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MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 SHAABAN 8, 1434 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

Court upholds one-vote Max 43º Min 31º decree, scraps Assembly High Tide 05:48 & 17:16 New elections to be held • Opposition to boycott polls Low Tide 11:48 & 23:50 40 PAGES NO: 15842 150 FILS By B Izzak conspiracy theories KUWAIT: In yet another dramatic day in Kuwait’s politi- cal crisis, the constitutional court yesterday nullified the Is 8 a lucky election process held on Dec 1 last year and dissolved the National Assembly, but at the same time it upheld the controversial Amiri decree that amended the elec- number? toral law and sparked street protests. Head of the court’s five-judge panel Youssef Al-Mutawa read out the verdict in the Palace of Justice auditorium that was packed with journalists and lawyers. The court, whose verdicts are final, called for holding fresh elections on the basis of the single-vote law that has been repeated- ly described by the opposition as unconstitutional. By Badrya Darwish The court based its decision to scrap the Assembly for the second time in a year on the basis that another Amiri decree issued in October last year to establish the National Election Committee is “unconstitutional”, say- ing there was no urgency in issuing the decree. In June [email protected] last year, the constitutional court nullified the election process and scrapped the opposition-dominated Assembly that was elected in Feb 2012 on the basis of ongratulations and celebrations, but it seems flawed procedures. like the one vote is the only option for you A few months later, HH the Amir issued the contro- Cand me. At last after a long wait, the constitu- versial decree to amend the electoral law under a clause tional court gave its last verdict. Naturally, most peo- in the constitution that gives the Amir the right to issue ple expected this ruling, myself one of them. Few laws when the Assembly is absent or dissolved. The disputed that it would be otherwise. On the other decree amended the electoral constituency law by KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah addresses the nation yesterday. — KUNA hand, if you look at this, the one-vote system is not a reducing the number of candidates a voter can pick bad option. from a maximum of four to just one. Accordingly, the Actually, the idea of the one-vote system gives a Amir respects court ruling, decree was known as the single-vote law. The court chance to those who do not have a tribe supporting explained that the executive authority has the full right them and reduces the bad influence of nepotism. to issue legislation when the Assembly is dissolved and But in all honesty, I do not see it working in Kuwait. urges unity against chaos pointed out that the amendment decree could not wait Maybe it suits the globe because many countries until the Assembly came back. As a result, the court said KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- it and abide by it,” Sheikh Sabah said in a speech to the adopt the one-vote system. Don’t forget that these the controversial decree served national interests, Jaber Al-Sabah affirmed full respect to the constitu- nation following the constitutional court’s ruling. places have party systems. We do not have party adding that many democratic countries in the world tional court’s ruling yesterday, calling on his fellow Complying with the court’s ruling will reflect “respect systems. And let’s not forget that Kuwait is a tribal have a single-vote system in elections. Kuwaitis to unite against “voices of chaos”, sedition and to our high esteem judiciary ... and commitment to our country. No matter how hard we try to avoid tribal- But the opposition decided after a late-night meet- democracy. “I repeat what I have said before that I constitution. This is what we have always been keen on ism, it will take us many years to break away from it. ing that it will boycott the forthcoming election, say- accept ... the ruling of the constitutional court regard- and will always be God’s willing,” said the Amir. We can see this in any aspect in Kuwait. All the latest ing the verdict has effectively ended the Kuwaiti con- less of its content, and I call upon all citizens to respect Continued on Page 15 incidents and political issues showed that you can- stitution. not undermine the tribes and their role in the politi- Continued on Page 15 cal landscape of the country. The only thing that I really loved is the dissolving of the current parliament. The problem is that these Morsi cuts Syria ties, backs no-fly zone parliamentarians used to brag how much they did for Kuwait. Take the Dow deal for example. Most CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed heretics, infidels, oppressors and poly- recently, Kuwait paid $2 billion and a bit over as Morsi said he had cut all diplomatic ties theists. It was also a show of support for compensation to a US company for backing out of a with Damascus on Saturday and backed Morsi as his opponents mobilise for contract that was signed between them. Honestly, I a no-fly zone over Syria, pitching the protests to demand early presidential cannot recall any accomplishments that this parlia- most populous Arab state more firmly elections. Morsi waved Syrian and ment has done. If you are familiar with any, please against President Bashar Al-Assad. Egyptian flags as he entered the audito- enlighten me. Except being a totally pro-govern- Addressing a rally called by Sunni rium packed with 20,000 supporters. The ment parliament that never rejected any govern- Muslim clerics in Cairo, the Sunni crowd chanted: “From the free revolu- ment proposal, there was nothing much from their Islamist head of state also warned tionaries of Egypt: We will stamp on you, side. They defied the concept of what parliaments Assad’s ally, the Iranian-backed Bashar!” are for. Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, to pull Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood politi- By the way, by now I have lost track of how many back from fighting in Syria. “Hezbollah cian, steered clear of direct references to parliaments we have had in the past few years. Is must leave Syria. These are serious Shiites and Iran but in a partial allusion eight going to be a lucky number? I hope so. The words,” said Morsi, whose country host- to Tehran, he accused states in the other problem for us is that the new elections ed a conference of Sunni clerics this region and beyond of feeding “a cam- should be held within two months. The coming week who issued a call for holy war paign of extermination and planned eth- month of Ramadan means that elections will fall in against Damascus. “There is no space or nic cleansing” in Syria. “We decided August, when people will be travelling for holidays place for Hezbollah in Syria,” Morsi said. today to entirely break off relations with out of the country. This means we have to stay in The rally underscored the region’s Syria and with the current Syrian Kuwait just for the elections. I wonder how many deepening sectarian rift. A cleric who regime,” he said. CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi waves as he arrives at a rally to show people will make this sacrifice? spoke before Morsi described Shiites as Continued on Page 15 solidarity with the people of Syria, in a stadium on Saturday. — AP

in the news

Gulf welcomes Rowhani Hajj pilgrim numbers cut KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah congratulat- Saudis to block WhatsApp RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has cut back the number of pilgrims that may DUBAI: Saudi Arabia plans to block Internet-based communication tool ed moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani for winning the presidential elections on WhatsApp within weeks if the US-based firm fails to comply with perform the hajj this year due to construction work aimed at expanding Saturday. Sheikh Sabah said he was looking forward to cementing bilateral requirements set by the kingdom’s telecom regulator, local newspapers the holy site of Makkah, the hajj minister said. The authorities had relations and cooperation for the best common interest. Sheikh Sabah wished reported this week. This month the Communications and Information decided to reduce by half the number of pilgrims coming from within Rowhani success and hoped that bilateral relations would further improve and Technology Commission (CITC) banned Viber, another such tool, which Saudi Arabia, and by about 20 percent those from abroad, said Bandar develop. Saudi King Abdullah also congratulated Rowhani yesterday. “We are like WhatsApp is hard for the state to monitor and deprives telecom Hajjar. “This is an exceptional and temporary decision,” the minister said, glad to congratulate you in the name of the people and government of Saudi companies of revenue from international calls and texts. “We have been quoted by SPA state news agency late on Saturday. Some 3.1 million Arabia... wishing prosperity to the people of the brotherly Islamic republic of communicating with WhatsApp and other similar communication plat- pilgrims performed the hajj last year, most of them from abroad. Hajjar Iran,” King Abdullah told Rowhani in a letter. The king hailed Rowhani’s views forms to get them to cooperate and comply with the Saudi telecom said the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah would add 400,000 on regional cooperation and improving relations. Saudi Arabia was the last providers, however nothing has come of this communication yet,” sq m, raising its capacity to accommodate 2.2 million people at the Abdullah Al-Darrab, governor of the CITC, told Arab News. Arab state in the Gulf to comment on Rowhani’s win. same time. MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 LOCAL Second suspect in failed kidnap held

KUWAIT: The Lebanese authorities arrest- the scene from where the suspects ed a Syrian national on Friday, a day after planned to abduct their intended victim. his accomplice was arrested for involve- The suspects prepared to take Al-Sabah ment in a botched attempt to kidnap a hostage while he was walking towards a Kuwaiti national in a town located 23 kilo- mosque near his vacation home for the meters east of Beirut. afternoon prayer, but called it off when a The two suspects reportedly planned to Lebanese military vehicle passed by. The kidnap Sheikh Jaber Al-Yousuf Al-Salman security forces moved in the moment the Al-Sabah and take him to Syria where they suspects moved to kidnap their target a lit- planned to demand a ransom for his tle later. release. Al-Rai newspaper reported yester- Meanwhile, Al-Rai reported that the day new details of the operation mounted operation was documented on tape which to thwart the kidnap bid , stating that a 15- is to be broadcast Tuesday June 25 on member security force headed Thursday to MTV, a Lebanese private station. — Al-Rai

KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah presides over a Cabinet session yester- French Embassy issues day.—KUNA advisory to nationals Kuwait Cabinet vows full KUWAIT: The French embassy in Kuwait tions “complementary to procedures has sent letters to French nationals in implemented by local authorities” with the country giving instructions on how regard to precautions that need to be respects to court ruling to deal with “cases of emergency or cri- taken in case of a crisis. It includes a sis,” a local daily reported yesterday. “pre-evacuation plan” and mentions “The letter comes amid circum- that assembly points should be super- stances which saw King Abdulla bin vised by “community security supervi- Verdict enhances democratic system: Sheikh Salman Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia return home sors.” The letter called on French nation- KUWAIT: The Kuwait Cabinet announced full Sabah, issued instructions to relevant state bodies vote system today, the Minister stressed that the after cutting short his vacation, due to als to keep the embassy updated about respect and commitment to put into effect the to study the supreme court ruling and take the court’s decision today enhances the durability of the developments in the region, espe- their personal information as well as Supreme Constitutional Court’s ruling on the legal necessary measures to implement it. The Supreme the democratic system that is enjoyed by the State cially with regard to Syria, while [United information about their family members, challenges to the last parliamentary election. Constitutional Court yesterday annulled the cur- of Kuwait. He added that “Kuwait has a proud his- States] President Barack Obama held including their current address. It also “The Cabinet stresses full respect to rulings of rent parliament, elected in December 2012, and tory of respecting the constitution and maintain- talks (on Saturday) with European lead- urged people, in the event of a crisis, to our fair judiciary and our serious commitment the organization of new parliamentary elections in ing the rule of law, and today’s court ruling ers on the eve of the G8 meeting on carry a “medium-size suitcase containing toward enforcing it in line with the constitution two-month period. In another related case, the demonstrates the strength of our democratic insti- Syria,” Al-Rai reported yesterday in a personal belongings and documents, and laws, “ Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and court rebuffed a challenge to law No 20 of 2012 tutions and our judicial system. The Government front-page story. cash, credit cards, valuables, enough Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Sheikh which brought a one-person, one-vote system in will continue to work tirelessly to achieve develop- The letter reportedly gave instruc- food for two days,” and other items. Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said in place of the former rules that allowed voters to ment and keep pace for a bright future for our a statement read out after an extraordinary meet- cast ballots for four candidates. country.” ing for the Cabinet to study yesterday’s court ver- Meanwhile, Minister of Information and He pointed out that “Our leadership has always dict. Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman worked for Kuwait’s interests, cohesion, and The ministers underscored that the independ- Sabah Al-Salem Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah said “The national unity. Citizens have always been bonded ent and fair judiciary will continue to have the final State of Kuwait with all its institutions respects the together through national unity and have proven say in all legal and constitutional disputes in rule of law on any verdict issued by the constitu- that they are able to preserve our national Kuwait. The cabinet, under His Highness the Prime tional court”. Commenting on the ruling of the achievements and to defend our sustainable Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al- Constitutional Court which approved the single development.” —KUNA Leaders Group issues first monthly tourism report

KUWAIT: In view of there being form of international companies a developed and highly productive “Unfortunately, occupancy rates in too little reports on tourism in and agencies building their industry. In addition, the plan not- Kuwaiti hotels came down from 53 Kuwait, the Leaders Group compa- regional headquarters in Kuwait. It ed that less than one per cent of per cent in 2011 to 51 per cent in ny which specializes in training, also stressed that the tourism sec- the manpower working in tourism 2012 whereas hotels in Dubai, KSA DUBAI: In collaboration with Duabi Health Organization, Duabi police yesterday PR, event management, tourism tor affects the activity of over 40 comprised Kuwaitis and that the and Qatar have a 90 per cent occu- and administrative consultancy, other sectors such as real estate, pancy rate during peak seasons,” hosted a workshop on cardiology diseases. Around 100 GCC and Middle East decided to come up with a month- recreation, industry, transport, lamented the report. cardiologists and cardiology surgeons took part in the workshop. ly report to highlight the short- catering, shopping malls and The report also stressed that comings that have been hindering many others, especially when Kuwait has all the potential need- tourism from becoming a source experts like the International ed and that the government has of national income. Monetary Fund (IMF) are warning many infrastructure projects According to the report, the that oil can no longer remain ready for execution though many touristic sector is highly significant enough as the sole source of of them were still in blue prints, in boosting the development plan income, accounting for over 95 such as a new port for containers, projects with the ultimate goal of percent of the national income. Subbiya City, increasing Kuwait turning Kuwait into a regional Moreover, the report said that International Airport’s capacity to commercial and financial hub. It many serious initiatives had been handle 13 million passengers also stressed that the fact that launched to develop tourism in annually and to be later enhanced Kuwait trailed last among touristic Kuwait, such as Kuwait’s 20-year to handle 25 million. destinations in the GCC region, as strategic plan in 2005, and that Finally, the report said that per Monitor International, had such endeavors had been hin- tourism could increase the econo- greatly and negatively affected the dered by bureaucracy. According my’s competitiveness by saving economy at a time when other to the plan, local and international over 10 per cent of what citizens GCC states, with a similar climate touristic flights would jump to 4.4 spend on foreign tourism per and social and economic circum- million annually by 2025. annum, increasing direct and stances, have strongly placed The plan suggested that Nabila Al-Anjari indirect governmental revenues, themselves on the regional touris- instead of considering it as a mere reducing public budget deficit, tic destinations map. source of entrainment and amuse- maximum hotel capacity was only providing 30000 job opportuni- Further, the report stressed that ment that only contributes 1.9 per 7000 rooms that was expected to ties for citizens and reviving and tourism was capable of attracting cent to the national income, grow to 10000 by 2025 when over serving around 40 other econom- investments worth billions in the tourism could be easily turned into ten new hotels would open. ic sectors. Robbers attempt to haul away ATM

By Hanan Al-Saadoun that the thieves had used a hammer to break through the glass to access the KUWAIT: Thieves in Shuwaikh area unsuc- machine. The guard told the police that the cessfully tried to rob cash from an ATM by thieves were using a new pickup vehicle. A simply hauling away the machine after tying case was registered and sent to the it to a pickup truck with the help of ropes. Shuwaikh detectives. An Egyptian guard working in a commercial center told the police that he heard the Woman robbed sound of glass being smashed and when he In another case, an Indian woman expat went to check out, he saw thieves tying the told officers at the Salmiya police station machine with ropes and trying to haul all of that an unknown person approached her in it. They ran away after noticing the guard a side alley and snatched her chain of gold but took away his mobile phone. Police lift- that she was wearing. A case was registered ed finger prints from the spot and found and police was looking for the thieves. 20 more held in Ahmadi

By Hanan Al-Saadoun found without identification papers. Certain violations found on the streets were KUWAIT: Ahmadi governorate security per- removed, including tents and stacked up sonnel carried out a campaign under the used tires, mobile groceries and ice vendors’ supervision of Brig Maratooq Abdulaziz Al- vehicles. The campaign was part of the Aslawi and with the Wafra area commander, ongoing exercise being carried out by securi- Colonel Salem Al-Azemi, following it up. The ty personnel across the governorate in coop- campaign resulted in the arrest of 20 persons eration with the Kuwait municipality. Under the aegis of World Cancer Declaration, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) yesterday chose UAE’s Sheikha Jawaher Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi as the World’s Kids Cancer Ambassador. MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 LOCAL Sponsorship system to be scrapped soon KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) is expected soon to establish the Public Authority for Labor Affairs, as the first step towards can- celing the sponsorship system for private sector labor force, a local daily reported yesterday, quoting ministry insiders. The parliament last month passed a bill to set up the authority, two years after the enforcement of the private sector’s labor law in 2010. The authority will han- dle the files of the entire labor force in the private sec- tor, effectively ending the employer sponsorship system in a state where expatriates make up 68 percent of the population. “The delay was caused by political circumstances, as well as the fact that the law needed amendments with regard to the authority being affiliated to the ministry instead of being independent,” said the sources, who spoke to Al-Watan on the condition of anonymity. They further explained the law needed some terminology changes “to meet international standards.” For instance, the sources added, the word “sponsor” needed to be KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday received a written letter from Mali’s President Dioncounda Traore’s dealing with bilat- replaced with “employer”, and the term “expatriate eral relations. It was delivered by Tieman Hubert Coulibaly, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali. The meeting was also attended labor” needed to be changed to “foreign workers.” by the Amiri Diwan Advisor, Muhammad Dhaifallah Sharar. —KUNA After the sponsorship system is canceled, the author- ity will handle all matters pertaining to private sector employees, including recruitment of expatriate labor forces and managing their relationship with their employers. “The sponsorship system will be replaced with an alternative system that allows the MSAL to be responsible for expatriate labor forces,” the sources explained. They also stated that the new system would “significantly help” efforts to fight visa trafficking as it would prevent job providers from issuing work permits they can sell to workers. According to the sources, establishing the Public Authority for Labor Affairs is cur- rently “a top priority” for the ministry, which has already prepared a list of candidates to be hired - one general director and three deputies. The sponsorship or “kafala” system contains loop- holes that are often used by visa traffickers to issue work permits through fake companies or nonexistent job openings before selling them to unskilled laborers seeking work opportunities in the oil-rich Gulf region. Human right violations resulting from these practices have drawn criticism from international organizations in the past few years. There are nearly 90,000 people living illegally in Kuwait, according to official figures. Earlier, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al- Rashidi had identified “marginal laborers” as the target of a plan announced last March to deport 100,000 for- eigners each year, as part of efforts to reduce the coun- try’s expatriate population by one million in 10 years. The 2.6 million expatriates in Kuwait account for 68 per- cent of the country’s total population of 3.8 million. Marginal laborers are those who usually accept menial jobs, often live without valid visas and, in most cases, are victims of visa traffickers. Moi issues warning on dependent visa

KUWAIT: Assistant Undersecretary Lt. General Sheikh Faisal Nawaf Al-Sabah has urged those holding dependent visas and engaging in employment not to violate the rules of the visa, which is given by law to the wife, children, father and mother as per their age. “Those having dependent visas should not misuse their visa or work for others, because once we catch them, we shall not listen to excuses and other claims. If anyone is caught working at a place while holding a dependent visa, legal action will be taken against him or her and against his or her sponsor. The sponsor will be held accountable and shall be banned from spon- soring anyone in future, and the violator shall be deported regardless of his or her circumstances, since he or she has violated the law and did not abide by the regulations,” he stated. Noting that the month of Ramadan is approaching, Lt General Faisal Al-Nawaf said the ministry has put in place some strict regulations and will take action against expats who misuse visit visas and practice beg- ging in front of masjids, houses, commercial areas and other places. He added that he has prepared a security plan to arrest those who use the festive atmosphere during Ramadan to cheat citizens and expats and make easy money through begging. Lt General Al-Faisal warned that those caught beg- ging would be deported along with their sponsors for violating the laws. He also called on citizens and expats holding dependent visas to abide by the rules and also prevent their sponsors from breaking the law, in order for both to avoid legal action.

Privatization of landlines soon

KUWAIT: Kuwait has no plans to block access to appli- cations like Viber or others on smartphones that are used to make calls free of charge, but the final say on the issue will be left to the Public Telecommunications Authority. This was stated by Minister of Communications and State Minister of Housing Affairs Salem Al-Othaina, who explained that the job of the new authority was to organize the telecom sector in Kuwait in general. Meanwhile, Al-Othaina revealed in his statements to Al-Qabas that the ministry was coordinating with the Partnership Technical Bureau on a project to privatize the telecommunications sector, which included land- lines and infrastructure. The law to establish the Public Telecommunications Authority was passed by the parliament last week. “The Authority is one of the most important projects that remained under discussion in parliament since 2009, and is necessary to control and regulate the telecom market,” Al-Othaina said. Meanwhile, the minister revealed that the ministry planned to place a tender before the end of the year for the second stage of the ministry’s projects to replace landline cables with fiber optics. Currently, 23 percent of Kuwait’s landlines are connected through optical fiber, and the minister indicated that the new project will cover 29 new areas.—Al-Qabas MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 LOCAL

In my view Local Spotlight Back home run...! Syria needs true help

By Labeed Abdal

By Muna Al-Fuzai

[email protected]

e need to read correctly the messages emerging from [email protected] the Iranian presidential race which ended yesterday Wwith people choosing the most moderate of the candi- do believe that the Muslim brothers are desperately try- dates with 50 percent of the votes. ing to get back not only to the Middle East where they The Islamic Republic of Iran is a regional neighbor that we Ihave remained entrenched for many years but are try- hope will keep going ahead with options that are peaceful and ing hard to reach the pinnacle of power by overthrowing will continue with its internal and foreign policies. Social and eco- most, if not all, regimes in the region. The clearest proof of nomic disturbances have been the name of the game in the this currently is their near daily effort to incite the Muslims Middle East Arab Spring movement that started from Tunisia and around the globe about how their Syrian brothers are spilled over to Egypt, Libya etc, and is still brewing in Syria. being murdered every day at the hands of the Syrian pow- Also, even in Turkey, tensions are on the rise, with crowds ers. gathering at the Taksim Park in Istanbul. There is tension between It is essential to understand the structure and objectives the protesters on the street and the prime minister as people are of the Muslim Brotherhood. I think it will be completely looking for more democracy and want to retain a park historically bereft of logic to trust their call for Jihad in Syria to save the used by them and not allow it to be used as a Leisure Park. One kuwait digest lives of Syrian men and women. If they really meant their hopes the parties will halt the demonstrations till a final court word, then how come they did not make such a call a long order is pronounced. There have been many such examples of time ago for the Palestinian cause? Or is it the case that the people wanting a say in the country’s public issues, a more mod- A minister from outside issue of Palestine holds no priority for them? Are the erate approach and more reforms. Palestinians not Muslims? I think we should not be naÔve One must be reasonable in meeting the people’s demands to accept a call to fight, kill or be killed while those who and remain understanding of all the parties, especially when it make these calls remain hidden? Can someone tell me comes to people who need to feel that they have been heard By Mohammad Hayat who the real opposition is against the Syrian ruling pow- properly. ers? Who are they? Everyday, I see a different name emerg- One major problem in such a scenario has been the way the uwait has been living in anxiety in anticipation enjoying human rights. ing from one or the other western country exhorting the uprisings were dealt in many of those countries, ranging from of the Constitutional Court ruling on the consti- After all that, Minister of Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Muslims to save Syria from the current ruler but I also won- crackdowns, smoke bombs, rubber bullets, teargas guns and what tutionality of the decree to amend the electoral Mohammad Al-Abdullah makes a public statement in der why they themselves don’t jump out of their fancy not. In many cases, there were reports of protestors suffering K system. Kuwaitis are perhaps only distracted by the which he states that “Kuwait is on the right path to armchairs and go fight for their country. Why don’t they severe injuries, being killed and even becoming victims of rape. images of killings and massacres happening in Syria. take its position among the advanced countries, themselves fight those they claim have become corrupt What is required to deal with such situations is a determina- In the meantime, discontentment is still widespread thanks to the cooperation between the [legislative and instead of sending daily media messages calling for money tion to preserve the unity and integrity of the country, and adopt in society on account of poor health, educational, executive] authorities since the beginning of the year.” that may fatten their bank account but will not benefit any- an approach of real dialogue, a healthy respect of a dissenting housing, infrastructure and traffic services, as well as It seems like the minister is either unaware or sim- one else? opinion and other democratic values. One who lacks any logical the lack of sports and cul- ply indifferent to everything Throughout history, we Arabs have witnessed similar reasoning will keep blaming such imbroglios on a certain super tural activities combined mentioned above. Or situations when it came to the Palestine cause for which so power or someone else. with increased social cate- It seems like the minister is maybe he thinks that what much money was sent to help the people there and yet, In all such cases, the responsibility lies with the concerned the standard of living did not change because those in country to ensure that people’s freedoms and liberties are pro- gorization along sectarian, either unaware or simply indif- has been currently happen- racial and tribal lines. ing in Kuwait is considered power pocketed the money and did not allow it to reach tected, and regimes refrain from being dictatorial. Governance the needy. reforms must receive priority. Meanwhile, civil society ferent to everything mentioned ‘normal’ in advanced coun- institutions continue to be tries. Maybe he thinks that Yes, we need to learn some crucial lessons about how As old agreements and old maps of a century old vintage go above. Or maybe he thinks that to help the real victims instead of randomly giving away through a churning, one must not forget many new factors like almost completely missing, all legislations passed by a whereas the government parliament elected amid a resources to cells that we know nothing about on how the new global polarities, power shifts, power sharing principles what has been currently hap- they will use the money thus collected. and shifting centers of power. continues to ignore creative boycott by 60 percent of the young citizens who need pening in Kuwait is considered population are ‘progressive’; I need to say that I would want this article to serve as a Without doubt, any power vacuum would lead to an all round caution to those receiving text messages on their mobiles conflict. The stakeholders must remember that they must con- support so that they can including the debt relief bill contribute towards their ‘normal’ in advanced countries. that failed to achieve public or WhatsApp application urging them to donate and sup- cede genuine rights of the people in the region, be amenable to port the Syrian people with images of a former MP carry- country. equality. Maybe he is not demands for a fair and equal right of self determination, change Maybe he thinks that all legis- ing guns and presenting him as a role model. I wonder Kuwaitis are still suffering aware of the fact that gov- and reform. how he entered Syria, because if this happened with the under a bureaucracy that lations passed by a parliament ernment offices are stacked Also, the countries need to manage the ongoing power strug- approval of Syrian powers, then all is okay there, and if they slows down the simplest of with legislations passed in gles under the umbrella of internationally-sanctioned systems elected amid a boycott by 60 sneaked into Syria through Iraq, for example, then this was the past but which so far and extend support for peace proposals that are fair to all. procedures at the state a breach of security that should be taken into considera- One must remain determined not to lose focus or be blinded departments. People are percent of the population are remain unenforced. Maybe tion. Who knows who may enter Kuwait now in a similar by vested interests. still being prosecuted for ‘progressive’; including the he does not know that legis- fashion? If someone poses this question to me in a semi- expressing their opinion on lation is only a small step nar, I will be speechless. social networks that are dif- debt relief bill that failed to that has to be followed up I do recall a movie I saw a couple of years ago in which a kuwait digest ferent from those of the with action by the govern- certain terrorist keeps threatening the US leaders till he is government. Politicians are achieve public equality. ment to put the law into arrested and found issuing his threats from his house next still refusing to accept opin- effect, and in a proper way door to Capitol Hill. It was all very funny but it shows that Beyond the ruling ions that differ from theirs, and the executive authority to achieve developmental goals so that Kuwait can not every threatening call is true and some people are real remains unwilling to enforce the law equally. become a developed state. maniacs. Think of Egypt and just how well are they manag- Meanwhile, wasta (connections) and favoritism are still Maybe the minister sees ‘cooperation between the By Khalid Al-Tarrah ing now? Now, the Muslims Brotherhood did not come up the main routes adopted for recruitment to leading two authorities’ as having a hapless parliament that with any miracles there. It is very clear to everyone. Why do pinions have been expressed, and positions have posts while competent candidates are ignored. makes no efforts to monitor ministers’ performance we want to have another Egypt called Syria? already been predetermined while others will be International organizations’ reports continue to rate and is working with a cabinet that defuses every effort Of course, Syria does need help. I know that calls for Oannounced any moment. Regardless of how the Kuwait poorly when it comes to corruption and trans- to grill any of its members. Either it is that, or perhaps helping the country but it should be done via official chan- Constitutional Court’s ruling impacts conflicting political parency indexes. Meanwhile, there are 120,000 people the minister thinks he lives in a country other than nels and not through freelance self-styled do-gooders. If interests, there is no doubt that its verdict will be who still live in Kuwait without having any identity or Kuwait. —Al-Rai calls to help Syria are true, then everyone should support respected by all political and social players on the the UN-backed calls and the UNHCR to help those in need Kuwaiti scene. and through the right channel. The government and the people are required after the ruling to work together in order to protect the unity kuwait digest of the Kuwaiti society, and give top priority to national kuwait digest Kuwait has made landmark Performance assessment Those MPs do not political and democratic gains, represent Kuwait! and these deserve to be protect- By Yaqoub Al-Sharrah ed through all peaceful, intellec- ssessment of government performance is necessary assessed in Kuwait. Instead of holding the government By Hassan Ali Karam tual, political and social means in advanced countries to determine what kind of and responsible for incompetency and poor management, min- o sooner had MP Khaled Al-Shatti filed a parliamentary so that the country can develop Ahow much development is needed in which spheres isterial posts are reshuffled as a result of political reactions inquiry asking the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and thus chalk out plans and strategies to achieve the objec- or to address certain problems in a way that reflects person- NThekra Al-Rasheedi about illegal charities collecting knowing fully well the present tives. The lack of assessment makes it difficult to determine al vendetta and is no reflection of the minister’s perform- donations for the Syrian opposition that MP Khaled Al-Shulaimui the correct way to achieve the goals, or to diagnose the ance. That is why Kuwait is replete with incidents of ministe- questioned the minister of Awqaf Sherieda Al-Maosherji about and future requirements. problems that negatively affect the quality of work and rial changes being effected as a result of conflicting political the total number of both licensed and unlicensed Husseiniyas in achievement levels. views, especially those expressed by political and sectarian Kuwait and the measures taken against unlicensed ones. unity. The government for sure faces a huge challenge Governments are not the only parties that require per- groups that push for appointing candidates to leading What’s wrong with these two MPs? Al-Shatti knows for sure to push for the national cause that addresses both, indi- formance appraisal. Even when posts based on favoritism that donations in the form of cash and kind and appeals to viduals as well as the community, while it works to Kuwaiti volunteers to fight the Syrian opposition had begun as it comes to individuals, we instead of competency. enhance their political awareness. It is clear today that Assessment of government soon as the first shot was fired against the regime. So, raking up voters need to become more enlightened when it comes often need to evaluate our Assessment of government the issue donations collected by unlicensed charities is only to fulfilling their national responsibility in electing com- own performance and deter- performance needs to be a dem- performance needs to be a meant to instigate the people. On the other hand, Al-Shulaimi petent members of parliament. mine whether it is leaving a democratic approach and will knows for sure that both licensed and unlicensed Husseiniyas His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- negative or a positive effect on ocratic approach and will be a be a step in the right direction. have been in Kuwait ever since its inception, that is long before Sabah has reiterated the ruling family’s commitment to the people around us. But It will act as a tool to determine he, his father, his grandfather and great grandfather had been democracy on numerous occasions. This necessitates unlike one individual’s assess- step in the right direction. It will the government’s level of suc- born. efforts by the government to draw a roadmap to achieve ment of his or her own per- act as a tool to determine the cess in fulfilling public What, then, are those two people’s representatives are trying the Amir’s vision of remaining committed to the demo- formance, in case of an institu- demands. In addition to push- to prove by posing such tricky questions? I cannot but accuse cratic approach and dialogue, as well as the many devel- tion the appraisal becomes government’s level of success in ing development and address- them both of trying to stir a sectarian conflict. They both look as opmental projects that Kuwait is in dire need of. There is necessary because it is meant fulfilling public demands. In addi- ing problems, performance if they were carrying sharp knives and plan to shred this nation also immense need to believe that a constructive dia- for public welfare. assessment also protects offi- into pieces. Being lawmakers, both of them should have been able to make a better assessment of the situation and remained logue, in which different opinions are respected, will In Kuwait, there is a lack of tion to pushing development and cials from public criticism. careful so as not to jeopardize national security. What is happen- benefit the country. interest in assessing the per- Moreover, it helps us focus on The regional developments including political and addressing problems, perform- ing in Syria is spilling outside its borders and Kuwait is no excep- formance of the government, working as per professional tion, unless we remained more careful and wiser. sectarian struggles that are tearing apart neighboring whether it is regarding minis- ance assessment also protects standards such as leadership, countries should not be ignored. We definitely will not Both MPs should not have mixed their personal interests with ters or senior officials whose creativity and professionalism, their political stance. They should not have poured ‘oil on fire’ by remain unaffected by what is happening around us, as duties are intrinsically connect- officials from public criticism instead of leaving job promo- religious and sectarian extremism could very well hit us mistakenly thinking that their inquiries were driven by patriotic ed to serving the people and tion to the whims and fancies of motives to defend this or that sect’s principles. if we fail to stand united in the face of pressing chal- the state. For decades, we have never heard a minister or a certain individuals whose idea of evaluation may not neces- On for almost three years, the Syrian crisis is dangerously start- lenges. ing to extend beyond that distressed country’s borders. It began Kuwait has made landmark political and democratic senior state official being relieved of his or her duties follow- sarily be based on objectivity. on account of an opposition-led rebellion and ended up into a gains, and these deserve to be protected through all ing any performance assessment carried out based on clear- There are examples aplenty about deficiency on per- ly defined standards of evaluation. formance and lack of commitment to do an honest apprais- fight over identity and affiliations. It is becoming more complicat- peaceful, intellectual, political and social means so that ed, thanks to international intervention and the activities of the country can develop knowing fully well the present While Kuwait’s political system is different compared to al in our society, including the failure to enforce laws such as party systems where parties assess each other’s performance the anticorruption authority law, the wealth disclosure law, extremist guerillas fighting on either side. The sectarian hostilities and future requirements. and explosions in Lebanon and various Iraqi cities are but an and their ability to face challenges, we often witness minis- not to mention going ahead with mega construction proj- We share a long history and achievements at the extension of the Syrian conflict. Kuwait is not fortified against social and political levels. We managed to make a quan- ters and state departments forced out of their positions for ects. We find that performance assessment lacks even at a such tumultuous events unless we exercise more caution, have tum leap for our country and are reaping its fruits today. alleged efforts to improve a situation or end a certain crisis time when MPs are consistently voicing complaints against fear of Allah and exhibit more concern for our country’s safety. It is It is our duty to share with the future generations the which, most of the time, has nothing to do with performance. the executive authority’s incompetency and lack of proper time for Kuwaitis to send signals that there is complete coherence pride about what we have achieved. —Al-Qabas The performance of the government as a whole is not planning. —Al-Rai and solidarity among its people. — Al-Watan MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 LOCAL As holy month approaches, Municipality beefs up raids Comprehensive field plan in place: Al-Hasham

KUWAIT: The municipal officers conduct inspections and seal food outlets during their field campaigns ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. 2,000kg of expired By Hanan Al-Saadoun slaughter house will remain under specific al-Otaibi said his staff was prepared in all watch. These are the places where hygiene respects and coordination was being car- honey confiscated KUWAIT: Authorities have raised alert levels norms must be particularly applied, includ- ried out among all departments, especially at their highest in all governorates as the ing quick lifting of the skins and leftovers of concerning the food items. Al-Otaibi said By Hanan Al-Saadoun holy month of Ramadan begins. As usual, slaughtered animals from outside the the inspection campaigns were carried out huge amounts of foodstuff are being slaughter houses. round the year as per a prepared program KUWAIT: The Capital Governorate pumped in the markets during this occa- The director of imported foodstuff, Eng. and on all occasions. Municipality emergency team has sion, prompting the municipality authori- Istiqlal Al-Muslem, said that all efforts were In Mubarak Al-Kabeer, governorate direc- found about 2,000 kilograms of natu- ties in all governorate branches to focus on to cover all import outlets along the tor Eng. Shriedeh Al-Mutairi said that strict ral honey, whose sell-by date had their inspection campaigns on food. Legal land, sea and air routes as these are the supervision was in place as far as foodstuff expired since 2012, at one of the action will be taken against anyone violat- main gateways for the foodstuff coming to outlets and central stores in the gover- stores behind the wholesale market ing food safety norms to ensure good Kuwait. Efforts are being made to ensure no norate were concerned, in addition to facto- street in Shuwaikh Industrial Area, health of consumers. food is used till it is cleared through lab ries in Subhan areas. A plan was in place for according to Al-Qabas Daily. The daily In this respect, public relations director tests as fit for human consumption. Legal the occasion. Al-Mutairi said that during a mentioned that the honey was pro- Rasheed Al-Hasham said that a comprehen- action will be taken against violators, she campaign, an unlicensed store was discov- duced in Pakistan and Hungary and sive field plan drafted in cooperation with added. Since the month of Ramadan falls ered in a building and was closed. Three had been detained to be destroyed all municipality governorate branches will this year in the middle of the summer, when citations were handed out for the violations later. A citation for selling expired food products was handed to the store be implemented when the month of temperatures are very high, supervision had discovered and food items weighing 100 owners, and the Ministry of Ramadan begins. The plan will cover the started a few months earlier to ensure safe- kgs found unsuitable for human consump- Commerce delegate took some sam- public markets, foodstuff outlets, coopera- ty of the food items. tion were destroyed. ples of the honey for further testing. tive societies, slaughter houses and food- In the Hawllay governorate, director of In Jahra municipality branch, director stuff manufacturing companies to ensure the municipality branch Fahad Al-Fahad Eng. Sami Al-Saeedan said because of a that everyone abides by the rules and regu- said that having learnt from past experi- large population of the governorate, a num- lations and only foodstuff that are safe and ence, “We have take necessary measures to ber of regulations were imposed regarding suitable remain in circulation. The work increase the level of supervision across all different food related activities including teams will be on their guard round the markets and slaughter houses besides end- those applicable to super markets, restau- clock, and will receive any complaints on ing the menace of vendors who are usually rants and food supply chains that prepare the hotline 139 for public service at all active during this season.” Iftar meals. In addition, strict control was hours. He said that the foodstuff related activi- being exercised over vendors who sell dairy In the capital governorate, municipality ties were kept under consideration as there products in the main streets usually before branch director Eng. Faleh Al-Shimmary were a large number of outlets in the gover- Iftar. And finally in Farwaniya Municipality, said that a plan has been prepared for the norate, many of them located near the its director Eng. Ahmad Al-Hazeem said that entire month whereby markets will be kept beach where there is great demand from a number of formalities were being under strict supervision. The places visited public in the evenings. He said that inspec- observed on the occasion of the holy by a large number of people, such as tions will be carried out twice a day. Apart month and inspection officials will remain Mubarakiya market, meat markets, whole- from the one carried out daily in routine, an focused on all foodstuff outlets and ven- sale markets at Shuwaikh and the foodstuff additional check will be run after Iftar and dors, mainly in Jleeb Al-Shoyoukh and stores at Al-Rai Area, that form the supply “Sohoor”. These will be surprise inspections, Khaitan. He pointed that a thorough plan line for food items, in addition to increasing and no advance warning would be given. was in place to monitor the governorate’s number of butchers and laborers in capital Ahmadi governorate director Eng. Fahad slaughter house during the holy month. The expired natural honey is shown. Stamps forgery racket busted at Kuwait port

KUWAIT: Four people were arrested an inebriated state. The officers were Maid charged with torture at the Doha Port after customs offi- able to safely extricate the woman A domestic worker was arrested cials recovered government stamps and her children. She explained that after her employer accused her of and forged documents from their her husband assaulted her physically physically assaulting his child. The boat. According to sources with before her son tried to intervene, at case was filed recently at the Roudha knowledge of the case, the four which point he grabbed his gun and police station where a Kuwaiti man Iranian nationals were referred to the fired multiple rounds. The man approached police, accompanied by State Security Department for investi- refused to leave the house, after his housemaid. He accused the Asian gating their possible involvement in which police headed back to the woman of ‘torturing’ his seven-year- incidents of smuggling, and determin- police station and launched proce- old son by severely beating him. The ing what all they could have smug- dures to summon him for investiga- woman will remain in custody pend- gled using forged entrance and exit tions. ing further investigations. permits.

Homicide Asian held with narcotics Investigations were on to deter- By Hanan Al-Saadoun mine the circumstances leading to the death of a man whose body was KUWAIT: Drug enforcement found at a construction site in the agents arrested an Asian Sabah Al-Ahmad City. Criminal investi- expat for possessing 50 gators on Saturday reached the site grams of heroin and 100 near the water reserves project in the drug pills that were recov- city where the body was found from a ered from his residence. pit. Preliminary investigations Earlier, information was revealed that the victim died of a fatal received about his involve- head injury, based on which the case ment in the drug trade. A was classified as homicide. work team was formed to verify the tip-off. Once that Domestic violence was done, legal permission Police are looking to arrest a man was obtained and his resi- who faces charges of domestic vio- dence was raided where lence and risking his family’s wellbe- agents found the above ing as he used a firearm. Police rushed mentioned drugs. The man to a house in Ashbiliya on Saturday confessed to trading in where a Kuwaiti woman had locked drugs. He and the contra- up herself and her children inside a band were sent to the con- room to escape her husband’s wrath cerned authorities. after he fired gunshots while being in Sheikh Al-Khaled, Mucavi discuss Kuwait’s role in Africa food security

ROME: Head of the Economic security for the countries of the cooperation, it is possible to Department at Kuwait Foreign African continent. achieve rapid and lasting reduc- Ministry Sheikh Ali Al-Khaled Al- For her part, Mucavi greatly tions in hunger,” FAO Director- Sabah has discussed with Chairman appreciated Kuwait’s contribution General JosÈ Graziano da Silva said. of the Africa Group of Permanent to development projects in Africa. Graziano da Silva urged all coun- Representatives in Rome-based She lauded Kuwait’s quick response tries to keep up the momentum, Food and Agriculture Organization and help to disasters-stricken areas, aiming for the complete eradication (FAO) Ambassador Carla Elisa citing Kuwait’s initiative to estab- of hunger, in keeping with the Zero Mucavi Kuwait’s contribution to lish the International Fund for Hunger Challenge launched in 2012 development and food security in Agriculture Development in by United Nations Secretary- Africa. response to the famine that hit General Ban Ki-moon. “Globally, Sheikh Ali also mulled with Ethiopia in 1970s. Last week, FAO hunger has declined over the past Mucavi the proposed agenda of the announced that 38 countries have decade, but 870 million people are coming Arab African Summit in met internationally-established tar- still undernourished, and millions of Kuwait and the coordination gets in the fight against hunger, others suffer the consequences of between the FAO African Group and forefront of them Kuwait, chalking vitamin and mineral deficiencies, Near East Group, which Kuwait will up successes ahead of a deadline including child stunting,” the FAO chair shortly. The Kuwaiti official set for 2015. “These countries are chief said. expressed his country’s support to leading the way to a better future. “We need to keep up our efforts, the international efforts to achieve They are proof that with strong until everyone can live healthy and sustainable development and food political will, coordination and productive lives.” — KUNA MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 LOCAL Kerry lauds progress in Iraq-Kuwait relations ‘Determined diplomacy pays off’ WASHINGTON: The US Secretary of State John he was “encouraged by the positive tone of Geneva meeting, but that the use of chemical Kerry Kerry said in a phone call to Iraqi Foreign these meetings and urged Iraqi leaders to build weapons and increasing involvement of Minister Hoshyar Zebari “that he was impressed on these steps by continuing direct dialogue Hezbollah demonstrates the regime’s lack of by the recent progress the two nations (Kuwait and taking concrete action to address political commitment to negotiations and threatens to and Iraq) have made toward resolving remain- differences.” put a political settlement out of reach” ing UN Chapter VII issues” and that “this was a “The two agreed on the importance of a uni- “The Secretary expressed our concern about clear example of determined and persistent fied approach against violence and the need to the increasingly sectarian nature of the Syrian diplomacy paying off.” address legitimate grievances peacefully and in conflict on both sides, including atrocities com- Kerry also discussed recent developments in a manner consistent with the Iraqi constitu- mitted in recent days in Qusayr and in Deir Iraq and the region, the State Department tion,” it stressed. EzZor,” according to the statement. In that light, statement stated. It disclosed that Kerry He assured the Foreign Minister that the Kerry noted his “appreciation for the Foreign thanked the Iraqi Foreign Minister “for his United States would continue to work to help Minister’s statement on June 11 discouraging efforts to help organize a unity meeting of Iraq improve relations with other neighbors in Iraqis from joining the fight in Syria,” where KUWAIT: Director of the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Iraq’s political and religious leaders at the end the region,” the statement noted. The Secretary Kerry further urged that Iraq “take every possi- Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah met yesterday of May and the meeting between Prime and the Foreign Minister also discussed the sit- ble measure to help end the military resupply with Indian Ambassador to Kuwait Satish Mehta. During the meeting, they Minister (Nouri) Maliki and KRG President uation in Syria, where Kerry “reaffirmed that the of the Assad regime and thereby increase the discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and issues of com- (Masoud) Barzani on June 9.” United States continues to work aggressively pressure that will be necessary to advance a mon interest. —KUNA The statement added that Kerry noted that for a political solution with the goal of a second political solution.” — KUNA News in brief

High School results may be postponed KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education is currently considering postponing declaring the results for the final examinations since the date set for it — July 6 (Saturday)— coincides with the municipal council elections. In this regard, educational sources said that the arts section students would sit for their last exam on Thursday, July 4 and the test would need two days to be marked. “The prob- lem is that the results are usually declared live on air by the minister, but it will be difficult to do so because TV channels will be busy covering the elections,” said the sources. The Touristic Enterprises Company organized a card games tourna- ment at the Shaab Sea Club recently featuring 15 club members. MoE retirement Ministry of Education sources revealed that The event was attended by Shaab Sea Club Supervisor Sami Al- Minister Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf has put an end to the Jeeran, as well as Kuwaiti actor Saad Al-Faraj who attended on a rumors floating around for the past two months personal invitation. about retiring employees who have put in 30 years or more of service from supervisory jobs. Al-Hajraf told officials during a meeting of the Undersecretaries two days back about the decision by the civil service council to retire all those meet- ing the above condition by September next. Sources said that Al-Hajraf directed Undersecretary Mariam Al-Wateed to communicate the decision to all sections yesterday to take necessary action for compliance. By asking that he vacant positions be filled as soon as possible, it signaled that the Assistant Undersecretary for administration has sent a list of names of those to be retired in a phased manner, beginning with those who have completed 35 years in service and followed up by those who have put in lesser number of years. But Al-Hajraf said that the decision will be implement- ed in case of all those who have served for 30 or more years, irrespective of the offer proposed by Al-Duaij.

