch in Belo Horizonte. “We usuallytrain lightly before important matches soplayers hit their peak at the right time,”said the Bayern Munich player. “But theduels on the training pitch have becomemore full-blooded.” “Every player shouldbe ready. There are only 11 startingplaces and everybody wants to be in theline-up but the substitutes must beready at any moment to make the differ-ence.” Coach Marc Wilmots can also call

on young Manchester United sensationAdnan Januzaj and his club team-mateMarouane Fellaini as well as Chelseagoalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, outstand-ing while on loan at Atletico Madrid lastseason. Lukaku, who only returned totraining on Wednesday after suffering anankle injury in a bruising friendly with

Tunisia, will spearhead an attack missinginjured Aston Villa forward ChristianBenteke. Belgium, also grouped withRussia and South Korea, are expected toqualify for the knockout rounds withease but Manchester City captainKompany urged caution over theirchances of unseating football’s super-

powers. “We have a young squad, it’s their first

major tournament,” he said. “I think it’s astill a bit too early to dream of the sum-mit. For overall victory it’s better waitinguntil 2016 and the Euros in France.”Despite their impressive playingresources, Belgium will come up againsta side looking to cause an upset of theirown to go alongside their shock win overeventual finalists West Germany in 1982.Despite that famous win, Algeria, takingpart in their fourth World Cup, have nev-er gone beyond the group stages.

Key players for the north African sideinclude defender Madjid Bougherra,midfielders Sofiane Feghouli and MedhiLacen, and forward Islam Slimani. “Wehave a young group which has talent,but is lacking a bit of maturity,” said assis-tant coach Nourredine Kourichi. “Matchafter match this team is growing, youcould see it (in friendlies) againstArmenia, Slovenia and Romania ‘Weknow that the first match is important,not vital, but important especially forconfidence. The group is lacking a bit ofexperience but they are fearless and theyhave one important weapon: speed.“We’re going to try to trouble thisBelgian team, we’re ready for it andwe’ve done everything possible to pre-pare ourselves.”— AFP

Belgium’s young guns set to dazzle

BELO HORIZONTE: Algeria’s goalkeeper Rais Mbohli attempts to catch theball during a team training session at the Mineirao Stadium in BeloHorizonte yesterday, on the eve of Belgium’s 2014 FIFA World Cup group Hfootball match against Algeria. — AFP

BRASILIA: Since Friday’s shock 5-1 World Cup reverseto Group B rivals Netherlands, Spain coach Vicente delBosque has been bombarded with advice about per-sonnel changes he needs to make before Wednesday’sChile clash. It remains to be seen whether the genial63-year-old will make any adjustments following theholders’ woeful second-half performance in their open-ing match in Salvador but he certainly has plenty of tal-ent to call on if he decides tweaks are needed.Although the scale of Friday’s thrashing was trulyshocking, Del Bosque reacted with much the samecalm as when Spain slipped to a 1-0 defeat in their

opening game in South Africa four years ago beforethey went on a six-match winning run that securedtheir first world title.

“We may make two or three changes,” Del Bosquesaid in an interview with Spanish television broadcasterCuatro yesterday. “If I make changes we are not point-ing the finger at anyone,” he added. “None of the play-ers should be worried, they all have our affection. “Butthe team is more important than that fondness. We areflexible but we will also keep certain things in place.”Captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas looks certain tokeep his place despite an error-riddled performanceagainst the Dutch when he lost some of the sheen thatearned him the nickname “San Iker” in his native coun-try.

One area where Del Bosque could introduce freshblood is in central defense, with the versatile JaviMartinez waiting in the wings to replace either SergioRamos or Gerard Pique. Martinez could also come in forXabi Alonso to bolster central midfield, an area Spainnormally dominate effortlessly but where they werebrutally exposed on Friday. Playmaker Xavi, who at 34 isnearing the end of a glittering career, may make wayfor young pretender Koke, 22, who had a breakthroughseason with Atletico Madrid and whom Xavi himselfrecently named as his natural successor.

Important role“Things didn’t work out as we wanted (against the

Netherlands) but the group is strong and more unitedthat ever, with a lot of desire to play the next match,”Koke said on Spain’s official site (www.sefutbol.com) onMonday. “Chile is going to be a very tough opponentbut if we match them for intensity and even show moreand play as we know how I think that will be key.” Chileforward Esteban Paredes said the South Americans,who began their campaign in Brazil with a labored 3-1win against Australia in Cuiaba, had been practicingtheir pressing game before the Spain game in Rio DeJaneiro. —Reuters

Returning Russia face

Korean test in Cuiaba

CUIABA: Out-of-sorts South Korea face a Russia side desper-ate to prove a point in Cuiaba today. The Korean’s fortuneshave nose dived since the heady days of 2002 when theyturned the formbook on its head by becoming the first Asianside to make it through to the semi-finals. But before reach-ing their eighth consecutive World Cup, they struggled inqualifying, squeaking home only on goal difference. Theyalso lost World Cup warm-ups to Tunisia, 1-0, and more wor-ryingly a 4-0 drubbing by Ghana last week.

Coach Hong Myung-Bo is fretting over his TaegukWarriors’ fate in Brazil, aware that defensive frailties will makethe going tough for them in a Group H also containingfavourites Belgium and Algeria. Hong, 45, gained iconic sta-tus in Seoul after his side-footed penalty took Guus Hiddink’sside into the 2002 World Cup last four. He insists that ratherthan regressing, the Korean team has made progress in thelast 12 years. “The fact is that the quality of football in SouthKorea has developed a lot since 2002,” he declared. TheKoreans arrived in Cuiaba on Sunday, 24 hours before Russia.And before a training session at a local university, defenderLee Yong took time out to forecast what lay in store for himand his colleagues.

“It’s true the Russian team are quite technical and strong.Maybe the Russians are physically stronger than Asian sideslike us but we are well prepared for this game, we’re focused,”he told the hordes of Korean press. “We’re well prepared forthe match,” he pledged. Unlike the Koreans, who are part ofrecent World Cup history’s fixture and fittings, Russia maketheir return to the feast of football for the first time since2002, when like in 1994 they failed to make it out of thegroup stages. Under Fabio Capello, who guided England tothe last 16 in South Africa four years ago, Russia coastedthrough qualifying and in stark contrast to today’s opposi-tion are unbeaten in 10 games.

They hold a psychological advantage going into thegame at the Arena Pantanal as they saw off South Korea 2-1in a friendly in Dubai last November. Capello’s crew set off forBrazil missing one vital component of their assault on theWorld Cup-captain, Roman Shirokov. The 27-year-old mid-fielder’s failure to recover from a knee ligament injury repre-sented a serious blow to Capello’s plans, with Rubin Kazan’sPavel Mogilevets stepping in to replace him. —AFP

FIFA WORLD CUP

Belgium v Algeria 19:00beIN SPORTS 1 HDbeIN SPORTS 2 HDbeIN SPORTS 11 HDbeIN SPORTS 1 HD FRbeIN SPORTS 1 FRBrazil v Mexico 22:00beIN SPORTS 1 HDbeIN SPORTS 2 HDbeIN SPORTS 11 HDbeIN SPORTS 1 HD FRbeIN SPORTS 1 FRTomorrowRussia v South Korea 1:01beIN SPORTS 1 HDbeIN SPORTS 2 HDbeIN SPORTS 11 HDbeIN SPORTS 1 HD FRbeIN SPORTS 1 FR

MATCHS ON TV

Del Bosque under

immense pressure

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

FAN FERVOR

Messi’s strike lights up Maracana

RIO DE JANEIRO: Lionel Messi finally made his markon the World Cup and lit up the Maracana with hisfirst goal in the finals for eight years as Argentinawere forced to battle for a 2-1 win over debutantsBosnia in their opening Group F match on Sunday.Messi, four-times world player of the year andArgentina’s best footballer since Diego Maradonagraced the 1986 tournament, put his side 2-0 aheadon a night when the stadium was turned into littleBuenos Aires by tens of thousands of his country-men. Although they took the lead in the third minutewhen Sead Kolasinac netted the fastest own goal inWorld Cup history, Argentina looked unconvincinguntil Messi struck with a dazzling run and sweet left-foot shot that went in off the post in the 65th minuteafter a one-two with substitute Gonzalo Higuain.

It was Messi’s first goal in the finals since scoringin Argentina’s 6-0 win over Serbia & Montenegroalmost eight years ago to the day. Even then theycould not afford to relax as substitute Vedad Ibisevicscored in the 85th minute for Bosnia to set up athrilling finale. “They were two different halves,”Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella told a news con-

ference. “In the first one I think we controlled theBosnians well, but beyond that, we didn’t create thekind of depth that we managed in the second half.Obviously we need to improve.”

Unwanted recordThe match began dramatically when Kolasinac

put through his own net after two minutes eight sec-onds, beating the previous unwanted record set byParaguay’s Carlos Gamarra against England in 2006by 38 seconds. He was in the wrong place when aMessi free kick, headed on by Marcos Rojo, hit himand went in. Bosnia, naturally shaken after makingsuch a bad start to their first ever match in the finals,did not dwell on their misfortune for long. After sur-viving a nervy spell, they began to look the betterside against a subdued Argentina team who were indanger of losing their record of winning their open-ing match in their last five World Cups.

Messi, whose tepid displays in the last World Cupin South Africa when he failed to score have beenexhaustively documented, made little impressionuntil his goal and Bosnia had their chances with both

Senad Lulic and Edin Dzeko going close in the firsthalf. Substitute Ibisevic scored Bosnia’s first WorldCup goal when he shot through Sergio Romero’slegs, but it was too little too late. Bosnia were farfrom outplayed, however, and capitalised on a cau-tious safety-first approach from Sabella in the firsthalf. Playing with five at the back against lone strikerDzeko and with Sergio Aguero and Messi getting lim-ited service in attack, Bosnia dealt with their moreillustrious opponents with relative ease.

Muhamed Besic did a good policing job on Messiwho was largely anonymous in the first half. Sabellachanged his formation at halftime, introducingFernando Gago in midfield and Higuain in attack butin the end it was Messi’s magic, as so often is thecase, that made the difference. “The objective was toplay as well as we can against Argentina, who are thefavorites to win the World Cup, and I think we playeda good match,” Bosnia coach Safet Susic said. “Weplayed well in both halves and it was only because ofthe psychological pressure that we looked as if wehad run out of steam a little bit in the closingstages.”— Reuters

Argentina sink battling Bosnia 2-1

RIO DE JANEIRO: Argentina’s forward and captain Lionel Messi (center) shoots the ball during a Group F football match between Argentina and Bosnia-Hercegovina at the Maracana Stadium on June 15, 2014. — AFP

Mexico-Brazilclash stirs

bad memories FORTALEZA: Brazil striker Hulk insists revenge is noton the agenda as the World Cup hosts bid to all butsecure their place in the last 16 against rivals Mexicotoday. Mexico shattered Brazil’s dream of winning theonly major prize missing from their honors list twoyears ago, when they stunned the South Americans 2-1 to claim the Olympic gold medal in London. But Hulkinsists there is no question of Brazil looking to settle ascore as they face the Mexicans at Fortaleza’s CastelaoStadium. It is the same venue where they met in thegroup stage of the Confederations Cup last year whenLuiz Felipe Scolari’s side claimed a 2-0 victory.

That success means a measure of revenge hasalready been exacted, and forward Hulk insisted thatBrazil will only have one thing on their minds comekick-off today. “In the Confederations Cup we tried tothink only about winning the game and it will be thesame this time. If we think about revenge it couldcause us problems,” said the powerful forward, whoscored in the Olympic final clash. Nevertheless, theOlympic defeat left its mark on him, Thiago Silva,Marcelo, Oscar and Neymar, the five members ofBrazil’s 2014 squad who featured at Wembley.

“Of course I was very sad. It is a medal that Brazilhave never won and we lost the final. Mexico are a verygood team. I just hope the Selecao, in the nextOlympics (in Rio de Janeiro), can win gold,” said Oscar,one of the standout performers in Brazil’s opening 3-1win against Croatia in Sao Paulo on Thursday. Oftoday’s encounter, the Chelsea player added: “It willcertainly be as difficult as last year. In the World Cupthere is an extra desire to win and I hope we can do soagain this time. Mexico are a very different side toCroatia. They play the ball out from the back well andare very good on the counter-attack.”

The current Mexico side, featuring eight membersof the gold medal-winning 2012 team, also startedtheir Group A campaign in positive fashion, beatingCameroon 1-0 in Natal on Friday. Oribe Peralta scoredthe only goal in that game, although Brazil are quitefamiliar with his threat - he netted a brace in theOlympic final as well. The hosts are more concerned byMexico’s left wing-back Miguel Layun, the ClubAmerica player who was a constant danger againstCameroon and who could cause problems for the rightside of the Brazil defence, where Dani Alves was fre-quently caught out against Croatia.

Pressure on refereeOf greatest concern to Mexico, however, would

appear to be the potential of Turkish referee CuneytCakir to be swayed by the pressure from the passion-ate home fans, after seeing the Selecao benefit from acontroversial penalty award against Croatia. “It is notsomething you can compete against. You have toaccept things and fight to try and prevent them fromhappening,” said Mexico captain Rafael Marquez, a vet-eran of four World Cups. Mexico must also attempt toimprove on a miserable record against Brazil in WorldCups-in three previous meetings, El Tri have been beat-en every time and have never scored a goal, althoughthe last clash came in Chile in 1962. —AFP

PORTO ALEGRE: Justice was done on all fronts inPorto Alegre on Sunday as goalline technologypassed its first World Cup test with flying colors andFrench free-flowing football conquered the heavy-handed tactics of Honduras. With France leading 1-0in Group E thanks to Karim Benzema’s penalty justbefore halftime, the GoalControl system took centrestage three minutes into the second half.

Benzema’s shot cannoned off a post, came backacross the face of goal before Honduran goalkeeperNoel Valladares inadvertently nudged the balltowards his own net. To the naked eye it was almostimpossible to tell if it had crossed the line. Adding tothe confusion Benzema wheeled away in delight,while Valladares played on trying to convinceBrazilian referee Sandro Ricci he had gathered theball in time.

But there was no fooling GoalControl. The system,which features 14 high-speed cameras locatedaround the pitch, seven focusing on each goal-mouth, confirmed to Ricci that the ball had crossedthe line and he blew for a goal to put France 2-0ahead. Benzema went on to crack home another forFrance, giving the 1998 World Cup winners a com-fortable 3-0 victory, but had the technology notbeen available it is unlikely the referee would havebeen able to award the goal.

In 2012, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said it was “ahistoric day for international football” when Englandmidfielder Frank Lampard ‘scored’ his “ghost goal”

against Germany at the World Cup two years earlier asit convinced him of the need for goalline technology.

Cinderellas or ugly sisters?While technology played its part in France’s win,

‘Les Bleus’ fully deserved the three points. Their pace,direct running and inventiveness was in stark con-trast to the aggressive, confrontational approach ofthe Central Americans. Coach Luis Fernando Suarezhad called his side the “Cinderellas” of the World Cupbut on Sunday it appeared the ‘ugly sisters’ hadshowed up as Honduras sought to prevent Francefrom getting into a rhythm. Wilson Palacios becamethe second player at this tournament to receive a redcard after he barged into French midfielder PaulPogba with a reckless challenge seconds before thebreak.

Honduras lived up to their reputation for playingwith an intense, bruising style, and while Franceallowed themselves to be drawn into a physical bat-tle in the first half they were also responsible for thegame’s brightest moments. ‘Les Bleus’ hit the wood-work three times and dominated possession, withBenzema and fellow frontman Antoine Griezmannparticularly impressive. While there is a long way togo before France can exorcise the ghosts of theirwoeful 2010 campaign, when the players mutiniedagainst coach Raymond Domenech and returnedhome in disgrace, it was a positive first step in repair-ing their tarnished reputation. — Reuters

Goalline technology, French victory a win-win for soccer

PORTO ALEGRE: The recording of the goal line technology is shown on a screen after Honduras’ goal-keeper Noel Valladares (bottom left) scored an own goal during the group E World Cup soccer matchbetween France and Honduras on Sunday, June 15, 2014. — AP

SINGAPORE: Singapore authori-ties last year placed leaders of aglobal match-fixing ring operatingfrom the city-state in indefinitedetention after uncovering plansto rig the World Cup, according toa book released yesterday. ZaihanMohamed Yusof, a Singaporeaninvestigative journalist who hasreported extensively on footballmatch-fixing, details how he learntof the now-crippled gang’s plansfrom government officials and aprominent sports corruptioninvestigator. “The syndicate hadbeen posturing, setting up a baseof corrupt football players and offi-cials through matches playedoverseas in national leagues andinternational friendlies,” Zaihanquoted one senior unnamedSingapore official as saying in“Foul! The Inside Story ofSingapore Match Fixers”.

“When the 2014 World Cupcomes, all they will be doing is col-lecting (their betting earnings),”the official said of the tournamentwhich kicked off in Brazil lastweek, according to the book.“Something had to be done tostop them... We couldn’t take thechance,” another official was quot-ed as saying. Zaihan also quotedMichael Pride, head of operationsat Australia-based match-fixing

investigators SI Sports Intelligence,as saying “this syndicate allegedlysets up fixes six months ahead ofmajor matches”.

“From source information, theywere allegedly gearing up for theWorld Cup,” Pride said. Singapore’spolice and anti-corruption agencyin September last year rounded up14 alleged members of a globalmatch-fixing syndicate, in one ofthe biggest crackdowns yet oncorruption in football. Authoritiessubsequently used a special lawthat allows indefinite detention tohold four key ring leaders of thegroup, including alleged kingpinDan Tan, also known as Tan SeetEng. Officials say the indefinitedetention-under a law typicallyused against gangsters-is neces-sary because witnesses fearreprisals if they testify in court.

Speaking at the book’s launchon Monday, Zaihan said the arrestslast year had not deterred otherSingapore-based fixers from rig-ging games. “I can assure you thatsome things may have changed,but nothing has stopped.Attempts are still going on,” hesaid. He cited audio recordings hehad received recently implicatingan unnamed “prominentSingaporean and a known match-fixer in the Indonesian football

league”. Tan, a reclusiveSingaporean businessman, firstcame to prominence when fixerWilson Raj Perumal, also aSingaporean, was arrested andjailed in Finland in 2011 for riggingtop-tier games there. Perumal toldprosecutors in Finland he was adouble-crossed associate of Tan,who has also been named in sev-eral European match-fixing inves-tigations. Tan protested his inno-cence in a rare media interview in2011 and said he was mystifiedabout why he had been brandedas a match-fixer. In the book,Zaihan said Tan was living a “fairlyvisible lifestyle” in early 2013, evenafter he became known in themedia as an alleged match-fixingmastermind. — AFP

17Spurs overcome Heat in Game 5 to win NBA title

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 201419Messi magic gets Argentina up and running

Schumacher out of coma, shifted to Swiss hospital Page 17

SALVADOR: Germany’s forward Thomas Mueller scores a goal past Portugal’s goalkeeper Rui Patricio (right) during the Group G football match between Germany and Portugal at the Fonte Nova Arena yesterday. — AFP

SALVADOR: Thomas Mueller claimed a hat-trick as Germanyopened their World Cup yesterday with a 4-0 rout of 10-manPortugal as Cristiano Ronaldo enduring an afternoon to forget. Adecisive first-half saw Germany race into 3-0 lead as Mueller con-verted a penalty, then fired home their third on the stroke of half-time after a Mats Hummels header had also hit the target. “It’sglorious to score three goals in a game like that,” said Mueller.

“When you are 1-0 up, you get a tail-wind and when we madeit 2-0, that was a huge advantage. With the numerical advantage,the game was as good as won.” Portugal played almost an hourwith a man down after defender Pepe was red-carded for aiminga head-butt at Mueller after an altercation.”I felt a fist in my faceand what happened after that was nothing to do with me,”added Mueller.

World Player of the Year Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes ofthe Group G opener despite recent injuries, but the Portugal cap-

tain was powerless to prevent his side being over-run. “We lostthe game in the first-half,” said Portugal coach Paulo Bento. “Ithink it’s better if I don’t say anything about the referee.” ThePortuguese suffered the same fate at Salvador’s Arena FonteNova as their Iberian neighbors Spain last Friday when the hold-ers were routed 5-1 by the Dutch. Germany continue their domi-nation of Portugal by adding Brazil 2014 to their list of recentwins over Ronaldo’s side which includes the 2006 World Cup, plusthe 2008 and 2012 European championships.

Busy period The result capped a remarkable day for Germany, in front of

Chancellor Angela Merkel, just hours after news broke that ex-Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has come out of hislengthy coma. Having declared himself ‘100 percent fit’, Ronaldolived up to his word with an early shot, then put Hugo Almeida

into space, but the Germans were soon on top. Sami Khedirafired wide after a loose pass from Rui Patricio with eight minutesgone at the start of a busy period for the Portugal goalkeeper.

When left-back Joao Pereira tugged back on Mario Goetze’sshirt, Serbian referee Milorad Mazic pointed straight to the spot.Mueller, who scored five goals in the 2010 finals to claim both theGolden Boot and best young player award, planted his penalty inthe bottom corner to open the German’s account on 12 minutes.

Bento was forced into an early substitution as Almeida pulledup with a muscle injury to make way for Eder. Goetze thencrashed a shot just wide of the post, just before the Germanswent 2-0 up. Toni Kroos swung in a corner and centre-backHummels out-jumped Pepe to plant his header past Patricio on32 minutes.

Portugal’s fortunes went from bad to worse on 37 minuteswhen the standing Pepe aimed a head-butt at the seated Mueller

after a tussle to earn a straight red card. Mueller had his revengeon the stroke of half-time when he chested down Kroos’ longpass and smashed his shot past Patricio as it finished 3-0 at theinterval.

After the break, Portugal kept chipping away at the solidGerman defense, which had been a concern coming into Brazil.But Portugal’s fortunes were summed up when one of Ronaldo’strademark free-kicks cannoned off the German wall leaving theworld’s best player with his head in his hands. Having already lostinjured midfielders Marco Reus and Lars Bender before arriving inBrazil, there were worrying scenes for Germany coach JoachimLoew when Hummels had to be helped off on 73 minutes.Sampdoria’s 22-year-old Shkodran Mustafi, the son of Albanianimmigrants, came on to win only his second cap. Muellerwrapped up his hat-trick on 78 minutes in scrappy fashion in agoal-mouth scramble after Patricio had parried a shot. — AFP

Germany crush 10-man Portugal 4-0Mueller outguns Ronaldo; claims a hat-trick

CURITIBA: Nigeria’s Juwon Oshaniwa (top) and Iran’s Reza Ghoochannejhad battle forthe ball during the group F World Cup soccer match between Iran and Nigeria at theArena da Baixada in Curitiba yesterday. — AP

Singapore match-fixers ‘planned to rig WCup’

CURITIBA: Iran and Nigeria labored to the first stalemate of ascintillating World Cup yesterday with a dismal 0-0 draw thatleft both sides still chasing their first victory at a finals since1998. While Iran could take some small satisfaction in keep-ing a clean sheet for the first time since their debut in 1978,the bore at the Baixada arena stood out like a suit salesmanon Copacabana beach. With Lionel Messi’s Argentina,installed as clear Group F favorites, and exciting debutantsBosnia still to come, the other two look destined for an earlyexit unless they can raise their game considerably.

Both teams were whistled and booed off the field by thelargely Brazilian crowd of 39,000 after a first half that lookedshockingly meagre compared to the goal feasts served upelsewhere. Iran packed their defense as expected andNigeria, with Emmanuel Emenike rarely posing a threat asthe main target man for the African champions, squanderedtheir chances with long balls to nowhere and passes straightto opponents. The Super Eagles had the ball in the back ofthe net after seven minutes in a goalmouth scramble butEcuadorean referee Carlos Vera, perhaps harshly, ruled it outfor a push on goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi.

Ogenyi Onazi then drilled a shot wide two minutes later.Iran came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 33rdminute when goalkeeper captain Vincent Enyeama pro-duced a fine save to beat out Reza Ghoochannejhad’s headerfrom their first corner of the game. Nigeria defender GodfreyOboabona made an early exit from the fray, replaced by for-mer captain Joseph Yobo on the half hour after earlier receiv-ing treatment on the touchline following a heavy tackle.Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi warned on Sunday that theAfrican sides were as good as any in Brazil and could win thetournament, but yesterday’s evidence they will not be cele-brating in Lagos.— Reuters

Iran and Nigeriabooed at Baixada

after 0-0 draw

BusinessTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

Turkey CB ponders cutting

rate if inflation edges up

Page 22US homebuilder confidence

rose modestly in June

Page 25Russia cuts gas to Ukraine,

supplies to EU threatened

Page 23Behbehani launches all-new SEAT Toledo

Page 26

Iraq prompts more profit-takingMIDEAST STOCK MARKETS

WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine arrives at a news conference at IMF headquarters yesterday in Washington, DC. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund fore-sees the US economy growing a modest 2 percent thisyear, below its previous estimate of 2.7 percent. Thatwould be nearly identical to the economy’s 1.9 percentgrowth in 2013. A brutal winter and a slowing housingrecovery caused the economy to shrink during the firstthree months of 2014, the IMF noted in a report releasedyesterday.

“Extreme weather occurrences have a serious effecton the economy,” Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managingdirector, said at a news conference. Lagarde added:“Extreme weather occurrences have repeated muchmore frequently in the past 20 years than the previouscentury. That’s a reason to wonder about climate changeand how to deal with it.”

Recent figures suggest that a “meaningful rebound”will propel US economic growth for the rest of 2014, theIMF said. Still, that will only partly offset what many ana-lysts think was a contraction of up to 2 percent lastquarter. The unemployment rate has tumbled to 6.3 per-cent from 7.5 percent in 12 months. But the IMF warnsthat US wages remain stagnant and the rate of long-term unemployment high. As a result, it urged lawmak-ers to lift the minimum wage and increase the EarnedIncome Tax Credit for those with low wages.

The IMF also highlighted the challenge for theFederal Reserve to properly time the unwinding of itspolicies to spur borrowing, investment and spending.Investors appear to be acting with a sense of certaintyabout Fed policies, even though central banks must

respond to uncertainties about the economy, Lagardesaid. Lagarde also suggested that Fed Chair Janet Yellenshould increase the number of news conferences sheholds to up to six a year from the current four. Yellen isscheduled to hold one of her quarterly news confer-ences tomorrow.

The Fed has kept short-term interest rates near zeroto bolster the economy. It has also bought US Treasuryand mortgage bonds to keep longer-term rates low, aprogram the Fed has been unwinding since the start ofthe year. The IMF projects that the United States won’treach a level of employment that would meaningfullylift wages until 2017 and that inflation pressures willstay muted until then. It thinks the Fed might considerkeeping rates near historic lows longer than some mar-

ket analysts expect. Raising rates too fast could “con-strict the recovery momentum that we have observed,”Lagarde said. She added that that would have spillovereffects around the world and hurt growth in emergingeconomies.

Lagarde declined to take a stance on the dispute overpayments for natural gas that Ukraine owes Russia. Thetwo countries, embroiled in a broader territorial strug-gle, missed a Monday deadline to reach an agreementon payments. As a result, the Russian company Gazpromhas cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. “We don’t intervenein commercial transactions,” Lagarde said. “We certainlyhope for the stability of that part of the world and forthe stability of the supply of gas that the situation canbe addressed promptly and satisfactorily.” — AP

IMF cuts US growth outlook for 2014Brutal winter, slowing housing recovery cause economy to shrink

BRUSSELS: The European Union is teamingup with South Korea to jointly research thenext generation of mobile broadband tech-nology, hoping the Asian country’s expert-ise will help it catch up in a field crucial foreconomic growth and jobs. South Korea hasone of the fastest mobile broadband net-works and is home to Samsung, the world’sbiggest smartphone maker.

Europe had led the competition in GSMtechnology - the original standard formobile networks - in the 1990s, but fellbehind the United States and Asia in therollout of faster 4G connections. The puta-tive 5G mobile network promises betterconnections to cope with the ever-increas-ing number of mobile internet users. The EUestimates a high-definition movie could bedownloaded in six seconds with the newtechnology, up from six minutes with 4G.Businesses have repeatedly called on the EUto improve the quality of its mobile commu-nications infrastructure, saying that inade-quate networks hinder job creation andgrowth at a time when Europe is slowly

pulling itself out of recession.“5G will become the new lifeblood of the

digital economy and digital society once it isestablished,” Neelie Kroes, the EU commis-sioner for telecoms, said in a statement yes-terday. Kroes said South Korea and the EUhad agreed to set a timetable for the rolloutof 5G by the end of 2015 and would work toensure the necessary radio frequencieswere able to support the new network.

European industry players such asAlcatel-Lucent, Deutsche Telekom,Telefonica and Orange , which are part ofEurope’s 5G Infrastructure Association, willwork with South Korea’s 5G Forum, she said.The EU said in December it would spend700 million euros ($953 million) on 5G tech-nology research over the next seven years,while companies in the telecoms sectorwould provide more than 3 billion euros.Chinese smartphone maker Huaweiannounced in November that it planned toinvest $600 million in research into 5G, andexpected the network to be ready fordeployment by 2020. — Reuters

EU to team up withSouth Korea inglobal 5G raceDUBAI: Most markets in the Gulf contin-

ued to decline yesterday because of theconflict in Iraq, while volatile Dubai ledlosses as construction firm Arabtecremained in freefall.

Another city in northern Iraq, Tal Afar,fell on Sunday to insurgents from theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, whoseoffensive threatens to dismember thecountry. Apart from a handful of firms withmajor exposure to Iraq, it is not clear thatthe conflict will have any direct impact onGulf economies. But coupled with thedeepening conflict in Ukraine, it has hurtglobal equity markets as some investorsstart shifting into other asset classes suchas precious metals and bonds. Sitting onsizeable year-to-date gains, Gulf marketsare vulnerable to profit-taking.

The negative sentiment stifled a tenta-tive rally by Arabtec, Dubai’s most heavilytraded stock, which has plunged in recentdays on worries that major shareholderAabar may be downgrading its relation-ship with the firm. Aabar has declined tocomment, but cut its stake in Arabtec lastweek.

On Monday, the stock edged up 1.1 per-cent after the opening, but then resumedits plunge and once again closed down its10 percent daily limit. It ended at 4.05dirhams, down 48 percent from May’s peakof 7.74 dirhams.

In late trade, Arabtec’s chief executiveHasan Ismaik told Al-Arabiya televisionthat recent rumors of a conflict betweenthe managements of Aabar and Arabtecwere untrue, and that the stock’s plungedid not reflect its fair value.

“I think it’s just the sentiment that isdriving Arabtec down today,” said HettishKarmani, senior manager of research atGlobal Investment House in Kuwait.“People are mostly concerned with Iraqnow, which is driving all the MENA marketsdown and has raised the oil price to itsnine-month high.”

Dubai’s index was the biggest loser inthe Gulf, dropping 3.1 percent to 4,469points and breaking through support onthe May low of 4,544 points. The emirate’sstock market had earlier outperformed theregion with year-to-date gains of 60 per-cent in early May, making it very volatile.

“Dubai’s market at present is purely atthe mercy of retail investors and speculators,”said Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset manage-ment at Securities & Investment Co inBahrain. “The 4,200 level, it seems, hasbecome a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

The measuring objective of a symmetricaltriangle formed by the highs and lows sincemid-May, and triggered earlier this month, isroughly 4,200 points.

Dana gas drops Other markets in the Gulf also pulled back,

but at a slower pace. Abu Dhabi’s bourse fell1.0 percent as heavyweight Etisalat slid 1.3percent. Shares in Dana Gas, which has opera-tions in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, tumbled 8.9percent to a six-month low of 0.72 dirhams.The company told Reuters on Sunday thoseoperations were operating normally.

Saudi Arabia’s bourse fell 2.0 percent,its biggest drop in more than twomonths, as most index componentsdeclined. The petrochemical sector,which could benefit from higher oi lprices due to the Iraq crisis, did slightlybetter, sliding 1.5 percent. - Reuters

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.772Indian Rupees 4.748Pakistani Rupees 2.877Srilankan Rupees 2.168Nepali Rupees 2.972Singapore Dollar 228.010Hongkong Dollar 36.490Bangladesh Taka 3.638Philippine Peso 6.467Thai Baht 8.750Irani Riyal transfer 0.271Irani Riyal cash 0.273

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 75.457Qatari Riyal 77.749Omani Riyal 735.060Bahraini Dinar 751.560UAE Dirham 77.060

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 39.900Egyptian Pound - Transfer 39.489Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.321Tunisian Dinar 171.530Jordanian Dinar 399.590Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.898Syrian Lira 2.017Morocco Dirham 35.137

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 282.500Euro 386.090Sterling Pound 482.820Canadian dollar 263.120Turkish lira 133.290Swiss Franc 317.810Australian Dollar 268.990US Dollar Buying 281.650

GOLD20 Gram 245.00010 Gram 124.0005 Gram 64.000

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

Belgian Franc 0.007351 0.008351British Pound 0.467655 0.482655Czech Korune 0.006211 0.018211Danish Krone 0.047368 0.052368Euro 0.377876 0.385878Norwegian Krone 0.043199 0.048399Romanian Leu 0.081615 0.81615Slovakia 0.008099 0.018099Swedish Krona 0.038484 0.043484Swiss Franc 0.308548 0.318748Turkish Lira 0.136149 0.143149

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.257785 0.269285New Zealand Dollar 0.239188 0.248688

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.255406 0.263906US Dollars 0.278750 0.283100US Dollars Mint 0.279250 0.283100

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003295 0.003895Chinese Yuan 0.044118 0.047618Hong Kong Dollar 0.034406 0.037156Indian Rupee 0.004490 0.004891Indonesian Rupiah 0.000020 0.000026Japanese Yen 0.002696 0.002876Kenyan Shilling 0.003297 0.003297Korean Won 0.000268 0.000283Malaysian Ringgit 0.084172 0.090172Nepalese Rupee 0.002994 0.003164Pakistan Rupee 0.002662 0.002942Philippine Peso 0.006360 0.006640

Sierra Leone 0.000069 0.000075Singapore Dollar 0.223263 0.229263South African Rand 0.020476 0.028976Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001871 0.002451Taiwan 0.009311 0.009491Thai Baht 0.008396 0.008946

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.743809 0.751809Egyptian Pound 0.037151 0.040251Iranian Riyal 0.000078 0.000080Iraqi Dinar 0.000181 0.000241Jordanian Dinar 0.394722 0.402222Kuwaiti Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000Lebanese Pound 0.000138 0.000238Moroccan Dirhams 0.024406 0.048406Nigerian Naira 0.001196 0.001831Omani Riyal 0.728643 0.734323Qatar Riyal 0.076982 0.078195Saudi Riyal 0.074790 0.075790Syrian Pound 0.001754 0.001974Tunisian Dinar 0.167305 0.175305Turkish Lira 0.136149 0.143149UAE Dirhams 0.076028 0.077177Yemeni Riyal 0.001275 0.001355

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Australian Dollar 269.29 266.29Canadian Dollar 262.76 263.76Swiss Franc 319.33 317.33Euro 385.26 386.26US Dollar 282.25 285.25Sterling Pound 482.08 485.08Japanese Yen 2.82 2.84Bangladesh Taka 3.633 3.903Indian Rupee 4.736 5.036Sri Lankan Rupee 2.166 2.601Nepali Rupee 2.964 3.499Pakistani Rupee 2.875 2.790UAE Dirhams 76.91 77.38Bahraini Dinar 751.23 753.30Egyptian Pound 39.46 40.06Jordanian Dinar 401.71 407.36Omani Riyal 734.03 741.33Qatari Riyal 77.94 78.49Saudi Riyal 75.40 75.80

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 281.500Canadian Dollar 259.510Sterling Pound 475.750Euro 391.810Swiss Frank 320.975Bahrain Dinar 749.235UAE Dirhams 76.620Qatari Riyals 78.200Saudi Riyals 75.340Jordanian Dinar 396.715Egyptian Pound 40.115Sri Lankan Rupees 2.154Indian Rupees 4.679Pakistani Rupees 2.852Bangladesh Taka 3.622Philippines Pesso 6.322Cyprus pound 691.420Japanese Yen 3.750

Syrian Pound 2.900Nepalese Rupees 3.880Malaysian Ringgit 87.040Chinese Yuan Renminbi 45.395Thai Bhat 9.680Turkish Lira 134.045

Al Mulla Exchange

Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)US Dollar 282.250Euro 384.050Pound Sterlng 480.650Canadian Dollar 261.250Indian Rupee 4.705Egyptian Pound 39.465Sri Lankan Rupee 2.166Bangladesh Taka 3.635Philippines Peso 6.435Pakistan Rupee 2.869Bahraini Dinar 751.700UAE Dirham 76.850Saudi Riyal 75.400*Rates are subject to change

B U S I N E S S

John Pittenger tosses up a pizza dough at the Whole Foods Market in Woodmere Village, Ohio. The Labor Department released its May reporton producer prices on Friday.—AP

KONYA, Turkey: Turkey’s central bank could cutinterest rates as soon as next week if it is con-vinced that the outlook for inflation is improv-ing significantly, Governor Erdem Basci said yes-terday. He said that economic growth was ontrack and that Turkey’s current account deficit -its main economic weakness - would narrow“swiftly” this year as the economy keeps rebal-ancing.

“A cautious, measured, gradual rate cutprocess is being priced in. We are observing it inlong-term rates, as long as the confidence in thecentral bank reducing inflation continues, aslong as it’s being observed in long-term rates,we will do it,” Basci told business leaders in thecentral city of Konya.

“But we will do it with caution, withoutupsetting the balances, without destabilising,”he added.

Basci asserted the bank’s independence, say-ing it was not subject to political interference orany sort of “tutelage” and would use interestrates as it saw fit. He vowed to stick to a pledgeto bring inflation down to 5 percent by the endof 2015. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, deter-mined to maintain growth ahead of presidentialelections in August and parliamentary polls

next year, has been a frequent critic of centralbank policy and has repeatedly called for lowerinterest rates.

Asked how soon an interest rate cut couldcome, Basci said it could be on the agenda atthe monetary policy committee meeting onJune 24. “If everyone is convinced that inflationis falling, if we are convinced that the inflationoutlook has improved, we will evaluate it ... butwe don’t have to do it. We will make a decisionthat takes into account all risks, all factors, allpossible shocks, risk premiums,” he said.

He also said the bank was monitoring eventsin Iraq - Turkey’s second-biggest export market.An offensive by Sunni fighters threatens to dis-member Iraq and leave Turkey with a wideningIslamist insurgency along its southern borders.The lira briefly firmed after his remarks, but wastrading back at 2.1405 to the dollar by 0953GMT, around its weakest since late April.

Bond yields eased as Basci spoke, with the10-year benchmark yield falling to 9.19 percentfrom 9.31 percent earlier in the day, but stillabove Friday’s close.

The main Istanbul share index was down1.12 percent at 77,888 points, recovering from asession low of 77,660.47 but underperforming

the broader MSCI index of emerging markets ,which was down 0.21 percent.

More balanced growthBasci defended the bank’s use of interest

rates as one of its main policy tools after repeat-ed criticism from Erdogan and some of his cabi-net ministers of high borrowing costs.

“We are human, and we are also citizens ofthis country. We also don’t want high interestrates, but this is a policy tool for us,” Basci said.“It is one of the tools, and if one tool was miss-ing, you could not do what’s necessary. We haveshowed to everyone that we can use this toolwhen needed.”

Basci said the economy was growing ataround 4 percent, in line with the government’stargets, and that inflation would start fallingfrom June. He said the current account deficitwould narrow towards 5 percent of economicoutput this year as growth becomes more bal-anced, with net exports set to have had a posi-tive impact in the second quarter.

But he warned that Turkey’s high loan-to-deposit ratio of around 135 percent could trig-ger forex and interest rate volatility if it contin-ues at this level. — Reuters

Turkey CB ponders cuttingrate if inflation edges up

Basci says rate cut being priced in by market

DUBAI: Dubai construction firm Arabtecmaintains a good relationship with majorshareholder Aabar Investments andexpects to continue growing strongly,Arabtec’s chief executive said yesterday.

Shares in Arabtec, one of the most heav-ily traded stocks in Dubai, have plunged 48percent from their May peak to close at4.05 dirhams yesterday, dragging down theentire Dubai market.

One factor behind Arabtec’s slide wasthe decision of Aabar, an Abu Dhabi statefund, to cut its stake in the company to18.85 percent from 21.57 percent betweenJune 8 and 11. The stake is now 18.94 per-cent, according to bourse data.

The divestment raised fears amonginvestors that Aabar, which has played akey role in steering billions of dollars ofcontracts to Arabtec, might be reducing itscommitment to the firm. Aabar hasdeclined to comment on its strategy.

In an interview with Al Arabiya televi-sion yesterday, Arabtec’s chief executiveHasan Ismaik said recent rumors of a con-flict between the managements of Aabarand Arabtec were untrue.

“What is happening to Arabtec’s shareprice has no basis and does not reflect thefair value of the stock,” Ismaik said, speak-ing after the stock plunged its 10 percentdaily limit yesterday.

As Aabar has cut its stake, Ismaik hasraised his own holdings in the company. In

late May, Arabtec said Ismaik had raised hisstake to 21.46 percent from 8.03 percent;on Sunday, bourse data showed his stakehad risen further to 28.85 percent. Ismaiksaid on Monday that the recent changes inArabtec’s ownership structure had nothingto do with its huge project pipeline, whichhe put at 215 billion dirhams ($58.6 billion)around the region. This apparently includesa $40 billion deal announced earlier thisyear to build one million homes in Egypt.

The chief executive added he had nointention of increasing his stake in Arabtecany further and repeated there was nointention to delist Arabtec from the DubaiFinancial Market.

In early June, Forbes magazine saidIsmaik, 37, had become the first Jordanianbillionaire - and the third-youngest billion-aire in the Middle East - because of hisArabtec stake, estimating his net worth at$1.4 billion. Forbes said it was not clearwhere Ismaik raised the money to boost hisArabtec stake.

Arabtec announced on Sunday that itsboard would meet on June 18 to discussthe company’s projects, among otherissues. Four of Arabtec’s nine board mem-bers are associated with Aabar and Aabar’sparent firm International PetroleumInvestment Co, including Arabtec chairmanKhadem Abdulla Al-Qubaisi. The boardmeeting will take place at IPIC headquar-ters in Abu Dhabi. —Reuters

Arabtec denies rift with big shareholder Aabar

ABU DHABI/DUBAI: Abu Dhabi-basedconglomerate Al-Jaber Group hassigned a debt restructuring deal withits bank creditors, the conglomeratesaid yesterday, addressing one of theUnited Arab Emirates’ last big debthangovers from the global financial cri-sis.

Al-Jaber, a family-owned group withoperations in aviation, constructionand retailing, had been in talks withbank creditors to renegotiate its obli-gations since 2011.

Like many family-owned groups inthe Gulf, Al-Jaber looked to expandbeyond its core business - in Al-Jaber’scase, construction - during the boomyears of the mid-2000s. But it wasdragged down by a poor performancein the new business, the weight ofdebt raised to achieve the expansion,and a slowdown in the local construc-tion sector. No figure for the amount ofdebt renegotiated was given inMonday’s statement, but bankers hadpreviously said it was in the region of$4.5 billion.

“This is a great milestone for boththe group and the banks,” ObaidKhaleefa Al-Jaber Al-Marri, chairman ofAl-Jaber Group, said in the statement.Al-Jaber joins other UAE firms whichhave sealed debt restructuring dealsworth billions of dollars, includingDubai World, property developerNakheel and Dubai Group.

Still outstanding is a restructuringfor real estate finance firm Amlak,which is renegotiating around $1.9 bil-lion of debt but now has a tentativeagreement with its creditor committee,a member of the committee said lastmonth. Its shares have been suspend-ed since late 2008.

Al-Jaber ’s creditor committee ischaired by National Bank of Abu Dhabiand includes Abu Dhabi CommercialBank , HSBC, RBS and Union NationalBank.

TimeNegotiations between Al-Jaber and

its banks were complicated by the lackof tried and tested bankruptcy law inthe UAE. The need to have 100 percentagreement on the final deal before itcould be signed meant all lenders’issues had to be accommodated,which dragged out the process.

Despite agreeing on a five-year planto repay obligations in March 2013with the creditor committee, somebanks - including Citigroup andInternational Bank of Qatar - initiallyrefused to sign up. Citi sold its debt toAbu Dhabi Commercial Bank, sourcestold Reuters earlier this year, whileInternational Bank of Qatar andSumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp havenow also been bought out by localbanks, two banking sources said,declining to give details.

Given the length of time taken tosecure a deal, attention now turns towhether the firm’s main constructionbusiness can regain lost ground in itsmain Abu Dhabi market. “Throughoutthe negotiations period, Al-JaberGroup has continued to successfullyoperate, winning significant new busi-ness in the UAE, the region and Asia,”Marri said.

However, backed by state-linkedAabar Investments, Dubai-basedArabtec has been making inroads intothe UAE capital - in February, for exam-ple, Arabtec signed an agreement tobuild 37 mixed-use, residential andhotel towers for Aabar in Abu Dhabiand Dubai worth $6.1 billion.

“Now that the debt restructuring isdone, the group has to compete in themarket for deals. A lot will depend onhow much support it would get fromthe Abu Dhabi government in terms ofcontracts,” said one local bankerinvolved in the negotiations, speakingon condition of anonymity. — Reuters

Abu Dhabi’s Al-Jaber Group signs debt restructuring

LONDON: French bank BNP Paribas, which isfacing a potential $10 billion fine for breakingUS sanctions, has handed over to US investiga-tors files covering many years of its dealingswith leading companies in the oil market.

A dozen former BNP insiders and senior trad-ing executives said it had in recent monthshanded over a host of documents relating to itsoil dealings with Sudan and Iran, includingdetails on trading houses’ and oil majors’involvement in the trades.

Before now, all that had been known aboutthe probe was that US authorities were investi-gating whether BNP evaded sanctions relatingto Sudan, Iran and Cuba and if it stripped identi-

fying information from related dollar wire trans-fers to be cleared by the US financial system.

BNP declined to comment. It has said pub-licly only that it is in discussions with US author-ities about “certain US dollar payments involv-ing countries, persons and entities that couldhave been subject to economic sanctions”.

The sources told Reuters that the probe hasso far mostly focused on the bank’s dollarfinancing of oil trade out of Sudan - a muchsmaller producer than Iran - between 2002 and2009, long after Washington imposed sanctionsagainst the government in Khartoum in 1997over human rights violations. It extended thesanctions in 2007.

They said BNP provided the lion’s share oftrade financing to Chinese companies includ-ing Sinopec and CNPC, which were the mainimporters of Sudanese crude during the peri-od. The Chinese companies declined to com-ment. Sudan’s oil production rose from around200,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2000 to apeak of almost 500,000 bpd in 2010, accordingto US Energy Information Administration data.Although China was and remains the mainimporter of crude from Sudan, BNP also pro-vided trade finance to major global tradinghouses such as Trafigura and Vitol, which werealso involved in trading Sudanese oil at thetime.—Reuters

BNP hands years of oil trading files to US

B U S I N E S STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

TOKYO: A pattern of spending on hostess bars andoverseas junkets for local pension fund officials wentunchecked by senior managers at Deutsche Bank’sJapanese securities arm, who failed to prevent orturned a blind eye to expenses that could be prosecut-ed as bribery, previously undisclosed details of a regu-latory investigation show. Deutsche Securities wasordered by Japan’s Financial Ser vices Agenc y inDecember to bolster its compliance after the Securitiesand Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) found itspent the equivalent of almost $62,000 to entertainofficials at three pension funds between 2010 and2012.

The wining and dining was deemed problematicbecause the three funds belong to a class of pensionfund that manage public money as part of their invest-ment portfolios. Japanese law says that senior officialsat such funds are the equivalent of public servants,meaning that spending to entertain and win favourfrom them can be prosecuted as a form of bribery.

In a parallel criminal investigation, public prosecu-tors arrested a former Deutsche sales executive, 37-year-old Shigeru Echigo, for charging around $9,000 inexpenses to the bank, Germany’s biggest, for entertain-ing a former executive at a pension fund affiliated withtrading house Mitsui & Co Ltd.

In acknowledging compliance lapses, Deutscheannounced in December that it would revamp its sys-tem of oversight and said it was dismissing someemployees involved in the entertaining. It also cut thesalaries of its chairman, president and chief operatingofficer. But an internal report prepared by the SESC andnot made public sheds light on the extent to whichsenior managers, including some still with the bank,were aware of or involved in the practice. A copy of thereport was reviewed by Reuters. The report illustrateswhat bankers across Japan’s financial industry say was

a widespread practice of spending on entertaining towin business from pension fund officials before regula-tors and prosecutors began to crack down in 2012.

On one occasion cited in the SESC report, the chair-man of Tokyo-based Deutsche Securities Inc, NorimichiKanari, was present at the entertaining of a pensionfund official in October 2011. Mitsuhisa Murata, nowthe head of the German bank’s asset managementoperations in Japan, was aware of such entertainingand the manipulation of expense receipts, but gave thepractice his “tacit consent, believing it necessary topromote the business,” the report said.

The SESC had no comment. A spokesman forDeutsche in Tokyo, Takayuki Inoue, said the bank hadno comment. Kanari and Murata also declined to com-ment, Inoue said. They could not be independentlyreached for comment.

Club chick Echigo escorted the Mitsui pension executive,

Yutaka Tsurisawa, to various restaurants around Tokyo,including Jojoen, which specializes in “yakiniku” Koreanbarbecue, and Osteria Nakamura, which serves Italianfood and fine wine. Their evenings out sometimes con-cluded at Club Chick, a high-end hostess bar in theRoppongi district that is a popular destination forbankers and their clients, according to a person withknowledge of the matter. Echigo has pleaded guilty tobribing a public official for paying for these nights out.But at a hearing in April, he said that he was acting onthe direction of his superiors and that the practice ofentertaining such officials was company-wide. A hear-ing in his case, which could be the last before sentenc-ing, is set for today.