Heart support materials ‘safe’ Minister of Health Dr Mohammad Al-Haifi said that the way MP Faisal Al-Kanderi raised the subject of heart support materials has only spread fear among the public while the reality is that a fact finding committee has found that the heart sup- port materials were fine and safe. The committee NGOs call for unified voice on Syria conflict has concluded its report, and everything was found in perfect order. Tenders since 2011 have been KUWAIT: A number of NGOs They also warned what they Writers’ Syndicate and the interests regardless of the price’ right to fight for their freedom awarded to a company and radiologists had and political powers recently described as ‘importing conflicts Physiotherapy Society recently that the country may have to and rights, such conflicts should cleared these as per the specifications. warned about a sectarian con- from another society on the issued a joint statement warn- pay. “History is full of similar not, under any circumstances, flict saying some irresponsible pretext of supporting them.’ ing of such a danger and urging examples of sectarian conflicts, be exported to other countries Ramadan donations parties were trying to take In this regard, the National all sides to safeguard Kuwait’s such as the civil wars in merely to garner some support. Well-informed sources said that the charities advantage of the tragic situa- Democratic Alliance (NDA), the national solidarity. Lebanon and Ireland, that “The funny thing is that some department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and tions in Syria. They said certain Women Cultural Society, Kuwait The eight NGOs also urged destroyed everybody and every- bodies that support the victims Labor (MSAL) has made all arrangements for the irresponsible voices were trying Graduates Society, Public Fund citizens not to be carried away thing and ended up with no in one country may switch upcoming holy month of Ramadan including set- to harm the discourse of ‘nation- Protection Society, Kuwait by extreme and extravagant winners,” the statement said, stances and support victim ting up inspection teams that would monitor dona- al coherence’ that has marked Society for Formative Arts, Child calls usually made by people highlighting that though gladiators in another,” added the tion collection throughout Kuwait. The sources Kuwait’s stance on the issue. Evaluation Center, Kuwait who ‘are only after their own regional peoples had every statement. —Al-Jarida added that the donations will be collected using K- Net service, and officially stamped and approved receipts that cannot be forged will be issued. The cash donations would be collected only at the ‘Down to up’ volunteering headquarters of the ten approved and authorized charities. team, first of its kind in Gulf KUWAIT: “Down to top “ volunteer team, people on the Down Syndrome, its causes dedicated to cases of Down Syndrome (DS) and possibilities to avert it, he said. The Kuwait’s media is the first of its kind in the Gulf region, vice team celebrates a number of occasions, chairman of the team Salem Al-Fadli said. including the annual anniversary of estab- He added in remarks yesterday that a lishing “Down to up” volunteer team on able to fortify group of young Kuwaitis formed the November 28, the World Down Syndrome humanitarian volunteer team, dedicated for Day, besides national celebrations, he men- unity: Minister people of Down Syndrome, working hard to tioned. spread awareness in the society about (DS), It had written and showed a play, called KUWAIT: Minister of Information and Minister of State besides allowing people with such cases to “moment” tackling the Down Syndrome, for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al- practice creative activities. “Down to up” sponsored by the Kuwait National Humoud Al-Sabah stressed Kuwait media’s ability to for- team was called this way to motivate the Petroleum Company (KPNC), which hosted families with children suffering from DS, this play in one of the Company’s halls, and tify national unity affirming the government opposition whom the team works hardly to reach them the invitation was open to the public, he to prejudice against any segment of the society. and take care of their children. It was the stated The team is facing several challenges DUSHANBEH: The Kuwaiti media delegation in Tajikistan. —KUNA “Kuwaiti media excels in taking responsibility and is idea of chairman of the team, Nasser Al- and obstacles including lack of cooperation able to be a key partner in fortifying national unity,” said Reshedi, who gathered a total of 40 volun- by some families with children of cases of the minister in a statement to Al-Qabas newspaper, teers with ages ranging between 16-30 DS, besides weak media coverage of related Media Delegation paves published yesterday. years from various specialties, fields and activities, Al-Reshedi said. He pointed out “Our national unity cannot be bidden over or altered educational levels, while the administration that the team has no official sponsor, prais- way for Rahmon visit by irresponsible actions by individuals,” noted Sheikh of the team was formed out of this group. ing the support it receives from the Kuwaiti Kuwaiti youths have extraordinary ener- Society for Down Syndrome, which hosts DUSHANBEH: Current visit by a Kuwaiti desire to visit the country for business. Salman, reiterating the government strong keenness on gy, and are always keen to offer help and the team’s official headquarters. The team media delegation to Tajikistan is meant to The Tajik President will sign eight agree- protecting the national unity, which is a red line that assistance to others, especially those with welcomes any new volunteer and is reach- pave way for an upcoming official visit by ments during his visit to Kuwait on eco- has “no room for tampering.” He noted that Kuwait has special needs, he said. The team has chosen able via telephone, accounts on social net- Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to Kuwait nomic and cultural cooperation, invest- been witnessing current on-going rapid regional caring for cases of Down Syndrome works including (Twitter) and (Instagram), on June 23-25, the delegation head said ment and tourism promotion of his coun- events, “but our national unity is safe as our society is because this segment of the society suffers he said. He expressed thanks to all bodies yesterday. try, Al-Sultan noted. cohesive and keen on working within the constitutional from negligence, and almost no volunteer- that cooperated with the team to serve its The visiting Kuwaiti officials are seeking Tajikistan, since independence, has frameworks and the principle of respect for the state ing group at all has taken care of them pre- humanitarian aims in serving people suffer- through this visit to promote economic, established a free economic-financial sys- media and tourist potentials of the repub- tem designed to boost commerce and institutions, and whoever tries to offend these princi- viously, he affirmed. ing from Down Syndrome, especially “Pitzza It holds various activities of educational, Express” which allowed the team to organ- lic as well as highlighting its civilization, secure all possible facilities for exports and ples, will take full responsibility of his/her action.” and entertaining nature for cases of Down ize a pizza cooking class for a group of cas- Talal Al-Sultan, also the external media imports. Al-Sultan noted that he met with Sheikh Salman stressed “the Information Ministry will Syndrome, including hand crafts work- es of Down Syndrome lately. Down syn- specialist of the Ministry of Information, Deputy Chairman of the Tajik television not hesitate to take firm action against anyone who shops, besides music, sports and house- drome (DS) or Down’s syndrome also told KUNA. The Tajik President confirmed and radio who expressed his country’s tries to harm our national unity.” On the Information keeping classes, he stated. known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder his country’s desire to cement relations desire to strengthen media cooperation Ministry’s role of organizing and following up on offen- The team also organizes field trips to sci- caused by the presence of all or part of a with Kuwait at various levels during a with Kuwait’s Ministry of Information sive remarks posted on social networking websites, entific, and entertaining centers as well as third copy of chromosome 21. Down syn- meeting with the Kuwaiti delegation, on through reciprocal delegations’ visits and Sheikh Salman stressed that the ministry is proceeding campaigns to clean shores, besides holding drome is the most common chromosome Saturday, Al-Sultan confirmed. He said training of cadres. fairs to exhibit the products of cases of abnormality in humans. It is typically asso- Rahmon invited Kuwaiti investors to A delegation from the Ministry of with a project to regulate electronic media, after his dis- Down Syndrome, Al-Reshedi added. ciated with a delay in cognitive ability explore business opportunities in the Tajik Foreign Affairs visited the Tajik Capital cussions with media institutions and bodies, officials of The volunteers’ work includes spreading (mental retardation, or MR) and physical market, stressing on his government’s three weeks ago to take part in a meeting which “emphasized the need to preserve media free- awareness in the society about the appro- growth, and a particular set of facial charac- readiness to overcome all obstacles that of the Kuwaiti-Tajik Economic Cooperation doms.” — KUNA priate volunteer concepts, besides briefing teristics. —KUNA may face Kuwaiti entrepreneurs who Committee. —KUNA MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013

Car bombs, shootings Rowhani hails victory for ‘moderation’ kill 32 people in Iraq

Page 8 Page 9 thousands rally for Erdogan Police teargas pockets of protest in city centre

ISTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Taksim Square, another focal point for the protests, were yesterday told a crowd of more than 100,000 supporters it sealed off and guarded with a heavy police presence. was his “duty” to order a crackdown on an Istanbul protest Yellow tape lined the area, blocking entry to pedestrians, park, as police and anti-government demonstrators faced as bulldozers broke up protesters’ makeshift barricades off in fresh clashes. A day after riot police dislodged thou- and municipal cleaners returfed grassy areas and planted sands of protesters occupying Gezi Park, officers in the area fresh flowers. “Gezi Park and Taksim Square have been were still firing tear gas and jets of water at pockets of pro- evacuated and returned to the people,” Erdogan told the testers determined to regroup. Some 10 km away, in a much party faithful. larger park, Erdogan launched a show of strength for sup- Erdogan has taken a tough line on the protesters but porters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), made an unexpectedly conciliatory gesture when he held drawing the largest crowd yet since the demos against his his first talks with Taksim Solidarity representatives on government erupted more than two weeks ago. Friday. He offered to suspend the Gezi project pending a Addressing the cheering sea of people, many of whom court ruling on its legality, if protesters agreed to leave. But wore white AKP caps, a combative Erdogan said protesters the group rejected the olive branch, saying the govern- had forced his hand by defying repeated warnings to clear ment had failed to address all their demands, which out of the park. “I said we were at an end. That it was unbear- include a call for arrested demonstrators to be released able. Yesterday the operation was carried out and it was and for police chiefs in cities that saw clashes to be sacked. cleaned up,” Erdogan said. “It was my duty as prime minister.” The United States and other Western allies, along with The violence sparked by the Gezi Park evacuation human rights groups, have widely criticised Erdogan’s han- ISTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech to supporters during a rally marked a major escalation in mass unrest that has posed dling of the crisis. —AFP yesterday. —AFP the biggest challenge yet to the Islamic-rooted govern- ment’s decade-long rule. Two of Turkey’s main trade union federations, KESK and DISK, announced they would go on strike today in protest at the police clashes overnight. “Our demand is for police violence to end immediately,” KESK spokesman Baki Cinar told AFP. The unions represent hun- dreds of thousand of workers and the stoppage is likely to affect schools, hospitals and public offices across the coun- try. The police intervention in Gezi Park came after Erdogan issued a final warning to protesters during a fiery speech at an election rally in the capital Ankara on Saturday. Two hours later, officers with gas masks and riot shields stormed the patch of green. Thousands of campers scrambled to escape clouds of acrid tear gas, clearing the site within minutes and leaving a trail of empty tents in their wake. Many sought refuge in the luxury hotels bordering the park, prompting police to douse the lobby of at least one five-star establish- ment with water as guests choked on tear gas fumes. Thousands of demonstrators later took to the streets of Ankara and the western city of Izmir in solidarity. The politi- cal turmoil first began when a peaceful sit-in to save Gezi Park’s 600 trees from being razed prompted a brutal police response on May 31, spiralling into countrywide demon- strations against Erdogan. The crisis has claimed four lives and injured nearly 7,500 people so far, according to the Turkish Medical Association. Opponents accuse Erdogan of authoritarian tendencies and of forcing Islamic conservative reforms on the mainly Muslim but staunchly secular nation of 76 million. But the 59-year-old, who has been in power since 2002, remains hugely popular. The AKP has won three elections in a row and took nearly half the vote in 2011, having presided over strong economic growth. Erdogan has repeatedly urged his supporters to answer the protesters by voting for his AKP in next year’s local polls. More election rallies are planned in cities across Turkey in coming weeks, Erdogan said. Mey Elbi, a 39-year-old yoga teacher, was in Gezi park when police entered and said they seized the protesters’ goggles and gas masks. “I won’t give up,” she told AFP. “We’re angry, this is not over. The world has seen that together, we can stand up to Tayyip.” The Taksim Solidarity group, seen as most representative of the protesters, con- demned Saturday’s “brutal attack”, which it said had left “hundreds” injured. Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said 44 people had been hurt, none seriously. By yesterday evening, Gezi Park and the adjoining Gunmen kill 3 Lebanese, Turk BAALBEK, Lebanon: Gunmen killed three Lebanese Shiites and a Turk yesterday in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, a security source said, revising an earlier toll breakdown, as the conflict in neighbouring Syria raised fresh tensions. The unidentified assailants shot dead “two members of the Jaafar family, an Amhaz family member and a Turk” in an ambush while they were smuggling fuel through the Qaa area, he told AFP, asking not to be named. He had initially identified the victims as four Lebanese and said a fifth man was seriously wounded. But he revised the account to identify the fourth man killed as a Turk with a Lebanese mother, a resident of eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The incident occurred in an agricultural part of Qaa, home to a predominantly Sunni population. Tensions were running high in the wake of the incident, the source said, with armed members of the Jaafar family gathering around five kilometres from the mainly Sunni town of Arsal. Sunni residents of the area, in a statement received by AFP, con- demned “this attack on honourable members of the region... that aims to sow sectarian discord”. “We disassoci- ate ourselves from the perpetrators of this massacre what- ever their identity,” they said, urging the authorities to hunt down the assailants. An army statement said it had increased patrols in the area and called for calm, saying it would “allow no one to exploit this unfortunate incident and threaten national uni- ty”. The conflict in Syria, pitting a Sunni-led opposition against a regime dominated by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, has worsened tensions in Lebanon. The pow- erful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah backs the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad and has sent fighters to battle alongside Syria’s army. Lebanon’s Sunni-led opposition, however, backs the uprising against Assad. The fighting has regularly spilled over into Lebanon, with rockets fired from Syria landing in Sunni and Shiite areas along the border. The Syrian air force has also launched raids inside Lebanese territory. Hezbollah commands support throughout much of east- ern Lebanon along the frontier, but Sunni areas such as Arsal within the region back the Syrian uprising. —AFP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 INTERNATIONAL Arabs put (slim) hopes in new Iran president

CAIRO/RIYADH: The election of a moderate enmities in the oil-rich Middle East add to Sunni Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham in for a change of heart in Tehran: “We are more dangerous even than the Jews.” Iranian president could help rein in hostility fears of wider instability. Raqaa, noted power in Iran rested with looking forward to seeing how the winner Standing by his fresh-juice stand, Khaled between Tehran and its Arab neighbours, In Saudi Arabia, whose US-allied rulers Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. is going to act,” said Murad Ali, a spokesman Fathi, 49, twinned his anger at Iranian but many Arabs doubt he can end a sectari- lead opposition to what they see as Iran’s “The powers given to the Iranian president for the Islamist movement’s Freedom and involvement in Syria with suspicion of the an confrontation that has been inflamed by drive to spread its power and religion, well- are weak these days,” he said. “They are fake Justice Party. “Will there be any change to welcome that Islamist President Mohamed war in Syria. Hassan Rowhani, a Shiite cleric informed analyst Jamal Khashoggi said: “I’m powers.” the policies from the Iranians, especially Morsi gave earlier this year to Iran’s hardline known for a conciliatory approach and sure for the Saudi leadership this is the best In Bahrain, whose Saudi-backed Sunni concerning the Syrian crisis? We are in gen- outgoing president, Mahmoud backed by reformists, will have only limited outcome of the elections.” He recalled that monarchy accuses Iran of fomenting eral open to cooperation with Iran ... Ahmadinejad: “Iran makes problems for us say in policy determined by Iran’s supreme Iran’s last reformist president, Mohammad protests among the Shiite majority on the However, we do have our concerns ... relat- all over the world,” he said. “Iran is helping leader; but with the Syrian carnage fuelling Khatami, who visited Riyadh while in office island since 2011, Information Minister ed to ... their interference in Syrian affairs.” Morsi, I’m sure of it.” rage among Sunni Arabs across the region, from 1997-2005, had mended ties - but at a Samira Rajab told Reuters: “I think Rowhani On the streets of Cairo, however, sectari- A group of Lebanese Sunni clerics, visit- any gestures from Tehran may help contain time of less ferocious disputes. Unlike now, is one of a team. And anybody who comes an passions are running high, piling pres- ing Al-Azhar while attending the Cairo con- it. Khashoggi said, “Iran was not meddling from that team will continue the same poli- sure on Egyptian and other Arab rulers. ference that has issued a call for holy war in “We hope the new Iranian president will heavily in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen ... There cy ... We have no more trust in the Iranian Outside the Al-Azhar Mosque, built 1,000 Syria, voiced some hope for change from be a believer in a political solution in Syria,” were no Shiites killing Sunnis.” regime after what happened in Bahrain.” years ago by the Shiite Fatimid caliphs who Rowhani, however: “Maybe this new presi- said one ambassador at the Arab League in In Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are In Egypt, by far the biggest Arab nation, founded the city but now a major seat of dent in Iran will be better,” said Sheikh Cairo. “All that we read about Rowhani battling Iran’s ally President Bashar al-Assad new rulers from the Muslim Brotherhood Sunni learning, construction worker Hassan Abdelrahman from the city of might be grounds for hope - but there is a and his Alawite establishment, who belong had lately launched a rapprochement with Mohamed Abdelsattar, 35, said: “All Tripoli, which has seen recent fighting great difference between election cam- to an offshoot of Shi’ism, opposition Iran but have now joined a Sunni call for Egyptians hate Iran after what has hap- between Lebanese Sunnis and Shiites. paigns and what is said once in office.” For activists saw little hope for change from jihad in Syria after Iran’s Lebanese ally pened in Syria. What’s happening there Sheikh Malik Al-Jdeideh, also from Tripoli, the United States and Western powers, at Rowhani: “The election is cosmetic,” said Hezbollah sent in its fighters last month. now is Shiites killing Sunnis.” Limousine said: “We came to Egypt to tell Mohamed odds with Iran for decades and now rallying Omar Al-Hariri from Deraa, where the upris- Traditionally more open than the Saudi cler- driver Abdelaziz Darwish, 57, had low Morsi that we reject Iranian actions in Syria with arms behind rebels fighting Syria’s ing began during the Arab Spring two years ical hierarchy to conciliation across the sec- expectations of any change in Tehran: “All ... But we are working for all religions to be Iranian-backed president, fierce religious ago. Muhammed Al-Husseini, from the tarian divide, the Brotherhood still hopes Iranians are the same,” he said. “Shiites are at peace.”— Reuters New Iran president hails victory for ‘moderation’ Iranians count on Rowhani to bring change DUBAI: Thousands of Iranians celebrated on the of the whole nation,” Khamenei said on his website. A big test will be whether Rowhani pushes for streets into yesterday’s early hours, counting on Hardliners whose power comes from their the release from house arrest of Mirhossein moderate president-elect Hassan Rowhani to fol- unquestioning loyalty to Khamenei both badly Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, two reformist leaders low through on promises of better relations abroad miscalculated the public mood and failed to set held under house arrest since 2011. That demand and more freedom at home after routing hardliners aside their own factional differences and field a sin- was a constant chant of Rowhani supporters at his at the polls. A mid-ranking Shiite cleric, Rowhani is gle candidate, analysts said. Both Khamenei and campaign rallies and on the streets of Tehran and an Islamic Republic insider who has held senior the powerful hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard elsewhere overnight. “This will in my view be the political and military posts since the 1979 revolu- Corps that controls large swathes of the oil-depen- first real test of how sincere this election has been. tion and maintained a good rapport throughout dent economy said the election was a victory for Then we will know the calibre of Mr Rowhani,” said with theocratic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali all. Whether Rowhani succeeds in ushering in Ali Ansari, professor at St Andrew’s University in Khamenei, Iran’s most powerful man who has the change to Iran, or whether the next four years yield Scotland. “Much depends on the political will of the QUWEIRA, Jordan: US Marines from 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit hide last word on all the big issues. the same stalemate that marked the 1997-2005 fractured elite and the willingness of Khamenei to behind a sand hill in a demolition military act during Eager Lion exercises While no reformer himself, Rowhani gained the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami, will pull back. There is some anxiety that the powers 300 km south of Amman yesterday. — AP backing of politically sidelined but still popular hinge on his ability to balance the demands and that be, having got their ‘popular election’, will now reformist leaders. His call for an end to the “era of expectations of the people with the interests and settle back into their comfort zones.” extremism” won over many voters disgruntled over constraints of those who hold the pivotal instru- Despite similarities between Khatami and Jordan ready to fight economic crises and crackdowns on free speech ments of power in the Islamic Republic. Rowhani’s upset election victories, political realities and dissidents that marked Mahmoud Rowhani’s reputation as a mediator and some- “are fundamentally different”, said Yasmin Alem, a any threat from Syria Ahmadinejad’s presidency. Rowhani’s surprise win one who has worked within the corridors of power US-based Iran expert. “The supreme leader is more however is not expected to quickly resolve the should be an advantage that Khatami, who was powerful, the Revolutionary Guards are more influ- AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah said yester- He also saluted members of his country’s standoff with the West over Iran’s disputed nuclear director of the national library before he became ential, and the conservatives are more in control. day the kingdom was ready to fight to pro- armed forces who helped over the last year ambitions or break its commitment to backing president, never enjoyed. “Rowhani is the ultimate However, Rowhani is a crafty statesman and stands tect itself against any threat to its security undertake a massive humanitarian relief President Bashar Al-Assad in Syria’s civil war. regime insider. In contrast to Khatami, who held no a better chance ... of navigating Iran’s political from the escalating civil war in neighbouring operation to bring across the border hun- But the new president will run the economy of governmental position when he was catapulted minefield.” Rowhani has a tough task ahead of him Syria. He was speaking as Jordanian and U.S. dreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the sprawling OPEC member state of 75 million into the presidency, Rowhani has never been out of dealing with Iran’s myriad domestic and foreign forces proceeded with joint military exercises bombardment in their villages and towns and people and exert influence when Khamenei power or Khamenei’s good graces,” said Ali Vaez, policy problems, she said. “Iranian voters should with the participation of 17 other countries. seeking a safe haven. A Pentagon spokesman decides on national security matters. His victory Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group. “Also, demonstrate the same maturity and patience they Diplomats say the exercises, which entered said on Saturday Defense Secretary Chuck goes some way to repairing the legitimacy of the Rowhani is a centrist politician, with a unique did at the polls, if they want to avoid the disillu- their second week, aim to send a strong mes- Hagel has approved a Jordanian request for Islamic Republic, punctured four years ago when bridge-building ability. He is unlikely to alienate sionment that followed Khatami’s presidency.” sage to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. “If American F-16s and Patriot missiles to remain dozens were killed in protests after an election competing power centres, who can stymie his Rowhani himself called for patience soon after his the world does not help as it should, and if in the Western-backed kingdom after the end reformists said was rigged, and may help pragmat- reforms,” he said. win was announced on Saturday. — Agencies the matter becomes a danger to our country, of the military manoeuvres. The decision to ic voices muzzled since then to re-emerge. we are able at any moment to take the meas- put Patriot batteries - an air and missile Thousands of young Iranians took to the streets ures to protect the country and the interest of defence system - in Jordan has particularly of the capital Tehran and other big cities as soon as our people,” King Abdullah told military angered Russia, Assad’s main international the poll results were announced on Saturday, mak- cadets at a graduation ceremony in southern ally, which accuses the West of fanning the ing sure their voices and expectations of the new Jordan. conflict in Syria. — Reuters president were clearly heard. The president-elect, known in the West as Iran’s main nuclear negotia- tor in 2003-05, immediately sought to build bridges yesterday, expressing approval of the street parties but also having talks with the conser- vative speaker of parliament. “With their celebra- tions last night, the Iranian people showed they are hopeful about the future and God willing, morals and moderation will govern the country,” Rowhani told state TV. “This is a victory of intelligence, of moderation, of progress... over extremism,” Rowhani said. “A new opportunity has been created by this great epic, and the nations who tout democracy and open dialogue should speak to the Iranian people with respect and recognise the rights of the Islamic republic.” Then they will “hear an appropriate response”, added Rowhani, who has championed a more constructive engagement with world powers. Khamenei, who has the final say in all strategic matters in Iran, congratulated Rowhani. “I urge everyone to help the president-elect and his col- TEHRAN: Iranians gather under a giant portrait of moderate president-elect Hassan leagues in the government, as he is the president Rowhani outside his campaign headquarters in downtown Tehran on Saturday.— AFP

QUWEIRA, Jordan: US Marines from 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit hide behind a sand hill in a demolition military act during Eager Lion exercises Extremists blow up Syria Shiite mosque 300 km south of Amman yesterday. — AP AMMAN: Sunni extremists blew up a Shiite mosque protest following the killing of four Lebanese Shiite Shiites in Lebanon increased after the Shiite Iranian- Netanyahu urges no let-up in a village in eastern Syria stormed by rebels earlier men in an ambush, security officials said yesterday. backed Hezbollah openly joined the fight in Syria this week, another sign of the growing sectarian The security officials, speaking on condition of on the side of President Bashar Al-Assad. Most hatred in the country’s civil war, activists said yester- anonymity in line with regulations, said the four Sunnis in Lebanon support the mostly Sunni rebels in world pressure on Iran day. They said Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria carried out were found dead in the Wadi Rafeq area between fighting to oust Assad. JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister meaning of Rowhani’s surprise victory. “It the destruction. It showed the determination of Ras Baalbek and Al-Qaa near the border with Syria. In amateur videos of the mosque destruction in Benjamin Netanyahu called yesterday for (the result) surprised all the experts and all extremists to drive Shiites out of the village of Hatla They said the men were from the powerful Jaafar Syria, fighters walked into the mosque in Hatla and no relaxation of international pressure on the prophets, and this is really intriguing. in the Deir el-Zour region near Iraq. Last week and Amhaz clans, triggering fears of retaliation. It trampled on books, some with covers showing pic- Iran to curb its nuclear efforts after the Why? Because apparently there are hidden rebels battled pro-regime militiamen there, killing was not immediately clear how they were killed or tures of Shiite clerics. The videos then showed an election of a new president widely hailed forces and strengths that were unseen or more than 60 Shiite fighters and civilians, according what the motive was, but yesterday’s ambush is explosion that brought down the building. as a moderate. Netanyahu said it was Iran’s underestimated,” Peres said. to activists. In Lebanon, gunmen deployed in the believed to be related to sectarian tensions related Sunday’s video posted on the Internet appeared supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ephraim Halevy, a former head of streets of the northeast and set up roadblocks in to the Syrian civil war. Tensions between Sunnis and genuine and corresponded with other AP reporting and not the newly elected president, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, said on from the area. Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Hassan Rowhani, who set a nuclear policy Israel Radio that Rowhani’s election “is the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that has been challenged by tough eco- biggest failure Khamenei has suffered said that the mosque was demolished Friday, three nomic sanctions and the prospect of mili- since coming to power”. The poll’s out- days after the battle. Other videos that emerged tary action. “The international community come, Halevy said, was an expression of earlier have showed rebels cursing Shiites and sug- must not give in to wishful thinking or the Iranian people’s “anger and frustration” gested fighters had burned Shiite homes. “It’s clear temptation and loosen the pressure on over the effect of international sanctions that they want to root out Hatla’s Shiite inhabitants,” Iran for it to stop its nuclear program,” the that have hit them hard as a result of he told AP. right-wing Netanyahu told his cabinet, Khamenei’s nuclear policy. Netanyahu, The town is home to several thousand people, according to a statement released by his however, said Israelis “are not deluding about 30 percent of them Shiites. It was considered office. ourselves” in the wake of Rowhani’s elec- a pro-regime community in the Euphrates River val- But Israeli President Shimon Peres, gave tion. “Iran will be judged by its actions,” he ley, where rebels - including the Al-Qaeda-linked a different assessment of possible change said. “If it continues to insist on developing group Jabhat el-Nusra - have taken over much of in nuclear activities that Israel and the its nuclear program, the answer must be the surrounding territory. The Syrian uprising began West fear are directed towards developing clear - to stop it by any means.” more than two years ago with peaceful protests atomic bombs. Iran says it is enriching ura- Israel, widely believed to be the Middle against President Bashar Assad, but later grew into nium for peaceful purposes only. Asked if East’s only atomic power, has signalled it a civil war that has killed 93,000 people and proba- Rowhani, a former nuclear negotiator with could take military action against Iran if bly many more, according to the UN. world powers, would alter the course of international sanctions and diplomacy fail Most of the armed rebels in Syria are from the the nuclear programme, Peres told to bring about a change in its nuclear poli- country’s Sunni majority, while Assad has retained Reuters: “He said he will not go for these cy. The United States, Israel’s main ally, has core support among the minorities, including his extreme policies. I am not sure he specified cautioned against any go-it-alone attack own Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, along his policies. But it will be better, I am sure, and said time remains for peaceful efforts with Christians and Shiites. In the past year, sectari- and that is why the people voted for him.” to persuade Iran to change course. “The an bitterness has grown in the conflict. Each sect A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Peres greater the pressure on Iran, the greater has been accused of massacres against the other, holds a largely ceremonial position and the chance of bringing a halt to the Iranian and Sunni and Shiite fighters from other countries has little influence on decision-making in nuclear programme, which remains the have increasingly joined the battle. The prolonged Israel. But his comments added to a bur- greatest threat to world peace,” Netanyahu SBENEH, Syria: A picture shows destruction in this town, south of the Syrian capital civil war has frayed Syria’s traditional relations with geoning debate among Israelis over the said. — Reuters Damascus, yesterday. — AFP Jordan and Egypt. — AP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 INTERNATIONAL Iraqi holy city hit hard by Iran economic woes

NAJAF, Iraq: The spiritual heart of Shiite are more rooms, more people will come”. develop an atomic bomb. Tehran denies paying us what they owe. So now, many ly dependent on Iranians, bridging that Islam and a hub for religious tourism in The city houses the shrine to Imam Ali, a the charges and insists the nuclear pro- hotels in Najaf are refusing to take Iranian gap will not be easy. “Before (the decline Iraq is being badly hit as sanctions against seventh century Muslim leader and cousin gram is for peaceful purposes. pilgrims.” of the Iranian rial), we sold 90 percent of neighbouring Iran have resulted in fewer of the Prophet Mohammed, and is fre- According to Hosseini, Iran’s oil rev- Najaf, a city with a population of our stock, but now we are down to 30 per- pilgrims with less money to spend. quented by Shiite pilgrims from around enue has dropped by 50 percent in the around 500,000, is filled with a wide vari- cent,” said Ahmed Al-Essawi, whose stall in Business leaders, shopkeepers and hotel the world, though the biggest chunk of past year, and he has warned that “the sit- ety of languages, reflecting the varying the Najaf souk sells the fine black fabric owners in Najaf, site of a shrine to a visitors come from Shiite-majority Iran. uation will not improve in the near future”. backgrounds of Shiites, who make up used to make the chador, the full-body revered figure in Shiite Islam and home to Those tourists typically travel in organised And, as a result of the declining value of around 15 percent of Muslims worldwide. robe worn by Iranian women. His prod- most of the sect’s top clerics, all report nine-day tours, during which they spend their currency, Iranians now have less pur- They are the majority population in Iraq, ucts are made in Iran, and his clients are declining trade as economic sanctions tar- three days in Najaf, which lies about 150 chasing power when travelling overseas. Iran and Bahrain and form significant exclusively Iranian, meaning Essawi has geting Iran’s controversial nuclear pro- km south of Baghdad. One Iranian pilgrim, who declined to give communities in Afghanistan, Lebanon, felt the decline more than most. gram have made it harder for visitors from The massive decline in Iranian pilgrims her name, admitted that while she had Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia, with trav- Elsewhere, adjacent to the market, Iraq’s eastern neighbour to make the trip. has badly hit the city, which is dependent long dreamt of visiting Najaf, the trip was ellers often coming to Iraq from as far as multiple hotels simply bear a “closed” sign, “Revenues for hotels which host Iranian on tourism-related revenues for 60 per- “very expensive”. the United States and Canada. with no explanation offered, though none pilgrims have plunged since the begin- cent of its income. The sharp drop is large- Hotel owners are also facing a crunch So to fill the shortfall caused by the is needed. Other hotels, still under con- ning of the year,” said Zuheir Sharba, chair- ly due to the plummeting value of the as deals with Iranian tour operators have decline in Iranian pilgrims, Iraq’s tourism struction, have been abandoned com- man of Najaf’s chamber of commerce. Iranian rial. In Dec 2010, $1 bought 11,500 gone sour. “We - hotel owners in Najaf - ministry now wants to focus on Shiites vis- pletely by contractors. “Some hotels were “They have fallen by half.” rials but today, it is equivalent to 36,000 wanted to raise the nightly rate per person iting from other countries housing major almost finished when their construction That marks a marked turnaround for a rials. Iran’s Economy Minister Shamseddin from $20 to $30 because of the rising cost Shiite communities. “It is necessary that was stopped,” said chamber of commerce city that had embarked on an ambitious Hosseini has blamed sanctions tied to of power generators, but the Iranian we diversify,” admitted Baha Al-Maya, an chairman Sharba. “Other establishments hotel-building program to accommodate Iran’s controversial nuclear program, embassy in Baghdad refused,” said Amir adviser to the minister. “This is a crucial wanted to begin renovations, but work greater numbers of pilgrims, with Sharba which Western powers and Israel believe is Al-Ameri, owner of the Rebal hotel. “And question, to overcome the fall in the num- has not even started because they have himself telling AFP in 2011 that “if there being used by the Islamic republic to also, Iranian tour operators have stopped ber of Iranian pilgrims.” But for a city heavi- no idea what the future holds.” —AFP Car bombs, shootings kill 32 people in Iraq Attacks bear hallmark of Al-Qaeda

BAGHDAD: A string of nearly a dozen apparently another police officer said. the scene of some of the deadliest unrest out- coordinated bombs and shootings in cities And in the town of Mahmoudiya, 30 km south side of the Baghdad area in recent weeks. across Iraq killed at least 32 and wounded of Baghdad, two civilians were killed and nine In the northern city of Tuz Khormato, a road- dozens yesterday, extending a wave of violence wounded when a car bomb went off in an open side bomb targeted a passing police patrol, that is raising fears of a return to widespread market. In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 160 km killing two policemen and wounding another, killing a decade after the US-led invasion. south of Baghdad, a blast struck a produce mar- another police officer said. The town is about 200 Violence has spiked sharply in Iraq in recent ket, killing eight and wounding 28. Afterwards, km north of Baghdad. Medical officials confirmed months, with the death toll rising to levels not watermelons, tomatoes and apples were scat- the casualty figures. Officials spoke on condition seen since 2008. Nearly 2,000 have been killed tered on the ground where a bulldozer was load- of anonymity as they weren’t allowed to release since the start of April. ing charred and twisted stalls and cars into a lorry. the information. This image released on Dec 25, 2012 shows one of the leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Most of the car bombs hit Shiite-majority And in Madain, a roadside bomb and then a The attacks came a day after the leader of Al- Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, in an undisclosed place. —AFP areas and were the cause of most of the casual- ties, killing 26. The blasts hit half a dozen cities and towns in the south and center of the coun- AQIM confirms death try. There was no claim of responsibility for any of the attacks, but they bore the hallmark of Al- Qaeda in Iraq, which uses car bombs, suicide of leader Abou Zeid bombers and coordinated attacks to target secu- rity forces, members of Iraq’s Shiite majority, and NOUAKCHOTT: Al-Qaeda’s north African severe, aloof character with an unflinch- others. branch confirmed that one of its top ing capacity for violence when required. The blasts began when a parked car bomb leaders, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, was Born in Debdeb in Algeria, close to the went off early morning in the industrial area of the city of Kut, killing three people and wound- killed in fighting in Mali, three months border with Libya, Abou Zeid was a ing 14 others. That was followed by another car after France announced his death, young activist in the FIS Islamist move- bomb in the nearby city of Aziziyah that targeted according to a statement published yes- ment that won the country’s first demo- a gathering of construction workers that killed terday. Algerian-born Abou Zeid, consid- cratic elections in 1991 but was denied two and wounded 12, according to police. In a ered one of the most radical leaders of power. He then disappeared under- teahouse hit by the blast, a blood-stained tribal Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), ground for most of the 1990s. He re- headdress and slippers were strewn on the floor, was killed “on the battlefield defending emerged spectacularly in 2003 as second along with overturned chair and couches. Kut is the ummah (the Muslim community) and in command of the GSPC group which located 160 km southeast of Baghdad. sharia law,” according to a statement car- kidnapped dozens of foreigners in south- “The cafe and the street outside is covered in ried by the private Mauritanian news ern Algeria, and that would later, along blood,” said Hisham Shadhan, whose father owns agency ANI. It gave no date for his death. with several other organisations, evolve the cafe badly hit in the Aziziyah attack. “The car Paris had announced in March that into AQIM. was parked just next to the cafe and when it Abou Zeid was killed in fighting with its Latterly, Abou Zeid - whose real name went off, it destroyed the front part of the cafe. forces after France led an offensive to was Mohamed Ghdir according to Many cars have caught fire, and it also caused rout Al-Qaeda linked Islamist groups Algerian court documents - was consid- huge damage to nearby shops.” The force of the from northern Mali. Both France and ered a deputy to AQIM’s “Saharan emir” blast overturned cars and left shrapnel strewn Chad, whose troops were also involved Yahia Djouadi and commanded a katiba, across the scene, but authorities quickly cleaned in the offensive, said the 46-year-old mili- or battalion, of fighters from Mauritania, up much of the visible damage, an AFP journalist BASRA: Iraqi security forces (background) inspect the site of a car bomb attack yes- tant was killed at the end of February. “It Algeria and Mali known as Tareq ibn said. terday. —AP is the first time that an AQIM statement Ziyad, named after an eighth-century In the oil-rich city of Basra by the Gulf coast in southern Iraq, a car bomb exploded in a busy car bomb exploded, killing three and wounding Qaeda’s Iraq arm, known as the Islamic State of has officially referred to the death of Muslim military commander. Mali downtown street, police said. As police and res- 14. Madain is about 20 km southeast of Iraq, defiantly rejected an order from the terror Abou Zeid,” said ANI director Mohamed descended into chaos in the wake of a cuers rushed to the scene of the initial blast, the Baghdad. Near Hillah, a car bomb exploded in a network’s central command to stop claiming Mahmoud Ould Abou Al-Maali, a special- March 2012 coup as Al-Qaeda-linked second car exploded. A total of six people were parking lot, killing one and wounding nine. control over the organization’s Syria affiliate, ist on the Islamist group. In March how- Islamist rebels capitalised on the power reported killed. Cleaners were seen brushing off Hillah is about 95 km south of Baghdad. A shoot- according to a message purportedly from him. ever, Algerian television said that Al- vacuum to seize a Texas-sized triangle of debris of the car bomb that damaged nearby ing happened near the restive northern city of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s comments reveal his Qaeda had named a replacement for desert territory in the north. France cars and shops. About an hour later, two parked Mosul. Police officials say gunmen attacked group’s determination to link its own fight Abou Zeid, Algerian national Djamel launched its offensive in its former colony car bombs ripped through two neighborhoods police guarding a remote stretch of an oil against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad Okacha. on Jan 11 to stop the Islamists from in the southern city of Nasiriyah, 320 km south- pipeline, killing four and wounding five. Mosul, with the cause of rebels trying to topple the Iran- Abou Zeid had a reputation as a advancing on the capital Bamako. —AFP east of Baghdad, killing one and wounding 17, some 360 km northwest of Baghdad, has been backed Syrian regime. —Agencies

PM due in Benghazi after bloody clashes BENGHAZI: Libya’s premier was due to meet local authorities in Benghazi yesterday, a government source said, as special forces units patrolled the city a day after clashes with gunmen killed six soldiers. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was due to travel to the eastern city with members of his government to discuss the security situation, the source said on condition of anonymity. An onlooker in Benghazi told AFP that “special forces soldiers have been deployed in the city and patrolled the streets, which are calm again”. Amid the trouble and its aftermath, Libya’s highest political authority, the General National Congress, postponed a vote to choose a replacement for its head, Mohamed Al-Megaryef. Megaryef resigned on May 28 after the GNC adopted a law banning officials who had served under ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi from gov- ernment jobs. Elsewhere in Libya, gunmen shot dead an appeal court judge in the eastern town of Derna on Sunday, official news agency LANA cited the head of the court, Abdelaziz Trabelsi, as saying. “Judge Mohammed Ibrahim Houidi, president of the criminal division, was killed yesterday morning as he left the appeals court building in Derna,” he said. Trabelsi added that the attackers had fled immediately after the shooting, quoting witnesses. Eastern Libya has been the scene of attacks targeting judges, soldiers and policemen who served under Kadhafi’s regime. A senior US official visiting Algeria yesterday said Washington was committed to supporting Libya in the transitional period after its revo- lution.”We must all support the Libyan government as they try to move forward to the destiny the Libyan people have asked for for themselves,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman told a news conference. She said she had talked to Algerian officials about how Algiers could improve the situation in neighbour- ing Libya. “Algeria is a leader in the region... and I think if we all work together we can help the Libyans succeed,” she said. Late on Saturday, Libya’s grand mufti Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ghariani called for residents of Benghazi to “stay calm” and unite during “this difficult phase that the country is passing through”. In a television appeal, Ghariani also urged the “General National Congress to open an investigation and put an end to this spiral of violence”. The head of the security forces’ joint operations room, General Mohammed Sherif, said that “special forces have identified the attackers... and some of them have been arrested,” without giving further details. Clashes between elite forces and gunmen killed six soldiers and wounded five in Benghazi on Saturday, the military said. Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising that ousted Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, has been increasingly rattled by attacks on security forces and Western interests, often blamed on Islamists. —AFP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 INTERNATIONAL US spy agency says fewer than 300 phone numbers closely scrutinized Paper claims email monitoring foiled NYC subway plot

WASHINGTON: The US government only system in 2009, but also to one of his co-conspir- tion spokesmen that NSA email and telephone searched for detailed information on calls involv- ators in the United States. The paper discusses data-collection programs contributed to the dis- ing fewer than 300 specific phone numbers an NSA program that collects “metadata” raw ruption of “dozens of potential terrorist plots among the millions of raw phone records col- information that does not identify individual here in the homeland and in more than 20 coun- lected by the National Security Agency in 2012, telephone subscribers - from major US phone tries around the world.” according to a government paper obtained by companies showing all calls made by those com- The paper says NSA collection of email and Reuters on Saturday. The unclassified paper was panies’ subscribers to phones within the United telephone data helped US authorities track circulated Saturday within the government by States and overseas. It also mentions another down Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan immigrant who US intelligence agencies and apparently is an NSA program, called Prism in leaked documents, in 2009 was arrested for plotting to bomb the attempt by spy agencies and the Obama admin- that collects from internet companies what the New York City subway system. Zazi pleaded istration to rebut accusations that it overreached paper says are emails of foreigners who might guilty to terrorism charges. NSA monitoring of in investigating potential militant plots. be of interest to counterterrorism or counter- the email of alleged Al-Qaeda operatives in The administration has said that even though proliferation investigators. Pakistan led them to an unnamed person in the the NSA, according to top-secret documents Millions of phone records were collected in United States who was making “efforts to pro- made public by former agency contractor 2012, but the paper says US authorities only cure explosive material,” according to the gov- Edward Snowden, collects massive amounts of looked in detail at the records linked to fewer ernment paper. The NSA gave its raw informa- VATICAN: Harley-Davidson riders parade in Via della Conciliazione leading to data on message traffic from both U.S. based than 300 phone numbers. A person familiar with tion to the FBI, which identified Zazi, who was telephone and internet companies, such data details of the program said the figure of fewer then living in Colorado. After tailing him to New St Peter’s Square during a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis, at the Vatican collection is legal, subject to tight controls and than 300 numbers applied to the entire mass of York, the FBI arrested him. By cross-checking yesterday. —AP does not intrude on the privacy of ordinary raw telephone “metadata” collected last year by Zazi’s phone number with its giant data base of Americans. the NSA from US carriers - not just to Verizon, raw phone traffic, the paper said more leads The paper circulated on Saturday said that which is the only telephone company identified were generated for the FBI. One of those leads Pope blesses hundreds data from the NSA phone and email collections in a document disclosed by Snowden as provid- took authorities to Adis Medunjanin, who was programs not only led US investigators to the ing such data to the NSA. convicted last year in the subway plot and sen- ringleader of a plot to attack New York’s subway The paper repeats assertions by administra- tenced to life in prison. —Reuters of Harley-Davidsons

VATICAN CITY: Biker culture came to the white classic Harleys for the Vatican police Vatican yesterday as Pope Francis blessed force to use. There was something a bit Arkansas Senator thousands of Harley-Davidsons and their incongruous about the Harley crowd - riders celebrating the manufacturer’s 110th known for their “Freedom” motto, outlaw Pryor hit from right, anniversary with a loud parade and plenty image and adventuresome spirit - taking of leather. Thundering Harley engines nearly part in a solemn papal Mass to commemo- left before 2014 drowned out the Latin recitation of the “Our rate a 1995 encyclical on the inviolability of LITTLE ROCK: The conservative Club for Growth tags Father” prayer that accompanied Francis as human life. Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor as President Barack Obama’s “clos- he greeted the crowd before Mass. Standing “Evangelium Vitae” is a roadmap of the est ally” in the state. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s gun- in his open-top jeep, Francis drove up the church’s teaching against abortion, control advocacy group says Pryor “let us down.” Pryor’s re-elec- main boulevard leading to St. Peter’s Square, euthanasia and murder. Harley’s advertising tion race is 17 months away, but the Democratic incumbent blessing the thousands of people in what for its 2013 bike collection reads “Live life on seen as perhaps the most vulnerable in 2014 is already taking was a giant Harley parking lot. your own terms. More than 30 ways to defy hits from the right and the left. That’s forced the second-term Once the service got under way, bikers the status quo.” The Vatican spokesman the senator to aggressively defend himself and step into re-election in their trademark leather Harley vests sat Rev. Federico Lombardi noted that there mode sooner than planned, even though he has no Republican in the square alongside nuns and tens of were probably quite a few Catholic riders in opponent. thousands of faithful Catholics taking part the crowd and that regardless, anyone is “My goal right now is to put the campaign off until the elec- in an unrelated, two-day pro-life rally. welcome to a papal Mass. “I know great tion year, 2014,” Pryor told reporters recently. “They keep drag- Francis addressed them both afterwards, people who have big bikes,” Lombardi ging me back into the politics, they keep running ads and try- giving a blessing to the “numerous partici- quipped. ing to keep it stirred it up here.” Republicans are trying to unseat pants” of the Harley gathering. Some esti- In his comments to the pro-life crowd, Pryor and three other Democratic incumbents who represent mates say a half-million Harley owners from Francis offered prayers “for every human life, states that Republican Mitt Romney won in last year’s presiden- around the world descended on Rome for especially the most fragile, defenseless and tial race: Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina the four-day anniversary of the American threatened.” But he stayed away from saying XALAPA: Morris sits on the lap of Diego Cruz, as Sergio Chamorro pets and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. manufacturer. The main events were anything more polarizing about abortion or contraception. He then spent a good half- Morris, at their home in Xalapa, Mexico. —AP Democrats need to defend 21 seats, including seven in Saturday’s parade past the Colosseum and largely rural states that Obama lost in 2012. Republicans need other historic landmarks and yesterday’s hour after the Mass caressing, kissing and to pick up six seats to regain Senate control. But the GOP is Vatican blessing. chatting with a few dozen sick or disabled Morris the cat runs for defending fewer incumbents and could benefit from history: Earlier in the week, Milwaukee, people in the square, including one on a The party controlling the White House usually loses seats dur- Wisconsin-based Harley gave Francis two motorcycle wearing Harley garb. —AP mayor of Mexican city ing the midterm election of a second-term president. Pryor, who began airing his first television ad last month, faces pres- MEXICO CITY: This mayoral hopeful in election give-away groceries. Authorities sure especially early in Arkansas. He’s trying to survive in a state Shock lingers after Nazi Mexico promises to eat, sleep most of the also seized $1.9 million in wads of cash where Republicans enjoyed widespread gains over the past day and donate his leftover litter to fill pot- found when police decided to search pas- two election cycles, fueled by Obama’s unpopularity. unit leader found in US holes. Morris, a black-and-white kitten with sengers of a private plane arriving from The GOP controls both chambers of the Legislature and all orange eyes, is running for mayor of Xalapa Veracruz to Toluca, the capital of the home four US House seats. In 2010, Democratic Sen Blanche Lincoln MINNEAPOLIS: The revelation that a former in eastern Mexico with the campaign slogan state of now-President Enrique Pena Nieto. lost her bid for a third term. Last year, Republicans swept all four commander of a Nazi SS-led military unit has “Tired of Voting for Rats? Vote for a Cat.” And Officials later said they had found no House seats and won control of the Legislature for the first time lived quietly in Minneapolis for the past six he is attracting tens of thousands of politi- wrongdoing and the money was returned. since Reconstruction. National and state Republicans are eager decades came as a shock to those who know 94- cian-weary, two-legged supporters on social Giovanna Mazzotti, a 48-year-old university to topple Pryor, whose father, David, was a senator and gover- year old Michael Karkoc. World War II survivors in media. “He sleeps almost all day and does professor from the city of bright colonial nor. It’s a turnaround from 2008, when Republicans were both the US and Europe harshly condemned the nothing, and that fits the profile of a politi- buildings and steep streets, said she sup- unable to find anyone to challenge Mark Pryor and he easily news and prosecutors in Poland have said they’ll cian,” said 35-year-old office worker Sergio ports Morris’ campaign and plans to go to a won a second term. investigate. An Associated Press investigation Chamorro, who adopted the 10-month-old party for him being held Friday. The candi- “When you hear Arkansas Democrats try to spin things for found that Karkoc served as a top commander in feline last year. Put forth as a candidate by date is not expected to attend. Mark Pryor, the only things they can point to is he’s raised a lot the Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion during World Chamorro and a group of friends after they “In this state there is no rule of law, there of money, he’s got a high name ID and the fact his father is pop- War II. The unit is accused of wartime atrocities, became disillusioned with the empty prom- is no respect for human rights, there are no ular,” David Ray, a spokesman for the state GOP. “That’s not a including the burning of villages filled with ises of politicians, Morris’ candidacy has res- institutions,” Mazzotti said. “It’s great that very strong place to start.” Among Republicans, US Reps. Tom women and children. onated across Mexico, where citizens frus- this campaign is showing the fiction in our Cotton and Steve Womack are widely viewed as potential chal- “I know him personally. We talk, laugh. He trated with human candidates are nominat- elections. Every three years politicians laugh lengers. So far, Pryor is taking heat from outside groups rather takes care of his yard and walks with his wife,” his ing their pets and farm animals to run in July at us, it’s good to laugh at them a bit, too.” than a challenger. The Senate Conservatives Fund, a political next-door neighbor, Gordon Gnasdoskey, said 7 elections being held in 14 states. Morris has a website, a Twitter account and action committee, has begun airing $320,000 worth of televi- Friday. “For me, this is a shock. To come to this Also running for mayor are “Chon the a Facebook page with more than 115,000 sion ads criticizing Pryor’s 2009 vote for the federal health care country and take advantage of its freedoms all of Donkey” in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, ‘likes,’ that makes him more popular in law and calling him too liberal. The conservative Club for these years, it blows my mind,” said Gnasdoskey, “Tina the Chicken” in Tepic, the capital of the social networks than the five human may- Growth, which backed Cotton last year, has aired ads linking the grandson of a Ukrainian immigrant himself. Pacific coast state of Nayarit, “Maya the Cat” oral contenders. Americo Zuniga, the candi- Pryor to Obama. At the same time, Pryor has absorbed criticism Karkoc told American authorities in 1949 that in the city of Puebla and “Tintan the Dog” in date for the ruling party who is leading in from the left after voting against expanded background checks he had performed no military service during Oaxaca City, though their campaigns are not election polls, had 33,000 Facebook ‘likes’ as for firearms purchases. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the World War II, concealing his work as an officer and as well organized as that of Morris. Politicians of Friday. His website has a collection of Bloomberg group, is airing television and radio ads criticizing founding member of the legion and later as an repeatedly rank at the bottom of polls about memes that picture Morris yawning while Pryor for the vote. The ad invokes the shooting death of Bill officer in the SS Galician Division, according to citizens’ trust in institutions. A survey last describing his “ample legislative experi- Gwatney, the state Democratic Party chairman who was killed records obtained by the AP through a Freedom of year by Mitofsky polling agency ranking ence,” an image that mirrors photographs of in his office in 2008. Bloomberg has also urged New York Information Act request. Mexicans’ trust in 15 institutions put politi- lawmakers sleeping during congressional donors to not contribute to Pryor or the other Democratic sen- Though records do not show that Karkoc had MINNESOTA: In this photo, Michael cians and government officials among the sessions. ators who voted against the background checks measure in a direct hand in war crimes, statements from men Karkoc, photographed in Lauderdale, bottom five. Universities and the Catholic Morris’ campaign managers are asking April. in his unit and other documentation confirm the Minn prior to a visit to Minnesota from “When my dear innocent friend was shot to death, I didn’t Church were the top two, respectively. supporters to write-in ‘Morris’ or draw a cat’s Ukrainian company he commanded massacred Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in Morris’ cuteness, the clever campaign face on the ballot to send a message to blame guns. I blamed a system that makes it so terribly easy for civilians, and suggest that Karkoc was at the early June of 1990. —AP and promises to donate money collected authorities, who are not taking the cat’s criminals or the dangerous mentally ill to buy guns,” Angela scene of these atrocities as the company leader. from the sales of campaign stickers and T- growing popularity lightly. Members of the Bradford-Barnes, who worked with Gwatney, says in the ad. Nazi SS files say he and his unit were also involved German army officer Josef Scheungraber - a lieu- shirts to an animal shelter has attracted cat Electoral Institute of Veracruz this week “That’s why I was so disappointed when Mark Pryor voted in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, in which the Nazis tenant like Karkoc - was convicted in Germany in lovers, but Chamorro said most of his sup- called on voters not to waste their vote on a against comprehensive background checks. On that vote, he let brutally suppressed a Polish rebellion against 2009 on charges of murder based on circumstan- porters are citizens tired of corrupt politi- cat. “We are asking for people to participate us down.” Robert McLarty, a Democratic consultant in Little German occupation. tial evidence that put him at the scene of a Nazi cians and fraudulent elections. “Morris has by voting for those citizens registered on Rock who’s not affiliated with Pryor’s campaign, said the sena- No one answered the door Friday morning at wartime massacre in Italy as the ranking officer. been a catalyst to show the discontent that the ballots,” electoral institute president tor’s biggest challenge right now is that he doesn’t have an Karkoc’s house on a residential street in northeast Members of Karkoc’s unit and other witnesses exists in our society,” Chamorro said. “Our Carolina Viveros told local media this week. announced opponent while he’s fending off attacks from both Minneapolis. Karkoc had earlier declined to com- have told stories of brutal attacks on civilians. One message from the beginning has been ‘if “Everything else is part of expressions hap- sides. “He’s not able to direct a compare and contrast style cam- ment on his wartime service when approached of Karkoc’s men, Vasyl Malazhenski, told Soviet none of the candidates represent you, vote pening in social media and I respect that, paign,” McLarty said. “He’s not able to take a candidate on the by the AP, and repeated efforts to arrange an investigators that in 1944 the unit was directed to for the cat’ and it seems people are respond- but you have to vote for the registered can- other side and say this is how we differ.” But McLarty and others interview through his son were unsuccessful. Late “liquidate all the residents” of the village of ing to that.” didates, please.” Morris also has internation- say Pryor is in a better position than Lincoln was in 2010. She Friday, Karkoc’s son, Andriy Karkos, read a state- Chlaniow in a reprisal attack for the killing of a Xalapa, a university city of 450,000 peo- al supporters. On Friday, the animal-welfare survived a bruising Democratic primary with the help of former ment accusing AP of defaming his father. Karkoc German SS officer, though he did not say who ple, is the capital of the Gulf coast state of group People for the Ethical Treatment of President Bill Clinton, who campaigned for her. But she lost became a naturalized US citizen in 1959. gave the order. “It was all like a trance: setting the Veracruz, where residents have in last two Animals wrote Morris congratulating him handily in the fall of 2010. Pryor has higher approval figures “My father was never a Nazi,” said Karkos, who fires, the shooting, the destroying,” Malazhenski years been beleaguered by drug violence, for his campaign. Stubbs, a cat that has than Lincoln did and appears unlikely at this point to draw a uses a different spelling for his last name. He also recalled, according to the 1967 statement found corruption scandals and the killings of at been the honorary mayor for more than 15 serious primary challenger next spring. Clinton headlined a said the family wouldn’t comment further until it by the AP in the archives of Warsaw’s state-run least nine reporters and photojournalists. years of the sleepy Alaska town of March fundraiser to kick off Pryor’s re-election bid, helping him has obtained its own documents and reviewed Institute of National Remembrance, which inves- During last year’s presidential election, a Talkeetna, has shown support for Morris by raise more than $1 million in a night. Pryor reported having witnesses and sources. Family attorney Philip tigates and prosecutes German and Soviet crimes video posted on social networks showed a posting his fellow feline candidate’s spot more than $3.4 million in the bank for the 2014 race. —AP Villaume said Saturday that the family may com- on Poles during and after World War II. massive warehouse in Veracruz stuffed with campaign on its Facebook page. —AP ment further within a few days. “Their intention is In a background check by US officials on April to investigate the matter and research it, and 14, 1949, Karkoc said he had never performed then they’ll make a further public statement,” he any military service, telling investigators that he said. “worked for father until 1944. Worked in labor Japan PM to tout nuclear Polish prosecutors announced Friday they will camp from 1944 until 1945.” However, in a investigate Karkoc and provide “every possible Ukrainian-language memoir published in 1995, assistance” to the US Department of Justice, Karkoc states that he helped found the Ukrainian exports at Europe summit which has used lies in immigration papers to Self Defense Legion in 1943 in collaboration with deport dozens of suspected Nazi war criminals. the Nazis’ feared SS intelligence agency, the SD, to WARSAW: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets abroad, it’s Japanese nuclear technology that he pro- bid to treble Japan’s infrastructure exports to 30 tril- The AP evidence of Karkoc’s wartime activities fight on the side of Germany - and served as a the leaders of four ex-communist European countries motes,” Mariusz Dabrowski, a Japan specialist at the lion yen ($300 billion, 225 billion euros) a year to has also prompted German authorities to express company commander in the unit, which received yesterday at a regional summit in Warsaw, where he is Poland-Asia Research Centre, told AFP. But nuclear boost the economy will almost certainly have to interest in exploring whether there is enough to orders directly from the SS, through the end of expected to promote the country’s nuclear technolo- power has become a sensitive issue in Japan after the include nuclear reactors. prosecute. In Germany, Nazis with “command the war. gies. On his first trip to Europe since taking over as Fukushima Daiichi plant went into meltdown in 2011. Yesterday, he is expected to sign a nuclear cooper- responsibility” can be charged with war crimes It was not clear why Karkoc felt safe publish- premier in December, Abe will attend the meeting of Reactors spewed radiation over a wide area, after a ation deal with the Czech Republic in which Prague even if their direct involvement in atrocities can- ing his memoir, which is available at the US the so-called Visegrad Group: the Czech Republic, 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a massive tsuna- will undertake to use Japanese nuclear technology. not be proven. Library of Congress and the British Library and Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Then he will head to mi. In the wake of the disaster, Japan turned off its 50 Ahead of yesterday’s meeting, Abe told Poland’s Efraim Zuroff, the lead Nazi hunter at the which the AP located online in an electronic Northern Ireland where the G8 summit begins today. reactors for safety checks but has restarted two of Rzeczpospolita daily that countries such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, said that Ukrainian library. Karkoc currently lives in a mod- Analysts say Abe will be trying to generate interest in them, saying it needs to head off possible summer- Visegrad four are attractive markets for Japan. He based on his decades of experience pursuing est house in an area of Minneapolis that has a sig- Japan’s nuclear technologies with a view to exporting time power shortages. Despite vocal public opposi- hoped to deepen cooperation in science and technol- Nazi war criminals, he expects that the evidence nificant Ukrainian population. He recently came them to Europe. tion, Abe has said he wants to restart other units ogy, particularly in the energy sector, he told the of Karkoc’s lies as well as the unit’s role in atroci- to the door without help of a cane or a walker. He “Now whenever Prime Minister Abe shows up when they are proven safe. Abe’s recently unveiled paper in an interview published Friday. —AFP ties is strong enough for deportation and war would not comment on his wartime service: “I crimes prosecution in Germany or Poland. Former don’t think I can explain,” he said. —AP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 INTERNATIONAL Colorado wildfire evacuees see total destruction