Both Echigo and his lawyer declined comment. Theformer banker faces a possible jail sentence, althoughdefendants in white-collar cases in Japan are typically

given suspended sentences. Tsurisawa was convictedearlier this year for accepting a bribe. He was fined andhanded an 18-month prison sentence, suspended forthree years. Tsurisawa’s lawyer said his client could notbe immediately reached for comment. The entertain-ment of pension fund managers came under the spot-light after a scandal in early 2012 in which the financialregulator found that fund manager AIJ InvestmentAdvisors had lost more than $1 billion in pension mon-ey and falsified reports to investors to cover up its loss-es. The SESC found evidence that AIJ executives hadused lavish entertainment as a way to keep pensionofficials investing with it, and began probing entertain-ment policies across Japan’s financial industry, peoplewith knowledge of those investigations have said. InJune 2013, it recommended sanctions against a Tokyo-based investment advisory firm for entertaining a pen-sion official, marking the first case of its kind.

Compliance breakdownKanari, who became chairman in 2008 after a long

career at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, realized thatpension officials could be considered public servantsand that entertaining them was a problem after the AIJscandal, the SESC report said. But even after that scan-dal, Deutsche’s pension sales team continued to woobusiness by entertaining officials, according to thereport. Sales staff manipulated entertainment expensereceipts to get around compliance checks, and in 2012the team spent the equivalent of almost $108,000entertaining pension officials, more than in either ofthe previous two years, the report said.

While Kanari maintained that he was not aware ofthe problem of expense receipts being falsified toavoid compliance checks, he failed to report his owninvolvement in pension fund entertainment or to orderany internal investigation in the wake of the AIJ revela-

tions, the SESC’s investigation found.For his part, Echigo had been promoted to a man-

agement position in the pension sales team in March oflast year, two months before the SESC began an auditof Deutsche and less than a year before his arrest. Hetold SESC auditors that he had informed two managersat a meeting on the issue, including a compliance offi-cer, that the executives they were entertaining werethe same as public servants under the law, according tothe report.

The investigation also raised questions about theconduct of Chief Operating Officer Bret Dandoy, whoapproved Deutsche pick ing up about $15,000 inexpenses to take pension fund executives on a trip toFrankfurt to visit the bank’s home office to learn moreabout its funds and do some sightseeing. Dandoy wasunaware that the officials were considered public ser-vants under the law, the report said.

Deutsche spokesman Inoue said Dandoy, like theother bank executives, would not comment. He couldnot be independently reached for comment. It’s notclear why prosecutors chose to charge only Echigo andnot other executives. The Tok yo Distr ic t Publ icProsecutor’s Office declined to comment, citing its poli-cy not to discuss pending cases before a sentence isimposed.

In April 2013, a month before the SESC began itsaudit, Deutsche created new compliance guidelineswhich put a per-person cap of about $100 on mealswith pension officials, according to an internal memoseen by Reuters. In December, the bank announced ithad closed the Pension Sales Group department at theheart of the problem and outlined a raft of measures tobolster compliance. These included new guidelinesthat outlawed offering entertainment to quasi-publicofficials or paying for clients’ travel and accommoda-tion on overseas trips. — Reuters

Deutsche managers knew about Japan pension funds

Gas pipeline station workers walk past the gas pressure engines in Zakarpattia region, Western Ukraine, 15 km on border with Slovakia inUzhgorod. — AP

KIEV/GORKI: Russia cut off gas toUkraine yesterday in a dispute overunpaid bills that could disrupt suppliesto the rest of Europe and set back hopesfor peace in the former Soviet republic.After weekend violence that includedthe loss of 49 troops in the downing of aUkrainian plane, Russia said Kiev misseda deadline for a $1.95 billion debt pay-ment and it would now only get gas ithas paid for in advance. It insistedUkraine must also ensure that it letsRussian gas flow through internationalpipelines to Moscow’s clients in theEuropean Union.

Kiev and Moscow blamed each otherfor the failure to agree overnight on theprice of future gas deliveries and refusedto abandon well established positions:Russia offering a discount and Ukrainerejecting that as a tool for politicalmanipulation. The talks are bound upwith the worst crisis between Russia andUkraine since the Soviet Union collapsed- a crisis that has brought Western sanc-tions on Moscow, the Russian annexa-tion of Crimea and Cold War-style saber-rattling along the borders. Western-backed Ukrainian President PetroPoroshenko, elected last month toreplace the Kremlin-friendly leader oust-ed in February, said on Monday he want-ed troops to regain full control of theborder with Russia this week. After that,there could be a ceasefire and efforts tocome up with a peace plan. Hopes of areduction in tension had already beendented before the failure of the gas talksby Saturday’s shooting down of the air-craft by pro-Russian separatists atLuhansk in the east, an attack on Russia’sembassy in Kiev and new accusationsfrom NATO that Russia is arming theUkrainian rebels. All that sent Russianfinancial markets lower on Monday andhelped oil and gas prices climb inEurope that were already firm on fears ofsupply disruption due to violence in Iraq.

“Thanks to the unconstructive posi-tion of the Ukrainian government, todaya prepayment system was introduced,”Alexei Miller, the chief executive ofRussian state exporter Gazprom , toldPrime Minister Dmitry Medvedev duringa sombre meeting at a government resi-dence at Gorki, outside Moscow. He saidUkraine had “adopted a position thatcan only be called blackmail”, adding:“They wanted an ultra-low price.”

At a news conference, he pressed hisargument, unable to contain his frustra-tion over the failed talks which erased

any previous momentum towards acompromise. Moscow, he said, would nolonger accept Kiev paying off part of itstotal debt to restart supplies. It wouldrestart gas supplies only when Ukrainepaid off all the almost $4.5 billion itowed and paid up front for a month’sdeliveries, he said.

‘Not about gas’Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny

Yatseniuk accused Russia of deliberatelyblocking a deal to cause Kiev supplyproblems next winter, when tempera-tures plunge and heating needsincrease. “But it is not about gas. It is ageneral Russian plan to destroy Ukraine,”

Yatseniuk said in Kiev. “It is yet anotherstep against the Ukrainian state andagainst Ukrainian independence.”

Medvedev said some of Kiev’s rulingelite were not up to the job, echoingoutrage over Ukraine’s acting foreignminister using a coarse anatomicalexpression to describe PresidentVladimir Putin during the weekendprotests in Kiev. “You can see this inmany situations; from the paranoidbehaviur of the acting foreign ministerat the Russian embassy in Kiev to thefailure of the prime minister of Ukraineto agree on gas on the basis of a dis-counted price,” he said on Facebook.

Supplies in storage A source at Gazprom said supplies to

Ukraine had been reduced as soon asthe deadline passed and UkrainianEnergy Minister Yuri Prodan said the

country was receiving no gas. Ukrainehas at least 12 billion cubic metres of gasin storage, enough to meet its and theEU’s needs over the summer.

A long-term reduction of supplycould hit EU consumers, which getabout a third of their gas needs fromRussia, around half of it throughpipelines that cross Ukraine. Earlier pricedisputes led to “gas wars” in 2006 and2009, and Russian accusations Ukrainestole gas destined for the rest of Europe.

Gazprom’s Miller said Russia wouldprovide Ukraine with the volumes nec-essary to cover EU demand, but impliedthat Kiev may take some of those sup-plies for their own use - a potential

shortfall Moscow could not be expectedto cover.

“Regarding transit risks, they existand they are not insignificant,” Miller saidof supplies reaching the EU. The bloc’senergy commissioner, GuentherOettinger, who has been brokering thegas talks, said in Vienna that the EUshould top up its storage or could faceproblems in winter.

He urged Russia to reconsider a com-promise and held out the prospect offuture talks. But with both sides filinglawsuits at the Stockholm internationalcommercial arbitration court to try torecover billions each says they are owed,any quick agreement seems a way off.

Shares fall Russian shares fell on the talks’ col-

lapse, which is likely to increase tensionsbetween Moscow and the West and

could make it harder to arrange a trucein east Ukraine, where Ukrainian troopsare fighting pro-Russian rebels, some ofwhom want the region to be absorbedby Russia, as Crimea was in March. At1226 GMT, the dollar-denominated RTSindex had pared some of its losses andwas down 1.45 percent at 1,355 points,while the ruble-based MICEX was down0.7 percent at 1,491 points. Prices forBrent crude were up near $113 a barrel.

Western countries saw the talks as agauge of Putin’s willingness to compro-mise and had been looking for signs thathe was trying to avert the threat of theWest adding to sanctions imposed afterRussia seized Crimea.

That move came after Moscow-lean-ing Ukrainian president ViktorYanukovich was ousted by streetprotests in February and pro-Westernleaders took over power in Kiev. Russiadenounced that as a Western-backedfascist coup. Ill-feeling notched up againat the weekend. Protesters ripped upRussia’s flag outside Moscow’s Kievembassy after the loss of the militaryplane in the east. NATO released satellitepictures that it said raised suspicionsabout Russia’s role in moving militaryequipment into eastern Ukraine.

The gas talks broke down with thesides unable to reach agreement onprice and on changes to a 2009 contractthat locked Ukraine into paying thehighest price in Europe.

Kiev wants to pay $268.50 per 1,000cubic meters of gas - the price it hadbeen offered when Yanukovich was inpower. But, in a compromise last week, itsaid it would agree to pay $326 for aninterim period until a lasting deal wasreached. Moscow had sought to keepthe price at the 2009 contract level of$485 per 1,000 cubic meters, but hadoffered to waive an export duty, bring-ing down prices by about a fifth to $385,broadly in line with what Russia chargesother European states.

Kiev says that waiving the dutyrather than agreeing a new contractprice means Moscow could use thethreat of cancelling the waiver to keepUkraine under its thumb.

Oettinger said Moscow had declineda compromise proposal under whichKiev would pay $1 billion immediatelyand then make monthly debt paymentsto Gazprom. Ukraine would also pay$385 per 1,000 cubic meters in winterand around $300 in the summermonths. — Reuters

Russia cuts gas to Ukraine, supplies to EU threatened

Moscow, Kiev talks on gas price collapse

MOSCOW: Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak (right) listens asRussian state-run natural giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller speaks at anews conference in Moscow yesterday. — AP

LONDON: The euro may depreciate to 77.60pence to the pound in coming weeks, a levelnot seen since July 2012, as investors absorbthe fuller implications of the divergence inBritish and euro-zone monetary policy.“There’s already great speculation about theexact timing of the first rate hike and thisdecision is becoming more balanced,” Bank ofEngland Governor Mark Carney said in aspeech late on Thursday alongside UK financeminister George Osborne.

“It could happen sooner than markets cur-rently expect,” Carney added, prompting a ral-ly in the value of the pound that saw it tradeabove $1.70 yesterday, hitting a five-year highagainst the dollar.

There are other arguments in favor of thepound. Yesterday’s visit of China’s Premier LiKeqiang to Britain may bring substantivetrade deals, which would also feed into a ster-ling-positive narrative. Meanwhile, opinionpolls continue to suggest that Scottish voterswill vote to stay in union with the rest ofBritain, which should provide investors with a

degree of comfort, if indeed they had everhad any qualms about a possible UK breakup.

On the flip side of the coin, the EuropeanCentral Bank has disclosed a raft of new ultra-accommodatory policies even as the Bank ofEngland is edging toward tightening mone-tary policy.

Referring to the euro zone central bank’sstance, ECB Executive Board member BenoitCoeure was quite open, on June 7, in admit-ting the measures should help weaken theeuro. “We are going to keep rates close to zerofor an extremely long period, whereas theUnited States and the United Kingdom will atsome point return to a cycle of rate rises,”Coeure said.

Carney ’s subsequent comments onThursday have cemented that idea in the eyesof the forex market. If the pound can make afive-year high against the dollar, tradersmight reasonably conclude that a rise in ster-ling’s value versus the euro, towards 77.60pence, would be a perfectly rational expecta-tion. — Reuters

Euro/sterling may be heading towards 77.60 pence

NEW DELHI: India’s inflation accelerated toa five-month high in May, in a worrying signfor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s newgovernment which has made fighting pricerises a priority.

The Wholesale Price Index, the mostclosely watched cost of living monitor, roseto 6.01 percent in May-the highest figuresince December and compared to 5.20 per-cent in April.

The jump, which was in line with marketexpectations, was driven by higher foodand fuel prices, commerce ministry datashowed. The increase comes amid a rally inoil prices and forecasts for weaker monsoonrains that threaten to cut crop productionand further drive up food prices.

Modi’s right-wing government, whichcame to power a month ago after a land-slide election victory, has pledged to revivethe economy growing at under five per-cent. The government has also made tack-ling inflation, which hits millions of India’spoor through high costs of basic items, apriority. The price of food across-the-boardrose 2.3 percent in May from a year earlier,

while fuel prices, including that of electrici-ty, rose by 0.5 percent.

The government is expected to unveilthe annual budget next month, with ana-lysts calling for long-term reforms to returnthe economy to health.

“The uptick in fuel and food inflation inthe month of May is not surprising,” saidSiddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist atBarclays. “What we need to see is how thenew government tackles food prices andagricultural policies,” Sanyal said, referringto the monsoon and the budget.

“They seem (to be leaning) towards pru-dent long-term moves and fixing the econ-omy at fundamental levels rather thangoing in for short-term steps like an eco-nomic stimulus.” The monsoon is expectedto be below normal this year because of thethreatening El Nino, which could lower cropproduction and undermine Modi’s efforts tocurb inflation and boost growth. Oil is alsotrading higher globally due to the worsen-ing crisis in Iraq. Higher energy costs coulddrive up power prices in India whichimports most of its oil. — AFP

India’s inflation hits 5-month high

LONDON: Britain’s financial conductwatchdog handed out more than million-pound fines to Credit Suisse and YorkshireBuilding Society for promising unrealisticreturns to investors who had limited marketknowledge. The Financial ConductAuthority (FCA) said in a statement yester-day that it had fined Credit SuisseInternational (CSI) 2.4 million pounds ($4million) and Yorkshire Building Society (YBS)1.4 million pounds, its second and thirdbiggest fines for marketing failures relatedto investments totalling 797 millionpounds.

“ These promotions were a seriousbreach of the requirement to be clear, fairand not misleading,” the watchdog’s direc-tor of enforcement, Tracey McDermott, said.It was also the first time that the watchdog,launched in April 2013 with a specific remitto protect consumers after a string of mis-selling scandals spanning decades, hasfined the producer and distributor of aproduct at the same time.

Credit Suisse told customers that itsCliquet deposit product provided capitalprotection and a guaranteed minimumreturn, with the apparent potential for sig-nificantly more if Britain’s FTSE 100 shareindex performed consistently well. Almost83,800 customers invested a total of 797.4million pounds in the product, with YBS thedistributor responsible for approximately 75percent of the total amount invested.

The FCA said the probability of achievingonly the minimum return was 40-50 per-cent, and the probability of achieving themaximum return was close to zero percent.

“CSI and YBS knew that the chances of

receiving the maximum return were closeto zero but they nevertheless highlightedthis as a key promotional feature of theproduct.

This was unacceptable,” McDermott said.Both firms have agreed to contact cus-tomers who bought the product betweenNovember 2009 and June 2012 to offer thechance of exiting it without penalty and,where applicable, receive an interest pay-ment. Credit Suisse and YBS generated 19million pounds and 18.5 million pounds inrevenue, respectively.

Credit Suisse said it accepted the FCA’sfindings and took the matter very seriously,along with agreeing a comprehensiveredress process. YBS said it fully acceptedthe FCA’s decision and apologised to its cus-tomers, adding that on this occasion it fellshort of its own high standards.

Regulators are becoming increasinglyworried about the impact of fines on banksfor misconduct generally, but the Swissbank said it did not expect the compensa-tion bill to be material. YBS said its contribu-tion would not affect the mutual’s financialstrength.

After concerns were raised by Britain’sconsumer group Which? and others inSeptember 2010, Yorkshire Building Societychanged its promotional literature but con-tinued to give an unfair impression of thelikelihood of achieving maximum returns,the FCA said. Credit Suisse also reviewed itsliterature but decided not to change thebrochure significantly.

Both firms obtained a 30 percent dis-count on their fines after agreeing to settlewith the FCA at an early stage. — Reuters

British watchdog fines Credit Suisse, Yorkshire Bldg Society

LONDON: European stocks slipped yester-day, adding to last week’s retreat as mount-ing violence from Iraq to Kenya pummelledtravel shares and prompted investors tocash in on recent gains. Airlines and cruiseoperators such as Carnival and Ryanairboth fell more than 1 percent as Brentcrude rose to near $113 per barrel on con-cerns over disruptions to oil exports fromIraq, the second-largest OPEC producer.

Yesterday, Sunni insurgents solidifiedtheir grip on northern Iraq after a lightningoffensive that threatens to split the coun-try. While airlines tend to lock in prices fortheir immediate fuel needs using financialderivatives, known as hedges, higher oilprices in the coming months would affecttheir profit from next year. “Most of themajor European airlines are around 65-80percent hedged for the remainder of thecurrent financial year,” Jack Diskin, an ana-lyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers, said.

“If oil prices stay at these levels, the costof hedging ... will become more expensiveand that will impact their performancenext year.” The STOXX Europe 600 Travel &leisure index, down 0.6 percent, fell for afourth straight session. The FTSEurofirst300 index of top European shares wasdown 0.3 percent at 1,385.12 points by1042 GMT, retreating further from a 6-1/2year high hit last week.

The euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX50 index was down 0.5 percent at 3,267.07points. The best-performing sectors thisyear were among the worst hit on Monday,with Italian and Spanish banks both drop-ping 1 percent after surging 33 percentand 18.5 percent respectively since the

start of 2014.The selloff in these stocks was fuelled by

comments by European Central BankGoverning Council member EwaldNowotny, who told a newspaper the ECB’sstress tests may end up being too tough.

Swiss biotech group Actelion Ltdbucked the trend, surging 14 percent afterit said its experimental heart and lung drugSelexipag met its primary goal in a late-stage study, giving it a potential second bigseller. Trading volume on the stock wasnearly five times its full-day average for thepast three months, compared to light vol-ume on the FTSEurofirst first volume of aquarter of the index’s own average.

Geopolitics drives marketInvestors were also rattled by violence in

Kenya, where at least 48 people were killedand others wounded when more than twodozen unidentified gunmen attacked acoastal town overnight. “Geopolitics is driv-ing the market again, with worrying newscoming from Iraq, but also Kenya andRussia. Overall, there’s a lack of positivemomentum since the ECB meeting,” saidGuillaume Dumans, co-head of researchfirm 2Bremans.

In Ukraine at the weekend, 49 Ukrainianmilitary personnel were killed when rebelsshot down a cargo plane over the airport ofthe eastern city of Luhansk, while talksbetween Moscow and Kiev over Russiangas import prices broke down. AroundEurope, Britain’s FTSE 100 index, Germany’sDAX index and France’s CAC 40 were alldown by between 0.3 percent and 0.5 per-cent. — Reuters

B U S I N E S STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

European shares dip on geopolitical worries

LONDON: Brent crude was up near $113 abarrel yesterday after a strong rally lastweek, as Sunni insurgents advanced inIraq, intensifying concerns over a potentialdisruption to oil exports from the second-largest OPEC producer. The eruption ofviolence in Iraq led to a spike in prices lastweek, with both Brent and US crude gain-ing more than 4 percent - the most sinceJuly and December, respectively. But therally seemed to run out of steam onMonday as the market waited to see howfar oil exports would be impacted.

“We’ve had the initial shock, now weneed to see what sort of response therewill be from the Iraqis and how successfulthey will be in containing this,” said OleHansen, senior commodity strategist atSaxo Bank. “The rally now needs to be sup-ported by real concerns about supply.”Brent crude for August delivery was up 25cents to $112.71 a barrel by 1108 GMT,after touching an intraday high of $113.28.

The July contract, which expired onFriday, settled 39 cents higher at $113.41per barrel, the highest settlement levelsince September 2013. US oil was up 16cents to $107.07 a barrel, after reaching anintraday high of $107.54 in Asian trading.On Friday, it rose as high as $107.68 beforesettling up 38 cents at $106.91 per barrel.Reflecting on Monday’s more modestgains, oil futures brokers and analysts saidit looked as if the move up last week hadbeen overcooked.

“There seem to be some grounds forthinking that the government in Baghdad

may be able to restrict the ISIS civil war,”one said. “But while the Kirkuk-Ceyhanpipeline is out of action I don’t think wewill see prices fall much more.” “Brentshould correct the lion’s share of its latestprice rise,” Carsten Fritsch, an oil analyst atCommerzbank in Frankfurt, said in a note.

“Nonetheless, the threat of civil war ...does justify a risk premium given that theanticipated growth in Iraqi oil productionmay fail to materialize on account of theunstable security situation and an unwill-ingness to invest as a result.”

Exports safe for now Should the militants advance south of

the capital, analysts expect them toencounter much greater resistance. A thirdexport cargo of piped oil from IraqiKurdistan is scheduled to depart Turkey’sMediterranean port of Ceyhan on June 22,and crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan is flow-ing as normal.

On Friday President Barack Obama saidhe needed several days to determine howthe United States would help Iraq dealwith the Islamists’ advance. But he ruledout sending US troops back into combat inIraq, which US troops departed in 2011. InLibya, the western Al-Feel oilfield hasresumed production after security guardsended a protest that lasted more than twomonths, oil ministry officials said, butmany oilfields and ports remain blocked.Production at El Feel will reach 80,000 bar-rels a day within 24 hours, an official saidyesterday. — Reuters

Brent up near $113 on supply worries

LONDON: Gold hit its highest in nearlythree weeks yesterday, as turmoil in Iraqand Ukraine supported its safe-havenappeal relative to higher-risk assets likeequities, while platinum gained ahead ofthe outcome of talks to end a strike inSouth African mines. Investors often turnto gold or other precious metals in timesof political or financial trouble, as they canbe perceived as an insurance against risk.

Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to$1,280.00 an ounce by 1004 GMT, havinghit its highest since May 27 at $1,284.85earlier in the session. US gold futures forAugust delivery gained 0.5 percent to$1,280.90.

“Escalating violence in Iraq is going tobe bullish for gold and technically wecould see another leg up pushing goldabove $1,300,” Societe Generale analystRobin Bhar said.

“But safe-haven buying could only lastuntil you have to sell any profitable posi-tions to make up margins for other mar-kets.” Sunni insurgents seized a mainlyethnic Turkmen city in northwestern Iraqon Sunday after heavy fighting, solidify-ing their grip on the north after a light-ning offensive that threatens to dismem-ber Iraq.

Ukraine was also in the spotlight afterpro-Russian separatists shot down aUkrainian army transport plane, killing all49 military personnel on board. Gold alsogained some support from rising crudeoil prices, with Brent trading just below anine-month high hit on Friday, on fearsthe of supply disruptions from the sec-ond-largest OPEC producer Iraq.

Gold is usually seen as a hedge againstoil-led inflation. European shares fell,while the dollar gained 0.1 percentagainst a basket of currencies.

Data from the Commodity FuturesTrading Commission on Friday showedthat investor sentiment towards gold wasturning positive. Hedge funds and money

managers increased their bullish bets ingold futures and options in the week toJune 10, their first increase in five weeks.

But traders also warned that thisweek’s Federal Reserve policy meetingcould bring caution to any rally in gold.The Fed will conclude a policy meetingon Wednesday, with markets watchingout for any signals on when the US cen-tral bank might begin raising interestrates.

Platinum gainsAmong other precious metals, plat-

inum rose after falling sharply last weekon expectations that the strike in SouthAfrica might be close to a settlement. Theleader of South Africa’s AMCU union saidon Friday a wage deal with the top threeplatinum producers was imminent.

Platinum rose 0.8 percent an ounce to$1,435.50. It lost almost 4 percent in pasttwo sessions on signs that a five-monthstrike crippling 40 percent of platinumproduction could finally come to an end.

Palladium was up 0.1 percent perounce to $816.00, having touched itslowest since May 16 on Friday. The metalhad rallied to a 13-1/2 year high earlierlast week, also underpinned by strongdemand from the auto sector, whichaccounts for more 70 percent of total off-take.

“The prospects of an end to the five-month long industry strike triggeredheavy longs liquidation - especially in pal-ladium,” VTB Capital said in a note. “Wecould see a little more downside fromhere in both metals,” it said. “However,questions remain over the long-termdamage done to the industry, the size ofdepletion of stockpiles, which will needto be replenished, as well as the speed atwhich returning workers can re-ramp upproduction capacity.”

Silver rose 0.3 percent to $19.72 anounce. — Reuters

Gold hits three-week high on Iraq turmoil

B U S I N E S STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

WASHINGTON: US homebuilders are feeling moreconfident about the housing market but don’t thinkit is healthy yet. The National Association of HomeBuilders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index roseto 49 in June, highest since January and up from 45in May. Readings below 50 indicate that buildersview sales conditions are poor rather than good.The index has been stuck below 50 since January.The low numbers earlier this year reflected a bitterwinter that chilled economic activity across much ofthe US.

But warmer weather hasn’t done much to help:Sales of new homes are running about half the rateof a healthy housing market. Still, builders are themost confident they’ve been since January aboutnew single-family home sales over the next sixmonths. They report seeing more potential buyersshopping for homes, though traffic remains mod-est.

“Consumers are still hesitant, and are waiting forclear signals of full-fledged economic recoverybefore making a home purchase,” said David Crowe,chief economist for the homebuilders group.“Builders are reacting accordingly, and are movingcautiously in adding inventory.”

New home sales rose 6.4 percent in April to aseasonally adjusted annual pace of 433,000 from

407,000 in March. But they were down more than 4percent from a year earlier. In a healthy market, theannual sales rate for new homes typically runsaround 900,000. Sales surged in the first half of lastyear but have sputtered since. Last year’s gains anda limited supply of homes pushed up prices to lev-els that strained the household budgets of poten-tial buyers. The median price for an existing homewas $201,700 in April, up 5.2 percent from a yearearlier.

“With affordability still hugely impaired com-pared to last year, don’t expect a sustained revival indemand anytime soon,” Ian Shepherdson, chiefeconomist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in aresearch note. “And if mortgage rates rise over thesummer, as we expect, housing will take anotherturn for the worse.” Existing home sales came in atan annual rate 4.65 million in April, up 1.3 percentfrom March but down 6.8 percent from a year earli-er, according to the National Association of Realtors.In a healthy housing market, roughly 5.5 millionexisting homes are purchased each year. Theincrease in home sales over the past year hasoccurred primarily among homes worth more than$750,000. Buying fell during the same period forhomes worth less than $250,000, which make upthe majority of all purchases. — AP

US homebuilder confidence rose modestly in June

HAGERSTOWN: Jerry Drury installs parts on a truck engine assembly line at Volvo Trucks’ powertrainmanufacturing facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Federal Reserve released industrial productionfigures for May yesterday. — AP

MOSCOW: Russia’s central bank left its key inter-est rate on hold as expected yesterday, citing con-cerns about high inflation, and said further ratehikes were possible if inflation remained abovetarget. The decision leaves the bank’s major policyrate, the one-week minimum auction repo rate,unchanged at 7.5 percent after cumulative ratehikes of 200 basis points in March and April linkedto financial instability caused by the crisis inUkraine.

The central bank has played down expecta-tions of rate cuts in the near future, arguing that itcannot afford to relax monetary policy at a timewhen inflation, which hit 7.6 percent as of June 9,remains well above the bank’s 5 percent target forthe end of 2014 and its medium-term target of 4percent. “Keeping the (bank’s key) rate at the cur-rent level for the next few months will be enoughto achieve medium-term inflation goals,” centralbank governor Elvira Nabiullina told a news con-ference after the regular board meeting.

“However we observe the presence of signifi-cant inflationary risks at the current time. If theserisks are realised, the Bank of Russia will continue

to raise the key rate,” she said. The bank said acontinuing slowdown in Russia’s economy washaving little restraining influence on inflation asthe slowdown was largely caused by structuralfactors such as unfavorable demographic trends,high capacity utilization, sluggish labor produc-tivity growth and declining capital investment.

The bank forecast that economic growth in2014 would be 0.4 percent, below the govern-ment forecast of 0.5 percent, though it predicteda slight acceleration in the second half of the year.It also cut its forecast for 2015 growth to 0.9 per-cent and for 2016 to 1.9 percent. In February, thebank forecast the economy would grow bybetween 1.7 percent and 2.0 percent in 2015 and2016.

Ruble free float The steep rate hikes in March and April coin-

cided with heavy selling pressure on the rublestemming from the political crisis in neighboringUkraine, which has fuelled capital flight fromRussia amid fears of tougher Western sanctions.Although the ruble has seen a strong rally in

recent weeks the central bank has warned that itis too soon to relax its guard, citing continuingsigns of financial instability.

Nabiullina said the bank was sticking to itsstrategy of moving towards a freely floating rou-ble exchange rate but that it would temporarilykeep its threshold for interventions before itmoves the ruble’s floating corridor at $1.5 billion.

The bank increased its threshold for interven-tions from $350 million in March in response tothe big ruble sell-off. On capital flight, whichsoared as the threat of Western sanctions overRussia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukrainespooked foreign investors, Nabiullina said $7.4billion left Russia in May, excluding currencyswaps, down from $8.8 billion in the previousmonth.

She reiterated the bank’s forecast for capitalflight this year of up to $90 billion. The rublewas little changed after the decision to holdrates. It shed 0.5 percent against the dollar onthe day to 34.63, weighed down by fighting ineastern Ukraine and a gas dispute betweenMoscow and Kiev. — Reuters

Russian CB leaves rates

on hold, warns on hikesEconomic slowdown not dampening inflation

MOSCOW: British energy giant BP Chief Economist, Christof Ruehl (left), speaks at a plenary session of the World Petroleum Congress inMoscow, yesterday with Pulitzer-winning author and leading energy consultant Daniel Yergin (second left), BP CEO Bob Dudley (second right)and Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister, Kirill Molodtsov (right), attending. — AFP

DAKAR: Africa needs to first rely on inter-nal investment if it is to achieve the infra-structure developments it urgentlyneeds, the president of Senegal saidSunday at a regional summit. “We rely onour own efforts (to mobilise) domesticresources, because of the shift in publicdevelopment aid and the volatility ofcapital markets,” President Macky Sallsaid at the Dakar Financing Summit. Thetwo day meeting of NEPAD-the NewPartnership for Africa’s Development-brought together the leaders of Mali,Nigeria, and Benin, with 300 delegatesfrom across the continent.

Closing the event on Sunday, Sallcalled for greater integration of theeconomies and infrastructures of Africancountries, and a “paradigm shift” in theway the resources of the continent areused.

He also said that while Africa has “cer-tain urgent needs”, it should be seen “notas a receptacle for aid but as a place ofopportunity, investment, and partner-ship”.

Current priority projects for Nepad,include the extension of the port in Dares Salaam and a gas pipeline betweenNigeria and Algeria. — AFP

Africa needs to rely on

itself for infrastructure

AMSTERDAM: Greenpeace has suffered a3.8 million-euro ($5.2 million) loss on an ill-timed bet in the currency market by a well-intentioned - if reckless - employee in itsfinance department. The environmentalgroup, which is based in Amsterdam, saidMonday the employee - who had bet theeuro would not strengthen against othercurrencies in 2013, when it did - had actedbeyond the limits of his authority.

Greenpeace International fired theemployee, whom it did not identify, butsaid there was no evidence of fraud. “Everyindication is, this was done with the best ofintentions but not the best of judgment,”said spokesman Mike Townsley in a tele-phone interview from Mexico.

He said the organization was deeplyconcerned that the incident would offendits supporters, and apologized. Greenpeacedoes not accept contributions from compa-nies or governments and is funded entirelyby individuals. Responsibility lies partlywith the employee and partly with theorganization, Townsley said. The employeewas a financial expert whose job includedcurrency trades to protect the organizationfrom fluctuations in the market. He was notqualified, however, to undertake trades onthe scale he did. In addition, he ignoredcompany rules, under which he shouldhave checked with supervisors and proba-bly hired an external expert for advice onhow to manage risks.

“Hindsight is 20/20, but we believe if hehad followed rules and procedures thiswouldn’t have happened,” Townsley said.

Townsley said the employee was fired forignoring rules, not for the loss itself, which -although sizeable compared with donorcontributions - amounts to a fraction of theorganization’s annual revenues of around300 million euros ($406 million).

Gerald Steinberg, the president of NGOMonitor, which studies accountability atnonprofit organizations, said he wasn’tfamiliar with Greenpeace’s finances. But hesaid 300 million euros is “a huge amount ofmoney,” and it puts Greenpeace in the firstrank of international non-governmentalorganizations in terms of size.

He said it would be normal for a non-profit organization that large to turn toexternal experts to oversee at least some ofthe more complex aspects of its finances.

In the 1970s, human rights groups andenvironmental groups may have been“mom and pop operations with a lot of vol-unteers and limited budgets,” he said. Nowany image of head offices filled with “T-shirts and jeans” should be discarded.

“It’s big business,” he said. “But what yousee sometimes at an organization like thisis that its ability to manage finances haslagged behind its ability to solicit and raisefunds.”

Townsley of Greenpeace said the organi-zation has already taken steps to strength-en financial controls to prevent such inci-dents in the future. The group said it wouldabsorb the loss by cutting planned invest-ments in “infrastructure” and pledged notto reduce spending on campaigns andprotest actions. — AP

Greenpeace loses $5.2m on

rogue employee trading

Greenpeace ship ‘Arctic Sunrise’ is escorted by a Russian coast guard boat, in KolaBay at the military base Severomorsk on the Kola peninsula in Russia, at dawn.Greenpeace has suffered a 3.8 million-euro ($5.2 million) loss on an ill-timed bet inthe currency market by a well-intentioned - if reckless - employee in its financial unit.The environmental group, which is based in Amsterdam, said yesterday, the employ-ee - who had bet the euro would not strengthen against other currencies in 2013,when it did - had acted beyond the limits of his authority. —AP

FRANKFURT: Europe’s cruise lines passengergrowth rose in 2013 due to the popularity of theMediterranean as a destination and Germans’appetite for short trips in northern Europe, alobby group said. A record 6.4 millionEuropeans booked cruises last year with opera-tors such as Carnival, TUI and All Leisure Group,up 3.6 percent after an increase of 1.3 percent in2012, according to a report published by theCruise Lines International Association (CLIA)yesterday.

Germany saw a 9.2 percent rise in passen-gers, drawing level with Britain as Europe’slargest markets, with each accounting foraround 27 percent. “Cruising from German portsbenefits from the fact that some people increas-ingly tend to go on short breaks instead of tak-ing a long holiday to a far-away place,” HelgeGrammerstorf, National Director of CLIA

Germany, told Reuters. Barcelona, Civitavecchianorth of Rome, Venice and Southampton werethe busiest cruise ports.

“Some of the big ships with their wellnessand fitness opportunities, restaurants andentertainment shows, are seen as a holidayresort themselves,” Grammerstorf added. Inthe 1980s, when TV series like “The Love Boat”stirred a desire for what were then expensivecruises, the average number of passengersaboard was 400-600. Now it is 3,000 and aweek-long cruise can be booked for aboutthe same price as a onshore package holiday.Doubts about the safety of cruise ships havefaded more than two years after CarnivalCorp’s Costa Concordia sank off Italy in 2012,Grammerstorf said, adding that the industryhad seen a dip in bookings shortly after-wards. — Reuters

German appetite for short trips

lifts European cruise industry

CAIRO: SODIC, Egypt’s third-largest listed propertydeveloper, is considering a deeply-discounted 1 billionEgyptian pound ($140 million) rights issue, it said yes-terday.

“The board of directors has agreed to submit a sug-gestion to the extraordinary general assembly to lookinto increasing the capital of the firm,” SODIC said in astatement. It added the firm would look to raise around1 billion pounds divided over 250 million shares worthfour pounds each.

That suggests a discount of about 88 percent on thecurrent share price of around 34 pounds. SODIC did notsay what it wanted the money for. Naeem Brokeragesaid the move would help SODIC maintain a strong bal-ance sheet while it prepares to acquire much neededland for future developments. “The added liquidityshould help monetize and unlock long term sharehold-er value through new project executions,” Naeem said ina research note.

Egypt’s economy has been hit by more than threeyears of economic and political turmoil since a popularuprising ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Last month US private equity firm Ripplewoodbought a near 10 percent stake in SODIC for 217.2 mil-lion pounds, in a sign of revived interest in Egyptianequities. In April, the firm ended a dispute with Egypt’sgovernment, agreeing to pay 900 million pounds overseven years after a revaluation of its Eastown develop-ment project in Cairo. Eastown is twice the size ofLondon’s 97-acre Canary Wharf business district andincludes offices, shops and homes. The government hadsought to revoke SODIC’s rights over the land becauseof delays in the development.

In the property sector, demand for new housingremains strong and officials have said Egypt needsaround 500,000 new units a year to satisfy the demandsof its population. — Reuters

Egyptian property

firm SODIC mulls

rights issueWASHINGTON: US aerospace giant Boeingand Turkish Airlines yesterday finalized anorder for 15 additional 737 MAX 8s, valuedat $1.6 billion at list prices, the companiessaid. The deal stemmed from the Turkishflag carrier’s biggest Boeing order in its his-tory, in May 2013, for 70 single-aisle 737s,Boeing best-selling airplane.

That order, for 50 of the new 737 MAXsand 20 Next-Generation 737s, was valued at$6.9 billion at list prices. As part of the deal,Turkish Airlines took an option to buy 25additional airplanes, valued at $2.5 billion.

Airlines typically receive discounts onaircraft list prices. “Today’s order representsanother component of our continuousgrowth strategy, with the 737 MAX provid-ing Turkish Airlines with increased flexibili-ty across our ever-expanding network,” saidAhmet Bolat, chief investment and technol-

ogy officer of Turkish Airlines, in a state-ment.

With Monday’s order, Turkish Airlineshas more than 100 unfilled orders forBoeing airplanes: 65 737 MAXs, more than25 Next-Generation 737s and 20 777-300ER(Extended Range) airplanes, the companiessaid. The Istanbul-based carrier currentlyoperates a fleet of more than 100 Next-Generation 737s and 15 777-300ERs.Boeing has more than 2,000 orders for the737 MAX, a fuel-efficient airplane that itsays will deliver an 8.0 percent operatingcost per seat advantage over the new sin-gle-aisle aircraft planned by European rivalAirbus, the A320neo. The 737 MAX isBoeing’s response to the new A320Neo. Thefirst flights of both planes are scheduled in2016, with deliveries to customers begin-ning in 2017. — AFP

Turkish Airlines buys 15

Boeing 737 MAX airplanes

FRANKFURT: Siemens and Mitsubishi HeavyIndustries unveiled yesterday the terms of theirjoint bid for the energy assets of French indus-trial jewel Alstom, also coveted by GeneralElectric in the US.

Siemens said in a statement that it“intends to acquire 100 percent of Alstom’sgas business, including related service con-tracts, for 3.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) incash”. Japan’s MHI “will inject into Alstom 3.1billion euros in cash” and “become a stableand long-term shareholder of Alstom byoffering to acquire up to 10 percent stakefrom Bouygues,” the statement said.

Siemens and MHI announced last week that

they were joining forces to launch a rival offerto a $17-billion bid by GE, but the details werehammered out in talks on Sunday.

Under the terms of the bid, MHI would cre-ate three joint ventures by acquiring 40 percentof Alstom’s Nuclear business and 20 percenteach of its grid and hydroelectric business for3.1 billion euros in cash. Alstom’s energy unit,which builds generators, turbines and transmis-sion systems, accounts for 70 percent of its busi-ness. It is one of France’s biggest private sectoremployers with about 18,000 staff nationwide.Seeking to allay any fears about possible layoffsarising from a deal, GE promised late May tocreate 1,000 jobs in France. — AFP

Siemens, Mitsubishi unveil

joint bid for Alstom’s ops

B U S I N E S STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

KUWAIT: Known for its family-friendly features and versatility, theall-new SEAT Toledo 2014 wasrecently unveiled to the Kuwaitmarket by Mohammad Saleh &Reza Yousuf Behbehani. Drawingon its stunning good looks, withprecise lines and slick angles, thecompletely redesigned SEATToledo is a real eye-opener, andmarries the elegance of a Sedanwith the versatility of an estate -making it the perfect family carthat welcomes the road at everyturn.

But what makes it even morebeautiful is that it’s so affordable.The SEAT Toledo offers advancedVolkswagen technology and supe-rior safety features in a stylish,

affordable package. This wonder-ful duality comes together in a carthat satisfies the desire for adynamic driving style, and thefamilies’ need for a safe, qualityvehicle.

Abdul-Ghani Behbehani,Director at M S & R Y BehbehaniCo, stated “this car has had a longhistory in Kuwait, and we aredelighted to welcome it back witha completely new look, whichcombines beauty and practicalityat an affordable price. We expectand look forward to an increasingdemand as it is perfectly suitablefor our market”.

A quick look inside a Toledoreveals an effortlessly efficient 1.6-litre engine, economical but pow-

erful, generating 105 hp, with lowemissions. The stylish, spaciousinterior offers plenty of legroom allaround, quality seats, and a superi-or finish. The back of the car is spe-cial too: its 550-litre boot openslike a hatchback, making it easyand convenient to use. And lastbut not least, with its 6-speedgearbox, 16-inch alloy wheels, aninternal audio control and infor-mation panel control on steering,the ride is rendered smoother thanever. Discover today why the newSEAT Toledo is one of the mostaccessible saloons on the road, aswell as the most attractive. Visit theSEAT showroom in Al-Rai, 4th ringroad, or book your test drive bycalling 1884400.

Behbehani launches all-new SEAT ToledoYour lifestyle in style

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) hasbeen recognized as a ‘Priceless Partner ’ inKuwait by MasterCard in recognition of thelong standing and successful collaborationbetween the two companies to promote theadoption of electronic payment solutions.

To commemorate the occasion, RaghuMalhotra, Division President, Middle East andNorth Africa, MasterCard and Pankaj Kathuria,Area Head for Southern Gulf, MasterCard pre-sented a plaque to Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh, NBKGeneral Manager, Consumer Banking Group.

Al-Nahedh said, “This award marks a newrecognition of NBK’s unique and leading posi-tion locally and regionally. We are privileged tobe named MasterCard’s ‘Priceless Partner’ inKuwait as this distinction underpins the excel-lence of NBK’s services and its pioneering posi-tion in offering specialized and innovativebanking services that are available in the worldtoday.”

“NBK’s relationship with MasterCard extendsover several years. NBK is committed to provid-ing its customers with the best banking experi-

ence ever, by building on the longstandingrelationships with a world leading partner andbrand such as MasterCard,” Al-Nahedh added.

Speaking on the occasion, Raghu Malhotrasaid, “NBK has been a key advocate for further-ing electronic payment solutions in Kuwait andthe bank ’s leadership has always been astaunch supporter of our vision of a worldbeyond cash. We are delighted to recognizeNBK as our ‘Priceless Partner’ and we look for-ward to jointly achieving greater milestones inthe near future.”

NBK named ‘Priceless Partner’ by MasterCard

KUWAIT: Warba Bank yesterdayannounced that “E’tamid Warba &Transfer your Salary” campaign isrunning until June 26th, 2014.The campaign gives customersthe opportunity to win a state-of-the-art Mercedes G63 AMG bysimply transferring their salariesto their Warba accounts.

“E’tamid Warba & Transfer yourSalary” Campaign received a verypositive response from customersin the Avenues and 360 Mallwhere they could enquire aboutthe campaign, how to register,and to find out more about thegrand prize; the Mercedes G63AMG. Commenting on the posi-

tive response received from cus-tomers, Adnan Al-Salem, ChiefRetail Banking Officer at WarbaBank said: “Our ‘E’tamid Warba &Transfer your Salary’ campaignfalls in line with our aim toenhance the bank’s marketingstrategy which is designed toexpand our customer segment.”

“All customers who transfertheir salaries to their Warbaaccount before the closing datewill have the opportunity to win atop of the range Mercedes G63AMG. Our Al-Safwa distinguishedsalary customers whose salariesare above KD 1500, will havetwice the chance to win withdouble entries to the draw. Thewinner will be announced at theprize giving ceremony, scheduledon July 10, during which the elec-tronic draw will take place,” addedAl Salem.

He concluded: “‘E’tamid Warba& Transfer your Salary’ Campaignis Warba’s first promotional cam-paign for 2014, but it won’t bethe last, as Warba Bank continuesinnovating excellent Sharia com-

pliant banking products with aview to meet customers’ growingexpectations, and allow them tokeep pace with the economicdevelopments of the local bank-ing market.”

For more information about“E’tamid Warba & Transfer yourSalary” campaign, please visitWarba stand which will be avail-able at the 360 Mall untilJune15th, 2014;contact theCustomer Service Center at1825555or visit your nearestWarba Bank branch.

‘E’tamid Warba & Transfer your Salary’campaign to last until June 26

KUWAIT: ProCons, the accredited SAPgold partner and Master VAR for SAPBusiness One, has signed a joint venturewith Al-Awama Group of Companies- alarge Kuwaiti Group involved in a spec-trum of business ac t iv it ies such asElec tro -Mechanical works, Cater ingServices, Telecommunications, Education,Travel & Tourism and many more.

Kuwait, which is rocketing in diverseservices sectors, is moving to integratethe latest Information Technologies intothe services sector. This decision comesamidst development plans, which heavilyrely on a strong IT infrastructure. Theservices sector is already playing a majorrole in the development of the country,and a br ighter future depends onwhether the expansion in services is sup-ported by strong IT platforms. The sup-port of IT in different sectors establishesrobust and collateral benefits for all othersec tors : Education and Healthcare,Energy, Telecommunicat ion andTransportation.

Over the past few years, ProCons hasbuilt a strong network of channel part-ners and demonstrated great success andgrowth across the region. The joint ven-ture comes during aggressive expansionplans and amazing growth of ProCons aswell as the services sector in Kuwait.

Ibrahim Al Ghanim the CEO of Al-Awama Group, said: “The services sectoris highly dependent on the IT platformsand infrastructure that we acquire inKuwait. The service industry is a large andgrowing source of jobs across the coun-try and our strength in the area will playan important role in economic and socialdevelopment. Our joint venture withProCons will establish highly productivesector generating benefits for manyindustries, and this in return will provideservices that power inclusive growth.”

He added: “We are very pleased tohave agreed terms and established thisjoint venture with ProCons. The companyis one of the most reputable in its indus-try and has clear benefits for our invest-ment portfolio. We welcome our newpartners and look forward to a long andsuccessful business relationship,”

Wassim Hassanieh, Managing Directorof ProCons, said: “Kuwait is very strategicfor us; it took us sometime to find theright partner which shares the same val-ues, but now we are very glad to partnerwith Al-Awama.” He added: “Using ourindustry expertise, technological capabil-ities and SAP software, we will help moveany business entity in Kuwait from onelevel to another.”

Hassanieh added: ”ProCons strongnetwork and par tners is al l what Al-Awama needs to significantly improvetheir per formance by brining greatercompetition and better technologies toany services sector in Kuwait.”

As SAP’s Gold partner with more than10 years of business project experience,ProCons is committed to developinginnovations that improve the lives ofpeople everywhere. SAP which is themarket leader in enterprise applicationsoftware has helped companies of allsizes and industries to run more efficient-ly. Over the last few years, ProCons hasbuilt a strong network of channel part-ners and resellers across the Middle Eastand Africa. Established in Dubai in 2005with offices in UAE, KSA, Lebanon, Qatar,Kuwait and Turkey the company providesprofessional SAP consultancy and expert-ise to businesses within the MENA region.ProCons-4it is acknowledged for deliver-ing many solutions across numerous dis-ciplines and sectors, and for having aproven track record of providing full life-cycle projects.

ProCons SAP Gold Partner boosts presence in Kuwait

KUWAIT: SAMENA TelecommunicationsCouncil is set to present The TelecomLeaders’ Summit 2014 on Thursday, June19th at Armani Hotel Dubai. Hosted byHuawei, the Summit will be held underthe theme “The Rise of the BroadbandEconomy - Shaping Excellence inCooperation - Government, TelecomOperators, Internet Players”

The agenda for The Telecom Leaders’Summit 2014 will encompass various ses-sions in the presence of ministers from theICT sector of various countries as well askey industry figures from the region,including H.E. Mohamed Al Ghanim - DGTRA, UAE; Hamadoun Toure - SecretaryGeneral, ITU; Osman Sultan - CEO, du;Bocar A Ba - CEO, SAMENA Telecommu-nications Council; Shi Yaohong - President,Huawei Middle East. The discussions willspan three areas including Role ofGovernment, Digital Governance andBroadband Development Strategy.

“Considering that the ICT sector in theregion is on the threshold of a digital rev-olution, SAMENA TelecommunicationsCouncil realizes the significance of pro-viding stakeholders with opportunitiesto exchange ideas and cooperate onindustry issues to identify solutions withfar-reaching benefits. At The TelecomLeaders’ Summit 2014, we are lookingforward to very dynamic and prolific dis-

cussions on issues such as setting invest-ment-friendly policies and regulations bythe governments and regulators, diversi-fication of revenue streams by telecomoperators, introducing efficient, servicedelivery platform by technologyproviders and innovative applicationsand services by the Internet players,” saidBocar Ba, CEO, SAMENA Telecomm-unica-tions Council.

“At the same time, we are also excitedabout the future of “Cooperation” amongindustry stakeholders within the regionand look forward to seeing strong repre-sentation and participation from theregional telecoms and ICT community inthe Council’s initiatives and meetingssuch as this Summit,” he added.

“This region is home to a thrivingtelecommunications landscape; one inwhich governments, businesses andoperators continue to set new milestonesin delivering services to the public. Thatprogress will no doubt continue as wekeep the customer at the heart of ourindustry’s innovation. Bringing togetherexceptional minds from across theregional and global ICT sector, Huaweilooks forward to hosting The TelecomLeaders’ Summit 2014 and further sup-porting the advancement of the region’sbroadband economy,” said Shi Yaohong,President of Huawei Middle East.