COLORADO SPRINGS: Residents returning mean, our hearts were breaking for our bomb went off in some of those areas, and to the neighborhoods they were driven neighbors,” Judy Roe said. Describing the you can’t even recognize whether it was a from just days ago by Colorado’s most scene, she said she saw charred piles of house or some other kind of structure,” destructive wildfire ever are seeing first- what remained of homes, with bricks the Maketa said. “That is the level of incinera- hand the path of destruction left behind only distinguishable feature. Bob and tion and destruction that took place in by the flames. Firefighters battling the fire Barbara Metzger lost their home, while some areas.” in a rural region northeast of Colorado nearby by their SUV, clotheslines and sur- The fire exploded last Tuesday amid Springs have made huge advances in rounding trees were spared. record-setting heat and tinder-dry condi- recent days, aided by unexpected rain “As long as the world around me looks tions. Two people have died, their bodies showers and calmer winds, and authorities the same, I’ll be fine,” Barbara Metzger said, found inside their garage Thursday. Their lifted most evacuation orders. Fire crews showing a photo of her burnt home with car doors were open as though they had expanded containment lines Saturday to surviving trees around. “We’ll rebuild.” been about to flee, authorities said. It’s 55 percent. Jack and Judy Roe thought Authorities have also gained a clearer pic- unknown what sparked the blaze, but their home was among the nearly 500 ture of a grim landscape in a burn area investigators believe it was human-caused. destroyed but found it standing amid oth- covering 25 square miles (65 square kilo- So far, it’s cost more than $3.5 millionto er scorched houses in their neighborhood. meters). fight. White House officials said Saturday “We’ve been on such an emotional El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said that President Barack Obama called Gov. COLORADO SPRINGS: Cheryl Carden, who lost her house in the Black Forest wildfire roller coaster over this thinking we had the fire’s destruction has made it difficult John Hickenlooper on Friday to get an hugs neighbor Rebecca Abernathy after Abernathy’s niece Saylor Brown, bottom lost everything and then to find out that for his deputies to assess damage. update on conditions and reinforce his right, gave her flowers during a press briefing Saturday, June 15, 2013, at the Pikes it’s still there. It was a big relief to us, but I Deputies have said “it looks like a nuclear commitment to help. — AP Peak Community College Rampart Range Campus in Colorado Springs, Colo. — AFP Obama to harness JFK Mother finds ‘stolen magic on Berlin visit baby’ 44 years later

Germany: Europe still matters to US MADRID: More than four decades after her newborn mothers and adopted. Sometimes, mothers were told BERLIN: Barack Obama will walk in John F. Kennedy’s foot- was snatched away, Marie-Jose E. has found her son the lie that their babies had died after birth. The guiding steps this week on his first visit to Berlin as US president, after DNA tests proved they are related, a rare happy principle was that the child would be better off raised but encounter a more powerful and sceptical Germany in ending in Spain’s “stolen babies” scandal dating back to by an affluent, conservative and devout Roman Catholic talks on trade and secret surveillance practices. Observers the Franco era. “I am living a fairy tale,” said Marie-Jose, family. The system outlived Franco’s death in 1975 and say Obama has cultivated an effective if “workmanlike” rela- her voice trembling with emotion in a telephone inter- carried on at least into the 1980s as an illegal baby traf- tionship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe’s view with AFP from the central French city of Tours ficking network. But two years ago campaigners began most influential leader, mirroring a sobering of transat- where she now works as a teacher. “It is incredible. I feel to gather the stories of those who were convinced their lantic ties since the fall of the Berlin Wall. euphoric. I have had terrible highs and lows. When I babies were stolen. As news of the campaign spread, wake up in the morning, I tell myself that he is there, hundreds of adoptive children and mothers who sus- Obama, who dazzled a crowd of 200,000 people with an that he exists and then I am afraid of losing him.” pected they had been fooled by doctors and nuns open-air speech in 2008 in the centre of the capital while Her son, who turns 44 next month, lives in Valencia, joined in. More than 2,000 cases have been registered still a candidate, will face more modest expectations this the Mediterranean port city in eastern Spain where he in Spanish courts, though many have run into bureau- time round on his arrival late tomorrow for a 24-hour stay. was born and then adopted. Marie-Jose, who had a cratic barriers, with hospitals saying they no longer hold But he appears ready to try to harness some of the Spanish father and a French mother, was 22 when she the relevant records. alliance’s bygone sparkle by timing his visit one week became pregnant out of wedlock. Her father, who she Marie-Jose, who is married and has another son now ahead of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein described as “very, very strict”, took her to the “Santo aged 30, never gave up the search for her first born. Her Berliner” speech. Celo”, or “Holy Zeal”, convent to give birth on July 12, son discovered he was adopted at the age of 14. “But That pledge of solidarity with the embattled Cold War 1969, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity to they told him his biological parents had died in a car city is still a reverential moment in the German national protect her personal life. Despite her father’s repeated accident,” Marie-Jose said. After the death of his adop- consciousness, and a touchstone on the country’s path promises that she would be able to keep her baby, he tive mother in 2011, at the height of the stolen babies back to the community of nations after the Nazi horrors. gave the newborn to the nuns at the convent without scandal in Spain, Marie-Jose’s lost son noticed that his Accompanied by his wife Michelle, Obama will hold anoth- Marie-Jose’s consent. birth certificate listed his adoptive parents as being his er public address about the countries’ “enduring bonds” “It was a nightmare,” she said, still recalling the “nasti- biological mother and father. Wednesday, this time at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol ness” of the Mother Superior. “I never spoke to my father He decided to seek the truth. “Finally, an older first of German unity. again,” Marie-Jose said. Her mother died of cancer three cousin told him everything three weeks ago,” Marie- But the agenda for the talks, on the heels of a G8 sum- years after her son was taken, and her father died two Jose said. “He had been sold by the nuns, which hap- mit in Northern Ireland, looks less than visionary, with slow years later of the same disease. Marie-Jose and her son pened a lot at the time,” she said. Her son contacted progress on a EU-US trade pact to figure prominently. are among thousands of families said to have fallen vic- associations that help reunite such families in Valencia, Germany, however, is longing for reassurance that Europe tim to the stolen babies scandal in Spain. which quickly matched him up with Marie-Jose, who BELFAST: Oxfam charity volunteers wear masks depict- still matters to the US since Obama’s much-heralded pivot Under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, they knew well. DNA tests proved the mother-son link. ing the G8 leaders, US President Obama (left) and to Asia. the newborns of some left-wing opponents of the “Since then, we call each other every day,” Marie-Jose German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) around a large Leading news magazine Der Spiegel last week featured regime or unmarried couples were removed from their said. Few families have been so lucky in Spain. — AFP a cover picture of Obama in Kennedy’s shadow, the tagline cauldron during a photo call to draw attention to the “The Lost Friend”, and an angst-ridden report about fraying issue of world hunger outside City Hall yesterday. — AFP ties. “Kennedy’s visit to Berlin was an almost ecstatic cele- must address German concerns about US genetically mod- bration of a protective alliance,” it wrote. But it said nearly ified crops. 70 years after World War II and two decades after the end The slaughter in Syria and the troop drawdown in of European communism, “the trip of (JFK’s) no-less-charis- Afghanistan will also dominate discussions. However matic successor will likely be a prosaic family gathering.” transatlantic tensions over US calls for Germany to boost The US has slashed troop levels in Germany to 73,000 stimulus spending have eased as the eurozone debt tur- from nearly 200,000 in the early 1990s and China has moil has calmed. As for Merkel and Obama’s personal rela- surged past Europe’s top economy as a market for US tionship, they appear to have come to respect and trust goods. Commentators note that Germans, like other ardent each other more over time with the chancellor receiving Obama supporters, are frustrated by impasses on slowing the rare honour of a White House state dinner in 2011 and climate change and closing the Guantanamo Bay lockup. the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama nevertheless enjoys a level of support here that “(In 2008), Obama exhibited a fluency that bordered on even Merkel, Germany’s most popular post-war leader, the glib which has never been the chancellor’s thing. She’s could envy as she seeks a third term in September elec- not fluent and certainly never glib,” Constanze tions-nearly 90 percent hoped he would be returned to Stelzenmueller of the German Marshall Fund of the United office last November. But now revelations of a global States told AFP. She said Obama, who has underlined his Internet snooping operation run by the National Security Agency have shocked a country where memories of sys- and Merkel’s role as trailblazers because neither “looks tematic spying on citizens by communist East Germany’s exactly like the leaders who preceded us”, had become despised Stasi are still raw. more pragmatic as he faced hurdles while implementing Merkel’s spokesman said today the issue was sure to policy. “Meanwhile the chancellor has had to learn that arise and Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser- some serious issues of public interest such as how to man- Schnarrenberger demanded a full explanation. “All facts age the euro crisis need to be communicated better... so must be put on the table,” she said in an online editorial. there’s been some convergence.” As part of his first German They will also hash out sticking points on the stalled trade state visit, albeit his third trip to the country, he will also deal between the US and the EU, the world’s largest eco- meet President Joachim Gauck, a former East German dissi- nomic relationship. Merkel backs the accord but says it dent, before returning to Washington. — AFP

PIEDRAS NEGRAS: Rescue workers take people away from flooded areas in the Piedras Negras,Mexico, Saturday, June 15, 2013. — AP 5.8-magnitude quake strikes central Mexico

MEXICO CITY: A 5.8-magnitude earth- report, Mexico City was not damaged,” earthquake security protocols.” In the quake shook central Mexico early yester- Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera wrote on coastal resort city of Acapulco, an AFP day, sparking panic in the capital and his Twitter feed. Civil Protection chief reporter saw some tourists leave their some power cuts but no major damage Fausto Lugo told reporters: “We have no hotels but said there were no reports of or casualties were reported. The quake reports of major incidents. We reviewed damage. In the southern state of Oaxaca, struck just after midnight (0519 GMT), the city and have no incidents.” there were also no injuries or damage, east of the city of Huitzuco in Guerrero But power was out in some areas of except “some people with panic attacks, state, at a depth of about 30 miles (50 Mexico City, a local radio station report- who did not need to be hospitalized,” the kilometers), according to Mexico’s ed, and the strong tremors sparked panic local Red Cross said. National Seismological Service and the in some restaurants and bars, as cus- An 8.1-magnitude earthquake in US Geological Survey. tomers hastily evacuated. The interna- September 1985 destroyed part of The officials downgraded the magni- tional airport said on its social network Mexico City and killed 3,700 people, tude of the quake from 6.0 reported ini- account that there was “no damage to according to official figures. Civil groups tially. Although the quake was felt our airport infrastructure after complet- put the death toll from the quake at strongly in the capital, “in the preliminary ing the review that we make as part of around 20,000 people. — AFP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 INTERNATIONAL N Korea proposes high level dialogue with US De-nuclearisation a prerequisite for talks: US PYONGYANG: North Korea’s top governing body Meanwhile, a recent proposal from nuclear weapons, a spokesman from the yesterday proposed high-level nuclear and secu- Pyongyang for Cabinet-level talks with South National Defense Commission said in a state- rity talks with the United States in an appeal sent Korea - the first in six years - led to plans for two ment carried by the Korean Central News just days after calling off talks with rival South days of meetings in Seoul earlier this week. The Agency. “The denuclearization of the Korean Korea. The powerful National Defense talks dramatically fell apart even before they Peninsula does not only mean ‘dismantling the Commission headed by North Korean leader Kim began amid bickering over who would lead the nuclear weapons of the North’” but also should Jong Un issued a statement through state media two delegations. North Korea fought against US- involve “denuclearizing the whole peninsula, proposing “senior-level” talks to ease tensions led United Nations and South Korean troops dur- including South Korea, and aims at totally end- and discuss a peace treaty formally ending the ing the three-year Korean War in the early 1950s, ing the US nuclear threats” to North Korea, the Korean War. and Pyongyang does not have diplomatic rela- spokesman said. There was no immediate response from tions with either government. The Korean The US denies having nuclear bombs in Washington, but President Barack Obama’s envoy Peninsula remains divided by a heavily fortified South Korea, saying they were removed in 1991. on North Korea said Friday that while the US is border. However, the US military keeps nuclear sub- not averse to talking with Pyongyang, the bar for Reunifying the peninsula was a major goal of marines in the region and has deployed them for HYDERABAD: In this photograph, India’s Gujarat state Chief Minister resuming engagement is higher in the wake of North Korea’s two late leaders, Kim Il Sung and military exercises with South Korea. After blam- Narendra Modi (left) talks with Bihar state Chief Minister and senior Janata repeated nuclear threats and provocations. Kim Jong Il, and is a legacy inherited by current ing Washington for raising tensions by imposing Dal United (JDU) leader, Nitish Kumar, during a conference. —AFP “gangster-like sanctions” on North Korea, the unnamed NDC spokesman called on the US to propose a venue and date for talks but warned India’s main oppn alliance against setting preconditions. US envoy Glyn Davies said Friday in splits ahead of election Washington that the US isn’t opposed to engage- ment but would not accept North Korea as a NEW DELHI: A powerful Indian regional Kumar said. The BJP chose Modi to lead its nuclear state nor reward it for “absence of bad party pulled out of the main opposition election campaign yesterday last week, a behavior.” The key to a diplomatic solution, he alliance yesterday, a split that could hobble position that would in all likelihood make said, is for the US and North Korea’s four neigh- the rise of a controversial Hindu nationalist him the party’s candidate for prime minis- bors involved in long-stalled nuclear negotia- leader who hopes to oust the ruling ter. But his selection has exposed rifts with- tions with Pyongyang to send a unified message: Congress party in elections due by May in the BJP and the broad opposition that it must live up to previous commitments to 2014. The Janata Dal (United) party, based alliance. denuclearize. Davies, who is to meet with his in the eastern state of Bihar, announced it Modi is one of India’s most popular lead- Japanese and South Korean counterparts next would end a 17-year-old alliance with the ers, who has won praise from voters and week to discuss North Korea, said there is a grow- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the BJP business leaders for economic growth in ing international consensus against the North’s promoted firebrand leader Narendra Modi the state of Gujarat under his stewardship nuclear ambitions. to lead its election campaign. as chief minister. But many people see him “We have every expectation that Beijing will The exit could hamper the chances of as too divisive to lead the country. Critics use its special relationship with (North Korea) to the Hindu nationalist BJP finding enough say he did too little to stop, or even quietly encourage Pyongyang to choose a different allies to mount a convincing challenge to encouraged, religious riots in his state in path,” he said in a comments made at the Wilson Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s adminis- 2002 that killed at least 1,000 people, most Center think tank. Washington has been burned tration, whose second term has been of them Muslims - an accusation he denies. in the past by efforts to reach out to Pyongyang. plagued by scandals and a worsening Kumar’s vote base includes a significant Months of behind-the-scenes negotiations yield- economy. number of Muslims, which could have made ed a significant food-for-disarmament deal in It could also encourage a rag-tag of it difficult for him to throw his full support PYONGYANG: People walk past a roadside propaganda billboard promoting the “mil- February 2012, but that was scuttled by a failed regional parties - with fickle leaders and behind an alliance headed by Modi. A BJP North Korean long-range rocket launch just itary first” policy and a boost to build the country’s economy yesterday. —AP diverse local agendas - to form their own spokesman and other critics said Kumar’s weeks later. so-called third front coalition, which, if they decision to leave the opposition was oppor- Foreign analysts expressed skepticism, saying leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea is expected to Pyongyang’s bid to reach out to the US comes were successful, could present a risk for tunistic. Kumar did not announce any politi- impoverished North Korea often calls for talks draw attention to Korea’s division in the weeks as South Korea’s new president, Park Geun hye, is Asia’s third-largest economy. Nitish Kumar, cal plans but there has been speculation he after raising tensions with provocative behavior leading up to the 60th anniversary in July mark- to sit down for talks with China’s new leader, Xi the chief minister of Bihar state and a sen- could join an alliance led by the prime min- in order to win outside concessions. ing the close of the Korean conflict, which ended Jinping, in Beijing later this month. Park, whose ior JD(U) party leader, announced the break ister’s ruling Congress party. The general The rare proposal for talks between the in an armistice. A peace treaty has never been North Korea policy calls for building trust while with the BJP at a news conference. election could pit Modi against Rahul Korean War foes follows months of acrimony over signed formally ending the war. remaining firm on provocations, has been active “BJP is going through a new phase. We Gandhi, son of Congress party chief Sonia North Korea’s defiant launch of a long-range As Pyongyang continues to shun disarma- in reaching out to Beijing. Xi, meanwhile, met are not in agreement with that. We cannot Gandhi and the scion of India’s most power- rocket in December and a nuclear test in ment and shut out nuclear inspectors, recently with Obama in California. China crucially compromise with our basic principles,” ful political dynasty. —Reuters February, provocative acts that drew tightened Washington’s top worry is North Korea’s nuclear supplied North Korea with troops during the UN and US sanctions. The US and South Korea weapons program. Pyongyang is estimated to Korean War, and has remained a key ally and countered the moves by stepping up annual have a handful of crude nuclear devices and has benefactor since then, but has pushed springtime military exercises that prompted been working toward building a bomb it can Pyongyang to return to disarmament talks. China army newspaper hits North Korea to warn of a “nuclear war” on the mount on a missile capable of striking the United “The fact that North Korea proposed talks Korean Peninsula. States. (with the US) ahead of the South Korea-China out at US’s PRISM program However, as tensions subsided in May and Earlier this year, Kim Jong Un enshrined the summit signifies its intent to keep China in June, Pyongyang has made tentative overtures drive to build a nuclear arsenal, as well as build- check,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North BEIJING: China’s official army newspaper by foreign users. to re-establish dialogue with South Korea and ing the economy, as national goals. North Korea Korean studies of Dongguk University in Seoul, yesterday branded the United States “US President Obama has said that Washington. In a notable shift in propaganda in claims the need to build atomic weapons to South Korea. Pyongyang also is sending a mes- Internet surveillance program exposed by PRISM is not directed at US citizens,” the Pyongyang, posters and billboards calling on defend the country against what it sees as a US sage to South Korea warning that if Seoul does former spy Edward Snowden as “frighten- article said. “The implication is that for the North Koreans to “wipe away the American impe- nuclear threat in Korea and the region. not actively try to improve relations with North ing”, and accused the US of being a “habit- purposes of US security, monitoring citi- rialist aggressors” have been taken down in North Korea will not give up its nuclear ambi- Korea, the regime will go directly to Washington, ual offender” when it comes to network zens of other countries is not a problem. recent weeks. tions until the entire Korean Peninsula is free of sidelining Seoul, he said. —AP monitoring. The People’s Liberation Army This simple, overbearing logic is the fright- (PLA) Daily hit out at the US for implying ening aspect of the PRISM program. “The that spying on citizens from other coun- US government says that PRISM is con- tries was justified, and said that the PRISM cerned with anti-terrorism, and does not Weeping families identify Pakistan victims monitoring program had probably been involve any other matters. But anyone used to collect large amounts of data with intelligence expertise can tell this is QUETTA: Weeping relatives gath- of the Bolan Medical Complex in a information about their loved ones. begged the gunmen to spare them. unrelated to anti-terrorism operations. admitting ones guilt by protesting inno- ered yesterday to identify the standoff that lasted several hours Mohammad Hamza, 19, said that The gunmen told them to keep qui- The remarks about the program are cence.” charred remains of loved ones killed and ended when security forces on Saturday he had been given the et and said they were only killing among the most scathing to appear in The PLA Foreign Languages institute is in a double attack in Pakistan’s trou- stormed the building, freeing 35 body of his student sister, only to be security forces.” LeJ spokesman China’s state-run press following Beijing’s China’s top military language training bled southwest claimed by a hostages. told a mistake had been made. “I Abubakar Siddiq called newspaper refusal to make an official comment. “US facility, and is thought to be a key train- banned Sunni militant group. At Authorities shut down the hospi- came here after someone had given offices in Quetta late Saturday to intelligence agencies are ‘habitual offend- ing-ground for Chinese intelligence offi- least 25 people were killed on tal yesterday, moving patients to us the information that we had tak- claim the killings, saying the attacks ers’ with regards to network monitoring cers. The article also accused the US of Saturday when militants blew up a another facility, as investigators en the wrong body and my sister’s were retaliation for a raid by securi- and espionage,” the article, attributed to spying on its own citizens, saying that it bus carrying female students in combed the grisly aftermath of the body was still here at hospital, but it ty forces. the PLA’s Foreign Languages Institute, had “clearly... not been established” that Quetta, capital of restive violence. “All patients were shifted is not true,” Hamza told AFP. It At least three militants and two said. US intelligence agencies had only used Baluchistan province, and then from here overnight. Inside I have appeared the body he was given on women were killed during a securi- “There is reason to believe US intelli- the program to monitor foreign nationals. stormed a hospital where survivors seen blood and small pieces of Saturday was indeed his sister. ty operation at a house in the gence agencies, while collecting anti-ter- China has stayed tight lipped following had been taken for treatment. The human flesh,” a security official at Mohammad Yasir, deputy regis- Kharotabad neighbourhood of rorism information online have also ‘inci- the revelations from the former US gov- extremist sectarian outfit Lashkar-e- the locked gates told AFP. trar of Sardar Bahadur Khan Quetta. Officials said they belonged dentally’ collected a lot of information in ernment subcontractor, which included Jhangvi (LeJ), responsible for a The intensity of the blast and Women’s University, said DNA test- to Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan, with other fields.” Under the so-called PRISM claims of US hacking directed at China string of outrages against Pakistan’s subsequent fire reduced the stu- ing may be needed to identify whom LeJ has links. The attacks programme, the US National Security and which came amid tensions between Shiite Muslim minority, said it was dent bus to a blackened skeleton, many body parts. A witness caught came hours after a national monu- Agency can issue directives to Internet Washington and Beijing about online behind both attacks. and outside the mortuary of the in the hospital during the shootout ment linked to Pakistan’s founding firms like Google or Facebook to gain espionage. On Thursday China’s foreign An LeJ spokesman said a female Provincial Sandeman Hospital yes- described hiding during the terrify- father Muhammad Ali Jinnah was access to emails, online chats, pictures, ministry gave little insight into Beijing’s suicide bomber struck the bus-a terday, weeping relatives gathered ing ordeal. “The firing was so destroyed by separatist militants in files and videos that have been uploaded thinking. —AFP rare tactic in Pakistan-before gun- to identify bodies amid a strong intense that I thought that my time Ziarat town, 80 kilometres (50 miles) men attacked the hospital, claiming stench of burnt human flesh. The (to die) has come and I started recit- southeast of Quetta. the strikes were revenge for an state of the bodies added confusion ing verses from the Holy Quran,” Ali Quetta is a flashpoint for sectari- operation by security forces earlier to the relatives’ burden of grief as Gul, 35, said. an violence between majority Sunni Sunni militants claim this month. Militants occupied parts some were given contradictory “Some patients cried and Muslims and minority Shiites, who account for 20 percent of Pakistan’s 180 million population, and the city twin Pakistan attacks saw the country’s two bloodiest attacks so far this year. QUETTA: A Pakistani militant group behind a father Muhammad Ali Jinnah was destroyed by A giant bomb planted in a water series of bloody assaults on minority Shiite separatist militants in Ziarat town, 80 kilome- tanker being towed by a tractor Muslims has said it carried out attacks on a bus tres (50 miles) southeast of Quetta. Quetta is a killed 90 Shiite Hazaras in February, carrying women students and a hospital that flashpoint for sectarian violence between while another suicide bombing at a killed at least 25. The extremist Sunni outfit majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites, snooker club in January killed 92 Lashkar-e-Jhangvi said a female suicide bomber who account for 20 percent of Pakistan’s 180 others. Both were claimed by LeJ. struck the bus in Quetta, capital of the restive million population, and the city saw the coun- There was fury in the Pakistani press Baluchistan province on Saturday, killing 14 try’s two bloodiest attacks so far this year. yesterday, both at the perpetrators women students. A follow up attack around 90 A giant bomb planted in a water tanker and the security forces for failing to minutes later on a hospital treating survivors being towed by a tractor killed 90 Shiite prevent the third major atrocity in left at least 11 dead and led to a prolonged gun Hazaras in February, while another suicide Quetta in six months. Dawn, the battle between security forces and militants bombing at a snooker club in January killed 92 country’s leading English-language occupying part of the building. others. Both were claimed by LeJ. There was newspaper, said the state’s short- The standoff lasted for several hours and fury in the Pakistani press yesterday, both at the comings had been shown once ended when security forces stormed the build- perpetrators and the security forces for failing again. ing, freeing 35 people who had been taken to prevent the third major atrocity in Quetta in “That the state has again failed hostage, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told six months. Dawn, the country’s leading both at the level of intelligence-gath- reporters on Saturday. Abubakar Siddiq, a English-language newspaper, said the state’s ering and preventing a terrorist spokesman for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), called shortcomings had been shown once again. attack from succeeding is also obvi- newspaper offices in Quetta late Saturday to “That the state has again failed both at the level ous,” it said in an editorial. “Unhappily, claim the killings. of intelligence-gathering and preventing a ter- the more obvious these truths, the “The suicide attack on the bus was carried rorist attack from succeeding is also obvious,” it less likely it seems that anything will out by one of our sisters. She boarded the stu- said in an editorial. be done to address them.” Sardar dent bus and blew herself up,” Siddiq said. “Unhappily, the more obvious these truths, Bahadur Khan Women’s University is “Then we carried out a second suicide attack at the less likely it seems that anything will be located close to a Shiite Hazara the hospital and our fighters killed several peo- done to address them.” The bus targeted in neighbourhood in Quetta, and many ple. We did this because security forces killed Saturday’s attack was from Sardar Bahadur Hazaras are students. our fighters and their wives in Kharotabad.” Khan Women’s University, which is located close Baluchistan, which borders Iran Pakistani security forces on June 6 killed at least to a Shiite Hazara neighbourhood in Quetta, and Afghanistan, is rife with Islamist three militants and two women during a raid at and many Hazaras are students. Baluchistan, militancy and a regional insurgency a house in the Kharotabad neighbourhood of which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is rife with waged by separatists demanding Quetta. Officials said they belonged to Islamist militancy and a regional insurgency political autonomy and a greater Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan, with whom LeJ waged by separatists demanding political share of profits from the region’s nat- has links. The attacks came hours after a nation- autonomy and a greater share of profits from KARACHI: A Pakistani woman cries for an injured relative at a hospital. —AFP ural resources. —AFP al monument linked to Pakistan’s founding the region’s natural resources. —AFP

MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 ANALYSIS14

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Issues Morsi cuts Syria ties to woo West, boost his image

By Haitham Eltabei

gypt’s President Mohamed Morsi, in severing ties with Damascus, aims to show solidarity with EWestern and fellow Arab states opposed to Syria’s regime and also boost his under-fire image at home, analysts said. Morsi, an Islamist from the Muslim Brotherhood, told supporters in a Cairo stadium for a “Support for Syria” rally on Saturday that he was going to “definitively” cut diplomatic relations with Syria. The Syrian government yesterday slammed the decision. Rowhani ‘tone’ may reopen doors for Iran Morsi had joined the “conspiracy and incitement led by the United States and Israel against Syria by announc- By Farhad Pouladi tre, also believes that Rowhani’s success speeches, Mr Rowhani said that since the Friday’s presidential election were both ing the cutting of ties,” an unnamed official told Syria’s would depend on Khamenei. “Above all, majority in the 5+1 are under pressure decorated top commanders of the Guards. state news agency SANA. He accused Morsi of ew President Hassan Rowhani’s what Rowhani is able to accomplish will from the US, Iran should negotiate with Domestically, Rowhani, who was boost- announcing the cut in ties to deflect attention from experience as Iran’s nuclear negotia- depend on how much support he receives the side that exerts it, Washington,” he ed by the backing of Khatami and former domestic crises. Ntor will go a long way toward chang- from Khamenei,” he said. Rowhani is a rep- pointed out. “So he will talk directly to the pragmatic president Akbar Hashemi On Saturday, Morsi said Egypt will recall its charge ing the “tone” of talks with major powers resentative of Khamenei on the Supreme US to solve the issue” Sedghian told AFP. Rafsanjani and was able to fend off hard- d’affaires from Damascus and shut the Syrian embassy and could lead to an easing of sanctions, National Security Council, Iran’s top securi- Following Rowhani’s victory, the United line conservatives, does not fear the wrath in Cairo. Calling on the international community to analysts say. His negotiating skills won him ty body, and was its secretary for 16 years States itself said it was prepared to engage of the conservative camp, Sedghian said. impose a “no-fly zone” over Syria, Morsi also said he had the respect of his European interlocutors until 2005, and has played up his ties with Iran directly over its nuclear program, “Since these names in the conservative made “contact with Arab and Muslim states to organise and the monicker “diplomat sheikh”. But Khamenei. which the West suspects is aimed at build- camp lost to Rowhani, they are not going an emergency support meeting” for the Syrian people. his policies under reformist president Tehran has been engaged since 2006 ing a bomb, despite Tehran’s constant to make problems on his path to setting He condemned the intervention in the conflict of Mohammad Khatami were abandoned in with the P5+1 over its controversial denials. Such engagement would be up a cabinet,” he said. Ostovar said the del- Lebanon’s powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, which 2005 when President Mahmoud nuclear work, but with no breakthrough. It aimed at reaching a “diplomatic solution icate balancing act between domestic helped government troops to victory over rebels in the Ahmadinejad was elected and Rowhani has as a result come under mounting inter- that will fully address the international forces would pose a challenge for Rowhani Syrian town of Qusair. quit his post over differences. national sanctions and isolation. In his first community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear but that the new man in Iran’s highest Cairo already scaled back its diplomatic representa- “Rowhani cannot change the core of statement after his win was confirmed, the programme,” said the White House. elected office should be given time. “I tion to Syria in Feb 2012, when it recalled its ambassa- Iran’s nuclear strategy, which is deter- moderate conservative cleric urged world However, “Rowhani is the ultimate regime would not expect him to put forward any dor before Morsi came to power. After he won a presi- mined by the supreme leader,” Ayatollah powers to treat Iran with respect and insider, who knows how to build bridges. I bold initiatives that could face resistance dential election in June of last year, Morsi took a hard Ali Khamenei, Ali Vaez, the Brussels-based recognise its rights, an apparent allusion to think it would be unlikely and unwise for from his opponents, at least not in the line with the Syrian regime, notably during a confer- International Crisis Group’s senior analyst its nuclear policy. “A new opportunity has him to alienate powerful stakeholders short term,” he said. ence in Tehran, the main ally of Damascus in the region. on Iran, told AFP. “But what he can alter is been created by this great epic, and the such as the IRGC (Islamic Revolution And whereas Ahmadinejad stirred inter- The move won him favour from Western countries, par- the tone and the team,” while easing nations who tout democracy and open Guards Corps) or the conservatives,” said national outrage with his outspoken anti- ticularly the United States, and Arab countries hostile Tehran’s isolation, he said. “Adopting a dialogue should speak to the Iranian peo- Vaez. Israeli rhetoric and doubts over the to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. more conciliatory rhetoric and engaging ple with respect and recognise the rights The elite force has been a major stake- Holocaust, Iran’s image around the world By definitively cutting relations, Morsi is seeking to more experienced negotiators could have of the Islamic republic,” he said. holder in many of the country’s macro under Rowhani will change, said an Iranian make a new gesture to countries which oppose the a positive impact on nuclear negotiations Mohammad Saleh Sedghian, head of projects, especially transportation, con- analyst. His predecessor was “the face of Assad regime, according to analysts. “Morsi’s govern- with the P5+1,” UN Security Council per- the Tehran-based Arabic Centre for Iranian struction and the import-export business, Iran in the world. ment has adopted the American position on the Syrian manent members, Britain, China, France, Studies, believes the seasoned diplomat is according to government data. Many of its This image will now change. From now conflict and is trying to please Washington by assisting Russia, the US, plus Germany. the man to engage in talks with Iran’s arch- members have stepped out of uniform and on, it be that of a level-headed, calm ... it” in the region, said Iman Rageb of Al-Ahram Centre Afshon Ostovar, a Middle East and Iran foe, Washington, to find a solution to the launched political careers. Mohammad man with a moderate tone,” he told AFP, nuclear issue. “In one of his campaign Baqer Qalibaf and Mohsen Rezai who lost asking not to be named. — AFP for Strategic and Political Studies. “He is hoping the analyst in the US-based CNA research cen- Americans will close their eyes to the way the govern- ment could react” to opposition protests called for June Moderate’s triumph is mandate for change 30 on the first anniversary of his election, she said. Morsi’s decision has brought Egypt closer into the By Marcus George cooperate with him,” said conservative member of parliament gerial skills - took more than two thirds of votes cast. camp of countries opposed to Assad, notably energy- Ahmad Tavakoli, the ISNA news agency reported. Equally Even many conservatives had called time on Iran’s overtly rich Qatar which has given Cairo crucial financial sup- ranian voters weary of years of economic isolation and intractable will be the issue of two reformist leaders who have ideological stance for not providing for the Iranian public. port to help it weather a severe economic crisis. But in tightening political restrictions threw down a blunt been under house arrest for more than two years over what “The defeat of the Principlists was necessary,” read an editorial cutting ties with Damascus, analysts said Morsi also Idemand for change on Saturday by handing a moderate critics have decried as their seditious role in the post-election on the Tabnak news website affiliated to Mohsen Rezaie, a intended to boost his hand at home, where he is facing cleric a landslide victory in a presidential election. Having protests in 2009. conservative election candidate and former head of the growing opposition. A petition launched several weeks waited throughout Friday night and most of Saturday, millions Throughout the campaign Rowhani supporters have Revolutionary Guards who came fourth in the election. “The ago calling for his resignation has already collected 15 of Iranians at home and abroad greeted Hassan Rowhani’s vic- stirred the memories of 2009, chanting the names of the two Principlist current must understand that one cannot be ineffi- million signatures, according to local media. “Morsi’s tory with a mix of euphoria and relief that eight years under imprisoned leaders, Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, cient and expect the people to still support them in throngs.” decisions are linked to the domestic situation, in order hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were finally over. at campaign events and intensifying calls for their release. But Despite widespread calls from conservative activists to get to turn attention away” from the economic crisis and That Rowhani, a former nuclear negotiator, trounced hardline that means confronting powerful elements of the conserva- behind a single candidate, three big-hitters all remained in the internal political tensions, said Mohammed Al-Orabi, a “Principlist” rivals most loyal to the theocratic system and tive establishment who may not yet be prepared to welcome contest, pulling their shared power base apart at the seams. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Friday’s contest left people they call “seditionists” back into the fold. “A Rowhani The man many expected to be at the front of the pack, current former foreign minister. many in the Islamic Republic in shock. landslide will have to deliver substance, not just cosmetics, nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, slumped to third place. Amin Shalabi of Egypt’s Council for Foreign A second surprise was that the country’s first presidential and this requires quite a few people to admit that the last “Iranians are worried about their future. (The prospect of) a Relations also said Morsi was trying to improve his pop- poll since a disputed re-election of Ahmadinejad in 2009 eight years have been an aberration,” said Ali Ansari, professor Jalili presidency and a harsh securitised domestic environ- ularity at home. “The president is trying to draw atten- appeared to be free and fair. His victory goes some way to at St Andrew’s University in Scotland. “I don’t see that coming ment - I think people thought it would lead to a situation of tion to external issues to ensure popular support,” he repairing the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic, badly dam- said. However, “the internal crisis is so serious that no aged four years ago when the disputed poll led to mass external issue can overshadow it”. Morsi referred to the unrest. And it may herald an increase in political space for the domestic situation in Egypt in his speech on Saturday. sort of reformist groups which bore the brunt of the security The president warned that he would act “with determi- crackdown that ended the disturbances. “Though hardliners nation” against anyone who “wanted to push the coun- remain in control of key aspects of Iran’s political system, cen- try into a spiral of violence and chaos”. trists and reformists have proven that even when the cards are The break in ties with Syria will win support from stacked against them, they can still prevail due to their sup- Egypt’s Salafists, Sunni Muslims who follow a strict port among the population,” said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council. interpretation of Islam and are vehemently opposed to After final results were announced and the nerve-racking the regime in Damascus. Syria’s regime is dominated by wait came to an end, Iranians revelled in having delivered members of Assad’s Alawite minority, an offshoot of their message to Iran’s theocratic leader, Ayatollah Ali Shiite Islam. Egypt is mostly Sunni Muslim, as are the Khamenei, whose loyalists dominated the field of candidates. vast majority of Syrian rebels. A popular uprising that From the streets of Tehran came reports of a festive atmos- broke out in Syria in March 2011 turned into a bloody phere, as crowds of Rowhani supporters dressed in his cam- civil war, in which at least 93,000 people have died, paign colour purple gathered to celebrate his emphatic victo- according to UN figures, and it is growing increasingly ry. Some chanted “Ahmadi Bye Bye” heralding the imminent sectarian in nature. On Thursday, influential Sunni cler- end to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency. The ics from several Arab states, including Egypt, called for long wait quickly became the subject of rich humour. “Don’t jihad, or holy war, against the “sectarian” regime in be in a rush. It is the first time they are counting votes. They Syria. — AFP didn’t expect it would take so long,” quipped one Facebook message, alluding to the widespread allegations of vote-rig- ging four years ago. Victory will be followed by the colossal challenge of put- All articles appearing on these ting Iran back on its feet, repairing the damage done by eight pages are the personal opinion of years of growing mistrust between Tehran and the West. Iran Iranians celebrate the victory of moderate presidential candidate Hassan Rowhani (portrait) in the Islamic has been battered by economic sanctions imposed by the Republic’s presidential elections at Vanak square in northern Tehran on Saturday. — AFP the writers. Kuwait Times takes no United States and its allies over its nuclear activities, resulting responsibility for views expressed in soaring inflation and unemployment. While Iran maintains from the pages of Kayhan (a hardline newspaper). I still have confrontation inside the country,” said Farideh Farhi of Hawaii therein. Kuwait Times invites read- it will not develop nuclear arms, it has refused to curb what it reservations,” he added. University. says is its rights to nuclear power. With such a strong mandate The 64-year-old cleric has pledged to draw up and imple- Iranians may have to wait patiently for change because of ers to voice their opinions. Please and a clear intent to reach out his hand, there will be guarded ment a “civil rights charter” and has spoken up for the rights of Iran’s multi-tiered power structure, which has gradually erod- send submissions via email to: opin- hope that the 64-year-old cleric can progress nuclear talks. But women and ethnic minorities. He was heavily critical of the ed the office of the president over the last two decades. [email protected] or via snail with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, deciding atmosphere of tight security ahead of the election and gar- “Rowhani’s upset victory has effectively redeemed Iran’s elec- mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. state policy, Rowhani will face limits to his area of operations. nered strong support from liberal Iranians as a result. But vot- toral system, which was tainted after the 2009 presidential “(Mr Rowhani) will choose the core cadre at the foreign ers seemed most preoccupied with the desperate state of the poll,” said Ali Vaez, an analyst at International Crisis Group. The editor reserves the right to edit ministry and Supreme National Security Council and this can economy. Between them Rowhani and the runner-up “Remember that Iran is governed by complex institutions and any submission as necessary. definitely have an impact. But the general orientation is decid- Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf - the pragmatic modernising may- competing power centres that inherently favour continuity ed by the Supreme Leader ... and naturally Mr Rowhani will or of Tehran who is very popular in the city for his clear mana- over radical change.” — Reuters NEWS MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013

KUWAIT: Opposition members and former MPs attend a meeting at the residence of Ahmad Al-Saadoun (center) yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Court upholds one-vote decree.. Morsi cuts Syria ties, backs... Continued from Page 1 spoke about alternatives that may include Continued from Page 1 Egypt’s US-funded and -trained army is among the Syria said yesterday that Egypt’s decision to cut delaying the polls until after summer holi- most powerful in the Middle East. There has been diplomatic ties is “irresponsible”, accusing its presi- Former speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun said days. He also urged world powers not to hesitate to no suggestion, however, that Egypt, a country dent of fueling sectarian conflict in Syria and serv- the constitutional court’s verdict encourages Earlier, members of the opposition strong- enforce a no-fly zone over Syria. Western diplomats steeped in poverty, should get involved in the ing a US-Israeli conspiracy to divide the Middle autocratic rule in Kuwait and will help elect a ly lashed out at the court ruling. Former MP said on Friday that Washington was considering a fighting in Syria. East. The strongly-worded Syrian statement yester- Assembly that would be a puppet to the gov- Waleed Al-Tabtabaei said it was “the worst limited no-fly zone over parts of Syria, but the Morsi said: “The Egyptian people supports the day said Morsi is supporting an idea that would ernment. Saadoun said the meeting formed a decision” because it confirmed the single- White House said later that the United States had struggle of the Syrian people, materially and moral- violate its sovereignty, and is “serving the goals of committee that will propose a series of vote legislation, while former MP no national interest in pursuing that option. ly, and Egypt, its nation, leadership ... and army, will Israel and the United States” in the region. actions that will be taken against the ruling, Mohammad Al-Kandari said it has practically Russia, an ally of Assad and fierce opponent of not abandon the Syrian people until it achieves its “Mohamed Morsi joins a choir of conspiracy and outside military intervention in Syria, said any rights and dignity.” The Brotherhood has joined incitement led by the United States and Israel as he called on the Kuwaiti people to boycott withdrawn the power of the people to legis- attempt to impose a no-fly zone using F-16 fighter calls this week from Sunni Muslim religious organi- against Syria,” the statement said. the next election. late and rested it in the hands of the govern- jets and Patriots based in Jordan would be illegal. sations for jihad against Assad and his Shiite allies. It also accused Morsi of endorsing calls by hard- HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- ment. Former MP Mubarak Al-Waalan said Morsi said he was organising an urgent summit of Egypt has not taken an active role in arming the line clerics calling for fighting in Syria against Sabah welcomed the court’s verdict, saying the only outcome for the political stalemate Arab and other Islamic states to discuss the situa- Syrian rebels, but an aide to Morsi said this week Assad’s regime “to shed Syrian blood instead of that it is a proof that Kuwait is a country of in the country is to “withdraw the decree”. tion in Syria, where the United States has in recent that Cairo would not stand in the way of Egyptians directing the compass toward liberating occupied institutions ruled by the constitution and the However, the liberal National Action Bloc wel- days decided to take steps to arm the rebels. who wanted to fight in Syria. Palestinian lands”. — Agencies law. He called on all citizens to respect the comed the verdict out of respect for the con- verdict and abide by it as he urged citizens to stitutional court and its rulings. “put this issue behind us” and to consolidate Information Minister Sheikh Salman national unity. The Amir also stressed that he Humoud Al-Sabah said it would boost will not allow sectarian disputes to take place democracy in Kuwait. “The court’s decision in Kuwait. The Cabinet held an extraordinary today enhances the durability of the demo- meeting to assess the situation and said it has cratic system that is enjoyed by Kuwait. ordered concerned authorities to implement Kuwait has a proud history of respecting the the ruling. It however gave no dates for any constitution and maintaining the rule of law,” action. the minister said. Analysts and observers said It was not clear so far when fresh elections the court’s verdict will not contribute to will be held and what will happen before resolving the political crisis that has been rag- that. Under Kuwaiti law, fresh elections must ing for over a year and it is expected to esca- be held within two months of dissolving the late tension in the country. But it was clear Assembly, but this date falls either in yesterday that a section of the opposition is Ramadan or immediately after. Observers expected to contest the coming election. Amir respects court ruling... Continued from Page 1 boost dialogue, understanding and con- sensus, accept differences of opinions, Sheikh Sabah said he instructed the respect views of others, reject violence Cabinet to comply with the court’s rul- and extremism, reject personal interests, ing, which obsessed people and trig- not to attack others, and place Kuwait’s gered an atmosphere of “anxiety and interest first, he said. “This is the sound tension”. “Now we have to leave this issue democratic practices we seek to achieve, and its deliberate aftermath behind us, to develop our democracy via dialogue, and continue the march of reform and consensus, understanding and consulta- development, realizing the lessons of tion which serves the interest of the this experience,” he said. Sheikh Sabah nation and citizens,” said the Amir. affirmed that Kuwait “is a state of institu- Sheikh Sabah said that “we all should tions ruled by the constitution and law, respect” the constitution as well as “feel and there is no authority nor ceiling proud of our just judiciary that we always above the authority of the right and jus- seek”. He called for the respect and sup- tice.” Citizens should be keen to seek the port of the judiciary because “we cannot judiciary to settle differences “which is a but accept and respect” its rulings. He civilized aspect ... and a victory for said the Kuwaiti people have proven democracy that every Kuwaiti citizen their loyalty to their country, keenness should be proud of,” he added. on its security and stability. Kuwaitis The Amir said Kuwait was victorious “reject calls of sedition and division, and that he appreciated the people who reject voices of chaos and stick to their expressed their principled positions and national unity and support their leader- bore their national responsibility to ship”, he said. Sheikh Sabah voiced con- enforcing democracy and complying cern over “sick sectarian” signs in the with the constitution. Sheikh Sabah said Kuwaiti community “which might trigger he excused those who deviated from the extremism and spark destructive discord, right path, and thanked the speaker and a matter rejected and condemned by members of parliament for their faithful every faithful Kuwaiti”. “We will not allow efforts to carrying out their national uni- our country to be a place for sectarian ty as well as their achievements. conflicts and settlement of sick scores,” Sheikh Sabah called upon all people affirmed the Amir, “nor allow discord to to follow footsteps of their fathers and poison our solid community.” grandfathers who were known for their Sheikh Sabah highlighted Kuwait’s “forgiveness, cooperation, clean heart support for Arabs and Muslims out of its and hand, respect of the old and taking keenness to backing “principles of jus- care of the young”. The Amir said he car- tice”. He underlined that security of ried no “grudges” against anyone, and Kuwait “is a sacred duty ... and it is on top that the unity of the ruler with his people of priorities”. “There shall be no construc- was a “major element in our Kuwaiti tion, no development, no economy, no community”. He said democracy in services, no schools and no hospitals Kuwait was based on shura, or consulta- with the lack of security,” affirmed the tion, and was then complimented by the Kuwaiti leader. “Protecting the country is constitution which was written by repre- a collective responsibility ... which sentatives of the people through dia- require wisdom and spirit of responsibili- logue, consensus and understanding. “It ty...,” he said. was the agreement and consensus of Sheikh Sabah said the top priority everybody,” he added. now was to protect Kuwait from “disas- Sheikh Sabah said democracy in ters surrounding us, maintaining its secu- Kuwait did not materialize overnight “but rity and stability, shield it from storms after a long chain of experiments and which roar near us, (which) burn the practices”. “Our community in Kuwait is country and kill the people, and spread not an exception from other communi- destruction, as hundreds of innocent ties; we are all responsible to protecting people are being killed or injured every and developing our democratic system day and millions are displaced.” Sheikh to achieve our hopes and aspirations ... Sabah said urged Kuwaitis to learn les- without the domination of one segment sons of events “happening not far from or control of a group or sidelining anoth- us.” He said that the road was long and er but to guarantee the representation of full of “difficulties and challenges ... but all Kuwaiti segments,” he said. the unity, cooperation and solidarity of Democracy should be developed to Kuwaitis are capable of achieving suc- improve participation of the public, cess and objectives”. — KUNA MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 SPORTS