SAMENA to hold Telecom Leaders’ summit in Dubai

t e c hnolo g yTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

LOS ANGELES: Amazon’s newly announced musicstreaming service is yet another attempt by thecompany to move beyond e-commerce and infuseitself into the daily lives of Americans with anincreasing number of offerings -including grocerydelivery and streaming TV.

The announcement comes just days ahead of theexpected unveiling of the company’s first smart-phone. Starting Thursday, Amazon.com Inc will offermore than a million tracks for ad-free streaming anddownload to Kindle Fire tablets as well as to comput-ers and the Amazon Music app for Apple andAndroid devices. The service, called Prime Music, islikely to be integrated with an Amazon smartphoneexpected to be previewed tomorrow.

People who pay $99 a year for an Amazon Primemembership can listen to tens of thousands ofalbums from artists including Beyonce, TheLumineers and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for noextra cost. By adding music, Amazon is hoping tohook new customers and retain existing ones on itsPrime free-shipping plan, which also allows sub-scribers to watch streams of movies and TV showsand gives Kindle owners a library of books they canborrow once a month.

But the service has far fewer songs than serviceslike Spotify or Rhapsody, and no deal with top-

ranked Universal Music Group. Wedbush analystMichael Pachter said the service is not likely to makea big impact on Prime membership. He said Primemembers are likely to already use other streamingservices so there is not much of a reason to switch toAmazon’s service.

“Very few people are going to use it, like PrimeInstant Video, very few people even know thatexists,” he said. “We are Prime members because wewant free shipping.” Steve Boom, Amazon’s vice pres-ident of digital music, said the service will pay foritself and isn’t part of the reason why the companyraised the price of Prime from $79 in March - a moveAmazon said would cover higher shipping costs.Instead, the company will benefit because Primemembers tend to buy more from Amazon andremain loyal customers. “If they come to Amazon fortheir music needs, they become better and longer-term Amazon customers, and we think that’s a goodthing,” Boom said.

The deal comes on the heels of Apple Inc.’sannouncement that it is purchasing headphone andmusic-streaming company Beats for $3 billion and isa further acknowledgement of the rise in popularityof streaming and the decline of digital downloads.US sales of downloaded songs slipped 1 percent lastyear to $2.8 billion while streaming music revenue

surged 39 percent to $1.4 billion, according to theRecording Industry Association of America. Earlyresults this year showed a further decline in musicdownload sales, Boom said. “Music consumptionhabits are changing, which is why we started this,” hesaid. “We saw the change happening.”

Seattle-based Amazon reached licensing dealswith most of the top independent labels and majorrecording companies Sony and Warner Music, butfailed to reach a deal with top-ranked UniversalMusic Group. That means that while the service willfeature artists like Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars,Bruce Springsteen, Pink and Madonna - it will lackmusic by Universal stars such as Katy Perry, TaylorSwift and Jay-Z.

The service also won’t have many new releases -and for major artists that could mean music that hasbeen released within the last six months. Universaldidn’t reach a deal with Amazon because it disagreedwith the value of the lump sum royalty payment onoffer for the albums in question, according to twopeople familiar with the matter. One person said theroyalty amounted to about $40 million to $50 millionfor the entire music industry over two years.

Labels other than Universal concluded theamount would be equal to or better than a per-playstreaming royalty, given how often the songs were

played on other digital services, the person said. Bothpeople were not authorized to speak publicly andspoke on condition of anonymity.

Amazon will recommend songs to customerswho have bought music from it in the past withoffers to complete albums if they’re available onthe service. It has also hired experts to compilehundreds of playlists that are 20 to 50 songs inlength based on genre or mood that are easy todownload before getting on the subway or on aplane, Boom said.

Amazon’s strategy has long been to plow themoney it generates back into its business, focusingon growth. The tactic results in thin margins, butinvestors largely give Amazon a pass for forgoing astrong profit for growth. The company boosted itsPrime 2-day shipping membership program annualfee from $79 to $99 in March to offset higher ship-ping costs. Since then, it has been adding services toPrime membership to attract new customers andencourage existing customers to spend more.

It started a service that lets Twitter users addAmazon.com products to their carts without leavingthe social media site. In April, it launched PrimePantry, a grocery delivery service for Prime members.The same month, it introduced Amazon Fire, its firstset-top video streaming box. — AP

Amazon launches music streaming for Prime members

TORONTO: Parents struggling to get their chil-dren away from smartphones and tablets formeals, homework, exercise and other activitiescan arm themselves with new apps to remotelyblock access to the devices.

Usage of smartphones and tablets among chil-dren has tripled since 2011, according toCommon Sense Media, a San Francisco basednon-profit that studies the effects of media andtechnology on young users. A new app calledDinnerTime Parental Control, for iPhone orAndroid smartphones, enables parents to restrictwhen children can use their smartphones andtablets.

“The price of entry level smartphones andtablets have come down a lot, and as a result,more and more kids have their own individualdevices,” said Richard Sah, co-founder ofDinnerTime, based in San Mateo, California.

With the free app, parents can pause activityon a child’s Android smartphone or tablet so thatthey can focus on things like homework, exercise

and family time. Once a device has been paused,all functions on their device are blocked, includ-ing the ability to text and play with apps.

To use the app, parents install it on the child’sdevice and enter in their phone number to linkthe two devices. Parents can then set specificbreak times, ranging from 30 minutes to threehours, when the device will be locked. A count-down screen displayed on the child’s deviceshows when they can use it again.

Sah said he was inspired to develop the app bythe tradition of family dinners, which he thinks isbeing lost in the age of technology. “Dinner timebrings families together for quality time and tohave lots of different conversations. We want peo-ple to come together for engaging conversations,rather than be distracted by a tablet,” he said.

DinnerTime Plus, another free app from thecompany, lets parents manage the apps their chil-dren use and to views the apps they are using inreal time.

Parents can also purchase detailed reporting,

which outlines how much time kids spend oncertain apps, and how often they used them.With another app called ScreenTime, parents canpush a button on their phones to block usage ontheir children’s devices. They can also set dailytime limits for particular apps. The app, forAndroid, requires a subscription of $3.99 amonth.

Kimberly Young, a psychologist who focuseson Internet addiction, believes parents need tocontrol how much time their children spend ontheir devices. But she added an app might not bethe best way to do it. “I do not agree that any appis better than good old-fashioned parenting interms of treating Internet addiction,” said Young,who added that she has seen children as youngas 3 years old using mobile devices. “The largerissue is how young is too young,” said Young. Sahis also concerned about usage of devices byyoung children. “Most kids can use smartphonesbefore learning to write their names or tie theirshoes,” he said. — Reuters

Apps let parents control kids’ usage of e-devices

Agency studies effects of technology on young users

SAN FRANCISCO: The Federal Commun-ications Commission is setting out to unrav-el the mystery behind the Internet trafficjams bogging down the delivery of Netflixvideos and other online content.

The inquiry announced Friday by FCCChairman Tom Wheeler will dissect theroutes that video and other data travel toreach Internet service providers such asComcast and Verizon. This crucial handoff ofcontent has gained more attention inrecent months as Netflix Inc. and other crit-ics have accused the two Internet serviceproviders of deliberately slowing incomingtraffic from websites unwilling to pay for aless congested entry point.

Comcast and Verizon contend Netflixshould bear some of the cost for handlingthe heavy traffic caused by its 36 millionUSsubscribers watching video over high-speed Internet connections. At peak view-ing hours, Netflix accounts for about one-third of the Internet traffic in the US, accord-ing to the research firm Sandvine.

The picture quality of Netflix video,though, has been increasingly erratic dur-ing the past year at several major Internetservice providers, including Comcast andVerizon, which have a combined 30 millionsubscribers in the US. While Netflix hasbeen streaming more smoothly atComcast since those two companiesforged their partnership in February, someproblems have still been occurring onVerizon’s network. Netflix CEO ReedHastings has continued sniping at bothComcast Corp. and Verizon

Communications, arguing they shouldbe able to afford to deliver whatever onlinecontent that their subscribers want, giventhat their customers pay $50 to $80 permonth for their Internet service. Netflixcharges $8 to $12 per month for its Internetvideo service. With the FCC inquiry, Wheelerhopes to get a better understanding of howNetflix and other websites are reaching theInternet service providers through intercon-nection, or “peering,” arrangements.

“The bottom line is that consumers needto understand what is occurring when theInternet service they’ve paid for does notadequately deliver the content they desire,especially content they’ve also paid for,”Wheeler said in a statement.

In the process, the FCC also could shedmore light on whether Netflix is savingmoney in its peering deals with Comcastand Verizon. Although the terms of thepartnerships haven’t been disclosed, bothComcast and Verizon have suggestedNetflix is paying them less for a direct con-nection to their network than what it previ-ously cost Netflix to deliver video throughother intermediaries.

Greater transparencyIn a rare show of unanimity, Netflix and

Comcast both said they welcomed theFCC’s inquiry in the interests of greatertransparency. Verizon reaffirmed its sup-port for the status quo and pointed outthat “Internet traffic exchange has alwaysbeen handled through commercial agree-ments.” — AP

FCC examining reasonsfor Internet traffic jams

LONDON: The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson (center) and former Mayor of NewYork city, Michael R. Bloomberg (center-right) are joined by London school childrento mark the start of the first London Technology Week as they make and play withcomputer and coding kits designed by Kano, a London based start-up, at CentralWorking in London yesterday. — AP

TOULOUSE: Airbus Group CEO, German Tom Enders, flanked by Airbus CEO, French Fabrice Bregier (left) and A350 Airbus plane project manag-er Didier Evrard (center), gestures in front of the final assembly line of the A350 XWB Airbus (Airbus long-haul plane, eXtra Wide Body), yester-day in Colomiers’ Airbus plant, near Toulouse, southwestern France. — AFP

PARIS: Aerospace giant Airbus Group andFrench engine maker Safran announced ajoint venture yesterday on space launchers, asEurope looks to compete with rising US rivalSpaceX.

The two companies said in a statementthey would team up on production of Arianerockets for Arianespace, which is facingintense competition from low-cost SpaceX insending up communications satellites. Thecompanies announced the plan after talks inParis with President Francois Hollande, whohailed the deal as “a major step toward theconsolidation of the European space pro-gram.” The companies said the deal was aimedat “further strengthening their relationship topropose a new family of competitive, versatileand efficient space launchers, to serve bothcommercial and institutional needs.”

It said the 50-50 joint venture would bring

together “expertise in the launcher systemsfrom Airbus Group as well as propulsion sys-tems from Safran.” “It’s all about enhancing thecompetitiveness of our space launcher busi-ness going forward,” Airbus Group CEO TomEnders said in the statement.

“The Ariane program has been hugely suc-cessful during the last 30 years, but in order toremain relevant and competitive for thefuture we need a much more efficient indus-trial structure.”

Arianespace has dominated the commer-cial space launch business with its line ofAriane rockets, but newcomer private Space Xhas begun to shake up the industry withcheaper rockets.

Owned by US billionaire Elon Musk whowas behind online payments system PayPaland Tesla electric cars has quickly brought theFalcon rockets that can lift satellites into orbit

for $60 million, half the cost of Ariane rockets.Arianespace’s mainstay launcher is the Ariane5, a heavy rocket that is highly reliable but ithas to carry two large satellites to be prof-itable, and this can cause delays.

France and Germany, the major sharehold-ers in Arianespace, have not been able toagree on strategy for the development offuture rockets. Many analysts say the satellitemarket is evolving fast towards smaller rock-ets with single payloads, such as SpaceX’sFalcon. France has supported developing by2021 the Ariane 6, sketched as a low-costflexible successor able to place a single pay-load of three to 6.5 tonnes into a geostation-ary slot. ESA also plans to tweak the Ariane 5with an ME version-for Midlife Evolution-thatwould be ready by 2017 and yield opera-tional savings over the existing ECA and ESmodels. — AFP

Airbus, Safran team up to compete with SpaceX

LONDON: Vodafone is buying an Italian carelectronics maker for 145 million euros($197 million), seeking to get ahead in therace to connect more products to the inter-net and offset slowing growth in its coremobile phone business. Telecoms and tech-nology firms are looking to tap an expect-ed surge in demand for so-called machine-to-machine (M2M) communications - orusing the internet to get products fromcars and washing machines to turbines andmedical equipment to carry out more tasks,more efficiently.

Cars are at the forefront of the newindustry, as manufacturers strive to addnew features such as streaming music,playing audio books, navigation aids andsecurity improvements to their vehicles.

Only about 10 percent of vehicles cur-rently have built-in connectivity to theinternet, but that number is expected torise to more than 90 percent by 2020,according to British consulting firmMachina Research. Vodafone said yesterdayit had agreed to buy Cobra AutomotiveTechnologies, which provides productsaimed at improving car security, telecom-munications and vehicle tracking for theautomotive and insurance industries.

“ The combination of Vodafone andCobra will create a new global provider ofconnected car services,” said Erik Brenneis,Director of M2M at Vodafone. “We plan to

invest in the business to offer our automo-tive and insurance customers a full range oftelematics services.”

Other mobile operators are also invest-ing in the M2M industry - also known as“the internet of things” - looking for newsources of income as stiff competition andregulation slow growth in their core mar-ket. For example, Verizon Communications,the largest US wireless carrier, spent $612million in cash in 2012 to buy HughesTelematics, which sells products includingGPS tracking, communications and safetyfeatures in cars.

Technology companies are also deeplyinvolved. Earlier this year, Apple unveiledits CarPlay technology, which integrates itsiPhone with a car and allows drivers to usecertain apps on the dashboard with Siri, thevoice-enabled assistant, to view maps,make calls, listen to music and send andreceive text messages.

In other industries, examples of M2Mtechnology already in use include smartmeters which monitor energy usage athomes, or devices in offices which tell anowner when their coffee machine needs re-stocking. Enders analyst James Barford saidmobile operators were still undecidedwhether they wanted to provide just the net-work capabilities for M2M communicationsor actually compete with IT providers tomanage the services themselves. — Reuters

Vodafone targets ‘connected cars’ with Italian agreement

H E A LT H & S C I E N C ETUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

BOSTON: Scientists have made big progress on a“bionic pancreas” to free some people with diabetesfrom the daily ordeal of managing their disease. Awearable, experimental device passed a real-worldtest, constantly monitoring blood sugar and auto-matically giving insulin or a sugar-boosting drug asneeded, doctors said Sunday.

The device improved blood-sugar control morethan standard monitors and insulin pumps didwhen tested for five days on 20 adults and 32 teens.Unlike other artificial pancreases in developmentthat just correct high blood sugar, this one also canfix too-low sugar, mimicking what a natural pan-creas does.

The device was developed at MassachusettsGeneral Hospital and Boston University. Results werefeatured Sunday at an American DiabetesAssociation conference in San Francisco and werepublished online by the New England Journal ofMedicine. “I’m very excited about it,” said Dr BetulHatipoglu, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinicwho had no role in the work. Many patients havebeen frustrated waiting for a cure, so “this is really agreat new horizon for them,” she said.

The bionic pancreas is for Type 1 diabetes, thekind often found during childhood. About 5 percentof the 26 million Americans with diabetes have thistype and cannot make insulin to turn food into ener-gy. Sugar builds up in the blood, raising the risk forheart disease and many other problems. These peo-ple must check their blood and inject insulin severaltimes a day or get it through a pocket-sized pumpwith a tube that goes under the skin.

“This would lift that burden off of their shoul-ders,” Dr Steven Russell, a diabetes specialist atMassachusetts General, said of the bionic pancreashe helped design. It has three parts: two cellphone-sized pumps for insulin and sugar-raising glucagon,and an iPhone wired to a continuous glucose moni-tor. Three small needles go under the skin, usually inthe belly, to connect patients to the components,which can be kept in a fanny pack or a pocket.

Patients still have to prick their fingers to testblood sugar twice a day and make sure the monitoris accurate, but the system takes care of givinginsulin or glucagon as needed. Kristina Herndon saidher 13-year-old son, Christopher, “loved it” when hetried it for the study, and “felt pretty badly giving itback” when it ended. Christopher has to check hisblood sugar eight to 10 times a day and his familyhas to watch him closely in case it dips too low while

he sleeps, which can cause seizures or even death.“It’s a disease that I think people think is not a bigdeal but it ’s tough. It ’s hard on a family,” saidHerndon, who lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Next-generation versionNext steps: A study starts Monday in 40 adults

who will use the device for 11 days. By fall,researchers hope to have a next-generation versioncombining all three components in one device to betested in studies next year aimed at winning federalFood and Drug Administration approval.

“My goal is to have this device done by the timemy kid, who has Type 1 diabetes, goes to college” inabout three years, said Ed Damiano, a biomedicalengineer at Boston University. Two San Diego-based

companies - DexCom and Tandem Diabetes Care Inc- made components of the version tested in the cur-rent study. Boston University and MassachusettsGeneral own or have patents pending on the system,and several researchers may someday get royalties.

Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson and several oth-er companies also are working on artificial pan-creas devices. The Boston group’s work is excitingand the results are compelling, but there still arepractical challenges to bringing a device to market,said Aaron Kowalski, who oversees grants by theJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on artificialpancreas development. “Most people with diabeteswant less devices in their lives, not more,” so put-ting the components into a single automated sys-tem is key, he said. — AP

Progress made on a ‘bionic

pancreas’ for diabetics

BOSTON: This undated product image provided by Boston University Department ofBiomedical Engineering shows the bionic pancreas developed by a BostonUniversity/Massachusetts General Hospital research team. — AP

NATAL: While World Cup referees finally have goal-linetechnology to prevent mistakes, doctors in Brazil willsoon have their own computer gizmo to containdengue outbreaks. In the tropical northeastern city ofNatal, a new smartphone application could allow resi-dents to alert authorities about the location of concen-trations of mosquitos and cases of dengue with thetouch of a finger. The app was developed by universityresearcher Ricardo Valentim in collaboration with epi-demiologist Ion de Andrade, who works for the Natalcity council.

“If someone identifies dengue, they pinpoint it onthe (application’s) map and that allows us to see whereit is developing and to react immediately to stop itspreading,” Andrade said. The “Dengue Observatory”app is in beta mode for now but is expected to comeonline this month. Once up and running, it will allowauthorities to know exactly where to act. “If it’s mosqui-tos, we can locate and treat the water source. If a sus-pected case is confirmed, we can treat the victim,”Andrade said.

World Cup plan There is no cure for the mosquito-borne disease.

Brazil has been hit harder than any other country thiscentury, with seven million cases reported since 2000,including 800 fatalities in the last five years. In the SaoPaulo state city of Campinas, where Portugal’s team andstar Cristiano Ronaldo are based, three women aged 27,69 and 81 died of dengue this year.

The World Cup’s northeastern host cities of Natal,Recife and Fortaleza were flagged as danger zones in apaper published by European and Brazilian scientists inThe Lancet Infectious Diseases last month. Natal hasrecorded 3,000 cases this year, and the city has enduredtorrential rain since the World Cup started last Thursday.Sitting at the local hospital, Joana was waiting to under-go a blood analysis. “I have a sore head, my joints aresore and I’m feverish. On Sunday, I had pain in my eyes,”she complained.

Although all are symptoms of dengue, she may besuffering from a simple virus. “We’ve seen several casesof dengue recently, but we’re nowhere near epidemiclevels,” said local doctor Mario Toscano. The poorerneighborhoods of Natal often do not have ready accessto running water, never mind computers or telephoneswith mobile applications. So in some of the city’s fave-las, where the children run barefoot and waste waterruns in open gutters, the risk of dengue is potentiallygreater.

“This is exactly the kind of place that would attractmosquitos,” said Aberdal Varela Da Fe, pointing at a con-crete bath of stagnant water used by several families forcooking and washing in their tiny, one-room concreteshacks. In stagnant water, female mosquitos can layeggs which grow into the larvae which can thenbecome disease-carrying mosquitoes.

After visiting another house nearby, Varela Da Fe,one of 380 health inspectors employed by the city tocontrol dengue, received better news. “Your house isvery well kept,” he told the elderly occupant IivanildaFirmino. “All the water receptacles are covered.” Firminohas reason to be very vigilant. “I’m really careful,because my son has had dengue four times already,”said Firmino.

With hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors travel-ling across Brazil until the World Cup final on July 13,authorities are being careful. “There’s always a risk, butthis year it’s not so big,” said Alessandre de MedeirosTavares, the chief doctor in Natal city council’s denguetask force. “Thanks to our work on the ground, we’vehad less cases. But if we do have more, we have a ‘WorldCup’ plan ready to go into action,” he said. “But accord-ing to our analyses, it is likely we won’t have to.” —AFP

With handy app, Brazilians

hope to fight dengue

NATAL: Aberdal Varela Da Fe, a Natal municipality agent, tests areas infested withmosquitoes to prevent dengue fever from spreading on June 14, 2014. — AFP

LONDON: British authorities advised con-sumers yesterday against washing chickensaying that, contrary to common belief, thepractice could lead to food poisoning. Thestern warning was aimed at the 44 percentof Britons who wash raw chicken beforecooking it, according to a survey by theBritish Food Safety Authority (FSA). Washingraw chicken can spread campylobacter bac-teria, the most common cause of food poi-soning in Britain-though just 28 percent ofthe 4,540 adults surveyed had heard of it.

The most common reasons given forwashing chicken were the belief that itremoves dirt and bacteria, and because itwas a family tradition. In fact, the practicecan spread the dangerous bacteria ontohands, clothing and surfaces, the FSA said.

The food body has made the campaignagainst washing chicken the focus of its2014 Food Safety Week, writing an openletter to cooking show producers to askthem to stop the washing of chicken on TV.

Campylobacter can cause abdominalpain, severe diarrhoea and vomiting, andin some cases death. Those most at risk arechildren and older people. Poultry is themain source of the Campylobacter, whichcan also cause Guillain-Barre syndrome,which can leave victims paralyzed.

“Campylobacter is a serious issue. Notonly can it cause severe illness and death,but it costs the economy hundreds of mil-lions of pounds a year as a result of sick-ness absence,” FSA Chief ExecutiveCatherine Brown said. — AFP

UK issues dire warning

on washing chicken

Royale Hayat Hospital

welcomes Dr Preeti Kumar

BEIJING: A Chinese government officialwho blamed lead poisoning in more than300 children on the possible chewing ofschool pencils was excoriated in state-runmedia and ridiculed online yesterday. Leadlevels as high as three times national stan-dards were found in the blood of childrenin a village in the central province ofHunan, with the contamination blamed onpollution from a local chemical plant, theofficial news agency Xinhua reported.

The factory has been closed down forinvestigation, Xinhua said citing local offi-cials. But Su Genlin, the chief of Daputownship, told the told state broadcasterCCTV that “Kids use pencils in school, andchewing pencils could also cause theexcessive (lead) levels.” In Chinese, the char-acter for the heavy metal is also used in theword for pencil, in the same way that “lead”has a double meaning in English.

The online mouthpiece of China’s rulingCommunist party, the People’s Daily, blast-ed the official in an op-ed published yester-day. “It is scientific knowledge that pencils

are made from graphite,” the article bycommentator Zhang Yusheng said. “Doesthis official’s statement show ignorance, orjust disregard for the people’s welfare?”

Chinese Internet users also mocked theofficial. “How can such low IQ cadres appearin public?” asked author Cui Chenghao onSina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.China’s rapid industrialization over the past30 years has left the country with wide-spread environmental damage that has tak-en a heavy toll on public health. Recentstudies have shown that roughly two-thirdsof China’s soil is estimated to be pollutedand that 60 percent of underground wateris too contaminated to drink.

In 2011 authorities in the easternprovince of Zhejiang detained 74 peopleand suspended work at hundreds of facto-ries after 172 people-including 53 children-fell ill with lead poisoning. US battery mak-er Johnson Controls was in 2012 blamedfor lead pollution in the commercial hub ofShanghai, after 49 children were diagnosedwith lead poisoning. — AFP

SYDNEY: Australian scientists said yes-terday they want to fight dengue fever-which is spread by mosquito bites-byreleasing more of the buzzing, flyinginsects into the environment. The mos-quitoes released would be resistant todengue and expected to quickly infiltratethe insect population in the Queenslandcity of Townsville and stop the spread ofthe disease. Small-scale trials havealready been conducted in communitiesin northern Australia, but coastalTownsville, with its population of189,000, would be the first time an entirecity had been targeted.

Professor Scott O’Neill from MonashUniversity, who will meet with theTownsville community on Monday, saidhe hoped to begin the city-wide trial bythe end of the year if given support. “Thiswill be the first-large scale trial of ourmethod and we are committed to beingopen and responsive with the Townsvillecommunity about our research,” he said.

In the trials, mosquitoes infected witha bacteria called Wolbachia were intro-duced in small numbers to communitiesin northern Australia. Research hasshown that Wolbachia prevents mosqui-toes from transmitting dengue. The ideais that over time the Wolbachia mosqui-toes breed out the dengue-carryingones. “The science has been very goodand it’s looking very promising,” O’Neill

told ABC Radio.