Clarke in fitness race Prayad wins golf Queen’s Cup ‘Exodus bad for La Liga’

LONDON: Australia captain Michael Clarke hopes to be fit to return for today’s final THAILAND: Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng showed his class with two MADRID: The exodus of top Spanish players from cash-strapped La Liga is a good Champions Trophy Group A game against Sri Lanka after missing the first two eagles in the final round to secure a comfortable three-stroke home thing for the national team but bad for the domestic league, according to Barcelona matches with a back injury. “I’m hopeful, no doubt about that, but I really have to win in the Queen’s Cup yesterday. and Spain defender Gerard Pique. Jesus Navas became the latest international to wait to see how I pull up tomorrow morning after training again today,” he told a The 47-year-old, who started the day a stroke back from move abroad when he left Sevilla to join Spain team mate David Silva at Manchester news conference on Sunday. “My back is certainly Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman, shot a four-under-par 67 that includ- City this month. improving, which is a positive.” ed eagles on the eighth and the final hole, to move clear of the chas- Nine members of the Spain squad contesting the Australia lost their opener to England before their ing pack with a 14-under total of 270. Confederations Cup in Brazil now play outside their clash with New Zealand was rained off, meaning they Compatriot Arnond Vongvanij finished second while Japan’s home country. sit bottom of the group with one point knowing Daisuke Kataoka was third, five shots adrift. Prayad started the day Heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona, the defeat at the Oval today will knock them out of the with a bogey on the first hole at the Santiburi Samui Country Club, world’s richest clubs by revenue, can afford the best tournament. Clarke’s recurring back trouble has where he had finished in the top-three on three occasions since 2009. players and dominate La Liga as a result. They have 13 led to speculation he could be a doubt for some He dropped another shot on the seventh after birdies on the Spanish internationals between them. of the five-test Ashes series in England which fourth and sixth and the eagle on the eighth calmed his nerves. However, financially troubled clubs in the second starts at Trent Bridge on July 10. He made nine consecutive pars after that and signed off in style rank like Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla have “Yes I’m confident (of playing in all of the amid loud cheers from the home crowd. “When Arnond bogeyed the been forced to cash in on their prize assets, who are Ashes), but I was confident I’d play every 12th, I had a feeling that this would be my week. I’ve been struggling increasingly seeking a new challenge and better wages game in this series so you are asking the with injuries for so long and I finally got my game together this year,” away from Spain. wrong guy,” he said. England have their Prayad told the Asian Tour website (www.asiantour.com). “I’ve come “On the one hand it’s good for the national own injury worries for the Ashes with their so close to winning here but couldn’t finish the job previously. So team but on the other it’s a little bit bad for La most dangerous attacking batsman Kevin obviously this win really means a lot to me.” Siddikur finished in a tie Liga because players are leaving who are from Pietersen missing the Champions Trophy for eighth spot after a dismal six-over-par final round of 77. —Reuters your country,” Pique said in an interview with As because of a knee problem.—Reuters sports daily published yesterday.—Reuters MLB results/standings Braves get past Giants Chicago Cubs 5, NY Mets 2; Toronto 6, Texas 1; Atlanta 6, San Francisco 5; LA Dodgers 5, Pittsburgh 3 (11 innings); Boston 5, Baltimore 4; Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 0; Colorado 10, ATLANTA: Freddie Freeman’s bases-loaded, line- (4-5), his second straight three-hit game. Schafer is Swinging left-handed, Beltran hit his 15th home Philadelphia 5; St. Louis 13, Miami 7; Tampa Bay 5, Kansas City 3; LA Angels 6, NY Yankees 2; drive single off closer Sergio Romo capped a two- filling in for Ryan Braun, on the DL with an injured run in the second inning and tripled for the first Washington 7, Cleveland 6; Minnesota 6, Detroit 3; Seattle 4, Oakland 0; Houston 4, Chicago run rally in the ninth inning that lifted the Atlanta thumb. Gallardo (6-6) gave up three hits and a pair time since May 2012 in the eighth. He hit another White Sox 3; San Diego 6, Arizona 4. Braves to a 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants of walks in his second straight impressive start. home run from the right side in the ninth - the 11th American League National League on Saturday. BJ Upton hit two homers off Chad Three relievers completed a seven-hitter for time he has homered from both sides in a game. Eastern Division Eastern Division Gaudin, but the Braves trailed 5-4 entering the Milwaukee’s first shutout. The Brewers were the Yadier Molina singled home two runs in the W L PCT GB Atlanta 40 28 .588 - ninth. Romo (3-3) walked pinch-hitter Evan Gattis, only team in the majors without one. Cardinals’ five-run first inning, and David Freese’s Boston 42 28 .600 - Washington 34 33 .507 5.5 who was replaced by pinch-runner Reed Johnson, fourth homer in the third inning put them ahead to Baltimore 39 30 .565 2.5 Philadelphia 33 36 .478 7.5 with one out. Andrelton Simmons followed with a ROCKIES 10, PHILLIES 5 stay. Lynn (9-1) allowed a career-high seven runs in five innings against the lowest-scoring team in the NY Yankees 37 31 .544 4 NY Mets 24 39 .381 13.5 grounder that skipped past third baseman Joaquin In Denver, Tyler Chatwood pitched five effective majors, but his two-run single in the fifth inning Tampa Bay 36 32 .529 5 Miami 20 47 .299 19.5 Arias for an error, putting runners on first and sec- innings in his return from a triceps injury and Tyler gave the Cardinals a three-run lead to help them Toronto 31 36 .463 9.5 Central Division ond. Colvin homered during a six-run first inning as pull away. Central Division St. Louis 44 24 .647 - Jason Heyward followed with a liner that fell in Colorado snapped a three-game losing streak by Detroit 37 29 .561 - Cincinnati 41 28 .594 3.5 front of left fielder Andres Torres, loading the bases. doubling up Philadelphia. Cleveland 33 34 .493 4.5 PADRES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 4 Pittsburgh 40 28 .588 4 Justin Upton worked a walk to tie it and Freeman The Rockies also relied on solid defense to end a Kansas City 32 34 .485 5 six-game skid against the Phillies, turning three In San Diego, Yasmani Grandal’s three-run Chicago Cubs 28 38 .424 15 came through with the game-winning single to Minnesota 30 35 .462 6.5 double plays and getting a gem from third base- homer capped a five-run fourth inning as San Milwaukee 28 39 .418 15.5 right field. Braves closer Craig Kimbrel (2-1) struck Chicago W Sox 28 37 .431 8.5 man Nolan Arenado, who snared Jonathan Diego beat Arizona to stretch its winning streak to Western Division out Hunter Pence to end the ninth with runners on Western Division Pettibone’s sharp grounder in the second with a five and reach the .500 mark for the first time in Arizona 37 31 .544 - first and second. Oakland 41 29 .586 - diving stop and made a one-hop throw from his two years. San Francisco 35 32 .522 1.5 Texas 38 30 .559 2 backside to get the Phillies pitcher. Jason Marquis (9-2) allowed three runs and Colorado 36 33 .522 1.5 DODGERS 6, PIRATES 5 Seattle 31 38 .449 9.5 In Pittsburgh, Juan Uribe singled home Andre Wilin Rosario had three hits, all for extra bases, three hits in 6 2-3 innings to win his eighth straight LA Angels 30 38 .441 10 San Diego 34 34 .500 3 Ethier in the top of the 11th inning to rally Los Arenado was 3 for 4 with two RBIs, and Chatwood decision. San Diego (34-34) pulled to within three Houston 25 44 .362 15.5 LA Dodgers 29 38 .433 7.5 Angeles to the victory over Pittsburgh. pitched in with two hits, including an RBI single. games of first-place Arizona in the NL West. The last Ethier doubled off Vin Mazzaro (3-1) leading off Chatwood (4-1) boosted his average to .437 (7 time the Padres were at .500 was April 10, 2011, the 11th then raced home when Uribe’s chopper for 16) with 5 RBIs in his first game since June 3, when they were 4-4. Rays down Royals went over the head of third baseman Pedro when he left after four innings at Cincinnati Huston Street, who returned from the disabled Alvarez. Nick Punto drove in Uribe with a double to because of right triceps soreness. list on Friday, earned his 12th save in 13 opportuni- the gap one batter later to provide some insurance. ties. He gave up an RBI double in the ninth to ST. PETERSBURG: Tampa Bay right-hander Alex night that sent New York to its fifth straight defeat. Peter Moylan (1-0) picked up the win after CARDINALS 13, MARLINS 7 Gerardo Parra before getting Didi Gregorius to fly Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher after he Tommy Hanson (4-2) recorded a season-high In Miami, Carlos Beltran homered from each out to center for the final out. was hit on the right ear by a line ball off the bat of eight strikeouts while pitching five-hit ball into the escaping a bases-loaded jam in the 10th. Brandon Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer in the fifth inning of the seventh inning for the Angels, who have won three League, who lost his job as the closer to Kenley side of the plate and tripled to lead a 17-hit attack, Arizona’s Wade Miley (4-6) had been staked to a Rays’ 5-3 win over the Royals on Saturday. straight after a four-game skid. Josh Hamilton had Jansen this week, managed the final three outs for and Lance Lynn notched his ninth victory when St. 3-0 lead in the first inning, in part on a two-run The Rays announced that Cobb, who remained an RBI double, and Aybar hit an early homer before his 14th save. Louis outslugged Miami. homer by catcher Miguel Montero.—AP conscious the whole time, was taken to Bayfront delivering a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth. Travis Snider capped a late Pittsburgh rally with Medical Center in St. Petersburg for further exami- Brett Gardner had an RBI triple for the Yankees, a solo home run off Jansen with one out in the nation. Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn later said all who matched their worst skid of the season. Mark ninth to tie the game. tests were normal and that Cobb suffered a mild Teixeira also left in the fourth inning with an aggra- concussion. vated right wrist. Howie Kendrick had three hits CUBS 5, METS 2 Luke Scott, Matt Joyce and Evan Longoria and drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh for In New York, Scott Feldman allowed two hits in homered for the Rays, who had lost five of six. Alex the Angels. seven innings and Starlin Castro hit a two-run dou- Torres (2-0) replaced Cobb and struck out four over ble to left in a three-run eighth inning that lifted 1 2-3 scoreless innings. Fernando Rodney pitched ASTROS 4, WHITE SOX 3 Chicago clear of New York. the ninth for his 14th save in 19 opportunities. In Houston, Jason Castro and Chris Carter Feldman (6-5) struck out six and had a two-RBI Joyce hit a solo homer off Jeremy Guthrie (7-4) in homered in the fourth inning to give Houston the single in the fourth off Jonathon Niese (3-6) to help the fifth that put the Rays up 4-2. lead as the Astros held on for a win over the White himself on the way to his first win since May 29. Sox. The game was tied at 1-1 when Castro Kevin Gregg got the last three outs for his ninth RED SOX 5, ORIOLES 4 launched a solo homer into the bullpen in right- straight save and Chicago beat the Mets for the In Baltimore, Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes center to start the fourth inning. Carter’s one-out second day in a row, after losing five of seven homered to back an effective pitching perform- homer clanged off the foul pole in left field to before getting to Queens. ance by John Lackey, as the Boston Red Sox beat extend the lead to 3-1 and leave starter John Danks the Orioles to end a five-game losing streak in (1-3) shaking his head. Baltimore. Brandon Barnes’s double drove in a run in the BREWERS 6, REDS 0 fifth inning to make it 4-1. Adam Dunn hit his 18th In Cincinnati, Juan Francisco drove in three runs homer to start the seventh and Gordon Beckham’s with a sacrifice fly and homer in a ballpark where ground-rule double made it 4-3. he’s had some big moments, and Yovani Gallardo Harrell (5-7) allowed seven hits and three runs pitched six innings to lead Milwaukee’s blanking of with a season-high seven strikeouts in 6 2-3 Cincinnati. It was a rare win in Cincinnati for the innings. Danks yielded five hits and four runs in six- Brewers, who have dropped 11 of their last 14 plus innings. games at Great American Ball Park. ATLANTA: Freddie Freeman No. 5 of the Atlanta Braves is mobbed by teammates after knock- Logan Schafer had three hits off Homer Bailey ing in the game-winning run in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants. —AFP MARINERS 4, ATHLETICS 0 In Oakland, Henry Blanco hit a sixth-inning grand slam in his Seattle debut to break a scoreless tie and Felix Hernandez pitched seven strong Gay has triple medal innings to win his third straight decision as the Mariners beat the Athletics. The 41-year-old Blanco, a .184 hitter with no home runs coming into the game, was an unlikely candidate to deliver the haul in mind for worlds decisive hit for Seattle. The Mariners signed him Friday, three days after his release by Toronto. He became the oldest Mariners player with a slam. RALEIGH: Former world sprint title tive races than his two 100 metres a second with a fourth-place finish, from injury and defeat by training Hernandez (8-4) struck out five of Oakland’s ini- holder Tyson Gay has a lofty goal in and one 200. has subsided. Time and the partner Yohan Blake at the island tial eight batters and seven through four innings on mind for August’s global champi- “I planned on racing a normal Americans’ silver medal in the 4x100 nation’s 2012 Olympic trials to win ST PETERSBURG: Pitcher Jeremy the way to eight Ks. onships - three trips to the podium schedule but coach (Lance) Brauman relay helped as did the encourage- the 100 and 200 in London. Guthrie No. 11 of the Kansas City Royals Michael Morse had two doubles among his just like six years ago. wanted to take things slow this year. ment of friends and even strangers “He turns around and looks like a pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays dur- three hits, including one in the sixth before Blanco’s Completely fit for the first time After New York we decided I had who made him realise how much he totally different person,” said Gay. But ing the game at Tropicana Field. —AFP drive stayed just inside the left-field foul pole. since winning gold in the 100 and done enough to go on to the nation- has accomplished in his career. the American believes he can be 200 metres and 4x100 relay at the als,” added Gay, who won in 10.02 But he also finds it refreshing to more competitive this year, and could After dropping the first two games of the series, TWINS 6, TIGERS 3 2007 worlds, Gay told Reuters he will seconds in the rain and cold in the be healthy again. “I don’t have to even challenge his 2009 U.S. 100 the Red Sox fell into a 2-0 hole before bouncing In Minneapolis, Trevor Plouffe had three hits, run both sprints at next week’s U.S. Big Apple. rush. I don’t have that extra stress on metres record of 9.69 seconds, com- back. Carp’s home run snapped an 18-inning scor- including a two-run homer, in his return to the ing drought in the fourth, and Gomes made it 5-2 Twins lineup, and Sam Deduno held Detroit in championships, then seek a spot on The US championships in Des me,” Gay said of the multiple times in pared to Bolt’s 9.58 world record. in the sixth with a solo shot that chased Baltimore check over seven innings in Minnesota’s victory. the relay team for Moscow. Moines, Iowa, which serve as the US recent years he has had to go flat out “I think I can,” said Gay who would starter Freddy Garcia (3-4). Plouffe, back after missing 22 games because of “I want to do the double for sure,” trials for the Aug. 10-18 worlds in in last-minute practice sessions after have no problem with the world join- Boston leads Baltimore by 21/2 games in the a concussion and left calf strain, was a triple shy of the 30-year-old Gay, American record Moscow, begin on Thursday and run injuries in a bid to be ready for U.S. ing in a delayed celebration of his American League East. Lackey (4-5) gave up two the cycle. He drove in three runs in support of holder in the short sprint, said in a 31st birthday, which comes two days runs, seven hits and a walk in seven innings to Deduno, who has allowed only five earned runs in telephone interview from his central before the Aug. 11 100 metres world improve to 12-4 against the Orioles. his last five starts. Deduno (3-1) gave up two runs Florida training base. final. Former Oriole Koji Uehara struck out the side in and seven hits to win his third straight decision “I feel like I am actually able to and He will run his first race after the the eighth and Andrew Bailey gave up a two-run since being recalled in May. Glen Perkins added his I always loved the 200,” he said. “And I American trials in the 100 at homer to Matt Wieters in the ninth before securing 16th save in 18 chances. feel like I am healthy enough. “I feel Lausanne on July 4 and long-range his eighth save. After missing his previous start with shoulder like it will prepare me for the worlds, plans are to continue competing stiffness, Anibal Sanchez struggled with pitch loca- and if I run the 200 that will give me through the 2016 Games in Rio BLUE JAYS 6, RANGERS 1 tion and only lasted 3 2-3 innings for Detroit. Darin more success for the 100.” where he hopes his elusive quest for In Arlington, Adam Lind and Colby Rasmus Downs (0-2) gave up three runs and five hits in Hamstring, groin and hip injuries, an individual Olympic medal will both hit two-run homers as the Blue Jays won their relief of Sanchez, and took the loss. along with the emergence of finally end. fourth game in a row, beat the sliding Rangers. Jamaican double world record holder More immediately, there is a deci- Even with the unexpected early return of sec- INTERLEAGUE GAME Usain Bolt, have denied Gay an indi- sion to be made about his appear- ond baseman Ian Kinsler from his rehabilitation NATIONALS 7, INDIANS 6 vidual global title since his triple at ance. Gay had an almost fuzzy look at assignment, the Rangers’ season-long losing streak In Cleveland, Anthony Rendon hit his first major the Osaka world championships. But May’s New York Diamond League reached five games. All of those losses are at home, league home run following Nick Swisher’s ninth- and they’ve dropped 10 of 14 overall to fall out of inning error to propel the Nationals to a win over smart training and a more conserva- meet with his fuller beard and longer first place in the AL West. Cleveland. Two pitches after his foul popup fell tive running schedule have limited hair, the product, he said, of the Lind put the Blue Jays ahead to stay in the first, between the Indians’ first baseman and second the injuries and made him the fastest amount of time devoted to training. 100 metres runner in the world this “I was training so hard... my hair when his seventh homer of the season ricocheted baseman Jason Kipnis, Rendon homered into the Tyson Gay high off pole down the right field line. Rasmus hit Nationals’ bullpen off Vinnie Pestano (1-2) to stun year. No one, not even Bolt, has been grew out for several months and the his 12th homer, and second in two games, in the the Indians and the crowd of 33,307. quicker than the 9.86 seconds the through Sunday. Even the softly-spo- trials or global competition. “It is the beard grew out for several months,” fourth to make it 4-0. Swisher and Kipnis both drifted into foul territo- slender American clocked at the ken Gay does not know what to best I have looked in years,” Gay said he said. Those homers accounted for all four runs off ry and it appeared either could have made the Jamaican Invitational in Kingston in expect of himself. a leading U.S. biomechanics expert The look will not become perma- Josh Lindblom (0-2), who went six innings on his catch, but neither player appeared to call for it and May. His 19.79 seconds last month in “One minute I want to run a super recently told him. A brighter outlook nent, though. “It may come off 26th birthday. RA Dickey (6-8) gave up one run in 5 the ball fell to the ground. Swisher was charged the 200 also would equal Bolt’s world fast time,” he said. “The next I want to on his own achievements and tomorrow,” Gay said. “I may want to 2-3 innings. with the error. Drew Storen (1-1) pitched the eighth leading time if it had not been wind play it smart and make the team and prospects has not lessened Gay’s be a little bit more aerodynamic for for the win while Rafael Soriano worked the ninth assisted. say the big dance is not until August.” respect for Bolt and his world records. the trials,” he added, recognising how ANGELS 6, YANKEES 2 for his 18th save. Mike Aviles doubled with two “It makes me feel good, but I am a The heartbreak of London 2012, “He is still going to be the man to close a shave his loss to countryman In Anaheim, Erick Aybar homered and drove in outs, but first baseman Adam LaRoche made a little surprised,” said Gay, noting Bolt where he missed his first individual beat regardless,” said Gay, admiring Justin Gatlin was for a prized medal two runs, and Albert Pujols added two more RBIs in leaping catch of Michael Bourn’s line drive to end and others have had more competi- Olympic medal by one hundredth of the way the Jamaican bounced back in London.—Reuters the Angels’ victory over the Yankees on Saturday the game.—AP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 SPORTS Lions brace for Brumbies challenge

MELBOURNE: The British and Irish Lions’ well, Shane Williams will obviously come in. hopes of victory in their last tour match “Having worked with him for a long time, I before facing Australia will be tested by a think he’ll fit in pretty well with our game hastily-assembled backline and an ACT plan and will understand what we’re trying Brumbies side keen to inflict a timely psy- to do, so there’s some combinations and chological blow in Canberra tomorrow. players who been there, done that before Like all the provincial sides thrown to the and knowing what’s expected of them.” Lions, the Brumbies will front up with a start- Gatland has also offered all of the players, ing 15 robbed of their best Wallabies players barring Williams, the additional motivation but under strict orders to leave the tourists of a spot in the team to play the Wallabies at bruised, if not beaten, after full-time at Lang Park, despite his earlier intention to Canberra Stadium. have the test side settled by the time of the The Lions notched up their fifth win from Waratahs match. five tour matches against the New South “They have to have that belief that they Wales Waratahs on Saturday, running out 47- can go out and perform on Tuesday and put 17 winners at Sydney Football Stadium, but your hand up and get selected for Saturday,” the emphatic victory extracted a toll. Gatland said. Centre Jamie Roberts was left nursing a “There’s no way we’re going out sacrific- suspected hamstring strain and could join ing the game, I’m sure those players who go England centre Manu Tuilagi in the treat- out tomorrow will be incredibly motivated ment room, leaving the Lions vulnerable in to continue this tour unbeaten. the one area they can least afford it. With “And there’s still that opportunity for Welshman George North also nursing ham- players to put their hand up and say: ‘I want string concerns and fellow winger Tommy to be part of that test team, that test 23’ - Bowe injured with a broken hand, Lions and that’s what their motivation has to be.” coach Warren Gatland has padded out his The Jake White-coached Brumbies have backline with a clutch of fly-ins led by 36- no intention of being cannon fodder and year-old Shane Williams. need only watch footage of their 2001 effort The former Wales winger, who toured against the Lions for inspiration. with the Lions in 2005 and 2009 and retired The Brumbies were gallant 30-28 losers at from international rugby at the end of 2011, the same stadium in the previous tour in flies in from Japan and will slot in for just the 2001 after utility back Austin Healey saved one match before leaving the squad to do the Lions’ blushes with a late try. media work. “This is a huge occasion for us as a team, Englishman Christian Wade, shipped in but also individually,” said White, who from Argentina, starts on the other wing, coached South Africa to their 2007 World LONDON: Britain’s Andy Murray poses with the trophy after winning the ATP Aegon Championships final tennis match against Croatia’s with Brad Barritt landing from the United Cup triumph. Marin Cilic at the Queen’s Club. —AFP States and starting at centre in the side cap- “The Lions are one of rugby’s last roman- tained by Ireland hooker Rory Best. tic sides, there is plenty of history there and England’s Billy Twelvetrees starts at inside we know that beating the Lions will go down Murray king of Queen’s centre against the two-time Super Rugby in Canberra’s rugby folklore for many years to champions. The cobbled-together backline, come.” White, touted as a possible successor albeit complemented by a still-formidable to Australia coach Robbie Deans, has guided LONDON: Andy Murray was crowned king of was a bit sore in the groin area, thankfully it was- when he screamed in anguish after falling as he forward pack, offers the Canberra-based the Brumbies to their first playoffs appear- Queen’s Club for the third time as the world n’t too bad,” Murray told the BBC. went to change direction after being wrong- Brumbies arguably the best chance of the ance in Super Rugby for nearly a decade this number two roared back to defeat defending “Marin’s one of the best grass-court players in footed by a Cilic winner on break point on the Australian provincial sides to beat the Lions- season and has a clutch of classy backs at his champion Marin Cilic 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in yesterday’s the world. We had a lot of close matches and I Croat’s serve in the next game. or at least leave the squad with a few doubts disposal, including livewire fullback Jesse final. was lucky to come through at the end because He lay in obvious discomfort on the grass for before the first Wallabies test on Saturday. Mogg and winger Henry Speight. Captain Murray was pushed hard by the Croatian fifth he was playing such good tennis.” several moments and held his groin before final- “We realise it’s going to be tough on a Peter Kimlin, who starts at number eight, and seed, but the US Open champion responded to Cilic added: “Andy showed he’s a great fighter ly playing on. Murray seemed fairly untroubled few players, but there’s some combinations prop Scott Sio were also released from the challenge with the kind of classy display that and congratulations to him for his win here. “It by the injury once he resumed but he had with experience we looked at,” Gatland told Wallabies duty for the match after earlier bodes well with Wimbledon just eight days was an extremely good week for me. I hope I can greater difficulty subduing Cilic. reporters in Sydney yesterday. tour matches sparked criticism for offering away. continue my good form and come back next The Croatian forced a succession of Murray “Billy and Brad know each other pretty the Lions uncompetitive teams.—Reuters He picked up a cheque for £73,315 (86,300 year.” miscues and he broke for a 6-5 lead before euros) for his latest triumph at the pre- Murray has dominated on grass over the last staving off two break points to take the set. Wimbledon warm-up event, but more impor- year, reaching his first Wimbledon final and tak- Even when Murray earned three break points Mickelson leads US Open tantly his dominant week’s work served as the ing the gold medal in the London Olympics at at 3-2 in the second set, Cilic had all the answers perfect preparation ahead of his latest bid to the All England Club by thrashing Roger Federer. and fought his way out of trouble. ARDMORE: Phil Mickelson moved a step with a 71, was another shot adrift at one- end Britain’s long wait for a male winner of the He had also won eight of his previous nine But Murray refused to accept it wouldn’t be closer to one of his biggest goals, a US over 211 along with fellow Englishman singles’ title at the All England Club. meetings with Cilic and looked unfazed by the his day and he hit back to level the match. Open title, as he emerged from a see-saw Justin Rose (71) and 36-hole co-leader The 26-year-old’s third successful Queen’s rain delayed start when play finally got under- Serving to stay in the set at 6-5, Cilic’s concentra- third round battle at Merion to take a Billy Horschel (72). campaign in five years, following previous victo- way three hours later than scheduled. tion wavered for the first time and Murray one-shot lead into late yesterday’s final “I should have done better,” said ries in 2009 and 2011, took his career haul of ATP Setting the tempo from the baseline, Murray pounced, unloading a superb return that the round. Mickelson rolled in a nine-foot Donald, who had taken sole possession Tour titles to 27 and ended his wait for a first cleverly pushed the world number 12 out of Croat could only push tamely into the net. birdie putt at the 254-yard 17th hole to of the lead after Schwartzel and Mahan tournament win since the Miami Masters in position as he drove a blistering forehand to Murray had the initiative now and delivered leapfrog playing partner Luke Donald, both bogeyed the 17th. “It was disap- March. break in the second game. the knockout blow with a break in the fourth who slipped out of the lead with a bogey pointing. However, Murray, who started the week con- However, the Scot wasn’t able to make the game of the deciding set. on the mammoth par-three. “But I’ll take the positives out of today, cerned by his fitness after a lower back injury most of his early momentum. Cilic was going for Cilic helped the Scot’s cause with a sloppy Four-times major winner Mickelson, a really solid 16 holes of golf that I played forced him to miss the French Open, will hope a the lines to good effect and he broke when a game riddled with unforced errors and Murray looking for his first US Open title after fin- and I’m only two back.” Mickelson, the first set tumble that left him briefly clutching his forehand from the Scot smashed into the net on was in no mood to refuse the gift, quickly clos- ishing runner-up a record five times, leader after each round, fell from top groin in pain proves nothing serious. the third break point of a pivotal game at 4-2. ing out the match in ruthless fashion with a bogeyed the daunting 18th hole but still spot after a bogey on the third hole, but “It’s been extremely wet and I just slipped. I The situation looked even bleaker for Murray series of searing winners.—AFP came away with the lead after complet- came alive on the back nine with three ing an even-par 70 for a one-under-par birdies to fight his way back on a tumul- 209 total. tuous day that saw a slew of competitors Federer wins Halle title “It is a hard challenge, but it is a lot of take turns in charge. The big left-hander said he felt better placed to tackle the challenge of winning the US Open this time around. Ties McEnroe on 77 trophies “I feel better equipped than I have ever felt heading into the final round of a HALLE: Roger Federer won his “I had to fight hard to remain in US Open,” said Mickelson, who has three first title of the year yesterday, the the race in the second set. I Masters and a PGA Championship title to world number three beating served well (he produced 12 aces) his credit. Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (5/7), and that’s what saved me today.” “My ball striking is better than it’s ever 6-3, 6-4 in the ATP final at Halle. Federer missed five break been. My putting is better than it has This was the 31-year-old Swiss points in the first set, four of them been in years, and I feel very comfortable great’s sixth Halle title and the coming in the opening game, on this golf course. I love it. 77th win of his career, but first before coming off second best in “Given that I’ve had some past major championships now and some success since Cincinnati on the eve of the the tie break after one hour of here...I think it’s going to be fun. I don’t US Open in 2012. play. think I feel any more pressure than any- His 77th title also saw him But he fought back to level the body else who wants to win.” draw level with John McEnroe in encounter against the Russian, Six different players — Mickelson, third position in the all-time going on to win the match with a Horschel, Donald, Rose, Australian John career titles list. After losing the love game on his service. Senden and Schwartzel had turns in the opening set, the former world Federer had won this grass lead over the first nine holes. number one battled back to pre- court title four years in succession World number one Tiger Woods, hop- serve his perfect record over from 2003 to 2006 and again in ing to end a five-year drought in the Youzhny in 15 meetings in over 2008. Yesterday’s win was his 13th majors dating back to the 2008 US Open, two hours of play. trophy on grass. and world number two Rory McIlroy also “Winning solves everything. I Federer, who now has a 43-5 moved within three shots of the pace am satisfied with my game, confi- career record at Halle, had been in with birdies on the first hole. dent, fresh and excited about impressive form at the tourna- However, the high-profile duo, playing what lies ahead,” said Federer who ment with a 39-minute, 6-0, 6-0 their third successive round together, will be chasing a record eighth win over German qualifier Mischa staggered through the rest of the way. Wimbledon title from next week. Woods shot 76 to plunge 10 shots off the Zverev in the quarter-finals, only pace, and McIlroy registered 75 to be “There’s always a few things I the second double-bagel of his nine behind Mickelson. can work on but I can think about career. After the merry-go-round of leaders in that between now and the start of He then saw off defending the front nine, Schwartzel and Donald Wimbledon.” For Federer, beaten champion Tommy Haas in a tight settled into a tie for supremacy after the by Rafael Nadal in his only previ- three-setter in the semi-finals. “To ARDMORE: Phil Mickelson of the turn and were joined at two-under by ous final appearance of 2013 on lose the first set twice and still United States hits his second shot on Mahan when he birdied the 16th. the clay in Rome and brushed win, it’s a great feeling,” said the 18th hole during Round Three of Mahan and Schwartzel both bogeyed aside by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Federer. the 113th US Open at Merion Golf the last two holes to yield the top posi- French Open quarter-finals, this Youzhny had reached the final Club.—AFP tion to Donald, who was then overtaken was the ideal preparation ahead by beating three seeded players- by Mickelson. of his Wimbledon defence. Kei Nishikori, Philipp fun,” said Mickelson, keen for the next Schwartzel said he knows what it will The top seed, who overcame Kohlschreiber and then Richard step in his quest for a first US Open take for him to add a second major title veteran German Tommy Haas in Gasquet, all of them in straight crown. Sunday to his Augusta triumph. “You’re Saturday’s semi-final, was thrilled sets. “I continue to improve my “Let’s go. I can’t wait to get back out going to have to give every single shot all to finally get off the mark for the game. Tennis changes every year playing.” Yesterday could be a dream day your attention,” the South African said. year. “Mikhail has produced a and I have to change with it if I for Mickelson, who would add a missing “There’s no hole where you can sort of line to his impressive resume with an ease back and sort of freewheel a bit. HALLE: Swiss Roger Federer celebrates with his trophy after great tournament, that’s why I’m am to stay at the top,” said the 31- Open victory as he celebrates his 43rd Every shot that you hit is really intense.” winning the ATP Gerry Weber Open tennis tournament. —AFP so happy to have won,” he said. year-old Russian.—AFP birthday and Father’s Day with his dad Three shots off the pace was watching him play at Merion. Australian Jason Day, who registered a 68 “I’ve had opportunities in years past, for two-over 212 despite a bogey at the Hantuchova bags Aegon Classic and it has been so fun, even though it’s last. One more shot away was Rickie been heart breaking to come so close a Fowler who carded 67 for the best round BIRMINGHAM: Sixteen-year-old Wimbledon warm-up event at hoping when I make my third final I double fault, going on to take the number of times and let it slide,” of the day. Croatian Donna Vekic was denied Edgbaston, having been runner-up will win it. former world number five into a Mickelson said. Senden, who briefly led by one, faded her first WTA title as she lost 7-6(5) in 2011. “But it’s been a great week con- tiebreak. Slovakian Hantuchova, 30, One shot back after a rousing battle with five bogeys in the last 11 holes to 6-4 to Tour stalwart Daniela “She played a very good match sidering it was my first grasscourt then pounced in the 10th game of atop the leaderboard were 2011 Masters post a 74, finishing six strokes off the Hantuchova in the Aegon Classic and deserved to win,” London- event on the WTA Tour. Now I’m the second set to claim her sixth champion Charl Schwartzel, who posted lead. Coming up big at the end was final in Birmingham yesterday. based Vekic, who is trained by Tim really looking forward to career title. 69, and Americans Hunter Mahan (69) Mickelson, who was clearly excited about Vekic, the youngest player in the Henman’s old coach David Felgate, Wimbledon.” All eyes will be on Vekic, who and Steve Stricker (70). what Sunday could mean. “It’s got the top 350 in the rankings, fell in her told Reuters. Vekic, ranked 89th in the world, reached her first WTA final in Former world number one Donald, makings to be something special, but I second final of the year as “This was my second WTA final showed her mettle to break the Tashkent last year, when she makes who double-bogeyed the 18th after still have to go out and perform and play Hantuchova’s greater experience and I’m still only 16. Things have Hantuchova serve in the eighth her Wimbledon main draw debut struggling with the deep rough to finish some of my best golf,” he said.—Reuters edged her to her first title at the gone fast so far in my career but I’m game after losing her own to a this year.—Reuters MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 SPORTS

Jarnet lands French Oaks Photo of the day PARIS: Veteran French jockey Thierry and she displayed that to great effect Jarnet won his first French Oaks in style today. This is a wonderful win for the yesterday easing to victory on the whole team.” unbeaten Treve at Chantilly racecourse. However, Head-Maarek, married to a The 46-year-old - who had won two racing journalist, admitted she had not Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes but never planned everything with such scientific managed to win the fillies classic - con- excellence. jured up a great burst of speed midway “My one mistake is that I didn’t enter down the finishing straight to come her for the Arc de Triomphe. Will I supple- home four lengths clear at 9/1 and give ment her? No there are plenty of other trainer Criquette Head-Maarek her third races out there,” said Head-Maarek, who win in the race but first since 2000 with is perhaps the best trainer of fillies in Egyptband. Europe having saddled seven winners of However, this was especially personal the French 1000 Guineas and also won for her as they were the same all red silks the English 1000 Guineas four times. - those of her father Alec - carried to vic- Jarnet, who has had over 18,000 rides tory by her first Oaks winner Harbor way since he started riding competitively back in 1982. with his first winner coming in 1985, said Both Head-Maarek and Jarnet were in that horses like Treve were the reason for tears after Treve crossed the line in front him continuing in the sport. of an impressive crowd that included “I had never won this before, I was Australian actor Simon Baker, star of such edged out by a nose on Baya in 1993 so I films as LA Confidential and popular US knew the pain of what it was like to just network TV series The Mentalist. miss out,” he said. Head-Maarek, whose family is steeped “It is great now to be able to jot this in French racing history with her brother one off my must do list, although, I have Freddie having been a top jockey (he to say it was starting to become a case of rode Harbor to victory in 1982) and now now or never as I am getting rather old! an equally successful trainer while Alec “However, a horse like Treve renews was a champion trainer, said that the one’s enthusiasm for the sport because people’s warm reaction had provoked horses of her quality are the reason why the outpouring of emotion. we exist and survive in the sport.” “Well I think it is because of my experi- The 16/1 outsider Chicquita, who Levi Siver windsurfs at the Rock at Pistol River near Gold Beach, Oregon. —www.redbullcontentpool.com ence and my advancing age that they unusually for a flat horse had fallen last came up to congratulate me,” said the 64- time out, finished strongly to take sec- year-old, who was tasting her first Group ond under last year’s French Derby win- One success in almost three years since ning rider Anthony Hamelin while Olivier Kiwis fall 10-runs short as landing The Prix Moulin in September Peslier, like Jarnet without a win in the 2010. race prior to yesterday, had to make do “Also to win this race in the colors that with third on the 4/1 chance Silasol in England book semis spot I won my first in and with the family link what was his 19th attempt. Favorite it is all a bit much. “However, Treve I Flotilla had every chance entering the always regarded as my best horse, even final two furlongs but her hopes of CARDIFF: England put a ball-tampering row Muralitharan. James Franklin almost struck first ball almost had him again only for Nathan McCullum to behind them to book their place in the semi-finals last year at two, and she confirmed that adding the Oaks to her impressive win in when Cook pulled him to mid-wicket only for drop a juggled chance at mid-wicket. of the Champions Trophy with a 10-run win over Nathan McCullum to drop the chance. Nathan McCullum then put down a relatively impression to me when we started this the shorter 1000 Guineas were soon New Zealand in Cardiff yesterday. season. dashed as she faded quickly to finish well Left-hander Cook drove Franklin for six and easy catch when, at backward point, he dropped New Zealand, chasing 170 for victory in a match flicked him over his shoulder for a four. But Franklin Cook’s cut off Williamson.—AFP “She has extraordinary acceleration down the 11 runner field.—AFP reduced by rain to 24 overs per side, were held by the tournament hosts to 159 for eight. Victory saw England, yet to win a major 50-over tournament, into the last four as one of two qualifiers out of Group A after their build-up for this match was overshadowed by ball-tampering allegations made against them by former captain Bob Willis. If Sri Lanka beat champions Australia in Monday’s final Group A fixture at The Oval they will also feature in a last four that already includes Group B winners India and runners-up South Africa. New Zealand could yet reach the semi-finals themselves if Australia win but fail to do so by a large enough margin to better the Black Caps’ net run-rate. James Anderson, who finished with three wickets for 32 runs in five overs, reduced New Zealand to 14 for two by dismissing openers Luke Ronchi and Martin Guptill in the same over. Medium-pacer Ravi Bopara, in overcast conditions assisting seamers, took two for 26 in five overs. England captain Alastair Cook, the man-of-the- match, was dropped three times by Nathan McCullum on his way to top-scoring with 64 in a total of 169 all out. Off-spinner Nathan McCullum finally clung on CARDIFF: New Zealand’s Kane Williamson (left) bats during the 2013 ICC Champions to a return offering from his own bowling to dis- miss left-handed opener Cook. Trophy cricket match against England at the Cardiff Wales Stadium.—AFP This victory also meant England won their CHANTILLY: French jockey Thierry Jarnet celebrates after winning on Treve the ‘decider’ with New Zealand after they triumphed 2- SCOREBOARD 164th Prix de Diane, a 2100-metre flat horse race open to three-year-old thor- 1 in a one-day series in New Zealand earlier this oughbred fillies. —AFP year before the Black Caps turned the table by the same margin in a series in England in the run-up to CARDIFF, United Kingdom: Final scoreboard in the Champions Trophy Group A match between the Champions Trophy.. England and New Zealand in Cardiff yesterday: Lorenzo storms to victory Kane Williamson kept New Zealand hopes alive with a 48-ball fifty completed when he struck England New Zealand MONTMELO: Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo towards the end I was able to push a bit Anderson for his seventh four before lofting Tim A. Cook c and b N McCullum 64 L. Ronchi c Trott b Anderson 2 trimmed the gap to championship leader harder and I was able to win such a tough Bresnan for six. I. Bell c B McCullum b McClenaghan 10 M. Guptill b Anderson 9 Dani Pedrosa at the top of the MotoGP and physically challenging race.” Suddenly, New Zealand needed 36 to win off 18 J. Trott c N McCullum b Mills 8 K. Williamson c Anderson b Broad 67 standings to seven points when he It was a faultless performance from balls with five wickets left. But Williamson then J. Root c Ronchi b McClenaghan 38 R. Taylor lbw b Bresnan 3 stormed to victory at a sweltering Lorenzo, who also beat local hero Pedrosa holed out off Stuart Broad for 67, although the E. Morgan lbw b Vettori 15 B. McCullum c Root b Bopara 8 J. Franklin c Morgan b Bopara 6 Catalunya grand prix yesterday. into second in Catalunya last year, and the paceman had a worrying few moments before a J. Buttler c N McCullum b Mills 14 C. Anderson c Anderson b Bresnan 30 The Spanish world champion beat com- 26-year-old Majorcan has 116 points after review for a tight no-ball call went in his favor. R. Bopara c Williamson b McClenaghan 9 patriot and Honda pilot Pedrosa to the first six of 18 races. And 135 for six became 140 for seven when N. McCullum c Buttler b Anderson 13 T. Bresnan run out (Franklin) 4 corner and pulled away in the latter stages Pedrosa leads on 123 points with Corey Anderson, making his one-day international K. Mills not out 5 S. Broad c N McCullum b Mills 0 to win by just under two seconds, his sec- Marquez third on 93 and Crutchlow fourth debut, was caught by Anderson off Bresnan. Extras (lb8, w8) 16 ond consecutive win at the Montmelo cir- on 71. “At the beginning it was reasonably That left New Zealand 140 for seven and need- J. Tredwell c McClenaghan b Mills 0 Total (8 wkts, 24 overs) 159 cuit near Barcelona. comfortable with a decent rhythm but then ing 30 to win off 10 balls. Anderson wrapped up J. Anderson not out 0 Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Ronchi), 2-14 (Guptill), 3-27 Rookie Marc Marquez completed an all- the tyres started to deteriorate and the victory by having Nathan McCullum caught behind Extras (lb2, w4, nb1) 7 (Taylor), 4-48 (B McCullum), 5-62 (Franklin), 6- Spanish podium when he finished just three of us slowed down,” Pedrosa told off the final delivery of the match. Total (all out, 23.3 overs) 169 135 (Williamson), 7-140 (Anderson), 8-159 (N behind Pedrosa in third after pushing his Telecinco. After New Zealand won the toss, Ian Bell was Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Bell), 2-25 (Trott), 3-100 McCullum) team mate hard on the final laps. “I was never able to get to the straight out when Brendon McCullum held a superb catch (Root), 4-141 (Cook), 5-143 (Morgan), 6-159 Did not bat: D Vettori, M McClenaghan A host of riders including Britain’s Cal right behind Jorge to attempt a pass,” at short extra-cover off Mitchell McClenaghan. (Buttler), 7-166 (Bopara), 8-169 (Bresnan), 9-169 Bowling: Broad 5-0-25-1 (2w); Anderson 5-0-32- 3 (3w); Bresnan 5-0-41-2 (2w); Bopara 5-0-26-2 Crutchlow, Spaniard Alvaro Bautista and added the 27-year-old. “It was an easy day And 16 for one became 25 for two when (Broad), 10-169 (Tredwell) (1w); Tredwell 4-0-27-0. American Nicky Hayden crashed out leav- to fall and I wanted to push him (Lorenzo) Jonathan Trott, chipped Mills straight to Nathan Bowling: McClenaghan 5-0-36-3 (3w); Mills 4.3- ing former world champion Valentino Rossi but I knew that I couldn’t make any mis- McCullum, Brendon’s older brother, at mid-wicket. Result: England won by 10 runs 0-30-4 (1nb); Anderson 1-0-4-0; Vettori 5-0-27-1; Man-of-the-match: Alastair Cook (ENG) of Italy to coast home in fourth. takes.” In the Moto2 category, Spaniard Pol Trott’s exit gave Mills his 25th Champions Franklin 2-0-20-0; N McCullum 4-0-30-1; “Right from the first corner we were hav- Espargaro secured his second win of the Trophy wicket, surpassing the competition record Note: Match reduced by rain to 24 overs per Williamson 2-0-20-0 (1w). ing huge problems with the front tyre but I year ahead of compatriot Esteve Rabat in of retired Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah side. imagine all the riders were as the tempera- second, Swiss Thomas Luethi in third and ture was horrible,” Lorenzo said in an inter- championship leader Scott Redding of view with Spanish television broadcaster Britain in fourth. Luis Salom moved to the Telecinco. top of the Moto3 standings with his third England’s bowler Anderson “It was extremely hot and the tyres lost victory of the year with Alex Rins and a lot of performance but as I said the start Maverick Vinales in second and third was crucial and I got a better start than I respectively as Spaniards filled the top five denies ball-tampering claims expected and was able to get past Dani at places. The riders now head to Assen, the first corner,” he added. Netherlands for the next races at the end of LONDON: England strike bowler James Anderson has rejected “It was a bit like cat and mouse but this month.—Reuters Champions Trophy table claims from former captain Bob Willis that the ball was tampered with during a Champions Trophy match against Sri Lanka at the Oval last Thursday. Willis, who is now a television pundit, said Champions Trophy table after yesterday’s match between England and New Zealand at umpire Aleem Dar’s decision to change one of the two balls after Cardiff (played, won, lost, tied, no result, points, net run-rate): 25 overs of the Sri Lanka innings was made because the ball had Group A been scratched to assist the bowlers and not because it had gone England 3 2 1 0 0 4 +0.31 - qualified for out of shape. semi-finals David Lloyd, another former England player who is also now a New Zealand 3 1 1 0 1 3 +0.78 television commentator, tweeted: “Ball change is simple...umpires Sri Lanka 2 1 1 0 0 2 -0.52 thought that Eng changed the condition of the ball....which is Australia 2 0 1 0 1 1 -0.96 against the laws.” The allegations were denied by England one- Group B day coach Ashley Giles, who told a news conference: “We don’t India 3 3 0 0 0 6 +0.94 - qualified for tamper with the ball. The ball was changed, as far as I am aware, semi-finals because it had gone out of shape.” Anderson told the Mail yester- South Africa 3 1 1 1 0 3 +0.33 - qualified for day that Willis’ comments were an unwelcome distraction. “The semi-finals fact is people can think what they like. We know the truth, I can West Indies 3 1 1 1 0 3 -0.07 state categorically that no one in the England team has ever tam- Pakistan 3 0 3 0 0 0 -1.03 pered with a ball and we won’t allow comments made by some- one like Bob Willis to worry us,” he said. Semi-finals “I hadn’t bowled for a while so I didn’t see the shape of the ball Jun 19, The Oval: A1 v South Africa but the umpires put it through their rings to test it and decided it Jun 20, Cardiff: A2 v India needed changing.” Anderson said the England bowlers’ ability to reverse swing the ball did not mean it was being tampered with. Final “Just because one bowler or one team reverse a ball better than Jun 23, Edgbaston another on a given day doesn’t mean to say he or they have been Note: Day matches start at 0930GMT, tampering. It just means they’re more skilful,” he said. “I can assure SPAIN: Yamaha Factory Racing Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo celebrates on the D/N (day/night matches) at 1200GMT you that if any of the England bowlers achieve it then it is within podium after winning the MotoGP race of the Catalunya Grand Prix. —AFP the letter of the laws.” —Reuters MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 SPORTS19

RIO DE JANEIRO: Italy’s Mario Balotelli scores his team’s second goal during the soccer Confederations Cup Group A match between Mexico and Italy at Maracana stadium. — AP Balotelli fires Italy past Mexico

RIO DE JANEIRO: Mario Balotelli showed off his in the 11th. former great Jared Borgetti. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli replaced Balotelli in the strength and rapidly developing talent by scoring the Italy moved level with Brazil on three points in the As usual, the temperamental Balotelli by turn mis- 85th with Alberto Gilardino. Balotelli walked off to a winner in Italy’s 2-1 victory over Mexico yesterday at group after the hosts beat Japan 3-0 in the tournament behaved and by turn proved unstoppable. At one warm reception from the sold-out crowd. the Confederations Cup. opener Saturday. point midway through the second half, Balotelli kicked For Mexico, which entered amid a stuttering World In the 78th minute, Balotelli collected a perfectly The Azzurri had not impressed in their last two his boot across the area after being thwarted by Cup qualifying campaign, the loss will extend pressure placed acrobatic pass from Emanuele Giaccherini and matches, drawing with both the Czech Republic in a Mexico’s stubborn defense. on coach Jose Manuel De la Torre. However, the muscled in between two defenders to break a dead- World Cup qualifier and with Haiti upon arriving in But the AC Milan striker finally broke through as the Mexican side showed promise and came close to tak- lock in the first official match at the renovated Brazil earlier this week, but Pirlo and Balotelli made the match appeared headed for a draw, holding off Mexico ing the lead in the second half. Maracana Stadium. difference this time. captain Francisco Rodriguez then powering past Mexico has won only one of six qualifiers with three Celebrating his 100th appearance with the national For his 13th goal with Italy, Pirlo curled a spinning another defender, Hiram Mier, to slot the ball in as he goals scored, and failed to find the target at all in its last team, Andrea Pirlo had given Italy the lead with one of shot over Mexico’s wall into the top left corner after skidded across the grass. Much like at last year’s two drawn matches against Panama and Costa Rica. his trademark free kicks in the 27th. Mexico equalized Balotelli earned the foul that set up the dead-ball shot European Championship, when he scored both goals Despite their squad’s recent troubles, Mexican fans, in the 34th, when Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez con- from 30 meters (yards) out. in a 2-1 semifinal win over Germany and pulled off his many of them wearing their customary sombreros, verted a penalty kick after Andrea Barzagli tripped Mexico’s equalizer came after Barzagli let Dos shirt after one of them, Balotelli reacted by stripping off hugely outnumbered blue-clad Italian supporters on a Giovani Dos Santos. Santos get by him to set up Hernandez’s 33rd goal in his jersey to show off his muscular physique, earning a comfortable afternoon. In an entertaining Group A match, Italy dominated 51 appearances for Mexico. The 25-year-old yellow card. In the next round of Group A matches Wednesday, possession while Mexico relied on counterattacks, Hernandez, who plays for Manchester United, is on Perhaps worried that he might pick up a second yel- Italy next faces Japan in Recife and Mexico play Brazil in coming close when Andres Guardado hit the crossbar course to better the Mexico record of 42 goals held by low card, as in the match against the Czech Republic, Fortaleza. — AP

Preview Tahiti plot ambush of jetlagged Nigeria

BELO HORIZONTE: Nigeria’s status as resounding favorites Abdullahi to broker a truce between the squad and the to beat minnows Tahiti in their Confederations Cup opener Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The Super Eagles have today has been compromised by a delayed arrival that nonetheless gone 17 games unbeaten and will expect to leaves them just 36 hours to prepare for the game. open their campaign with victory against a side ranked Tahiti became the first team to arrive in Brazil for the 138th in the FIFA ranking. intercontinental showpiece when they touched down on Representing the French Polynesian islands in the south June 7, a full 10 days before the Group B clash with African Pacific, which have a population of just 270,000, Tahiti have champions Nigeria in Belo Horizonte. In stark contrast, no previous senior tournament experience. Nigeria are not due to arrive until 0400 local time (0700 Their preparations have included a 7-0 thrashing by GMT) yesterday, giving Stephen Keshi’s squad precious little Chile’s under-20 side and a 1-0 loss to Brazilian second-tier time to shake the jet lag from their systems and get ready club Mineiro, and forward Steevy Chong Hue knows his side for the match. could be set for a rude awakening. “For an amateur player, it A row over bonus payments had put Nigeria’s participa- is a dream to face the best players in the world,” he said. tion in jeopardy, only for sports minister Mallam Bolaji “However, for it not to become a nightmare, we have to keep working really hard so we are ready for the first game.” Neymar Despite the vast disparity between the sides, Nigeria defender Efe Ambrose says the risk of international humilia- tion will keep his team-mates on their toes. “We cannot afford to take any chances,” the versatile Neymar renews Brazil’s Celtic player told the FIFA website. “Big shocks have hap- pened before in these kind of tournaments and we don’t want to be the victims this time.” number 10 love affair Tahiti, who qualified by winning the Oceania Nations Cup, will hope to draw inspiration from the venue of Monday’s game, which was the scene of the United States’ BELO HORIZONTE: As Neymar drove a that the shirt came to represent Brazil’s Ronaldinho and Kaka, Ballon d’Or shock 1-0 victory over England at the 1950 World Cup. blistering shot into the top-right corner innate gift for creativity. winners both, failed to inspire Brazil at Home to Brazilian sides Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro, of the Japanese goal in Brazil’s At the 1970 World Cup, Brazil’s the World Cups of 2006 and 2010, and the 62,547-capacity Estadio Mineirao has undergone an Confederations Cup opener on crowning glory, he tried to lob the recent wearers, including Neymar’s for- Saturday, he strengthened his claim to Czech goalkeeper from halfway and lat- mer Santos team-mate Ganso, have extensive overhaul in preparation for the Confederations one of the most coveted garments in er flummoxed Uruguay goalkeeper fared little better. “The number 10 nor- Cup and next year’s World Cup. Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta will world sport. Ladislao Mazurkiewicz with an auda- mally denotes two things,” says Brazilian hand a debut to former Monaco forward Marama Vahirua, There are many iconic shirt numbers cious dummy in the semi-finals. Neither football specialist and writer Jack Lang. the squad’s only professional player, whose commitments in football-the Argentina number 10, action resulted in a goal, but with his “Firstly, and most obviously, an element in Europe have prevented him from playing at international the number seven shirt at Manchester imagination and his ideas, Pele gave of fantasy: the 10 is the player who can level before. Nigeria will be without Lazio midfielder Ogenyi United, Celtic and Liverpool-but none thrilling hints that there were new and win a match-or rescue it-with a feint, Onazi, who has followed Spartak Moscow striker Emmanuel are as evocative as Brazil’s numero dez. unorthodox ways to play the game. flick or free-kick. Emenike and Chelsea winger Victor Moses in withdrawing In many countries, such as Argentina, Any number of Brazil’s players could “But the craque (star player) has a from the squad due to injury. — AFP Italy and the Balkan states, the number have sported the number 10 at the 1982 burden to bear: he’s not like the other 10 is associated with languid playmak- World Cup in Spain, but the honor fell to players, so isn’t judged by the same cri- ers, but in Brazil it often graces the torso Zico, who spearheaded one of the most teria. Today’s of the team’s most dynamic player. popular teams never to have won the “There is a responsibility involved match on TV When someone dons the shirt, they tournament. because the team’s prospects are so are thereby grasping a thread that runs Pele aside, the only other men to lift entwined with his performance.” It was all the way back to the great Pele. Pele the World Cup in the Brazil number 10 therefore with great care that Neymar FIFA Confederations Cup first wore the jersey as a 17-year-old at shirt are Rai and Rivaldo, both of whom was eased into the number 10 shirt. the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and it possessed the requisite attributes of ele- For Santos, and at previous tourna- did not leave his back until he called gance, vision and match-changing class. ments with Brazil, he has worn the num- French Polynesia v Nigeria...... 22:00 time on his international career, 13 With its green numbering against a ber 11 shirt, synonymous with the skit- BELO HORIZONTE: Tahiti’s national football team Al-Jazeera Sport 1 HD years and three World Cup winners’ yellow background, the shirt is recognis- tish outside-lefts of yesteryear. A num- player Marama Vahirua, the only professional Al-Jazeera Sport +9 medals later, in 1971. able all around the world, but in the ber 11 can be a great talent, but he is player of the team, kicks a ball during a training Al-Jazeera Sport 2 HD session. — AFP As well as his 77 international goals, wrong circumstances, it can weigh like a rarely the player around which the team Pele’s outrageous inventiveness meant lead weight. is constructed. — AFP

Jittery markets await clarity from the Fed Page 22

Islamic finance in Tunisia Business could reach 25-40% share MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 Page 23 Why World Cup can’t save Brazil’s tourism industry Spaniards march against austerity Page 25 Page 26 KSE rises on court ruling Traders attribute Kuwait gains to state-linked funds

DUBAI: Kuwait’s bourse rose yesterday on what 2013 gains to 44.6 percent. Abu Dhabi’s measure traders said was buying by government-linked retreated 0.9 percent. As the Syria crisis intensi- funds ahead of a politically sensitive court ruling. fied, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said he Dubai World makes major asset sale After the close, the court dissolved parliament had cut diplomatic ties with Damascus and and called for new elections, bringing fresh backed a no-fly zone over Syria. Saudi Arabia’s DUBAI: Dubai World, the state-linked group sale and it’s a positive indication that they and national banks are exempt from the lim- uncertainty to the Gulf state. Most other regional King Abdullah cut short a holiday abroad to deal whose $25 billion of debt brought the emirate have disposed it,” said a senior Dubai-based its. Previously, under instructions to banks markets fell in heavy selling, dragged down by with the issue of Syria, while the United States to the brink of financial collapse in 2009, has banking source whose firm has exposure to issued in November 2011, the limits were 30 escalating geopolitical tensions surrounding said it would keep F-16 fighters and Patriot mis- sold one of its UK assets as part of its efforts to Dubai debt. “The big elephant in the room is percent each for equities and debt instru- Syria and the shaky global environment for siles in Jordan at Amman’s request. repay creditors. A unit of Toronto-based still Dubai World and we would like to see ments. emerging markets. “The biggest discount to this region by for- investment company Brookfield Asset more such deals coming out of them in the Among other restrictions, the central bank Kuwait’s measure climbed 0.3 percent, halting eigners is political risks, and although generally Management has bought logistics warehouse near future. There is a willingness to do it set new limits for investment in individual a two-session losing streak. The market is still up this risk is misunderstood and overdone, the situ- developer Gazeley from Dubai World sub- more than before and (the) general improve- companies and unlisted securities, and intro- 34.1 percent year-to-date, in a rally driven mainly ation in Syria is a real threat,” said Amer Khan, sidiary Economic Zones World (EZW), the ment in market conditions should help going duced a 15 percent ceiling for total securities by retail investors, who have been encouraged by fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management in Canadian firm said in a statement. It did not forward.” investment outside Qatar. Real estate invest- a government push on economic development Dubai. The instability in Syria could potentially disclose the value of the transaction. The sale Dubai World bought Gazeley from Wal- ment by Islamic banks will be limited to 10 and expected improvement in corporate earn- affect the Suez Canal and therefore oil supplies, is the first major divestments of a foreign Mart Stores in 2008 for an estimated 300 to percent of capital and reserves; previously, the ings. he added. In Doha, the index shed 0.6 percent, asset by Dubai World since it agreed on a debt 400 million pounds ($459-$611 million). A fall limit was 30 percent. The central bank did not The Constitutional Court threw out opposition its second decline from Wednesday’s 57-month deal with creditors in 2011. The restructuring in asset prices since then means the sale to give the reasons for its new rules, but Qatar is challenges to changes to the electoral system high. agreement promised full repayment to credi- Brookfield may have occurred at a lower price. gearing up to spend tens of billions of dollars which had been decreed by HH the Amir. It is not The United Arab Emirates and Qatar surged tors through a series of disposals of overseas Brookfield Asset spun off subsidiary on major infrastructure projects, and it is seek- yet clear whether this will prompt a stronger last Wednesday after an announcement by index assets bought at peak prices in 2006-07. Brookfield Property Partners in April, which ing to develop its government debt market campaign of opposition street protests, or compiler MSCI that it would upgrade the two Gazeley is one of four businesses held by holds substantially all of the commercial prop- partly to help finance this. The circular did not whether the next parliament will be more or less countries to emerging market status. But since EZW, which operates technology, logistics and erty assets previously held directly by say over what time frame the new rules would willing to work with the Cabinet to implement the markets had already gained sharply this year, industrial parks as well as the Jebel Ali Free Brookfield Asset. be implemented, and central bank officials stalled economic projects. the positive impact of the news has been short- Zone (JAFZA), a business district, under the Brookfield Property said the acquisition could not be contacted to elaborate. The rules “There are many people praising this resolu- lived. Traders said Qatar was not, however, signifi- Dubai World Group umbrella. Its portfolio was made along with its institutional partners may push banks to free up more money to tion - but my only reservation is that we don’t cantly affected by news that the central bank had includes 524,000 square metre of assets and through a fund managed by an affiliate of lend to infrastructure projects or invest in need any more obstruction in the movement of tightened its curbs on how much banks could land bank of 1.3 million square metres. Brookfield Asset. It will own 30 percent of government debt, but may not have much long-overdue economic development,” said invest in stocks and bonds, lowering the cap to Proceeds from the sale of Gazeley are expect- Gazeley post the acquisition. Brookfield was immediate effect in forcing them to sell secu- Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at Global 25 percent of their capital and reserves. ed to go towards the repayment of a $1.2 bil- the first large international fund to target rities because not all banks have reached the Investment House. Darwish said the market out- The rules may not have much immediate lion loan secured by associate firm JAFZA in Dubai’s real estate, when it announced plans limits. look would depend on whether the previous par- effect in forcing banks to sell securities because June last year. to launch a $1 billion fund with state-con- A report by Jaap Meijer, regional head of liament was reinstated or new elections took not all banks have reached the limits, and since EZW had pledged up to $300 million for trolled Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) financial research at Arqaam Capital, estimat- place. the time frame for banks to comply is not yet JAFZA from the proceeds raised by the in 2011. The firm, along with ICD planned to ed Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) would be most But political uncertainty may trigger govern- clear. Egypt’s main benchmark fell 1.0 percent, Gazeley sale, and should the sale be complet- buy up distressed assets in the emirate. affected by the new rules, since it currently ment buying through the National Portfolio extending 2013 losses to 15.7 percent. Trading ed, funds will be used to part-repay the bank Meanwhile, Qatar’s central bank has tight- had 32 percent of its capital in equity and Fund, established to support the market, he volumes fell to 30 million shares, a three-week facility, a company prospectus stated. The ened its curbs on how much banks can invest debt securities, 7 percentage points above the added. “I’m sure the government had its hand in low, as investors maintained a risk-averse attitude logistics warehouses firm was set aside for in stocks and bonds, according to a circular ceiling, while 19 percent of its capital was in the market to lift prices.” towards a market with huge economic and politi- sale in 2012 as part of Dubai World’s restruc- released by the central bank and seen by unlisted securities, 9 points above the limit. cal risks. Saudi Arabia’s bourse climbed 0.5 per- turing deal. Gazeley had hired Citigroup Inc Reuters. Banks’ total investment in equities Qatar National Bank, Commercial Bank of Region cent, reversing some of its losses from the previ- for the sale in 2011, banking sources told and debt instruments must be limited to 25 Qatar , Al Khalij Commercial Bank and QIB Elsewhere, most regional markets retreated. ous session, when it plunged 4.3 percent in Reuters at the time. percent of their capital and reserves, though exceed the limits for international invest- Dubai’s benchmark lost 2.3 percent, cutting its response to the Syria crisis. — Reuters “This particular asset was earmarked for debt instruments issued by the government ments, he said. — Reuters MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 BUSINESS ABK updates ‘eAhli Jittery markets await Online Banking’ service

KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait recently exclusive tab for SMS service where you clarity from the Fed updated its ‘eAhli Online Banking’ service can register to track your account every found on its website www.eahli.com to step, and other requests such as create an provide a more user friendly, seamless account, issue a credit card or a cheque experience to the customer. book, or raise credit cards limit at any- Will Fed really reel in quantitative easing program? Othman Tawfiqi, Head of Alternative time.” Delivery Channels stated ‘eAhli Online With ‘eAhli Online Banking’ ABK cus- WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve’s policy The Fed’s guideposts, unemployment and the tapering QE purchases would begin only if Banking’ service is one of the most com- tomers can transfer funds online whether board meets tomorrow to review the economy inflation, remain far off their target for a “nor- the economic data supports a picture of a con- prehensive and up-to-date sites thanks to local or international, in addition to receiv- and its stimulus program, and markets are look- malized” fiscal policy. The unemployment rate is sistently improving economy. And the Fed has the modern technology tools that were ing a detailed bank statement for the last ing for one thing: clarity. After weeks of tumul- hovering at 7.6 percent-the target is 6.5 per- not yet concluded that, with US industry and incorporated. Now you can pay your credit six months. He added, “In the newly tuous stock market volatility and a sharp fall in cent-and inflation is well below the 2.0 percent employment still growing slowly. cards outstanding balance directly via revamped ‘eAhli Online Banking’ service, bond prices, bankers, investors and anyone else level the FOMC sees would be healthy. Most Still, there are reasons for nervousness. Many ‘eAhli Online Banking’ where the payment different packages have been created with a vested interest are waiting to hear: is the analysts say that means that the FOMC is likely investors fear a repeat of February 1994. gets deposited into your card account depending on the account type, in addi- Fed really about to reel in its quantitative easing to stay the course in this meeting. But how Likewise a time of a tepid turnaround from right away.’ tion to the exclusive package made for program? Bernanke hones his hints on future policy in a recession, and with no evidence of inflationary Tawfiqi highlighted, “Now customers Prestige account customers, and a special If so, could that be within months? Or will post-meeting press conference Wednesday will pressures, the Fed without warning raised its can set instructions to place an amount in package made to suit the younger age the US central bank wait for stronger economic be key. benchmark federal funds rate for the first time another account for a specified period, for group via Fahoodi account. Last, but not growth to take that step? The markets eagerly “We do not expect Mr Bernanke to yet show in five years, and did so repeately over the next timely and automatic transfer of pay- the least, customers can now even pay await any meeting of the Federal Open Market confidence that the time to taper QE is near,” 10 months for a rate hike totalling a massive 2.5 ments. In the new service you will find an their Zain bills using this service”. Committee, which sets the benchmark US dollar said Carl Riccadonna at Deutsche Bank. “But the percentage points. It came as a huge shock to interest rate and, at the moment, continues to most important aspect of his media Q&A will be the bond and stock markets, and criticism hold long-term rates down with its $85 billion- whether he signals that a second-half taper rained over the Fed. Two decades later, the con- a-month QE bond buying program. But much remains plausible.” The bond market has decid- ditions are similar. But the Fed has clearly taken IMF’s downgrade of world more rides on this FOMC meeting tomorrow ed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond shot to heart the lessons with its expanding empha- and Wednesday, because over the past month up from 1.63 percent at the beginning of May to sis on “communications”-on flagging the evolu- economic growth is billions of dollars have been bet on an aggres- 2.23 percent in the past week, and the 30-year tion of its thinking to the public in a regular and sive interpretation of comments by Fed chief jumped from 2.82 percent to 3.38 percent. consistent way so there are no surprises. a warning to central banks Ben Bernanke that the Fed is about to turn the Partly behind that were the seeming at-odds “The Fed will not slow its bond buying at the corner on five years of stimulus. comments by Bernanke to Congress on the upcoming meeting. But Ben Bernanke has an By Hayder Tawfik ing twice about early tapering and his The belief that it will start tapering its bond issue on May 22. He first warned that tightening opportunity to clarify for markets that, even if concern should be the declining inflation purchases within months has sent bond prices monetary policy now could stall the US recov- the Fed tapers later this year, interest rate hikes fter the recent talk by the Federal rate and not strong economic growth. plummeting and interest rates shooting up, and ery. But moments later he said the Fed could are still far in the future,” said economist Paul Reserve about early tapering with Most central banks have undershot their that, in turn, has pulled stocks lower, after they decide to start reining in stimulus in its “next Edelstein at IHS Global Insight. Analysts at Wells Athe monthly bond purchase, inflation targets and this is quite worry- reached new records fueled by the Fed’s easy few meetings,” taken as meaning as within Fargo said the low inflation rate means the Fed investors around the world took fright ing at a time of weak global economic money policy. Yet US economic growth slowed months. Since then stock markets have swung does not have to move yet. “While we expect and got into a selling frenzy of all kind of growth and tough austerity measures. slightly in the spring and remains at risk to slow- wildly from day to day as investors hang on inflation to rise over the remainder of the year, it financial assets. Equities took the brunt Was the recent correction in equities, er growth around the world, and with the gov- every economic data point to confirm or weak- will likely remain securely below the Fed’s two bonds and currencies are justified! ernment slashing spending, Fed stimulus is still en the interpretation that cutting QE is nigh. percent target and could sway the Fed to wait The answer is very simple. It is all to needed, economists say. Yet Bernanke has been at pains to stress that until late this year to begin tapering.” —AFP do with valuations. I have been saying for while those historical yields on bonds are not sustainable regardless if central banks buying or not. It is purely overval- Croatia hopes the ‘EU label’ ued and investors are not paid to hold them. Even if these bonds are rated top quality. On the contrary they are the will boost tourism industry most overvalued as investors been chas- ing save heaven bonds. Equity valuation DUBROVNIK: Croatia’s azure Adriatic coastline dotted is less overvalued relative to bonds and with over a thousand verdant islands has already won cash. Stocks with good financial funda- the nation a spot on the world tourist map and hopes mentals and solid earnings have been are high that July’s EU entry will boost the sector and overvalued for a while and will remain provide a much needed shot in the arm to the strug- overvalued but that is not a reason to gling economy. “EU entry will certainly improve Croatia’s hold on to them unless an investor has to image as a tourist destination and might even bring an be in the stock market. I think investors investment surge,” said Goran Hrnic, chief executive of and was followed by bonds and in the should focus on small to mid cap stocks the Gulliver Travel agency, a member of TUI Travel, last few days emerging market curren- that are domestically orientated and Europe’s largest tour operator. cies were sold off aggressively. This was have less risk to a global economic slow In 2012, Croatia hosted a record 11.8 million tourists- another reminder of the extent to which down. As for currencies, well the compet- mostly Germans, Slovenians, Italians and Austrians-near- market gains have been based on ultra itive devaluation has been going on for a ly triple its population of 4.2 million. Tourism provides easy monetary policies followed around while and the recent sell off in some of key support for Croatia’s economy, which has struggled the world by most central banks rather emerging markets currencies is a bless in in recession nearly continuously since 2009. Last year, than underlying economic growth. disguise for some central banks. tourism accounted for some 15 percent of the country’s The warning by the IMF about the At present, investors will wonder over gross domestic product (GDP) with income totalling fragility of the world economy was in my what periods will central banks reverse some 6.8 billion euros ($8.8 billion). opinion a warning to central banks that the Quantitative Easing policy and what After a peak in the 1980s, Croatia’s tourism was hard- tapering with Quantitative Easing is far will be the impact on the markets. A rap- too early. The IMF and OECD reminded id reversal in easy monetary policy by hit by its 1991-1995 independence war. The conflict even DUBROVNIK: This photo shows the medieval port of Dubrovnik on Croatia’s touched the so-called Pearl of the Adriatic, when Serb us how fragile global growth was by cut- central banks at a time when govern- forces laid seige and shelled the medieval port of Adriatic coast. —AFP ting forecasts for major economies, ment spending is still cut and when the while the European Central bank did the banks and the consumers are running Dubrovnik in 1991, killing and wounding dozens and head of the Dubrovnik hoteliers’ association, told AFP. around one million cruise-ship visitors. Even the owners same by caving in twice with extension down their debts could result in a trend causing severe damage. But since the end of the war, the Hanke Reitz from Germany decided to visit Dubrovnik of a cafe that has made itself an international reputation to deficit to GDP targets for euro-zone reversal in the capital markets. The worry industry has gradually recovered to surpass its pre-war before the crowds move in at the peak of the season in by doing things the traditional way sees some value in members to allow for an easing in aus- of which has caused most of the recent levels. The country’s main draw is its 1,777-kilometre July that coincides with the EU entry. “Many in Europe the change coming next month. terity and focus on reforms. Global corrections. I think central banks will start (1,101-mile) long coast with some 1,100 islands and will now notice Croatia and realise they do not have to “For the past 50 years nothing has changed, neither unemployment rate remains perilous, unwinding the ultra easy monetary poli- islets, of which only 66 are inhabited. go to Greece or Spain to have beautiful holidays,” said quality nor service, that is why people like us,” said Dinka inflation benign and consumer confi- cy very slowly and in a measured way so An alluring Mediterranean climate, budget airline Reitz. Popovic, the Skola owner. The small cafe got its name- dence indicators depressed. Adding to as to avoid market shock and reduce connections, and affordable prices have proved a win- In Dubrovnik, the UNESCO world heritage-listed School-from students cutting classes and spending time all these is the concern about the weaker unwarranted risk. My advise to investors ning formula for tourists seeking sun and sand and medieval town described by George Bernard Shaw as there filling up on its typical Dalmatian cuisine, uses Chinese economy. is to take advantage of big sell off creat- young clubbers out for a good time. But its luxurious “paradise on Earth”, tourists often outnumber citizens. organic products from the same suppliers it has used Economic data from the US are still ed by a quantitative easing reversal and night spots also draw international celebrities and its Last year, almost 800,000 tourists visited its famous two- from decades. showing falling unemployment and position themselves for more sustainable and lavish marinas serve the yachting set out to find kilometre-long (1.2 mile-long) city walls, built over the Popovic says it “will be better in EU” as she served stronger consumers spending with a global economic recovery. Robinson Crusoe-style secluded bays. 12th to the 17th century, and strolled along the polished home-made prosciutto and cheese sandwiches, sardine healthy housing market. But the US is not “We definitely expect stronger demand for Croatia” stone blocks of the main promenade Stradun. salad, and strudel to clients at her seven tables. “There —Hayder Tawfik is the Executive Vice immune from what is happening around after July 1 when the nation will wind up a decade-long Apart from tourists, who arrive mainly by plane and will be no borders, so people might decide on visiting President of Asset Management, at Dimah the world. I think Ben Bernanke is think- process and join the European Union, Zeljko Miletic, stay an average five days, every year Dubrovnik hosts even more,” added her husband Miljenko. —AFP Capital.

EXCHANGE RATES

Commercial Bank of Kuwait Malaysian ringgit 94.271 Omani Riyal 737.02 748.000 Guinea Franc 0.0000440 0.0000500 Irani Riyal 0.271 Qatari Riyal 78.26 79.500 Hg Kong Dollar 0.0340195 0.0371195 Irani Riyal 0.273 Saudi Riyal 75.70 76.000 Indian Rupee 0.0048687 0.0049337 US Dollar/KD .2770000 .2880000 Indonesian Rupiah 0.0000238 0.0000289 GB Pound/KD .4310000 .4470000 GCC COUNTRIES Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Jamaican Dollars 0.0028329 0.0038329 Euro .3680000 .3760000 Saudi Riyal 75.990 Japanese Yen 0.0029338 0.0031138 Swiss francs .3020000 .3170000 Qatari Riyal 78.290 Rate for Transfer Selling Rate Kenyan Shilling 0.0032678 0.0034978 Canadian Dollar .2780000 .2920000 Omani Riyal 740.160 US Dollar 283.750 Malaysian Ringgit 0.0863871 0.0933871 Bahraini Dinar 756.880 Nepalese Rupee 0.0029300 0.0031300 Australian DLR .2940000 .3020000 Canadian Dollar 280.895 UAE Dirham 77.605 Pakistan Rupee 0.0028520 0.0028920 Indian rupees .0040000 .0069000 Sterling Pound 445.920 Sri Lanka Rupee .0020000 .0035000 Philippine Peso 0.0061723 0.0066423 ARAB COUNTRIES Euro 380.130 Sierra Leone 0.0000725 0.0000755 UAE dirhams .0771240 .0778990 Swiss Frank 300.705 Bahraini dinars .7513970 .7589480 Egyptian Pound - Cash 39.950 Singapore Dollar 0.2230032 0.2290032 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.068 Bahrain Dinar 751.230 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.0021664 0.0022084 Jordanian dinar .3930000 .4110000 UAE Dirhams 77.230 Saudi riyals .0720000 .0770000 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.329 Thai Baht 0.0089038 0.0095038 Tunisian Dinar 175.830 Qatari Riyals 77.885 Arab Omani riyals .7366120 .7440150 Jordanian Dinar 402.420 Saudi Riyals 75.630 Bahraini Dinar 0.7463592 0.7548592 Egyptian pounds .0370000 .0440000 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.912 Jordanian Dinar 399.990 Egyptian Pound 0.0379239 0.0399539 Syrian Lier 3.096 Egyptian Pound 39.942 Ethiopeanbirr 0.0127229 0.0192229 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES Morocco Dirham 34.444 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.223 Ghanaian Cedi 0.1442921 0.1460821 US Dollar/KD .2841000 .2862000 Indian Rupees 4.857 Iranian Riyal 0.0000789 0.0000794 GB Pound/KD .4338920 .4370990 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Pakistani Rupees 2.877 Iraqi Dinar 0.0001724 0.0002324 Euro .3707360 .3734770 US Dollar Transfer 284.850 Bangladesh Taka 3.643 Jordanian Dinar 0.3947072 0.4022072 Swiss francs .3043390 .3065880 Euro 379.140 Philippines Pesso 6.561 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000 Canadian dollars .2795430 .2816100 Sterling Pound 445.220 Cyprus pound 696.050 Lebanese Pound 0.0001740 0.0001940 Danish Kroner .0497330 .0501010 Canadian dollar 280.640 Japanese Yen 4.000 Moroccan Dirhams 0.0223261 0.0463261 Swedish Kroner .0443660 .0446940 Turkish lira 149.830 Thai Bhat 9.785 Nigerian Naira 0.0012034 0.0018384 Australian dlr .2963730 .2985640 Swiss Franc 306.620 Syrian Pound 4.055 Omani Riyal 0.7261310 0.7371310 Hong Kong dlr .0365940 .0368650 Australian Dollar 269.330 Nepalese Rupees 3.325 Qatar Riyal 0.0772976 0.0780806 Saudi Riyal 0.0751467 0.0757867 Singapore dlr .2291130 .2308060 US Dollar Buying 283.650 Malaysian Ringgit 95.150 Japanese yen .0029600 .0028810 Sudanese Pounds 0.0461426 0.0466926 Syrian Pound 0.0027430 0.0029630 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0052870 GOLD Bahrain Exchange Company Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0022880 20 Gram 265.000 Tunisian Dinar 0.1740625 0.1800625 10 Gram 134.000 UAE Dirhams 0.0758409 0.0772909 Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0029190 COUNTRY SELL CASH SELLDRAFT Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0036810 5 Gram 70.000 Europe Yemeni Riyal 0.0012801 0.0013801 UAE dirhams .0773800 .0779520 British Pound 0.4385459 0.4475459 Bahraini dinars .7538810 .7594530 UAE Exchange Centre WLL Czech Korune 0.0067169 0.0187169 Al Mulla Exchange Jordanian dinar .0000000 .4048090 Danish Krone 0.0467706 0.0517706 Euro 0.3737158 0.3812154 Saudi Riyal/KD .0757800 .0763400 COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Norwegian Krone 0.0457018 0.0509018 Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) Omani riyals .7382100 .7436660 Australian Dollar 276.14 284.000 Scottish Pound 0.4341150 0.4416150 US Dollar 283.400 Philippine Peso .0000000 .0069870 Canadian Dollar 283.39 282.000 Swedish Krona 0.0400591 0.0450591 Euro 381.000 Swiss Franc 312.97 312.000 Swiss Franc 0.3034377 0.3104377 Pound Sterling 447.350 Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Euro 382.43 380.000 Australasia Canadian Dollar 281.200 US Dollar 283.40 284.500 Australian Dollar 0.2621097 0.2741097 Japanese Yen 3.050 Sterling Pound 449.28 448.500 ASIAN COUNTRIES New Zealand Dollar 0.2207648 0.2307648 Indian Rupee 4.925 Japanese Yen 3.08 3.300 Japanese Yen 2.901 Uganda Shilling 0.0001113 0.0001113 Egyptian Pound 39.930 Bangladesh Taka 3.655 3.670 Indian Rupees 4.870 America Sri Lankan Rupee 2.203 Indian Rupee 4.931 5.050 Canadian Dollar 0.2723886 0.2813886 Pakistani Rupees 2.886 Bangladesh Taka 3.642 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.209 2.550 Colombian Peso 0.0001443 0.0001623 Srilankan Rupees 2.231 Philippines Peso 6.615 Nepali Rupees 3.049 Nepali Rupee 3.083 3.250 US Dollars 0.2816500 0.2838000 Pakistan Rupee 2.878 Singapore Dollar 226.790 Pakistani Rupee 2.877 2.900 Asia Bahraini Dinar 754.650 Hongkong Dollar 36.693 UAE Dirhams 77.23 78.800 Bangladesh Taka 0.0035991 0.0036541 UAE Dirham 77.200 Bangladesh Taka 3.652 Bahraini Dinar 754.29 753.000 Cape Vrde Escudo 0.0031476 0.0033776 Saudi Riyal 75.700 Philippine Peso 6.590 Egyptian Pound 39.91 38.80 Chinese Yuan 0.0452909 0.0502909 Thai Baht 9.227 Jordanian Dinar 403.34 410.000 Eritrea-Nakfa 0.0163867 0.0194867 *Rates are subject to change MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 BUSINESS Uncertain times in financial markets

NBK WEEKLY MONEY MARKET REPORT

he dollar started the week on a Government Bonds. The dollar fell increased 0.3 percent following a 0.1 per- ECB bond buying program challenged Australia negative tone, as Federal Reserve against the yen reaching a 3 month low cent drop in March. The rise was in line Last week, the European Union rescue Australia’s consumer confidence TBank President Bullard said that the of 93.78 were it found a minor support with economists’ expectations. scheme was challenged in Germany’s Australian consumer confidence US economic performance could be and closed at 94.07 Inventories are a key component of GDP constitutional court, causing a clash recovered in June after two months of characterize by slow but steady growth, The Australian dollar rallied against as it has added 0.5 percent a percentage between Germany’s top economic poli- sharp falls, as households became less improving labor markets and a surpris- the greenback on the back of better than point on the US first quarter GDP that cymakers, setting out very divergent gloomy on the outlook for both their ingly low inflation rate. He said that the expected consumer confidence and job- advance 2.5 percent. views on the legality of measures to han- own finances and the economy. The con- “Labor market conditions have improved less data .The currency opened the week dle the euro-zone financial crisis. At the sumer sentiment rose 4.7 percent in since last summer, suggesting the at 0.9430 and climbed to a high of Standard & Poor revises constitutional court, the Bundesbank’s June, recovering from a 7.0 percent drop Committee could slow the pace of pur- 0.9664, the currency closed the week at US credit outlook chief opposed the ECB’s buying of in May, the low interest rate environ- chases, but surprisingly low inflation 0.9566. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor bonds to ease the pressure on euro-zone ments supported the sentiment as con- readings may mean the Committee can upgraded its credit outlook for the countries while Germany’s finance minis- sumers see this as a good time to make maintain its aggressive program over a Retail Sales United States government to “stable” ter and ECB board member strongly major purchases or enter the housing longer time frame”. The dollar conse- US retail sales improved last month, from “negative,” but declined to return defended the policy. The court will have market. quently fell against most of major curren- indicating that job gains and lowering the US debt to gold plated rating. In to spend several months considering its cies waiting for the decision of the next borrowing costs are encouraging con- August 2011, Standard and Poor became ruling. However, in a prior case, the con- Australia’s jobless rate improves week’s FOMC meeting. The speculations sumers to spend more. Retail sales rose the first credit rating agency to down- stitutional court decided that the bailout Australian jobless rate fell 5.5 percent on Fed pairing the QE are the focus was legal but said Germanys lower house according to the Australian Bureau of weighting on the financial markets for of parliament should be consulted fully Statistics. The Australian economy added the moment. In spite of, the supportive on future bailouts. 1,100 jobs in May, following a 45,000 job economic data released in US, the confu- increase the month earlier. The data sion is growing on whether Fed will Europe consumer price index underscores the resilience of the reduce the asset purchases by the end of Consumer prices in the euro area Australian economy, which has been 2013 or not, a fact investors are hoping expanded 1.4 percent in a year to May, driving by investment in resources to the chairman of the Fed will address in matching previous estimates and up meet Chinas demand. the coming week. from April’s 1.2 percent a year earlier, the The USD Index had a negative week rate was 2.4 percent. The core reading China as it opened at 81.83 then dropped rose 1.2 percent, up from 1.0 percent pre- The World Bank lowered its growth sharply reaching a 17 week-low of 80.50. vious. rate on China to 7.7 percent in 2013, The index closed the week near the low from, a previously projected 8.4 percent, at 80.618. In currencies, the euro rallied UK unemployment steady amid concerns of slower growth in the United Kingdoms’ jobless rate held against the greenback throughout a coming months. In addition, the World steady at 7.8 percent, as expected, while volatile week, as better than expected EU Bank cut its global growth outlook for Industrial production data came out. benefits claims dropped to its lowest lev- 2013, the bank forecasts the world GDP Also helping support the euro, were el in two years. In the latest sign that the will grow at 2.2 percent this year, slightly comments from the ECB president British economy is shrugging off two lower than its previous projection of at Draghi indicating there is no need for 0.6 percent after edging up 0.1 percent grade the sovereign US credit rating from years of stagnation, the number of peo- 2.3 percent growth. The slower growth negative interest rates for now .The euro in April, the Commerce Department said. top-rated “AAA” to “AA”. S&P said in a ple claiming jobless benefit dropped by rate attributed to deeper-than-expected opened the week at 1.3176 where it Eight out of the thirteen retail sales cate- release “We believe that our current ‘AA ‘ 8,600 last month, its seventh consecutive recession in Europe and a recent slow- found support and rallied to reach a 15 gories showed gains last month, led a 1.8 rating already factors in a lesser ability of fall. The Bank of England policymaker down in large developing economies. week high of 1.3390.The euro closed for percent increase in auto purchases fol- US elected officials to react swiftly and Paul Fisher said the economy still needed the week at 1.3346. lowed by a 0.9 percent gain in home effectively to public finance pressures nursing back to health. The pound continued its rally against building materials. over the longer term in comparison with Bank of Japan the dollar, supported by better unem- officials of some more highly rated sover- UK industrial production The Bank of Japan refrained from ployment and industrial output data Jobless claims eigns and we expect repeated divisive better than expected allowing longer fixed-rate loans to from the UK .The pound opened the The number of Americans filing new debates over raising the debt ceiling,” UK Industrial output rose in April for a smooth bond market volatility. The week at 1.5523, then rallied and against claims for unemployment benefits fell third consecutive month, emphasizing Japanese central bank left the maximum the greenback to reach a 17-week high last week, pointing to moderate job University of Michigan the slow nature of the country’s econom- length of such loans at as much as one of 1.5734. The currency closed near it growth despite slowing economic activi- consumer sentiment stable ic recovery so far this year. Industrial out- year, and maintained its pledge to weeks high 1.5703. Yen opened the week ty. Initial claims declined by 12,000 to a University of Michigan June prelimi- put, which makes up around 16 percent increase the monetary base by 60 to 70 at 97.50 then reached a high of 99.28. In seasonally adjusted 334,000. nary index of consumer sentiment fell to of UK’s economy, rose 0.1 percent on the Trillion yen per year. This move came the middle of the week, we had a dra- 82.7 from a final reading of 84.5 the prior month in April after a jump of 0.7 percent despite most analyst predictions that matic change in sentiment after the bank Business inventories month. The index averaged 64.2 during in March. On an annual basis, Industrial BOJ would approve two-year or longer of Japan refrained from additional meas- The US Commerce Department said the recession that ended in June 2009 output was down 0.6 percent, less than loan operations ures to calm volatility in Japanese on last week that business inventories and 89 in the five years prior. half the drop recorded for March.

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Ahmed Al-Khader, NBK most exclusive promotions to be flight to any Etihad Airways desti- Assistant General Manager, found in Kuwait.” NBK Credit nation. Consumer Banking Group, said: Cards are accepted worldwide The promotion is exclusively “Many of our Premium Credit and are the safest, most conven- designed for NBK Premium Credit Cardholders can now enjoy their ient and rewarding way to pay. Ahmed Al-Khader G8 faces uncertain recoveries LISBON: Teachers attend a demonstration against the removal of staff in education and the extension of working hours laid down in the new austerity measures ENNISKILLEN: Europe is mired in debt and reces- ing revelations about a US counter-terror surveil- make that shift. So Obama is likely to focus on other announced by the Portuguese government to meet the country’s international credi- sion. Financial markets have hit violent ups and lance program. As always, the summit takes place global concerns, such as the violence in Syria. tors. — AFP downs on fears that US stimulus efforts may soon under heavy security, guarded by 8,000 police Japan/Asia: For once, the bad news for Asia is be scaled back. Japan is finally looking up after backed by water cannon. The venue itself is sur- not coming from Japan. The world’s third-largest years of stagnation - but it remains an open ques- rounded by extensive security fences, and on three economy grew at a 4.1 percent annual rate in the tion if the recovery will stick. That’s the global econ- sides by water. There’s only one access road to the first three months of the year. Prime Minister Shinzo Islamic finance in Tunisia omy that will confront the heads of the Group of closest town, Enniskillen, some 5 miles (8 kilome- Abe has promised to explain to fellow G-8 leaders Eight leading economies as they gather Monday ters) away. his strategies for fostering long-term growth. Over could reach 25-40% share and Tuesday for their annual summit in Northern While its peace process has been hailed world- the past few months, the yen has dropped from Ireland. wide as a success story, Northern Ireland remains a about 80 yen to the dollar in October to about 94 DUBAI: Tunisia’s fledgling Islamic finance Islamic windows - units of conventional British Prime Minister David Cameron will serve society troubled by deep-seated divisions between yen now - as the Abe administration tried to bring industry could take a 25 to 40 percent banks that offer Islamic financial services - as summit host for US President Barack Obama and Catholics and Protestants. Officials have said trou- an end to the country’s two-decade stagnation. share of the country’s financial sector in would be permitted to operate under cen- the leaders of Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan ble away from the summit site can’t be ruled out. Japan’s central bank has been pumping money five years’ time if necessary rules, consumer tral bank guidelines that ensured opera- and Russia. At the top of the agenda: New coopera- Additionally, thousands of anti-capitalist and labor into the economy in the hope of stoking inflation - education and private investment plans tions were segregated. tion to fight tax evasion and increase transparency union protesters are expected to march from the the country has suffered from falling prices for materialise, a Thomson Reuters study “There are four or five well-known banks among governments. Also on the table will be how town to the summit fence on Monday. much of the past 20 years, which has halted growth. found. Islamic finance was previously neg- in Tunisia that are trying to facilitate the much help to give to rebels in Syria, and a push for Since last year’s G-8 meeting at Camp David in One consequence of the new inflationary approach lected by Tunisia’s rulers but in the wake of way for their Islamic finance businesses,” lower trade barriers between the United States and the US, there has been a modest economic upswing has been the sharp fall in the value of the yen the 2011 revolution, the new Islamist-led said Mahmoud Mansour, deputy general the European Union. throughout the developed world and prospects are against other countries’ currencies. This has made government is promoting the industry. manager of the Tunisian arm of Bahrain- On the sidelines and over dinner, it’s expected brighter after five years of turbulence and recession. Japanese goods cheaper to the rest of the world, Currently, sharia-compliant business based lender Al-Baraka Bank. He added that the discussions will broaden to include the Yet despite progress, the economic outlook remains which has boosted exports. accounts for just 2.5 percent of the Tunisian that three takaful (Islamic insurance) com- election results in Iran and data protection, follow- fraught with uncertainties. But the lower yen has provoked concern among financial sector, the study said. In the Gulf panies had applied for licences. Chief among the question marks: When will the German officials. Their exporters compete head to Arab states, the ratio is believed to be Al-Baraka, which entered the country in US Federal Reserve begin to curtail its extraordinary head with Japan’s in major markets. Abe is sched- about a quarter. 1983, is awaiting approval for an onshore stimulus, which has supported the recovery in the uled to meet separately with German Chancellor The study estimates that Islamic finan- banking licence so it can open more US and helped send markets around the world to Angela Merkel. Abe is likely eager to do some cial assets in Tunisia could reach $17.8- branches and serve a broader client base, new peaks? Global stock and bond markets have explaining after financial markets see-sawed since $28.5 billion by 2018, up from $1.4 billion said Mansour. Zitouna Bank, the country’s whipsawed since May 23, when US Fed Chairman he presented his initial, broad-brush reform plans at present. In a poll of about 700 ordinary only full-fledged domestic Islamic lender, Ben Bernanke said that the US central bank might last week. Worries about the effectiveness of these Tunisians conducted for the study, 54 per- also plans expansion. “We are planning for slow its drive to keep long-term borrowing costs measures, combined with the uncertainty over cent said they would consider switching to over 100 branches across the country with- low in the coming few months. Here is a quick pic- what the US Fed may do, has pushed Japan’s Nikkei banking with Islamic lenders even if that in the next five years,” Ezzedine Khoja, pres- ture of where the G-8 countries’ economies stand: index into bear market territory with a 20 percent- meant lower rates of return, while 40 per- ident and general manager of Zitouna United States: If Europe is the weak link and Asia plus fall. Europe & Russia: Europe’s leaders hope a cent would be open to switching even if Bank, said in the study. the strongest, then the US and Canadian economies new trade deal between the EU and the United their money was not guaranteed. But 64 The bank, set up in 2009, plans to are squarely in the middle. The two countries are States can help spur growth. EU trade ministers percent of respondents said they were increase its capital base to 100 million experiencing steady, if not spectacular, economic agreed last Friday on their negotiating position and unclear about how Islamic finance worked. dinars ($61.7 million) from the current 70 growth and job gains. it’s hoped a deal that would scrap the tariffs and One boost for Islamic finance in Tunisia million dinars by the end of this year, as In the US, the once-battered housing sector has regulations that impede trade might be reached would be issuance of the country’s first well as launching an investment funds unit been recovering for the past year. Home sales have next year. And Europe needs stimulus. Austerity sukuk, which the government is planning. “I and possibly expanding abroad, he added. reached three-year highs. And prices have jumped measures introduced by Europe’s governments to expect the issuance process to take place in Some industry practices that are controver- this spring by the most in seven years. That has control their deficits have inflicted severe economic the second half of 2013,” Chaker Soltani, sial among some Islamic scholars, and encouraged builders to start work on more homes. pain and produced social unrest across the group general director of debt management and could therefore affect customer percep- The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.6 percent 17 European Union countries that use the euro. The financial cooperation at the finance min- tions, are generally being avoided in from 8.2 percent a year earlier. For all the G-8 partic- euro-zone’s economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the istry, was quoted as saying in the study. Tunisia, the study found. One of these is ipants, the most unsettling shift is the possible end first quarter - the sixth such decline in a row - and The Jeddah-based Islamic Development tawarruq or commodity murabaha, a com- of massive monetary stimulus from the Fed - a fac- unemployment is at 12.2 percent. The situation is Bank (IDB) has given Tunisia a financial mon cost-plus-profit arrangement in tor beyond their immediate control. The Fed’s injec- far worse in countries that are struggling to reduce guarantee to issue a sukuk worth $600 mil- Islamic finance. tions of money into the economy through bond heavy debt burdens - unemployment stands at 26.8 lion. Last week, the IDB extended said it “We here in Tunisia do not consent to purchases - known as quantitative easing - had percent in Spain, 27.0 percent in Greece. Private would extend $1.2 billion in funding to tawarruq, a product that is widely spread in helped send markets soaring. Now it’s not clear companies haven’t managed to fill the vacuum cre- Tunisia for industrial, agricultural and trade the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council),” said LONDON: British Prime Minister David which way markets will head. At previous summits, ated by the drastically reduced government spend- projects. Mohamed Sadraoui, deputy Khoja. “We don’t believe in this product and Cameron (right) greets Russian President Obama has pushed European leaders to focus more ing. In the United States, by contrast, the govern- director of general supervision and bank- reject its use for Tunisia, despite its wide- Vladimir Putin ahead of a meeting at 10 on growth, rather than austerity. But most ment has imposed far milder spending cuts and tax ing regulation at the central bank, said spread use in other jurisdictions.” —Reuters Downing Street yesterday. — AFP European governments have already begun to increases.— AP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 BUSINESS Thailand’s boom: To the northeast, the spoils

UDON THANI: Steel girders jut from the low sky- poorest and most populous region, has coincided the feuding between Yingluck’s ruling Puea Thai line of the Thai city of Udon Thani near the Laos with expansionary policies - from wage increases Party and its opponents. But if the plan went border as workers lay cement for a new shopping to farm subsidies - that are enriching an area at ahead, as is generally expected, it would change mall, one of many illustrating a boom in the Thai the heart of a “red shirt” protest movement that the entire economic structure of the northeast, economy beyond the bright lights of Bangkok. backed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in a said Rahul Bajoria, an economist at Barclays The malls, factories and construction sites in 2011 election. As a new middle class emerges, Capital. “It’s the next entry point for investors and Thailand’s northeast are emerging alongside its investors and companies are taking note. CLSA consumers - if they link it up to China, it becomes farms as a potent economic fuel in one of Asia’s emerging markets guru Chris Wood cites the the entry point to Thailand, not Bangkok,” he said. top emerging markets. Growth in Thailand, region in explaining long-term bets on Thailand. “But it’s been difficult for the bureaucracy to Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, has “There is a macroeconomic ramping up of the execute programmes because they don’t know begun to slow, but the economy of the northeast northeast,” he said. The potential may never be who will be in power in a year or two.” Economic is in the grip of a boom. realised if a crucial 2.2 trillion baht ($71 billion) growth in the region reached 40 percent from The economic renaissance of “Isaan”, Thailand’s infrastructure programme becomes a casualty of 2007 to 2011, against 23 percent for the country

BANGKOK: In this file photo, residences on stilts sit along the Chao Phraya River with a construction site in the background in Bangkok, Thailand. — AP and just 17 percent for greater Bangkok. the traditional Bangkok elite including top Monthly household income rose 40 percent generals, royal advisers, business leaders between 2007 and 2011, the biggest jump and old-money families. of any Thai region. Interviews with business- Those protests were put down with force, men and investment data suggest the trend but the red shirts got their revenge in the is continuing. 2011 election and now see the rewards. “A The number of private investment proj- lot of the boom is upcountry, and that is ects in the northeast rose 49 percent in 2012 politically driven, partly, because that’s from the previous year, with the total where Thaksin’s supporters are,” said Wood amount invested more than doubling to at CLSA. The poverty rate in Thailand fell to $2.3 billion, according to the Bank of 13 percent of the population in 2011 from Thailand. Much of it is concentrated in prop- 58 percent in 1990, according to the World erty - from high-rise condominiums to town Bank, but per capita gross domestic product houses and shopping plazas. “The northeast in Isaan in 2011 was still less than an eighth has a large population, a dense population, of that of Bangkok at $1,600 a year, accord- so the income is big,” said Naris Cheyklin, ing to the state planning agency, the NESDB. chief financial officer of Central Pattana Pcl, That is changing. Government policies referring to the one-third of Thailand’s 68 have pushed up purchasing power by subsi- million people who live there. In April, dising agricultural products such as rice, tapi- Central Pattana opened a 2.75 billion baht oca and rubber. Under Yingluck’s govern- ($88.7 million) mall in Ubon Ratchathani, ment, farmers have been paid 15,000 baht near the southern tip of Laos, their third in per tonne of unmilled rice, a 50 percent pre- the region. mium over market prices, according to exporters. “During the Thaksin and Yingluck Politically driven boom era, a lot has been given to Isaan, and the Politics explains part of what is going on. amount of money being poured into the Yingluck’s government brought in a nation- region is significantly more than previous wide minimum wage of 300 baht ($10) a day governments spent,” said Ittiphol in January. In some Isaan provinces, that was Treewatanasuwan, mayor of Udon Thani, an increase of 35 percent, among the once a US Air Force base for anti-communist biggest gains in the country, on top of a operations in Southeast Asia. Lives are being nationwide 40 percent rise in April 2012. transformed. Panjaporn Phatanapitoon, gen- Many workers, such as those building the eral manager of the 168 Platinum Mall, said 168 Platinum Mall in Udon Thani, are happy people in the northeast were now better to return to the northeast for wages that are educated, attitudes were evolving fast and now on a par with Bangkok’s. Isaan’s “red urbanisation would come much more quick- shirts” are among the staunchest supporters ly than in Bangkok. of Yingluck’s brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a Regional investment 2006 coup but influences policy from self- The 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin imposed exile in Dubai. caused years of unrest, but political calm While in power from 2001, his populist has returned since Yingluck’s election win. policies - from virtually free healthcare to “When we change the politicians, they low-interest loans to the rural poor - made change the policy. If there are more him a hero in Isaan. The red shirts formed changes to these policies, it will damage the core of a movement that paralysed the economy,” said Uthai Uthaisangsuk, a Bangkok in April-May 2010 in protest at the senior vice president at property developer government of then Prime Minister Abhisit Sansiri Pcl. —Reuters Vejjajiva and the forces that ousted Thaksin - Unpaid internships in peril after court ruling WASHINGTON: Unpaid internships have Chris Petrikin, a spokesman for 20th long been a path of opportunity for stu- Century Fox, said the company believes the dents and recent grads looking to get a ruling was erroneous and plans to appeal. foot in the door in the entertainment, pub- Fox had argued that the interns received a lishing and other prominent industries, greater benefit than the company in the even if it takes a generous subsidy from form of job references, resume listings and Mom and Dad. But those days of working experience working at a production office. for free could be numbered after a federal Juno Turner, an attorney for the plaintiffs, judge in New York ruled last week that Fox said it was the first time a court had given Searchlight Pictures violated minimum wage and overtime laws by not paying interns who worked on production of the 2010 movie “Black Swan.” The decision by US District Judge William H Pauley III may lead some compa- nies to rethink whether it’s worth the legal risk to hire interns to work without pay. For many young people struggling to find jobs in a tough economy, unpaid internships have become a rite of passage essential for padding resumes and gaining practical experience. “I’m sure this is causing a lot of discus- sions to be held in human resource offices and internship programs across the coun- try,” said David Yamada, professor of law at Suffolk University in Boston. There are up to 1 million unpaid internships offered in the WASHINGTON: Eric Glatt, a Georgetown United States every year, said Ross Law student, poses for a photograph on Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic their campus. — AP Policy Institute, a liberal-leaning think tank. He said the number of internships has employee status to young people doing grown as the economy tumbled and he the types of duties commonly associated blamed them for exploiting young workers with interns. The case is one of several that and driving down wages. have been filed in recent years demanding “The return on a college investment has that all interns deserve a salary. fallen, students are facing higher and high- “This is an incredibly important decision er debt burdens, and the reaction of as far as establishing that interns have the employers is to make matters worse for same wage and hour rights as other them by hiring more and more people employees,” Turner said. “You can’t just call without paying them,” Eisenbrey said. In the something an internship and expect not to ruling, Pauley said Fox should have paid the pay people when the interns are providing two interns who filed the lawsuit because a direct benefit to the company.” they did the same work as regular employ- In ruling for the interns, the judge fol- ees, provided value to the company and lowed a six-part test outlined by the Labor performed low-level tasks that didn’t Department for determining whether an require any specialized training. internship can be unpaid. Under the test, The interns, Eric Glatt and Alexander the internship must be similar to an educa- Footman, performed basic administrative tional environment, run primarily for the work such as organizing filing cabinets, benefit of the intern as opposed to the tracking purchase orders, making copies, employer, and the intern’s work should not drafting cover letters and running errands. replace that of regular employees. Glatt, the “Undoubtedly Mr Glatt and Mr Footman lead plaintiff, lamented the fact that unpaid received some benefits from their intern- internships have become so normal “people ships, such as resume listings, job refer- do it without blinking an eye.” “It’s just ences and an understanding of how a pro- become a form of institutionalized wage duction office works,” Pauley wrote. “But theft,” he said Wednesday in a conference those benefits were incidental to working call with reporters. Glatt has an MBA from in the office like any other employees and Case Western Reserve University and said were not the result of internships intention- he is currently studying law at Georgetown ally structured to benefit them.” University Law Center. —Reuters MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 BUSINESS Al-Tijari announces Spaniards march Najma draw winners KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held 100,000 each on different occasions: The the Al-Najma Account Daily draw yesterday. National Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and The draw was held under the supervi- on June 19 which is the date of the bank’s against austerity sion of the Ministry of Commerce & establishment. Industry represented by Sager Al-Manaie. With a minimum balance of KD 500, The winners of the Najma Daily Draw who customers will be eligible for the daily get KD 7,000 are: Ali Mubarek Faleh Al- draw provided that the money is in the Joblessness rate soars to 57.22% Ajmi, Ahmad Jassem Ahmad Al-Shatti, Al- account one week prior to the daily draw Sayed Abdulatif Mahmoud Mohammed, or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In MADRID: Thousands of people protested in Mohammed Aref Alislam Shams Alislam, addition, for each KD 25 a customer can Madrid yesterday against austerity policies and and Shaikah Muslim Saran Al-Damaj. get one chance for winning instead of KD record high unemployment, urging Prime The Commercial Bank of Kuwait 50. Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this Minister Mariano Rajoy to focus on creating announces the biggest daily draw in opportunity to congratulate all lucky win- jobs to help pull the country out of recession. Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma ners and also extends appreciation to the To the din of whistles and drums, the demon- account. Customers of the bank can now Ministry of Commerce and Industry for strators snaked through the central streets of enjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the their effective supervision of the draws the Spanish capital under a blazing sun, waving highest in the country and another 4 which were conducted in an orderly and red and white union flags and carrying placards mega prizes during the year worth KD organized manner. reading “Austerity Destroys and Kills” and “Spending Cuts Are Robbery”. “We hope the government realises that you can’t reverse the situation with cuts, cuts and more cuts. It is time to change course and do more to foster growth,” said Diana Rodriguez, 47, a former bank teller who has been unem- ployed for nearly two years. Demonstrations were held in 28 other cities across Spain, including Barcelona, the country’s second- largest city, and the Atlantic port of Vigo in the northwest. They were organised by Spain’s three largest unions, the Workers’ Commissions, the General Union of Workers and the Workers’ Trade Unionist Federation. Rajoy’s conservative gov- ernment has introduced a range of spending MADRID: A young protestor gestures as he marches during a demonstration yesterday. —AP cuts and tax hikes, as well as pension reform, to shore up strained public finances since it took economy, the euro-zone’s fourth-largest, shrank those between the ages of 16 and 24, jobless- office in December 2011 following a landslide by 0.5 percent during the first three months of ness has soared to 57.22 percent. “The govern- general election win. 2013, its seventh consecutive quarterly decline, ment has to change course. It is obvious that It has vowed to find 150 billion euros ($195 while the unemployment rate soared to a the path they are taking us on will just dig us billion) in savings between 2012 and 2014 as record 27.16 percent, the highest level since deeper into this mess,” said Carlos Lago, a 32- part of the painful austerity program that has the re-birth of Spanish democracy after the year-old civil servant who carried a sign read- sparked mass demonstrations. The Spanish death of General Francisco Franco in 1975. For ing “Without Bread, There Is No Peace”. —AFP CALIFORNIA: Salesman Jorge Fernandez (left) helps customer Jesse Godinez, of San Fernando, who was shopping for two new tires for his car at Rent-a-Wheel in Canoga Park, California. —MCT Bitcoin sticks around as other Poor drivers turn digital currencies rise, fall