No vaccineIf the Townsville model is successful,

O’Neill hopes the method could be usedaround the globe to combat the disease,which the World Health Organisationestimates may be infecting up to 50-100million people each year. “We could havea very sizeable impact on dengue feveraround the world and hopefully one daycontribute significantly to eliminating it,”O’Neill told the ABC.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne infectionfound in tropical and sub-tropicalregions. There is no vaccine, so preven-tion focuses on mosquito control. “We’vejust had an outbreak in northernQueensland of over 170 dengue caseswhich is small on a global scale-but still170 cases too many,” said GaryEddiehausen, who is chair of theTownsville community group looking atthe plan.

“We now have an opportunity inTownsville to consider how we may beable to assist in reducing possible futuredengue outbreaks in our own backyards-and being part of something that reach-es so much further.” Dengue is transmit-ted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito,which can pick up the virus from aninfected human and transmit it to thenext person it bites. — AFP

Resistant mosquitoes

may fly in to fight

dengue in Australia

China official blasted

for blaming lead

poisoning on pencils

KUWAIT: Royale Hayat Hospital recently welcomed Dr PreetiKumar specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology and amember of the British Menopause Society and Royal Collegeof Obstetrician and Gynecologist in UK.

Dr Preeti’s 26 years of experience in UK, KSA, Dubai andKuwait include management of normal and high risk preg-nancy, medical disorders in pregnancy, management ofrecurrent miscarriages, normal, operative and caesariandeliveries, adolescent gynecological and menstrual disor-ders, postmenopausal health of women, in addition toscreening and managing early gynecological cancers, col-poscopy, hysteroscopy and laparoscopy procedure, and pre-conception health and family planning management.

Since opening, Royale Hayat Hospital enhanced the med-ical experience with devoted professionals and excellentcare combined with advanced technology and unsurpassedluxurious hospitality. Dr Preeti Kumar

W H AT ’ S ONTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

By Dr. Teresa Lesher

Not sure how to conduct yourself in Ramadan?Join Dr. Teresa for a 30-minute PowerPointpresentation on the meaning of Ramadan,

Kuwait’s laws related to Ramadan, expected public eti-quette, customs you will encounter in your neighbor-hood and workplace, how to cope with daytimerestrictions, such as restaurant closures, and how toget the most out of your Ramadan experience. Thepresentation will be followed by a discussion and aQ&A session.Thursday, June 26 @ 7pmTo register, phone: 25231015Shuhada Area - Block 4, Street 413, House 67 - Kuwait

Ramadan Sweets Cooking ClassBy Farinal JarrarWith Ramadan right around the corner, it is the perfecttime to learn how to make special Ramadan sweetsand treats (Yes, including Konafa). Farinal Jarrar is achef, blogger, and assistant of Manal Al-Alem with over8 years of experience. Join her as she demonstratessome tasty and easy recipes that are sure to satisfy anycraving. Impress your guests this Ramadan!Sunday, June 22 @ 7pmFee: 10KDShuhada Area - Block 4, Street 413, House 67 - Kuwait

Islamic Guidelines and Quran MemorizationBy Sharaf Al-NisaaThe first half of this class will focus on Fiqh about dif-ferent Islamic rulings with a special focus on purity.The second half of the class will focus on Quran mem-orization.Tuesday, June 24 @ 6:00pm - 8:00pmShuhada Area - Block 4, Street 413, House 67 - Kuwait

Islamic GuidelinesBy Hassan BwambaleThis weekly Fiqh class teaches different Islamic rulingswith a special focus on purity.Monday, June 23 @ 6:00pm - 7:00pmShuhada Area - Block 4, Street 413, House 67 - Kuwait

Ramadan Arabic Class: Greetings and CourtesiesLearn how to exchange common Arabic greetings,conversations, and courtesies specific to Ramadan andEid. Exchanging greetings and courtesies is an essen-tial part of living in Kuwait, which is especially trueduring occasions such as Ramadan and Eid. This willcome in handy when hosting or visiting locals. Sunday, July 6, 13 and 20 @ 1-3pmTo register, phone: 25231015Shuhada Area - Block 4, Street 413, House 67 - Kuwait

Qur’an Memorization & Explanation CourseRecite, memorize, and understand 3 greatly distin-guished verses of the Quran. This class will meet twicea week for 3 weeks where students will learn the vers-es with tajweed. Students will learn to understandtheir meanings, secrets, and virtues. The teacher willbe using tafsir from numerous sources including IbnKathir and Ibn Uthaymeen. Students are encouragedto participate in an optional Quran Competition, whichwill focus on these three verses.Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 1 to 17 @ 1-3pmTo register, phone: 25231015Shuhada Area - Block 4, Street 413, Villa 67 - Kuwait

Ramadan

Etiquette

for Expats

The American School of Kuwait celebrated the 48th graduation class of 122 students. The graduation ceremony took place at Courtyard-JW Marriott Al-Raya Ballroom on Wednesday June 4 with the presence of Dr Yousef AlEbraheem and the Chairman of the American School of Kuwait Wael Abdul Ghafoor.

American School celebrates 48th graduation Class of 122

The Gulf University for Scienceand Technology (GUST) wel-comed the Minister of Women’s

Affairs under the 2011 Tunisian transi-tional government, Professor LiliaLabidi, to give a lecture on the impor-tance of studying Arab women in art,science and politics. Dr. Labidi, who isalso an anthropologist and psycholo-gist from the University of Tunis, nar-rated the stories of several significantArab women and their impacts onsociety, both currently and historical-ly. Varying degrees of education,

ambition and injustices where criticalelements shared by the women Dr.Labidi profiled from numerous Arabcountries. Her intent was to illustratethese women’s contribution to theconstruction of a new aesthetics, tothe improvement of everyday life, andto the struggle for social justice. It isthrough such stories that women canaffect change and inspire others toachieve.

Dr Labidi, is currently serving as aVisiting Senior Research Fellow at theMiddle East Institute in the National

University of Singapore. Speaking to afull lecture hall, Dr Labidi also stressedthe important role of Arab universi-ties, where women constitute morethan 60% of the overall student body.Equipped with a quality education,women can increasingly contribute tonew forms of knowledge and ways ofbeing in the world.

The event was jointly organized bythe Department of Humanities andSocial Sciences, and the MassCommunication & Media Departmentat GUST.

Former minister gives talk

on Arab women in arts at GUST

United Real Estate Company (URC),the MENA region’s leading realestate developer announced yester-

day company’s annual blood drive at itsheadquarters in Al Shaheed Tower, Kuwait.The date of the blood drive was planned tocoincide with ‘World Blood Donor Day’, theinternational day for raising awareness onthe importance of blood donation by theWorld Health Organization (WHO). Thisyear, the organization’s campaign focuseson “Safe Blood for Saving Mothers”.

In coordination with the Kuwait CentralBlood Bank, URC invited its colleagues aswell as the tenants and employees of AlShaheed Tower and the adjacent City andKIPCO towers to donate blood. There was alarge partaking in the blood drive, demon-strating active participation and success ofthe annual initiative.

URC’s blood drive is an initiative that thecompany aims to organize each year ineffort to highlight the importance ofdonating blood, a scarce resource that canpotentially save countless lives. URCstrongly believes in contributing to thecommunity on a national level through

numerous initiatives, led by the company’sCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strat-egy. The strategy is based on a number ofsustainable programs and focus areas,

which are interconnected to social welfareand overall corporate success. URC is com-mitted to many annual programs includingthe blood drive, which is held every year in

partnership with the Kuwait Central BloodBank.

United Real Estate Company

holds annual blood drive

Friends of Kannur Expatriatesassociation (FOKE) officialsheld a meeting with IndianAmbassador to Kuwait HESunil Jain. Officials requestedthe embassy to expedite thecase of Elsamma, hailing fromKolayadu, Kannur district, whohas been sheltered at IndianEmbassy shelter. Ambassadorreminded the Indian commu-nity to abstain from any activi-ties which are against the lawof the land.

FOKE officials meet Indian Ambassador

W H AT ’ S ONTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

Vapiano opens in The Avenues Mall

Vapiano has finally opened in Kuwaitat The Avenues Mall. It promises tobring its guests a special restaurant

experience through its first ever branch inthe country. Defining the future of “freshcasual dining”, this European chain hasbeen praised by critics for its deliciousmenu, interactive atmosphere and innova-tive restaurant technology.

Vapiano is an established restaurantconcept since 2002 with more than 140worldwide locations in the US, Europe, theMiddle East and Asia with several addition-al international locations currently in devel-opment.

Last Wednesday, June 11, the highlyanticipated grand opening of VapianoKuwait was a 11highlight at The AvenuesMall, starting at 7:30 pm. The event washosted by Ascia AFK, one of Kuwait’s mostprominent and influential Kuwaiti bloggers,

with a huge fan base that extends through-out the GCC region. More than the oppor-tunity to mingle with their favorite blogger,guests also enjoyed a synchronized pizzaflipping show and the music of DJ Kade.The opening guaranteed an evening ofdelicious food and entertainment.

The name Vapiano comes from theItalian expression Chi vapiano va sano e valontano, literally translated to mean “Onewho takes life easy and relaxed, liveshealthier and longer.” Through their inno-vative spin on the age-old Mediterraneantradition of group cooking, Vapiano hasbeen one of the most influential restaurantconcepts in the region, winning awardssuch as the 2013 “Best Newcomer” byTimeout Restaurant Awards, and was alsoplaced in the 2013 “Favorite In MallRestaurant” by Citibank Fact Dining Awardsin the Middle East.

Every meal is made-to-order and creat-ed right in front of the guests’ eyes, allow-ing for the ultimate interactive experience;guests can express personal preferencesthroughout the preparation of their meal.Also, customers can customize made-to-order creations, which include fresh home-made pasta, fire roasted pizzas and gour-met salads.

Once guests receive their food, coffee ordessert, Vapiano invites guests to unwindin its spacious seating area beneath an 85-year old olive tree, and enjoy the soothingdÈcor which include contemporary furnish-ings made from imported German oak typi-cally used on yachts and villas, naturalstone, soft earth-toned leather, and a greenwall of herbs imported from Holland.

The brainchild behind Vapiano’s pres-ence in the GCC is SunCity Ventures W.L.L.Established in 2003, SunCityVentures W.L.L.

is a Bahraini based company, which oper-ates as a franchisee and operator of popu-lar food and beverage concepts in the GCC.The company enjoys a reputation in themarket for introducing many well-knownbrands such as Zayt Zaytoon, Gloria Jean’sCoffees and The Yellow Chilli.

“We are very excited to be opening ourfirst Vapiano location in Kuwait,” saysChairman of SunCity Ventures MohammedAdel Fakhro. “Kuwait is such an amazingculinary state with many different success-ful concepts and we are confident there is aplace for Vapiano. It’s an exciting chal-lenge.”

Vapiano Kuwait, located at The Avenuesis open for lunch and dinner, Saturday-Wednesday from 10:00am to 12:00 mid-night and Thursday-Friday from 10:00am to1:00am.

Win a 2014 Ford Focus, airline tickets with

Holiday Inn Salmiya summer, Ramadan promotion

Holiday Inn Salmiya announced thelaunching of the Summer &Ramadan promotion which will offer

to the hotel’s guests an exceptional experi-ence with their families and friends.

Starting with the approach of the 2014FIFA World Cup, the hotel has announced aspecial promotion for the football fanaticswhere they will be watching all the WorldCup matches live on the large HD Screens in

all the hotel’s outlets and they will also beentitled to enter the weekly raffle draw onmany valuable prizes ranging from airlinetickets to many destinations, hotel stayswithin InterContinental Hotels Group andthe chance to win the grand prize a 2014Ford Focus.

And as the holy month of Ramadan isapproaching, Holiday Inn Kuwait - Salmiyahas announced it’s special arrangements

that reflects the spirit of the holy monththrough its various Iftar and Sohour meals,drinks and desserts complemented withlight oriental music with the chance to enterthe weekly raffle .

Whether you are planning for a privateIftar of a large corporate Ghabqa, HolidayInn is the best place for your occasions as itis equipped with two state of the art ball-rooms. The dedicated team will personalize

your event and cater all your needs. SpecialRamadan menus will be available even foroutside catering services.

Since Ramadan is best enjoyed with thefamily, Holiday Inn has introduced the “StayClose” package providing its guests with acomfortable stay, the chance to enjoy a deli-cious meal, 24 hours access to the gym andmany other facilities.

Holiday Inn Kuwait Salmiya is considered

one of the most preferred destinations fortravellers and families who are looking for agetaway as for it’s location which is in theheart of Salmiya where most shoppingmalls, and entertainment parks are nearbyalso for the services that the hotel teamstrives to provide a memorable experiencefor it’s guests.

T V PR O G R A M STUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

EXCESS BAGGAGE ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION

THE NEXT THREE DAYS ON OSN MOVIES HD

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A lost Cole Porter musical to be staged in NYC

For the first time later this month, a few luckypeople will get to hear what no one inAmerica has - a collection of lost Cole Porter

songs. The one-night-only June 27 premiere of“The Ambassador Revue” at The Town Hall nearTimes Square will mark the first time the 1929show has ever been staged outside Paris.

“Just when you think you’ve heard all of ColePorter’s songs, here are 20 new ones for people toreally have fun with,” says Grammy Award-winningbandleader Vince Giordano, who arranged theshow and will sing with his band the Nighthawks.“It’s really thrilling.” The lost show - a revue withindividual singers, tap dancers and showgirls akinto the current Broadway hit “After Midnight” - waswritten at the beginning of Porter’s career and hashints of his combination of witty lyrics andsingable melodies.

“They’re fun. There’s not a classic, I don’t think.But there are the saucy lyrics, the double enten-dres. There are some romantic ballads and somefunny songs,” says author and musical theater his-torian Ken Bloom, who will direct the revue. “It’stypical Porter on his way to becoming great Porter.You can see everything that’s going to come in justa year or two.” The variety show will feature TomWopat singing a few songs and the veteran of suchBroadway shows as “The Trip to Bountiful” and“Catch Me If You Can” said the prospect is exciting.“I’m just proud to be a part of it and it’ll be a lot offun. It will be revealing in many ways, I’m sure,” saidWopat, who did “Kiss Me Kate” in summer stock. “Itsheds some light on his process.” The original showwas staged at the Ambassadeurs nightclub nearthe Champs-Elysees. It was performed in Englishby American singers including Morton Downeyand Evelyn Hoey. Band leader Fred Waring was alsothere and, intriguingly, so was George Gershwin’ssister, Frances, who sang her brother’s songs at thepiano. It ran for a few months and then disap-peared, with none of the music published inAmerica. Porter would later return to America andgo on to write hit songs like “What Is This ThingCalled Love,” “Night and Day,” “I Get a Kick Out ofYou,” “You’re the Top” and “Begin the Beguine.” Thevariety show slipped into obscurity, with manyPorter experts giving up on ever finding its music.

‘The Battle of Paris’“Back then, when a show was not a huge suc-

cess or didn’t have a future life, they figured, ‘Well,that’s that.’ And they moved on to the next thing,”said Bloom. “No one had any idea of saving stuff.”Unearthing the 85-year-old show was labor of lovefor both Bloom and Giordano, who found the miss-ing music in a Universal Music archive in Milan. Aconcert of some songs - with titles like “BoulevardBreak,” “Blue Hours” and “Fountain of Youth” - wasstaged in Paris in 2012.

Then the original orchestrations were discov-ered in Waring’s archive at Penn State and musicwas also uncovered for two more songs and atune that had no lyrics. All will be played at TheTown Hall, creating as much as possible the showfirst heard in Paris in 1929. It’s actually not the firsttime that Bloom has discovered a lost Porter tune.While writing a book about songs for the movies,he was rummaging in the Paramount archiveswhen he found a Porter song written for “TheBattle of Paris.” “I accidentally specialize in it, Iguess,” he says with a laugh. “I think the point iswe just don’t know what’s out there. You just haveto be persistent.” — AP

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This circa 1910file photoshowsAmerican songwriter ColePorter. A fewlucky peoplewill get to hearwhat no one inAmerica has - acollection oflost Cole Portersongs. — AP

SHARQIA-1EDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 12:30 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 2:45 PM7500 (DIG) 4:45 PM7500 (DIG) 6:30 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 8:15 PM7500 (DIG) 10:45 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2MALEFICENT (DIG) 1:00 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG-3D) 3:15 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 5:30 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 7:30 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 9:30 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-3BLENDED (DIG) 1:30 PMA MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST (DIG) 3:45 PMBLENDED (DIG) 5:45 PMBLENDED (DIG) 8:00 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 10:15 PMBLENDED (DIG) 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-1BLENDED (DIG) 2:00 PMJUMP JILANI (DIG) (Telugu) 4:15 PMFRI+MONX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 4:30 PMEnd Time: 3:00amNO FRI+MONBLENDED (DIG) 7:15 PMBLENDED (DIG) 9:30 PMBLENDED (DIG) 11:45 PM

MUHALAB-2MALEFICENT (DIG) 1:30 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 3:30 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 6:00 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 8:00 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 10:00 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-3HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 12:30 PM7500 (DIG) 2:30 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 4:15 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 6:30 PM7500 (DIG) 8:45 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG-3D) 10:30 PM7500 (DIG) 12:45 AM

FANAR-1MALEFICENT (DIG) 12:45 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 2:45 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 5:00 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 7:15 PMELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 9:30 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 12:15 AM

FANAR-2HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 1:30 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 3:45 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 6:00 PM7500 (DIG) 7:45 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 9:30 PM7500 (DIG) 11:15 PM7500 (DIG) 1:00 AM

FANAR-3BAD WORDS (DIG) 1:30 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 3:15 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 5:00 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 6:45 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 9:15 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 11:45 PM

FANAR-4MALEFICENT (DIG-3D) 2:00 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 4:15 PMBLENDED (DIG) 6:15 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 8:30 PMBLENDED (DIG) 10:30 PMBLENDED (DIG) 12:45 AM

FANAR-5X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 1:00 PMX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 3:30 PMJUMP JILANI (DIG) (Telugu) 3:30 PMJUMP JILANI (DIG) (Telugu) 6:30 PMFRI+SAT+MONTHE RAID 2 (DIG) 6:30 PMNO FRI+SAT+MONJUMP JILANI (DIG) (Telugu) 9:30 PMTHE RAID 2 (DIG) 12:30 A

MARINA-1BLENDED (DIG) 12:30 PM7500 (DIG) 2:45 PMBLENDED (DIG) 4:30 PM7500 (DIG) 6:45 PMBLENDED (DIG) 8:30 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 10:45 PM7500 (DIG) 12:30 AM

MARINA-2THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 12:45 PMA MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST (DIG) 3:15 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 5:30 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 7:45 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 10:15 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 12:45 AM

MARINA-3HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG-3D) 1:30 PMMALEFICENT (DIG-3D) 3:45 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 5:45 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 8:00 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 10:00 PMX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 12:05 AM

AVENUES-17500 (DIG) 12:45 PM7500 (DIG) 2:30 PM7500 (DIG) 4:30 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 6:30 PM7500 (DIG) 8:30 PM7500 (DIG) 10:30 PM7500 (DIG) 12:30 AM

AVENUES-2X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 1:15 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 4:00 PMX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 6:00 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 8:30 PMX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 10:15 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 12:45 AM

AVENUES-3THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 1:30 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 4:00 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 6:30 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 9:00 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 11:30 PM

AVENUES-4BLENDED (DIG) 1:15 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 3:30 PMBLENDED (DIG) 6:00 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 8:15 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 10:45 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 1:00 AM

1:00 AM360º- 1EDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG-3D) 2:00 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 4:30 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 7:00 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG-3D) 9:30 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 12:05 AM

360 º- 2BAD WORDS (DIG) 12:30 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 2:30 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 4:30 PMTHE ANGRIEST MAN IN BROOKLYN (DIG) 6:30 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 8:30 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 10:30 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 12:30 AM

360 º-- 3HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 2:00 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG-3D) 4:15 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 6:30 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 8:45 PMX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 11:00 PM

AL-KOUT.1HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 12:45 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 3:00 PMHOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (DIG) 5:00 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 7:15 PMMALEFICENT (DIG) 9:30 PMBLENDED (DIG) 11:45 PM

AL-KOUT.2BAD WORDS (DIG) 1:15 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 3:00 PMBAD WORDS (DIG) 5:30 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 7:30 PMELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 10:00 PMTHE FAULT IN OUR STARS (DIG) 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.3X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (DIG) 1:30 PM7500 (DIG) 4:00 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 5:45 PM7500 (DIG) 8:00 PMEDGE OF TOMORROW (DIG) 9:45 PM7500 (DIG) 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.4BLENDED (DIG) 1:00 PMTHE RAID 2 (DIG) 3:15 PMBLENDED (DIG) 6:00 PMBLENDED (DIG) 8:15 PMALIEN ABDUCTION (DIG) 10:30 PM

Kuwait

ClassifiedsTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 17/6/2014Airlines Flt Route TimeQTR 1084 Doha 00:05JZR 239 Amman 00:20JZR 267 Beirut 00:25JZR 539 Cairo 00:30PIA 239 Sialkot 01:05PGT 858 Istanbul 01:25THY 764 Istanbul 01:40RJA 642 Amman 01:45ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45GFA 211 Bahrain 01:55UAE 853 Dubai 02:25ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 02:30JAI 576 Kochi/Abu Dhabi 02:35THY 768 Istanbul 02:50FDB 5067 Dubai 03:05MSR 612 Cairo 03:15OMA 643 Muscat 03:20QTR 1076 Doha 03:25MSC 401 Alexandria 04:00JZR 555 Alexandria 04:10THY 770 Istanbul 04:35FDB 055 Dubai 04:40DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:15KAC 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur 06:35BAW 157 London 06:35JZR 1541 Cairo 06:40FDB 053 Dubai 07:00JZR 503 Luxor 07:40KAC 302 Mumbai 07:50KAC 206 Islamabad 07:50QTR 1086 Doha 07:55SVA 512 Riyadh 07:55KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:00KAC 352 Kochi 08:05UAE 855 Dubai 08:25ABY 125 Sharjah 08:50KAC 284 Dhaka 08:55IRA 675 Lar 09:20ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:30FDB 5055 Dubai 09:35QTR 1070 Doha 10:00GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40MEA 404 Beirut 10:55MSC 405 Sohag 11:20JZR 151 Dubai 11:50JZR 561 Sohag 12:00KAC 614 Bahrain 12:30FDB 071 Dubai 12:35JZR 241 Amman 12:40UAE 871 Dubai 12:45MSR 610 Cairo 13:00THY 766 Istanbul 13:10KAC 742 Dammam 13:15KAC 514 Tehran 13:40QTR 1078 Doha 13:45FDB 057 Dubai 13:50

GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30KNE 472 Jeddah 14:40KAC 788 Jeddah 15:00KAC 562 Amman 15:30ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35RJA 640 Amman 15:55JZR 535 Cairo 16:05JZR 325 Al Najaf 16:10QTR 1072 Doha 16:15JZR 257 Beirut 16:30ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:45NIA 251 Alexandria 16:50KAC 672 Dubai 16:50UAE 857 Dubai 16:55SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15UAL 982 IAD 17:25MEA 406 Beirut 17:30GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30JZR 177 Dubai 17:45JZR 777 Jeddah 17:50JZR 483 Istanbul 17:55KAC 522 Al Najaf 17:55KAC 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi 17:55KAC 542 Cairo 18:15QTR 1080 Doha 18:25KAC 786 Jeddah 18:30FDB 063 Dubai 18:35KAC 166 Paris/Rome 18:40KAC 104 London 18:45AXB 393 Kozhikode 18:55ABY 129 Sharjah 19:00KAC 618 Doha 19:00GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05KAC 774 Riyadh 19:15KAC 674 Dubai 19:25JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35OMA 647 Muscat 19:55FDB 5061 Dubai 20:05MEA 402 Beirut 20:15DLH 636 Frankfurt 20:15JZR 1543 Cairo 20:25MSR 618 Alexandria 20:30KLM 415 Amsterdam 21:05ALK 229 Colombo 21:10UAE 859 Dubai 21:15QTR 1074 Doha 21:30ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:30GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45JZR 135 Bahrain 21:45FDB 059 Dubai 22:10AIC 981 Chennai/Hyderabad/Ahmedabad 22:25UAL 981 Bahrain 22:40SYR 341 Latakia/Damascus 22:50JZR 157 Dubai 23:10JAI 574 Mumbai 23:20MSR 614 Cairo 23:30JZR 513 Sharm el-Sheikh 23:30THY 772 Istanbul 23:45

Departure Flights on Tuesday 17/6/2014Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05JAI 573 Mumbai 00:20MSR 615 Cairo 00:30BBC 044 Dhaka 00:35KLM 411 Amsterdam 00:55JZR 502 Luxor 01:30DLH 635 Frankfurt 01:35AFG 406 Kabul 02:00THY 773 Istanbul 02:20PIA 240 Sialkot 02:20ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45PGT 859 Istanbul 02:55THY 769 Istanbul 03:40UAE 854 Dubai 03:45FDB 5068 Dubai 03:45MSR 613 Cairo 04:15ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:20OMA 644 Muscat 04:20QTR 1077 Doha 04:25MSC 406 Sohag 05:00QTR 1085 Doha 05:20FDB 056 Dubai 05:25JZR 560 Sohag 05:35THY 765 Istanbul 06:00JAI 575 Abu Dhabi/Kochi 06:30RJA 643 Amman 06:35THY 771 Istanbul 06:50GFA 212 Bahrain 07:00JZR 240 Amman 07:05JZR 150 Dubai 07:15FDB 054 Dubai 07:50BAW 156 London 08:25SVA 513 Riyadh 08:55QTR 1087 Doha 08:55JZR 256 Beirut 09:05JZR 534 Cairo 09:15KAC 513 Tehran 09:15ABY 126 Sharjah 09:30KAC 613 Bahrain 09:30KAC 787 Jeddah 09:35UAE 856 Dubai 09:50JZR 482 Istanbul 10:00ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:15FDB 5056 Dubai 10:15KAC 741 Dammam 10:15KAC 561 Amman 10:15IRA 674 Lar 10:20KAC 101 London/New York 10:25QTR 1071 Doha 11:00KAC 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat 11:20KAC 541 Cairo 11:30GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:45MEA 405 Beirut 11:55JZR 776 Jeddah 12:15MSC 402 Alexandria 12:20KAC 671 Dubai 12:20

JZR 324 Al Najaf 12:50KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00JZR 176 Dubai 13:10FDB 072 Dubai 13:15JZR 1542 Cairo 13:35MSR 611 Cairo 14:00THY 767 Istanbul 14:10UAE 872 Dubai 14:15KAC 521 Al Najaf 14:15QTR 1079 Doha 14:55FDB 058 Dubai 15:00GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05KAC 673 Dubai 15:05KAC 617 Doha 15:30KNE 473 Jeddah 15:35SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45KAC 773 Riyadh 15:50ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15RJA 641 Amman 16:55JZR 266 Beirut 17:05JZR 512 Sharm el-Sheikh 17:15QTR 1073 Doha 17:20JZR 538 Cairo 17:40ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:45NIA 252 Alexandria 17:50UAE 858 Dubai 18:15SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20MEA 407 Beirut 18:30JZR 156 Dubai 18:35UAL 982 Bahrain 18:40JZR 238 Amman 18:45JZR 134 Bahrain 18:50FDB 064 Dubai 19:20QTR 1081 Doha 19:25KAC 287 Dhaka 19:30ABY 120 Sharjah 19:40GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50AXB 394 Kozhikode 19:55KAC 363 Colombo 20:05JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35FDB 5062 Dubai 20:50OMA 648 Muscat 20:55KAC 343 Chennai 20:55DLH 636 Dammam 21:00KAC 351 Kochi 21:05JZR 554 Alexandria 21:15MEA 403 Beirut 21:15MSR 607 Luxor 21:25DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50KLM 415 Dammam/Amsterdam 22:05ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:15ALK 230 Colombo 22:20UAE 860 Dubai 22:25KAC 381 Delhi 22:30QTR 1075 Doha 22:40KAC 301 Mumbai 22:40GFA 220 Bahrain 22:45FDB 060 Dubai 22:55

No: 16199

24835616/7 ,24833199

Automated enquiry aboutthe Civil ID card is

1889988

Fajr: 03:13Shorook 04:49Duhr: 11:49Asr: 15:23Maghrib: 18:49Isha: 20:22

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY(12/06/2014 TO 18/06/2014)

CHANGE OF NAME

SITUATION VACANTTUITION

I, Husain SuksorwalaMurtuza Mohammed, holderof Indian Passport No:L4536374, hereby changemy name to MurtuzaMohammed HusainSuksorwala. (C 4747)14-6-2014

I have changed my namefrom Archana JeetendraVyas to Safiyah Shaikh as perMaha Gazette No. U-45730dated 17/01/2013.