ROCHESTER: Bitcoin has shot up and line is that there still isn’t a great deal or so Bitcoins left. He thinks Bitcoin There’s a minefield of obstacles to to tire rentals crashed at least twice now. Exchanges you can do, legally, with the digital will succeed, but considers it a hobby, widespread adoption. Bitcoin transac- where the fast-rising new digital cur- money. Gamblers like to use it for not a way to make money. “Right now tions are not reversible _ once they’re When the tires on their Dodge Caravan had from the industry’s traditional fare because - rency trades have been hacked, and so online gambling, pros say. Bitcoin is I wouldn’t call it investing, I would call done, they’re done. And it’s still experi- worn so thin that the steel belts were showing unlike with a dinette set - giving back tires have individual accounts. It’s been still largely about techies in cyber- it gambling,” Goss said. Venture capi- mental. Shopping options for Bitcoins through, Don and Florence Cherry couldn’t means not being able to drive to work. “Tires linked to illegal activity in under- space. Like Brian Goss. Goss, a 33-year- talists too are rolling the dice. have been extremely limited, afford to buy a new set. So they decided to rent are a necessity,” said Jim Hawkins, a University ground cyber haunts such as Silk Road, old radiology resident and father of Lightspeed Venture Partners in Menlo although that’s showing signs of instead. The Rich Square, N.C., couple last of Houston law professor who studies the alter- and sparked a move by the US govern- three in Rochester, Minn., created a Park, Calif, for instance, has invested in changing. A San Francisco startup September agreed to pay Rent-N-Roll $54.60 a native finance industry. “These customers are ment to halt unregulated use. And stash of Bitcoins back when they were three Bitcoin or Bitcoin-related ven- called Gyft, backed by Google month for 18 months in exchange for four vulnerable because they have no choice.” The Bitcoin persists. Heck, CNBC has a traded for pennies. Goss said he forgot tures since the start of the year. Ventures, recently started accepting basic Hankook tires. Over the life of the deal, first rent-to-own tire and wheel dealers Bitcoin ticker on its website. In its about the Bitcoins for about a year and Managing Director Jeremy Liew Bitcoin as payment for its gift cards for that works out to $982, almost triple what the appeared in the mid-1990s, targeting young fourth year of circulation now, the “almost deleted them.” He remem- describes Bitcoin’s evolution this way: over 200 retailers such as Burger King, radials would have cost at Wal-Mart. urban males looking to spiff up their rides. decentralized online-only form of “I know you have to pay a lot more this way,” Chains enlisted rap personalities such as Snoop money has evolved from a libertarian- said Florence Cherry, a 57-year-old nurse who Dogg and Busta Rhymes to hawk shiny cus- styled geek curiosity to a contender for drives the 15-year-old van when her husband, tomized rims and low-profile tires. But after the becoming the first digital currency to a Vietnam veteran, isn’t using it to get to his job economy crashed, dealers saw an influx of cus- go truly mainstream. There are now as a prison guard. “But we didn’t really have a tomers asking for standard passenger tires. more than 11 million “coins” created choice.” Socked by soaring tire prices and short Many new patrons were older and a surprising worth more than $1 billion. Lumpy on funds, growing numbers of Americans are number were women, a group the industry and volatile as it is, the math-based renting the rubber to keep their cars rolling. had all but ignored. cash is one of the fastest-rising alterna- Rent-to-own tire shops are among the newest Michelle Collins of Denham Springs, La, tive currencies in a world filled with arrivals to a sprawling alternative financial sec- made her way to a Rimco store after her long- them. tor focused on the nation’s economic under- unemployed husband found work. The tires on Tyler Moore, who studies alterna- class. Like payday lenders, pawn shops and Buy their Chevy Silverado were in terrible shape, tive currencies, said he still isn’t sure Here Pay Here used-car lots, tire rental busi- too dangerous to be used for the long drive to why. “It’s one part luck, one part nesses provide ready credit to consumers who his new job as an industrial painter. But they decentralization, and one part this can’t get a loan anywhere else. But that access were such an odd size that the cheapest design that carries appeal for people doesn’t come cheap. replacement set cost $1,340 at a regular tire that don’t like inflation,” said Moore, an Customers pay huge premiums for their store, far beyond Collins’ budget. assistant professor of computer sci- tires, sometimes four times above retail. Those The Rimco salesman said he’d get her rental ence and engineering at Southern who miss payments may find their car on cin- tires for the same price and almost no money Methodist University in Dallas. “The der blocks, stripped of their tires by dealers down - so long as she paid them off within 120 timing of it was really good.” Bitcoin who aggressively repossess. Tire rental con- days. What Collins didn’t realize was that the slipped onto the scene in 2009, as trust tracts are so ironclad that even a bankruptcy fil- cost would skyrocket if she missed the “same- in established banks crumbled and ing can’t make them go away. Still, with pay- as-cash” deadline. She found out the hard way. inflation fears rose. It’s not managed ments as low as $14 a week, rent-to-own - long This spring, Collins, who owns a used-book by anyone. There’s no central bank. It’s the province of sofa sets and flat-screen TVs - is store, made her 18th and final monthly pay- based on open-source encryption proving irresistible for consumers desperate for ment of $164.10, bringing the total price for the technology. safe transportation. tires to nearly $3,000. That works out to the In fact, the digital cash can be creat- It’s also a booming business for specialized equivalent of more than 120 percent annual ed by anyone with the hefty computer tire and wheel dealers that have become bene- interest, quadruple the highest credit card power required to solve specified ficiaries of a struggling US economy. Fast- rates. “We couldn’t risk losing the job over tires, algorithms that secure the network. ROCHESTER: Brian Goss, a radiology resident in Rochester, Minnesota, holds an iPhone with the Bitcoin expanding chains with names like Rent-a- no matter what the cost,” said Collins, 40, who Bitcoins are rewards for effort. The sys- digital transaction form ready for a payment. —MCT Wheel and EZ Rims 4 Rent that got their start has five children living at home. tem takes banks out of the picture selling high-end rims to car enthusiasts have Like other tire rental stores, Rimco is under- completely as individuals pay each bered them in 2011 when prices shot The first wave was people driven by Amazon and Crate and Barrel. discovered a lucrative market selling tires on going a transformation thanks to changing other directly. Transactions are private, up and sold some to cover some bills. political interests who liked the decen- What are Bitcoiners buying? Mostly time. “We see tremendous opportunity serving customer demand. Four years ago, 70 percent but because there’s a public ledger of He sold some more when prices tralized nature of Bitcoin. The second low-value cards for everyday stores - $5 people who are just looking for dependable of Rimco’s sales were aftermarket rims and the them, it’s unlikely they are perfectly briefly rocketed above $240 in April, wave liked Bitcoin’s anonymity for ille- and $10 cards for Burger King and CVS tires to get to work,” said Larry Sutton, founder rest were tires; today that ratio is reversed. The anonymous. Currently, about 25 more and made nearly $30,000. He stuck the gal activity. are common, said Gyft CEO Vinny and president of Rent-N-Roll. The Tampa, Fla., chain, a unit of Atlanta rent-to-own giant Bitcoins are introduced about every 10 dollars in a checking account. It’s the third wave that interests Lingham. “We’re still in the early chain has 66 locations nationwide, including Aaron’s, has 28 stores and plans to open seven minutes by people all over the world, “We did little things,” he said. “I got Liew: people now being attracted by adopter crowd,” Lingham said. two in California, and plans to open six more more by year’s end. The market leader is Rent- pros say. The limit of 21 million Bitcoins my wife a membership to the gym ... Bitcoin’s super-low transaction costs. Meanwhile, regulators are taking this year. a-Wheel. With $100 million in sales, the compa- will be reached by 2140, as the theory and got a daytime baby sitter a couple Bitcoin is beginning to attract small action. In March, the Treasury Sutton registered the trademark RNR Tire ny last year ranked as the nation’s seventh- goes, and no more Bitcoins will be cre- times a week to help her out.” Goss businesses unhappy with more Department’s Financial Crimes Express last fall and has been rebranding many largest independent tire dealer, according to ated. On Friday, one Bitcoin was trad- said he’s a fan because he sees Bitcoin expensive payment options such as Enforcement Network broadcast that it stores to focus on tires instead of the oversized Modern Tire Dealer. The chain operates 89 ing for about $112. as a way for people in less open or sta- Visa and MasterCard, Liew said. “We’re considers any entity exchanging or chrome rims that were the chain’s mainstay. stores branded as either Rent-a-Wheel or Rent- A newly developed Bitcoin “ATM” ble economies to participate in the just starting to see that,” said Liew. “It’s transmitting digital currencies to be in Today, Sutton said, tires make up two-thirds of a-Tire and has aggressive expansion plans. “It’s machine that’s expected to go into global market. Plus he thinks credit not soccer moms, but it is starting to the money service and subject to the RNR’s sales, up from less than half several years a very young industry, but it has a lot of poten- production this fall promises to make card swipes fees are a drag on the become people who aren’t interested same money-laundering rules as other ago. A host of economic factors are pushing tial,” said Matt Seaburn, president of the Los it easy to turn dollars into Bitcoins, and economy and likes his privacy. He for ideological reasons or legal rea- financial institutions. Such rules make it the growth of tire rentals. Angeles chain, which was founded in 2006. more and more retailers are accepting doesn’t want companies gathering sons. They’re interested because it’s harder for customers to be anonymous Soaring costs for natural rubber and petro- “But we have to be careful about where we Bitcoin for payment. But the bottom data on him. Goss said he still has 350 just cheaper. That’s pretty interesting.” or untraceable. —MCT leum used to manufacture tires have pushed operate, who we deal with and how we deal up prices. The average price of a passenger tire with them.” in the US increased 57 percent in 2012 from Customers and employees of tire rental 2006, according to data from trade publication stores said that often translates to aggressive Cheap Canadian crude hurts Modern Tire Dealer. The prices on some popu- collection practices. When Birdie Smith and her lar sizes have more than doubled. Consumers, daughter rented four tires for their Infiniti sport meanwhile, have an increasingly difficult time utility vehicle at the Inglewood, Calif., branch of affording big-ticket purchases. Since 2009, Rent-a-Wheel, they were reminded they had to US oil production efforts median household income has fallen more pay $41.90 every Saturday, in person. than 5 percent. And in the wake of the reces- But money was tight, and they eventually KANSAS CITY: An unfolding tale in the Great Plains difficult to ship their oil to other markets because the The Northern Alliance of Independent Producers in sion, the number of households in the country missed a payment. Smith, who lives in South is raising questions of just how serious the United cheaper Canadian product is crowding them out of Bismarck, N.D. Many Great Plains producers say they with credit histories too damaged to qualify for Los Angeles with her daughter and three States is about boosting domestic production and pipelines. are stunned by recent market changes. They find it most credit cards has risen to 35 percent from grandchildren, was shocked to see a squad car breaking its “addiction” to foreign oil. At a time when Domestic oil is being discounted as much as 40 especially galling that they are confronting the situa- 27 percent five years ago. pull up to their house a few days later. “The soaring energy prices and mounting international percent in such states as Montana, Wyoming and tion amid the talk about easing the US addiction to With more people shut out of traditional police said we owed Rent-a-Wheel money and instability would seem to put a premium on every North Dakota - giving small producers there less foreign oil. Instead, producers now fear that produc- financing, the rent-to-own industry has flour- we’d better pay up,” said Smith, a retiree who barrel of US oil, some domestic wells have been shut than what Big Oil companies and members of OPEC tion gains in the last few years will unravel. ished. Promising no credit checks, small down lives off Social Security income. Smith eventual- down and others are in danger of closing. are getting. As a result, some projects to drill new “Here we are destroying it,” said Harold Hamm, payments and the option to return merchan- ly paid off the tires in full, she said. “Those Rent- The culprit is a flood of cheaper Canadian crude wells are being postponed or reconsidered, and in a chairman of Continental Resources Inc., one of the dise at any time with no questions asked, a-Wheel guys drive a hard bargain.” Police which, instead of replacing supply from members of few cases, producing wells are actually being closed. largest producers of oil in the Rocky Mountain chains such as Rent-a-Center are raking in huge involvement is rare. But since rental companies the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Some owners of oil wells, who have farmed out the region. In theory, at least, more and cheaper crude profits from a customer base that’s swelled to technically own the merchandise until the last is replacing oil production in states close to the production to the oil companies, have even received from Canada offers at least the prospect of lower 4.8 million people, up 67 percent since 2007, payment is made, some in law enforcement Canadian border. Producers in several Great Plains letters saying their wells may have to be shut down. prices for consumers. But Stephen Brown, an econo- according to the Association of Progressive consider failure to pay tantamount to theft. states say refinery customers are replacing their The situation also is an indication of a US energy mist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said Rental Organizations. Some contracts contain clauses allowing the product with Canadian crude, which is increasingly policy that lacks focus, some American producers such a narrow, market-based, supply-and-demand Tires account for just a tiny slice of the $8.5- dealership to enter a customer’s property to being cooked and squeezed out of petroleum-rich say. “This oil isn’t displacing unfriendly foreign oil but view may be too narrow when our domestic energy billion rent-to-own market. But they stand out repossess. —MCT “tar sands.” Moreover, they say it is becoming more domestic producers,” said Robert Harms, president of security is involved. —MCT BUSINESS MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 Paris Air Show peek shows wide-body battle, drones

PARIS: The Paris Air Show, which opens for business No hands on deck tough restrictions on their flight for safety reasons, Even in Paris, sequestration takes toll toda, brings hundreds of aircraft to the skies around the They have swooped into wildfires to take tem- but while the Federal Aviation Authority works on American fighter jets aren’t taking to the skies French capital, the usual tense competition between air- peratures and tracked animals across Africa. They new rules, the makers of drones will aim to show off above Paris, nor will they be seen on the ground, for craft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, and a slew of have guided a fuel tanker to safety through icy innovation and technical prowess at the show. the first time in more than two decades thanks to innovations large and small. Here’s what to look for over waters. Drones are increasingly being used for non- Eurocopter, a company based in France, will show- the US government’s spending cuts - the infamous the show: military purposes and are expected to feature case new technology that can transform a manned ‘sequestration’. The US pavilion remains the largest, prominently at the Paris Air Show. There are still helicopter into one that flies without a pilot. but the event will be less of a sales showcase for lat- Battle of the wide-bodies est military hardware and more a place for suppliers The much-anticipated Airbus A350 flew for the first to meet up with potential customers. Russia, on the time on Friday, launching a new air race between the other hand, is looking to make a splash by present- European plane maker and Boeing for long-haul wide- ing fighter jets and military helicopters at the show body aircraft. Boeing has dominated the market so far, for the first time since 2001. The Sukhoi manufac- but troubles with the lithium ion batteries in its 787 turer will showcase its Su-35, a twin-engine multi- Dreamliner are giving customers a reason to give a close purpose fighter, for the first time outside Russia. look at Airbus’ first all-new plane in eight years. The CEO Britain and France also will have fighter jets on dis- of Airbus parent EADS, Tom Enders, has said he expects play. a “few hundred” new orders. Boeing executives, mean- while, downplayed the air show’s importance for orders, Every little bit counts noting that the two companies have historically split the Less flashy but just as important for the industry commercial aircraft market. will be the myriad technological innovations that A year ago, at the Paris Air Show’s sister event in parts suppliers will come to Paris to present. The Britain, Boeing beat Airbus for the number of orders biggest issue? The cost of fuel. The price of jet fuel announced. The US company took in $37 billion in has more than tripled worldwide since 2003 - a orders and commitments, well above Airbus’ $16.9 trend both jet manufacturers and airlines expect to billion. But the announcements during the air shows continue. Electric- or solar-powered commercial are not always a reliable indicator of business since flights are wildly improbable and biofuels aren’t yet prices are often negotiated down heavily and big economically viable, so airlines are looking to orders don’t always coincide with the event. The race improve mileage any way possible. For long-haul for the title of biggest plane maker is as tight as ever. flights, that means more carbon-fiber in airplane Over the whole of 2012, Airbus delivered 588 planes. bodies and other design tweaks, such as electric That was a record, but one Boeing beat with 601 LE BOURGET: A man walks past the Aircraft Agusta Westland ‘Project Zero’ all-electric tilt rotor tech- motors for taxiing. For passengers, it means no end deliveries, the first time since 2003 it came out on top. nology on display for the Paris Air Show in le Bourget, North of Paris yesterday. — AP in sight on extra baggage fees. — AP Burgan Bank announces Yawmi account winners 2nd GMC customer wins at KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced the also required to deposit KD 100 or equiva- Behbehani golden jubilee names of the five lucky winners of its lent only to enter the daily draw, and the Yawmi account draw, each taking home a coupon value to enter the draw stands at prize of KD 5,000. The lucky winners of the KD 10. KUWAIT: Mohammed Saleh and Reza daily draws took home a cash-prize of KD The newly designed Yawmi account has Yousuf Behbehani Company, the authorized 5,000 each, and they are: Taha Faraj Shafiq been launched to provide a highly innova- dealers of GMC Vehicles in Kuwait Mohammad, Fatmah Mohd Ali Al-Wazzan, tive offering along with a higher frequency announced the second winner of the Grand Fatemah Abdulhameed Suwayed Salem, and incentive of winning for everyone. Prize of their golden jubilee anniversary Dalal Hasan Mohammed Al-Salem Today, the Yawmi account is a well under- promotion this month. Youssef Hassan Alobaidly, and Al-Shiekha Amal Jassim stood product, where its popularity can be Suleiman Al-Awadi won the KD 10,000 cash Mohd Al-Sabah. seen from the number of increasing account prize upon the purchase of a GMC Sierra With its new and enhanced features, the holders. Burgan Bank encourages everyone 2013. This win comes just few days after the Yawmi Account has become more conven- to open a Yawmi account and/or increase first KD 10,000 prize was won by Jassim ient, easier, and faster for customers to their deposit to maximize their chances to Abdallah Abdel Rehman Mohammad. benefit from. Now, customers will be eligi- becoming a daily winner. The more cus- Youssef Hassan Suleiman Al-Awadi was ble to enter the draw after 48 hours only tomers deposit, the higher the chances they overwhelmed upon winning the prize and from opening the account. Customers are receive of winning the draw. celebrated jubilantly at the showroom in the presence of all his family members. “We are extremely happy to announce this win and we extended our heartiest con- EQUATE wins gratulations to Al-Awadi and all the previ- ous winners. It is a joyous occasion for us and we have loved to share our happiness int’l CSR award with our customers by rewarding them with these prizes and there are still a lot more KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Award for Best Gulf Company in such prizes to come. We look forward to Company has earned “The Best Recruiting Nationals; Arabian Business sharing the same with our esteemed cus- Contribution for Corporate Social Best CSR Company Award; Oil & Gas tomers” stated Adel Behbehani, Director of Behbehani launched a special promotion to back upon purchase of any of the GMC vehi- Responsibility (CSR)” award during the (O&G) Middle East CSR Award; O&G Sales at Mohammed Saleh and Reza Yousuf commemorate its 50th anniversary whereby cles in addition to an opportunity to win “Middle East Awards 2013” by the Best Implemented Environmental Behbehani Company. Earlier this month, customers would get up to KD 1,500 cash several cash prizes up to KD 10,000. Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Program of the Year; Middle East Supply (CIPS). On this occasion, Chemical Week (MECW) Plant of the EQUATE President & CEO Mohammad Year Award; as well as Kuwait’s CSR Husain said, “Coming from the presti- Award in the Industrial and Oil Sector. Why World Cup can’t save gious UK-based CIPS, EQUATE was In addition, EQUATE has received the granted this award for its distinguished Highly Commended Best Community CO2 Recovery Project, which is the first Program Award during the First Middle of its kind in Kuwait.” East CSR Award Summit. Brazil’s tourism industry Husain added, “EQUATE’s commit- Established in 1995, EQUATE is an ment to overall sustainability through international joint venture between its multilateral CSR program is simply Petrochemical Industries Company RECIFE: For soccer fans flocking to Confederations taste of the country’s notorious bureaucracy. this coming from soccer fans in South Africa. an embodiment of its ‘Partners in (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company Cup matches in Brazil’s tropical northeast next Neighboring countries from Argentina to Bolivia Brazilian officials say the tournament will refresh week, getting tickets to the stadium should be sim- also have “reciprocity fees” paid at the airport in the that reputation, just as it gave South Africans a Success’ tagline with all stakeholders (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical ple - but two in three will not find accommodations name of parity with US visa costs. Brazil takes it a chance to turn the page on their fraught political through launching several initiatives Company (BPC) and Qurain in the host city Recife. Officials are sending visitors step further, requiring Americans to apply at a con- history. “The visibility will give a broader vision to relevant to education, health, environ- Petrochemical Industries Company as far as 120 kilometers (75 miles) inland to spend sulate and wait a week or more for an entrance visa, the world,” said Valdir Sim„o, a senior Brazilian ment and other sectors.” (QPIC). Commencing production in the night, a detour on par with staying in mimicking the burden on Brazilians. tourism official, highlighting the diversity of a In recognition of its sustainability 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of Philadelphia for a New York Knicks game. The tour- The cost: at least $160. An easy flight to Recife dozen host cities. “People will see: Brazil is not an achievements, EQUATE has earned sev- a fully integrated world-scale manufac- nament which began Saturday, a dress rehearsal for will also be tough to find, due to a legacy of barriers exotic destination.” eral prestigious honors, including His turing facility producing over 5 million the 2014 World Cup, will lay bare for visitors what to foreign airlines. Of over 100 nations that have But the problems are bigger than bad public Highness the Amir Award for the Best tons annually of high-quality petro- may surprise many: despite gorgeous beaches, a signed an open skies agreement with the United relations. The WEF ranked Brazil’s natural resources Plant in Kuwait; The Gold Award in chemical products which are marketed tempting climate and legendary hospitality, Brazil’s States, Brazil is one of a handful that have not put it for tourism as the best in the world, but the com- Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) throughout the Middle East, Asia, tourism industry pales next to its neighbors. into practice. As a result, flights funnel into Sao petitiveness of its travel industry has slipped to 51st The country takes up half the South American Paulo and Rio, where airports are packed beyond in a ranking of 140 nations. for Gulf private sector companies; The Africa and Europe. continent but receives just a fifth of its international capacity. Foreign visitors to Brazil’s northeast can Harmful regulations, high prices and bad roads visits. The land of Carnival and beach cocktails often watch their final destinations through the put Brazil among the worst 25 countries in those ranks behind everywhere in the western hemi- window as they fly south to catch connecting categories - below the likes of Kazakhstan and sphere but Venezuela in foreign tourists per capita. flights from the major hubs - a six-hour round trip. Gambia in each respect. The two in three visiting To be sure, it is exceedingly difficult to find some- When a fan lands in Recife, the journey is still far fans without lodging in Recife next week may drive one who regrets a vacation in Brazil. The country’s from over. The wait in the cab line should last at as little as 30 minutes to hotels along the coast or growing middle class has also provided enough domestic demand to make its tourism industry the world’s sixth largest. As with much of the Brazilian economy, a cap- tive local market seems to have made things too easy for the sector, pushing up prices, sapping competitiveness and contributing to a troubling foreign deficit. Foreigners’ spending in Brazil has scarcely kept pace with inflation over the past five years, while Brazilians themselves have increasingly passed up domestic travel for trips to Miami and Lisbon. The dollar’s recent weakness has stoked the trend, resulting in a tourism deficit of $15.6 billion last year and adding to a record current account gap. How has Brazil - blessed with 7,500 kilometers of sunny coastline, the fame of Rio de Janeiro and the wonders of the Amazon - managed to blow such an open shot on goal? A foreign fan heading to a soc- cer match in Brazil next week may find one of the answers right away - at the hotel counter. Saudi Aramco-Dow JV raises Even in Recife’s more expensive hotels, introduc- ing oneself in English can prompt blank stares and funding for $19bn project embarrassed grins. In one case, the concierge at a hotel - FIFA-certified accommodation for the World DUBAI: Sadara Chemical Co, a joint ven- cals each year when completed in 2016. Cup - went silent after such an introduction. “Hello, ture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Sadara was not immediately available for my name is?” he then asked, furrowing his brow. Due to Brazil’s size, isolation and uneven education, BRASILIA: General view the Mane Garrincha National stadium in Brasilia is seen. — AFP Chemical , has signed a fundraising pack- comment. The sources spoke on condition most residents have little or no contact with a sec- age for the $19.3 billion petrochemical of anonymity as the matter has not been ond language. Brazil’s English proficiency ranked in least half an hour thanks to the monopoly of the as much as two hours inland for accommodations. complex it is building in the east of the made public. the bottom 15 percent of a global study by teach- airport taxi cooperative - one of countless barriers At the far reaches of that radius is Caruaru, a kingdom, three banking sources said yes- The split between the different portions ing company Education First. to competition driving up prices. The World sprawling, low-slung city of 350,000 where newly terday. The financing package totals of the facility were changed from an origi- Resorts, restaurants and tourism outfits there- Economic Forum also blames Brazilian policies dis- paved streets wind among walls of exposed cinder around $12.5 billion and consists of loans nal outline released in May 2012 after the fore pay - and charge - a hefty premium for bilin- couraging foreign investment in land, airlines and block. The city is used to drawing tourists for its from banks, export credit agencies and the success of the sukuk, which was completed gual service. “If you can afford English lessons, tourism services for the lack of affordable offerings. truck races and traditional music festivals, one of state-owned Public Investment Fund, as at the start of April, two of the bankers said. you’re not going to work the front desk of a hotel,” which is in full swing this month. Caruaru bills the well as proceeds from an Islamic bond Sadara raised 7.5 billion riyals ($2 billion) said Gunde Schneider, a Brazilian of German Lingering stigma event as “The World’s Biggest and Best Saint John’s descent with a bed-and-breakfast in nearby Brazilians are quicker to blame the state of the Festival.” issue. The remaining cost will be met by from the local currency Islamic bond, hav- Gravata. “More likely, you’re the owner of the hotel.” tourism industry on a tarnished reputation from Caruaru’s hotels seem blithe about the the two partners. ing increased the deal size from 5.25 billion the 1990s, when a chaotic economy and rampant Confederations Cup. With lodging in short supply The facility, located at Jubail Industrial riyals on strong demand from investors. The road to Recife gang violence deterred visitors, shuttering one in and local vacationers eager to attend the festival, City in Saudi Arabiaís Eastern Province, will Also included is a $4.975 billion direct loan For the American fan in Recife, however, a mis- five of Recife’s hotels. In a public survey at the 2010 major hotels are already booked nearly every week- be the worldís largest chemical complex from the US Export-Import Bank. Signed in understanding at the front desk will be just one in a World Cup, Brazil’s tourism ministry found safety end this month. Consulted a week ahead, the only ever built in a single phase. It will produce September, it was the largest ever loan string of frustrations. The hassle starts before set- concerns were the overwhelming reason tourists rooms left at the Hotel Village Caruaru on Saturday more than 3 million tonnes of petrochemi- from the institution. — Reuters ting foot in Brazil, with a visa process that gives a gave for why they would not visit Brazil in 2014 - were going for 1,000 reais ($470) a night. — Reuters MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 technology Survey: Many Americans say ‘Big Brother’ is here

NEW YORK: There’s little wonder why for the Digital Future has polled more 86 percent of Americans are online, up cent in 2010 and 31 percent in 2007. up from 10 percent in 2000. George Orwell’s novel “1984” is seeing a than 2,000 U.S. households about their from 82 percent in 2010. That’s the high- Among other key findings: Thirty per- * The line between work and home resurgence in sales. More than half of Internet and technology use each year, est level in the study’s history and fur- cent of parents said they don’t monitor life is blurring. Nearly a quarter of Americans polled in a survey released with the exception of 2011, since 1999. ther evidence of how central the what their children do on social net- Internet users said they “often” use the Thursday said they agreed with the Forty-three percent of Internet users Internet has become in American’s lives, working sites such as Facebook, while 70 Internet at home for work-related pur- statement “We are really in the era of Big said they are concerned about the gov- especially in the age of mobile devices. percent said that they do. Nearly half of poses. Conversely, 18 percent said they Brother.” The survey from the University ernment checking what they do online, “We find that people almost never lose parents, 46 percent, said that they have “often” go online at work for non-work of Southern California was conducted up from 38 percent in 2010. But 57 per- their mobile phone,” said Jeff Cole, their kids’ passwords so they can access related activities. The study did not say last year, before recent revelations of cent said they were worried about pri- author of the study and director of the their account. whether these were the same people. large-scale, secret government surveil- vate companies doing the same thing - center. “They can drop it in the gutter, * People spent more time online than The 2012 poll had a margin of error of lance programs. Yet it still found that up from 48 percent in the earlier study. have it stolen but leave it on the table at in any previous year of the study. On plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. And some 35 percent of respondents agreed A 2012 survey by the Pew Research a restaurant - most of us don’t even get average, they were online 20.4 hours per about that “1984” sales surge - the book that “There is no privacy, get over it.” Center found that almost three-quarters through the front door before noticing week, up from 18.3 hours in 2010 and has been steadily climbing up Amazon’s A growing number of Internet users of Americans are concerned that busi- it.” More than half of the Internet users about nine hours in 2000. One percent list of “movers and shakers” books, the said they are concerned about the gov- nesses are collecting too much informa- surveyed said they go online using a of respondents said they visit websites online list of the biggest sales gainers ernment checking on their online activi- tion about people like them, while 64 mobile device, up from a third who said with sexual content “several times a day,” over the previous 24 hours. As of ties, according to the survey. But even percent had the same worry about the the same thing in 2010. As expected, while 69 percent said they never do. Thursday afternoon, the 60th anniver- more people were worried about busi- government. texting is becoming increasingly impor- * Dial-up is going the way of the sary edition of the classic was No. 6 on nesses doing the same. In addition to their views on privacy, tant for people of all ages - 82 percent of dodo: 83 percent said they access the the list, with sales up threefold in the The USC Annenberg School’s Center the most recent report also found that mobile phone users text, up from 62 per- Internet using a broadband connection, previous day. —AP Dangers and delights of digital diplomacy

WASHINGTON: Amid the explosion of social United States launched a criminal investigation “There’s obviously a great desire to be funny, media and new networking tools, governments into IT-specialist Edward Snowden for exposing and interesting and clever on social media. But if and businesses are grappling with balancing secret surveillance programs. you’re not doing in an authentic way then it falls their security needs against their wish to join the “These are the kind of issues that are going to flat, and it doesn’t work.” online conversations. “Communications technol- be plaguing governments in particular going The nature of social networking is also chang- ogy has dramatically democratized the process forward as citizens or privileged insiders decide ing, the forum organized by the Diplomatic of gaining a public audience,” said journalist and to go public and expose either secrets or private Courier magazine heard. “Maybe five years ago it former military analyst Joshua Foust at a information,” Foust said. was about putting your point of view out there Washington forum on digital diplomacy. “Secrecy is also an important part of public in as compelling a way as you could and drag “As an individual you can have a public reach diplomacy, what you don’t say can be be as people kicking and screaming to visit your web- that was unimaginable even 10 years ago... and important as what you do say, and absences can site or blog,” Kraus said. a lot of our institutions whether social or civic or mean just as much as presences.” “I think that’s over. What’s changed is how do governmental haven’t caught up all the way.” But with the outreach offered by the web, the you take your content, your expertise, your per- The introduction of tools such as Twitter and US State Department is among many branches sonality, your story and weave that into those PHOENIX: In this Wednesday, May 22, 2013, file photo, the Solar Impulse, piloted by Instagram has ensured that news and informa- of the US government which have embraced conversations that are already happening.” Andre Borschberg, takes flight during the second leg of the 2013 Across America tion zooms instantly around the globe in a click, social media as a way of engaging with people The new power afforded to ordinary citizens mission, at Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. —AP to be viewed by millions of people within sec- around the world. by social networks was however having a pow- onds. This leaves no time to check facts, and New Secretary of State John Kerry even erful impact on governments and politicians could be cause for red faces or even potential tweets and Tuesday replied to British counter- who were trying “to really endear themselves in Solar-powered plane disaster and lasting damage if a tweet is wrong, part William Hague “looking fwd to seeing you a new way that we’ve never seen before,” Darg or misinterpreted. special relationship w/ UK, incredibly valued said. lands near Washington “Time can be the enemy,” said David Darg, co- partner on #Syria and much more.-JK.” “Governments are increasing aware of the founder of the new social news platform But even his savvy diplomats have run into viewpoints of their constituents and good gov- WASHINGTON: A solar-powered plane the Washington area, averaging 31 mph (50 RYOT.org, and a long-time filmmaker. trouble. The US embassy in Cairo had to freeze ernments and good leaders react to what their nearing the close of a cross-continental kph). It was the second phase of a leg that “In diplomatic circles, if there’s a crisis hap- its Twitter account in April after coming under constituents care about,” added Kraus. journey landed at Dulles International began in St. Louis. pening how quickly do you get a message out to fire from Egyptian leaders for tweeting a link to a And the millennial generation was not con- Airport outside the nation’s capital early The plane, considered the world’s most assure people what’s happening, while at the show by US comic Jon Stewart mocking tent with being a passive bystander, the experts yesterday, only one short leg to New York advanced sun-powered aircraft, is powered same time making sure that your information is Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. agreed. “Most leaders are smart and they know remaining on a voyage that opened in May. by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells that correct and what you’re tweeting is correct.” “If you’re John Kerry you have a very different the difference between a passive click, and real Solar Impulse’s website said the aircraft cover its enormous wings and charge its The easy access and relatively anonymity online personality than if you’re Jon Stewart,” emotionally charged support. So if you can cre- with its massive wings and thousands of batteries during the day. The single-seat offered by the unruly Internet also deepens con- said Evan Kraus, executive director for digital ate that I think you do create real change, no photovoltaic cells “gracefully touched Solar Impulse flies around 40 mph and cerns about leaks, highlighted this week as the strategy at communications consultants APCO. matter what,” added Kraus. —AFP down” at 12:15 a.m. EDT after 14 hours and can’t go through clouds; weighing about as four minutes of flight from Cincinnati, Ohio, much as a car, the aircraft also took longer to Dulles in Washington’s Virginia suburbs. than a car to complete the journey from Pilot Bertrand Piccard was at the con- Ohio to the East Coast. EMC appoints Mahakian as Regional trols for the last time on the multi-leg Despite its vulnerabilities to bad weath- “Across America” journey that began May 3 er, Piccard said in a statement that the con- in San Francisco. His fellow Swiss pilot, clusion of all but the final leg showed that GM for Pakistan and the Gulf region Andre Borschberg, is expected to fly the sun-powered cross-continent travel “proves last leg from Washington to New York City’s the reliability and potential of clean tech- DUBAI: EMC today announced that will report to Mohammed Amin, EMC’s President, Turkey, Europe East, Africa, John F. Kennedy International Airport in nologies.” Organizers said fog at Cincinnati 25-year IT industry veteran Habib Senior Vice President and Regional and Middle East, EMC “Over the last early July, the web site added. Municipal Lunken Airport was a concern Mahakian has been appointed General Manager for Turkey, Eastern Europe, 12 years, Habib has successfully led It is the first bid by a solar plane capable that required the ground crew’s attention Manager for the Pakistan and the Gulf Africa and the Middle East region, Prior EMC’s operations across a number of of being airborne day and night without before takeoff just after 10 a.m. Saturday. region. In his new role, Mahakian will to his new role, Mahakian held a num- strategic markets, including North fuel to fly across the US, at speeds reaching The crew gave the plane a gentle wipe- be responsible for expanding EMC’s ber of leadership positions at EMC, Gulf and Saudi Arabia (KSA) before about 40 mph. The plane opened by flying down with cloths because of condensation footprint in Pakistan, Afghanistan and including Country Manager of EMC that, to help customers and partners from San Francisco via Arizona, Texas, that had formed on the wings. the eight maturing markets of the Gulf, Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Regional develop new opportunities to trans- Missouri and Ohio onward to Dulles with “The solar airplane was in great shape including Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Director for Pakistan and the North form their IT architecture, drive com- stops of several days in cities along the despite the quasi-shower it experienced” Yemen and Oman. Gulf and Levant regions. Before joining petitive differentiation and business way. Organizers said in a blog post early before takeoff from Cincinnati, the web site He will focus on strategy and busi- EMC, Mahakian worked at Saudi agility. With his wealth of experience Sunday that Piccard soared across the added. Washington was the first East Coast ness development to extend and fur- Business Machines in Saudi Arabia. and track record of success, I am con- Appalachian mountains on a 435-mile stop before the final planned leg to New ther accelerate EMC’s growth in the Mahakian holds a Bachelor’s of fident that in his new role Habib will (700-kilometer) course from Cincinnati to York. —AP region by delivering and supporting Science, Electrical Engineering from help drive EMC’s growth in the region the full range of EMC products, servic- Yarmouk University in Jordan. even further, while cementing our es and solutions in established and position as trusted partner to our cus- new markets, and enhancing partner EMC Executive Quote: tomers and channel network across and channel relationships. Mahakian Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice the region.” Habib Mahakian Web giants get broader surveillance revelations

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook and the accounts of between 18,000 actually received FISA requests, and between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal Microsoft Corp. representatives said and 19,000 Facebook users. can only say that any they’ve and national security warrants, sub- that after negotiations with nation- The companies were not received are included in the total poenas and orders affecting al security officials their companies allowed to make public how many reported figures. Microsoft released between 31,000 and 32,000 have been given permission to orders they received from a particu- similar numbers for the same peri- accounts. make new but still very limited rev- lar agency or on a particular sub- od, but downplayed how much Both attorneys emphasized in elations about government orders ject. But the numbers do include all they revealed. their statements that those affect- to turn over user data. national security related requests “We continue to believe that ed by the orders represent a “tiny The announcements Friday including those submitted via what we are permitted to publish fraction” of their huge user bases. night come at the end of a week national security letters and under continues to fall short of what is Google did not release its own when Facebook, Microsoft and the Foreign Intelligence needed to help the community numbers, saying late Friday that it Google, normally rivals, had jointly Surveillance Act, or FISA, which understand and debate these was waiting to be able to reveal CALIFORNIA: In this March 1, 2013 photo released by Google, a fully inflated test bal- pressured the Obama administra- companies had not previously issues,” John Frank, Microsoft’s vice more specific and meaningful infor- loon sits in a hangar at Moffett Field airfield. Google is testing the balloons which tion to loosen their legal gag on been allowed to reveal. president and deputy general mation. sail in the stratosphere and beam the Internet to Earth. —AP national security orders. The companies remain barred counsel said in a statement. “We have always believed that Those actions came after from revealing whether they’ve Frank said Microsoft received it’s important to differentiate Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old between different types of govern- Google’s Project Loon American who works as a contract ment requests,” Google said in a employee at the National Security statement. “We already publish explores Internet access Agency, revealed to The Guardian criminal requests separately from newspaper the existence of secret national security letters. Lumping NEW ZEALAND: Google Inc has launched a the balloon network, a special Internet anten- surveillance programs that gath- the two categories together would small network of balloons over the Southern na is attached to buildings below. The ered Americans’ phone records and be a step back for users. Our Hemisphere in an experiment it hopes could Mountain View, Calif-based company other data. The companies did not request to the government is clear: bring reliable Internet access to the world’s announced the project on its official blog link their actions to Snowden’s to be able to publish aggregate most remote regions, the company said late http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/int leaks. numbers of national security Friday. roducing-project- loon.html, and its website Ted Ullyot, Facebook’s general requests, including FISA disclo- The pilot program, Project Loon, took off http://www.google.com/loon/. The 30 bal- counsel, said in a statement that sures, separately.” this month from New Zealand’s South Island, loons deployed in New Zealand this month Facebook is only allowed to talk Facebook repeated recent assur- using solar-powered, high-altitude balloons will beam Internet to a small group of pilot about total numbers and must give ances that the company scrutinizes that ride the wind about 12.5 miles (20 kilo- testers and be used to refine the technology no specifics. But he said the permis- every government request, and meters) - twice as high as airplanes - above and shape the next phase of Project Loon, sion it has received is still unprece- works aggressively to protect users’ the ground, Google said. Google said. dented, and the company was lob- data. Facebook said it has a compli- Like the Internet search engine for which Google did not say what it was spending bying to reveal more. ance rate of 79 percent on govern- Google is best known, Project Loon uses algo- on the pilot project or how much a global Using the new guidelines, Ullyot ment requests. rithms to determine where the balloons need network of balloons might cost. Google has said Facebook received between “We frequently reject such to go, then moves them into winds blowing also developed self-driving vehicles, which 9,000 and 10,000 government requests outright, or require the in the desired direction, the company said. the company says could significantly increase requests from all government enti- government to substantially scale By moving with the wind, the balloons driving safety. Those vehicles are beginning ties from local to federal in the last down its requests, or simply give form a network of airborne hot spots that can to gain support from lawmakers in places like six months of 2012, on topics the government much less data deliver Internet access over a broad area at California, where a bill legalizing their opera- including missing children investi- MENLO PARK: In this Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, file photo, a Facebook than it has requested,” Ullyot said.” speeds comparable to 3G using open radio tion on state roads was signed into law last by gations, fugitive tracking and ter- User Operations Safety Team worker looks at reviews at Facebook And we respond only as required frequency bands, Google said. To connect to Governor Jerry Brown. —Reuters rorist threats. The requests involved headquarters in Menlo Park. —AP by law.” —AP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 HEALTH & SCIENCE New diet craze offers five days of feasting for two days of famine

Forget abandoning carbohydrates or detoxing. share their experiences. Following the success of the most searched diets on the Internet, the NHS The new dieting craze sweeping Britain and tak- “The Fast Diet”, Spencer joined forces with dieti- has started to look again at the diet and its ing off in the United States lets people eat what- tian Sarah Schenker to bring out “The Fast Diet effects. On its website last month the NHS said ever they like - but only five days a week. “The Recipe Book” in April which has topped ama- the British Dietetic Association (BDA) reviewed a Fast Diet”, also known as the 5:2 diet, is the zon.co.uk’s food and drink list with 150 recipes 2011 study by researchers at the UK’s University brainchild of TV medical journalist Michael containing under 300 calories. Eating a 600 calo- Hospital of South Manchester that suggested Mosley and journalist Mimi Spencer and allows rie daily diet - about a quarter of a normal intermittent fasting could help lower the risk of people to eat what they want for five days but healthy adult’s intake - could consist of two eggs certain obesity-related cancers such as breast only eat 600 calories a day on the other two. for breakfast, grilled chicken and lettuce for cancer. “The increasing popularity of the 5:2 diet Their book, “The Fast Diet”, has topped best- lunch, and fish with rice noodles for dinner with should lead to further research of this kind,” the selling book lists in Britain and the United States nothing to drink but water, black coffee or tea. BDA said in a statement. Schenker, a sports and this year and been reprinted more than a dozen media dietitian who works with football clubs times. Mosley said the diet is based on work by One day at a time and food companies, said it was a shame that British and US scientists who found intermittent Mosley put the diet’s success down to the the NHS had criticized the eating regime that fasting helped people lose more fat, increase fact it is psychologically attractive and leads to had proved such a success with so many people. insulin sensitivity and cut cholesterol which steady drop in weight with an average weekly “We are in the midst of an obesity crisis and you should mean reduced risk of heart disease and loss of 1 pound (0.46kg) for women and slightly need to balance up which is worse - intermittent XIHU: A photo shows a keeper feeds Przewalski’s horses at the West Lake national diabetes. more for men. “The problem with standard diets fasting of staying obese?” nature reserve area near Xihu, in northwestern China’s Gansu province. —AFP photos He tried this eating regime for a BBC televi- is that you feel like you are constantly having to Schenker told Reuters. Despite concerns sion science program called “Eat, Fast, Live exercise restraint and that means you are think- raised by the NHS, the 5:2 diet has been widely Przewalski’s horses Longer” last August after finding out his choles- ing about food all the time, which becomes self- praised by those who follow it. Deb Thomas, 50, terol level was too high and his blood sugar in defeating,” said Mosley. “On this regime you are a management coach from London, said she roaming China’s plains again the diabetic range. He was stunned by the only really on a diet two days a week. It is also has followed the diet for six months and results. “I started doing intermittent fasting a extremely flexible and simple.” dropped a couple of dress sizes. This has also XIHU: In the harsh desert steppe of far Germany and has since bred them in captivi- year ago, lost 8 kgs (18 pounds) of fat over 3 Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) initially inspired her husband to join her in fasting two northwestern China five prehistoric-looking ty, with their numbers growing to more than months and my blood results went back to nor- expressed doubts about the diet and its long- days a week. “It is such an easy diet to follow Przewalski’s horses, once classed as extinct in 70. Starting in 2010, carefully selected batch- mal,” Mosley told Reuters. Mosley said he had term effects, saying side effects could include that fits into my way of life,” Thomas said. “You the wild, emerge from the endless plains. The es have been released into the reserve. “Now been amazed at the way the diet had taken off sleeping difficulties, bad breath, irritability, anxi- have a tough day of not eating but you know horses-named after a Russian officer and there are 27, 16 females and 11 males,” says with a list of websites set up by followers of the ety, and daytime sleepiness. But as the populari- the next day you can eat normally again, and explorer who spotted them around 1880 — Sun. “We even registered the birth of a foal in 5:2 diet or variations of the eating regime to ty of the 5:2 diet has grown and become one of that keeps you going.” —Reuters bear a striking resemblance to those depict- July 2011, a new success in our reintroduc- ed in European cave paintings, with short tion process.” But very few animals can necks, spiky manes and a yellow hue. They endure an environment as hard and dry as graze calmly on a few strands of straw as the Gansu’s desert steppe. wind whips across the vast, open landscape. Przewalski’s horses require daily access to Cancer patients take fight to the gym “These ones here, they can be approached. water that is within a 30-kilometre (20-mile) The others will run away as soon as you get range and does not freeze in winter. They MINNEAPOLIS: Her face flushed, 2010 at the Lake Street YWCA. within 300 meters (yards) of them,” says Sun also need 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of dry Rosemary Lamont sat on the gym Called Cancer Recovery and Zhicheng, an official at the 660,000-hectare food per day, relatively close to the water. In floor one recent afternoon, listening Exercise for Women (CREW), the (1.6-million-acre) West Lake national nature a region that receives less than four centime- to her trainer’s impassioned com- program follows the same mix of reserve. ters (1.5 inches) of rain per year, many of mands. “Sit up tall and lift that leg,” cardio and strength training as oth- According to the International Union for these conditions could become problems, the trainer coached, counting down er cancer fitness programs. Conservation of Nature, Przewalski’s horses says Sun. The reserve is taking back-up meas- the remaining seconds. “Five, four, “The connection there, the mag- once roamed as far as Western Europe. But as ures to improve the horses’ chances. “We three, two, one. Beautiful!” Lamont ic, if you will, is the same magic that the centuries passed, climatic change have increased the water supply by expand- smiled, exhaling loudly. The 69- is the result of exercise being bene- reduced their habitat and the remainder ing 10 wells. At a later point we are thinking year-old woman is among legions ficial for so many other things-that were so widely hunted, mainly for food, that of bringing water from the river. of cancer patients adopting a new is, cell regeneration,” Klein said. “We they were classified as extinct in the wild in “In winter we have to break the ice so that recovery strategy: They’re abandon- think of exercise as impacting our 1960 — although a living specimen was later the horses can drink.” The horses eat grasses ing their beds and hitting the gym. waistline, impacting our muscles found in Mongolia. But a few survived in and certain plant species, says reserve A growing body of evidence sup- and even impacting our bone den- European zoos, and now efforts are under- employee Lu Shengrong, but when vegeta- ports the idea that sweating is bet- sity. But we really need to think way to reintroduce them to the wild. The tion becomes sparse in winter-time, they will ter than resting after cancer. The about exercise as having a fully sys- Chinese project near Xihu in Gansu province be fed dry alfalfa, straw, black beans and workouts both restore energy temic impact on our bodies, affect- faces daunting challenges freezing winters, corn. Of the 2,000 or so Przewalski’s horses drained from cancer treatments ing our bodies right down to the sweltering summers and limited supplies of that now exist worldwide, about a quarter and, in some cases, help prevent cellular level. Then we can really food and water. are part of efforts to reintroduce them to the the disease’s return. begin to grasp the huge impor- According to Chinese legend, Sun says, wild, says Claudia Feh, a biologist doing simi- There are an estimated 13.7 mil- tance of exercise in recovery from MINNESOTA: Diana Hambrook, left, works out under the eye of train- the animals were discovered two millennia lar work in Mongolia, where several hundred lion cancer survivors nationwide, any injury, any illness, and especially er Kara Jeter during a fitness class for cancer survivors. ago by an exiled criminal around the oasis of have been released. The worst threat they according to the American Cancer cancer.” Dunhuang, a crossroads on the Silk Road. “A face, she says, are ordinary horses, which can Society. Lamont’s exercise class for Past CREW participants have man had been convicted and banished from infect them with disease or crossbreed with cancer patients, new this spring at included those whose cancer is in Dunhuang. While he was walking near a lake them, diluting the gene pool. “The biggest the Eden Prairie, Minn, Community remission and those who have he saw one of these horses. “He made a man- enemy is the domesticated horse,” Feh says. Center, is the latest response to a struggled with several bouts and nequin and put it on a path the horse would Przewalski’s horses have “a very narrow growing demand for cancer fitness are still working out. “It’s no longer a follow. One day he took the place of the genetic base” as all living members of the programs. As the benefits become death sentence,” Klein said. “Cancer mannequin, and he was able to catch the species are descended from just 13 or 14 more widely known, more of the fit- is something we manage like heart horse to offer it to the emperor. “The man individuals, she says. “They are going to dis- ness programs are popping up, disease or high blood pressure. then lied to the emperor Han Wudi, saying appear genetically if we do not prevent such as the Livestrong Foundation’s Exercise is part of the therapies.” the horse had sprung out of a spring. And he crossbreeding.” For any wild population to partnership with YMCAs across the Larry Fountain, 53, a singer from called it a heavenly horse. The emperor loved survive long-term, or even 50 years, it must country and local programs at the West St Paul, Minn, was diagnosed the horse so much that he wrote a poem be 1,500 strong, Feh says. “That goal is far YWCA and yoga centers. with colon cancer in 2007 and has about it.” In 1986 China purchased 18 of the away,” she adds. “This is a species that is still “The cancer journey can be very battled three rounds. He discovered horses from the United States, Britain and rather fragile.” —AFP disempowering because your body Skinner’s cancer recovery exercise can betray you, and there’s lots of program by chance. She is offering a things you just don’t have control summer session beginning this over,” explained Cathy Skinner, who month at three gym locations- Australia cracks down is among a rare breed of trainers Uptown, Eden Prairie and St Paul. specially certified by the American Fountain started working out with on synthetic drugs College of Sports Medicine to work her, after undergoing chemothera- with cancer survivors. “But exercise, py. “It made a heck of a difference,” SYDNEY: Australia imposed an interim Minister Jason Clare confirmed yesterday state of mind, nutrition-those things he said of the exercise. “She really ban on 19 synthetic cannabis and that the government will also develop leg- you can control.” helped me get my strength and cocaine-like drugs yesterday as part of a islation to ensure unauthorized synthetic Lamont, of Eden Prairie, was bat- breath back so I could sing again.” crackdown on the psychoactive sub- drugs cannot be imported. The move will tling a second bout of breast cancer He lifts weights and does exercises stances which mimic the highs of their mean that “new drugs coming onto the when she underwent chemothera- to strengthen the core muscles in illegal counterparts. Assistant Treasurer market are presumed to be illegal until py earlier this year. It left her feeling his abdomen. Getting some exercise David Bradbury said the 19 products the authorities know what they are and exhausted. But she didn’t take it also worked wonders for his mind. would be banned from sale and supply for clear them as safe and legal”. Clare said a lying down. She started working “I always like to credit that experi- out, twice a week. It’s paying off. ence with just helping pick me up up to 120 days under consumer laws, a range of synthetic drugs were being sold MINNESOTA: Trainer Kara Jeter offers encouragement during a fitness Driving a metal pin into a stack of out of the dumps,” Fountain said. “It measure which will give states and territo- in Australia, including via the Internet. class for cancer survivors in Eden Prairie. —MCT photos ries time to update their laws to ban them. They mimicked the effects of cannabis, weights during a recent workout, helped me start feeling like you “Synthetic drugs are dangerous sub- cocaine and methamphetamine and were Lamont said: “My arms and legs are to create the class. times a week. Cheville also said know, ‘I’m alive again, I’ve got anoth- stances that can kill and should not be being marketed as a legal alternative to much stronger. It’s just amazing It’s something doctors are exercise will reduce a healthy per- er shot.’?” Back at the Eden Prairie available for sale,” Bradbury said. illicit drugs. He said the new legislation how quickly it’s come.” embracing, too. Dr Andrea Cheville son’s risk of developing certain can- Community Center, the women in Many synthetic drugs are already would be in line with that already in place In personal trainer Kara Jeter’s of the Mayo Clinic said exercise cers, namely colon and breast can- Jeter’s class are starting to bond. banned in parts of Australia, but Bradbury in Ireland and due to be brought into class, Lamont and a small group of offers significant benefits for cancer cer. They’ve talked about getting said the market was fast-moving and sup- force in New Zealand in August. Last women do a mix of cardio, strength patients. She cited in particular a The American Cancer Society together outside of class. “We all are pliers had shown a willingness to change month, Europe’s drug agency warned training and mind-body work. Jeter, 2005 study in the Journal of the also recommends exercise, but friends now,” said Diana Hambrook, brand names and packaging to get about the rise in new synthetic psychoac- while not a cancer survivor herself, American Medical Association, advises patients to consult with 72. She was in the middle of doing around bans made under consumer laws. tive substances on that continent. The said her heightened awareness of which found that breast cancer their oncologists before starting an bicep curls with handheld dumb- Australia’s most populous state New European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and the disease motivated her to push patients who walked briskly for exercise program; the organization bells when Lamont walked up to South Wales temporarily banned synthet- Drug Addiction said 73 new psychoactive for the new class at the Eden Prairie three hours a week had almost a 50 posts a list of precautions on its chat. “You graduated to five- ic drugs earlier this month after a 17-year- substances were detected on the market fitness center. “We said, ‘OK, we real- percent reduction in their risk of website. pounders?” Lamont asked. “Whoa, old Sydney boy fell to his death after tak- in 2012 — compared to just 49 in 2011 — ly need to get our act together breast cancer recurrence. “That’s Kelli Klein, group fitness coordi- you’re getting stronger.” Hambrook ing a synthetic LSD product which made and a greater proportion were from more because there are so many people honestly as good as any drug we nator at the YWCA of Minneapolis, nodded, rolling up her sleeves to him believe he could fly. Home Affairs obscure chemical groups. —AFP affected by cancer,’?” said Jeter, who have,” she said. She advises doing a launched a cancer recovery exercise reveal her bulging biceps. “See?” she teamed up with two other trainers half-hour of moderate exercise five program exclusively for women in said proudly. —MCT ‘M’ or ‘F’? Outdated IDs worry transgender people

SAN FRANCISCO: Lauren Grey ments. But those “M” or “F” markers tory Friday, when the Social require proof of surgery to alter the move mirrors similar actions by the can’t get insurance.” As a result of didn’t think much about the gen- - and the legal and administrative Security Administration gender identification of individuals US State Department, which lawsuits and lobbying, about half der recorded on her Illinois driver’s prerequisites for switching them announced that it would no longer in its computers and records. The amended its passport application of US states - most recently Illinois, license until she went to test-drive on passports, birth certificates and policies three years ago to do away Alaska, Virginia and Idaho - now a new car. Although she had been other forms of identification - are a with the sex reassignment surgery allow residents to revise the gen- living as a woman for months and source of anxiety and, even, dis- requirement, and US Citizenship der designations on their driver’s easily obtained a license with her crimination for transgender indi- and Immigration Services, which licenses without first undergoing new name and a picture reflecting viduals. The rules vary from state to last year did the same for green surgery or getting a judge’s her feminine appearance, Grey’s ID state, agency to agency and even cards, work permits and other doc- approval. Applicants instead must still identified her as male, puzzling clerk to clerk. But a transgender uments it issues. provide a letter from a health pro- the salesmen and prompting applicant generally has been “Most people may not see this fessional stating they have uncomfortable questions. “They required to submit both a court as a big deal, but transgender peo- received counseling, hormone are like, ‘This doesn’t match.’ Then order approving the gender ple know that this seemingly small therapy or another form of gender- you have to go into the story: ‘I was change and a letter from a surgeon technical change will protect their transition treatment. born male, but now I’m not,’” said certifying that the person under- privacy and give them more con- Holding mismatched identifica- Grey, 38, a graphic designer living went irreversible sex reassignment trol over their own lives,” Mara tion also exposes transgender peo- in suburban Chicago. “And they are surgery before obtaining a new Keisling, executive director of the ple to the threat of discrimination like, ‘What does that mean?’ It was document. National Center for Transgender or violence, advocates say. A 2008 super embarrassing.” Similarly awk- Over the last few years, though, Equality, said. survey of 6,450 transgender peo- ward conversations ensued when the emerging movement for trans- “Since 9/11, it’s become ... ple conducted by the National she tried to rent an apartment, gender rights has been quietly incredibly important to have accu- Center for Transgender Equality went to bars or was taken out of pressing the issue, persuading rate and consistent identification. and the National Gay and Lesbian airport security lines for inspection. state lawmakers and federal and CALIFORNIA: In this photo taken last Tuesday is Ben Hudson, the Without it, you can’t open a bank Task Force found that 40 percent of Most US residents don’t think state agencies to simplify the director of the Gender Health Center, a health clinic that provides account, you can’t use a credit respondents had been harassed twice about the gender printed on lengthy and often costly process. treatment verification for transgender people seeking to update card, you can’t apply for a loan, you after presenting an ID that conflict- their government-issued docu- Advocates recorded their latest vic- their idís is photographed in Sacramento,. —AP can’t get a job, you can’t vote, you ed with how they looked. —AP MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 HEALTH & SCIENCE IRS scandals threaten funding for health care law

WASHINGTON: Mounting scandals at the that cost $4.1 million, according to the watch- the state-based exchanges. Under the new Internal Revenue Service are jeopardizing criti- dog’s report. Three congressional committees law, nearly everyone in the U.S. will be cal funding for the agency as it gears up to and the Justice Department are investigating required to have health insurance starting in play a big role in President Barack Obama’s the targeting of conservative groups, and 2014, or face penalties. The IRS will collect health care law. Obama sought a significant much of the top leadership at the IRS has been those penalties. budget increase for the IRS for next year, when replaced. About 6 million people are expected to get the agency will start doling out subsidies to Obama appointed a new acting IRS com- the insurance subsidies next year, and that help people buy health insurance on state- missioner, Danny Werfel, a former White House number will grow to 20 million by 2017, based exchanges. Congressional Republicans, budget official. Werfel is conducting an inter- according to estimates by the nonpartisan however, see management problems at the nal review of the agency and is expected to Congressional Budget Office. The enrollment IRS as an opportunity to limit the agency’s issue recommendations for changes by the season to buy health insurance through the funding just as it is trying to put in place the end of June. All this is happening as the exchanges starts Oct 1. massive new law. Republicans have been agency works to implement the health law “The bottom line here is that the IRS can fighting the health care law ever since that includes some of the most sweeping barely manage what it already has to do, and Democrats enacted it in 2010 without a single changes to the tax code in a generation. “The that’s a generous characterization given the GOP vote. Unable to repeal the law, some IRS needs to repair the plane while it’s in flight targeting of conservative groups,” said Sen. Republicans hope to starve it by refusing to right now,” said Paul Cherecwich, chairman of Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the fund its implementation. the IRS Oversight Board, an independent Senate Finance Committee, which oversees The IRS scandals are giving them a timely board within the agency. “Should the current the IRS. excuse. “I think it’s safe to say they’re not going budget environment continue, the IRS will “Adding Obamacare under the IRS, that can to get the kind of increase they’re asking for,” have to continue to have to do more with less only be described as a looming disaster,” Hatch said Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla, chairman of while rebuilding taxpayer trust. said. “And now the Democrats are saying we the House appropriations subcommittee that It has no choice, and it won’t be easy.” Like need to give the IRS more money. I’m not sure funds the IRS. “The question is, based on their many federal agencies, the IRS has seen its I’m willing to do that.” Democrats in Congress bad behavior, are they going to end up with budget and workforce shrink since 2010, when say they are growing tired of Republican less money?” Crenshaw said. Last month, the the agency was allotted $12.1 billion. This year, attempts to repeal a law that has survived a IRS was rocked by revelations that agents had the IRS is expected to spend $11.2 billion. WASHINGTON: In this photo Rep Jim McDermott, D-Wash, asks a question during a House review by the Supreme Court and whose main targeted tea party and other conservative Obama’s proposed budget for next year is Ways and Means Committee hearing on the unfair targeting by the IRS of organizations champion - Obama - won re-election last year. groups for extra scrutiny when the groups $12.9 billion - a 14 percent increase over cur- seeking tax-exempt status on Capitol Hill. —AP “The American people will see over the next applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 rent spending. About $440 million would go six months the lengths the Republicans will go and 2012 elections. toward implementing the health care law. That confidence in the IRS and its ability to adminis- implement it well, so millions of Americans to destroy the implementation of the A few weeks later, an inspector general’s would include hiring nearly 2,000 employees, ter the tax code fairly and efficiently,” said will have access to affordable and quality Affordable Care Act,” said Rep. Jim McDermott report said that the agency had spent lavishly according to an analysis of the president’s White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage. insurance.” of Washington state, a senior Democrat on the on employee conferences during the same budget proposal by the Government “For years Republicans in Congress have made Starting next year, the IRS will administer House Ways and Means Committee. “I’ve time period. From 2010 through 2012, the IRS Accountability Office. repeated attempts to stop and slow down the subsidies to help millions of individuals buy expected it from the first day this (IRS) issue spent nearly $50 million on employee confer- “We are working to get to the bottom of Affordable Care Act. This is just the latest health insurance. The subsidies, technically tax came up.” “I’m sad about it, it’s awful,” ences. In 2010, the agency used money that what happened at the IRS, hold the responsi- attempt to put up roadblocks to implement- credits because they are administered through McDermott added. “But sometimes in a democ- had been budgeted to hire enforcement ble parties accountable, make sure it cannot ing the law,” Brundage said. “The health law is the tax code, will help low- and middle- racy people have to learn the hard way, and the agents to instead help pay for one conference happen again, and restore public trust and the law of the land, and we are working to income families buy health insurance through American public is going to learn. —AP WHAT’S ON MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013

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Announcement

he Najla Al-Naqqi Forum invites the Tmedia to a press conference for Municipal Council elec- tions candidates Hamed Al-Omairi (first constituency) and Yahya Al-Enizy (seventh constituency) on Monday, June 17, 2013. The event starts 8:00 pm at the forum’s building in Salwa, Bock ACK holds field trip for students 2, Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa street, house No 388. to Kuwait International Airport The Meat Co Kuwait launches weekly Jazz Nights n line with its students’ skills cational base on which students can the students’ understanding of engi- retical and practical information, which he Meat Co Kuwait will be bringing more than enhancement strategy, the Australian build their subsequent courses of study neering systems, giving them a glance at came to complement their college learn- outstanding steak to the table with the launch ICollege of Kuwait (ACK) organized a in multiple areas, such as English, math- what their future careers would be like. ing. Other field trips have been sched- Tof their new weekly jazz nights. The Meat Co field trip to the Kuwait International ematics, physics and computing skills. Headed by Camille Bondi, Head of the uled by the Australian College of Kuwait Jazz Nights will be treating its customers to the Airport for Foundation Skills Program The particular aim of the field trip was to English Foundation Skills Program and for later this year as part of the institu- smooth sounds of the Kuwait Jazz Trio, who will be (Level 3 - English) students wishing to expose English students to real-life situ- accompanied by their teachers, the field tion’s overall strategy to nurture its stu- entertaining the crowd with their extensive reper- major in Aircraft Maintenance ations where they would need to use trip students got the unique chance to dents and provide them with the best toire of tunes, including the works of Cole Porter, Engineering. technical aviation terms to express tour the Airport’s Maintenance academic support possible for a brighter Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, Billy Strayhorn ACK’s Foundation Skills Program has themselves and communicate with oth- Department guided by the department’s future. and George Gershwin. Kuwait’s premier jazz band been established to provide a firm edu- ers. However, the trip also consolidated head, who offered them important theo- will be performing every Wednesday from 8pm at The Meat Co, Kuwait - using the traditional jazz trio instruments of piano, bass and drums -thrilling the audience with the best of international jazz late into the evening.

Indian Embassy sets up helpline he Indian Embassy in Kuwait has set up helpline in order to assist Indian expatriates in Tregistering any complaint regarding the gov- ernment’s ongoing campaign to stamp out illegal residents from the country. The embassy said in press release yesterday that it amended its previous statement and stated if there is any complaint, the same could be conveyed at the following (as amend- ed): Operations Department, Ministry of Interior, Kuwait. Fax: 22435580, Tel: 24768146/25200334. It said the embassy has been in regular contact with local authorities regarding the ongoing checking of expatriates. The embassy has also conveyed to them the concerns, fears and apprehensions of the com- munity in this regard. The authorities in Kuwait have conveyed that strict instructions have been issued to Kuwait Marriott Hotels launch ensure that there is no harassment or improper treatment of expatriates by those undertaking checking. “The embassy would like to request Indian exciting family summer deals expatriates to ensure that they abide by all local laws, rules and regulations regarding residency, traf- fic and other matters,” the release read. It would be estled in the heart of the country, JW Marriott la Carte menu at the Courtyard by Marriott’s Atrium prudent to always carry the Civil ID and other rele- hotel Kuwait City and Courtyard by Marriott restaurant and the renowned Indian restaurant Soul vant documents such as driving license, etc. In case Nhotel Kuwait City are offering exciting packages and Spice, offering the perfect blend of Indian spices in an Indian expatriate encounters any improper treat- for the upcoming summer travel season to locals, expa- a contemporary presentation. The restaurant offers an ment during checking, it may be conveyed immedi- triates, as well as visiting families from other GCC coun- extensive a la carte menu featuring authentic Indian ately with full details and contact particulars to the tries. The new offer is valid from June 1 to August 31, dishes. embassy at the following phone number 67623639. 2013. Meanwhile, guests staying at the five star luxury JW These contact details are exclusively for the above- Guests residing at the hotels can particularly enjoy Marriott Kuwait Hotel, can enjoy weekday offers at mentioned purpose only. daily free international buffet breakfast with 20 percent KD55 per night and KD70 per night on weekends. An off on food and beverage and for those with kids aged exciting buffet at the hotel’s very popular La Brasserie 12 years and under will receive 50 percent off on meals. restaurant will be provided, featuring delicious interna- To add to the exclusive benefits, guests are entitled to tional buffets. IMAX 50 percent off on spa treatments and massages along George Aoun, General Manager of Kuwait Marriott with free access to the swimming pool and health club. Hotels, said, “With many years of extensive experience Free unlimited high speed wired and wireless internet catering to families and visitors from around the region and 50 percent off on laundry services are ensured for during the busiest season of the year, this brand guar- complete convenience on every level. antees complete anticipation of their demands and Fun filled deals at the modern, downtown Courtyard preferences. Our offers therefore ,are tailor made to fit by Marriott hotel include a reduced stay price at KD 46 all ,ranging from the finest dining to the ultimate shop- IMAX film program per night on weekdays, while a blissful weekend get- ping experience under one roof .We truly hope our Monday: away on Thursday or Friday could be relished at KD 60 guests feel welcome and enjoy their days with us.” ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups per night. Hotel guests can enjoy delicious buffet and a Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 8:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 5:30pm, 7:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 9:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 6:30pm

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: [email protected] Fax: 24835619 / 20 By the end of this 2012-2013 school year, Yousif Saleem successfully graduated from KG1 at the Pakistani School. Congratulations. WHAT’S ON MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 Maj Gen Ali celebrates son’s wedding Embassy Information

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: [email protected] (VFS) he Ministry of [email protected] (Visa Office); Tel: Interior’s Assistant TUndersecretary for +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Traffic Affairs Major Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait General Abdulfattah Al-Ali applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa celebrated the wedding of Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan his son Abdulmuhsen in a Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite ceremony held Saturday the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. at the Behbehani Hall in Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Shaab. The ceremony was attended by state officials Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc- and many other guests. com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

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[From left]: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah poses for a photo with the father of the bride, groom EMBASSY OF CANADA and Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali.—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration depart- ment. All processing of visa and immigra- tion matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.going- tocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-im-enquiry@inter- national.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. Kuwait Football Association President Sheikh Talal Al-Fahad Al-Sabah (right) [From left]: Vice President of the Kuwaiti National Guard Sheikh Meshal Al- with Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali and his son. Ahmad Al-Sabah, the groom Abdulmuhsin Al-Ali, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Ali and Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali. n n n n n n n

EMBASSY OF US Parents of Kuwaiti citizen children may drop off their sons’ and daughters’ visa applications - completely free of an interview or a trip inside the Embassy. The chil- dren must be under 14 years of age, and addi- tional requirements do apply, but the service means parents will no longer have to schedule individual appointments for their children, nor come inside the Embassy (unless they are applying for themselves). The service is only available for children holding Kuwaiti pass- ports. To take advantage, parents must drop off the following documents: Child Visa Drop-off cover sheet, available on the Embassy website Sheikh Faisal Al-Hmoud Al-Malik Al-Sabah stands between the groom and his Undersecretary Assistant for Training and Learning Affairs in the Ministry of (http://kuwait.usembassy.gov/child_visas.htm) father. Interior, Major General Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (fifth from - Child’s passport; The Child’s previous pass- left) poses for a photo with a number of guests. port, if it contains a valid US visa; 5x5cm photo of child with eyes open (if uploaded into DS- 160, photos must be a .jpg between 600x600 and 1200x1200 pixels, less than 240kb, and cannot be digitally altered); A completed DS- 160 form; Visa Fee Receipt from Burgan Bank; A copy of the valid visa of at least one parent. If one parent will not travel, provide a visa copy for the traveling parent, and a passport copy from the non-traveling parent with a letter stating no objection to the child’s travel. - For children of students (F2): a copy of the child’s I- 20. Children born in the US (with very few exceptions) are US citizens and would not be eligible for a visa. Parents may drop off the application packet at Window 2 at the Embassy Nasser Al-Sayer (middle) poses with the groom and his father. Former minister Fadhel Safar poses with the groom and his father. from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, Monday to Wednesday, excluding holidays. More information is avail- able on the U.S. Embassy website: kuwait.usembassy.gov/child_visas.html

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EMBASSY GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applica- tions must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al- Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday). Working hours: Former MP Saadoun Hammad Al-Otaibi (middle) is seen with the groom and his Guests lineup for greeting the newly-wed. father. Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collec- tion from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait.

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EMBASSY OF VATICAN The Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican in Kuwait has moved to a new location in Kuwait City. Please find below the new address: Yarmouk, Block 1, Street 2, Villa No: 1. P.O.Box 29724, Safat 13158, Kuwait. Tel: 965 25337767, Fax: 965 25342066. Email: [email protected]

A general view of the guests. TV PROGRAMS MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013

20:00 Covert Affairs 20:05 A.N.T. Farm 11:10 Charly’s Cake Angels 02:00 UFC Countdown 21:00 Once Upon A Time 20:30 Good Luck Charlie 11:35 Unique Sweets 03:00 Live UFC Prelims 22:00 Banshee 20:50 Suite Life On Deck 12:00 Amazing Wedding Cakes 05:00 Live UFC 23:00 Greek 21:15 Austin And Ally 12:50 Have Cake, Will Travel 08:00 Live NRL Premiership 14:35 Border Security 00:00 Glee 21:40 That’s So Raven 13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To 10:00 Trans World Sport 15:05 Auction Hunters 01:00 Banshee 22:00 Shake It Up Basics 11:00 ICC Cricket 360 15:30 Auction Kings 02:00 Once Upon A Time 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To 11:30 Live NRL Premiership 16:00 Robson Green’s Extreme 22:50 Austin And Ally Basics 13:30 British and Irish Lions Tour Fishing Challenge 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 14:05 Food Wars 15:30 Futbol Mundial 16:55 Yukon Men 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 16:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 17:50 Mythbusters 00:00 Hannah Montana 17:00 UFC Countdown 03:00 Guys With Kids 14:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:45 Sons Of Guns 00:20 Hannah Montana 18:00 UFC Prelims 03:30 1600 Penn 15:20 Guy’s Big Bite 19:40 Industrial Junkie 00:45 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 20:00 UFC 04:00 Seinfeld 15:45 Chopped 20:05 How It’s Made 01:05 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 23:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To 20:35 Auction Hunters 01:30 Emperor’s New School Leno Basics 21:00 Storage Hunters 01:50 Emperor’s New School 05:30 Two And A Half Men 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To 21:30 Gold Divers 02:15 Replacements 06:00 All Of Us Basics 22:25 Alaska: The Last Frontier 02:35 Replacements 17:25 Food Wars 06:30 Til Death 00:30 ICC Cricket 360 23:20 Flying Wild Alaska 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 01:00 AFL Premiership 00:15 Gold Divers 18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 08:00 Seinfeld 03:30 PGA Tour Highlights 18:40 Charly’s Cake Angels 08:30 Two And A Half Men 04:30 PGA European Tour 19:05 Unique Sweets 09:00 Guys With Kids Highlights 19:30 Amazing Wedding Cakes 09:30 Hot In Cleveland 14:30 Style Star 05:30 Trans World Sport 20:20 Chopped 10:00 2 Broke Girls 15:00 Keeping Up With The 06:30 Inside The PGA Tour 21:10 Chopped 14:50 Combat Countdown 10:30 Til Death Kardashians 07:00 International Rugby Union 22:00 Andy Bates American Street 15:45 The Baby Mammoth 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay 16:00 Keeping Up With The 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 Feasts 16:40 HMS Ark Royal Leno Kardashians 09:30 Live AFL Premiership 22:25 Andy Bates American Street 17:35 Mystery Cars 12:00 All Of Us 17:00 Ice Loves Coco 12:30 Inside The PGA Tour Feasts 18:00 Mystery Cars 12:30 Seinfeld 17:30 E! News Special: Country 13:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 22:50 Andy Bates Street Feasts 18:25 Hero Factor 13:00 Two And A Half Men Music Festival 13:30 Futbol Mundial 23:15 Andy Bates Street Feasts 18:50 Hero Factor 13:30 Til Death 18:00 E! News 14:00 Trans World Sport 23:40 Food Wars 19:20 American Car Prospector 14:00 1600 Penn 19:00 E!es 15:00 NRL Premiership 00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:10 Tattoo Hunter 14:30 2 Broke Girls 20:00 Married To Jonas 17:00 NRL Premiership 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 21:05 Out Of Egypt 15:00 Hot In Cleveland 20:30 Married To Jonas 19:00 Live Nations Cup 00:55 Unwrapped 22:00 American Car Prospector 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 21:00 Playing With Fire 21:00 Live Nations Cup 01:20 Unwrapped 22:55 Death Machines Stewart 23:00 THS 23:00 ICC Cricket 360 01:45 Andy Bates American Street 23:50 Most Evil 16:00 The Colbert Report 00:00 Opening Act 23:30 Inside The PGA Tour Feasts 00:45 Mystery Cars 16:30 All Of Us 00:55 Style Star 01:10 Mystery Cars 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 01:25 THS 01:35 American Car Prospector 18:00 Samantha Who? 18:30 Malibu Country 19:00 Hot In Cleveland 00:30 Mass Participation 19:30 Parks And Recreation 03:00 Once Brothers-PG15 01:00 UIM Powerboat Champs 20:00 Don’t Trust The B In 03:30 Celebrity MasterChef 05:00 Alpha And Omega-PG 01:30 UIM Aquabike Champs 14:20 Kitchen Chemistry Apartment 23 07:00 Johnny English Reborn-PG15 02:00 Motor Sports 2013 20:30 30 Rock 03:55 Bargain Hunt 14:45 Kitchen Chemistry 04:40 Design Rules 09:00 Dolphin Tale-PG 03:00 European Le Mans Series 15:10 Thunder Races 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 11:00 Dead Lines-PG15 04:00 UAE National Race Day Series 21:30 The Colbert Report Global 05:00 James Martin’s Champagne 16:00 Nextworld 05:25 Antiques Roadshow 13:00 A Cinderella Story: Once 05:00 NHL 16:55 Mega World Edition Upon A Song-PG 07:00 WWE Bottom Line 22:00 Family Guy 06:15 Cash In The Attic 17:45 Fire In The Sky: A Daily Planet 07:00 Food Poker 14:45 The Vow-PG15 08:00 WWE NXT Special 22:30 Louie 16:30 Dolphin Tale-PG 09:00 WWE Experience 23:00 Girls 07:45 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 18:35 The Gadget Show 08:35 Bargain Hunt 18:30 Captain America: The First 10:00 WWE This Week 19:00 The Tech Show 23:30 Enlightened Avenger-PG15 10:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 00:00 30 Rock 09:20 Antiques Roadshow 19:30 X-Machines 10:15 Gok’s Fashion Fix 21:00 War Horse-PG15 11:00 NHL 20:20 Mega World 00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 23:30 The Girl With The Dragon 13:00 Prizefighter 01:00 The Colbert Report Global 11:05 Celebrity MasterChef 21:10 Food Factory 12:00 Celebrity MasterChef Tattoo-R 16:00 WWE Bottom Line 21:35 Food Factory Edition 02:15 Dead Lines-PG15 17:00 NHL 01:30 Family Guy 12:25 Come Dine With Me 22:00 X-Machines 13:15 Bargain Hunt 19:00 WWE Smackdown 22:50 Human Nature 14:00 Cash In The Attic 21:00 NHL 23:40 Food Factory 14:45 Antiques Roadshow 23:00 UFC Countdown SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE ON OSN CINEMA 00:05 Food Factory 15:40 Extreme Makeover: Home 07:00 Warbirds-PG15 00:30 How Do They Do It? Edition Specials 09:00 Something Borrowed-PG15 01:00 Mega World 05:15 A Kind Of Magic 16:20 Extreme Makeover: Home 11:00 Ring Of Deceit-PG15 01:50 Human Nature 05:35 A Kind Of Magic Edition Specials 13:00 The Game Of Their Lives-PG15 06:00 Prankstars 17:00 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 15:00 The Dragon Chronicles: Fire & 06:25 Suite Life On Deck 17:55 Food & Drink Ice-PG15 06:45 Shake It Up 18:25 Planet Cake 17:00 Just Crazy Enough-PG15 07:10 A.N.T Farm 18:50 Food Poker 19:00 An Invisible Sign Of My Own- 07:35 Jessie 19:40 Come Dine With Me PG15 14:00 Pawn Stars 07:55 Good Luck Charlie 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home 21:00 Martha Marcy May Marlene 14:30 Pawn Stars 08:20 Good Luck Charlie Edition 23:00 American Reunion-18 15:00 Pawn Stars 08:45 Doc McStuffins 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 01:00 Just Crazy Enough-PG15 15:30 Pawn Stars 09:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:15 Bargain Hunt 16:00 Pawn Stars 09:30 A.N.T Farm 23:00 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 16:30 Pawn Stars 09:55 A.N.T Farm 23:55 Food Poker 17:30 Pawn Stars 10:15 Jessie 00:40 Come Dine With Me 04:00 Batman: Year One-PG15 18:00 Pawn Stars 10:40 Jessie 01:30 Food Poker 06:00 Arthur Christmas-PG 18:30 Pawn Stars 11:05 Good Luck Charlie 02:20 Cash In The Attic 08:00 War Horse-PG15 19:00 Ax Men 11:25 Good Luck Charlie 10:30 One Angry Juror-PG15 20:00 Pawn Stars 11:50 Good Luck Charlie 12:00 Glee: The Concert Movie- 20:30 Storage Wars 12:15 Shake It Up PG15 21:00 Ancient Aliens 12:35 Shake It Up 13:30 Why Did I Get Married Too?- 22:00 Pawn Stars 13:00 Austin And Ally PG15 22:30 Pawn Stars 13:25 A.N.T. Farm 03:25 Unique Eats 15:30 War Horse-PG15 23:00 Shipping Wars 13:45 Jessie 03:50 Food Crafters 18:00 Rise Of The Planet Of The 23:30 Shipping Wars 14:10 Shake It Up 04:15 United Tastes Of America Apes-PG15 00:00 Pawn Stars 14:35 Suite Life On Deck 04:40 Chopped 20:00 Summer Coda-PG15 00:30 Storage Wars 15:00 Gravity Falls 05:30 Iron Chef America 22:00 Dark Shadows-PG15 01:00 Ancient Aliens 15:25 Good Luck Charlie 06:10 Unwrapped 00:00 Arena-18 02:00 Pawn Stars 15:50 Jessie 06:35 Unwrapped 02:00 War Horse-PG15 16:10 Shake It Up 07:00 Guy’s Big Bite 16:35 A.N.T. Farm 07:25 Guy’s Big Bite 17:00 Austin And Ally 07:50 Andy Bates American Street 17:20 Gravity Falls Feasts 14:00 C.S.I. 17:45 Suite Life On Deck 08:15 Unique Sweets 04:00 Soldiers Of Fortune-PG15 15:00 Glee 18:10 Good Luck Charlie 08:40 United Tastes Of America 06:00 The Ring-PG15 16:00 Emmerdale 18:30 Code: 9 09:05 Barefoot Contessa 08:00 The Speed Of Thought-PG15 16:30 Coronation Street 18:55 Code: 9 09:30 Food Network Challenge 09:45 Constantine-PG15 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 19:20 Prankstars 10:20 Extra Virgin 12:00 Ice Quake-PG15 18:00 C.S.I. 19:40 Prankstars 10:45 Kid In A Candy Store 14:00 The Speed Of Thought-PG15 19:00 Parenthood 16:00 Hide And Seek-PG15 18:00 Ice Quake-PG15 20:00 Backdraft-PG15 22:45 Fertile Ground-18 00:45 The Godfather-18

08:00 Mr. Popper’s Penguins-PG 10:00 The Smurfs-PG 12:00 Zathura: A Space Adventure- PG 14:00 Police Academy 3: Back In Training-PG15 16:00 The Smurfs-PG 18:00 Sorority Wars-PG15 20:00 Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise-PG15 22:00 Reno 911!: Miami-18 00:00 Analyze That-PG15 02:00 Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise-PG15

09:00 Water For Elephants-PG15 11:00 Jane Eyre-PG15 13:00 Nomads-PG15 15:00 Water For Elephants-PG15 17:00 Loosies-PG15 19:00 Kathmandu Lullaby-PG15 21:00 Blind Revenge-18 22:45 Summer Of Sam-PG15 01:15 An Officer And A Gentleman- 18

00:00 International Rugby Union 02:00 International Rugby Union 04:00 ATP Tennis 05:30 ATP Tennis 07:00 Live NRL Premiership 09:00 British & Irish Lions 12:00 ATP Tennis 13:30 ATP Tennis 15:00 Trans World Sport 16:00 Live ATP Tennis 18:00 ICC Cricket 360 18:30 British & Irish Lions 20:30 Futbol Mundial 21:00 ATP Tennis 23:00 NRL Premiership

DOLPHIN TALE ON OSN MOVIES HD 01:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Classifieds

MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (13/06/2013 TO 19/06/2013)

AVENUES-2 NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 4:15 PM NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 7:15 PM TATTAH (DIG) 1:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 6:45 PM TATTAH (DIG) 9:30 PM TATTAH (DIG) 3:30 PM NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 9:30 PM TATTAH (DIG) 12:05 AM TATTAH (DIG) 6:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 12:15 AM NO SUN+ TUE+WED TATTAH (DIG) 8:30 PM TATTAH (DIG) 11:00 PM BAIRAQ-1 MUHALAB-1 THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 12:30 PM EPIC (DIG) 1:30 PM AVENUES-3 EPIC (DIG-3D) 3:15 PM MAN OF STEEL (DIG) 4:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 12:30 PM THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 5:30 PM MAN OF STEEL (DIG) 6:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 3:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 8:30 PM MAN OF STEEL (DIG) 9:30 PM CHANGE OF NAME FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 6:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 11:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 8:45 PM NO SUN+ TUE+WED MUHALAB-2 FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 11:45 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 12:45 PM I, Kamasani Damodaram BAIRAQ-3 NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 3:00 PM holder of Indian passport 360º 1 DARK SKIES (DIG) 2:00 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 5:15 PM No. E6147415 issued at AFTER EARTH (DIG) 2:00 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 5:00 PM YEH JAWANI HAI DEEWANI (DIG) 4:00 PM Hyderabad on 26-08-2003, I AFTER EARTH (DIG) 4:15 PM DARK SKIES (DIG) 7:15 PM NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 7:30 PM wish to change my name AFTER EARTH (DIG) 6:30 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 9:30 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 9:45 PM Kamasani Damodar Reddy. AFTER EARTH (DIG) 8:45 PM DARK SKIES (DIG) 12:30 AM (C 4443) AFTER EARTH (DIG) 11:00 PM MUHALAB-3 15-6-2013 FANAR-4 THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 2:00 PM 360º10(VIP-2) THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 12:30 PM TATTAH (DIG) 3:45 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 12:45 PM THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 3:15 PM THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 6:00 PM MATRIMONIAL AFTER EARTH (DIG) 3:00 PM THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 5:00 PM TATTAH (DIG) 7:45 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 5:15 PM TATTAH (DIG) 7:00 PM TATTAH (DIG) 10:00 PM Inviting marriage proposal AFTER EARTH (DIG) 7:30 PM TATTAH (DIG) 9:45 PM for Tamil Christian girl age AFTER EARTH (DIG) 9:45 PM TATTAH (DIG) 12:30 AM FANAR-1 30, working in Kuwait, qual- AFTER EARTH (DIG) 12:05 AM NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 1:00 PM ifications B.P.T + M Sc (UK). SHARQIA-1 AFTER EARTH (DIG) 3:30 PM Contact Email: SHARQIA-2 DARK SKIES (DIG) 12:30 PM NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 5:30 PM [email protected] THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 1:00 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 2:30 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 7:45 PM (C 4441) TATTAH (DIG) 2:45 PM DARK SKIES (DIG) 4:30 PM NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 10:00 PM 12-6-2013 THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 5:15 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 6:30 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 12:30 AM TATTAH (DIG) 7:15 PM DARK SKIES (DIG) 8:30 PM NO SUN+ TUE+WED Inviting marriage proposal TATTAH (DIG) 10:00 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 10:30 PM for Kerala Christian boy, age TATTAH (DIG) 12:30 AM DARK SKIES (DIG) 12:45 AM FANAR-2 29/ ht - 176cm, from Trichur TATTAH (DIG) 1:15 PM district working as an MUHALAB-1 SHARQIA-2 TATTAH (DIG) 3:30 PM Accountant in a reputed EPIC (DIG) 1:30 PM THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 12:45 PM EPIC (DIG) 5:45 PM company in Kuwait. EPIC (DIG) 4:00 PM MAN OF STEEL (DIG-3D) 2:30 PM TATTAH (DIG) 8:00 PM Contact: Email: FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 6:45 PM THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) 5:15 PM TATTAH (DIG) 10:15 PM [email protected] FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 9:30 PM MAN OF STEEL (DIG-3D) 7:00 PM TATTAH (DIG) 12:45 AM NO THU NO SUN+ TUE+WED (C 4440) MARINA-2 MAN OF STEEL (DIG-3D) 9:45 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 1:30 PM NO THU FANAR-3 Prayer timings FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 4:15 PM MAN OF STEEL (DIG-3D) 12:30 AM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 2:00 PM AFTER EARTH (DIG) 6:45 PM NO THU+ SUN+ TUE+WED DARK SKIES (DIG) 4:30 PM Fajr: 03:13 FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 9:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 6:30 PM Shorook 04:49 AFTER EARTH (DIG) 12:15 AM SHARQIA-3 DARK SKIES (DIG) 9:00 PM Duhr: 11:49 TATTAH (DIG) 12:30 PM DARK SKIES (DIG) 11:00 PM Asr: 15:23 AL-KOUT.3 NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) 2:45 PM DARK SKIES (DIG) 1:00 AM Maghrib: 18:49 FAST & FURIOUS 6 (DIG) 1:30 PM TATTAH (DIG) 5:00 PM NO SUN+ TUE+WED Isha: 20:22

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Arrival Flights on Monday 17/6/2013 UAE 859 DUBAI 21:15 Departure Flights on Monday 17/6/2013 KAC 673 DUBAI 15:05 Airlines Flt Route Time ETD 307 ABU DHABI 21:30 Airlines Flt Route Time MPH 93 AL MAKTOUM 15:25 QTR 148 DOHA 00:05 QTR 136 DOHA 21:35 AIC 982 AHMEDABAD 00:05 KNE 473 JEDDAH 15:30 JZR 267 BEIRUT 00:20 GFA 217 BAHRAIN 21:45 JAI 573 MUMBAI 00:20 FDB 8058 DUBAI 15:35 JZR 539 CAIRO 00:40 QTR 146 DOHA 22:00 UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 00:25 OMA 646 MUSCAT 15:40 THY 764 SABIHA 01:40 JAI 576 COCHIN 22:05 DLH 637 FRANKFURT 00:30 SVA 501 JEDDAH 15:45 ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA 01:45 FDB 59 DUBAI 22:20 MSR 615 CAIRO 00:30 KAC 617 DOHA 15:45 GFA 211 BAHRAIN 01:55 AIC 975 CHENNAI 22:25 PIA 206 PESHAWAR 00:55 KAC 773 RIYADH 16:00 AFG 416 JEDDAH 02:15 UAL 981 BAHRAIN 22:40 JZR 1542 CAIRO 01:20 JZR 188 DUBAI 16:00 UAE 853 DUBAI 02:25 TAR 327 TUNIS 22:55 JZR 502 LUXOR 01:30 KAC 741 DAMMAM 16:30 ETD 305 ABU DHABI 02:30 DLH 636 FRANKFURT 23:10 THY 773 ISTANBUL 02:20 RJA 641 AMMAN 16:55 THY 768 ISTANBUL 02:50 PIA 205 LAHORE 23:15 THY 765 ISTANBUL 02:40 JZR 238 AMMAN 17:05 FDB 67 DUBAI 03:10 JAI 574 MUMBAI 23:20 ETH 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45 QTR 135 DOHA 17:20 RJA 642 AMMAN 03:10 MSR 614 CAIRO 23:30 AFG 416 KABUL 03:15 ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:20 QTR 6130 DOHA 01:50 FDB 8053 DUBAI 21:30 QTR 6131 DOHA 03:20 JZR 538 CAIRO 17:40 KAC 284 DHAKA 08:15 FDB 8057 DUBAI 14:50 THY 769 ISTANBUL 03:40 ABY 128 SHARJAH 17:50 KAC 302 MUMBAI 07:50 TMA 213 BEIRUT 17:00 UAE 854 DUBAI 03:45 UAE 858 DUBAI 18:15 KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 07:25 KAC 118 NEW YORK 16:00 FDB 68 DUBAI 03:50 GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:20 JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA 06:20 KAC 788 JEDDAH 15:00 RBG 556 ALEXANDRIA 03:55 SVA 511 RIYADH 18:20 JZR 529 ASSIUT 06:40 KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25 MSR 613 CAIRO 04:15 UAL 982 BAHRAIN 18:30 JZR 1541 CAIRO 06:25 KAC 104 LONDON 18:45 ETD 306 ABU DHABI 04:20 JZR 184 DUBAI 18:30 JZR 503 LUXOR 07:40 KAC 786 JEDDAH 18:30 QTR 139 DOHA 04:25 JZR 266 BEIRUT 18:40 MSR 612 CAIRO 03:15 KAC 542 CAIRO 18:15 QTR 149 DOHA 05:15 TMA 214 BEIRUT 19:00 RBG 555 ALEXANDRIA 03:15 KAC 618 DOHA 19:10 JZR 560 SOHAG 05:35 NIA 252 ALEXANDRIA 19:00 QTR 138 DOHA 03:30 KAC 774 RIYADH 19:25 FDB 70 DUBAI 06:30 QTR 145 DOHA 19:25 THY 770 ISTANBUL 04:35 KAC 742 DAMMAM 19:30 RJA 643 AMMAN 06:35 FDB 64 DUBAI 19:35 DHX 170 BAHRAIN 05:10 JZR 177 DUBAI 17:30 GFA 212 BAHRAIN 07:00 GFA 220 BAHRAIN 19:50 FDB 69 DUBAI 05:50 JZR 135 BAHRAIN 23:00 JZR 240 AMMAN 07:10 JZR 134 BAHRAIN 20:05 BAW 157 LONDON 06:30 JZR 535 CAIRO 16:10 THY 771 ISTANBUL 07:10 KAC 283 DHAKA 20:15 FDB 53 DUBAI 07:45 JZR 777 JEDDAH 17:50 KAC 545 ALEXANDRIA 07:20 MSC 404 ASSIUT 20:15 KAC 412 MANILA 12:05 JZR 239 AMMAN 22:30 JZR 164 DUBAI 07:25 JAI 571 MUMBAI 20:35 KAC 344 CHENNAI 09:35 JZR 189 DUBAI 20:10 BAW 156 LONDON 08:25 FDB 62 DUBAI 20:40 KAC 672 DUBAI 13:40 JZR 185 DUBAI 22:40 FDB 54 DUBAI 08:25 ABY 120 SHARJAH 20:45 KAC 546 ALEXANDRIA 14:15 RJA 640 AMMAN 15:55 JZR 256 BEIRUT 08:50 KAC 331 TRIVANDRUM 20:50 KAC 352 COCHIN 09:55 QTR 134 DOHA 16:15 JZR 534 CAIRO 09:10 OMA 648 MUSCAT 20:55 JZR 241 AMMAN 12:35 ETD 303 ABU DHABI 16:35 KAC 671 DUBAI 09:25 KAC 351 KOCHI 21:05 JZR 257 BEIRUT 14:30 UAE 857 DUBAI 16:55 JZR 1543 CAIRO 08:20 ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:10 ABY 126 SHARJAH 09:30 MEA 403 BEIRUT 21:15 JZR 165 DUBAI 11:35 UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 17:15 KAC 787 JEDDAH 09:35 MSR 619 ALEXANDRIA 21:30 JZR 561 SOHAG 12:00 GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:20 UAE 856 DUBAI 09:50 DHX 171 BAHRAIN 21:50 UAE 855 DUBAI 08:25 SVA 510 RIYADH 17:20 FDB 56 DUBAI 09:55 MSC 402 ALEXANDRIA 22:00 ABY 125 SHARJAH 08:50 NIA 251 ALEXANDRIA 18:00 QTR 133 DOHA 10:00 FDB 8054 DUBAI 22:10 QTR 132 DOHA 09:00 QTR 144 DOHA 18:25 ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:15 ETD 308 ABU DHABI 22:15 FDB 55 DUBAI 09:15 FDB 63 DUBAI 18:55 GFA 214 BAHRAIN 11:25 ALK 230 COLOMBO 22:20 ETD 301 ABU DHABI 09:30 GFA 219 BAHRAIN 19:05 KAC 541 CAIRO 11:30 UAE 860 DUBAI 22:25 GFA 213 BAHRAIN 10:40 MSC 405 SOHAG 19:15 KAC 165 ROME 11:45 QTR 137 DOHA 22:35 IRC 6521 LAMERD 10:50 JAI 572 MUMBAI 19:35 IRC 6522 LAMERD 11:50 KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:40 MEA 404 BEIRUT 10:55 OMA 647 MUSCAT 20:00 MEA 405 BEIRUT 11:55 GFA 218 BAHRAIN 22:45 MSC 403 ASSIUT 11:35 FDB 61 DUBAI 20:00 JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:25 FDB 60 DUBAI 23:00 UAE 871 DUBAI 12:45 ABY 129 SHARJAH 20:05 KAC 103 LONDON 12:30 KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 23:00 MSR 610 CAIRO 13:00 MEA 402 BEIRUT 20:15 MSC 406 SOHAG 12:35 QTR 147 DOHA 23:05 QTR 140 DOHA 13:45 MSR 618 ALEXANDRIA 20:30 KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:00 JAI 575 ABU DHABI 23:05 FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50 AXB 489 COCHIN 20:35 JZR 176 DUBAI 13:20 JZR 554 ALEXANDRIA 23:20 MPH 93 AMSTERDAM 13:55 MSC 401 ALEXANDRIA 21:00 MSR 611 CAIRO 14:00 JZR 1540 CAIRO 23:25 SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30 ALK 229 COLOMBO 21:10 UAE 872 DUBAI 14:15 KAC 411 BANGKOK 23:40 KNE 472 JEDDAH 14:35 KLM 411 AMSTERDAM 23:40 FDB 58 DUBAI 14:30 TAR 328 DUBAI 23:45 OMA 645 MUSCAT 14:40 THY 772 ISTANBUL 23:45 QTR 141 DOHA 14:55 JZR 530 ASSIUT 23:55

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION stars34 MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013

CROSSWORD 223 STAR TRACK

Aries (March 21-April 19) Libra (September 23-October 22)

Your feelings need to be stirred before you can throw yourself completely This is a good time for making amends, making peace with the past and into any venture. Love, ideal and a strong sense of your own worth are vital to meditating on things that you would like to understand better. Philosophy and religion are your well-being. If there is something that the majority wants to do today, consider that you subjects that fascinate and occupy your mind. Your ideas are always to the point and candid, could bail out if you decided not to continue the activity later; just hang with the guys for a bit; never florid or superficial. You are an expert at working with words that depict mystical and you might decide to stay. You enjoy life yourself and you value enthusiasm in those around mythological ideas. You are at home in these realms and can always manage to bring other- you. Your appetite for action is probably well known and well noted. Sports, outdoor activities worldly ideas into the practical realms. You might consider working at an island retreat. This and everything physical are high on your list of favorites. Sex is, no doubt, also important for sort of profession is beginning to look profitable. This afternoon you may enjoy coaching tonight. A love relationship is strengthened and you have the strong feeling that there is young people in outdoor sports. You are a natural in this arena and enjoy participating. Sing or smooth sailing ahead. hum an old tune, just for fun