Arabic Teacher for non-native speakers beginners &advanced - All levels of theArabic language - IGCSE &GCSE, language training syl-labus foreign and common-wealth office. Only KD 10 foran hour & free books.Contact: Mr Khalid:99619998. (C 4740)15-6-2014

A lady maid needed towork as a part-timer for anAmerican/Lebanese singleman in an apartment locat-ed in Salmiya. Workinghours is about 10-12hrs/week with a salary of 75KD/month. Call 66417504.(C 4748)17-6-2014

Prayer timings

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For a beautysalon

Hair/Bidi MiniEyelash Technical- Good salary + traveling tickets

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

You may have been considering your own business. You are scrappy andinventive and can come up with a multitude of ideas. For now, put your

ideas on paper. Look at all sorts of possibilities. Once you settle on something that youhave and others want, you have a good business start. Now, the point of today is to thinkthrough to the long-term. You have a tendency to think short-term. This long-term think-ing includes insurance, taxes, hiring people and having the ability to conduct an orchestra,so to speak. All kidding aside, when you take on a group of people, you must be able toconduct and command a great performance out of each one without having to carry theload all by yourself. Trust is a big issue. Now, you have a real beginning.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

A color change and a few new shelves for your fine possessions and you area happy camper. This is a good day to begin a new rule and create a cardboard clock thatcan be hung like a wreath on the outside of your office or timeout room. Yes, you read thiscorrectly. A timeout room is a room where you can relax or work in private, perhaps hum asong or two or talk on the phone for a while. This is only for you and should only have yourthings. When you are in this room or area, find a reasonable time period and set the card-board clock to show when you will accept interruptions or when you will be leaving theroom. This is just a time for you and a reasonable period of transition or rest from yourbusy day. Exercise or perhaps rest with your feet up.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

There are conditions in your horoscope this morning that may indicate yourneed to think through your thoughts before acting too quickly. You could

feel blocked emotionally and not really know the truth behind some activity. Some verypersonal thoughts are important so that one can work through options and gain a focus.The morning will pass successfully. This afternoon, you will find that there is plenty of funand relaxation; there is certainly a social atmosphere. You could choose a crew, select acast or assemble a crowd. You won’t find the usual scenarios today, but you will find peo-ple flock to be near you. You are the type of person that people just feel good about beingaround. This is your time to relax and let others do for you. Happy birthday!

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You don’t want to be alone for a lifetime, so you may decide that now is agood time to plan a future that can be shared with a beloved. Fine-tuning

your thoughts on the type of person you would like having in your life may help you makesome choices-take it easy. Savings and investments are fun to experiment with, but youknow eventually, a family is where you will be placing the bulk of your earnings. Now isthe time to get some good advice on your investments. Gather your information togetherso you can get on that project next week with an investment counselor from your bank.The powers that be are indicating a romantic time is in the works; however, only the pow-ers that be know who, where and when that might become a reality; relax.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Many people have days when dreams of something or somewhere newand different become strong mental thoughts and desires, and you are no exception atthis time. You may be searching for that special place or feeling. Consider putting yourdreams, wishes and desires on paper to create a focus. You may also find that creating realplans to get you where you want to go will help you relax and find the right direction.When you were a kid, you might remember the fun of just being in a quiet place, perhapswith a pet, a kite, a pair of binoculars or maybe a good book. Allow yourself to learn fromsomeone younger than you. Enjoy this day and promise yourself more days like this;include the opportunity to visit a few tourist places you may have never seen.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Parental relationships could have been better when you were growing upbut now, somehow, these same people that were telling you what to do

are listening to you tell them what to do. The difference is you are very patient. The timesand the money are different from the past; stress may have been to an extreme that youknew nothing about. At this time, you can afford to teach through patience and toughlove. Honest interactions with others will eventually pay off through your own relationshipwith your own children. Any blocked emotions or actions will stop you or others frommoving forward. This can be anything from clutter or cleaning habits to not being able tocommunicate and find the truth in any particular matter. Free yourself and clean house.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

This is one of the best times for romance. You and another could makebeautiful music together. Really, this relationship may have had its begin-

ning because you had a musical duet together or you enjoy the same music and continueto meet in a music store. This is the time to get to know each other better. As you visitplaces and friends together you will learn more about your new friend. This should be aplace where both of you agree would be fun and relaxing-perhaps a new art exhibit. Withother people present, there will be a comfort zone; try to remain patient. Just beingtogether for a determined length of time will give you hints of temperament and personal-ity. Future weekends will be cozier and cozier. There are promising energies.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

You are adamant about some government issue and may find that you willeventually want to enter politics so that you might be able to help change

policies. In the area of health issues and treatment techniques, you find the country is duefor change. There are issues of which you feel the need to make others aware. Politics canbe a powerful tool, and you are willing to try to use the tool for several subject matters. It isgood that you are willing to take steps forward in this arena. Romance can flourish thisafternoon, particularly if you can find a way to gain the attention. At one time peoplemade an introduction by asking about birth signs and names, but now it seems more diffi-cult. A good friend to introduce you is a smart move.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

A day at home this day is not the usual day at home. Someone will be teach-ing you how to fix canned pickles or fruit for jam; in turn, you could be teach-

ing someone else about a garden project or how to set up a water garden in that person’sbackyard. This is a busy but accomplished day that you will refer back to for many years in asort of I-remember-when scenario. A performance early or later in the evening by a familymember or friend may find you hustling quickly to be ready to give your support. Newclothes or new shoes put you in the mood for a fun evening. This time is the beginning of aromantic time, so if you are single, don’t close off your attention from recognizing those spe-cial signals from a potential mate or loved one.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Glancing through the paper this morning, you might have noticed a fewgarage sales in your neighborhood. This may be a good time to enjoy a

garage sale day. As a suggestion, if you have the wherewithal, consider shopping at onegarage sale outside your area. There may be some surprises out there just for you and a greatinvestment for a future collection. You could make a fun day of it and perhaps go and get afriend to join you. You might purchase a few snacks for on the way home-you have had a bigday. Of course, all of this just wouldn’t be as much fun without a friend or family member ortwo. Much laughter and chatting over a fun garage sale or a flea market makes for fun mem-ories. Tonight is good for counting blessings.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 581

ACROSS1. A persistently annoying person.5. Of or relating to the ancient Aramaic lan-guages.12. An undergarment worn by women tosupport their breasts.15. Of or relating to near the ear.16. Relating to or characterized by or hav-ing nodules.17. A graphical record of electrical activityof the brain.18. Type genus of the Ranidae.19. The time of life between the ages of 12and 20.20. Make less active or intense.22. A branch of the Tai languages.24. A gay festivity.26. A medicinal drug used to evoke vomit-ing (especially in cases of drug overdose orpoisoning).29. Covered or protected with or as if with acase.30. A metallic element having four allotrop-ic forms.32. Filled with a great quantity.36. Being ten more than one hundred forty.38. South Asian deer with three-tinedantlers.41. Dry red table wine from the Rioja regionof northern Spain.45. Either of two folds of skin that can bemoved to cover or open the eye.46. A town in southern Turkey.49. Lower in esteem.51. A master's degree in religion.52. An assertion of a right (as to money orproperty).54. According to the Old Testament he wasa pagan king of Israel and husband ofJezebel (9th century BC).55. A region of Malaysia in northeasternBorneo.57. Austrian composer who influenced theclassical form of the symphony (1732-1809).58. Being one hundred more than threehundred.60. Prolific Spanish playwright (1562-1635).62. A town and port in northwestern Israelin the eastern Mediterranean.66. Wild sheep of semidesert regions incentral Asia.70. Using speech rather than writing.72. United States physiologist (born inGermany) who did research on partheno-genesis (1859-1924).73. African tree having an exceedingly thicktrunk and fruit that resembles a gourd andhas an edible pulp called monkey bread.75. An oil port in southern Iraq.77. A run that is the result of the batter'sperformance.78. A French abbot.79. Capital of the People's Republic ofChina in the Hebei province in northeast-ern China.81. A metric unit of volume or capacityequal to 10 liters.82. Set down according to a plan.83. Genus of tropical hardwood timbertrees.84. A loose sleeveless outer garment madefrom aba cloth.

DOWN1. Outer bark of the cork oak.2. A state in the western United States.3. A mountain peak in the southern SinaiPeninsula (7,500 feet high).4. Large shrimp sauteed in oil or butter and

garlic.5. Ludicrously odd.6. Fish eggs or egg-filled ovary.7. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruitjuice.8. Tough Asiatic grass whose culms areused for ropes and baskets.9. A region of northeastern France famousfor its wines.10. A state in midwestern United States.11. Infestation of the pubic hair by crab lice.12. The hair growing on the lower part of aman's face.13. A network of intersecting blood vesselsor intersecting nerves or intersectinglymph vessels.14. American novelist (1909-1955).21. German mystic and theosophist whofounded modern theosophy.23. A brittle silver-white metalloid elementthat is related to selenium and sulfur.25. A member of a nomadic people of thenorthern Ural mountains.27. A white linen liturgical vestment withsleeves.28. Open-heart surgery in which the ribcage is opened and a section of a bloodvessel is grafted from the aorta to the coro-nary artery to bypass the blocked section ofthe coronary artery and improve the bloodsupply to the heart.31. Unable to see.33. An uproarious party.34. A fractional monetary unit inBangladesh and India and Nepal andPakistan.35. A unit of dry measure used in Egypt.37. Noisy talk.39. A flat wing-shaped process or winglikepart of an organism.40. Pompous or pretentious talk or writing.42. United States inventor who manufac-tured the first elevator with a safety device(1811-1861).43. An island in Indonesia south of Borneo.44. Type genus of the Amiidae.47. A dull persistent (usually moderatelyintense) pain.48. A great raja.50. Obvious and dull.53. A white fatty substance that forms amedullary sheath around the axis cylinderof some nerve fibers.56. The eleventh month of the civil year.59. Any of numerous low-growing cushion-forming plants of the genus Draba havingrosette-forming leaves and terminalracemes of small flowers with scapose orleafy stems.61. True gudgeons.63. British filmmaker (born in Hungary)(1893-1956).64. Cubes of meat marinated and cookedon a skewer usually with vegetables.65. A promontory in northern Moroccoopposite the Rock of Gibraltar.67. A desert in central Asia.68. In bed.69. A white soft metallic element that tar-nishes readily.71. The seventh month of the Hindu calen-dar.74. (computer science) A computer that isrunning software that allows users to leavemessages and access information of gener-al interest.76. Title for a civil or military leader (espe-cially in Turkey).80. Angular distance above the horizon(especially of a celestial object).

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

34s t a r s

Daily SuDoku

Wordsearch Puzzle

When it rains, it pours. Many opportunities come to you in the next fewdays and they are all positive and will be beneficial. Pick one quickly and keep moving for-ward because if you hesitate for too long, the opportunities will move on to someone else.Look around and you will find many people that present you with a lot of job ideas, choicein living accommodations, choice of travel, etc. There are distractions that seem to keepyou separated from your own focus. Letter writing this afternoon is a must as someone iswaiting to hear some special words from you. Perhaps someone you know has a birthdaycoming up soon. Whatever the case, if you think about this person’s needs and his or herpersonality, you will come up with just the right words.

If you are in the middle of moving or performing some alteration to yourhome environment, you may find that there are no real complaints and

progress is recognized. There will be an opportunity later to touch up a few places andlaugh over some bizarre findings, but on the whole, work stays on schedule. The best partabout this time is being able to share stories with family or friends or listen to music togeth-er while you work. It always seems to make the work go faster with the addition of others. Insome cases you may have to have strangers help you; however, this weekend, there havebeen several opportunities to communicate in new ways with people you care about. Stopearly this evening for rest; perhaps dinner away from the area would be good.

Yesterday’s Solution

inf or m at ionTUESDAY, JUNE 17, 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

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

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 25339667

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

Noor Clinic23845955

Afghanistan 0093Albania 00355Algeria 00213Andorra 00376Angola 00244Anguilla 001264Antiga 001268Argentina 0054Armenia 00374Australia 0061Austria 0043Bahamas 001242Bahrain 00973Bangladesh 00880Barbados 001246Belarus 00375Belgium 0032Belize 00501Benin 00229Bermuda 001441Bhutan 00975Bolivia 00591Bosnia 00387Botswana 00267Brazil 0055Brunei 00673Bulgaria 00359Burkina 00226Burundi 00257Cambodia 00855Cameroon 00237Canada 001Cape Verde 00238Cayman Islands 001345Central African 00236Chad 00235Chile 0056China 0086Colombia 0057Comoros 00269Congo 00242Cook Islands 00682Costa Rica 00506Croatia 00385Cuba 0053Cyprus 00357Cyprus (Northern) 0090392Czech Republic 00420Denmark 0045Diego Garcia 00246Djibouti 00253Dominica 001767Dominican Republic 001809Ecuador 00593Egypt 0020El Salvador 00503England (UK) 0044Equatorial Guinea 00240Eritrea 00291Estonia 00372Ethiopia 00251Falkland Islands 00500Faroe Islands 00298Fiji 00679Finland 00358France 0033French Guiana 00594French Polynesia 00689Gabon 00241Gambia 00220Georgia 00995Germany 0049Ghana 00233Gibraltar 00350Greece 0030Greenland 00299Grenada 001473Guadeloupe 00590Guam 001671Guatemala 00502Guinea 00224Guyana 00592Haiti 00509Holland (Netherlands) 0031Honduras 00504Hong Kong 00852Hungary 0036Ibiza (Spain) 0034Iceland 00354India 0091Indian Ocean 00873Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098Iraq 00964Ireland 00353Italy 0039Ivory Coast 00225Jamaica 001876Japan 0081Jordan 00962Kazakhstan 007Kenya 00254Kiribati 00686Kuwait 00965Kyrgyzstan 00996Laos 00856Latvia 00371Lebanon 00961Liberia 00231Libya 00218Lithuania 00370Luxembourg 00352Macau 00853Macedonia 00389Madagascar 00261Majorca 0034Malawi 00265Malaysia 0060Maldives 00960Mali 00223Malta 00356Marshall Islands 00692Martinique 00596Mauritania 00222Mauritius 00230Mayotte 00269Mexico 0052Micronesia 00691Moldova 00373Monaco 00377Mongolia 00976Montserrat 001664Morocco 00212Mozambique 00258Myanmar (Burma) 0095Namibia 00264Nepal 00977Netherlands (Holland)0031Netherlands Antilles 00599New Caledonia 00687New Zealand 0064Nicaragua 00505Nigar 00227Nigeria 00234Niue 00683Norfolk Island 00672Northern Ireland (UK)0044North Korea 00850Norway 0047Oman 00968Pakistan 0092Palau 00680Panama 00507Papua New Guinea 00675Paraguay 00595Peru 0051Philippines 0063Poland 0048Portugal 00351Puerto Rico 001787Qatar 00974Romania 0040Russian Federation 007Rwanda 00250Saint Helena 00290Saint Kitts 001869Saint Lucia 001758Saint Pierre 00508Saint Vincent 001784Samoa US 00684Samoa West 00685San Marino 00378Sao Tone 00239Saudi Arabia 00966Scotland (UK) 0044Senegal 00221Seychelles 00284Sierra Leone 00232Singapore 0065Slovakia 00421Slovenia 00386Solomon Islands 00677

INTERNATIONALCALLS

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

l if e s t y l eG o s s i p

Cher Lloyd has taken up knitting. The 20-year-oldsinger, who has been on a two year hiatus afterachieving success in America, has been spending

her spare time creating knitted scarves. Speaking toHeat radio after her set at the Isle of Wight Festival, shesaid: “I’ve recently taken up knitting. I knit scarves andblankets but that’s as far as I’m at as the patterns are con-fusing me. I knit, I watch ‘EastEnders’ and do my knitting... it’s relaxing.” The ‘I Wish’ star admits she didn’t initiallyplan to take so much time out of the industry but feltshe had a lot of maturing to do after finding success onITV talent show ‘The X Factor’ in 2010. She said: “I’vebeen away two years and I’m a new person. I packed mybag for two weeks but have come back two years later. “Irealized I had a lot of growing up to do, and it’s the bestthing I could have done. I needed to do a lot of growingup ... I was a brat when I was on ‘The X Factor’. I was a

teenager with all those hormones going on but I wasdoing it in front of millions.” She added: “Everyone hadan opinion [about me], I’ve even annoyed myself. I’mback and I’m better now.” Cher is going head-to-head ina chart battle with ‘X Factor’ mentor Cheryl Cole with hernew single ‘Sirens’ out on July 20, the same day as Cherylreleases ‘Crazy Stupid Love’. Cher said: “I didn’t realize itwas out on the same day. She was my ‘X Factor’ mentor! Icannot think of a better person to ask for advice now weare back. “We’re not in touch but I would like to speak toher. We had an amazing experience together, I hope shefeels the same.” Cher is also glad to see Cheryl back on‘The X Factor’ panel with Simon Cowell and admits shewould like to meet up with her record label boss. Sheadded: “Not over dinner though, that’s too formal. That’snot me. Despite the rumors ... I’m still signed to Syco!”

Lana Del Rey wishes she was “dead already”. The 27-year-old singer, who shotto fame following her hit ‘Video Games’, believes her life is like “one movie” andshe’s adamant she doesn’t want to live anymore. Speaking in an interview with

the Guardian newspaper, she said: “I wish I was dead already ... That’s just how I feel.If it wasn’t that way, then I wouldn’t say it. I would be scared if I knew [death] wascoming, but ...” The brunette beauty admits Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain, whoboth died aged 27, are her heroes and she insists there is something beautifulabout dying young. Asked whether she regards early death as glamorous, shereplied: “I don’t know. Ummm, yeah.” Lana, whose computer was hacked in 2012and her songs were leaked online, admits she hasn’t felt any pleasure towards famein the three years she’s been in the spotlight. She explained: “I never felt any of theenjoyment. It was all bad, all of it.” The ‘Born to Die’ hitmaker also revealed that shehad planned to work with Velvet Underground’s former frontman Lou Reed - whopassed away on October 27, 2013 - but he died the day she flew out to America tomeet him. She recalled: “I took the red eye, touched down at 7am... and two min-utes later he died.”

Nicole Kidman wants to work with Michael Haneke.The ‘Grace of Monaco’ star was awestruck by theAustrian director’s Oscar-winning drama, ‘Amour’,

and says he is top of her wish list to work with in future. Sheadded: “I’m offered unusual roles and I’m usually offeredthings with interesting directors. At this stage in my career, Idon’t want to get safe.” The 46-year-old actress’ career hasspanned over 30 years and she hopes to keep the momen-tum going until she’s well into her old age. She said: “Youcan give the greatest performances of your life in your 70sand 80s. If you manage to get to that age. They say, ‘Oh, awoman in her 40s wont work’, but that’s not true. “Theremay be fewer roles, but there’s certainly great materialbecause human beings grow old. As long as there are peo-ple willing to make movies about that subject matter, therewill be roles.” Nicole - who was previously married to TomCruise isn’t enamored with the Hollywood lifestyle andprefers to spend her time with her husband Keith Urbanand their young daughters Sunday, five, and Faith, two, ontheir farm. She told Britain’s Glamour magazine : “I’m notsuited to the big glamorous life. I tried it and it doesn’t quitesit with me.”

Kings of Leon admit they’re not recognized on The London Underground. Theboy band - which includes Caleb, Jared, Matthew and Nathan Followill - find iteasy to ride the tube in England’s capital without having fans notice who they

are since everyone has their head down anyway. In an interview with Absolute Radio,bassist Jared said: “We never get recognized. I think people would be surprised butwe’re not a very recognizable band.” Lead guitarist Matthew added: “No one makes eyecontact or looks at you on the underground right. Everyone’s all head down so. It wasrush hour and were coming from rehearsal and we just didn’t want to wait and sit intraffic so. I don’t know where it was from.” The boys are currently preparing to headlineat the Isle of Wight Festival on Sunday night and admit they’ll be getting having a cou-ple of drinks before they hit the stage and time-permitting, are hoping to enjoy theRed Hot Chili Peppers on Saturday night as well. Drummer Nathan said: “We try tokeep the beer closer to show time. We have the wives and the babies out with us onthis run so it depends on if we want to stay home with them of if we get to go downearly. But I love the Chilli Peppers and my daughter would love Flea.” Absolute Radiowill be broadcasting live from the Isle of Wight Festival all weekend.

Lloyd has taken up knitting

Nicole Kidman’s director wish

Lana Del Rey wishes she was dead

Kings of Leon go unrecognized on the London Underground

Butler struggled to top ‘Olympus has fallen’ with ‘London Has Fallen’ sequel

Keanu Reeves has joined ‘The Whole Truth’. The 49-year-old actor is set toreplace Daniel Craig, who left the movie in April days before filming wasdue to kick off, in Courtney Hunt’s courtroom drama, according to

Deadline.com. The hunky star has taken on the role of a defence lawyer, who isrepresenting a teenager accused of murdering his wealthy family. Reeves willbe starring alongside Renee Zellweger and Gabriel Basso in the film, which hasbeen penned by Nicholas Kazan. However, details on the plot are being kepttightly underwraps. Filming, which was due to start three months ago in Boston,was thrown into chaos earlier this year when the ‘James Bond’ hunk departedthe project abruptly, without reason. However, the news of Craig’s exit came asa shock to everyone as according to The Boston Globe newspaper at the time,the actor - who is married to Rachel Weisz - had been spotted at Suffolk CountySuperior Court in March doing research for the role. Meanwhile, now that Hunthas found her leading man and a full cast is in place, production is set to kick offnext month in New Orleans.