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

This is certainly a busy day. You may be in the center of much activity. Be satisfied with the ordinary and usual for now. Novel ideas or insights Perhaps some volunteer service or worship group activity is your choice for now. You have a could be more damaging than useful. There is hectic emotional energy pre- wonderful way of working with others, helping them to sense and feel the unity of life. Your vailing. There is a greater appreciation for things of value and the idea of value itself is in love of the spiritual and the eternal is clear to all who meet you. You love to solve the problems order. This could be a period of great material gain; it is certainly a time when material of the world, at least in words and images and when you tell it, all are enchanted; dreams and things have a great deal of importance for you. People may be asking you for advice images are your stock and trade. Your dreams and ideals are very important to you, as you regarding very personal and emotional issues. You are understanding of the situation and methodically go about putting them into practice now or reading about a new technique to are able to find the real truth in order to help another understand. This evening is for you; help you program for success. You could bring imagination and religious understanding to stop fidgeting! You are allowed some time for yourself. If there is not a hot tub, pool or physical and scientific studies. lake to dive into, a good book or movie can be fun.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You have great optimism, faith and a tendency to take chances at the deep- Anyone who tries to get you to play with words is in for a big surprise. Your est emotional levels. You feel a love of order and law—an appreciation for mind cuts right through all the window dressing. Before anyone knows it, you responsibilities and duty. The tough astrological aspects that have put you through many a test have the important aspects out front for everyone to see. You would make a great investigator, at the beginning of this year are about to give you a rest. Stay calm and give time a chance to either in scientific research or undercover work. Your ability to get to the point is all but phe- ACROSS 1969). do its healing in several areas of your life. Work to achieve and maintain as much of a balance in nomenal. You can talk and put into words areas of the psychological that others would not go near. Your drive to make dreams real keeps you working for your vision. One important thing 2. An informal term for a father. your affairs as is possible and keep saving those pennies. You relish your freedom and as this 1. Measure of the US economy adopted in 1991. you work on for this summer is a fun vacation. You have been saving and with a little part-time 4. Of or relating to the enteron. 3. A major god. day comes to a close you will find a little quiet time to get off by yourself and refurbish your energies. This time of refurbishment may involve a bit of exercise such as bicycle or swimming, work you will be able to take that cruise or learn to fly. Waiting for the right time you can see 11. English writer and a central member of the 4. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet. or an afternoon nap. Love is available. that your goal is close at hand. Fabian Society (1858-1943). 5. The 13th letter of the Greek alphabet. 15. Any of various long-tailed rodents similar to 6. A male monarch or emperor (especially of but larger than a mouse. Russia prior to 1917). 16. Oriental moth that produces brownish silk. 7. Electronic warfare undertaken under direct Cancer (June 21-July 22) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) 17. The capital of Western Samoa. control of an operational commander to locate CAPRICORN 18. (Babylonian) A demigod or first man. sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for There are insights into your dreams today. This is a good time to reshape and There is optimism, hope and faith in what is yet to be experienced or accom- 20. The capital and largest city of Jordan. the purpose of immediate threat recognition. renew your philosophy or religion, during which your imagination is at full tilt. New plished. Family, home, relatives and real estate play a bigger part in your life now. 21. Large gregarious predatory feline of Africa 8. The Russian imperial line that ruled from 1613 ideas and new understandings are possible. Getting your message across to others takes little time or You may decide on certain property or an area in which to move. You experience life mostly and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy to 1917. explanation today—others seem to understand just what you mean. Your timing should be perfect through your emotions and how you feel about someone or something. Your intuition is strong and can guide you accurately in making forecasts or decisions. Your sensitivity makes you recoil mane in the male. 9. A genus of orb-weaving spiders including and those around you will find you most spontaneous and flexible to go wherever you are needed. Your management and supervisory abilities are in high gear. You are not moved by the pretended from aggressive types. You will be concerned with maintaining and strengthening your posi- 22. Of a temperature scale that registers the common garden spiders and barn spiders. emotions of another and you prefer concrete subjects to flights of fancy. Your love of groups and the tion, rather than pushing outward. This afternoon you relax with loved ones and play with new freezing point of water as 32 degrees F and the 10. A Russian river. social scene may find you interested in relationships of all kinds. recipe ideas. These next few months should be easy and filled with opportunities and a variety boiling point as 212 degrees F at one atmos- 11. A member of a North American people for- of friendships. phere of pressure. merly living in the Colorado river valley in 24. Moth whose larvae are flour moths. Arizona. 26. The compass point that is one point north of 12. Protective outer layer of seeds of flowering Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) due east. plants. Don’t be surprised if you are not in top mental gear today. You could be 29. Strike with disgust or revulsion. 13. All the plant and animal life of a particular When you love, you love with energy and passion. You value personal struggling to communicate so as to be easily understood. Hard words are possible with an old- 30. Someone who engages in surfboarding. region. contact, cutting through all the externals and getting to the heart of things. You understand er person today. This is a time of exploring your feelings, a kind of restlessness for a new emo- 32. The grasses. 14. Obvious and dull. and appreciate vulnerability and have no qualm about presenting your own sensitive spots tional experience. Perhaps this would be a good day to catch up on your own chores and then 34. A white metallic element that burns with a to others. You enjoy working behind the scenes, getting at any secrets and hidden areas of 19. Manufactured in standard sizes to be shipped find ways in which you can relax and enjoy the company of your loved ones. A strong need for the mind and psyche. Detective or news reporter would be an ideal profession for you to brilliant light. and assembled elsewhere. nurturing is a bigger than usual element in your life. You may feel the need to care for others or consider, perhaps freelance. Your passion in discovering the answer to mysteries is strong 35. A public promotion of some product or serv- 23. A son who has the same first name as his to have them care for you. This is a perfect time to go to a movie or rent a video to enjoy at and you may find that even as you guess at hidden truths, you will be moving in the right ice. home. Work in the yard or with plants, art and all forms of relaxation are beneficial to you in all father. direction. You are a good friend and tonight is a good time to help one particular friend stay sorts of ways. 37. The arrangement of the hair (especially a 25. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and on a rational path. woman's hair). mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient 40. Jordan's port. mythology. 42. A state in New England. 27. English monk and scholar (672-735). Virgo (August 23-September 22) Pisces (February 19-March 20) 44. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of rub- 28. Give a certain impression or have a certain berized fabric. outward aspect. 45. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to Be open to the suggestions of others today. This is a day of exploring Much can be accomplished today. You are very creative when it comes 31. Medium-sized tree-dwelling monkey of the to your home and surroundings. Ideas of decorating or redecorating may be on your 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material. your feelings—a kind of restlessness for a new emotional experience. Your most essential Amazon basin. quality has to do with the very real love and compassion you radiate. Your sense of values mind. You may enjoy involvement in any mental efforts or like forms of discipline. You will 49. Being ten more than one hundred ninety. 33. Green algae common in freshwater lakes of and sheer appreciation for life is connected to all who come to know you. People will value work long and hard at whatever you put your mind to today—results will be positive. You 50. Any of various strong liquors distilled from limestone districts. you for your warmth and dynamic qualities as much as for your ideas. You may be able to could present or teach religious and philosophical ideas, anything where substance and the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fer- content are at issue. You have such an outpouring of insights that having a conversation 36. African antelope with ridged curved horns. help in some community effort or organize a block party this evening. A neighbor that has mented molasses. always been hard to interact with finally opens up to you in positive ways. You can relate to with you can be a real experience. Your mind works like lightning. Your words and 38. The capital and largest city of Bangladesh. 52. Water buffalo of the Philippines. almost all types of people with equal ease and find this is another one of those days filled thoughts come quickly and are illuminating, whatever the subject. You are an inspiration 39. English scholastic philosopher and assumed 53. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the with lots of interesting people. and driving force in the lives of others. author of Occam's Razor (1285-1349). pilot is talked down by ground control using pre- 41. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mytholo- cision approach radar. gy. 54. (statistics) Of a distribution. Word Search Yesterday’s Solution 43. Having nine hinged bands of bony plates. 56. A state in midwestern United States. 46. United States gangster who terrorized 57. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is Chicago during Prohibition until arrested for tax highly corrosion-resistant. 59. Before noon. evasion (1899-1947). 60. A city in northern India. 47. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped 63. An official language of the Republic of South cucumbers and spices. Africa. 48. A tiny or scarcely detectable amount. 66. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake 51. Sluggish tailless Australian arboreal marsupi- Chad. al with gray furry ears and coat. 68. Predatory black-and-white toothed whale 55. 1/10 gram. with large dorsal fin. 58. On a ship, train, plane or other vehicle. 71. The slender spear of the Bantu-speaking peo- 61. A river that rises in central Germany and flows ple of Africa. north to join the Elbe River. 74. The ninth month of the Moslem calendar. 62. Type genus of the Ardeidae. 75. A local and habitual twitching especially in 64. The seventh month of the Hindu calendar. the face. 65. United States writer (born in Poland) who 76. (zoology) Lacking a tail or taillike appendage. wrote in Yiddish (1880-1957). 79. One of a pair of long straps (usually connect- 67. (informal) Exceptionally good. ed to the bit or the headpiece) used to control a 69. (Old Testament) Cain and Abel were the first horse. children of Adam and Eve born after the Fall of 80. Antibacterial drug (trade name Nydrazid) Man. used to treat tuberculosis. 70. A former copper coin of Pakistan. 81. The unwanted discharge of a fluid from some 72. United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or container. 3.785 liters. 82. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann. 73. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots. DOWN 77. A monarchy in northwestern Europe occupy- 1. German tennis player who won seven ing most of the British Isles. women's singles titles at Wimbledon (born in 78. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 information

For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 Al-Madeena 22418714 Al-Shuhada 22545171 GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE Al-Shuwaikh 24810598 Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883 Sabah Hospital 24812000 Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414 Al-Nuzha 22545171 Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558 Amiri Hospital 22450005 Sabhan 24742838 Maternity Hospital 24843100 Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518 Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622 Al-Helaly 22434853 Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700 Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184 Al-Faiha 22545051 Chest Hospital 24849400 Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010 Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000 Al-Farwaniya 24711433 Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201 Adan Hospital 23940620 Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638 Al-Sulaibikhat 24316983 Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265 Al-Fahaheel 23927002 Al-Razi Hospital 24846000 Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075 Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999 Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 24316983 Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9 Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549 Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559 Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554 Ahmadi 23980088 Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264 Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581 Al-Mangaf 23711183 Kaizen center 25716707 Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241 Al-Shuaiba 23262845 Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144 Al-Jahra 25610011 Khaldiya 24848075 Al-Salmiya 25616368 Kaifan 24849807 Shamiya 24848913 INTERNATIONAL Shuwaikh 24814507 CALLS Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804 Afghanistan 0093 Iran 0098 Albania 00355 Iraq 00964 Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764 Algeria 00213 Ireland 00353 Qadsiya 22515088 Andorra 00376 Italy 0039 Angola 00244 Ivory Coast 00225 Dasmah 22532265 Anguilla 001264 Jamaica 001876 Antiga 001268 Japan 0081 Bneid Al-Gar 22531908 Argentina 0054 Jordan 00962 Shaab 22518752 Armenia 00374 Kazakhstan 007 Australia 0061 Kenya 00254 Qibla 22459381 Austria 0043 Kiribati 00686 Bahamas 001242 Kuwait 00965 Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082 Bahrain 00973 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Mirqab 22456536 Bangladesh 00880 Laos 00856 Barbados 001246 Latvia 00371 Sharq 22465401 Belarus 00375 Lebanon 00961 Belgium 0032 Liberia 00231 Salmiya 25746401 Belize 00501 Libya 00218 Jabriya 25316254 Benin 00229 Lithuania 00370 Bermuda 001441 Luxembourg 00352 Maidan Hawally 25623444 Bhutan 00975 Macau 00853 Bolivia 00591 Macedonia 00389 Bayan 25388462 Bosnia 00387 Madagascar 00261 Mishref 25381200 Botswana 00267 Majorca 0034 Brazil 0055 Malawi 00265 W Hawally 22630786 Brunei 00673 Malaysia 0060 Bulgaria 00359 Maldives 00960 Sabah 24810221 Burkina 00226 Mali 00223 Jahra 24770319 Burundi 00257 Malta 00356 Cambodia 00855 Marshall Islands 00692 New Jahra 24575755 Cameroon 00237 Martinique 00596 Canada 001 Mauritania 00222 West Jahra 24772608 Cape Verde 00238 Mauritius 00230 South Jahra 24775066 Cayman Islands 001345 Mayotte 00269 Central African 00236 Mexico 0052 North Jahra 24775992 Chad 00235 Micronesia 00691 Chile 0056 Moldova 00373 North Jleeb 24311795 China 0086 Monaco 00377 Ardhiya 24884079 Colombia 0057 Mongolia 00976 Comoros 00269 Montserrat 001664 Firdous 24892674 Congo 00242 Morocco 00212 Cook Islands 00682 Mozambique 00258 Omariya 24719048 Costa Rica 00506 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 N Khaitan 24710044 Croatia 00385 Namibia 00264 Cuba 0053 Nepal 00977 Fintas 23900322 Cyprus 00357 Netherlands (Holland) Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 0031 Czech Republic 00420 Netherlands Antilles 00599 Denmark 0045 New Caledonia 00687 Diego Garcia 00246 New Zealand 0064 Djibouti 00253 Nicaragua 00505 PRIVATE CLINICS Dominica 001767 Nigar 00227 Dominican Republic 001809 Nigeria 00234 Ecuador 00593 Niue 00683 Egypt 0020 Norfolk Island 00672 El Salvador 00503 Northern Ireland (UK) Plastic Surgeons Paediatricians Ophthalmologists Endocrinologist England (UK) 0044 0044 Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272 Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898 Equatorial Guinea 00240 North Korea 00850 Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700 Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300 Eritrea 00291 Norway 0047 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60 Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Estonia 00372 Oman 00968 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Ethiopia 00251 Pakistan 0092 Family Doctor Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Falkland Islands 00500 Palau 00680 Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581 Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514 Faroe Islands 00298 Panama 00507 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Physiotherapists & VD Psychiatrists Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Fiji 00679 Papua New Guinea 00675 Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282 Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047 Finland 00358 Paraguay 00595 Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0 (1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288 France 0033 Peru 0051 French Guiana 00594 Philippines 0063 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, Rheumatologists: French Polynesia 00689 Poland 0048 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581 FRCS (Canada) 25655535 Gabon 00241 Portugal 00351 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dentists Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321 Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Gambia 00220 Puerto Rico 001787 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581 Georgia 00995 Qatar 00974 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2 Germany 0049 Romania 0040 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 Ghana 00233 Russian Federation 007 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226 Internist, Chest & Heart General Practitioners Gibraltar 00350 Rwanda 00250 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444 Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210 Greece 0030 Saint Helena 00290 Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557 General Surgeons Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid Greenland 00299 Saint Kitts 001869 Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044 MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Grenada 001473 Saint Lucia 001758 Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148 Assistant Professor Of Medicine Guadeloupe 00590 Saint Pierre 00508 Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111 Guam 001671 Saint Vincent 001784 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Internists, Chest & Heart Head, Division of Cardiology Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Neurologists Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Guatemala 00502 Samoa US 00684 Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Guinea 00224 Samoa West 00685 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324 Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Guyana 00592 San Marino 00378 Urologists Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 Haiti 00509 Sao Tone 00239 Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Gastrologists MD, PH.D, FACC Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Saudi Arabia 00966 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Dr. Sami Aman 22636464 Inaya German Medical Center Honduras 00504 Scotland (UK) 0044 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030 Te: 2575077 Hong Kong 00852 Senegal 00221 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135 Fax: 25723123 Hungary 0036 Seychelles 00284 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Sierra Leone 00232 Soor Center Iceland 00354 Singapore 0065 Psychologists [email protected] Tel: 2290-1677 Kaizen center William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 India 0091 Slovakia 00421 /Psychotherapists www.soorcenter.com Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 25716707 Indian Ocean 00873 Slovenia 00386 Indonesia 0062 Solomon Islands 00677 lifestyle MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 GOSSIP Beyonce settles $100 million lawsuit Cowell is very humble, says Demi

emi Lovato claims Simon Cowell is very “humble”. The ‘Heart Attack’ singer was surprised at how normal and approachable the media mogul Dwas when she first met him as a judge on ‘The X Factor’ USA last year. She said: “I expected him to be a lot more intimidating. And I mean that in a humbling way, because when people think of Simon Cowell, they think like, ‘Oh, the big boss, he’s mean to people’ or whatever, but he’s super down-to- earth ... Actually I don’t know about down-to-earth! “He’s pretty fancy, but he’s a humble guy. When he walks in a room, it doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest celebrity or the biggest big-shot in the room, he’ll treat you the same as the person who’s coming into the room to bring you tea. I thought that was pretty cool.” Despite his lavish lifestyle and expensive habits - including insisting upon having black loo roll in his house and splurging £3000 a week on floral arrange- ments - Demi, 20, joked his wardrobe could use some updating. She explained to heat magazine: “The jeans he wears are torn up at the bottom and you can tell that they’re not brand new. So there are parts of him that are super-fancy and then other parts that are super down-to-earth.” The pair have build a friendship in spite of their age difference and often exchange text mes- sages, with Demi revealing she even has a special nick- name for Simon. eyonce Knowles has settled a $100 million Manhattan Supreme Court in New York on Friday pany countered that the Grammy-winner, who has She laughed: “He lawsuit. The 31-year-old singer has reached .The gaming company’s lawyer Peter Gallagher a 17-month-old daughter, Blue Ivy, with her rapper calls me Gobby, Ban agreement with videogame company told the New York Post’s Page Six: “We’ve settled husband Jay-Z, ditched the deal on a whim and and I guess that Gate Five after allegedly backing out of a deal to amicably. I can’t discuss the terms of the settle- claimed it lost its nearly $7 million investment and means that I talk create her own motion-capture dance game called ment, but it was resolved.” The ‘Love On Top’ singer 70 people lost their jobs. The terms of the agree- a lot or some- ‘Starpower: BeyoncÈ.’ Lawyers for both sides signed reportedly dropped out of the deal last winter ment were not disclosed. The singer is set to kick thing. I call him an agreement dismissing “all claims or counter- because she claimed that Gate Five had not off the US leg of her Mrs Carter Show world tour Grampa or claims” without legal fees and filed the papers in secured the funding they had promised. The com- later this month. Grandma.” Jackson wants to live with Diana Ross

aris Jackson wants to live with god- Pmother Diana Ross, according to reports. The 15-year-old daughter of Michael has been recover- ing from her recent sui- cide attempt and has apparently told social workers at UCLA Medical Centre she doesn’t want to be under the care of grandmother Katherine and cousin TJ Jackson anymore. The Daily Star newspaper has revealed the troubled star “wants to live”, but wants to do so under the care of the ‘Chain Reaction’ hitmaker. According to an insider, Paris said: “I want to live. I just don’t want to live at home any more. I feel like I’m being stifled there. “I miss my dad terri- bly still and at times I feel like there’s no one I can talk to about how I feel. “I want to go and live with Diana, who was one of dad’s closest Williams ‘still friends.” It was recently said that the 69-year-old singer was con- cerned for her goddaughter’s well-being but had no intention of stepping on the toes of the Jackson family while the ‘Thriller’ star’s learning’ to be a dad children are in good care. A source previously revealed: “Diana absolutely isn’t going to make a move for custody of the children. obbie Williams is “still learning” how She only wants what is best for them. “Diana has tremendous respect to be a dad. The ‘Let Me Entertain for Katherine and all that she has done for the children and told her ... RYou’ star is father to eight-month-old when they spoke, that if she needed anything, she stands ready to daughter Theodora ‘Teddy’ Rose with wife help in anyway.” Ayda Field, and is still figuring out how to be a father. He said: “My wife and I are still learning how to be parents, but I think Lohan we’re doing a pretty good job. I’m sure that when my daughter will bring home her first boyfriend I’ll? be so intimidating that he’ll run away, but embarrassing as well, just to continues to flourish have a bit of fun”. While Robbie is besotted with his daughter, he admits to being self- indsay Lohan has never been better, according to her mother ish. He added to Italy’s Grazia magazine: Dina Lohan. The 26-year-old actress left the Betty Ford clinic in “I’ve been asked many times if I considered LRancho Mirage, California, on Wednesday to complete her 90- myself a narcissist, so I looked up the real days of court-ordered treatment at Cliffside Malibu, with the meaning of the word and I came to the approval of her lawyers, prosecutors and a judge, and her mother conclusion that indeed I am one. I think of believes she will continue to flourish now she is in a more suitable myself as better than other people, not rehab program. In a message to a fan on Twitter on Friday night, Dina every person, but many, unique and talent- explained why the ‘Scary Movie V’ star decided to swap facilities, writ- ed and I aim to success. And one of the nar- ing: “Betty Ford was amazing and it is a 30 day program .....linds is cissist’s traits is selfishness, which is my now moving forward to a place she can continue flourish (Sic)” Asked biggest guilt”. by another fan whether the actress is doing okay at the moment, her mother replied: “She has never been better thank you.” Other sources close to the ‘Liz & Dick’ actress recently said she told anyone who would listen that she was miserable at Betty Ford. She reportedly said: “It’s detrimental to my safety and sobriety here.” The troubled starlet is said to have let everyone know how much she “hated” her Adele installs bulletproof time at there and stopped at nothing to make sure she could leave as soon as possible. An insider previously said: “Lindsay hated the Betty Kutcher Ford Center. “She made it clear that she did not want to be there and windows in new home to give that she was going to get out of there any way that she could.” Kunis honeymoon Moore embarrassed by relationship treat in space ulianne Moore is embar- rassed at how her relationship shton Kutcher and Mila Kunis want to get married this sum- with Bart Freundlich began. mer and have their honeymoon in space. According to earlier J The 52-year-old actress met the reports, the couple are keen to have a British wedding once the A 43-year-old director in 1996 when ‘Two and a Half Men’ star’s divorce from ex-wife Demi Moore is final- ized - and it has now emerged he wants to take his new bride on one they worked on ‘The Myth of of Sir Richard Branson’s flights into space. The British business tycoon Fingerprints’ together, and while has set up a project to allow people to embark on the incredible two- she was instantly smitten, she hour commercial trips and Ashton - who already bought his £124,000 admits the filmmaker - with whom seat - wants a truly special honeymoon. An insider told The Sun on she has children Caleb, 15, and daughter Liv, 11 - initially didn’t Sunday newspaper: “Ashton is already going into space on Branson’s dele has bulletproof windows in her new £5 million home. The ‘Skyfall’ hitmak- want to get romantically involved. Asked how they got together, she said: Virgin Galactic flight and he has said Mila will definitely be at this side er - who was awarded an MBE for her services to music in the Queen’s Birthday “On a film shoot. It was a bit embarrassing; he didn’t want to start a rela- as his honeymoon present.” The couple are said to want to get mar- Honours list yesterday - is taking no chances despite her house being in the tionship. It was his very first film, but I really liked him. And it continued A ried as soon as they can because they have plans to settle down and same neighborhood as the likes of the Beckham family. It is said the 25-year-old from there. Bart lived in New York, I lived in Los Angeles. We both went start an “old-fashioned” family. A source previously revealed: “Mila and singer wants to protect herself, her partner Simon Konecki and their eight-month-old back and forth as much as possible. Soon after, we had a baby. It was ‘flu- Ashton have fallen in love with the UK. “They are desperate to get son Angelo and was quick to make improvements to the west London property. An id’. We always wanted to see each other. “After my past relationships end- married as soon as possible because they want to start a family and insider told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: “She moved in a couple of months ago. ing and it being like, ‘Well, that’s over’, this one is still going strong 17 are slightly old-fashioned about these things.” The inaugural flight on She has renovated the whole place and has even installed bulletproof windows. The years later.” Julianne - who married Bart in 2003 - admits the hardest thing SpaceShip Two will be packed with stars including Justin Bieber, property has four bedrooms.” Despite the protective measures, Adele was recently about their relationship is finding the time to be together because of their famed physics genius Stephen Hawking and Leonardo DiCaprio. The revealed to be shopping for bargains at second-hand stores as she started furnishing respective workloads. She added to the French edition of Vogue maga- first trip is due to happen this Christmas Day with more flights follow- her new home. A source previously said: “Adele is like any normal girl - she loves a bar- zine: “The difficulty for a couple, every couple, is both having time-con- ing in 2014. Passengers will travel 62 miles in altitude - the interna- gain. “She’d rather shop local, too, so these are the obvious places to go. “She doesn’t suming jobs. A couple has to be worked on. Taking the kids to school, hav- tionally recognized boundary of outer space - and will experience get bothered much where she’s decided to live so she’s got plenty of time to delve ing dinner together, going on holiday... if you spend too much time apart, weightlessness and an incredible view of the curve of the Earth. into whatever’s in the shops.” —Bang Showbiz it becomes dangerous.” LIFESTYLE37 MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 FEATURES

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, center, Hong Kong actor Tony Leung, third right, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, second right, and South Korean actor Chun Jung-myung, far right, pose during the press confer- ence for the Chinese Film Festival in Seoul, yesterday. The 5th Chinese Film Festival opened in Seoul yesterday for a 5-day celebration of Chinese films to boost bilateral cooperations of the movies and culture. At left is head of CJ E&M Pictures Jeong Tae-sung, and Chairman of Korean Film Council Kim Eui-suk, second left. — AP Modern day ‘monk’ keeps Benedictine Parmesan recipe alive ntonio Malpeli gazes proudly at the tower- Italy, currently produces 32 cheeses a day and uct counterfeited thousands of times, sparking ing rounds of Parmesan in his small factory around 11,000 a year. It is one of close to 400 sites long legal and commercial battles. “Forgery is a Aand declares one thing sure: the medieval producing Parmigiano-Reggiano DOC-a con- problem. The consortium has been cracking monk recipe used to make this Italian delicacy trolled designation of origin status obtained in down on it, but it happens all over the place,” said will never change. Malpeli, who boasts arms wor- 1996 — by which Parmesan must be produced Malpeli, who learned the trade from his father, thy of a boxer after three decades of stirring within regional boundaries and under strict quali- and is the fourth generation of cheesemakers in immense vats of frothing milk, wears modern ty controls. his family. rubber overalls and boots but describes himself The first written references to Parmesan date The sector has been bouncing back after two as a ‘descendent’ of the Benedictine monks back to 1254. The methods for making the popu- earthquakes last year in the Emilia Romagna behind the cheese. “The monks discovered the lar cheese were conjured up in the large monas- region caused extensive damage to Parmesan cheese while looking for a way to conserve milk. teries in the area by monks looking for a long- maturing cellars. “The system remained standing. The method was then passed down through the term way of conserving the milk produced by the Those who suffered damages have begun pro- centuries,” the 47-year-old said. many cows they used to help them work the ducing again, its passed,” said Malpeli, whose fac- “The technology has been refined a bit, but fields. Experiments over time led them to opt for tory was spared. Total Parmesan production the fundamental concept has remained the same. large rounds-modern ones weigh 40 kilograms reached 3.3 million rounds last year, up 2.3 per- It will not change,” he added, standing in front of (88 pounds) on average and use 600 liters of milk- cent on the previous year, and the industry is the huge wooden shelves supporting rounds lov- which are then dried over a minimum of 12 looking to boost exports. It has its eye on far- ing produced over the past two years. “The secret months, though some sit for up to 48 months. flung China in particular: around 85 tons of of good Parmesan lies in good milk-the cows They are then put to a sound test: each round Parmesan were exported to China last year-out of have to eat the correct feed-and also in the art of is tapped with a special small metal hammer by some 2,245 tons to Asia in general-where the cheese-making,” he said with a smile. The co- workers from the Parmigiano-Reggiano consor- fruity taste is making an impression on palates. operative Malpeli works for in the town of Sala tium, who listen for hollow sounds that would The consortium aims to up sales abroad and be Berganza, which lies at the foot of green hills near indicate it is not top quality. The aim is to protect A file picture taken on Febuary 15, 2008 shows a worker checking a wheel of seasoned exporting half of its production within the next Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern the brand’s reputation; no mean task for a prod- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in a factory in Valestra, near Reggio Emilia. — AFP five years. — AFP Jack Johnson pulls Summer of joy off the switch at Bonnaroo at Joyalukkas

icely done, Jack Johnson. Johnson and his band treat a blood clot on his brain. The group had hoped to overcame tough odds and thorny logistics to head- keep the date in Manchester. Though Dwane is recover- Nline the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on Saturday ing, he was not ready to perform and the group was night, replacing late cancellation Mumford & Sons. unwilling to take the stage with a replacement, leaving a Despite the short notice, they produced a set filled with large amount of money on the table. There was much good humor, mellow vibes and a ton of hits. “We want to speculation among Bonnaroo organizers and watchers dedicate this whole set to Ted Dwane and all of Mumford about how fans would react to the switch - the first head- & Sons,” Johnson said after taking the stage before tens of liner cancellation in 12 years of Bonnaroo. But Johnson thousands of fans. “And we wish we could all be here play- quickly won over the crowd and kept its fickle attention ing music together. Maybe that will be next year.” with a light touch and his easygoing persona. Mumford & Sons was forced to pull out of its much- “Give us that one,” Johnson joked after a flub late in the anticipated headline slot on Thursday after bassist Dwane set. “We practiced for a couple of hours.” Bonnaroo 2013 underwent a surgical procedure earlier in the week to turned out quite differently from what Johnson was expecting. He hasn’t played the festival since 2008 and oyalukkas has launched the ‘Summer of Joy’ promo- was in town to do a little light promotion for his new Jtion at its showrooms across the GCC. The exciting album, “From Here To Now To You,” out in September, and summer bonanza will offer customers an exclusive gift ‘World citizen’ Depardieu to appear with his friends in ALO. He got a phone call pack created for Joyalukkas by Yardley of London. In addi- Thursday as he drove to the festival from organizers won- tion to this Joyalukkas has also created an exclusive soli- to seek Algerian passport dering if he’d be interested in upping his involvement. taire diamond jewelry set, which will be offered to cus- After thinking about it, Johnson flew in his band, tomers at a very special price. rench actor and new rehearsed some Friday night, attended a breakfast with “We believe in creating customer friendly initiatives Russian national fans in Nashville on Saturday morning and then prepped which enhance customers shopping experience and give Gerard Depardieu for the show. It’s been two years since the four-piece them maximum value addition. Based on this objective F Jack Johnson performs at What Stage during day 3 of said yesterday he was played a long set, convening for just 45 minutes last year we are looking forward to excite our customers with the the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in applying for an Algerian at Farm Aid. About the only thing that seemed the worse Free Yardley gift pack offer. The plan is to reward them Manchester, Tennessee. — AFP photos passport and possibly for wear were the 38-year-old Hawaiian singer’s trade- with gifts they would love to use or gift to near and dear others, describing him- mark curls, which unraveled in middle Tennessee’s basket of a crane that hovered over the Which Stage’s dis- ones,” said Joy Alukkas, Chairman & MD, Joyalukkas self a “world citizen”. The oppressive humidity. tinctive question mark symbol. “They told me back stage Group. 64-year-old star, one of Heck, Johnson even had time to write a new song there’s no cursing here,” Kelly told the crowd a little later. “I The Free Yardley gift pack is an exclusive pack of 4 dif- the world’s most prolific called “Bonnaroo” for the set, singing in part: “I had a late- just laughed. I can’t (expletive) curse?” — AP ferent products created by the globally renowned cos- actors, acquired Russian night gig with ALO/It was very low stress, it was very low metic brand for Joyalukkas. This exclusive 4 product gift nationality in January pro/But then the phone rang and things got strange/And pack will contain an English Lavender EDT 125ml, English after getting into a fight my low pro was about the change/Can you get the band Lavender Talc 250gm, English Lavender body Spray with the French authori- together in two days to play a show up on the big 150ml and a 100gm English Lavender Soap bar. The ties over a new 75-per- stage?/But I don’t know, it’s been a year or two since we exclusive Yardley gift pack will be offered to customers on cent tax on the super- played these tunes/What the hell, it’s Bonnaroo.” A little every purchase worth KD400. In addition to this rich. “I would like to have seven” passports, he told later in the set he incorporated Mumford’s “The Cave” into Joyalukkas has created a scintillating 1ct solitaire dia- France’s Journal du Dimanche. “I’m going to ask for a medley with his song “Go On,” telling the crowd: “Maybe mond pendant set (pendant, earrings and finger ring) an Algerian one and others as well,” he said. “This will you guys can help us with this part.” which will be offered at a special price of KD550 only. help me avoid visas.” For those not into Johnson, there were plenty of other “We have researched the needs of customers shop- Depardieu, who has openly professed his admira- options on an exceedingly busy Saturday night that ping during the summer and based on this we arrived at tion for President Vladimir Putin, said the Russian included appearances by British punker Billy Idol, Weird Al these two exciting offers to ensure we delight them at strongman had “done a lot for culture.” The actor Yankovic and the Rock ‘n’ Soul Dance Party Superjam with Joyalukkas. Yardley is a globally renowned aspirational described himself as something of hell-raiser and Jim James and John Oates. Mumford & Sons’ folk-rock cosmetic brand and very popular with our customer base “someone who is a bit of a rebel, who shakes up cousins The Lumineers drew one of the festival’s largest hence we thought this gift would be ideal for them. A things and who is sometimes drunk. “I think it’s a bit crowds before Johnson took the stage. It was so large, in solitaire set is something which every woman dreams of of this hooligan spirit which pleases Putin,” he said, fact, fans on the edge of the crowd couldn’t hear the and so we have created a special set at a very reasonable adding however that he was a man with his head on band’s mostly hushed, acoustic songs. price to make it accessible for all,” said John Paul Joy his shoulders. A Paris court is due to rule Friday on a “Everybody be quiet, I’m trying to hear the band,” one Alukkas, Executive Director, Joyalukkas Group. drink-driving charge against Depardieu, who was fan yelled as The Lumineers possibly performed a Bob Joyalukkas has also added an extensive range and col- detained in November after falling off a scooter while Dylan song. R&B singer R. Kelly had no trouble getting lection to meet the summer demands of jewelry shop- more than three times over the legal alcohol limit. attention, though. He began his post-Johnson set by pers. The range covers all forms of jewelry in traditional Prosecutors have sought a 4,000-euro ($5,300) fine bringing dozens of chorus members on stage for a rendi- and contemporary designs to meet all the needs and and penalty points. — AFP tion of his song “Ignition.” Suddenly the lights went dark desires of jewelry lovers. and Kelly was illuminated 40 feet above, standing in the Ben Wahamaki of The Lumineers, performs. lifestyle MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 TRAVEL

File photo, a frozen tuna is placed on a cart following the first auction of the year at the Tsukiji Fish dealers make hand signals during the first tuna auction of the year at the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo. Market in Tokyo. — AP photos 5 freebies from shrine to ‘cool’ Japan

inding free things in one of the world’s most Rainbow Bridge to the reclaimed island of Odaiba expensive cities may sound impossible. out in the Tokyo Bay for a picnic, sunbathing on a FSurprisingly, Tokyo offers a wide range of man-made beach, or even a jog. The walk is just museums, parks, historical sites and cultural activ- over one mile (1.7 kilometers) including the 918- ities for free - good news for budget travelers who meter-long (just over half a mile) single-span sus- want to see a lot and still enjoy expensive sushi. pension bridge and takes less than an hour one way. A walk on the north side of the bridge pro- Old and new vides the panoramic view of Tokyo’s skyline, with Meiji Jingu Shrine is a piece of old Tokyo not to the world’s second-tallest structure Tokyo SkyTree be missed. Boasting the nation’s largest wooden rising into the sky like a needle. The south side “torii” gate, the shrine was built more than 90 years overlooks Daiba Park and a scale copy of the ago to commemorate Emperor Meiji, who reigned Statue of Liberty, as well as Shinagawa and Oi as Japan opened to the rest of the world after cen- piers. You get to see both on a round trip, but you turies of isolation. The great-grandfather of cur- have an option of taking the Yurikamome rently reigning Emperor Akihito also was a symbol (Seagull) elevated railway system one way. Daiba of Japan’s modernization and militarization in the Park, which sticks out right underneath the late 19th and 20th centuries. Lucky visitors may Rainbow Bridge, used to be a site of cannon bat- catch a solemn Shinto-style wedding procession. teries built in the late 1850s to protect Tokyo from The gardens, lily ponds and shrine grounds are a potential foreign attacks following the arrival of pleasant respite from the noisy city center. an American fleet led by Commodore Matthew A short walk from the serenity takes you to Perry in 1853. It was not used and later turned Harajuku and Omotesando, a Mecca of latest fash- into a park. There are several parks and museums ion and culture, the district of “cool” new Japan. that are also free, including the Museum of Walk down the Takeshita street packed with Maritime Science, Tokyo Sewerage Exhibit Hall young people looking for latest “kawaii” (cute) (about the structure of Tokyo’s drainage system) trends. Then stroll Omotesando boulevard, where People walk at Takeshita street at Harajuku. and Tokyo Water Science Museum. you’ll find high-end boutiques in contemporary landmark Omotesando Hills, designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando, and poke your head in the artsy Design Festa Gallery. Take a break or people-watch at Yoyogi Park.

Japan’s capitol hill Parliament, or the National Diet, as it is official- ly known, stands on a site once occupied by feu- dal lords and is now home to Japan’s legislative headquarters. Completed in 1936, the building Tokyo with a landmark pyramid-shaped dome houses the two chambers - the more powerful House of

Junior high school students walk on the red carpet as they tour inside Parliament. Representatives (Lower House) and the House of Councilors (Upper House) - under the Japanese parliamentary system. The Upper House provides a free hour-long tour when the house is not in ses- sion. The tour, which starts on the hour between 9 am and 4 pm, includes the public gallery, the emperor’s room and central hall, with the floor decorated with intricate mosaic design using 1 million pieces of tiles and mural paintings depict- Visitors take souvenir photos in the compound of Parliament. ing the four seasons. nable. You are still advised to visit early in the Experience a (fake) quake morning as everything shuts early afternoon. Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone Tsukiji fish market There are a number of fresh sushi shops within countries in the world. This public facility, the Sprawling Tsukiji fish market - the world’s and around the market, as well as a fun shopping Ikebukuro Disaster Prevention Center, run by the biggest - is where those beautiful slices of tuna on area selling products ranging from dried fruits to Tokyo Fire Department, offers a uniquely your sushi come from. Want to witness the famous razor-sharp knives. Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple, a Japanese experience that can be educational, a A father takes a photo of his family on the walkway of the Rainbow Bridge in tuna auctions? Then get up early and be there by Buddhist temple known for its Indian-style archi- bit scary but also fun. Tokyo. 5 am to cue up for the first 120 viewing slots. If tecture, is right across the street, also free of Visitors can experience a temblor - as violent that’s too early, you can still spend hours roaming admission. as the March 2011 disaster that struck northern a maze of narrow alley ways, but watch out for the Japan - in a quake simulator built in a living motorized carts whizzing around with ice troughs Walk to Odaiba beach room set. The center also provides the crucial filled with fish. (Don’t wear open-toed shoes!) Need to burn calories after eating all the deli- basic instructions of how you can protect your- Nearly 2,000 tons of fish of all kinds are traded cious local food, but you’re too busy sightseeing? self in case of a major earthquake and other dis- daily here, as well as every kind of sea food imagi- Here is a perfect plan - a scenic walk over the asters. — AP

Shinto priests lead a Japanese couple under a parasol during a traditional wedding ceremony at Meiji Jingu Shrine.

Junior high school students walk in the compound as they tour Parliament. Foreigners take pictures of a Japanese traditional wedding ceremony at Meiji Jingu Shrine. lifestyle MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 TRAVEL Sintra, Portugal, like a castle in a kaleidoscope

The exterior of Pena Palace in Sintra.

ith sunshine bathing its multicolored the lushly forested hills is the Palace of ern tower’s music room to the nearby billiards facades against a backdrop of deep Monserrate -once visited by British poet Lord room before strolling past panels of Indian Wblue sky, the Pena Palace in Sintra is Byron - surrounded by manicured gardens alabaster carved in Mogul style to the library, like a castle seen through a kaleidoscope. A and what is billed as the first lawn planted in where he could pen a verse amid the dark jumble of bright yellow domes, red towers, Portugal. walnut bookshelves. All of the buildings blue tiles, a drawbridge and a half-man, half- And if your eyes tire of all the palatial around Sintra are open to the paying public fish sculpture holding up a window, the Pena pomp, you can retire for a morning to the cool and easily accessible, offering a glimpse back Palace is lauded as the finest example of confines of a 16th century monastery, where in time to the days when Portugal was a Portuguese romanticism, an eclectic mix that Franciscan friars lived in extreme austerity, wealthy seafaring nation ruled by a monarchy borrows style notes from - among others - the providing a stark contrast to Sintra’s explosion with a penchant for palaces. Moors, German gothic revival and the local of architectural excesses. Walking from ornate bedrooms to tiled manueline architecture. Overlooking it all are the well-preserved bathrooms of the palaces and gazing at their Fernando II, husband of Portuguese Queen remains of an eighth century Moorish fort, huge kitchens gives an idea of the sumptuous Maria II, had the palace built in the 1840s whose restored ramparts cling to a hilltop lives of the Portuguese royals and their guests around the remains of a derelict monastery. above Sintra and offer spectacular views of and it is easy to feel why they flocked here Now tourists can wander through its ornate the Atlantic Ocean and the Pena Palace on an from Lisbon in the summer when you stroll rooms and oversized kitchens as well as its adjacent hill. through the shaded gardens, catching sprawling gardens, featuring plants brought The wealth of historic buildings led glimpses of the ocean and surrounding hills. back from around the world and ponds where UNESCO to inscribe the entire Sintra “Cultural But in a country currently buckling under carp and black swans drift languidly around Landscape” on its World Heritage List in 1995, European Union-mandated budgetary auster- crenelated duck houses. saying its “structures harmonize indigenous ity measures, the pared-back simplicity of the And Pena is far from the only spectacular flora with a refined and cultivated landscape Moorish castle and the Capuchos Convent palace in Sintra, long a playground of royalty created by man as a result of literary and artis- also leave lasting impressions. and the ostentatiously wealthy. The town’s tic influences.” The castle was built by Moors in the ninth altitude and shady forests have historically Nowhere can that be better seen than in The garden of Monserrate Palace in Sintra. Photo shows tiled walls and arched door- and 10th centuries, gradually fell into disre- provided welcome relief from sweltering sum- the grounds of the Palace of Monserrate, a ways inside the Monserrate Palace. pair and was restored in the 19th century by mer temperatures of the Portuguese capital, summer residence for 19th century British Mexico and a Chinese mourning cypress in Lisbon, which is now only a half-hour’s drive textile millionaire Francis Cook, whose gar- the middle of the steeply sloping lawn. The Monserrate away. dens include a folly of a ruined chapel with an The palace itself is no less spectacular, with Palace in Sintra, Bang in the middle of the old town is the Australian banyan tree draped over its walls, a three dome-topped towers connected by a Portugal. National Palace with its distinctive conical manmade waterfall, a valley full of tree ferns corridor full of ornately carved arches and — AP photos chimneys. A couple of kilometers (miles) into from Australia and New Zealand, cacti from columns. It is not hard to imagine Lord Byron wandering from a piano recital in the north-

none other than Fernando II, the queen’s con- sort responsible for neighboring Pena Palace. A short drive into the hills, austerity is taken to its extremes at the Franciscan monastery known as the Convent of the Holy Cross of Cork Convent, built in 1560 and inhabited until 1834. Here, the only nods toward any kind of decoration are the 18th century azulejo tiles in its Chapel of the Passion of the Christ. Elsewhere, doors to dormitory rooms are built deliberately small so that monks have to bow in humility just to get into the cramped quar- ters, and doors and shutters are lined with cork harvested from trees in the surrounding forest. WSitting on the steps of the monks’ grain store in the shadow of a leaning cork oak looking at the simple stone buildings that blend into the woods, Sintra and its palaces Photo shows Pena Palace in the distance with the steps of the Moorish Castle in the foreground in Sintra. The colorful facade of Pena Palace in Sintra. seem a world away. — AP ‘World citizen’ Depardieu to seek Algerian passport

MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013 37

Balinese women carry offerings in a parade during the 35th Bali Art Festival in Denpasar, on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on June 15, 2013. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugu- rated the festival which was highlighted with a parade of traditional art teams along with other cultural displays from Bali and others Indonesiaís provinces. — AFP Kim Kardashian has given birth to a baby girl

he ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star, who was due Scott Disick and Jonathan Cheban both attended the party. to give birth to her first child on July 11, has reportedly The 32-year-old beauty, who has been noticeably absent Twelcomed her daughter at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on social media today, previously revealed that she was due in Beverly Hills with her rapper boyfriend Kanye West by her to give birth to a baby girl in early July. Kanye recently side. A source told UsMagazine.com: “Kim had her baby. revealed that he plans to do everything in his power to pro- She’s five weeks early. Kim got sick last night and had the tect the privacy of his daughter. Asked for his thoughts on Photo shows US rapper Kanye West and Kim Kardashian baby early. They’re all doing great and amazing!” Kanye parenthood, he said: “One of the things was just to be pro- arriving at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume skipped a listening party for his new album amid rumors tective, that I would do anything to protect my child or my Institute Gala benefit in New York. — AFP photos Kim was in labor. child’s mother ... [But I haven’t] fully developed those rap star Kanye West and Kardashian began dating in April The 36-year-old rapper reportedly disappointed some of thoughts yet. Idon’t have a kid yet. “Well, I just don’t want to 2012. his biggest fans by not showing up to a party at Milk Studios talk to America about my family. Like, this is my baby. This Two months ago Kardashian and her second husband, in Los Angeles on Friday night where he was scheduled to isn’t America’s baby.” Kris Humphries of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, announced they preview tracks from his new album ‘Yeezus’, which leaked People magazine said Kardashian, 32, gave birth on had reached a divorce settlement. They had split 72 days online before its official release next Tuesday. Sources told Saturday ahead of schedule, with the baby reportedly due in after their August2011 wedding. Humphries had first gossip website RadarOnline.com that a rumor quickly swept early July. Kardashian stars with her sisters in the reality sought an annulment, alleging that Kardashian, who cited through the event that the reason the ‘New Slaves’ hitmaker show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” She has a clothing File photo shows US socialite KimKardashian arriving at irreconcilable difference when filing for divorce, had no was a no-show was because his reality TV star girlfriend was line and several product endorsements and was the most- the annual White House Correspondents’ Association din- intention of keeping to the marriage, which was filmed as going into labor. Several of Kim’s close friends including searched person on the Yahoo! in 2012. Grammy-winning ner in Washington. part of her reality show. — Agencies London art market woos ‘uber-collectors’ to buoy summer sales

uctioneers are pinning their hopes on spring auctions were no different, ending on a Christie’s and Sotheby’s give a mixed picture cious objects such as a Georgian coffee pot Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore and “uber-collectors” to help London summer record-shattering high as Christie’s May 15 of a London season that looks healthy but may expected to become the most expensive piece Elisabeth Frink, as well as fine Louis XIV furni- Aart sales top last year’s $1 billion total post-war & contemporary art sale achieved the not blast the record books. Estimates from of English silver ever sold and a 15th century ture. when the series kicks off later this month. highest total - $495 million - in the history of art Christie’s of about $388 million for this year are Virgil manuscript, as well as collectibles like a A jeweled automaton silkworm lurks near a Estimates from Christie’s, Sotheby’s and smaller auctions. None of the star London lots currently lower than sales of just under $600 million last watch worn by James Bond in “Thunderball” pair of Louis XVI vases among the 80 works rivals such as Phillips and Bonhams for sales come near the $58.4 million paid at the year, although the top estimate from and unreleased lyrics from singer Bob Dylan. chosen by Sotheby’s for public display, along over the next few weeks in the British capital Christie’s sale in New York for US artist Jackson Sotheby’s for $562 million easily eclipses last London, a natural fit for Russian tycoons who with a 17th century El Greco painting and a show that the paintings, sculptures and furni- Pollock’s “Number 19, 1948”. year’s nearly $385 million. have homes in the city and Middle Eastern 1927 piece from Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. ture under the hammer are on course to defy a Silkworm Alongside the Old Masters, modern and buyers just a mid-haul flight away, will offer “This will be an exhibition that speaks to the sluggish global economy again this year. A closer look at the estimates from fine art, auction houses have mixed in pre- sought-after sculptures from antiquities to catholic taste of today’s collectors as well as to The top two houses have put more than everyone who loves great works of art and $300 million worth of their most expensive enjoys the thrill of the unexpected,” said Mario works up for sale on public show until June 11 Tavella, Sotheby’s deputy chairman for Europe. at their London galleries in Mayfair, hoping pre- Soaring prices for art at a time of global sale exhibitions might inspire a bit of impulse- economic uncertainty have long prompted buying from serious collectors making the warnings of a sharp correction and even col- London stop on the art trail. “What we hope is lapse, but time and again in the last four years that the rather more transitory uber-collectors the market has defied the gloomiest predic- who are in London, Basel and Venice will come tions. Chinese demand has weakened and in and see things that they wouldn’t normally tastes can be fickle, but the very best works of look at,” deputy chairman of Christie’s Europe, art have generally risen in value since a sharp Orlando Rock, told Reuters. but brief drop in auction turnover in 2009. Christie’s, the world’s biggest auctioneers, The only copy of Edvard Munch’s seminal has a star lot that is a price-on-request (around image “The Scream” still in private hands $23 million) diptych by 20th century American came up for sale at Sotheby’s in New York last painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a painting year. After nearly 15 minutes of intense bid- from Russian Expressionist Wassily Kandinsky, ding, made in million-dollar increments, it which could set a lifetime record for the artist if sold for $120 million including commission, a it sells north of $23 million. Its top estimate is new auction record for any work of art. $24.86 million. Nearest rival Sotheby’s has The two previous records were also recent French Impressionist Claude Monet’s “Le Palais - Pablo Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Contarini” with a top estimate of $31 million Bust” fetched $106.5 million in 2010, having and paintings by 18th century Frenchman sold for $19,800 in 1951. In the same year Claude-Joseph Vernet ($7.7 million) and British Giacometti’s “Walking Man I” made $104.3 mil- contemporary artist David Hockney ($4.6 mil- lion. Institutions have played a key role in lion). the recovery, with Qatar emerging as one of Continued weakness in a battered euro zone the biggest buyers of art in recent years as it and slowing Chinese economic growth have fills a growing network of museums. made investors wary in the last two years, but According to widespread reports, the Gulf high-end art sales have continued to break state paid $250 million for Paul Cezanne’s records. New York has long been considered “The Card Players” in a private deal in 2011, the global capital of the auction world - most Indian Bollywood actors Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan pose during a promotional party for the forthcoming Hindi film ‘Ghanchakkar’ which is believed to be the highest price ever recent records have been set there. This year’s in Mumbai on June 15, 2013. — AFP paid for a work of art. — Reuters