Reeves joins ‘The Whole Truth’

Gerard Butler insists the sequel to ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ will be “prettyinsane”. The ‘300’ actor - who will reprise his role as secret service agentMike Banning in ‘London Has Fallen’ - claims it will be a struggle to make it

as good as the original, but is convinced they’ll be able to do so. He toldCollider.com: “That [‘London Has Fallen’] was one that kind of came out ofnowhere. The first one [‘Olympus Has Fallen’] was pretty insane and it’s the samewith this. How do you top that? But that’s what we are trying to do right now.”Although Butler, 44, is yet to start filming the movie- which is due out in Octobernext year and also stars Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart - he let slip that theplot will be just as thrilling as the previous installment. He said: “It’s about a terror-ist attack in London and the president is over there because there’s a funeral forthe British Prime Minister which is part of the plot to get everybody who is any-body to London. Then the thing hits the fan.” Meanwhile, Butler’s latest movie‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’ opened in cinemas this week.

Cusack and Brodyfor Dragon Blade

John Cusack and Adrien Brody are to star in ‘Dragon Blade’. Theactors have signed on to star as Roman soldiers lost in ancienttimes alongside action star Jackie Chan in the upcoming histori-

cal epic, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Speaking about thecasting of Cusack and Brody, Chan said: “I’m really excited to be in amovie with two of the most respected actors working today.” Cusackwill play Lucius, a Roman general who leads a legion of soldiers intothe Han Dynasty in China while Brody will take on the role of Tiberius,who assassinates Rome’s Consul Crassus and tries to hunt downLucius. Meanwhile, Chan will star as the Commander of theProtectorate of the Western Regions, who joins forces with Lucius in abid to protect China’s borders and sovereignty from Tiberius. Brodysaid of joining ‘Dragon Blade’: “It is a dream to finally work with Jackie.Aside from my longtime appreciation for his many talents, he is a bea-con of generosity, and an inspiration to me. “Dragon Blade is a tale ofmythical proportions —- of good prevailing over evil - and an oppor-tunity for me to explore a character whose ambition challenges hishonour.” Cusack added: “I grew up watching Jackie Chan films andstood in awe of his talent, energy and spirit. This will be a greatadventure for me.” The movie - which is being directed by Daniel Leeand is inspired by a missing legion of Roman soldiers that travelled toChina in 48 BCE - will soon begin shooting on location in the historiccity of Dunhuang, western China and in the Gobi Desert. ‘DragonBlade’ is scheduled for release on February 19 2015.—Bang Showbiz

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

l if e s t y l eF e a t u r e s

Private toursno longer just for wealthy travelers

This 2011 photoprovided by Vanessa

Giacoppo shows awaterfall in Iceland.

— AP photos

This Dec 25, 2013 image shows a display of

lights outside a church in Medellin, Colombia,

which is famous for its holiday lights.

This 2012 photo provided by Jeremy Hanson

shows Hanson, left, and a friend, Stephen

Conroy, in Malacca, Malaysia, where they

hired a private tour guide to take them

around.

By Beth J Harpaz

Ihad one night only in Medellin, Colombia. Itwas Christmas and I was determined to seeMedellin’s famous holiday lights. An online

search led me to LandVentureTravel.com, whichspecializes in private Medellin tours. By email, Ibooked a guide to meet my family at our hotel andtake us to see the lights.

I found good reviews for the service on otherwebsites, but felt nervous. What if the guide didn’tshow? What if his driving was bad? What if theneighborhoods were scary? But our guide wasphenomenal. We not only loved the lights, but wegenuinely connected with our guide about every-thing from the economy to politics. It was my firstprivate tour, and it was a revelation - completelydifferent from group tours with canned scripts andtime wasted waiting for others to shop and usebathrooms.

Private tours are no longer the exclusive

domain of wealthy travelers and high-end pack-ages. Websites and social media have made it easyfor travelers to book a personal guide. “There is agrowing desire for this,” said Jamie Wong, founderof Vayable.com, one of the biggest sites connect-ing tourists with locals, offering 8,500 experiencesin 800 cities. “We’re leaving the double-decker bus-es and prefab, packaged tours and entering an eraof eclecticism where niche is becoming main-stream.” Prices for personal tours are often but notalways lower than group tours, ranging from $15to hundreds of dollars, depending on location,duration and logistics. Tours4Tips charges nothingfor walking tours of Santiago, Chile - participantspay what they wish at the end, with an average$12 tip. Our tour for four in Medellin was $140 -$35 per person, or half the price of a Christmaslights bus tour in New York.

Regardless of cost, personal tours are oftenmore meaningful than packaged tours. You notonly get a customized itinerary, but you get to

meet a local. Robin Samora of Boston paid $100each for four-hour tours in Budapest and Prague.“We loved that the tour was personalized, withwhat we liked to do,” she said. “We also had theability to ask questions about any subject,” includ-ing what it was like to grow up under communism.

Social mediaThe hardest part is finding the tour of your

dreams. Many travelers simply ask friends or usesocial media. Others search on blogs, TripAdvisoror Lonely Planet threads. Tours on Vayable andother sites - ToursByLocals, UrbanAdventures,Rent-A-Guide, Nomaders - tend to fall into obviouscategories such as food, shopping, major attrac-tions, history, art, architecture and outdoor adven-tures. But Vayable also lets users request a customitinerary, which local guides then bid on.

Elisse Goldstein-Clark, who owns the ElkhornInn in Eckman, West Virginia, “was Googling to findfoodie things to do in Rome - there are lots of

foodie tours there. But I started reading about truf-fle-hunting with a guide in Le Marche in rural Italy,and we changed our trip so we could go truffle-hunting.” She and her husband spent several hourson a bus getting there, but it ended up being “afoodie once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Jeremy Hanson, a New Yorker who just gradu-ated from law school, often finds guides throughlocal travel agencies in the place he’s visiting.“These types of guides don’t have the infrastruc-ture to man the phone and put up a website,” heexplained. In Nicaragua, he found a guide for a vol-cano hike “essentially just by walking up and downthe street and speaking to people in my brokenSpanish.”

Capture the momentThe only downside? Sometimes guides are too

devoted. “We had one in Malacca, Malaysia, whowanted to show us every little detail,” he recalledwith a laugh. “We tried to say, ‘We have to go to

the bathroom, we have to go to eat.’ He said, ‘I’llgive you 15 minutes and then we’ll start the sec-ond half.’”

Vanessa Giacoppo of Hoboken, New Jersey,took a private photography tour in Iceland for$400 that included door-to-door transportation, asmany private tours do. The guide drove her andher fiance to waterfalls and other hard-to-reachsites, and coached them on taking photos thatwere so good, she blew one up to a 3-by-7-footcanvas. “In terms of the price, you do everythingwhen you travel for the experience,” she said.“When were we going back to Iceland? We wantedto be able to capture that moment.”

Karmina Zafiro of San Francisco booked twoprivate tours in Taiwan, one for food throughVayable and one to see Taroko Gorge, foundthrough TripAdvisor. “After both tours, I felt like I’dmade local friends. You made that personal con-nection. They weren’t selling me anything. Butthey imparted that local flavor.” — AP

Joe Sacco’s first impressions ofWorld War I were forged as aschoolboy in Australia, more than

four decades ago. But the Malta-bornmaster of comic book reportagefound himself delving much furtherback in time after taking on his latestproject, a massive cartoon muraldepicting the first day of the 1916Battle of the Somme-a project that hesays was partially inspired by the 11thCentury Bayeux Tapestry.

The author of acclaimed comicstrip treatments of contemporary con-flicts in Israel/Palestine and Bosnia,Sacco, 53, has long nurtured the ideaof doing something about the GreatWar. “It all started when I was playingdarts with a friend of mine in NewYork. ‘Why don’t you do somethingon the first world war?’ he asked. Thatwas 15 years ago.” The same friend lat-er suggested an accordion-style book.“I thought of the Bayeux Tapestry: it isa long corridor of images you can readfrom left to right.

“And I have been interested in thefirst world war since I was 10 years old.In Australia it is part of the nationalpsyche.” An epic work of embroiderydepicting the Norman conquest ofEngland that culminated in the 1066Battle of Hastings, the BayeuxTapestry is nearly 70 meters long (230feet). Sacco’s mural, which goes ondisplay in a Paris underground station

next month, is nearly twice as long,several metres high and every bit asrich in telling detail.

At its heart, on the 12th of its 24panels, a British officer, pipe in mouth,points the way for his troops as theycalmly make their way towards theGerman lines with rifles slung overtheir shoulders. “The officers tried toconvey a sense of calm to their men ...at least for a few seconds,” Sacco toldAFP by way of explanation of one ofthe many carefully calibrated imagesthat make up an extraordinary pieceof work.

Darkest Day Convinced that days of bombard-

ments would have left the Germanforces opposite them severely deplet-ed and demoralized, Britain’s militaryhigh command judged that theirtroops could march towards the ene-my. It was a calamitous miscalcula-tion: the Germans had not sufferedanything like the anticipated damageand by the end of the day, 20,000British troops were dead. TheSomme’s place in history as a bywordfor carnage born of tactical error wasassured.

“It was the darkest day for Englishtroops in the war: in one way it epito-mized the war,” said Sacco, who livesin the United States. Against a back-drop of mass slaughter, Sacco wasdetermined to ensure that the place

of the individual was not lost.Before starting on the project, he

spent months devouring books onthe war and visiting the Imperial WarMuseum in London to ensure that hegot details like the extent of aHowitzer’s recoil right.

Field Marshal David Haig, theBritish commander in the Battle, andone of the WWI generals most readilyassociated with allegations of incom-petent leadership, appears threetimes in the piece, including in theopening panel, launching the offen-sive. The final panel depicts bodiesbeing discreetly buried and theinjured receiving treatment while oth-er troops take their turn in advancingto the front line.

“It gave me a chance to draw as amediaeval artist would have drawn,”added Sacco. “Everything was packedtogether in medieval art. “I wanted toconvey the enormous undertakingthat war involved. Humans cooperateto kill other humans. I wanted to showwhat was at the foreground as well asin the background, to give a feeling ofdepth.” The drawings have alreadybeen published in book form and themural itself goes on display from July1 on the wall of a long undergroundpassage way at the Paris subway sta-tion of Montparnasse.-AFP

WWI: Horror of Somme gets graphic treatment from comic book master

Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco poses at the Thiepval WWI Memorial, northern France.—AFP

Astage curtain believed to bethe biggest Pablo Picassopainting in the United States is

moving to a museum after a disputeover whether it could stay in its long-time spot in the storied Four Seasonsrestaurant, the painting’s ownerannounced Thursday.

The 19-by-20-foot curtain, called“Le Tricorne,” is being donated to theNew-York Historical Society, where it’sexpected to go on display after someconservation work, painting ownerthe Landmarks Conservancy said. Thetimetable isn’t clear; the groups stillare working out the arrangements.

The agreement will keep the paint-ing, which is so familiar a sight that itsFour Seasons berth is known as“Picasso Alley.” The pact also resolves alawsuit that caused a stir among artlovers and preservationists, pitting theLandmarks Conservancy against a realestate magnate known as an artpatron.

“It’s going to be at a good home,where even more people will see it,”conservancy President Peg Breen said.Historical Society President Louise

Mirrer called the painting “an icon ofNew York for more than half a century,embodying both an influential socialmilieu and an important moment inthe city’s cultural development.”

Picasso painted the curtain in 1919for “Le Tricorne,” or “three-corneredhat,” a ballet created by the avant-garde, Paris-based Ballet Russestroupe. The painting depicts the after-math of a bullfight. Although praisedat $1.6 million in 2008, the paintingisn’t considered one of Picasso’s great-est pieces but stands as a major exam-ple of his theatrical set work, expertssay. And it has graced the FourSeasons’ landmarked, modernist inte-rior since its 1959 opening. The paint-ing itself isn’t landmarked.

The midtown Manhattan restau-rant, unaffiliated with the nearby FourSeasons hotel, is a power-lunchhotspot that has hosted high-wattagediners ranging from President BillClinton to Madonna. The restaurant’slandlord, RFR Holding Corp - co-founded by state Council on the ArtsChairman Aby Rosen - recently saidthe curtain had to be moved for

repairs to the wall behind it. TheLandmarks Conservancy sued RFR totry to stop the move, disputing theextent of the wall damage and sayingthe move could destroy the brittlecanvas.

The preservation group’s concernshave been somewhat assuaged by thecurrent plan, which involves carefullywrapping the painting on a hugeroller and having conservators do anyneeded restoration work, Breen said.Rosen is paying for it all, said Breen,who wouldn’t disclose the estimatedcost.

Through a spokeswoman, Rosenand RFR declined to comment on theagreement, first reported by The NewYork Times. Some art and architec-ture critics had decried the move, atleast as initially planned, though oth-ers took the landlord’s side. Rosen, anart collector whom the LandmarksConservancy itself once honored as apreservationist, told the Times inMarch the outcry had “elevated thisinto something that it shouldn’tbe.”—AP

Big Picasso to move to NYmuseum, ending dispute

In this Feb 28, 2014, file photo provided by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a stage curtain painted byPablo Picasso hangs on a wall at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York.—AP

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

l if e s t y l eA W A R D S

By Emily Longeretta

After Kendall’s flub at the BBMAs, it’sno secret that everyone was wor-ried about the Jenner sisters host-

ing the 2014 MuchMusic Video Awards.But I’m so happy to say that they wereabsolutely incredible on stage!

No one has better chemistry than fami-ly, so it wasn’t surprising that KendallJenner and Kylie Jenner totally compli-mented each other on stage at the MMVAsin Toronto on June 15. After they walkedthe red carpet in probably the sexiestdresses I’ve ever seen them in, I knew itwas going to be a good night!

Kendall, 18, definitely had to reestab-lish herself after her flub at the BillboardAwards on May 18, and she did that andso much more. With her sister Kylie, 16, byher side, the two were a total power team!

At one point in the night, Kendall evencalled out the guy controlling the cuecards for trying to trick her into messingup her lines by putting up the wrongwords. It was adorable that she laughedand pretty much made fun of herself!

I’ve also got to say that I was impressedby how natural they both appeared - itcan’t be easy to take the stage in front ofthat many people on an outside stage inToronto Canada! The sisters said on thered carpet that they got advice from bigsister, Kim Kardashian who told them tojust have fun and enjoy it, and that’s whatthey definitely did!

At one point in the night, the girls wereintroducing Lorde and had an argumentabout who should get to do it. The banterwas cute; Kylie called out Kendall forscratching Kris Jenner’s car, and thenadded that one time she got to wearKanye West’s chains, so she should get todo the intro. All in all, we’re so proud ofthe girls for getting up there, regardless ofthe criticism Kendall got from the BBMAs.They both looked stunning and nailed it.

— hollywoodlife.com

Kendall, Kylie Jenneramazing MuchMusic Video Awards hosts

Imagine Dragons arrive on the red carpet.

Kendall and Kylie Jenner arrive on the red carpet at the2014 MuchMusic Video Awards.

Imagine Dragons performs on stage.

Virginia to Vegas perform on stage.

The Sam Roberts Band accept their MMVA. Lorde performs during the 2014 Much Music Video Awards in Toronto on Sunday. Sam Roberts Bands performs on stage.

Hedley accepts their MMVA.

Hedley performs on stage. Liz Trinnear arrives on the red carpet.

Magic! Perform on stage.Winnie Harlow arrives on the red carpet.

Director of the Year: Amos Leblanc &Ohji Inoue for Thug Li’s “Run This”International Video of the Year (by aCanadian): “Hold On We’re GoingHome” by DrakeHip-Hop Video of the Year: “WorstBehavior” by DrakeMuchFACT Video of the Year:Everywhere We Go” by SonRealInternational Video of the Year:“Royals” by LordeInternational Video of the Year by aGroup: “Demons” by Imagine DragonsRock/Alternative Video of the Year:“Shapeshifters” by Sam Roberts BandPop Video of the Year: “Anything” byHedleyFavorite International Artist orGroup: Selena GomezFavorite Video: “Anything” by HedleyFavorite Artist or Group: JustinBieberVideo of the Year: “Anything” byHedley.

MuchMusic Video AwardsWinners 2014

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

l if e s t y l eM U S I C & M O V I E S

In this Nov 15, 1992 file photo, Bruce Dumont, president of the Museum of Broadcast Communication, far left, stands with inductees, from left, ABC radio pioneer Leonard Goldenson, country music’s Porter Wagoner,Detroit radio personality JP McCarthy, and ‘Top 40’ host Casey Kasem, into the museum’s Hall of Fame in Chicago, Ill. Also participating in the ceremony is Paul Harvey, far right. (Right) In this Jan 26, 1991 file photo,entertainer Casey Kasem leads a group estimated at 15,000 people through the streets in Los Angeles protesting the United States’ involvement in the Persian Gulf. — AP photos

Ryan Seacrest says the death of his radiorole model, Casey Kasem, is a loss forradio listeners worldwide. Kasem, an

internationally famous radio broadcaster witha cheerful manner and gentle voice, diedSunday at age 82. He became the king of thetop 40 countdown with a syndicated showthat ran for decades.

Seacrest, who took over the countdownfrom Kasem in 2009, said in a statement thatas a child, he’d listen to Kasem’s show everyweekend “and dream about someday becom-ing a radio DJ.” He says Kasem had a distinctivefriendly on-air voice and will be greatlymissed. Kasem’s legacy reached well beyond

music. His voice was heard in TV cartoons suchas “Scooby-Doo,” where he was Shaggy, and innumerous commercials.

Quotes on the passing of Kasem“Very sorry to hear of Casey’s passing. Aside

from being a Johnny Carson-esque staple in allour lives, Casey was always so personally kindto me. I still have a voicemail he left me yearsago telling me how much he loved my newrecord at the time. He was gracious. And aclass act.” - Singer Richard Marx

“Early this Father’s Day morning, our dadCasey Kasem passed away surrounded by fam-ily and friends. Even though we know he is in a

better place and no longer suffering, we areheartbroken. Thank you for all your love, sup-port and prayers. The world will miss CaseyKasem, an incredible talent and humanitarian;we will miss our Dad.” - Kerri, Mike and JulieKasem

“For many, the multitalented Casey Kasemwas the voice of popular music, and his long-running countdown program brought expo-sure for many of his fellow union members. Mydeepest sympathy to his family and friends,and may we all remember him best by ‘reach-ing for the stars.’” - Ken Howard, president ofSAG-AFTRA, which represents actors, DJs andother media professionals. — AP

Seacrest says Kasem’s death a loss for radio listeners

In this Sept 20,1987 file photo,

Casey Kasem,along with his

wife Jean Kasemarrives at the

Emmy Awards inLos Angeles.

African superstars Johnny Clegg andYoussou N’Dour paid homage Sunday tolate South African icon Nelson Mandela at

the 20th edition of the World Festival of SacredMusic in Morocco. The show in Fez, the spiritualcapital of the north African nation, began with areading of English poet William Ernest Henley’s“Invictus”, often recited by Mandela while impris-oned by the apartheid government. Thousandsof people then broke into dance as South Africa’sJohnny Clegg, a musician internationally

renowned as the “White Zulu” for mixing Englishand Zulu lyrics and rhythms, took to the stage.

“Thank you for this homage to a great manwho played an important role in my life and inthe world,” Clegg, 61, said in French, after beltingout his hit 80s ode to Mandela “Asimbonanga”(We have not seen him). He melded his voicewith that of another African great, Senegal’sYoussou N’dour, in a medley including N’dour’ssong “Nelson Mandela”, which he wrote in 1985after spending hours in Dakar “watching the

news on apartheid with my mom”.“At that moment, you really felt as if the

image of Nelson Mandela was soaring over thestage,” said French festival-goer Michel Pautelafter the three-hour double concert. The showfell on the day that Mandela’s family marked thetraditional end of mourning-six months after hisdeath on December 5 at the age of 95, after along illness-which prompted a global outpour-ing of grief. It also came as excerpts were pub-lished from a book by a longtime aide to SouthAfrica’s first black president, that tells of familysquabbles as Mandela lay in hospital fighting forhis life. “Good Morning, Mr Mandela” by Zelda laGrange, his personal assistant for 19 years, is duefor official release Thursday. The Moroccan musicfestival, which is celebrating its 20th edition,ends on Saturday. — AFP

Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour performs during the 20th edition of the World Sacred Music Festival in Fez, Morocco yesterday. — AFP photos

African music legendspay homage to Mandela

at Morocco festival

Revelers throw a youth in the air during the performance of a group at the GnaouaWorld Music Festival.

A member of Gnaoua group Maalem Hassan Boussou performs in Essaouira.A musician of Moroccan Gnaoua groupMaalem Hassan Boussou perform.

A member of Gnaoua group MaalemMohamed Kouyou performs.

Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour performson stage.

39African music legends pay homageto Mandela atMorocco festival

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

Models display dresses made from paper using the origami technique designed by Colombia designer Diana Gamboa, alongside metal objectsproduced by Gamboa’s husband Luis Fernando Bohorquez during an art performance ‘The Cyclops: a love story’ in Tokyo. — AFP photos

The city where Pele rose to fame honored itsfavorite son Sunday, celebrating the life and careerof the Brazilian football great while his country

hosted the World Cup. Hundreds of dignitaries were onhand in the port city of Santos to toast the 73-year-oldPele at the official opening of the Pele Museum - a 4,000square meter complex inside the city’s old town thatcost about $22 million and houses more than 2,500items related to his career, including trophies, jerseysand images of him with world leaders and celebrities.

Considered by many to be the greatest footballerever, Pele rose to stardom at Santos FC, where he playedbetween 1956 and 1974. During that period he also ledBrazil to three World Cup titles. Pele rode into the cere-mony on a tram and was greeted by wild applause.Visibly emotional, he said the museum was a “dream”and that he was proud to represent the city and hiscountry.

“In 1958 (Brazil’s first World Cup victory) no one knewBrazil and today everyone’s here at the inauguration of

my museum,” he said at the podium. “When I played inthe 1958 Cup nobody knew Brazil, now we’re gettingthe Cup of all Cups and all eyes are on us here.”

To this day, he remains a national hero. He is also asuccessful businessman and a United Nations goodwillambassador. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was sup-posed to attend the ceremony Sunday but had to cancelat the last minute. A recorded video address was deliv-ered instead, followed by a video tribute that includedPele’s career highlights.

Like other World Cup-related events, protestersawaited outside the barricaded compound. Theydelayed the dignitaries and their chants could be heardthroughout the ceremony as a series of politicians tookthe stage. But when it came to Pele, there was prettymuch a consensus, said Anna Beatriz Ayroza Galvao,who works in the city of Sao Paulo’s Brazilian heritagedepartment. “He is part of our cultural history. He is areference, a symbol that every Brazilian is proud to fol-low,” she said. “He is an example for everyone.” — AP

Brazil inaugurates Pele Museum, honoring legend Mandela aide’s memoir set to ruffle feathers

Nelson Mandela’s widow was treated badly by membersof his family as the peace icon was fighting for his life inhospital, excerpts from a memoir by his long-time aide

have revealed. In a book likely to ruffle some feathers withinthe large Mandela family, Zelda la Grange, Mandela’s personalassistant for 19 years, tells of shabby treatment suffered byGraca Machel, even in the aftermath of her husband’s death. LaGrange’s book “Good Morning, Mr Mandela” will be launchedon Thursday. Excerpts published by Sunday Times newspaperreveal that Machel was once called “Ms Frantic” by Mandela’s

eldest daughter Makaziwe,after media reports thatshe had been in a frenzywhen an ambulance driv-ing Mandela to hospitalbroke down on a motor-way on a cold evening inJune 2013.

La Grange also recalledfamily squabbles over con-trol of the revered states-man during his final days,sidelining Machel. She sayspolitics within the Mandelafamily about his funeraltook place for years beforehe died in December lastyear at the age of 95.

Machel had refused to be party to such arrangements. “I don’tknow of any person alive who has been treated with theamount of disrespect that people have shown to Mrs Machel,”writes La Grange.

She also says that Machel, like anybody else, was compelledto get accreditation to attend her own husband’s funeral onDecember 15. The Machel family was allocated only five spotsat the service. Makaziwe told the Sunday Times that La Grangewould have to prove any reference she made about the familyin the book “otherwise she will be sued.” But the former aide hasdefended her words. “My book was not written as a definitiveaccount-to say ‘this is Madiba’. It’s just my experience,” she toldthe Sunday Times.

La Grange, a white Afrikaans woman, had over the yearsbecome a permanent feature at Mandela’s side, often seenholding his hand to offer support during his frail final years. Ona lighter side, she told how she was at loss for words when shemet him for the first time. “I said: ‘Good morning, Mr Mandela’,”and started crying. “I felt guilty that this kindly-spoken manwith gentle eyes and generosity of spirit spoke to me in myown language after my people had sent him to jail for so manyyears.” La Grange also claims that Machel had to intervene afterMakaziwe had prevented her from visiting Mandela in hospital,telling her that she was no longer an employee. — AFP

Soccer great, Pele poses for a photo next to young players of the Santos soccer team.

Soccer great Pele poses for photos during the inau-guration of the Pele Museum showing his history asa player in Santos, Brazil, Sunday. — AP photos

Former great, Pele does a high five with young players of the Santos team. A man takes a picture as he visits the Pele Museum.